The Rainy Season

Growing up in Ohio and living most recently in Illinois, I am very accustomed to the possibility of having rain (or sun or clouds or wind) any day of the year.  In California, at least where we live (in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas), we have a hot, very dry summer where we go for months and months without any precipitation.   Then, in the winter time, rain (and sometimes snow) can be strong and constant and last for days.

There is a culvert that goes underneath the driveway, at the edge of the property.  After it had rained heavily for a couple days, there was a nice little stream running down there.  The kids and I made boats out of some recyclables, plus tape, string and pipe cleaners.  We were so excited to try them out!

Eliza was the first launcher.

You can see that one was formerly an aluminum pie pan and the other a cottage cheese container.

 Caleb was at the other side to catch them (except for that one time when one floated by too fast and mommy had to chase it down while the kids panicked).

 We had lots of races and had fun guessing which one would win.

And Josh sat patiently in the stroller and cheered us on.

Our fun continued until it started to rain again, then we hurried back inside to stay dry.