Trader Joe's and Puddles

On Tuesday I decided to take the kids out to Trader Joe's. In hindsight, I probably should have avoided the store, since they have the most awesome snacks ever, and a million different kinds of them, but it's fun to go, and it tested my will power. I didn't buy any sugary snacks. Trader Joe's is one store I really wish they had back west, because I know I'll really miss it when we finally get around to relocating! If nothing else, you can always go and get a yummy sample. And Tuesday was no exception! They were giving out samples of pre-seasoned Mahi-Mahi fish, and lime-flavored rice on the side. I loved it so much I bought some for dinner. And after eating it for dinner, I wished very much that I had bought 2 packages of the Mahi-Mahi. We really need to eat more fish than we do. But I've never been much of a seafood person (sorry, Seattle upbringing, I have failed you!), and Jesse is just as bad.

And speaking of Jesse, the same guy who 2 days ago was rolling his eyes at me for eating pudding because it had sugar in it just handed me a spatula covered in melted white chocolate to lick. He's making my birthday cake. Oh well, a few licks won't hurt.

I managed to somehow forget my purse at Trader Joes. It also had my cell phone in it. I got up on Wednesday, intending to get ready and go to the MVA to renew my driver's license. Which is practically another story in itself - Jesse and I both renewed our licenses by mail this year, on the same day, and he got his 2 weeks ago, and there was no sign of mine. I called up the MVA and they said their system showed that it was out in the mail. I figured it was probably lost, but the very next day, I got a letter saying that for whatever reason, they were unable to create a new license for me, and that I needed to come in to the office and get a new one in person. I have no idea what happened, really, because they didn't need anything from me at all at the MVA office- they just snapped a new photo while I was there and sent me off on my merry way. Anyway, so I was just at the computer printing directions to the MVA, when I checked my email real quick, and saw a note from Jesse telling me about my purse's fate. I had *no clue* until then that it was missing. So Jesse drove all the way to Trader Joe's during his lunch break to bring it home to me. I'm happy to say that everything was still inside... I'm glad for honest Trader Joe's employees!

And what Melinda and Jacob love most about Trader Joe's are the balloons you get at the checkout counter. Unfortunately, Jacob's came loose from its string on our way to the car, and it floated away in the sky. I was surprised, though, that he didn't make much of a fuss about it. And Melinda shared her purple balloon very nicely. Even Alex had a good time with it!
After the whole MVA fun of Wednesday, we stopped at Target and grabbed a few things we needed. At the end of the trip, as I was browsing near the front of the store, Jacob started saying, "Look mommy, it's bed-night time! See? Bed-night time!" And I turned around and looked out the door, and sure enough, it was looking pretty dark outside. And it was only about 3:45pm. When we walked out to our car, it was already raining. When we were less than 200 feet from our apartment, the rain suddenly got so heavy that I could hardly see through the windshield. I haven't seen a torrent like that since one particular storm in Colorado, when I was driving home from work and the rain practically made rushing rivers through the streets. I love a good thunderstorm! But I didn't especially like the idea of taking three kids out of the car and into the house, along with a diaper bag and a few bags from Target, all in the pouring rain. So I decided to wait out the heaviest of it inside the car. We sat there for a couple of seconds, and talked about how cool it was that the rain on the car windows looked like we were going through a car wash. And then I decided to turn on the radio, and sure enough, there was a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, and it always seems like there are Tornado Watches in effect with those, out here. (The first time that happened, with the whole beeping alert on the TV and everything, I ended up a bawling bag of adrenaline locked inside our apartment bathroom, with a 10-month old Melinda with me, and I was sure we were going to die. I've learned my lesson about the Tornado Watches since then.) Anyway, the alert said that car shelter wasn't sufficient, and you should seek out indoor cover. And while I severely doubted the chances of a tornado striking us, even with as heavy as the rain was, I decided that I would never forgive myself if anything *did* happen, just because I wanted to avoid getting wet. So out of the car we went, and into the house. It took all of about .5 seconds for my Crocs-clad feet to be completely and utterly soaked.

Unfortunately I think I scared Melinda in the process of getting into the house, because I mentioned tornadoes, and then she had to ask what tornadoes are, and then I explained it perhaps a little too well for a 4-year-old, and she spent the next half hour bouncing between the in-motion weather radar on the TV, and cowering on the couch because of the thunder. "Why does Heavenly Father have to make tornadoes???" she demanded. And "Why does Heavenly Father have to make lightning that hits trees???" Well, *I* know why the weather works the way it does, but I had a really hard time trying to explain it to her without getting to technical, or too philosophical. I eventually ended up just trying to tell her about the fun parts of storms, and the good way they make rain that the earth needs. And don't forget the puddles!! I reminded her that thunderstorms are just as good at making big puddles as they are tornadoes and lightning. So she asked if she could go play in the puddle after the thunderstorm, and I promised her that she could. I almost forgot!! But she reminded me. So Jacob and Melinda went out back and got to stomp around in the puddle until Jesse got home and I needed to make dinner. They had fun! And Alex had fun watching.

In this first picture, Jacob has a stick that they found near the tree, and he's starting to swing it downwards, with a loud "HA!" sound-effect.

And this is the result he's after- I nice big splash!!

It didn't take long for Melinda to start kicking the water, either! This picture is very similar to the one I took in late May of last year, after a thunderstorm!!
And then they started pretending to play wolves, which is a new favorite of theirs, since they like to watch Jesse play Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii. The main character goes back and forth between "human" (or elf, I'm really not sure which, but it has pointy ears) and wolf, in this Zelda incarnation. So they pretend to be wolves.

And of course, they both got completely drenched and muddy, but it's all fun!! You can't beat a good bath after puddle-stomping!!I have a really hard time not remembering summers in Arizona, when I let the kids play out in puddles like this. It seems like we would always be in Arizona visiting my grandparents during monsoon season, and what great thunderstorms they would have there! I remember being at my Uncle Gary's house, specifically, and going out with my cousins during a storm or two, running down the curbs of the streets, and dragging one foot through the rivers of water that collected by the curbs. I remember how much fun it was to run around in the pouring, warm rain in the middle of a very hot summer. Of course, I'm not sure why I was allowed to run outside during an active thunderstorm (I think I know a little too much about lightning safety after my college Meteorology class), but I loved it all the same.