The puddle walk

Even though my kids are drawn to puddles of water, I normally don't let them play in them.  It's not that I'm a neat freak, but I like to minimize the possible mess that enters the house that I will have to clean up.  Today, however, I decided to make an exception.  It had been raining pretty much since last night, and the forecast is calling for rain all day, every day, through Friday.  This does not bode well for my sanity, as I'm pretty sure the girls will be climbing the walls at some point between now and then.

But this afternoon, the clouds parted and we had a sun-coming-out-to-the-sound-of-the-choir-singing-hallelujah moment.  It was gorgeous, with a bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds.  I wanted to take the girls for a walk while the weather cooperated, but I knew that they would want to splash in the many puddles created by the storm.  So we went on a puddle walk - they wore their boots (snow boots, since they don't have rain boots that fit right now), and we went in search of water to splash in. 

They had a blast!  Their favorite part was the puddle-almost-lake that we found where they are doing road work in our neighborhood.  To quote Lizzie, "That's the hoogest puddle I ever seen!" (See below for a short video of them splashing and dancing their way through it.)

Near the end, the clouds were rolling back in and the girls were getting tired.  Their boots were soaking wet and heavy.  But their energy was temporarily renewed if they saw water running toward a storm drain or puddles at the edge of someone's driveway.  Lizzie picked up some thick grass she found and went "fishing".  And when we got in the house, their boots and socks were soaked, but easily contained by one big towel.  So I'd have to say that our puddle walk was a success!  But I wonder how long it's going to take for their boots to dry out...

(For more pictures of the puddle walk, see our May 2011 album.)