Rain, rain

It rains a lot in Seattle.

What? You were looking for something more profound? Robert Fulghum I am not-- for his blog, go here: www.robertfulghum.com

My point is, it rains quite a bit in Portland. It rains a LOT in Seattle. Anyone who is familiar with the Pacific Northwest might be feeling a little concerned for me right now, because if I'm complaining about the rain in October, I am in big trouble. But I'm not really complaining-- just taking it all in. In Portland, it is overcast and wet on average 4 days per week from the second week of October to the first week of June. (That's my observational average, and has absolutely no hard research behind it.) Based on my observations since April, I'd say it rains a little more often in Seattle. The big difference, though, is not the frequency, but the amount of rain. Where you might get mist and off-and-on "spitting" in Portland, here we really get rain.

Which brings me to my point-- the point in my blog frequently being to discuss pictures that I've taken-- despite the fact that we lived in Portland, we never bought true raincoats for the kids before now. They had water-resistant jackets that were very good, but we decided that wasn't going to hack it here. Especially not when Sydney has to stand outside and wait for the bus. So I bought them raincoats. And they are so cute in them!

Today it rained pretty hard. In fact, as Sydney and I arrived to pick up Sam, we even got a little thunder and lightning (I have no idea how common thunderstorms are here, but in Portland, we only got them about once a year. I personally love thunderstorms, so the moment I hear the first crack of a distant thunder, my whole mood improves.) On the way home, the clouds parted, the sun shone, and we all took turns finding the rainbow as I drove and turned.

Back at home, with the sun out again, but the kids still in their raincoats, I couldn't resist grabbing my camera. Aren't they adorable?