Raining Cats and Dogs

 7-3-2021 - Saturday

Well, it's raining.  And raining.  And raining.  I can see why they don't invest in a rain gauge, who has time to empty it that often???

We have two small(?) problems with our vehicles.  The batteries on the RV are dead.  We think it's because of the little cooler we have running out there all the time.  And, obviously, the solar panels are not providing any fuel!  Joe is charging them right now, to see if they will come back up.  Otherwise, we will buying 2 new batteries.  The second problem is that the floor on the passenger side of the Jeep keeps getting wet.  Since it never rains in Arizona, we had not seen the problem before we left home.  The first time we found it, we thought the door hadn't got shut good when we went through the car wash.  But it has happened twice since, including today, so it is definitely from the rain.  We have to track down that problem when it quits raining.

And then there's the hurricane out in the Atlantic, although it did get downgraded back to a tropical storm today, so I'm not going to worry about that anymore.

I got a picture of the new truck when it was just drizzling.  I haven't gotten to ride in it yet, but reports say its wonderful.  

We've gone shopping a few times today, usually get caught in the rain without umbrellas.  We even have rain jackets in the back of the Jeep, but haven't been smart enough to get them out.  John parked in the far west lot at Walmart, and so we got to wade through the parking lot and walk through torrential rain to get back to the truck.  That might be a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea.  I tried to take a picture of the rain, but it just looks like a gloomy day.  But sometimes it rained really hard--I saw Arizona had a possibility of torrential rains today, but I think we got them here.

So during our inside time, Andrew gave John a lesson in MineKraft, but obviously John is just a beginner.  Andrew likes to stand right in front of the TV screen, and would give John instructions, but John kept telling him all he could see was Andrew's backside.  

So John gave up, and we all had some relaxation time. (briefly)

John took us to lunch at Culver's, Bridgette had taken her mom and Catalina to Costco.  After we got back from our drenching, Joe and I took a nap.  When we got up, Bridgette's mom and dad were here, and dinner was underway.

Bridgette and her dad put together a feast--hamburgers, hotdogs (John did the grilling, so he helped).  Lots of fruits, mac and cheese, beans, salad, etc.  Bridgette told me I better take a picture because it might be the only dinner she fixes us.

After dinner, the rain settled down to a drizzle, then finally stopped. And the thunder and lightning finally quit too.    The kids got to play outside, on scooters, and bikes.

Catalina chose running through the puddles, with Dory.

Then, they went SNAKE HUNTING!  Catalina was the driving force behind this adventure.  She checked out the yard, then John took them to a little pond down the street.  Fortunately, they didn't find any snakes.  

After the kids' baths, we played RummiKup and Tug of War before sending the kids off to bed.  It's great to just get to spend family time with all of them.  The weather could be better, but if it isn't rainy, then it's hot and humid.  Florida in the summer is just that!

The RV battery problem got resolved.  The batteries just got depleted because of the little cooler, and no solar.  They recharged and we are back in business, didn't have to buy new batteries.  We think John tracked down the source of the water in the Jeep, there's a spongy thing under the hood that seems to be absorbing water when it rains, then somehow it drains into my floorboard.  Tomorrow they are going to try to figure out a way to stop that, and John said we could get the shop vac out to dry up the standing water.  Hopefully, that will be the end of that, because I'm pretty sure we will get rained on again here.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a dry day, the only day for the next week that it isn't forecast to rain.  However, depending on Elsa, that's likely to change.  I will continue to monitor that situation.  

Happy Fourth of July!!!