Rain, rain...

 Last summer, it seems it rained more than anything. And because it's never a throw-your-bathing-suits-on-and-run-around-barefoot-in-the-rain kinda rain, I remember much of those days spent inside, having our brains fried with television and video games. Who wants to spend their summer like that? This year,  it is different.

It rained the other week and filled up this gigantic puddle in front of our driveway. The girls were displaying the precursor symptoms of an imminent I-hate-you-and-will-pull-your-hair-out war between the two of them. So outside we went. There is nothing like the outdoors to inspire these two hellions to love each other again.

On went the raincoats and rain pants bloused over their rain boots, and I let them loose.

And the smiles reappeared, the potentially bloody battle of who gets to play with what Littlest Pet Shop toy suddenly forgotten. Don't you just love the outdoors?

Note: Rain pants with taped seams available at REI and Sports Authority.

Other things to do outside when it's raining:

• Sidewalk chalk...drawings look pretty neat when you're using a wet sidewalk as your canvas
• Watercolor abstract art...on heavy duty paper, have the kids make crazy paint strokes with watercolor paints (the thicker the better), stand outside with the paper and let the rain distort their paintings to their liking

Of course, puddle jumping takes the cake in rainy outdoor fun activities.