It's Raining, It's Pouring!

     Rain. I do l love it. I love the smell in the air right before it comes and right after it leaves. I love the sound it makes as it patters on the roof and against the window. Not to mention I love umbrellas, especially yellow ones. Did you ever watch "Sarah Plain and Tall"? The second one, where there has been a horrible drought in Kansas? They go to Main to stay a while and the first time it rains, the first thing they do is run into the yard and spin and dance and play. They were so excited! Over RAIN! But hey, can you blame them. That is how I feel every time I see rain. I loved rain ever since I was little. I have some great memories in the rain.

     I remember when I was little, after it rained, my dad would take me into the back yard and dig for worms. When there was no rain of course we made rain! It's called a sprinkler. We would then take our prized worms and go fishing. If you didn't know, the best time to catch worms is right after a good rain. I can remember going around the block after or during a rainstorm, following the curb and finding huge worms! Ya, it really worked!! Did you ever ride your bike and try and make the biggest SPLASH right after a rainstorm? Come, on. I know I'm not the only one. Then there is the classic water fight in a rainstorm. In Mississippi no less. Ya that was a good day. But it doesn't beat puddles. Nope, puddles trump water fights.
     The best puddles were near my Grandma and Grandpa's house. You see they lived by a nursery. No, not a nursery where little kids go to be watched. A nursery where they grow trees. They had HUGE trees there and after the trees were sold, they had HUGE HOLES! When the rain came, the holes were full of water. Yep, my brothers, and I, my cousins Kyle and Kody, and our friend Aaron Wilson and I think Christian...(I can't remember his last name) all ran as fast as we
could, took a huge leap and landed up to our chest in muddy water!! The best day of my life! Well, one of them anyways. When I got a little older I became a little more refined...... instead of muddy puddles it was a full fledged mud war. It's safe to say I had an exciting childhood. Oh, but it doesn't end there. You see as I got older it just got worse. It was the 4th of July in Grenola, KS. and nothing could stop the floodgates that came pouring down. It didn't stop us from having our celebration though. We grilled those burgers in the rain. We tried to stay dry, and finally it let up just in time for the huge firework show. But, that really has nothing to do with the story, I mean besides the fact that it rained. You see, it rained so hard that the Little Caney River which is usually like a creek, was filled and flowing at a pretty good rate.

     The same weekend, I was hosting a "Girls Retreat" out at the Land. My trusty friend Erika and I had gone ahead to prepare. (Basically an excuse to just chill, and have fun at the farm.) Since it was hot and we had time to spare we decided to throw on our swim suites, grab our mud boots, and life jackets and head to the river. We wadded into the river, sat down and let the water float us on our backs down the river. It was a lot of fun. Well, the floating was a lot of fun. We made it to a bridge we knew, hopped out and had to walk all the way back. (The un-fun part) So we decided to be smart about it! (Which was our first mistake) We would take two four wheelers and drive to the swimming hole. (About 2 miles down the road. which should have been our first red flag) We would leave one four wheeler, hiding the key of course. (BRILLIANT) we would then drive back, and float down the river to the second four wheeler. that way we wouldn't have to walk!! Oh, if only it was as simple as I thought it would be.
     Our first part of the journey was great. We talked and laughed and floated. We even passed a cow that was in the river! Quite exciting. We floated, and floated, and floated........ eventually we started to get worried. I mean, we had been floating a long time. We have got to be getting close we thought!! suddenly the river began to change and Erika, who was ahead a little, yelled back to get out of the water. So we did. The water began to get to rough so we thought we would just walk beside it a while. We finally came upon a dirt road and realized we were only halfway there!! this is when panic began to set in. Our moms will be out here soon and not know where we are! They are going to freak! Well, in our logical minds, we decided that following the river would take longer because it bends and curves so we would walk the road to our four-wheeler. So off we went.
     There we were walking down a dirt road. Two girls in swimsuits, mud boots (filled with water), and life jackets. Not to mention we had to get out on the most active road in Grenola......well, active for Grenola. Several trucks passed us. It was kinda embarrassing. Finally one passed and stopped. I wasn't sure I should be glad our scared. I decided to be glad, because I was sick of walking. Inside there was an older gentleman driving with what looked like to be his grandson. They asked if we needed a ride and I said yes! so we hopped in the bed of the truck as I asked him to drop us off at the pass. Which everyone knew. When we arrived we said thanks, hopped out and headed down to the river. Of course,  we were on the opposite side than the four-wheeler. So we had to ford the raging river. Not exaggerating that much!! *Sigh of relief* We made it!! All we had to do was drive home.
     We hopped on, and started it up. We started driving down the road, but as we were half way there......Budump. Budump. Budump. GREAT! The four-wheeler died!!  I hop off and mess with some stuff and tried it again. It started. Oh good!! We keep driving. Then it happened again!! Budump. Budump. Budump. This time it wouldn't start again. Fine, we aren't far off. I'll run, get the third four-wheeler and the chain and be back shortly. Before I could start running, help came. In the form of another pickup truck and another old man. He nicely dropped us off at the Davis' Farm, as it is known around there. Ok, time is running out so lets get this done.
      We run into the garage and find the last four-wheeler hooked up to the boat. Well, we are awesome and super strong! LOL We managed (with a lot of grunts) to remove the boat from the four-wheeler. We grabbed a chain and went to rescue the broken four-wheeler. After that it was down to the river to get the last four-wheeler. We made it back to the house, showered and started dinner, just as our mothers came up the drive. Erika and I looked at each other. Yep, this would have to stay a secret for a while. Speaking of which, my mom is going to kill me when she reads this........... If it helps mom, Hunter and Preston chewed me out afterwards.