I love how one small event can bring back a flood of memories. Tonight I was lucky enough to have that happen. Paul and I have been married for just over 6 months and have known each other for almost two years and tonight was the first night we've seen a lightning storm together. Around 7:00 a huge storm blew over the mountains and struck the Gila Valley. Although it didn't rain as much as I would've liked the lightning was amazing. We sat on our front porch in camping chairs and talked about what the future holds for us while enjoying the weather. Once the rain came I was reminded of the summer storms I loved as a kid here in The Valley. Back then it seemed like it rained a lot more. I always remember the power being out, but my parents might have just turned off all the lights. We had an old wooden rocking chair that we would set on the porch, along with our kitchen chairs, and we would all watch the lightning and listen to the rain. I'm not sure how long we stayed out there, but it seemed like hours, and it was Magical. The next day my mom would pack me, Matt, and Brooke into our old Nissan hatchback and we would go puddle hopping. My mom would drive all over Pima with the windows down and deliberately drive through as many puddles as possible while we hung out the window and got soaking wet. My mom was the absolute coolest for doing that and it's one of my favorite memories. I love Arizona Rain and to me its Magic... (Top) Usually you can see the mountains from this angle, but not with this crazy orange storm. Everything really did have an orange hue to it. (Below) These were the first clouds rolling in. I thought they looked cool!
