I LOVE Arizona sunsets! And our monsoons sure help out a lot and bring us so many beautiful images. The clouds building, walls of dust being pushed across the desert, amazing lightning shows, and of course, breathtaking sunsets. Absolutely beautiful. And finally the RAIN! What Arizonan doesn't get excited about rain!? Well maybe a few transplants from wetter states, but I would bet dollars to donuts that native Arizonans like me love to see that wet stuff fall out of the sky! It's hard for me to keep my daughter from going outside to play in it. We always need it! But the cost of all of the beautiful images and rain is the damage and inconvenience those powerful storms can cause. Like this palm tree breaking during this week's last storm - crazy strong winds!

I was just remembering a few years ago the power went off in our house during a storm. I remember it specifically because the power was out just long enough for us to replace all of the batteries in the smoke detectors that had started chirping (a good reminder, thank you monsoon storm), find and light all the candles, and find the long lost flashlight. Luckily we had those replacement batteries, and I could find the flashlight, but we certainly should be a little more prepared just in case. Get some more Monsoon Safety and Preparedness tips here and be safe!