Panorama

Hello and good morning, ladies and gentlemen! February fourth already and no post in the month!! I just had to do something about that, so here's one to get us started!

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(click here to see this picture bigger)

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This is a panorama view that Joe took while he and I were up on the hill across the street the other day. (here and here are some more pictures from that same day.) His camera has a setting that helps you take the panorama shots, and then, on the computer, he stiches them together. It's really cool!!

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I'll try to post again later this week - hope you have a great day!

~ Hannah and the whole P family ~

Grand Coulee

We went to see the Grand Coulee (kool-ee) Dam in (surprise, surprise) Grand Coulee, Wa. You may not have even heard of this dam, but it is the largest concrete structure in the world, the largest dam in the world, and the third largest power generator in the world! We got to take a tour inside the dam power house and let me tell you, it was the most awesome man-made thing I have ever seen! The dam and power houses contain 12 MILLION cubic yards of concrete, The water flows through the pen-stock at 70 mph, and past each of the turbines at about 110,000 gallons per SECOND!!! The dam makes so much electricity that they sell it as far away as southern California.

When you are inside, the whole structure vibrates and you can hear the roar of water constantly.

When we went into the room that houses the generator shafts, the noise increased 100 times and so did the vibration! The shafts are 8 feet in diameter and spin at 72 RPM.

Later that night we saw a laser show displayed on the spillway which told the story of the dam and then showed shapes and stuff like that. Hard to describe, kinda like a fireworks show. I tried ti take pictures, but i could not capture the effects. If you are ever out this way I HIGHLY recommend seeing the dam and the laser show.

The dam is 1 mile long!

Into the labyrinth of tunnels under the dam

Looking at the dust covers on the generators. (Too dangerous to go in)

An attempt to capture the laser show

Looking along part of the top

Making power at a display at the visitor center

How about this one? lol!!

We found our house! Just kidding! We found a small driftwood hut and decided that we would make an advertisement for it!

FOR SALE:

Small, driftwood beach cottage on beautiful Whidbey Island overlooking Puget Sound. Bordered-in yard and landscaped garden. Bay window and new roof! Near to neighborhood playground and has adjoining woods. Borders government land. Constructed in 2007.

Two of the owners by the sign

House and bordered garden and yard

Interior (Living Room) Bay window is to the left.

Thank you for looking!

Ha ha ha!!!!!!!!

Whidbey Island -----> Yakima

Exploring Whidbey Island was a great experience! We saw a few small farms including one that had Alpacas. (Micheal :-) ) They were adorable! We rode the ferry across Puget Sound and visited several lavender farms on the Olympic Peninsula (did you know that it's the lavender capital of North America?), we also saw nurseries and U-pick farms, where we got some great ideas.

We left the island this morning and drove through Seattle on our way to Yakima, where we are now. We though of you, Mr. Mark! I took a picture of the space needle from a very rough I-5 through downtown Seattle. I hope it turns out alright!

Mom and Dad hope to close on the house by Wednesday! So, hopefully, we can move in soon and get our berries planted.

That's all for now. We might not have a computer for a few more days, so see ya later!

The Greenbank Farm, once one of the largest Loganberry farms in the world, now a tourist attraction and an alpaca farm.

Eating lunch

....and more lunch

Hi,Michael!! (And every one else)

A beautiful Whidbey Island sunset.

The Space Needle. (A remarkable picture considering the condition of the road, lol!)

Update Again

Well, hello, everyone!
Hooray- it looks like we might be able to close within the week! Hopefully by next Wednesday, which would mean moving in within two weeks if all goes well. We can't move right in, the house needs some work, like carpet out of bedrooms, paint, etc. We're just ready to get some space!!! I'll get some more pictures as soon as possible of the inside.
As you know, we're here on the other side of the state for a vacation. We're finding out what the rest of "our" state looks like. We're solar-powered, for sure! We're starting to rust in the gloom here! Quote from a native: "Folks don't tan over here, we rust!" I agree. As does Floridian mom!
Oh, a side note. It's Mom and Dad's 21st anniversary today! Congratulations, (and thanks,) Mom and Dad!

Not about our move but.......

From Dougs Blog

U.S. Supreme Court Acknowledges Home Schooling

“If parents do not like the rules imposed by those schools, they can seek redress in school boards or legislatures; they can send their children to private schools or home school them; or they can simply move.”
There are two interesting issues in the following comment by Justice Clarence Thomas in the United States Supreme Court decision Morse v. Frederick. The case addressed the alleged free speech rights of a teenager to display a banner at school promoting illegal drug use. The first is the official mention of home education in a United States Supreme Court decision. This would have been nearly unthinkable three decades ago. For this mention of home education by Justice Thomas, we can thank God for the influence of men like Mike Farris, Chris Klicka, Mike Smith, and the hundreds of parents who were sacrificial lambs in the quarter century modern battle for home education.
The second point of interest is the simple fact that schools have the right to set rules. These rules may be favorable to Christians or unfavorable, but it is the nature of any educational institution that discipline, propriety and, perhaps especially, worldview, are implicit to the nature of the school. Rules and standards are inescapable. The only question is which worldview will govern the choice of rules.
Of course, it is true that even a broken clock is right twice a day. And this time the school was right. But next time it might not be. Christians who send their children to government schools should not be surprised when their children are given rules deeply offensive to Christians. In my view, such Christians would be well served to take the second part of Justice Thomas’ advice to them by exiting the schools in search of another alternative—home education, for example. I would simply add this—don’t wait for the rules to deteriorate further than they have, and don’t view the exclusion of illegal drug promoting t-shirts as a glorious victory upon which to accept the dominion of government schools over our children. The government school as an institution is at war with Christianity. It is a reflection of evolutionary and humanist faith. This faith is basic to the modern school. It influences its social culture, English courses, civics studies, sports programs and, of course, science classes.

By the way

Just a quick note, If you havent seen Facing The Giants, you should. A GREAT movie!

God bless!!!!!

The Great Travels of the Blue Clip- Part #4

DISASTER HAS STRUCK! Thru a miscommunication, the yellow clip was left at Grammie and Pop-pop's house! So the blue clip will now be alone.

On a historical sign in the (surprise surprise) Red river valley. The sign said the ox-carts might make 15 miles a day. I'm glad we have a Suburban!

Day 4, June 18, 2007

After a day of driving, (some of it through heavy rain!) we stayed at Lake Elmo State Park on the eastern side of Minnesota. Minnesotans say the mosquito is the MN state bird, and they aren't far off! There were millions of them. We were all itching for a few days after that! ;-)

Today is also the day I learned the details of the Thomas family's adventure in Jamestown! ;-)

The coming storm.

This is the storm I tried to talk to Melanie and the rest of the Heritage guys in. The rain was LOUD!!

Day 3- June 11, 2007

On to the Buckeye State! Being only a few miles from the border, we crossed into Ohio early in the morning on June 11th. The eastern part is hilly and heavily treed, and looks alot like PA. But this soon gives way to the farmland typical of the Midwest. The farther west we got the higher the temp. It was in the hi 80s when we got to Harrison Lake State Park in western Ohio. No wonder they call it the Buckeye State, there are more of them laying around than you can shake a stick at!

We also discovred that the reefer in the camper dosent work sometimes! :-(

Just outside the park there is a guy with a Michagin Wolverines flag, Mom said that can be dangerous in Ohio, especially during football season! (Being U of Florida fans, we don't have to worry about Ohio, we can beat them any day! Ha, ha, ha!)

Oh, by the way. Dad and the girls were in the Suburban pulling the camper and Mom and I (Joe) were following in the pickup on I-80 in Ohio when an 18-wheeler that was driving erratically, and who had already passed Mom and me, tried to pass Dad. As the truck changed lanes, it started to weave back and forth, and almost side-swiped the Suburban and camper! Mom said God must have stuck His hand down and guided the truck away, because it should have hit the camper. I said God's hand must be 9 or 10 inches wide, maybe less, because that's how close it came! At 70 mph, that is just a little bit too close!

Please continue your prayers for a safe travel for the whole family (including the four parakeets!).

Mom and Abby

Our dysfunctional reefer, (with Dad working on it)

Family portrait

The Great Travels of the Blue Clip- Part #3

Along with its new friend, the yellow clip, here is our blue clip in western PA at "RV Village" in Mercer.

On a tree at our site.

On our site marker

Day 2 - June 10, 2007

The 10th was a nice day for driving. We crossed the rest of Pennsylvania today. (It's a bigger state than you would think!) Once again, I (Joe) left the camera in the trailer and (again) forgot about taking pictures on the road. I wished I'd had it about 2 PM, when we went by a dumpster on the roadside which was being raided by four or five raccoons! They were making a real mess! Ü Later that afternoon, we rolled into our campsite at RV Village in Mercer, PA and what did we find? A YELLOW clip! So now you will get pics of a blue clip and a yellow clip! (And you won't have to worry about the blue clip being lonely) ha ha ha!



Western PA is beautiful!

The view from our campsite

After dinner we got a ball game going.
Hannah at bat.

Sunset thru the trees.

(Michael, sorry about the pics. I wish you was here to take some. I will learn though.) lol---Joe

The Great Travels of the Blue Clip- Part #2

Here is the blue clip in Promised Land State Park, eastern PA.......

On Roberta's nose.....

And clipped to our site marker.

Day 1 - June 9, 2007

We left Newport about 9:00 in heavy fog. Leaving our friends sure was hard! About an hour later in Connecticut, we ran into a heavy rainstorm. You could barely see 100 yards. We came out of the storm about an hour later, and crossed the rest of Connecticut and New York and entered Pennsylvania in beautiful weather. We stopped in eastern Pennsylvania at Promised Land State Park Campground to stay the night. We soon discovered that there were lots of ticks! Ü The weather was nice, cool and breezy. I (Joe) left the camera in the camper, and completely forgot about taking pictures on the road this day.

I took these pics after we got to the campsite.

Dad, playing with fire

Abby sitting by the fire

I will have more pics as I get more experienced taking them. Ü

The Great Travels of the Blue Clip- Part #1

At the request of a certain Marscel, we will be taking photos of this blue plastic clip he gave a member of our family, as it travels across the United States. Here it is, sitting on a cardboard box which is holding kitchen dishes. The Journey has begun!