Today was our first real Play Day since we arrived in Washington. Mom and Dad are service missionaries in the dry pack cannery, so Steve and I decided to go spend a canning session with them. Don't you love the outfits the expect us to wear? Steve spent almost the entire time running the canner. Mom said he was quicker than most people that run it, and made the time pass by more quickly. He did a great job. 
After canning, mom and dad took us to Deception Pass, and on a drive to see the countryside. It was really cool. I can't believe how beautiful it is here in Washington. I keep saying it smells so good!! I get out of the car and smell pine trees, and flowers, I don't know what all I'm smelling, but it's so nice!
The views at Deception Pass were Amazing! I can't imagine how hard it would be to build the bridges over this waterway. There were several boats on the water below fishing. It's such a beautiful area.
Since I arrived in Washington, the roads are lined with these beautiful yellow flowers. I keep commenting on how bright and beautiful they are. People who live here tell me I'm crazy, that it's a weed, and it's really hard to get rid of once it grows. Who would want to get rid of such a beautiful flower?? These are much better than the bindweed we deal with in my part of the world.
I think my dad is mocking me. 
After our drive we went back home and picked up Grandma and Grandpa. They had a funeral earlier in the day, and grandpa had to speak in the program. We went with them to Golden Corral for dinner, talk about an amazing place. We ate and ate and ate and ate. Dad ate straight dessert, actually he had a small salad, and then it was all about desserts. All of us ate until we felt like we were going to pop. As we were leaving, dad took an ice cream cone to go. .. silly dad...
After we were finished eating, we didn't feel like driving home yet. I have never been to Darrington, so mom thought it would be fun to take me there to see the "tree". In 1971 this tree died, and they asked the company that both of my uncles worked for to cut it down. This tree was 737 years old. We figured out that it would have been about 200 years old when Christopher Columbus discovered America.
This is a picture my grandma and grandpa have hanging in their home of the crew that took down this old tree. Two of my mom's brothers are in this picture. And below is a picture of the remainder of the tree today. It is 9 feet in diameter. It's pretty amazing. We had a nice drive.
One famous Darrington landmark is White Horse mountain. You can only see this view from the Darrington side. If you look at this mountain, it looks like a horse is rising up out of the top of the mountain. Pretty cool. All in all, we had a really fun day.
The views at Deception Pass were Amazing! I can't imagine how hard it would be to build the bridges over this waterway. There were several boats on the water below fishing. It's such a beautiful area.Since I arrived in Washington, the roads are lined with these beautiful yellow flowers. I keep commenting on how bright and beautiful they are. People who live here tell me I'm crazy, that it's a weed, and it's really hard to get rid of once it grows. Who would want to get rid of such a beautiful flower?? These are much better than the bindweed we deal with in my part of the world.
I think my dad is mocking me. After our drive we went back home and picked up Grandma and Grandpa. They had a funeral earlier in the day, and grandpa had to speak in the program. We went with them to Golden Corral for dinner, talk about an amazing place. We ate and ate and ate and ate. Dad ate straight dessert, actually he had a small salad, and then it was all about desserts. All of us ate until we felt like we were going to pop. As we were leaving, dad took an ice cream cone to go. .. silly dad...
After we were finished eating, we didn't feel like driving home yet. I have never been to Darrington, so mom thought it would be fun to take me there to see the "tree". In 1971 this tree died, and they asked the company that both of my uncles worked for to cut it down. This tree was 737 years old. We figured out that it would have been about 200 years old when Christopher Columbus discovered America.
This is a picture my grandma and grandpa have hanging in their home of the crew that took down this old tree. Two of my mom's brothers are in this picture. And below is a picture of the remainder of the tree today. It is 9 feet in diameter. It's pretty amazing. We had a nice drive. 
One famous Darrington landmark is White Horse mountain. You can only see this view from the Darrington side. If you look at this mountain, it looks like a horse is rising up out of the top of the mountain. Pretty cool. All in all, we had a really fun day. 
