Knitting again...

I took a break from making mittens to whip up this scarf for the Normac Christmas party. I think it turned out very nice. It's the first time I used that kind of yarn. --Rachael 

3 YEARS!!

Today is our third wedding anniversary!  

Our Winter Weather

These are some pictures from our yard after the ice came last Thursday (Dec 15). We lost power up here for 3 1/2 days! It finally came back on Sunday afternoon, right after our meal of hot dogs cooked on a propane camp stove. It wasn't too bad though, we had a kerosene heater to keep us warm, and I think Sunday was the only day we tried to eat at home. We lost some ice cream and popsicles- the back porch wasn't cold enough for them. But everything else survived.
It's not something we want to do again anytime soon though! 

Lights, Camera....photo!

This is the tree with the lights on......OOOOOOOH! Preeeeeettty!!! 

O Christmas Tree!

Here is a picture of our Christmas tree in all its glory! Ha ha... we have been enjoying it- the smell, the decorations, and the lights (which Dave has rigged up on a timer). Pippin keeps trying to eat the bows on the gifts, and Big Kitty likes to lay under the tree like he is one. Crazy cats. Only 13 days until Christmas!! Which means only NINE days until our THIRD wedding anniversary! Hooray! 

November 30

Today is Dave's birthday! Hooray! To celebrate, we are going out to eat at Yoshida tonight. Yum! 

Isin't it Pretty?

This is my first-ever "show" cake. Not bad for a beginner, huh? -Rachael

How Pretty...

This is a butterfly we saw on our hike near Mt. Pisgah. 

Stone Mountain

David and Brian went and played Golf at Stone Mountain in Georgia while Lisa, Christy and I went to check out the Ikea store that is now in Atlanta. Very cool store- 15 acres and 3 floors of EVERYTHING you might need to furnish or decorate your house. Wow. -Rachael 

Sunday we went to Chimney Rock Park with my Mom and Dale. It was perfect weather! We must have climbed 500 stairs, and then had to go back down that many too. All our legs were sore the next day. We saw the waterfall, and spots where they filmed parts of the movie, "Last of the Mohicans". We had a nice long hike, and afterwards we went to a new Italian restaurant there by Lake Lure. I don't remember the name of it. The food was good though. I tried the Chicken in Lemon & Butter with Spaghetti- it was very tasty! -Rachael 

Last Thursday we went to the North Carolina Mountain State Fair. We rode the ferris wheel, walked a lot, and ate too much! Friday night, my (Rachael) Aunt Sandy came over and we played Yahtzee. Saturday morning, Dave played raquetball and I played my new computer game. Then in the afternoon it was off to our monthly USS Alaric meeting. Sunday morning, service at Biltmore Baptist Church, then we came home and grilled shish-kabobs! They were VERY tasty! Our Sunday evening class was cancelled, so Dave took his Sunday nap, and I spent more time playing on the computer. (But I did get the dishes done too!) Today, Dave was back at work and it was my job to do the grocery shopping for the week but it wasn't too bad. This evening, Dave is the one playing on the computer on his new Flight Simulator, and I was recording some TV shows onto DVD and knitting. I am currently working on a few projects, but tonight I added quite a few rows to the hooded baby towel that I am working on. Well, that's all for now. -Rachael 

More pictures from our trip to Carowinds. Dave and I rode the Borg Assimilator roller coaster. WOW! It was.....breath-taking! 

Here are Dave and I with a few members of the USS Alaric in front of the Borg Sphere at Carowinds. Left to right: Mike, David M., Nathan, Me and Dave. 

Everybody came up for the Apple Festival. It's great spending time with your family.

Our furniture finally got here! Ain't it pretty?? 

Here is the pair of mittens I just finished. Not bad for my first attempt! -Rachael 

Coming soon to a theatre near you: Harry Potter Saves the Whole Day. Starring Jordan Tyler Croteau as Harry. 

And here is the hat to finish the set! 

Today I made some baby mittens to go with the bootees. 

Here is a picture of the baby bootees I (Rachael) knitted tonight! They didn't take long at all and they are soooooo cute! 

Happy Birthday Lisa!!! 

Our sunflowers are blooming.

Have you ever been mining? We recently went for our first time.

These are some of the flowers in our front yard. The pansies are ones that we planted. The rest came with the house and this being our first Spring here, we've been enjoying the surprise every time another plant starts blooming! 

It's hard to see in this picture, but there are five baby birds in this nest. Two little House Finches built this nest at the top of one of the pillars on our front porch. We suspected there were eggs, because the mama bird sat up there all the time. Then we went on vacation and when we got back, there were these little babies. Now we've been back 2 weeks and all the little babies have grown up and moved out- leaving the empty nest. We had a lot of fun watching them grow. 

We had a great vacation in Orlando! We left on May 27 and came back on June 4. Even though it rained most of the time we were there and we didn't get to go to the beach (aside from a quick stop on the drive down) we still had a lot of fun. We went shopping, played miniature golf, ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, played pool, swam in the pool, and had lots of visitors! We girls even got in a day of scrapbookin' !! There were always at least 9 of us there, so we all kept each other busy. Ah, vacation....is it over already?? 

We went down to visit Lisa and Mike on Friday/Saturday. The guys and Kelly played Frisbee Golf while Lisa and I stayed at the house crocheting and knitting. Then we all went out for Mexican (yum!) and then looked at some houses that are being built. After that, we went to Sonic for some ice cream (double yum!). When we got back, Jordan took a nap while some of us played Scrabble- which Brian won! It was a fun day! Then the long drive home....