Painted Pottery

These are the bowls that Maggie and I painted when I went to visit her. Mine is on the left, hers is on the right. Here is another picture of mine: 

Zoo and Other Adventures

A few weekends ago we traveled down to Columbia and went to the Riverbanks Zoo with my Dad, and Sarah, Greg & Delilah. It was a nice day with a good breeze, so we didn't get too hot. We saw lots of animals, and played around a little (see pictures). That was on a Saturday. On the following Monday, Dave flew off to Massachussetts on yet another "business trip". While he was gone, I went and spent a few days at Maggie's. We had fun shopping around, we painted some pottery (I'll have to post that picture later), and we played Donkey Konga 2 and Mario Karts 2, the second of which I apparently STINK at, and I believe I hold the record for consecutive last place finishes! I NEVER got to cross the finish line!! Oh well.
We've been real busy since then too, doing various things including fixing computers, moving furniture, having overnight guests, helping people with their knitting, etc. There were two baby showers in there somewhere, and there's a wedding shower coming up next weekend. I'm sure I'm leaving some things out.
Oh, I just received news that I am to receive some sort of award at the next Starfleet meeting- not sure what it is for, but I'll post it later.
I guess that is all I have to say for now. -Rachael 

Have you ever...

Jeep all the way...Eric used to show us fun places to take our Jeeps.

What's going on....

This picture is of one of the woodpeckers that comes to our feeder. We got a little excited because, using the pictures from our bird book, we identified it (from its bright orange color) as a golden-fronted woodpecker, which should be in Texas! However, after sending the picture to the local chapter of the National Audubon Society, we were told it is a female red-bellied woodpecker. Ah well, they are still fun to watch. And she is not alone! We have also had a downy woodpecker, a piliated woodpecker and a male red-bellied woodpecker at our feeder, along with the cardinals, chickadees, titmice, carolina wrens, goldfinches, house finches, nuthatch, and junko....I'm sure I'm forgetting somebody...
Anyway, Dave has been gone a lot this month- first to Germany and England, then to Augusta, GA. In a couple weeks, he has to be up in Massachussetts for a few days. This is a lot of travel all of a sudden!
The weather is starting to get nice, and so today (Saturday) we headed out into the yard and Dave did some ground-leveling, while I pulled some weeds. We got a bunch of seeds, and pretty soon we'll be planting some tomatoes, spaghetti squash, Marigolds, Canterbury Bells, Rock Cress, Lavender, Alyssum, and Chinese Lanterns. We may even throw in a sunflower or two.
I've been taking my doctor's advice and drinking more so I can avoid another kidney stone. He also told me to get some citrus fruits in my diet, so today I made some lemonade "from scratch". It's a little tart, but very good.
In two weeks, we'll be heading down to Columbia to go to the Zoo with Dad. I'm lloking forward to it. I hope I remember to take the sunscreen! Dave played golf yesterday afternoon and came home with a bright red face. He'll have to wear his hat next time!
Well, I guess that's all for now. We'll have plenty to add later...
-Rachael 

Out of the Country

Dave has been abroad again! He left March 7 to spend some time in snowy Germany (1st 5 pics) and then flew over to England for a couple days (last 4 pics). He was over there for 2 weeks altogether. While he was gone, I spent a week with Lisa & Mike down in Georgia, then came home and had a 3 day "Dude Ranch" at the house for Benjamin, Andrew and Courtney. We had a blast! After Dave got home, it took him about a week to get over the jet lag. Tuesday, he left for Augusta, and he's getting back today. In a couple more weeks he'll have to head up north. He's getting to be quite the traveler! I'll have to talk him into taking me with him sometime.
It would take up too much space to list everything else we've been doing, but it seems we always have SOMETHING going....and we're ready for a vacation!! -Rachael 

Spring is here

Rachael and I saw these baby goats at the Nature Center last year. We are planning a trip to the Columbia zoo in April.

Can you play the Bongos?

Rachael shows mom(Diane) how much fun it is to play the bongos. I know...I'm working on the coffee table, stay tuned.

Have you ever tried Frisbee Golf?

Veritas Dinner Theatre

Here is the table I did for the Veritas Christian Academy Dinner Theatre. Their theme this year was "Western". 

Gilbert Carlson does magic

Click here to watch Gil do a magic trick!

This is Gil and Linda Carlson, my parents. They are currently living in St Louis while working with World Impact. I have been posting family videos since google started letting you and his magic video is the most popular of the ones I have submitted. Over 1100 people have watched it and 7 have saved it to their computer. See what you think.

Updating

I just checked, and we haven't taken any pictures since Christmas! It isn't for lack of being busy though. About a week after our return from St. Louis, I had a kidney stone decide it wanted to depart from me. What a pain- literally! Dave took very good care of me, and after SIX LONG DAYS I was back to normal.
Then, my cousin Aimee had her baby- a little boy. They named him Marshall Nealand Pettit. I've seens pictures and he is a cute little guy. I subbed at the hospital a few days for my Aunt, who had to go and see her first grandchild!
We missed going to Superbowl at Maggie's this year because I was sick (again) and even still have some chest congestion and a nasty cough. Instead we sat at home, watched a movie, played Gamecube and ate whatever was in the house (which wasn't much at that point....end of the week).
Sarah (my sister) and her little girl Delilah stayed with us a couple nights, Feb 6 & 7. That was fun. We made Shepherd's Pie, and Sarah tried a dessert from one of her Parent's magazines. That didn't turn out so well. Imagine a sugary ball of sugar-covered sugar. That's what it tasted like...with a hint of raspberry.
The February Star Trek meeting got cancelled because of snow. Yes, snow. Only a little though. Maybe half an inch and it didn't even last all day. All the same, we saw 3 snowmen- very small snowmen- on our way to church this morning.
We should have some pictures soon, since my birthday is on Friday, and then Saturday I am hosting a table at the Veritas Christian Academy Dinner Theatre. The theme this year is "Western" and my plan is to make a little chuck-wagon as the centerpiece. I'll put pictures of the table on when we get it set on Saturday.
That's pretty much all. I've also been knitting some more stuff- just more dishcloths and scrubbies, and maybe a hat (which I should be finishing tomorrow or the next day). Dave has been working on building us a "Shoji" style coffee table for the living room and is near completion on that. I'm excited to see the finished product! He's also got some little updating picture things on our wall computer. We just watched Old Faithful erupt. Pretty cool.
I guess that is about all for now. Just thought we should update the blog, since we haven't in a while. -Rachael

Christmas at our house

Before we left for St.Louis, we spent Christmas day with my Mom, Dale, Sarah, Greg and Delilah at our house. We cooked a big 'ol meal and had a lot of fun. Delilah was a great little helper in passing out presents (bottom right) and in helping other people use their new stuff- That's her with with her Gramma under a an ironing board cover...tee hee. We had fun exchanging gifts, and Delilah loved her new talking Frank and Buster and her new baby doll. Oh yeah...bottom left is Dave with his gee-haw whimmy-diddle. He was the only one that could get it to work! 

We got culture, how 'bout you?

These are some pictures from our visit to the Cathedral Basilica of St.Louis. Almost the entire ceiling (and there was a lot of it) was covered in mosaic made up of 1/2 inch square tiles. It is amazing to think of all the work that went into creating it. The windows were also beautiful (bottom left). The Pope visited the Basilica in January, 1999. 

We got Culture, Yes we do!

Here are some of the things we saw when we visited the St.Louis Art museum. The picture in the middle is none other than St. Louis himself! 

St. Louis

We left the day after Christmas, and went to spend a week in St.Louis in order to have some holiday time with the Carlsons (and Croteaus, and one soon to be Carlson...). This is a picture of all us girls- L to R: Lisa, Mom/Linda, Rachael (me!), Christie, and Kelly. We had a lot of fun together with everyone. We played games, crafted, chatted and ate A LOT of really good food! (which is why we're all dieting this week...) It was nice to see everyone, and Dave and I talked about our week on the trip home, which made the time in the car seem to pass a little faster. -Rachael 

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!