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! 

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