Our Story...

Rachel, a recovering military (Navy) brat, was born in Bethesda, Maryland. After a short stint in Beaufort, South Carolina and Great Lakes, Illinois, her family relocated to Burlington, Iowa to enjoy her dad's retirement from the Navy. While in high school, Rachel competed in and won the Miss Burlington Pageant. This reserved her spot in the Miss Iowa Pageant, which leads on to the Miss America Pageant. Although she made a strong showing at the Miss Iowa Pageant, she didn't place high enough to make it to Miss America. After graduating from Burlington High School, Rachel moved to Ames, Iowa to attend Iowa State University to major in Animal Science (Pre-Vet). While at ISU, Rachel became involved with singing on the worship team of The Salt Company - the campus Christian ministry of Cornerstone Church. After losing interest in her major and not knowing what she really wanted to do long-term, Rachel decided to take a break from school and joined Ameri-Corps.

Chris was born and raised in Sweet Home Alabama - Killen to be exact (Antioch to be even more exact). After graduating from Brooks High School in Killen, Alabama, Chris's parents moved to Muscatine, Iowa as his dad's company had been bought out and he had been relocated with the new company. Chris remained in Alabama and played Junior College basketball at Northwest-Shoals Community College in Phil Campbell, Alabama. After two years there, including a trip to the National Tournament in Danville, Illinois in his Sophomore year, Chris was recruited by several Division II and III schools. At that point, Chris considered basketball a 'job' and decided to give it up to be able to have a 'normal' college life. He moved to Muscatine to spend the summer with his parents with every intention of returning to University of Alabama - Huntsville (UAH) to major in Computer Engineering. While in Muscatine, Chris made friends with some people at his parents' church and decided to transfer to Iowa State University instead of returning to Alabama. While at ISU, Chris got involved on the technical team of The Salt Company. After losing interest in Computer Engineering, Chris also decided to take a break from school to figure out what he really wanted to for a career. This just happened to occur at roughly the same time that Rachel joined Ameri-Corps.

Chris and Rachel met while involved in The Salt Company - Rachel sang on the worship team and Chris worked with the sound team. Rachel was headed to Charleston, South Carolina with Ameri-Corps and Chris felt inclined to help make sure she experienced everything that the 'south' had to offer. Chris and Rachel kept in contact through email and MSN Messenger. As Rachel would move to a different area of the south, Chris would share tips on the things she needed to see and experience while there.

While she was working with Ameri-Corps, Rachel's parents moved from Burlington to Marshalltown, Iowa - just 45 minutes east of Ames. Upon return to Iowa, Rachel moved in with her parents in Marshalltown. Since Chris and Rachel had spent so much time communicating via email over the previous 10 months, once they lived so 'close' to each other, they were willing and able to spend more face-to-face time with each other. Their first 'event' together involved Chris flying them to northeast Iowa to visit their mutual friend Holly. After a few more get-togethers with each other, it was evident that more than an email friendship had developed. The rest, as they say, is history . . .

They were married on December 17th, 2005 in Muscatine, Iowa. After Chris spent 3 years working for Van Diest Supply Company applying agricultural chemicals and fertilizers, Chris decided it was time to return to school to be able to get a job that pays more for fewer hours away from home. At the same time, Rachel had spent 2-3 years working with the YMCA Before/After School Program. She became the program director of the Bondurant, Iowa location, but the pay still wasn't good enough to make it into a career. She also decided to return to school to earn a higher degree. Rachel and Chris are both currently enrolled back at ISU. Chris is double-majoring in Management Information Systems (MIS) and Operations Supply Chain Managment (OSCM). Rachel is working toward a major in History with a minor in Political Science. She is also taking classes to earn her teacher licensure for middle school. After graduation (December 2009 for Chris and May 2010 for Rachel), they are both looking forward to moving somewhere south where winters aren't quite so long and depressing.

In their free time between classes and work (Chris currently works as a part-time driver for CyRide and an IT Assistant for the Iowa Small Business Development center; Rachel works for ACE Hardware in Boone), Chris and Rachel enjoy traveling - usually by air, as Chris has his Private Pilot Certificate. They are also getting involved in bike riding (peddle-type, not vroom-vroom type). Chris recently purchased a Trek 1.5 road bike to keep up with Rachel on her Trek 1000. They are looking forward to participating in at least a portion of RAGBRAI this summer.

You can keep up with our up-to-date goings-on by checking the top - "Newest Stuff". This will show you any pages that we might have updated or any new blog articles Rachel may have written.

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Chris and Rachel