To think that five years ago, Kip and I came together and promised our lives to one another. Many of the people that follow this blog were in attendance that day. It was a warm and blustery day that ended rather cool. But I had a good time, and I hope that Kip did too! :)
I wanted to make this post as a retrospective on the past five years that I have spent with my husband. A lot has happened over the years. I didn’t link back to all previous posts I’ve made on this site, because there would have been a lot of them, so I’m just going to list the major events that have transpired as I remember them. Please be advised: there is a lot of text here!
We spent our first week together visiting Hawaii, and had a marvelous time in the sun, sand, and sea. We also enjoyed it from the air in a helicopter ride, that neither of us could fully enjoy due to motion sickness. Kip came home with a wounded foot after a snorkeling accident on the second day.
The next month Kip got to experience helping my family with a yard sale at my parents’ house, and was amazed at the crazies that come out at five in the morning and don’t allow you to fully set up the sale before they totally decimate the merchandise.
In June of 2005 we nearly got in a fight at Carowinds while waiting in line for the Borg. It was quite terrifying at the time, but now, to look back on it is pretty funny. I’m proud of my brother-in-law, who was brave enough to stand up for us when people tried to jump the line, when it wasn’t moving.
The month of July didn’t bring many exciting events, just a lot of reviews by my husband. Things like movies, video games, and radio stations. Not very exciting stuff.
August, however, was a pretty big month because we found out that our family would be increasing in number by 1. We were going to be gaining a puppy that was left on Kip’s mom’s front door step. We lost her a month later to a heart condition that was terminal. It was a very sad thing to go through. We then were able to adopt another dog, Punky, that we still have today, she turns five sometime this month.
Sometime in November Kip decided that he needed to reconnect with his stick figure days, and pulled out all his old drawings. I’m not sure I approve, but they are kinda funny. I also took up heavy-duty baking in all my free time, and created the infamous cupcake turkey army. I still can’t believe nobody wanted to eat them.
In 2006 Kip learned how to file our taxes, which was a little stressful, but a necessary evil. We had a winter Olympics in February, which made recording what we watched on tv interesting. And I went on a job interview in March.
April brought around our first wedding anniversary. We celebrated by going to the mountain house up on Roan Mountain. We enjoyed warm fires, and year old wedding cake. And I got the job that I interviewed for back in March. Kip bought a new car, the Solara.
The next couple of months are pretty mundane, with Kip talking about computer stuff, and me being excited about getting the complete collection of Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre. Kip then made a really long review of games and showed off his cubicle at Dassault. And, we became Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Kip (but it wasn’t mentioned until October).
In September we celebrated Labor Day with my parents at Chimney Rock, and Kip talked some more about computer stuff. (Have you sensed a pattern on what he talks about a lot!)
October had quite a bit going on with Kip getting excited about the upcoming release of the Nintendo Wii, I made a top 5 list of movies I would want with me if I were stranded on a desert island (in which I waxed romantic at the end), Kip created a MySpace page for some unknown reason, and we made a jack-o-lantern ghost.
The remainder of 2006 went as follows: we went to the Renaissance Fair with my parents, Kip led game time for AWANA at church one Wednesday night when there were apparently no other people available, Kip turned 25, he lost his cell phone while furniture shopping at the Hickory Furniture Mart (and later found it, Thank God), my car was broken into while I was at work and my purse with my cell phone was taken, the police called us late that night to tell us they caught the guys that did it and had my purse and cell phone in custody (again, Thank God), and Kip got a Wii for Christmas!!
2007 came in with nothing too exciting happening. Kip talked a lot about programming stuff, and video game stuff. I complained about mandatory work, that isn’t work, but menial labor. Then we went to Florida for spring break to visit the newest addition to our extended family.
Our second anniversary was spent at home that year, but I got Kip the most awesome gift ever. He was graced with his very own Kip Bobble Head.
May started with Kip complaining about filters on different programs, and me telling everybody about falling down the stairs on Easter Sunday and ruining two pairs of shoes. The month ended with Kip warning people to watch what they say in airports.
The summer had several gaming highlights including us beating Super Paper Mario, and a 5 year old impressing Kip with his gaming skills. I quit my job, and we bought our first house. Kip continued blogging about LOST (which he had done several times previously on the blog). Kip then had a crazy week in which our air conditioning went out in our new home and he got rear-ended on his way home from work. The summer ended with us announcing our “big news” and Kip sharing quite a lot of his violent stick figure art with the world.
The year ended with Kip going on a business trip to Seattle, us finding out that we were going to have a bouncing baby girl the following spring, Kip and I both had birthdays, the carbon monoxide detector went off in the house, and we decorated for our first Christmas in our very own home.
The year 2008 began with the return of American Gladiators on tv, Kip realizing that Dane Cook is not nearly as funny as he used to be, and us taking our babymoon to Atlanta. Kip also reviewed some games and determined that we would be traveling to see the full lunar eclipse in 2017.
March of 2008 brought Emma Leigh Robinson into the world and our lives. She has been a true blessing to both Kip and myself. For those of you that don’t remember, her arrival was a bit traumatic, but well worth it. Looking back, I’m thankful that we were able to learn so much with her and help prepare ourselves for her little brother, who will be joining the family in mid-July of this year.
After Emma’s birth we posted a lot about her, and Kip did some more programming stuff. For my first Mother’s Day, Kip bought me a brand new Honda CR-V, which I still love today.
Over the summer, Kip programed some more, there was stuff on video games and Facebook, Emma had her first beach trip (she didn’t like the water), and we went back to Florida. The summer Olympics took place in Beijing, and USA did a pretty good job in the swimming events. By the end of the summer, Emma had gone swimming at her Mimi’s house, and started eating “solid” foods. It also held the life changing information that Kip’s current employer was closing the Charlotte branch in six months. It was yet to be learned which layoff he would be included in.
The fall included a nice date night, and Emma going to the polls for her first voting experience. We also posted quite a few videos of Emma growing, developing, and being really cute.
January 2009 brought snow, and Emma got to go sledding with her daddy. February had Emma learning to walk, and Kip going on a mission trip to Matamoros, Mexico with our church.
March brought Kip looking for a new job since his would be ending at the end of the month, and his new use for all those business cards they gave him. Emma also had a pretty big milestone when she turned 1.
Thankfully, Kip was hired for a new job in May, so we didn’t have to go into the unknown world of unemployment for very long. Before he started, we took a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, and Emma had a blast in the lazy river at the resort.
During last summer, Kip got to experience the guy that sells meat out of a freezer strapped in the bed of his pick-up truck. We also made another trip to the beach, this time with Kip’s extended family. The summer ended with me going to the first planning meeting for my 10 year high school reunion.
In the fall and winter of 2009, Emma went trick-or-treating for the first time, and was quite the hit among the other parents and groups we passed or visited. Kip also realized that he was getting old while I helped throw a wedding shower for my little sister. My sister got married, and we had Christmas with my family at the beach. We also found out that we were expecting our second child before the end of the year.
Although 2010 has barely begun, some things have happened since it began. I was curious if anybody had any old wive’s tales that would help predict the gender of the newest Robinson, and Kip learned that teaching Emma her pronouns was going to be a challenge. We also had more snow, and therefore more snow fun with Emma and her penguin sled.
Kip quit watching the Simpsons and found out that there is another him in the world. A second winter Olympics started and ended since we’ve been married, and this time we did pretty well in downhill skiing and speed skating.
In the last month, we found out that the next Robinson will in fact be a little boy to be named Grayson Matthew Robinson, and Emma had her second birthday.
I can’t believe so much has happened or that the time has gone by so quickly. I’m so thankful for all the fun times and many blessings we have had together. I’m sure most of you found this post rather boring, but I had a lot of fun going back through all the things that have happened since we got married five years ago. The day is almost over, so I guess I’ll go to bed since I have another busy day tomorrow, and lots more to do before our next big milestone gets here.
1. When she is sniffing around exploring, and sticks her head up to sniff the air (as opposed to following a scent on the ground), she will always face directly into the wind. This makes sense, as that is where she’d be most likely to find a scent of something to hunt (or avoid).