When Dark Clouds of Trouble Hang O'er Us

I have a LOT of great things to write about! But I have to write chronologically. So you'll just have to wait to hear about my sister coming home(!), my brother leaving, our awesome trip to Black Butte, and our summer.

For my AZ friends who didn't know about it, Colorado Springs had a terrible fire right when I visited. It was so scary and so sad. Luckily, we were not threatened like our friends and neighbors were because we were across the freeway from the fire. But we could see it! And many people we know were evacuated, some even lost their homes. 

I first noticed the fire when it looked like this-

But I wasn't worried because 1, Colorado has a lot of fires that don't become that serious, or are controlled and 2, it was near the Air Force Academy so I wondered if it was a drill because they are always having fake-explosions that we can see the smoke from. 

But then it grew and grew and grew and grew...

Then the sky turned black, and all my pictures looked like it was stormy, but on the edge of the sky, you could see that it was smoke, not clouds! (Below)

That evening, the fire jumped the ridge, and came down onto the houses of Colorado Springs. We could see the flames! And we would watch houses catch on fire and a huge pillar of fire would mean another house lost. My parents had friends stay at our house who did not know if one of the pillars of fire was their home. Very scary!

My phone could even pick up the flames in the night, and it can never capture anything at night...

All the hotels, including my dad's, were full. My dad even had people sleeping on the floor in the conference center because they had no place to stay. It was crazy!

I am so grateful we were just a couple of miles away that our home was okay. But my heart hurts for those who were not as lucky. They are still in my prayers. 

Ashley blowing fire....

This was a picture of my beloved Garden of the Gods. Not so funny then, but my brother found this on facebook and commented, "We found love in a hopeless place" after the song. Hahaha.

 This was kind of funny too- this is what we felt like, especially since the Colorado Springs fire was only one of a couple in the state!

But in all seriousness, it was very traumatic for Colorado Springs. 1000 firefighters came to fight it. 347 homes burned. (The pictures above were ones I took. Here are some from the internet.)

God bless Colorado!!

Beginning the Summer of '12

So we have been doing things that are slightly more exciting than reorganizing the fridge, so I thought I'd update the www. 

Bobby done with his first year of medical school! And he passed with flying colors- straight A's!!! He has been busy doing a lot of relaxing but he left on Sunday for boot camp in San Antonio. I won't see him again until July 24th. If I can make it until then. The Rampton home is quite lonely without him but I'm grateful for his sacrifice for our family.

He buzzed his hair before he left, but they said it was still too long, so he shaved it. Here is a picture. Isn't he cute in his uniform???? His head is not normally so pointy...

ALSO, nbd, we celebrated our one year anniversary!!!!!! I can't believe it!!! This year has been the most wonderful. I LOVE being Mrs. Robert Rampton. We have had so much fun, grown deeper in love, started a new life together, made good friends, accomplished big things, come to know each other better, developed our common interests, learned to live with the opposite gender, experienced new things, and have made so many memories! It was the best decision I've ever made and we are so happy.

We celebrated by going to a resort in Scottsdale for a night. The hotel was great! We had a fun room with a great view. We lounged at the two pools, got breakfast and pina coladas at the hotel, played tennis/ volleyball/ golf, ate at a gorgeous lake-side restaurant and swung in a hammock. We were totally spoiled. Thanks so much for the hook-up, dad!!

Some other fun things we've been doing-

Cliff Diving!

 

Visited the Botanical Gardens with the Cochrans.

Doesn't Bobby look huge in this picture??

Music in May concerts.

Going on dates- especially on our new tandem bike!

We got into Wet and Wild for free with the Bennions!

(But didn't want to bring our camera :( )

Fishing with the Omans.

 

Lots of pool time.

 

As for me, I've been watching A LOT of kids. Here are just some-

And I started nursing school! I have this kind of feeling...

Life is going to get crazy soon! 

But this girl gets home in 6 days and I could not be more excited!

Next update will be a happy update. Life is so good.

Good luck, Kylee!

Speaking of Inventions

So I just did something that I think may have been an ingenious idea.

I really should of taken BEFORE and after pictures, but imagine your sharing-with-6-roommates fridge in college again. That is what ours looked like!

[I bought a lot of food lately because a WINCO opened near our home and I love it]

But now our fridge looks like this!

Because the fridge doors look like this...

Where are the condiments, you may ask?

When I open my fridge I need to be reminded of the leftovers I need to use, and especially the fruits and veggies I need to use. I do not want to see the condiments! I know they're there. So wal-lah! I think it'll be a success, if I can convince Bobby it's a good idea. I'm going to not tell him and just let him figure it out. Haha. Poor guy, I'm always changing things around in the kitchen, he never knows where anything is.

Which reminds me of another great invention...

I know they're huge (2.5 gallons each!). But it'll remind me to bake from scratch more often. AND they will count as food storage, right?

So much better than the bags you buy them in! Thanks to their inventor!

I'm a Nerd

So. Deep down inside of me, I have this really nerdy, dork appreciative, SciFi-loving side of me. And I am grateful for all those geeks out there who are truly themselves, who inspire "thine own self (to be) true" and to memorize Harry Potter spells so I can use them in every day life (CONFUNDUS!), or memorize a ton of digits in pi, or rent books from the library about aliens, or take IT classes at school, or talk in an accent at the grocery store check out line or in a pretend language on the phone to no one, or to talk on the phone to no one about something incredible you've just done like, "No grandma, I'm back in America now...Yes I'll pick you up in my plane..." when you know that people are listening....See what I mean??


Here are some nerdish things I'd like to share.
"The long wait is over, as Electrolux has finally unveiled their Bio Robot Refrigerator concept. Designed by Yuriy Dmitriev, the fridge works on the principle of biopolymer, so no more flying drawers now. The biopolymer gel helps to keep all the food items cool through luminescence. The non-sticky gel surrounds the food and the strong surface tension of the gel helps to build separate pod for them. The fridge offers plenty of space to hold your eatables without mixing the odor. It is also capable of being placed horizontally, vertically or even on the ceiling, so adaptable to any space easily. It is four times smaller than other fridge, and the volume is used as efficiently as possible. Amazing concept, it’s the futuristic refrigerator." -Pinterest

How about this alarm clock which you have to aim at to turn off? Wishlist.I kind of want to wear this swimsuit. Especially at a Cruise, or San Lagos or somewhere classy.

And who is excited for this???

Some of my fondest memories have been roommate competitions for using big vocabulary words on dates, or playing quidditch (so fun! anyone interested?), reading Harry Potter for the first time (sigh...)


That's all for now. May the force be with you.

Still Young at Heart

This week we celebrated Bobby's 25th! Can you believe he's a fourth a century old???

Bobby is the sunshine of my life. The apple of my eye. The yin to my yang. I couldn't imagine being happy without him. Our future is so bright together and it is pure bliss to think of being with him forever. I married the most handsome, funniest, hard-working, playful, genuinely good person I know. And won't he be the best dad? He makes me want to be better. He makes me feel pretty and loved. He always apologizes first. And I am so grateful for him!

Bobby is also very funny. After saying those nice things about him, hopefully he won't mind me sharing some unique moments that you can only experience after living with Bobby Rampton...

The other day, while getting ready for church, he had the song "Two little speckled frogs, sitting on a speckled log..." stuck in his head for some reason. He sang it over and over again, but to my surprise, when he got bored of it he began singing it in different accents! French was a favorite. Low voices. High voices. I heard his entire repertoire, I believe.

One afternoon, while wearing pants and a shirt, Bobby asked me, "Is that a one piece you're wearing?" It wasn't. Obviously. They weren't even the same color?

While pulling clothes out of the washer, I found not one but two latex gloves full of water. I kept going and found not one, not two but three scalpels! In our laundry!

A friend asked me if Bobby would be the angel in our ward Christmas party. I texted him, but he didn't answer, so I just told her yes. Mistake. He later responded "Angles are girls. No." Long story short, it was quite a rift in our marriage. And he did not act in the play this year.

Bobby had to run back to the library one night after dinner. So as I was clearing the table I found some change. A tip, perhaps?

Usually after church we bid our kiddos goodbye and meet halfway between our classrooms. Well last Sunday I circled the church and no sign of him. Then again and again. 19 minutes after the hour, when everyone had gone home, I found him. He had forgotten to tell me he had a meeting.

We were playing nertz on his birthday and decided to play best out of 3. I won. He proposed best out of 5. I won again. He wanted to play best out of 7. I won again. Best out of 9? Bobby won 5 straight games! And beat me best out of 9. Then he was done playing.

He broke his glasses while helping a friend move. Strangely, our prescriptions are really similar! So he wears my extra glasses all the time. Even to school. Another thing I love about him is that he doesn't really care what anyone thinks.

Bobby is really good with money. So we had to make a stop at Fry's to pick up some Midol. And he found the Midol facebook page. If you "liked" it, you'd get a coupon. So he did. You can find it on his facebook. Remember what I said about not caring what other people think?

This is why I married him.

Sure love you, Robert Wesley Henderson.

Christmas. 2011. New Years.

Separate flights :( Sweet homecoming. Snow but no snowmen. CPK with the girls. Tradition. Hours of catching up. Resolution to stay in touch better. Bobby came in early! Romance in the airport :) High school friends party. Welcome back from Lithuania, Jo! Huge snowstorm. Bobby in minor snow accident. Basketball with McConkie. Shovel sidewalk. Test snowmobiles. Help set up a reception. Ice skating double date. Bruises. Soul surfer. Hearts. Chelsea unseen :/ Christmas Eve! Deliver news of Ukraine. Ted Montanas. Gingerbread house. Pajamas. Lots of games. Bingo. Christmas morning. New addition to stairs tradition. Grill, tandum bike, cooling rack, Whoonu, cards, gift certificates, necklace, mustache erasers, hat, gum, candy. JoJo's homecoming. Skype our favorite missionary!! Rocky mountain snowmobiling. Jumps. Mexican food. Stuck in powder. AFA football. Nertz. Airport. Shop for wedding. Bobby basketball. Airport again. Puppy and Lindsey. New resume. BYU wins! Basketball. Fredell family. Flight home. Trade seats to sit together. Home at 9:00 PM. Friends over at 9:30 PM. Lots of games. Happy 2012!!!!! Pictures on Facebook.