So it's been just over a year since we moved back to my hometown of Vermillion, South Dakota from Westminster, Colorado. I am beyond thankful we made the decision to move here, to build a life here, raise our boys here, and be closer to my family and I want to take a look back at our first year! Pictures are in no particular order- just a bunch of my favorites from the year.
When we moved last year, I had a job lined up with a start date of June 1 at the USD Foundation. To say that I hit the jackpot with this job would be a huge understatement. I have fantastic coworkers, some of which have turned into great friends. I have a lot of freedom to make decisions and be creative in finding solutions for the organization and it's been challenging and incredibly rewarding.
Dennis was on the job hunt when we moved and after a couple of months home with Duke, he started a job at a Verizon store in a nearby town. He worked there for a couple of months before finding a job in town at Vermillion Ford. He is so much happier with the job and with working in town. A 25 minute commute wasn't much compared to what we had in Colorado, but a 2 minute commute is still way better! He's in his second summer of golf league and really enjoyed pool league last winter.
Duke has been at daycare since last August and he seriously loves it. The smile on his face when I pick him up every day is priceless and I love the fact that he can literally RUN into my arms now. A quick hug for me is quickly followed by him begging for Smarties...all the kids get a little treat at the end of the day and I think most parents would agree that we aren't sure if the kids are more excited for us or the treats. Either way, I'll take the excitement. I love that he is getting time to socialize with other kids and play his heart out. His rosy cheeks are an indication that he's been running around outside like a wild man nearly every day and I just know he will be thrilled to welcome his little brother to the mix in a couple weeks.
Theo has only been living the small town life for 11 weeks but I have no doubt that he LOVES almost daily walks downtown with me for a coffee fix and some fresh air. He and Duke get tons of quality time with my parents and their Auntie Michelle, Uncle Kyle, and cousins. I love getting to spend so much time with my sweet nieces (and sister and brother in law of course!)... I've gotten to go to school events, music class, and just watch them grow up. Priceless. Duke takes full advantage of access to the farm and 'ows' {cows} and is nearly impossible to get inside whenever we go see my parents. He immediately puts both hands up in the air and waves and says HI to his cows when we get to the farm, and that's only after "mooing" the entire drive out there.
We love our house and our landlord is pretty great {thanks Dad!}. Capone loves constant access to the backyard so he can bark at anyone that dare walk within a 1 block radius of our house. Sorry neighbors! We are trying to take full advantage of what our little town has to offer including yummy restaurants and cute shops.
Theo and I walked downtown earlier this week for some coffee and I snagged this adorable dress at the Blue Monarch and this cute pillow case for Duke from Nook n Cranny. I go to a couple of my favorite coffee shops way more often than I should but supporting local businesses is a great excuse!
The new pool recently opened and we went to check it out last weekend- I cannot wait to get a lot of use out of it this summer! Duke pretty much just ate snacks and yelled and pointed at people so I'm pretty sure he's destined to be a lifeguard someday, but Theo was comfortable with me in the lazy river and snoozed his way around a few laps. I took zero pictures that day, so here's a flash back to the pool last year!
All in all, we are able to do so much more which might seem ironic to people since we live in a much smaller place but we have more time and more money to actually enjoy life now that we don't live in such a crowded area. We love all of the sporting events the university offers and fun downtown events throughout the summer. I am forever thankful we decided to take this leap- I know we will be able to offer the boys so much more than we could've in a bigger city and I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for us!
-T-
