Accalia and Cole (and, it seems, Ella) all had a very good time at the customer appreciation shindig put on by the Yankton Chamber of Commerce. Accalia and Cole rode ponies, had balloon creations made for them, did crafts (Accalia), played games, ate food, and played on the playground (Cole and Ella). I, once again, was able to see a lot of acquaintances and chat for a bit.

It's interesting to raise children in a small town where the number of family friendly events are fairly small in number but are annual events that always attract large crowds usually composed of the same people. As with all smaller towns - Yankton hovers close to 14,000, which is quite respectable for South Dakota - one tends to see certain people over and over again. There's one woman and her family of four or five boys that we see at almost every event. I've nicknamed her the "yelling lady" because that's what she seems to be doing every time I see her. Seriously, though, if there's an event she'll be there. Open houses, Democratic Party events, community events, the park - it doesn't matter. She'll invariably be there yelling at her boys to do this or don't do that.

Since we've been back in Yankton for nearly five years, we've reached that point of familiarity where we know what to expect for most things, and I appreciate that now more than I ever thought I would. There was a time when I thought it would be terribly boring to stay in one place for years and years and that moving every couple years (as we were) was a great way to live. Now, though, I find it comforting and I love to see how happy Accalia and Cole are to know that a certain event will be at a certain time and place and have this certain thing for them to do. I hear them saying, "We can do that next year when it's here!"

I think these feelings are probably an indication that Cory and I have accepted that Yankton will most likely be our home and that we aren't planning to move out of town. At one time our plan was to have Cory finish up his initial five-year contract with the State and then try to move closer to family in Minnesota. The five year mark came and went and we found that moving wasn't a possibility at the time and that we didn't have the urgency to make it a possibility. I don't think I'll ever feel that Yankton or South Dakota is as close to perfection as there is, but there's a draw to this area and so much more than meets the eye. I think it's easy with any place to see it through the eyes of someone with preconceived notions (hello stereotypes of living in a red, rural, Midwestern state), but it's so much more than that. However, that doesn't mean I'm okay with living in a town without an actual bookstore! It's so sad that I can't wait to be in Sioux Falls on Thursday and stop at Barnes & Noble to pick up a few magazines that don't seem to be available at any place here in Yankton. Oh wait, I didn't check the drug store! Hmm...

Anyway, enough on that. Accalia's swimming lessons were cut short tonight because a poor boy in Level One threw up in the pool. Tomorrow, after Cory completes his QMHP exam, we'll be taking off for Mitchell to celebrate Accalia's birthday. This time I'll try really hard to remember the camera!