Dominic Gibson

When we were younger, we lived in Sioux Falls SD. When there would be a lot of snow, we would go to the parking lots of hotels and make igloos out of the snow piles created form the plows. It was our own little ice kingdom. A place to be whatever and whoever we wanted to be, at least until the ice melted.

Another memory I have of us is kayaking on the lower level lake of Beck Lake in Cody WY. We found a small creek like opening in the bank and we paddled ourselves in there. Not too long after getting into this creek, the water level began to drop and we could feel the bottom of the creek on the bottom of our kayaks. We did the whole lean forward and scoot over and over again until we got our selves turned around enough to get out. We even had to use our paddles a few times to push off of the bank to give us a boost. Before the water got too shallow, we could see fish along the bank. There were schools of them, and they didn't seem to care that we were there. It was kind of magical. We made it out just fine, but it was definitely a moment I will never forget.

One of my happiest memories was when Dominic and Jake were doing the Monster Lake challenge together. They were both so excited and happy! Ready to catch the biggest fish! I was so proud of both of my son in laws ❤ Their smiles that day still make me smile!

We have so many incredible memories but I will never forget how special our first vacation was together. It was a trip full of firsts. Your first time flying, first time visiting the ocean, first time at an arcade, first time being so far away from home, and we celebrated our very first anniversary. We built sand castles and endlessly looked for shells on the beach since it was too cold to swim. We played games in the arcade for hours and ate junk food on the boardwalk when we weren’t eating seafood, we went back to the same sushi restaurant I think 3 times during that trip, we were obsessed. And for lunches we had to get our favorite shrimp tacos from The Purple Parrot. Ice cream was also necessary after each meal. We had fun choosing a different weird flavor each time. The most special moments were in between, just enjoying each other and being together, we were inseparable. We enjoyed looking through the shops to find the perfect jar to bring home a piece of the beach with us. We filled it with sand and our newly found shells, we even brought home a horseshoe crab leg. We still have that same jar in our home almost 10 years later. Even though we had a super early flight the next day, on our last night there, we decided to sneak out on our own after midnight to go to the beach one last time to look for ghost crabs. We had looked up the best times to find them and when they migrated so we had to give it a shot. We stumbled around in the dark with just our phone lights on the hunt. I think we had found about 6 or 7 when it began to downpour on us. We got soaked running back to the house about two blocks away but we didn’t care we laughed the whole time. Every adventure no matter how small felt so magical with you. We didn’t want to go home and wanted to stay in that happy space forever. We even talked a lot about moving there for years to come but couldn’t give up our mountains and loved being close to family. I wish there was a reel somewhere of all of our happiest memories to watch back and reminisce, but even the bits and pieces will play in my mind forever.

I think what I will remember and miss the most, is how Dominic looked our daughter. Every parent should be so lucky. Theirs is a true love story. First and forever love