Mother's Day 1997

Hard to believe-12 years ago.

Kacie's Ocean City Landmark

As you come across the bridge and first enter Ocean City, Md., the first thing to capture your attention is the huge marlin sculpture in the center of the fountain. Jeff and I scattered Kacie's ashes in this fountain so that you'll always think of her when arriving at her favorite resort.

Photo Booth

My guess is that these were taken in a booth on the boardwalk at Ocean City. Anyone know for sure?

The Story Cottage

Everyone knows that Kacie liked to hear or tell a great story. As she was growing up, I would get out this cottage at her bedtime and she and I would make up some great stories about the old man and little girl that lived inside. We had great stories about each room in the cottage and I think this really helped her to tell a good yarn later in life.

Photo booth sketch

Here is a picture from one of those photo booth's that sketches your picture. I guess I was trying to look scary or something and Kacie looks amazing as usual. Look in the bottom right corner of the picture, you might recognize the date "5/21/03." Exactly three years before we got married. I just noticed this the other day.

Also, Gary asked if I would post a picture of my neighborhood on this site. I like to take runs and walks along the fields and think about Kacie.

remembering Kacie

Hi, hope everyone is doing well.

If you have time, it would be great to see a favorite pic or favorite
memory you had with kacie. that would be a great mothers day gift!
Have a PB cup sunday or do something else fun in her memory.

Gary and I were thinking when you all have a weekend to spare, you might
want to come visit south kakalaki for the weekend. somebody try to coordinate this and let us know.

love ya, Nancy

Video Dream

I had this dream early this morning.

I walked into a crowded room and Kacie was there, as an adult, filming people with my new Nikon Coolpix digital camera. I watched her and noticed that she was simply aiming the camera at her subjects and not using the viewing screen . She explained that she didn't like using the viewer and preferred her way. She then asked me how to remove the memory chip from the camera and I told her that I had no idea and she disappeared.

kacie's t-shirt collection

As we all know Kacie loved t-shirts. She would splurge on expensive teeshirts just for the pure softness of the material... it almost was a worn in feeling. she loved tee-shirts that were made of really thin material. she also loved finding ironic t-shirts in thrift stores and she liked band tees. I know Gary saved all of her "baltimore" tees among others.  Gary, Maybe the next post you could make could be photos or a video of Kacie's t-shirt collection. I would like that. :) Thanks 

Kacie's High School and Graduation-The School

A big school on a little island

Kacie's High School and Graduation-The Stadium

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Kacie's High School and Graduation

Physical proof of graduation

Kacie's Island Home

This is where she lived before moving to Baltimore.

A Video Tour Of Kacie's Room

Nice and messy, just the way she would like it.

Kacie's Ashes at Harbortown, Hilton Head Island

Her ashes were scattered around the top of the lighthouse.

Kacie's Ashes At Folly Inlet, Hilton Head Island

She liked coming to this spot to take walks and run the dogs.

Kacie Speaks To Us Again

These messages were left on our phone the week before she left us.

new posts...

Gary and Nancy,

I am very excited to see all your new postings with your new digital camera. Keep 'em coming. 

love, natalie

ps. this photo was taken on kacie's bachelorette party. the girl in the middle is our friend, kim.

A lamp, pottery, and paintings

Does anyone know where Kacie got the lamp? It has Saudi Arabia engraved on the top of it.

Shell Shop

I had this dream early this morning.

Kacie took me to a sea shell shop somewhere outside of Ocean City where a friend of hers was working. It was outdoors and it was a very sunny day. There was a sign that said Removal Sea Shell Shop. I asked Kacie why it was called Removal and she said it was because the shells had been removed from the ocean. I noticed a few shells that I wanted for our house and then Kacie walked over to her friend working there as a salesman and he looked liked Vince.

Kacie's Life Story As Only She Could Write It

Kacie's Dog- Gus The Surf Pug

Thought you might like to see how Gus is doing. Kacie and Jeff brought him to us eight years ago. He has adjusted well to island life and enjoys digging holes on the beach.

A Few More

I will post a lot more but I'm just playing with it now.

A Sampling Of Kacie's Life- Our First Attempt

Unlimited Possibilites For Kacie's Website

Nancy and I are going to get a digital camera this weekend so that I can photograph things and places that relate to Kacie's life and put them on her website. We have thousands of her personal items from her birth, childhood, teen years and adult years. Her bedroom is just full with toys, pictures, music, art, diaries, clothes, schoolwork, etc. that really tell her life story. I also plan to photograph her favorite places here on the island and the areas where I've scattered her ashes. My rough plan is to put maybe a dozen pictures on the site each week with the hope that these will stir some memories that we can comment on. There is enough material to keep the site going for many years. Chronological order would be just about impossible because of the amount of material. A video of her room is a possibility.

I need ideas. What would you like to see most of all? Where do I begin?

Old Kacie picture

Here is a picture of Kacie when she first got her car. I think Gary took this picture the first day she got her first carolla. I remember telling Kacie I really liked the picture so she framed it and gave it to me. She also left a message on the back. She used to call me monkey back in the day.

Kacie's Book Club Returns- Chapter 7

No wonder Kacie liked Atlas Shrugged so much. This chapter is awesome. Dagny and Henry show what they're really made of in this chapter. Henry's meeting with Dr. Potter and Dagny's meeting with Dr. Stadler really give us a idea of the direction that politicians and businessmen were headed in and how a lot of people are thinking in our day.

The chapter leaves us with a couple of questions. Is there really a man named John Galt? And what is Francisco up to? It doesn't seem possible that he could turn down Dagny's request for help so he must be up to something. It seems strange that he would be irritated what he found out that Dagny's new venture would be called the John Galt Line.

Ayn Rand's genius really is apparent in this chapter. She draws a clear line between the liberals and the conservatives and pulls us into the debate.

another kacie original

   this is a small collage Kacie made me for my birthday. I think I talked about it at some point earlier in the blog. She made this for me when she was living in San Antonio and sent it in the mail to me. It was one of the first times in years she wasn't with me on my birthday. I keep this collage up on a bookshelf that I have her picture, a seahorse painting i did, and an ocean city souvenir. I am not sure what book the text is from but it is something about egypt. It also sounds like it is talking about life in general ... "life giving elements"... "change of the seasons"

Kacie painting

I told Gary that I would post a picture of the painting that Kacie painted for me. I think she gave it to me when we were both living in Baltimore, maybe 2003? She might have given this to me when we were in SC but I am not sure. The painting sits on top of the nice credenza table that Kacie won at Natalie's work party along with some other framed Kacie pics.

Recordings

We have about six of Kacie's messages on our land phone along with a message from Jeff in Iraq telling us that he was on his way to the hospital. I like to hear Kacie's voice so I listen to them on a regular basis in her room. I plan to eventually have the messages put on a cd. One of them is from 6:22 pm on her last night of consciousness. She was obviously very intoxicated that early in the evening.

Last night, I dreamed that I was listening to these recordings and Nancy was in the room with me. Kacie began to talk with me over the phone and I told Nancy what was happening and she was very excited but wouldn't come near the phone. Kacie and I talked for a while and she seemed very happy but then I asked her if she had a job and she stopped talking. There was silence for a while and then I asked her how she planned to make money and I lost the connection.

yoga with Kacie and Wai Lana

back in the days of VHS.... Kacie and I use to do Wai Lana Yoga. It was a VHS tape I got at Barnes and Noble or soemthing a long time ago. We would put the tape on and Wai Lana would kick our butts with some yoga. The tape was over an hour long and at some point we would always end up hysterically laughing because of some really strange position we would have to do that required us facing each other and we wouldn't be able to stop laughing. Wai Lana is from Hawaii and her voice almost sounds like a cartoon so we would always make fun of her too. In any case, I lost the tape a long time ago when I gave away my VCR. Today I was at the Good Will thirft store by my house. I found a few pieces of clothes and was at the register paying. Then behind the register and they had a whole stack of DVD'S and there was an unopened Wai Lana DVD. I had to buy it. I haven't popped it in yet but I am sure it is going to kick my butt again. 

a few more pictures

I wanted to post the other side of the camera shots from River Road. Also, a photo of a crazy sandwich Larissa ate at the Cheesecake Factory!

awful :(

I had an awful kacie dream today when I took a nap. It was very short, but very intense...and unfortunately, very upsetting.

Basically, all that happened was that I opened a door...i think it was the front door of a house and I was inside...and the person on the other side of the door was Kacie, and when i saw her I just started screaming, because i knew she shouldn't be there. and she was so confused and just kept saying "rissy, what's wrong?" but I just kept screaming.

:(

Dunkin Donuts cup

This morning I woke up late and ran to D n D before work. I'd been sitting at my desk for a few minutes and looked at my cup. It made me smile because it made me think of all the lip gloss stained cups in Kacie's car. Hope it makes you guys smile too.

sunday, march 15th

 amanda came to baltimore. it was kind of a rainy day :( we went to river road and snapped some photos. Larissa was the photographer.

The Same Old Dream

In Kacie's memory, I haven't had a drink of any type of alcoholic beverage in about six months. As I said before, alcohol contributed to Kacie's death and if I had known that she had had a problem I would have helped her to quit cold turkey and never drink again. I'm just doing what I would have wanted of her.

In the last couple of months, I keep having the same old dream. I'm with friends and someone gives me a beer or a glass of wine and I take a sip but suddenly realize that I made a promise to myself and Kacie. I get a terrible nausiated feeling in my stomach and feelings of guilt that cause me to wake up.

And The Winner Is........

We can't keep you all in suspense any longer.

Our new boat will be called Sweetpea. The name will appear on each side of the boat with a ship's wheel next to it.

Boating around Hilton Head Island will never be the same.

Medieval Times

I am finally posting this photo that I found in my things. Natalie, if you want it, I can mail it to you.

The date on the bottom that is cut out of the pic is September 15, 2005.

Name The Boat Contest

Beebs and I bought a little boat with a big motor. We should get delivery within the next week.

We have a problem. What should we name it? I'd like to have the name painted on both sides and we want a name that will give us a happy memory of Kacie.

Possibilites so far are- Sweetpea, O.C., Stinkpot, and K&J. Any suggestions? Maybe the name of a favorite food, place, or person?

Thanks

I just want to thank everyone for visiting her favorite spots and doing her favorite things. The pictures were great and I especially enjoyed the initials in the rock and the river scene. That will always be a destination for me when I visit Baltimore. Hopefully, the initials on the jetty are as well preserved.

My Favorite Blog

I reviewed all of the blogs on Kacie's website to pick my favorite-one that really gives the best idea of what Kacie was all about and the winner is-

Natalie's "In Response To A Difficult Project"

The many jobs that she had and the places that she lived said it all.

Thanks

Dear Jeff, Natalie, Vincent, Larissa, Amanda,

Thank you, thank you, thank you
for the beautiful flowers you sent us. We received
them yesterday afternoon. The rose bouquet and yellow daffodil bouquet were just beautiful. It really means more than you will ever know.

It sounds like all of you had such a great day yesterday. We got to talk to Jeff. We loved seeing all the pictures. You guys didnt miss a spot that she loved. Kacie would have been so proud. We ended up having dinner at Delvechios an italian restaurant here that kacie loved. We had the little garlic rolls that she always ordered and gary had the grilled vegetable salad that she liked. We even sat in the same booth. There's no Friendly's here, so i had a peanut butter cup sundae at Cold Cremery here.

It was a difficult day but somehow it helped doing the things she loved and of course hearing from you guys and how you spent your day. You also brightened Mimi's day, she loved seeing you and she told me about the soda. THANKS!!