Kacie Memories

Annual Kacie Reunion

Kacie's Jetty At Dawn

Kacie's O.C.

Kacie's O.C.

Kacie's O.C.

Kacie's Jetty At Dawn

Kacie's Jetty At Dawn

A Visit To Mimi

Built to Spill

Hi Everyone,

An old friend of mine and Kacie's, Ian, recently sent me this email about a memory he had of Kacie. I asked him if it was okay if I could share it on here because I thought you all would enjoy it too. One of the most common memories people have of Kacie is how she introduced so many people to so many different types of music and bands. And that is one way she can live forever with us, is through the music.

Hi Natalie,
I thought I'd share a story with you because I think you're the only person in the world that could really understand. Back when Kacie and I first met in like 2003, we dated for like a month or so, but in that month she told me about the band built 2 spill and how much she loved them and that I would love them too if I listened. Well, I didn't listen, much to her disappointment, and once the month was over I never actually went back to listen to them. Then when she died in 2008 as an homage to her I thought I'd check them out finally. Of course I fell in love with the band and have been a fan of all their records ever since. I never got to thank her or tell her that, and I went to see them last night for the third time... I will always think of her at those shows and will always be grateful that for some period of time she was my friend.

Best,
Ian

Exercise Class Dream

I had this strange dream yesterday morning.

I was in my late teens and living with my parents. Kacie walked into the house and appeared to be my same age. She walked up to me and told me that she had just come from her exercise class and was laughing hysterically because an old woman in her class had exercised so hard that she got sick and had to stop.

KACIE'S LIFE- coming soon on dvd

We've been thinking about this project for a long time. We have many hours of home video of Kacie growing up and we'll be transfering these tapes to dvd. Any ideas on what a good dvd recorder would be to make lots of dvds for all those interested?

very short, very sad dream

I had a very short, very sad dream last nite of Kacie. I remember hearing them announce on the intercom at the hospital that a child had died, i think they announced her name, and i remember they said it a few times.

I have been thinking alot about the hospital lately, maybe thats why this dream.

vague dream

I had a very vague dream the other night. Kacie and I got into a fight about something and were not talking anymore. Then I remember thinking in my head well what about Gary and Nancy does that mean i can't talk to them anymore? It was very blurry and hard to remember details.

What Would Kacie Have Done?

Beebs, Gus and I will be visiting Ocean City shortly and plan to spend two days doing things that Kacie would have loved. Any suggestions as to what Kacie would have done on a two day vacation to Ocean City. We plan to do the obvious such as the jetty, the Dunes Hotel, Sea Shell City, etc. but what else?

Ocean City Blue

I have been going through paint chips looking to paint my bedroom and I came across "Ocean City Blue" by benjamin moore.

Number 4 Buoy

Just a buoy in the middle of nowhere but special to us because Kacie was born on the 4th of October and this is the spot where we caught Jaws.

Bean Hollow

This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Bean Hollow. It was Kacie's favorite coffee shop in Old Ellicott City. I got my usual coffee in a mug and everything bagel toasted with hummus and tomato. Kacie was a big fan of the powerhouse sandwich there. Kresimir and I were about to leave when a man walked in the coffee shop holding a small, adorable pug puppy in his arms. Wish I could have gotten a photo of that.

Kacie dream

Last night, I woke up around 4 am and finally fell back to sleep. I spent the next hour or so with Kacie. I remember bits and pieces of this dream. She was about the same age as when we saw her last. We spent some time at a movie and then we were getting ready to go to a wedding which I think was in Columbia. We were going to meet everyone there and did not have any transportation. We ended up somewhere at lunch and we could figure out what we were going to wear or how we were going to get to the wedding. Finally, a girl at the restaurant offered to take us on her break if it would only take her a few minutes. Somehow, Kacie and I ended up at place where there was a room full of small alligators and we spent some time there looking at them. Meanwhile, we still couldn't figure out what to wear and we couldn't find the girl that had offered to take us. Then I woke up.
It was really a strange, fragmented dream but it was really like spending a few hours with Kacie, which was wonderful!

Hi, this is Beebs and this was my dream.

JAWS Update

The South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources got back to me and informed me that my shark was a blacktip. The state record is 133 lbs. and the world record is 155 lbs. My fish far exceeded both but will not be considered in the record books because I released it and did not kill it and have it weighed. We know where it lives and will go back to that deep hole this weekend.

Jeff, I left it for you the next time you come. Hurry back to paradise and we'll get that bad boy a second time.

Face Dream

I had this dream early this morning.

I walked into a very crowded room in someone's house and apparently a party was going on. As I looked around, I noticed Kacie in the rear of the room. She looked exactly as she did the last time we saw her. I walked up to her and her skin looked very soft and beautiful. We didn't speak but I touched her face and then I woke up.

JAWS 8/21/10 It Smiled For The Camera

JAWS 8/21/10 It Surfaces - 9 Feet and 300 Pounds

The existing state record for the blacktip shark is 135 pounds and has stood for 25 years. My fish broke the record by 100 pounds and being unaware of this at the time I released it. To have it weighed in I would have had to tow it about 5 miles to a marina.

We have submitted these several videos and photos to the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources to be reviewed by a biologist there with the hope that this blacktip shark will be in the book as the new state record.

T

JAWS 8/21/10 It Went Under The Boat

JAWS 8/21/10 Our First View Of The Monster

Listen closely as Beebs says "oh my god, I'm scared."

JAWS 8/21/10 The Fight Continues

JAWS 8/21/10 The Fight Continues

JAWS - The Fight Begins And It Was A Monster

We panicked. Beebs tried to put a fighting belt on me as the battle began and she put it on upside down.

JAWS 8/21/10 Fight Scenes

The immense size of the fish can be determined by the length of the steel wire leader in this picture which is 3 feet long. This wire made the catch of this 9 foot shark possible because its teeth looked about an inch long. A local shark expert guessed its weight to be about 300 pounds. It was about 6 feet from the dorsal (top) fin to the caudal (rear) fin and another 3 feet from the dorsal fin to the tip of the nose.

This morning around 10:00 we had already caught two sharks of about 3 feet and 5 feet. We were fishing in a shipping channel between Hilton Head and Savannah in about 30 feet of water about two miles off of the southern tip of Hilton Head. For bait we were drifting 10 inch fish along the bottom when the monster hit. The reel was smoking as the shark peeled off about two hundred yards of line. I fought it for about 30 minutes and it towed us almost a mile. We were shocked when we first saw it surface. It was a blacktip shark of about 9 feet. I've seen them over 10 feet in the spring of the year on sandbars. I released it so swimmers beware, it's still out there.

A Toad Facial

Front Porch Concert 7/1/90

Kacie and her cousin, Jenny, loved to perform on our front porch in Woodbine whenever Jenny visited. Jenny always took her performances very seriously but Kacie never could. Sorry, no sound.

More Trampoline 3/18/96

Trampoline 3/18/96

A Slinky, 2 Cups, An Alarm Clock And A Badge

A few things she left behind that we recently found.

Hilton Head Has A New Lifeguard

It's his first day on the job and already tourists (from Ohio) are questioning his ability to perform surf rescues.

Card Collection.

I just got a birthday card in the mail from Gary and Nancy and wanted to share it with you all. Thank you Gary and Nancy for thinking of me on my birthday! It really means a lot!

I hold onto all the other cards you have sent me and keep them on my refrigerator because they are so darn cute. Look at this other pug from last year's birthday.

and here is another card that they sent me when I first moved into my new house. I am so thankful to have you both still apart of my life and I really look forward to seeing you when you come visit... which by the way do we have any travel dates yet?

Also, Larissa, Amanda and I still all need to scan in our photo booth photos from Ocean City. They are hilarious as usual! :)

"Until I Find You" - A Dream

I had this dream yesterday morning.

I was listening to a woman talk and she was very excited about a book that she had just read. She said that it was her favorite book and it went by the above title. I then told her that I had found this book in Kacie's collection.

The book is a paperback that I found in Kacie's room. It was written by John Irving. Does anyone know if Kacie actually read this book or talked about it? I think I'll begin reading it this weekend.

"A Little Ditty About Jack And Diane"

Jeff and I took our bikes aboard Sweetpea this morning and went to Daufuskie Island. There aren't many houses on the island but here Jeff is on his bike in front of John Mellencamp's house on the southern tip of the island.

Jeff Returns To Paradise

We had lunch at a nearby island called Daufuskie at our favorite restaurant.

Captain Beebs and Jeff took a break from shark fishing and took a cool swim.

Our table after eating 3 dozen crabs