The Death Stare...

Linden using "Jedi mind tricks" on us...

We finally had to put away the...

infant car seat.

It's been at least a month over due, but like the typical parents we are, we had a hard time letting her grow into the next phase of her life.

Here she is modeling and getting fitted for her new car seat.

Next stop College... sigh.

Oregon continued...

More pictures from our quick trip to Oregon...

What do they say about Grandparents spoiling Grandkids??? Does this include soda?

We visited this beautiful Linden tree in Bear Creek Park.

Does she look scared and excited at the same time?

Dream big little girl...

The Grandparents were happy to come down to her level.

We visited the charming, quaint... can't quite find the words for it... SPAM festival. I'm glad they made the effort to update the year on the banner...

A year of loss...

This year has certainly been one of mixed emotion. The joys of raising a new little life... and the sadness of loss. Back in May, Kacy lost her Grandmother, Floyce Upham. And this past Wednesday we flew up to Oregon to attend the memorial of her other Grandmother, Alice Cochran.

Although it was an extremely sad loss for all of us... it was a celebration of a very full life. This was evident by the large attendance at her beautiful memorial service. You couldn't help but be moved by the extended time of sharing during the service. Young and old alike shared of her impact on their lives. One could not have met Alice without also feeling the touch of God's hand. She was a special lady, and we are all blessed to have known her. And after nearly 99 years of blessing and touching others, she was taken to be home.

We are so thankful that Linden got the opportunity to meet her Great Grandmother back in June.

Alice Cochran (1910-2009)

Jump up... Jump up... and get down!

Linden sure loves her jungle jumper!

Fiesta!

For those that don't know, Fiesta weekend in Santa Barbara is a HUGE DEAL. It starts the Wednesday before the 1st weekend of August and runs through Sunday afternoon. Thousands of people come from all over and converge on our downtown streets. By day it's a festive sea of people celebrating and enjoying the Latin atmosphere... by night, it can be a spectacle of drunkeness and beligerence. It's safe to say, we enjoy the daylight festivities!

We started off the festivities on Thursday evening at the zoo. The party is called "Dignatarios". Although we're no dignitaries, we enjoyed the delicious food, music and WILD ANIMALS (both of the human and jungle varieties).

We got to the zoo party early enough to enjoy the delicacies offered by many local eateries. Our favorite was the crab cakes. Mmmm...

We then snuck off to enjoy the wildlife. Although we miss our crooked neck friend (RIP), the giraffes were beautiful with the ocean backdrop.

Our "unofficial" official pose.

Friday we headed down to De la Guerra Plaza (La Placita) to enjoy some fish tacos.

Linden simply enjoys walking downtown.

Actually, she enjoys being held while her dad walks downtown.

Viva la Fiesta!

Lovin' mom's new desk!