We’ve moved to Santa Barbara
Well we have finally arrived at our new place in Santa Barbara! The move went well, thanks to the help of our family and friends. 
Tarah’s parents came up every 
weekend for two months and my parents help with the final cleaning so we would have a clean place for our renters. Nick and Jen were a big help too. They actually drove our u-haul truck, with Tarah’s car in tow, all the way down to Santa Barbara. It was a long trip, made entertaining by Nick’s spontaneous sing-a-longs on the 2-way radio.
The trip was almost without incident, but Tarah’s attempt to squeeze our mountain bikes under a hotel breezeway slowed us up a bit. Fortunately there was no damage to my Land Cruiser and only minor damage to my mountain bike. For some ironic reason, Tarah’s bike was fine.
When we finally arrived in SB, our friend’s Forest and Raya were so great to greet us with dinner from Little Rincon, a favorite college burrito stand. Loved it! Finally seeing our new house was fun too. The house was more than we expected. It is an older home with many great features. I especially like the fireplace. It’s a gas fireplace, which has been a bit different. I miss the smell of wood, but I like not having to do clean up.
The dogs are adjusting well to their daily beach schedule. We’ve enjoyed watching all three of them running through the ocean. Even little Bootie seems to not be afraid. Beau and L.C. both charge after the tennis ball. There was a little hesitancy at first, but now they are even riding the waves in. I’m looking forward to joining them when the weather is a little warmer.
Christmas away from family was hard, but because its been sunny and 70, it really didn’t feel like Christmas. We did get a tree though. It made our new house feel like a home instantly. Tarah went straight to working hanging all of our decorations. Christmas eve and Christmas day was pretty simple. Candlelight service in the evening and friends over the house for drinks and the next morning we opened gifts and went to the beach with the dogs. I made steaks and shrimp for dinner on our backyard BBQ. The BBW uses coals, which I haven’t cooked on since college.
Tarah’s new job is going well and she’s enjoying it. Its just a straight shot down the street from our house which eliminates the commuting she used to do from Shelton. She’s even talking about taking the bus! I’ve offered to buy her a Vespa, just because I think it would be pretty cool to see her scoot off to work with her helmet every morning.
Well, so far so good. I need a job, but I’m excited about the opportunities I’ve found so far. I’ve spent my time off organizing the house, establishing our communications, utilities, etc. and enjoying the sunshine. I’ve also been able to update our website and add some more photos to our flicker account. I’m hopeful I can continue to add to our blog and hear from each of you from time to time. We’ve added a “Friend’s” section to our website which we link anyone who has their own website or photo site. So if you’d like to direct people to your place from ours, let us know!
- Kasey and Tarah
