As the bright, mid-morning light streams through the Lively Kid’s storefront windows, owner Kayti Mata thoughtfully puts the finishing touches to her picture-perfect store. Surrounded by her hand-embellished furniture and snap-shots of her kids and their elementary school peers grinning down from the walls, Mata is completely in her element in the store of her dreams, located in the heart of her hometown. A third-generation Santa Cruzian, Mata always wanted to raise her two young children here, where they could have the same hometown experience she adored growing up. “There are so many roots here for our family… Santa Cruz was [always] the main option for us,” Mata said. “I’ve…