Its offical !

After a year and half of planning the Murphy-Frazee wedding has come to an end. It was a full 3 day event with lots of food, family and dancing.

For the rehearsal dinner on Friday we all meet at Hotel Indigo which is located downtown Sarasota where all the bridesmaids and groomsmen were staying. It wasn't your typical rehearsal dinner because it was almost like the prewedding party. We had 30 people, lots of food, and live music. Great way for all the families to meet for the first time and kick off the weekend.

Saturday morning, the day of the wedding, the girls and I got up early from the hotel and headed across the street to Little Salon. All five bridesmaids and the mother of the bride got pampered with styling, up dos, fresh fruit and champagne. After we headed back to the hotel where we got dressed and waited on the photographer...which was late because he ended up getting a flat tire!

The wedding was beautiful, located at the Sarasota Garden Club, the ceremony was outside by the gardens and fountains. We were surrounded by 60 of our closest family and friends and we couldn't have been more blessed. Josh's parents and grandparents came down from TN to celebrate with us, and the rest of his family came from all over Florida. The weather was perfect, blue sky and 70 degrees. I walked down the isle to acoustic guitar music.

The reception that followed was also located at the Sarasota Garden Club in the dinning room that looked out at all the gardens. All decor was black and ivory, crystals and candles everywhere. Amazing food, great music, lots of dancing Josh and I couldn't of asked for anything better. We waved goodbye to everybody while rose peddles were being tossed.

Sunday morning the party continued with brunch at my parents house with both families. What a great way to end an awesome weekend!

We want to thank everybody for coming and celebrating with us. Thanks to Joshs parents for an amazing rehearsal dinner and for my mom and dad for an amazing wedding that any little girl would dream of!

We are now ready to kick back and enjoy our month with Magic and Bucs tickets, theme parks, beach days and lots of family time.

Ovens on and baking

Well the pastry chef is cooking up a whole new kind of "bun"!

I know she is my sister, but I think many will agree that she makes being pregnant look good. Kerry and her husband are expecting their first child, and my parents first grandchild...well that's a given because the only thing they are getting out of me is more grandDOGS.
They are having a girl around the first week of April and I couldn't be more excited for them. I only get to see Kerry pregnant for 2 months so I am taking advantage of it while I can...and buying every "I love my Auntie" and "I get my looks for my Auntie" tshirt around.

NOLA

I was finally able to add some photos from New Orleans that I took. New Orleans was probably the reason I got into photography. It is one of those places where you can always count on taking a photo of some crazy street performer, and no matter how many times I eat at the cafe I want a photo of the beignet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am not really sure if I have any readers left...since I haven't posted any thing in almost a month! but if I still have a few I would like to say Happy Thanksgiving, and hopefully you were able to celebrate with family.

I have made it down to Florida, which took 4 flights and lasted two days. Technology makes us all feel so close, but if there is one thing that I do know it is that air port travel puts things back into perspective. Alaska and Florida are EXTREMELY far apart. After landing in 89 degrees I was put back on a plane and heading to New Orleans with my papa!

New Orleans has become a second home and I don't know if I can even count how many times I have traveled there with my family. There is something about that city that I can't help but be away from for only a year. The music, food and culture is so rich it was a nice change compared to Alaska. My father and I were there for the Voo Doo Fest which is a weekend concert. After we had eaten til our pants didn't fit and danced til our feet hurt it was time to come home.

So I have been enjoying the beach, visiting Friends and family, wedding planning and LOTS of homework. I just love how all my finals land on the week of the wedding.

The Rings

Goodbye alaska...

...okay well maybe not goodbye, because as of jan 5 I will be back. Right now it is 8:30am and it is pitch dark, the sun isn't rising until sometime after nine and the sun is setting around 7. We had snow fall for the first time in September, but the weather has really been all over the place. I think the lowest that I have known it to be is around 19 degrees. The mountains are full of snow and already everyone has hibernated. We haven't seen our neighbors in days and the sounds of children playing outside has stopped. Moose are the only ones seen taking strolls around the neighborhood.

Last year Josh and I had a 'white' Christmas, and this year I will have a sandy one! I am so excited to swim in the water and feel the sand in my toes for the first time in 11 months. Sundresses, swim suits, warm weather. All my fellow Floridians keep telling me how miserable it is, so hot and humid, and that I will die from the heat. Well I can't wait to have the option to actually be 'hot'. To get goose bumps when I walk outside and the sun touches my skin. To see the beach and the beautiful water. To fall asleep to a thunderstorm. I love FLORIDA! Goodbye all my Alaskan friends, I love you all and can't wait to have a tan while shoveling snow in January.

WORK

Some of my babies from work!

ONe last time...

So I am heading down to Florida next Tuesday! So I didn't think it would hurt to post moose photos one last time!

Where has the time gone...

It is Oct 6...and I can not believe that we have lived in Alaska for ten months now! I think back to when Josh told me that we were moving to Alaska, at this point I didn't even know what a Parka was! I had gone away to college, but I have never moved half way around the world to a state where I didn't know a sole. I'll never forget sitting in our hotel room the first night, no car, no house, no friends. I had left everything that I knew behind and moved to the Arctic.

As I am typing this now, we have a house, two cars, and tons of friends. I wouldn't choose to move here, but we are loving the adventure. I have learned that time moves so fast, and that the only things I regret are dwelling on things that I cannot change. I have learned to accept what is thrown at me, adapt to it, and live.

When you have everything taken away from you, and have to build your life from the ground up you learn what you want to use as your building blocks...god, family, and friends. We are so thankful for all the support and prayers that we have received over these last ten months. We hope that when we come down to Florida this winter that we will be able to spend time with you.

I am flying home October 26, and Josh will be flying into Orlando December 5.

Life in the Fast Lane

Technology...we wouldn't be able to live with out it. I have grown up with all of it...once you finally buy something there is a new, better, smaller product out there. Though it has recently come to my attention that this is not the case in a certain area.

So it all started on my lunch break when I forgot to pack something to eat. I decided to drive to Burger King to grab something quick. As usual the drive-Thur line was long, but I was able to get much done...
1. Pay Bills
2. Check my grades
3. Email my mom back
4. Talk to my sister
5. Up load new photos to the blog...I was able to do all these things through my phone...I mean wow technology. My turn came to speak into the box as I was greeted by...

-Drive Thur Lady: "Hi...Welc..to..Bur...Ing..Tak...Order?" Well this isn't my first rodeo and I knew what the lady was trying to say...
-Me:"Um yes can I get a number 7 with a diet coke"...(1 min delay)
-Drive Thur Lady:"Did you say 6?"...
-Me: "No number 7"
-Drive Thur Lady: "Number 6"
-Me: "NUMBER SEVEN WITH A DIET COKE"
-Drive Thur Lady: "Okay number 6 with a coke...that will be 7.35"

All I can think of while this is taking place is that the lady is literally like 12 feet away from me and somehow communication is impossible. So tell me why I can skype somebody in Florida and I can't place in order in fast food. Bad technology in the fast food industry is like the panda bear...nobody knows how it has managed to survive.

Otter Lake/ Chugack

Last weekend I went out to Chugack and hiked around by myself. In the park they had the river trail closed off because there were bears fishing for salmon. This is turning into one of my favoirte spots.

Josh, Kingston and myself headed to Otter Lake yesterday. This is actually located here on base, which gives you an idea of how much is located inside the base. While we were here we let kingston swim around for a little bit. Josh found a huge piece of wood and tossed it into the water, Kingston swam after it to save it... which then turned out to become kingstons new toy that he carried around.

Earth Quake Park

This is the furthest part in Anchorage, and my friend Carrie actually introduced me to this spot during the winter. I hadn't had a chance to get back until now, and couldn't believe how different it looked without all the snow. I was able to take my shoes off and walk along the beach...until the water touched my feet and I ran away screaming and put my wool socks back on.

The Blue Sea

So last Saturday Josh and I headed to the grocery store, which we do every other Saturday. It is a really a big event and we never miss an isle...though some are favored more than others. Especially the cleaning products one, 509, Clorox wipes, carpet cleaner, swifter, I mean we really love it all...and by we I mean Josh, but I am extremely supportive of his OCD for cleaning. So like any other great couple I am now active in his hobbies...which includes shopping for new cleaning supplies.

Well I was looking at the more creative items that are on the market when I came across toilet cleaners. '2000 FLUSHES' caught my eye...you know one of those blue tab things that you put in the back of your toilet...and yes your bathroom is instantly turned into a fancy truck stop when your toilet water turns blue for the first time.

Regardless I bought it and rushed home to get started. Put it in and flushed it once...1,999 flushes to go. I became instantly committed to this product when the water rushed in blue again. Later in the week I even caught myself trying to think of ways to pack this back up when we leave Alaska in two years, zip lock perhaps?...I mean 2000 flushes!

Well I think we know how this story ends...27 flushes later little girl got played...the bright blue turned to light blue by flush 16. The light blue turned to a strange green by flush 26. The strange green turned to regular old toilet water by flush 27.

I mean really, lieing would have been '50 FLUSHES'...why so extreme toilet-blue-tab-product-company?

Fun while it lasted

Over the last week and half I have tried to take some photos outside when it wasn't raining. We are losing our summer and fall will only last about two weeks. Summer...it was fun while it lasted.

AIR SHOW

Several weeks ago Elmendorf hosted an airshow, which had all the military planes, and the blue angels. We headed down there with some friends, and it was an awesome day with beautiful weather.
The plane that Josh is standing in front of is the 22 Raptor, which is the one that he works on...and trust me it wasn't easy getting josh to pose there...so you better enjoy it! They also had a memorial for the C-17 pilot and the others that were on board.