Parents Trip...part one of a million

Last Thursday Josh and I headed to the airport around 12:30am to pick up our first house guests! As we watched them walk off the plane they looked ready to climb a mountain, hiking boots, wool socks, and a hat. We hurried home to reunite them with Stella and introduce the newest member of the family…Kingston. Kingston wasn’t so sure about these “strangers”, though as I am typing this blog he is cuddled up closely next to my dad on the sofa…I feel comfortable saying he is enjoying his grandparents.

I can't even begin to write a blog for every activity that we did over their ten day stay, that isn't over yet. We drove to Seward, Whittier, Portage, Girdwood, Talkeetna, Eagle River, Wasilla, and Denali state park. We saw humpback whales, Grizzle bears,Puffins,Starfish, Mountain goats and sheep, sea lions, otters, moose, and bald eagles. Needless to say it was a trip packed full of sightseeing, and eating at all our favorite spots… we even started to refer to ourselves as “The Travelers” after a few days!

Portage Glacier

Memorial Day weekend at the Frazee household consisted of going to the movies, lying outside catching some sun rays and going on a glacier cruise. Only here in Alaska could you squeeze those three random activities into two days.
We drove down to Portage Glacier Saturday, which is located just 12 miles south of Girdwood. This weekend we had temperatures reach as high as 70 degrees, so it was a perfect day to be out on the boat. When the boat approached the Glacier we were lucky enough to see some of the Glacier break off, which was breathe taking. I couldn’t believe how loud it was, and created waves big enough to rock the whole entire boat. The Captain grabbed some pieces of the freshly broken glacier and handed them to everyone to chew on.

Black bear black bear what do you see...

It is offically summer time when the bears come out to play. Saw this guy on my way home from work, grabbed a few photos while trying to make sure I was safe.

Eye Wide Open

The dinner came to an end and the Alaskan king crab legs settled nicely in my stomach. Though as I looked up from across the table my friend Carrie said to me, “You are definitely going to have to blog about this!”

One week earlier…

It was my first unofficial Mother’s Day, so we thought it would nice to have some friends over and sit out by the fire pit. So far the weekend had gone relatively normal, I was still recovering from my ear infection and I had begun to lose all feeling in my tongue, but I thought that it was all related. After saying goodbye to our friends Josh and I came inside and started talking, when all of a sudden Josh asked why I wasn’t blinking my left eye. I laughed and then he began to notice my lip drooping. Immediately panic ran through me and I became aware that my eye really wasn’t shutting. Josh grabbed the keys and we got in the car headed to the ER.
At the ER they were able to see me right away because of the pregnancy and they started running multiple tests. After a full night at the hospital we finally saw the doctor, who greeted us with, “Have you heard of Bell’s Palsy?” I never understand why they ask these types of questions, my face is paralyzed the eye is exhausted from being open for hours now. Next he began to go over each symptom I had and explained how it is related to Bell’s Palsy, which is when the nerves on one side of your face suddenly paralyze for typically around 3-6 weeks. They gave me a goodie bag full of meds to start taking and an eye patch and sent me off on my way.
It took me a few days to adjust to life as a pirate, but mostly just from all the medications and constant eye drops, along with taping my eye shut at night.
I was driving to work the other morning just going over in my head all the things that I have encountered these last 5 and half months of pregnancy when I only began to feel a little pity for myself when it quickly stopped. A sneeze came over me and as my body tensed up I realized that I was able to sneeze with my left eye open…pretty cool.

THE FUTURE is decided

Tomorrow at 2:30pm is our big ultra sound appt...and now is a good time to mention, Josh and I are prego! So we are taking bets of what you think were having!?

SuperHero Little Frazee? or Little Princess Frazee? Let me know what you think and I will make sure to post when we find out!!!

Funny Bone

So as my in-laws pointed out to me, all my funny blogs have seem to go MIA. Reflexing on all the recent blogs, I can see the change started when I got put on the opening shift at work and started waking up at 5am. The more I continued to think about this, I was able to break it down into two categoires of people...and explaning how my funny bone is still sleep in bed.

The first group is called the "5A.M.ers", this is anyone who gets up before 5:59am. These people wake up before there is any coffee shop open, before the sun is up, before the dogs are even up. It is still dark and cold outside. So usually these people don't look their sharpest. I have noticed that since I have become a "5A.M.er" that I tend to wear dark colors, sweatshirts, and a pony tail. At the time I leave the house it doesn't matter because it is dark outside, and everybody around me seems to inspired to go down the same fashion line as me. We are just survivors making it through another morning...listening to some over weight person yell at us on the raido...NOT playing any music to ensure that we don't get a glimpse of hope.

The second group of people are the "7-8A.M.ers" these are people who wake up with sunshine on their faces between 7:00-8:59, a way bigger time grouping because this is a much more common time to start your day. These people all look like they are on a coffee commerical. They have time to shower, make breakfast and read the paper on the patio. By this time it is also a little warmer outside, so they decide to wear their new cute dress with a matching coral sweater. These people drive with the windows down and sunglasses on listening to actual music on the radio.

In a perfect world these two groups of people would never have to be around each other. Though at 9am when I am about to take a lunch break a flood of beautiful people decide to show up at work. Clean, smell good, bright colors, updated on the news. And then suddenly it becomes unacceptable for me to look like I'm the hired help who shoveles the snow.

Slush Fest

So yesterday we traveled out to Alyeska Ski Resort for the 34th Slush Fest with some of our friends. You can ask Josh why they call it "Slush Fest", it was 37 degrees and rained on us the whole entire time. However, that doesn't stop thousands of people to come out for all the events...it just makes everybody a little crazier.

After eating lunch at the Bake Shop, a local favorite and we found out why, we headed up to the slope for two events. The Idiot Swim and The Slush Cup.

The idiot swim is basically how it sounds, anybody can register to jump into the freezing water and try to swim as far as they can...nobody wins and there are no prizes...so you really have to dig deep to find the motivation for this. Though who really is the idiot? The people swimming in freezing water, or the thousands of people standing outside in the freezing cold watching the idiot swim?

In the second event, The Slush Cup, 50 snowboarders and skiiers go down the mountian and try making it over the water. They get judged on their outfit, tricks and if they make it. One cast member from Deadliest Catch was the judge of the event.

Just Some Local Fun

The snow is almost all melted away, but today we are heading to Alyeska Ski Resort for some last bit of fun in the snow. It is located about an hour south of Anchorage, right around the town of Girdwood. The 34th Slush Festival is going on this weekend. There are all kinds of ski and snow activities though the reason we are headed up...the Idiot Swim Competion. Where people jump into the freezing water and swim!!! Yes keep your eye out for photos. I have uploaded one I found online from last year! Keep in mind these people are standing bare foot on snow and ice and everyone in the background are wearing jackets, gloves and hats!

http://www.alyeskaresort.com/info/calendarevents/calendarevents.winter-09-event11.empty.aspx

Christmas Cookie

Florida vacation came to and end and before I knew it I was back on the plane headed for Alaska. For the two weeks I was gone I got a phone call everyday from Josh about the puppies. Stella wouldn't go up stairs or eat she just sat at the end of the stairs waiting for me to come home. Kingston on the other hand threw up for two weeks straight and also decided to chew up a pair of jeans and shoes. So you could say the dogs were "acting out".

So when I flew back to Alaska Friday I only expected the dogs to be acting a little strange, and didn't even think twice about stella's new mood. She would just sit and stare at the coffee table or she'd be laying down by it or she'd be flopped over the love seat by it. It wasn't until this morning when we came down stairs together that I knew what was up. Stella was fine running around and eating her breakfast...so I decided to sit down on the couch, and I walked over to the coffee table and lit a Yankee Candle called christmas cookie...and like clock work from across the room stella came over and sat by the candle. SO it dawned on me, Stella had been begging this WHOLE time.

...But came you blame the little

girl, sometimes I forget that its a candle and I go look for the fresh baked cookies...

Madelyn Enters the WORLD!

WOW so two days before my sisters planned C section I flew home to suprise everyone! Let me tell you that those were the longest flights of my life! I just couldn't wait to see the look on my sisters face! So after two flights and a red eye I had made it back to FLORIDA! While I was looking out the window of the air plane I couldn't help but wonder why doesn't everybody live here. Its bright, beautiful, sunny and warm. Everybody walks around with such a glow about them, something that is missing in Alaska durning the winter (but can you blame them?).

But all thats another blog, I suprised Kerry and was about to be with her for the next two weeks to watch her baby grow! Madelyn was born April 1 and weighed 5 pounds 10 oz. She is the most beautiful baby and it makes me so happy that I was able to be around my family for a little bit!