Polar Bear Plunge

Since both girls are actually asleep at the same time I am finally getting around to posting what we did on Saturday. It was very exciting because we don't do too much so, although it sounds silly, I was so excited to be leaving the confines of my apartment.

We started the morning with eggs and pancakes at my house with my cousins Randy and B.J. and Randy's girlfriend Debbie. My cousin's dad and his special friend came too but they went snowmobiling so we didn't really see them much after we got down there. We then all drove separately down to Seward, which is a cute little fishing town on the peninsula about two hours south of us. Macy wasn't feeling very well so she slept for most of the trip which allowed Justin and I some "alone"time to have a conversation without getting interrupted every two minutes. We finally got on the road just after 9 and the first hour or so of the trip we drove with the ocean on our right. The sun was rising (yes, at 9:30) and coming over the mountains and the ocean was frozen over. It was weird looking, it made me think of craters or the moon because there were big ice chunks all over the frozen water. It was my first time seeing the ocean frozen so it was a pretty exciting drive for me. Plus, I must mention again how nice it was to have a conversation that didn't solely consist of, "Macy, take your finger out of your nose. Do you need a Tissue? No! Don't touch it! I'll wipe it! Get your finger OUT OF YOUR NOSE!"

The rest of the drive was nice and I am very exciting to do it again in the summer when it will look completely different. Oh, and we saw several moose on our drive down. We got there just in time for the parade but Justin and I realized about an hour out on the drive that we had both forgotten Macy's coat. Obviously we were not going to win the parents of the year award this year because who forgets a child's coat in January in Alaska?!? In our defense, we had put her in her car seat in just her long sleeved shirt so she would be comfortable for the drive. Fortunately Debbie had a hoodie that we put Macy in and it kept her pretty warm. She also thought that she looked pretty good in it. Well, we watched the parade of people in crazy costumes as they walked down the streets of downtown. Macy and I got many Mardi Gras beads (we'll never tell how) and also a bunch of candy. We then walked over to the docks where they had chipped away the ice so the people would have a place to jump into (In case you missed it, it's not actual polar bears that jump in, just people. Some person I had invited to come was VERY confused on this point).
Pretty soon the announcers came on and we watched as over 100 people in their costumes, jumped into the freezing ocean. Most people get sponsers to donate money that goes to cancer research but I think it would take a lot more than a thousand dollars that went right into my own pocket for me to do that. Sorry, I am just not that good of a person. My toes and hands were freezing just watching.
Kylie was in the baby carrier against my chest in a cute outfit Justin's mom had gotten her, with my coat wrapped around. Our camera batteries died so I will post those cute pictures once my cousin sends me the pictures he took.
After that we had lunch at some Chinese buffet and then we went to a kid carnival for Macy where she got a fish tattoo on her arm, won a stuffed seal at the fish pond and jumped in a little jump house twice. We then drove around Seward and saw a dirty bald eagle and 5 seals in the ocean (the unfrozen part) catching fish. It was a pretty fun trip and leaving anchorage for the day saved my sanity.
That night the girls took their first bath together and it was a lot of fun to watch. Macy also decided to climb into Kylie's toy with her, which was cute at the time but now she does it and gets stuck and they both end up crying so I have been trying to put a stop to that. Enjoy!