A Day With Zoie Kay

Our day off was full of kitchen dances, downtown adventures and lots of cute, little baby giggles. We got to babysit the Wald's little girl last Monday and let me tell you, she is the sweetest! After a short little nap; we played in the fresh-out-of-the-dryer towels, practiced our words and even taught uncle Shane how to change a diaper! The three of us went downtown for a chilly evening stroll and we ate at a place called The Hangar, right on the water. This is where Zoie refused to sit anywhere but Sequoyah's lap and ate a ridiculous amount of french fries. At about seven we buckled in our baby-for-a-day and went for a drive "out Thane." Which really means...we drove to the end of Juneau and Aubin had a little panic attack once she realized what being "landlocked" is really like. After that minor episode, Shane and I scouted out TONS of new photo locations while our little Zo snoozed in the back seat. Shane and I were zonked too, kids are tiring! Phew!

Sunday Ramblings

There's something special about Sundays; maybe it's because Sequoyah is extra snuggley in the mornings or maybe it's because it's the day we call our moms. I haven't got it quite figured it out yet, but one thing that I know makes it better is going to church. Every Sunday Shane and I go into church early to meet with our bishop for about an hour. We receive a new goal every week that will help us in our journey to get to the temple. Shane and I always walk out of these meetings super giggly and annoyingly lovey-dovey. Sitting together with the bishop and becoming just that much closer to eternity makes us so happy we can't stop smiling. We spend an hour in sacrament meeting listening intently, taking notes and coloring with the occasional sunbeam that wanders over to our bench. We take the sacrament together; remembering our baptismal covenants, the power of the atonement and how hard we have worked to get here.
Unfortunately, we both have to work Sunday afternoons, so we can only make it to the first hour. We are trying to get this changed, but it's kind of a pain to swap schedules for both of us. I'm hoping to find a solution here soon, because the happiness the gospel brings us is overwhelming. Our week is so much better when we attend church and meet with our bishop. I'm so grateful for how much of a spiritual rejuvenation Sundays are. Like I said, there's somethin' special about those Sundays.

Let's Pretend It's Thursday

Awkward-
| Accidentally calling a customer "babe." {He looked like Shane, okay?}
| The new middle-part I'm rockin'. {Or trying to at least.}
| Delivering a room service order only to be greeted by a guest in nothing but stinky, green-ish tube socks and a beanie. Welcome to Alaska my friends.
| Wearing smeared lipstick basically all day. Am I the only person who tells people if they have something on their face? Come on!
| The fact that until yesterday, I thought the word "yolk" was spelled y-o-k-e. No wonder my crossword didn't fit. Numskull.
| Doing an entire load of laundry, in the shared washer/dryer, and finding the neighbor's undies in my clean clothes. {Uhhh, what do I do with these?}


Awesome-
| My BAZINGA! sweatshirt! Enough said, it's glorious.
| Church with my wonderful, handsome husband. We love the spiritual renewal Sundays give us.
| Crosswords. My new obsession. I think I have a problem.
| My sister went into the MTC this week, so proud!
| Staying up watching Goosebumps and eating Gushers with The Hubs.

This is me sending a big ol' hug down south to all our family and friends. Missing all of you tonight. Love you!

An Incredibly Stupid Post

If you were to spend a week with us here in Juneau it would consist of working and multiple trips to the local Wal-Mart. Shane and I love that place. Its marvelous. They have an entire clearance isle dedicated to $3 items. This is where our collection of pillows comes from. We're up to six now with the recent addition of a body pillow. Those things rock I tell you.
Shane and I spend at least an hour or two roaming the store together whenever we go. He browses the $5 music bucket while I try out the different candle smells until I'm about to pass out from a massive headache. We walk up and down the cereal isle arguing about the pros and cons of Honey Combs and we make sure to practice our tile-skating moves. We have very intense hula hooping contests and light saber wars in the toy section. Sequoyah will read guitar magazines while I crack up at all the funny birthday cards. We get our blood pressure taken; his is high, hers is low. We laugh at all the silly people and try on a variety of sunglasses and hats. We really have no life. As I'm writing this I'm realizing how lame we are. Oh well, I'm not ashamed to say it...I LOVE WAL-MART.

Awkward and Awesome

Awkward
- Dropping The Hubs off at the music section of Wal-Mart so he's not bored out of his mind while I shop and then having to wrestle a giant cart that thinks its funny to only turn left.
- Answering my cell phone, "thank you for calling Grandma's, this is Aubin, how can I help you?"
- Explaining my jokes. Happens every single time. {Seriously people? I'm hilarious.}
- Forgetting to zip the zipper on my work pants every gosh darn day. You'd think I'd learn.
- My blinding white chicken legs at church on Sunday. Next time, brothers and sisters, bring sunglasses.
- Helping a guest fix her TV and then accidentally going into her bathroom when I really was trying to leave. {Let me know if you need anything, I'll just be in here!}

Awesome
- Sleeping like a rock all the way through the night. This is rare considering The Hubs snores like a sick, dying camel.
- Getting our tax refund this week. {Perfect, wonderful timing universe!}
- Stepping out of the shower to fresh, clean towels, that are folded the right way. {He's learning! He's really learning!}
-The Husband's bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches with hash browns. To. Die. For.
- When our gas tank mysteriously filled itself. Can you say tender mercies anyone? {Thank you, whoever you were!}

Things My Mother Taught Me

|How to use my hands
Just like my mother, I am now the "handy-man" of our little family. I'm guessing she learned it all from my grandpa who can fix absolutely anything. {He can make cabinets out of a two by four, I swear.} Thankfully, she passed her wonderful knowledge of painting, shelving, sawing, measuring, leveling and hanging pictures down to me. This comes in handy when your husband is just absolutely lost looking at Ikea instructions.


|How to swim
'Nuff said. I learned from a champion. She was my number one training coach. To this day she is still faster than me. I'll never be able to catch up with her. Thank you for turning me into a fish and teaching me to love the water.
|How to clean
As I got older and moved away, {especially having to clean up after 21 year old Hubs} I started to understand the importance of what she was trying to do. All of the "go clean your room's!" were actually for a reason. It wasn't just "because she said so," it was mostly for my benefit. I have no idea how she dealt with my mess and didn't beat me! She had every right to. Now as a "grown up" I realize how important it was to develop the everyday habits of staying tidy. So you hear that Chloe and Jax? Clean your rooms! She taught me how to clean and clean properly. I would try to clean a bathroom as fast as I could and she'd make me march right back in there and do it again. Taught me to do it right, and do it right the first time. I'm thankful she made me do chores, who knew they actually served a purpose?!
|How important a testimony is
My mother has always been a wonderful example of a woman of faith. Through my hard years of struggling and confusion, she always stayed true. Through all my criticism and questions; she answered each and every one calmly and simply so I would understand. She taught me the importance of family scripture study, attending your meetings and counting your blessings. Without my mom's faith and testimony I do not believe I would be where I am today. I wouldn't be nearly as happy in the present, or as hopeful towards the future.
|How to win an argument
We never had a perfect relationship; far from perfect, actually. She and I fought, and we fought a lot. Whether it be about homework, boys or being nice to Chloe; there was bound to be at least one tiff a day. And I am very sorry for that. I am/was stubborn and very stupid, but I did learn from them. I learned to argue and to win. This was probably why I was so good at debate in school! She taught me to use logic and reasoning. She taught me that staying cool helps solve things so much better than flying off the handle. She taught me how to have a disagreement, be civil about it and most of all, win!


|How to laugh
No matter how many times we fought or stormed off to our separate corners of the house to cool down, we always made up. I can say this now and will say it forever, my mother is my best friend. She always will be. She is the craziest, silliest woman I know. From inventing games like Nylon Ball, to jokes about a talking muffin on long car rides, she will always be my favorite comedian. I learned to enjoy the good times and find happiness in the hard; there is always something to laugh about. My goofball mom made me into the goofball that I am today. My mother will forever remain a teenager at heart.


|How to be an adult
There comes a time in every girls life when she realizes "oh hey, I'm not a kid anymore, this is real life." I think that moment is different for everyone. Mine might have been when I was looking at Shane as we were saying our "I do's" or maybe it was when I reached for the toilet paper and came up empty handed; "Oh, I have to buy this stuff?" I feel that my mom prepared me well and taught me how to become an adult. It wasn't easy, believe me. Going from high school student, to a married woman within two weeks was definitely challenging. I wouldn't change it for the world. I was able to make the switch from child to adult {I still think I'm still switching} with the help of my mom. Her example and advice gave me guidance. It always has. She taught me independence and that I can do things on my own. She also taught me that there is no shame in asking for help. And she's always been there to help me. Always. Growing up is hard, but I'm so thankful I have such a good example for a mother who prepared me in every way possible to be ready for life. Come what may, baby!
|Wisdom
If you have ever asked Minda a question or for advice, you know you will get exactly what you were looking for and then some. She's been through a lot and knows almost everything, the woman knows what she's talking about! Throughout my life I have been blessed to learn and be taught by such a wise woman. She's my own personal Google. She's gotten me out of quite a few sticky situations and I'm always looking for her input.


|How to be strong
This last one will probably be the longest and it is by far the most important. To me, my mother is the ultimate symbol of strength. She's been through and survived so much. Especially the fact that she had to raise me, I wasn't easy and I truly am sorry I made it extra hard. I cannot express how thankful I am for my mom. Her bravery and strength is what I look up to and strive to have everyday. She's been lost and she's found her way back again. She's experienced heartbreak and hardship. She has dealt with sadness and ultimately found eternal joy. She made a wonderful life for herself. She did hard things, she worked hard, she stayed true and she has been truly blessed. But most importantly, in my opinion, she found me. She found me when I was lost and she did everything in her power to save me and then some. That, my friends, is the bravest, strongest thing she's ever done. Been my mom.

Rainer House Rules

There are a few things that needed to be established in our home just to avoid the daily fight.
-No one is allowed to touch the thermostat. Shane likes it freezing cold and I like it comfortably warm, like a normal person. {We both break this rule almost every day. Shane tried to sneak it down to 32 degrees right before bed.}
-Whoever does the laundry has free reign over both closets. {I don't care who you are, boxer briefs are comfortable.}
-Aubin is not allowed to "touch the hair." {Which I think is totally unfair because the Hubs has glorious hair.}
-If there are no towels in the bathroom, Shane has every right to leave the toilet seat up. {I have a very bad habit of leaving towels around the house, which Shane hates. He has a very bad habit of leaving the toilet seat up, which I hate. It's a good compromise.}
-No looking at puppies anymore. It just breaks both our hearts.
-Shane is forever the designated ice cream scooper.
-Sequoyah is not allowed to wear pants tighter than mine. {He is also not allowed to wear my pants. Believe me, he's tried.}
-Aubin cannot wear her pajamas to Wal-Mart ever again.
-No Golden Girls while Shane is around. {I seriously cry real live tears over this sometimes.}
-Sequoyah must never use the nickname Aub. {Aubs, Knobs, Aubin-Bin-Laden, Corn on the Aub, Batman and Aubin, Rockin' Aubin, Shlobin and Schnobs...etc. Are all acceptable. But never ever Aub.}

Our Strange Schedule

This is what usually happens right after we get home from work. Ploop. Faceplant. Sometimes husband joins me, after he puts on his long johns of course. But most of the time he snorts and rolls his eyes at me. Well hey Mr. Grumpy Tots! Don't be jealous. Bed and I have a good thing goin' here, you wouldn't understand.
After laying there for a minute or two, I sneak a peek out of the corner of my eye and all of a sudden...BOOM. There's so much to do! There's just so many exciting and necessary activities that need to be done right this instant! The dishes need to get done, maybe a shower, maybe a blog post, possibly vacuum the one square foot of carpet we have. I mean don't you know that Shane writes the best songs after midnight? {This is super handy because fortunately, all the best TV shows are on after midnight too.}
But the best and my personal favorite part of our wacky days happens right before we roll into bed around 3 AM.

Awkward and Awesome

Although I would like to claim this as my own, Awkward and Awesome Thursday originated from one of my favorite bloggers of all time, Sydney Poulton. I decided to steal it because it is oh so relevant. Don't judge.

Awkward:
- sitting down for a short break at a table, only to realize that it is already occupied by a dining customer. {oh hey, didn't see you there...can I join you?}
- forgetting to shut your blinds and then spending an uncomfortable 4 seconds making eye contact with the neighbor across the street while you stand there in your birthday suit and he makes himself a sandwich. insert slowly closing blinds and awkwardly waving hello here
- having that same neighbor who saw your "goods" help you jump your van the next day. how embarrassing.
- calling a "Ms." a "Mr." {oh come on! we've all done it right? ....right?}
- grabbing a decent sized handful of husband's bum at the grocery store, only to realize it was definitely not husband.

Awesome:
- getting a twenty dollar tip from a guest who only ordered a baked potato. {musta been one good tater!}
- tripping with a plate of food without spilling AND no one saw. booyah.
- the beautiful, warm, sunny, clear days we have been having recently.
- getting the apartment clean and keeping it clean. {we're going on four days now, seriously, it's an accomplishment.}
- when husband brings home the book, "Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple" and says, "hey! i got this for us!" {swoon.}

You Make Me Laugh

- when you hiccup every time you stick your tongue out.
- when you say things like, "do it right, deodorant!" in your sleep.
- when you get so excited to eat at Arby's.
- when you dip your Oreo's in water. {yes! water! water, people!}
- when you obsess over your outfit and love shopping so much more than I do.
- when you scream Bohemian Rhapsody on the way to work.
- when you try to name all my cousins and fail miserably. {you try, you really do.}
- when you randomly practice your "joker laugh" and scare the bageezus out of me.
- when you purse your lips and shut your eyes just as a song "starts to get good" even if you are driving.
- when you won't let me wash that filthy Pink Floyd shirt because it's 'lucky!' {poppycock!}