ALASTAIR + LALEINIA

I am so grateful that I got the chance to go back to my mission. So many people never get the chance to go back, but I am so glad that my mission wasn't too far away. It was amazing to go back and see the streets that I used to walk on, and roads that I used to drive on, some people that were so special to me, and of course the wonderful sites in Palmyra and Fayette. I wish we could have been there longer, there are so many more people that I would love to visit with, but hopefully next time we go we will be out there for much longer and be able to see many more of my friends. We definitely had to go and see the sites, and Palmyra was our first stop. We took the tour and learned about the history of Joseph Smith, took some pictures, and then went to the Sacred Grove. It is such a wonderful place to visit. I had a great time in there, contemplating back and forth between the history of Joseph Smith’s first vision and the experiences that I had personally there. It was great t...

Alastair was confronted with the task of leaving Washington DC at 11 at night and driving straight through the night to get to a city north of New York City. Connor did a great job staying up all night and keeping Alastair awake. We arrived to Lain’s cousin’s house, Jill, as the sun was coming up. We rested for a few hours, and got ready to take the train to New York City. The train took us right to Grand Central Station. Our first sight we wanted to see was the Statue of Liberty. To soak it all in, we decided to walk all of 5 th Avenue. It took a couple of hours, but we enjoyed just walking around and seeing all the buildings and all the people. While walking, we saw the Empire State Building, Flat Iron Building, and NYU. While walking, we imagined living in the city. (This is something we always do when we visit major cities.) We ended up in the Financial District and spent a little bit of time at Ground Zero. It was a powerful experience to reflect on what had happened twe...

A long day of driving took us to Washington DC at night. We arrived to the Washington DC temple shortly before the setting of the sun. The temple is tucked away, in a quite residential area, north of the city. The temple spires climbed out of the trees, and the Angel Moroni shined from the rays of the sun. It truly is a lovely temple. After admiring the temple, we drove to the heart of the city to see the monuments. While driving, Alastair and I admired the residential areas. We loved looking at the quaint houses and imagined living there. I have a feeling the Alastair will someday seek a job in that area. We will see! Alastair’s favorite part about the drive was finding free parking, a mere stones cast from the Lincoln Memorial. Parking as free as the nation’s ideals, which certainly aided our pursuit of happiness! While driving, we listened to Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic, “I Have A Dream” speech, to get us in the mood. When we finally made it up to the steps of the...

A quick Google search revealed the Magnificent Mile as our place to see in Chicago. Upon further research, Laleinia discovered the Magnificent Mile to be a hot spot for flash mobs. Not the kind of mob that spontaneously dances around to Justin Beiber, but a group of hooligans that beat you with sticks for pocket change. Not the Mag Mile but the Mug Mile, for recent events. Of course, this struck fear into the heart of Lain, and she wanted to just forget about going to Chicago. Alastair reassured her that safe days don’t make the news. So we went, and of course, nothing happened to us. We parked with the promise of $6 parking (which turned into $29) and ventured out to see the city. While window-shopping, we asked a friendly policeman where the best place for pizza is at. Without any hesitation, he said, “Giordano’s.” Just a few blocks away was an Italian pizza restaurant with a crowd of people waiting to get inside. An hour later, we were able to get our table and deep-dish pizz...

Fresh from Laleinia’s graduation, we set off for adventure. Midnight said goodbye and nothing was going to stop us. As Lain took the first sleeping shift, we soldiered on into the night. The moon was so bright that we saw bats, deer, badgers, and even the Teton mountain range, even though it was supposed to be pitch black. About 50 miles after passing beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we were blessed with a safari-style encounter with a pack of elk. The only downside was that they were in the road, and we were driving 60 miles per hour. Thankfully, and despite the efforts of a suicidal elk, Alastair found a gap between the pack and we managed to get through, unscathed. The rest of the maiden leg of the road trip was drama-free, and we pulled into Mount Rushmore with high hopes of finding free parking, which we did. The faces on Mount Rushmore are each about 6 stories tall, and were made by strategic explosions in the face of the rock. But being so far away, the faces did look rath...

July 23rd 2013 was a proud day in the McKee and Jankowski households... Laleinia graduated! It was a long journey, but Laleinia sported her graduation cap and gown and walked with the rest of the graduating class. All that is left now is for Lain to do her student teaching. She got an offer from Discovery elementary in Ammon, just outside of Idaho Falls, and will be teaching from September to December. We are all incredibly proud of her, she has worked hard and finally got what she wanted! Congrats Laleinia!

Having family live close by is such a treat. There was one semester where all of my brothers and I were in school together, and I loved it! We would always spend time together. Unfortunately, Alastair has never had that experience like I have. With his family living at the other end of the world, we rarely see them. So it's been a special treat for Connor, Alastair's younger brother, to stay with us for a few weeks. The 3rd of July was when he arrived from South Africa, and we've been filling our time with whatever fun we can get our hands on! From horseback riding, 4-wheeling, shopping, football, movies, video games, and demolition, the adventure is nonstop! It's fun to see Alastair with his fellow sibling; the McKee's just being the McKee's.

As you might have noticed, we haven't been up to much of late. We have both been incredibly busy with school and work. I (Alastair) have been studying for the GMAT for the last few months, and I finally took the test. A lot was riding on how the test went, and so I have had to pretty much abandon my social life and study like a madman. Happily, I can say that with a lot of study, prayer, fasting, and faith, I scored very well. The GMAT was another experience in which I learned that God is mindful of us and loves us. He helped me so much as I turned to Him in faith. Also, Laleinia was so helpful throughout the whole process. She always supported me and never complained about how much time I was spending with my head in the books. Thank you Laleinia! Now to regain my social life and have fun this summer!