ALASTAIR + LALEINIA

After getting back to Ann Arbor, I started a new job working with newer clients who had committed to a larger amount of spend with Google. These clients had typically not spent on AdWords before, and had a variety of goals they wanted to accomplish with Google. I'd be working with them for 90 days before passing them on to other teams to continue working with them. As I was staying this new role, I ended up going back out to Mountain View for a few days of training.  It was a fun time, I stayed with Kip and got to catch up with a few people. I was able to go to the earnings call TGIF and hear from the company leadership, which is always really insightful and interesting.  On the way home, I stopped by in Utah for a couple of days. My mum didn't know I was coming, so I waited for her to walk by me in the mall as she was going for lunch with my dad, and tried to grab her bag. She held on pretty tight! It was nice to spend some time with them. We went tu...

3 days and 2 nights, that's how long it took us to drive cross country. Alastair, Emre, and I with our stuff fit into our little Jetta. We re-packed the car and left most of our stuff with my in-laws, and swapped out California gear for Michigan gear. Man, I forgot how cold it gets! Actually, we never experienced a true Michigan winter because last year was so mild. But this year...Jack Frost is nipping! There's nothing much to say about the drive. The road conditions were great, Emre was awesome, and there was a moment when Alastair and I randomly started belting out Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." We also stopped by a few Cabela's along the way, to entertain Emre. Not my kind of store, but Emre loved all the taxidermy! We showed him all the animals and the fish tank, it was like he was at the real zoo. To this day, he talks about going to see the elk, turkey, and all the other woodland creatures. Also, New Year's Eve was celebrated by stayin...

Since we were on our way back from the Bay Area to Michigan, we stopped off in Utah for about a week and a half for Christmas. We didn't tell Grandad that we were going to be there, so it was a surprise for him when he got home from church to find us in the basement! We had a nice Christmas together, opening presents, building the McKee brothers traditional Igloo, and skiing/snowboarding with Logan and Veronica. Emre enjoyed visiting Santa (same one) just as much as he did last year! It was funny because he was so excited to see him, but then wasn't happy at all during the quick photo op, but then didn't mind Santa again after we left! We also visited Lain's parents in Idaho, which was nice. It was good to be back in Southeast Idaho, but we didn't make it back up to Rexburg on this visit. Hopefully next time! We left a few days after Christmas and headed east for a few days, before making it to our new place in our old town: Ann Arbor!

Since Alastair just started his job and was rather busy, Emre and I joined my parents to head up to Idaho and Utah for some family time. Our newest nephew, Logan, was born, so I wanted to see him! I also thought it would be nice to see his cousins. Lucy and Athena were born the same year and Landon is only 18 months older. The drive wasn't too bad. I was a little nervous with how much fuss he would give, but he only fussed once, but fell asleep soon after. It was a 12 hour drive to Utah, which wasn't too bad with the stops along the way. It was one of the quietest road trips I've ever been on, due to my mom watching her K drama. Ha! Since Marcus' house was filled with my parents and a new baby, we stayed with my in-laws. They had just visited a few days before, so Emre was happy to be around them and to play with all their fun toys, especially their farm! Emre was big into farm animals, so playing with cows and pigs was the best for him. It was also nice to...

When we decided to move to Michigan, Laleinia made me promise two things: that we'd have Emre's blessing in Utah, and that we'd go back again for Christmas. Lain and Emre went out a few days before me, and then I followed along. I worked for a few days from the Provo office, which was nice. Very small, and most people were out for their holiday breaks, so I had the office almost to myself on some days! It was great to spend time with both sides of our families, especially for Emre to get time with all of his grandparents. The other massive positive was that we got to go skiing/snowboarding a couple of times, and the snow was fantastic! When we travel, we love to explore new places, but it is always great to see family, and to go back to Utah. Another bonus was to meet Logan's girlfriend (who would soon become his wife), and for me and Logan to build our Christmas igloo. This year was the year of the BIGloo! It was nice to celebrat...

When we set our list of goals for the year, we didn't think that we would be living anywhere but Utah. This reflected on those goals, and the most difficult for us to accomplish was hiking up to delicate arch in Moab. Well, since we were spending a few days in Utah for Emre's blessing and Connor's farewell, we took our chance and headed down to Moab the same day that we were flying back to Michigan.  In order not to miss our flight, we had to be up and out of the hotel by 3:30am. As usual, we were a little late, but by 4am we were on the road, Grandma at the wheel! I (Alastair) chatted to my mum all the way down, which was nice. It always is. By 9am (after some delays) we were at the trail that leads to Delicate Arch. Grandma, Alastair, Laleinia, Emre, Hollie, Connor, and Sarah. The hike isn't the easiest, especially when you consider that we aren't in the best shape. Alastair had to carry Emre, a backpack, and an umbrella to shield him from the...

We had a lovely weekend visiting with family in Utah. Grandad and Grandma just moved out to Utah, and this was the first time that everyone from both sides of the family were together at the same time. We got close before but missed Doug who was on a mission when we got married, and we missed some McKees last summer.  Anyway, on Saturday morning we dropped Emre off with his Lola and Grandpa and went to the Mount Timpanogos temple with the McKee side. It was such a special experience, the first time that the whole family were in the temple together. Laleinia and I both left determined to do all we can to one day have the same experience with our own children. We spent the afternoon at a park in Provo canyon, having a BBQ and playing some games with family. It was a lot of fun, really nice to be together with both sides of the family. Towards the end, I went off to hike with Kip. We went up big baldy, and in an attempt to avoid the steep downhill and save ...

This weekend sure was a lot of fun! My sister-in-law, Jess, threw us a couple’s baby shower, so we spent a lot of time with friends and family this weekend. We had a nice lunch, chatted about Hoarders (our recent binge-watch), decorated some onesies, and played games. Jess did a really great job in preparing this for us! It was also nice to have my brothers here to spend some quality family time! Our family time typically consists of a lot of laughter and late nights. I’m definitely sleep deprived, but I guess that’s just something I’ll have to get used to now that this baby is coming! We are at the final stretch of this pregnancy. Within this month, Baby McKee will be here! I am beyond excited for the arrival of this baby, especially to finally know what the gender is. I think it’s total crap when women say they “know” what the gender of their baby is, like they have some “mother’s intuition,” because I honestly have no idea what this baby is going to be! Boy or girl, I don...

I can't believe it is 2015! Last year just flew by. I'm definitely looking forward to this year, especially for the baby to come. I went to bed very late and got up really early to go snowboarding at Sundance with Marcus. I got a snowboard and all of the gear from Laleinia for Christmas. Today was my third time riding my board already! Marc and I were on the slopes for about 5 hours, and I felt like we were the only ones there for the first one or two! It was a great day to be at Sundance! Now, if I am being really honest, I am going through a bit of a crisis! Each year, around new years, I start thinking of what Laleinia and I can do in the coming twelve months. We make ourselves a kind of bucket list for the year, and then throughout the year we try and do all of the things that we planned on doing. This year, I've been trying to think of what we can put on our list, but I get stuck. I am realizing that my life is changing dramatically, because we have a baby on the ...

I love the outdoors, and I love adventure. I tried skiing for the first (and only) time last year, and I loved it. Since Qualtrics has corporate passes to Sundance, and since I had some days off that I needed to take, I dropped Laleinia off at work, and headed off to the mountains! It took a little while to get the hang of skiing again, but I was determined to do one of the blue square runs, more difficult than the green. Having the corporate pass was great because I got to skip the lines! As soon as I got to the bottom of the run, I got right on the lift, and was on my way back to the top! I got to chat with loads of people on the lifts, which was fun. My main goal was to get down on of the blue runs without falling. It took me probably ten attempts, but I was able to do it in the end! I had some pretty good falls, skis and poles going everywhere. Even my goggles flew off on one of them! I was skiing for the best part of eight hours, which I know is going to make me reall...