Primary Teachers that we LOVE!

Sunday May 4, 2008, was our last Sunday to attend our ward here in South Bend. What a neat, friendly and amazing ward it is! We love the South Bend, IN ward! When we came to the ward in August we were immediately taken in, put to work and we have been so blessed! I have grown so much serving as a Primary teacher and John and I both have really enjoyed serving together with our darling and energetic class! It's hard to believe our time in this wonderful ward has come and gone so fast. Our kids have also been so blessed with great Primary teachers and good friends. Broc has really enjoyed Jessica Lambourne as his teacher and thank goodness for his friend and the only other boy in his class, Derek. Although they didn't spend a ton of time together when they did play they had alot of fun. McCall became a sunbeam this past Jan and we are so thankful to Sis Carrie Kindt and Ashley Glissmeyer for their patience and long suffering. With a class of 8 girls its a wonder they still came to church on a regular basis! Thanks to you all for making a lasting impression on our kids, they love you and so do we!

Fun at the Zoo!

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, the MBA Family Life Committee held a family day at the Potowatami Zoo here in South Bend. We really enjoyed the zoo but we especially hanging out with our fellow MBAers and their families. We have truley grown to love these families and we are really going to miss them! Thanks Dan & Shanda for a great activity - we had a good time!

Utah's New Front Runner

Following the funeral weekend we, along with 30,000 other crazy Utahns, decided on Monday, April 28th to try out the new Front Runner train. We rode the train from the Layton stop to SLC, walked to Temple Square, had lunch and then rode the train back. Although it was crazy busy with tons of people we did have a great time. We enjoyed spending the day together!

Breakfast with the Crippens

On Saturday morning before the funeral we managed to squeeze in a yummy breakfast at Granny Annie's with the Crippens. It was fun to see everyone and although it was only for a short meal we did enjoy seeing everyone. Thanks guys for having breakfast with us!

Utah Trip - G Mac Funeral

On Tuesday, April 22, 2008 the kids and I headed to Utah. Thanks to my parents generosity, we were able to fly and be home for Grandpa Mac's funeral. John followed on Thursday night and was only able to stay the weekend but the kids and I stayed for a whole week and we had a great time! Although it was for a sad occasion it was so great to see everyone and spend time with my family. I know it sounds a little weird to say but hey, I'm a little weird! I love weddings and funerals because that is when we get to see our fun cousins that we rarely see. Everyone of the McKinstry cousins came to town and we partied! On Saturday, at the viewing before the funeral, McCall was standing at G Mac's casket and this is the conversation that took place:

McCall:"Mom, we are going to bury him today"
Me: "Yes we are after the funeral"
McCall: "I need to get my shovel"
Me: "Your shovel?"
McCall: "Yes my shovel so I can help bury him today!"

I tried to explain that there were men whose job it was to do this task but she was insitent for the rest of the afternoon that she needed her shovel to help get the job done.

Happy Birthday Ana! The big 4-0!

This evening we celebrated our neighbor Ana's 40th birthday with several friends at the community center. Ana and her husband, Hrvoje, along with their children Mare & Marko are from Croatia. He is here at ND as a Fulbright Scholar for one year. They are just the nicest people and it has been fun to have them as our neighbors! Happy Birthday Ana!

More Pics of Blue & Gold at ND

I wanted to add these because they are just so cute!

Here is John doing the "your 5 foot nothin, 100 and nothin" speech to Broc from the movie "Rudy." This is the tunnel that that particular scene was filmed in.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about then you better have a movie night soon!

One Talk, Two Talk, Three Lesson More!!

Today was a busy day for us at church. I gave a talk in Sacrament Mtg. on "Motherhood," Broc gave a great talk in Primary about "Following the Prophet" and John and I taught our Primary class about "Daring to Choose the Right." Whew! It truly was a great day and all of our responsibilities went very smooth but I will say that I'm really glad its over! I really don't mind speaking in Church it's just the whole preparation part that is a killer! I worked on my talk on Friday night and 2 1/2 hours later the computer crashed and I lost all that I had already prepared. I freaked and it was all I could do not to chuck the darn laptop out the window!! Aside from this minor, and I use the term minor very loosely, mishap (it's not really a minor mishap at 1:30am more like total meltdown! You know the kind where all reasoning goes to the way side!) it was smooth sailing once I got back on the computer. In the end all was well hear in our little Zion!



Here is our cute and very energetic Primary Class - We love these kids!

Notre Dame Blue-Gold Football Game

On Saturday we went to the 79th Annual Notre Dame Blue-Gold Football game. We all wore our new "The Shirt 2008" shirts, we were totally matchy, matchy! We really enjoyed our last hurrah in the football stadium here at ND. We went with our friends, The Doughertys, and since it was a total casual game the kids had a great time together.

"The Shirt 2008"

On Friday, 4/18/08, we headed to the bookstore to see "The Shirt 2008" unveiling. Since 1990 "The Shirt" has become a staple for Notre Dame Students. The shirt is proudly worn, with pride on Notre Dame Football game days. Every spring, on the weekend of the annual Blue & Gold football game they hold a fun outdoor event by the bookstore where they unveil the new shirt for the upcoming season. Following the unveiling you can buy "The Shirt" at the bookstore.

We had a great time enjoying free food, face painting, jumping houses, the band and more.

Grandpa Mac

Yesterday My Grandpa Mac passed away. He had just celebrated his 94th birthday at the end of March but in recent week had gotten several bad infections and yesterday afternoon he passed away. My Grandpa was funny little guy who we know loved us but sometimes struggled to show it. I do have some good memories of him growing up and I am grateful for his life and example. He was a hard worker and therefore taught my Dad to work hard who in turn taught me and my sisters! He was a widower for 10 years and for many of those 10 he really just wanted to go ahead to be with Grandma. I remember him saying once a few years back that she, my Grandma, was the only girl he had ever kissed and loved. What a sweet reunion they had yesterday along with my Aunt Gaye, his only daughter, who passed away 4 years ago. Grandpa was a good man and we will miss him!

Rock On!!

Tonight while I was blog stalking, McCall, who was supposed to be in bed, came into my room and this is what went down:

McCall: "Mom, I need a guitar"
Me: "Why"
McCall: "Because I want to rock"
Me(trying not to laugh): "You do? With who?"
McCall: "With my band!"

I think that funniest thing is that she was totally serious. I was trying not to laugh the whole time because I really wanted to get to the end of the conversation. We then went out to the living room to tell John. She relayed the exact same information but then added that she thought that John should play the drums and that I should sing into the microphone. I'm glad she thinks that it would be cool to have her parents in a band with her, give it 15 years and then we will see!

The Three Nephites

A few nights ago we were reading in 3rd Nephi, in our Book of Mormon reader, about the 3 Nephites who asked Jesus if they could stay on the earth to teach the gospel until he returned again. When we were finished with the chapter Broc started asking questions about the 3 Nephites. It went like this:

Broc: "So they will never die?"
John: "Nope"
Broc: "So they are still on the earth today teaching the gospel?"
John: "Yes, they are"
Broc: "What if they are our three missionaries!" "You know the ones who came to our house!"

He was referring to Elder Chumley, Elder Schroeder and Elder Hewlett who had come to our home and who we had had lunch with on the Saturday of General Conference. I had two thoughts about Broc's comments. One, how neat that he would put these three missionaries in the same esteem as the three Nephites and second, that he would think that we would be worthy to have the 3 Nephites come to our house. I'm glad HE has that much faith and belief in us, because I'm not so certain I do! Oh how I love his faithfulness! He has such a great spirit. If the 3 Nephites ever came to visit it would definitely be because of him!

Oh so close!

This past weekend the Notre Dame Men's Hockey team made it to the championship game of the Frozen Four! It was the first time in ND history that they had made it not only to the Frozen Four but to the championship game! It was so exciting to watch them play throughout the tournament and then so sad to see them stumble in the end to a good Boston College team. Oh, they were so close! We really enjoyed watching them play this year! Go Irish!

Super Spy Sissy!

Look out it's Super Spy Sissy! Yesterday McCall pulled out the spy gadget bag and this is what happened! She was serious spy business!