Nights in Rodanthe

Last night we watched this movie - Nights in Rodanthe. I had been begging Lance for awhile and he finally gave in. Thanks Lance! I love a good movie, but I must say I was not really impressed with this one. I don't like movies with a really crappy ending. Sorry for all of those who have not seen it yet. You might not want to read the rest. It is a story of a family who is seperated and the kids are fighting for the parents to get back together. The husband had left his wife for another and was coming back, begging to come back home, because he was sorry for what he had done. So Adrian, the mother, main actress, goes on a vacation for a week to see her best friend in a beach home that is literally on the ocean. It is a neat old home and there is a tale that wild horses swam to this specific place. Richard Gere, who plays the role of Paul, who is a doctor that is divorced and hasn't seen his son in over a year comes to this home, which is a bed and breakfast, for a couple of days to meet a man who's wife died while undergoing an opteration that he performed on her. He wants answers and wants to know what happened so Paul comes to talk to him, only to find that the whole town knows about it and there are many hard feelings.
Well to make the long story short. These two people with broken hearts become in love and they spend one week that was paradise for them. Then Paul, leaves for Ecuador to see his son, who is a doctor there helping those less fortunate. He leaves and promises to write her every day. So they write to each other and fall even more in love. Then the day he is planned to come home she prepares a dinner and a speical evening only to find that he never comes. So the next morning Paul's son shows up on her doorstep to deliver his father's things to her. He tells her of the accident in Ecuador that took his father's life. He was killed in a flash flood trying to rescue medical supplies for his son.
It was so sad. I hate movies with icky endings. So she goes to live a sad life without him and how she must face things. It was in tears the whole time. I don't like movies with a sad ending. So if any of you want to see it, you might like it, you might not like me.

Sugar

I found this on my cousin's blog. The article made me gag. I am going to try to cut back on sugar not only for myself but for my children. I didn't realize all the negatives that sugar does to the body.
http://www.mercola.com/article/sugar/dangers_of_sugar.htm

Mondays

Mondays have always felt lazy to me. I have never really liked them, knowing another week is ahead of us and it is my day to clean the house and do laundry.
Days like today feel so relaxed and mundane sometimes. It rained all day and it was relaly really cold so we didn't really go outside. We just chilled inside most of the day. My sister Rachel and her daughter Ava came over to play and the boys loved that. I really enjoyed the company also. Thanks Rachel for visiting us! Come again soon!
Here is what our day consisted of:
- Cleaning the house
- Doing the laundry
- coloring, reading stories, playing hide-n-g-seek for the 10th time
- taking our books back to the library to avoid a late fee
- going to visit Uncle Justin and seeing the new paint
- cooking dinner
- bathing my boys
- watching my boys jump all over their dad.

I have been sitting here watching my boys wrestle their dad. It is so fun to watch them get so excited about small things. Lance is just laughing his head off and it has been awhile since I have heard him laugh like that. It's a good sound.

Lately Lance and I have been doing a lot of thinking about the things we want most out of life. Our patriarchal blessings have been a huge reminder to us that all will be ok for us if we just stick to the Lord's side and do what He has asked us to do. I have felt so many emotions this past week, frustration, sadness, loneliness, and just plain exhausted. I am sure some of it, if not most of it, is due to the fact that I am pregnant, but it has still been no fun for me.
Lance's work has slowed down quite abit. We are looking for new opportunities. Our options are open at the moment. He really enjoys the building buisness. He said that there is great satisfaction in seeing a plot of dirt become a beautiful home. He would like to stay with that proffession but right now we are still thinking if that is what we can do and survive on. I just know that something will come our way. It always has and I know it always will.
I haven't been as supportive as I should be. Maybe it is due to the fact that this whole week I have only thought about the things I am going through. I have been busy with my calling. I am really loving the Young Women's program. They are a constant reminder of being Christlike to me. I know there is always room for improvement. Here we come!
Ok, now I am off my soapbox. Things are really good. We are healthy, happy and most of all we love each other.

Happy Halloween

This year was really fun. Both of the boys were old enough to understand what was going on. The weatehr was overcast, but warm. It was the perfect weather. Thank you Mother Nature for holding out on us. We started trick or treating at Great Grandma Beard's house. She was the first to put candy in their bucket. They just loved that and wanted to eat it all. Then we headed down to the church ready for the trunk or treat. There was a great turn out. We met up with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Justin and the Laney's. The boys loved going trunk to trunk getting all the free candy they could get in their buckets. Andrew would not wear his costume so we didn't force the issue and let him go as is.
Afterwards we went to my brother Justin's house for a BBQ with all of his single friends. They had a big bonfire going and some really really good food. Thanks Justin for letting us come and hang out with you.
Then my mom was nice enough to watch the boys while Lance and I headed over to his Aunt and Uncle Shaw's house for a family get together. Only problem was, no one really came. It was just us and them. We had a great chat but about 10 p.m. we headed back to our home to relieve my mom. I couldn't believe both of my boys were still awake on the couch watching Mr. Kruegger's Christmas. They not only watched all of that but the Polar Express also. Thanks mom! You are a real sport.
This year Halloween was great. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. I love my boys. I love that they get so excited about the small things. I need to do that more often.
Happy Halloween everyone!

Keaton showing off some of his candy

Grandma and Grandpa Quinn with all their grandkids
(our little family waiting for the trunk or treat)
the grandkids waiting

The McCains showed up to the party

The sunset was amazing. I took this picture to see the colors
Me and my boys

Uncle Justin with all of the kids

Officer Laney

My brother-in-law just recently graduated from the Boise Police Department's Academy and is now an offical officer. Last week we went to his graudation. It was a first for me and it was really interesting to watch them being sworn into office and take their oaths. We had a great time and a fun time celebrating over lunch at Wingers. It was the first time I had ever been there. We will have to make it back there someday.
Congratulations Jason! We are so proud of you!

Fall Harvest party

Every year a family in my parents ward host a huge Fall Harvest Party. Everyone is welcomed. There is lots of food, activities and fun for all ages. We thought it would be fun to take the boys since they are getting big enough to grasp the concept of a holiday.
The Palmers, who host this party, have an incredibly beautiful home. It is nestled back to the Boise River on a couple of acres. It is a colonial looking home with a beautiful red barn. I love red barns!


To start it off, Spiderman and Batman parachutted into the party. All the kids loved that. We watched them jump out and land right in the middle of the party where they had a fenced off area for them to land.



Once they did all the kids ran to them to see if Spidermand and Batman really came to the party. Keaton was pretty excited about Spiderman so we took him up there to see him and get his picture with him. I think that made his night.

This year they had maccaroni for the kids. That was hit. They usullly have chili and cornbread and that doesn't sit too well in anyone's stomach if you ask me. Our good friend Mike showed up with his son Jacob. They are not members but yesterday I took a flier over to them to see if they were interested. I am so glad they came too.
It was fun to see everyon there. There were many faces I hadn't seen for awhile too.
Towards the beginning there was an airplane that flew down low and dropped buckets full of candy out into an open field for all the kids to find. Keaton had fun finding candy and putting it in his pumpkin.


Andrew still wansn't quite sure what was going on so I just followed as he ran around in the field. They have always done taht and it has been a big hit. They also have hayrides, stories by the fire, pumpkin painting and carving, a haunted hayride/corn maze. Unfortunatly our kids are too young for that so we took off before it got too cold. It was another hit this year. It is a fun way to start the Holiday spirit. I love this time of year! Here are some pictures from this evening. Enjoy!

Grandma Beard

Today was my Grandmother's 76th Birthday. I love my Grandma Beard. She has been one of my closest friends. My parents live right next door to her so we see her almost every day or whenever we are over there. My boys love their Great Grandma Beard.

(my grandma in her younger days)
To celebrate we had dinner with everyone at our home. I made a turkey, stuffing, supposed to have mashed potatoes but the potatoes were really old and so we substituted with rice. It was like Thanksgiving dinner all over again. No one really talked at the table. We just ate and ate. Then afterwards we had cake and ice cream. I love having reasons for having everyone over. It was so fun and the kids had a great time. Thanks everyone for coming. We had a great time and Happy Birthday to you Grandma! I love you!
my boys with Great Grandma Beard last year for Halloween

our birthday crowd at our home
Grandma Beard and gang