We have had a busy and fast week. Sickness has struck our home. Matthew was not feeling well last Sunday, then Nikolas was sick and home from school Monday until Wednesday, followed by Gail who began Thursday and is finally feeling a bit better after a trip to see the doctor. The boys are excited because this next week is spring break.

We hope you all had a nice Easter. We attended church at a small branch on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Owyhee. Our family were the speakers and the boys did a great job. Our family doubled the attendance at the meeting. In total there were 9 people. After church we were invited to stay for lunch and then came home to have our own Easter celebration which was nice. We did have an Easter egg hunt. Gail has become quite the negotiator, ending the evening with nearly all the Hersey's Dark Chocolates. Matthew was this year's egg fight champ.

Andy had a busy week. The jury on his murder trial came back with its verdict on Monday and found his client guilty of voluntary manslaughter, which was significantly less than what the state charged. The rest of his week was spent catching up on things which built up over the time of the trial. Thursday evening he drove up to Jackpot, NV, for a trial on Friday morning. Jackpot is about 70 miles north of Wells and basically is 4 casinos which sit on the Idaho border. The trial went well and he got a not guilty verdict.

Friday afternoon he came back and Gail then went off the SLC to do a Pampered Chef show Saturday morning. The boys had a Dad's night out. We watched movies and ate popcorn, then Saturday morning we spent the day doing all our chores, They got the house cleaned, the laundry done and had time to play and go to the library.

We hope all is well with you. Best to each of you until next week.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all our friends and family. Spring came in quite nicely this past week. We have been in the 50's and 60's most of the week and all the snow has melted on the valley floor. We are enjoying the longer days and the warmer weather.

The past week has gone by quickly. Monday we had our own St. Patrick's Day celebration and introduced some of our new found friends to corned beef and cabbage. It was enjoyed by all.

Andy was pretty much gone all week. His trial started on Tuesday and he was not seen again until Friday. The case got done sooner than expected. It was supposed to go for six days, but it wrapped up after four. The jury is still out in its deliberations which is usually not a good sign. The case was tough. Andy's job was to put the client's case on, so he did direct examination of 5 witnesses, including his client. All reports are that he did a good job.

Andy has taken up swimming again. Two weeks ago he got the family pool pass and each morning since then he has gone to swim. He has met a few new people who are regular swimmers.

Gail and the boys missed Andy, but overall had a good week. Matthew has taken to swimming and Saturday he worked very hard at swimming one length of the pool. He did a good job and we are hoping with a bit of practice he will be able to do one lap, which will qualify him to be on the community swim team. If he makes it he will get to swim every afternoon. Nikolas was very excited. Yesterday, he and Andy went to the golf course and he got to use the new clubs Jim brought him a few weeks ago. He had a great time. He took a bucket of balls and went to the driving range and launched a few.

That about sums up our week. We hope you are all well and on this Easter Day take a few minutes to reflect upon the great significance of this day. Until next week.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

The past week flew by. We had a pretty exciting Sunday last week. Our family was asked to speak in sacrament meeting and everyone, including the boys participated. We all spoke on the same subject. By all accounts everyone did well and Mom and Dad we very proud of the boys for overcoming their fears and giving their talks.

Monday was also exciting as we got our pool pass. We have been once to swim and Andy has gone each morning this week. He has made some new swimming friends and reports that he is enjoying getting back into the swimming routine. The boys had a great time swimming with Dad and are looking forward to the next trip.

Andy's big homicide trial begins Tuesday. He is nervous and has been working quite hard and a lot of hours to get prepared. Andy was in Salt Lake City on Saturday participating in our Stake Temple Day. He made a trip out in the morning, stopped at Costco for some supplies and then was back in Elko in time to go to work for a bit.

Gail's Relief Society event went very well and she is glad it is over. Now she can get back to the other things she has been meaning to get to. Gail is looking forward to Spring and this past week we had some real spring like weather. We are all actually pretty excited to have warmer weather so we can get out and explore.

That about sums up our week. We hope you all are well. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Yet another wonderful week has passed in Northeastern Nevada. Really not much has occurred out of the ordinary this week, other than we are enjoying having a precursor to spring arrive. The weather has warmed up and we have had beautiful sunshine. Andy saw some flowers popping through the ground this week and quite a few robins have returned to the area. We are anxious for our first spring in the desert. We are all looking forward to enjoying the outdoors here.

The boys continue to do well in school. Last week we had an IEP meeting for Matthew and for the 1st time Matthew's grades have actually gone up. We are all very excited. Nikolas continues to do well. This week he asked if he could do gymnastics again. Now we need to find a place. Gail continues to work at the daycare center and prepare for the Relief Society birthday celebration this Tuesday. She will be glad once this is over. Andy continues to enjoy his job. He was paid a nice compliment by one of the clerks at the local court. She said she enjoyed seeing him in Court as he is one of the most professional attorney's that appears. Andy's big trial begins in a week and once that is over he will be glad.

We hope you are all well and best wishes until next week.

Grandma and Jim Arrive.

We have enjoyed a wonderful week. Andy's Mom and Jim arrived on Tuesday and that evening there were a few presents to open. Matthew was extremely excited with the Lego Batman he received and you can see that Nikolas was a bit disappointed until he was able to open his present.

Then it was Matthew who thought things were a bit unfair. Nikolas was able to use the clubs while Jim was here. It only took one day until the clubs were moved to Andy's car for safe keeping (Actually to prevent Nikolas from swinging them around the house).

Mom and Jim went with the boys to their school on Wednesday and were a big hit with the stacking cups and drumming they did with Matthew and Nikolas' classes. It was great to have Jim hear as well to the soothing sounds of the King's English (the new england accent). We also got to do some exploring. We drove out to Lamoille a cute little community south of Elko. It sits at the base of the Ruby Mountains. As you can see from the pictures, we in fact do have trees in Northern Nevada. Andy's Mom particularly enjoyed the Presbyterian Church in Lamoille.

Matthew and Jim enjoyed a bit of a snowball fight.

We all sampled some great Basque and Mexican food during the visit. Overall, it was a great visit and even though they left today we really miss them and look forward to seeing them again.

That about sums up our week. We hope you are all well.