We had a fairly quick week. The boys continue to go to school and Gail and Andy continue to work. Andy did not work Monday as his leg was still in bad shape. He is doing better now, but the problem has not cleared up completely. He has spent a good amount of time with his leg elevated. He did return to work on Tuesday and did his best to stay off of the leg.

The boys continue to do well in school and seem to have had a good start. Matthew receives weekly grade reports and after two weeks his grades are all A's and B's. We are so very proud of him. Nikolas has taken a liking to baseball and is excited to play this year. Nearly every day he is outside playing catch. He has even recruited Andy to toss the ball to him occasionally. Without suprise we got our first call from the Principal this week. Nikolas apparently was not happy with a boy who would not stop bugging him, so Nikolas took matters into his own hands.

This weekend was the Elko County Fair, so Friday there was no school and Andy's office closed at 12 pm. It is a county holiday called "Fair Day." We were going to go to the fair on Friday, but it was still pretty warm (90's), so we went on Saturday. The main highlight of the fair is the horse races. We saw one, but it didn't catch the boys interest, so we did not stay long. The fair is not big and took us less than 2 hours to see everything (this includes the obligatory stop at the fair food stands). We all enjoyed the animals and home crafts. Matthew and Nikolas found out there is a Lego contest, so next year each will enter their own creations. Nikolas cried on the way home because he only got to do the boring things and never gets to do anything fun.

Despite it being very warm Friday and Saturday (mid 90's), the interesting thing is on Monday it is supposed to only be in the 60's with snow in the mountains. Quite a contrast.

That sums up our week. We hope all is well wherever you may be.

Busy week back

We had one busy week back in Elko. The boys started school on Monday and it only took until Wednesday before the daily ritual of not wanting to do homework began. Yes, beginning Tuesday the boys had homework. Gail says the battle has begun. Nikolas and Matthew report they both like their respective new teachers. Below are the boys on the first day of school. As you can see the New Hampshire influence has not worn off on Matthew.

It continues to be very warm in Elko. The daily temps have been in the 90's and very sunny. After a week of cool rainy weather in NH, it took a few days to readjust. Gail and Andy had fairly good weeks. Andy had another leg infection start on Tuesday and this one came with a vengeance. Thankfully he did not have to go to the hospital, but was sent home from work on Friday and told not to return until at least Tuesday. His week was very busy which did not help in recovery. He had his first bunch of juvenile intake hearings which are the equivalent of an arraignments. Gail was back to the daycare center and continues to book and hold Pampered Chef shows.

This morning we all travelled to the Owyhee Branch on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation to speak. Gail's parents met us there and it was nice to see them.

We have downloaded some pictures from our trip to New Hampshire which didn't make it last week. We stopped at Andy's cousin's house and Matthew had a chance to ride one of her horses. He said it was pretty cool and fun, but the best part was feeding them carrots afterwards.

The Friday to Sunday we were in NH we spent in Tamworth. Below is Mt. Chocorua and there is a lake of the same name nearby that we spent the day swimming at. You can see Matthew and Nikolas having a good time. Andy and his Aunt tried to swim to the rock out in the center of the lake, but were unable to find it due to the high water. Oh well, maybe next year.

We also had the opportunity to get together with a group of some very dear friends and could not leave out a picture of all the kids dressed up having star wars battles.

On our last day in NH the boys all went to Lucky's Barbershop and Shave Parlor to get haircuts from their favorite barber. Below is Matthew standing in front on Grandma's house with his green hair.

We flew back into Las Vegas and then before heading home we decided to stop and see the lions at the MGM Grand and take in an act at Circus Circus. The acrobats were pretty amazing. As you can see Matthew was pretty excited that we stopped at all of these places.

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

We are back

We have all returned from our fabulous trip to New Hampshire.

Gail and Andy left to travel to New Hampshire on the 5th. They both flew out of Las Vegas and found a great deal at a local hotel which allowed them to park for the week and then on their return spend the night, total cost came to less than $100.00. The downside was that the flight left at 11:55 PM, so it was a long night or short morning depending on who you speak with. Thankfully, we arrived safely and without any delay. We were excited to see the boys as we missed them.

We did arrive on Wednesday to a good amount of rain. In fact, it did not stop raining until Friday. While in NH we visited with family and friends, all of which was wonderful. We spent a few days in Tamworth, NH and did some shopping. The weekend we were in Tamworth was the only time we saw the sun the whole time there. Oh well. The boys even had a chance to visit their favorite barbershop in Concord. Yes, we also got to see Oliver our cat we had to leave in NH when we moved to Elko. Overall it was a fantastic trip and are grateful we got to see as many people as we did.

All of us travelled back together and we left NH on Tuesday afternoon. I do not think there was a dry eye when we got onto the plane. Again, we had an uneventful flight and made it safely to Las Vegas. Wednesday morning we got up and did some exploring. We checked out the lions at the MGM Grand and went over to Circus Circus to watch some of the acts and play the midway games. The boys won some prizes. We got back to Elko about midnight. We enjoyed Las Vegas, but were glad to get back to the rural area without all the traffic and noise. We hate to admit it, but are probably beginning to appreciate the quiet nature of where we live.

Andy and Gail had to get back to work Thursday. Andy made it to his office for a couple of hours before heading out to Wendover to meet with his clients on Thursday and attend Court all day Friday. He got home Friday evening about 6pm and was glad to finally get a good nights rest in his own bed. This weekend was full of unpacking and cleaning up the house and getting ready for school to begin. The boys begin tomorrow morning. Thursday morning we had a chance to meet Matthew's teacher and are excited for this new year. It is amazing to think the summer is over.

Gail's Pampered Chef business continues to do well. While in NH Gail got to attend some Pampered Chef meetings and Saturday she had a very successful show which has lead to her booking three more shows. We are glad things have taken off for her.

That about sums up the week. We hope all of you are doing well and until next week.

This past week was very quiet in more respects than one. Tuesday morning Matthew and Nikolas flew out to NH with Andy's mom for a visit with Grandma. We have received daily updates by e-mail with some pictures. The first one shows Matthew and Nikolas are climbing on the Tilton Arch, which was located close to where we lived in Northfield. The second shows Matthew having a good time with Jim kayaking. We think it is on the Merrimack River. We have enjoyed their updates and are looking forward to their return just before school begins. It is amazing to think that in 2 weeks the boys start school again. The summer has sure flown by.

Things have been quite since the boys left. Gail and Andy have gone on a date nearly every night, including to the Nevada Dinner House, which the have decided is the best of the Basque restaurants in Elko. They had a movie night that worked out well. Gail went to see "Mama Mia" and Andy went to see " The Dark Knight", followed by a bit of pizza. Friday evening was the county picnic for all Elko County Employees which was nice. Saturday night they both stayed home. Gail tackled cleaning and re-arranging the boys bedroom which turned out to be quite a project.

Andy continues to be quite busy with work. Gail has had a good week and she continues to have Pampered Chef parties, doing one Saturday morning. While Mom and Dad have enjoyed a bit of time alone, we both miss the boys and will be glad to see them again.

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