We had one exciting weekend. The boys went to a cabin in Hobble Creek Canyon and Gail stayed at home. The adventures began on Friday afternoon. Andy and the boys departed for Utah about 12pm. They were going to stay with our friends, the Boatmans, at a cabin in the canyon. They arrived to a huge thunderstorm and once it passed the weather was absolutely beautiful.

Saturday morning they got up and went fishing

and caught some beautiful trout.

Andy and Brian met up with another friend of ours, Chris Johnson, and played golf at the Hobble Creek course, which by all reports was fantastic. The boys then all went kayaking and swimming and Nikolas took another try at riding dirt bikes (no burns this time). They finished off the day BBQing some ribs and had a feast. The boys return Sunday afternoon, all tan and tired and were ready for bed.

Gail enjoyed her weekend at home. She was doing a Pampered Chef party on Saturday and rearranged furniture while everyone was away. Other than some peace and quiet, she was excited because she made herself fish both evenings without any complaints.

The rest of last week was fairly typical. Matthew started summer school and had a good start. Gail and Andy worked and the boys continued to enjoy their summer.

We hope all is well.

We have been having a rather odd summer. Nearly every day for the last two weeks it has rained and not just sprinkled, but really rained. It has resulted in things staying very green and quite nice. It has also been relatively cool. Gail is happy, because by this time last year, things were beginning to turn brown and did not look so good. It is good to have her spirits up.

The big news this week was the Motorcycle Jamboree this weekend. The jamboree brings out the best in Elko culture, including Sue's Fantasy Club offering free drinks to its "clients" and setting up a vendor booth to sell alcohol laced Otter Pops. I am not making this up. One of the many shocks coming to Nevada was how loose the liquor laws are. Essentially, except for in your car, you can drink whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want. Thus, the jamboree results in a lot of local yocals having a good time, insuring Andy will have plenty of work.

Andy was quite excited because this year there were suppose to be two nights of concerts. The first night L.A. Guns, Great White and Molly Hatchet were scheduled to play. Night two were two all-female cover bands Zepperella (Led Zeppellin) and Hells Belles (AC/DC). Andy went both nights. The first night was rained out and the second night the sound system did not work so well. He was greatly disappointed.

Other than the Jamboree it was a fairly quiet week. Our nephew Gareth was with us until Thursday and we enjoyed having him visit. It gave the boys someone else to play with. Gail did a few cleaning jobs, but she has arranged her schedule so she works every other week, thus giving her time with the boys. So far the schedule has worked out.

We are all looking forward to our upcoming trip to New Hampshire. Everyone is excited to be going back.

Not much else to report. Hope all is well with our friends and family.

We just returned from a long weekend in Idaho visiting Gail's parents. Matthew had been up there all week and he came back with us. He reported having a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's. He went to the pool, built a fort and I think enjoyed most of all hot having to compete against his little brother.

Our nephew Gareth came with us on the trip and we were glad to have him with us. He will stay with us for the week and then Andy will take him back home when he goes to Wendover later this week. Our little trip was nice, despite the fat it rained each day we were there. We left Thursday evening. Friday morning we went into Boise to see Grandma Bates and then went to Chuck-E-Cheese's to celebrate Nikolas' birthday. We then went for a ride to Homedale to see some petroglyphs on some rocks by the Snake River. They were neat and we will try and get a picture up as soon as we get them downloaded.

Saturday was celebration day. We had a family get together in a local park to celebrate Nikolas and Gareth's birthday. It was a fun trip , but we were glad to get home.

The rest of last week was fairly typical. We all worked. Nikolas helped Gail out and it was fairly quiet with only Nikolas here. We hope all is well with you and wish you well until next week.

We have survived the 1st week of the boys summer vacation. This was also the end of Nikolas' baseball season and he did very well. During his last game he went 1-3 with another RBI and ended the season batting over .600. He had a great year and is looking forward to playing again next spring.

Gail and the boys were off to Idaho from Tuesday to Friday for a short visit. Gail attended a Pampered Chef training meeting and the boys played at Grandma and Grandpa's. Andy had to hold the fort down and was off to Wendover for Court on Wednesday. He missed having the crew around and was glad to see everyone on Friday.

Saturday was busy around our house. The boys were off to Cub Scout Day Camp, each came home with some badges, excited they got to shoot a gun and do archery, but the real excitement was the gold fish that came home. The boys named them Matthew and Nikolas so ...... we now have two boys and two fish with the same name. Andy relived the 1980's by attending an outdoor "Survivor" concert in Wendover. He came home humming "Eye of the Tiger" and reported it was very fun.

We cannot end our post this week without wishing a big Happy Birthday to Nikolas who turned 8 today. We are planning his baptism for August 1, 2009 in Elko for those of you who would like to attend.

We hope you all have a great week.