Gail and I have returned from our trip to New Hampshire. Gail came back with a bit of struggle, but she did get off the plane once we reached Las Vegas. The boys stayed for an extra week with Grandma.

We had a great trip and even better weather. Our flight out to NH went great. We were all tired when we arrived, so day one we did some shopping. While there we enjoyed a few evenings with some of our dear friends. We have posted only a few of the pictures, but there are many more on our Facebook pages.


One of the highlights of the trip was the time we spent in Tamworth. The cabin is where we stayed and it was fantastic. It was quiet and peaceful and we had a great time. While there we got to see Andy's sister and nephews. We also got to do some swimming. Nikolas was getting some great air as his Dad threw him as far as he could. Andy and his aunt went for a great swim to some rocks on a sand bar in the lake.





Andy and the boys also enjoyed a trip to Boston. They went to Haymarket, ate some great pizza and then went for a walk through the North End, stopping at a few bakeries and taking in some of the historic sights. The highlight of the Boston trip was to the Temple of the Nation, otherwise known as Fenway Park. While they boys did not get to take a tour of the park, they walked around, hit to the official Red Sox store. The boys got a photo with Wally the Green Monster and even brought back some new hats. It was a great trip.



Gail and Andy had a good flight back. We got into Las Vegas about 9pm. We stayed at the MGM and it was nice. For some reason, maintenance decided to do some work on the room next to us so we were awaken by some drilling and banging.
We did some shopping in Vegas and then headed to Wendover to see our friends the Boatmans. It was great to see them.

We got back Friday and it was back to work.

While we enjoy the time at home, we will be glad to have the boys home. We hope all is well with you.

This was a quiet week at the Mierins household, mostly because we were down one child and kept ourselves quite busy. Nikolas enjoyed the week up in Idaho visiting with his grandparents and playing with his cousins. He got to go to the pool, eat at McDonald's and watch TV. When we would try to speak with him during the week we could get no response as he was trying to watch his shows. Matthew enjoyed the first day Nikolas was gone, but by day two missed his brother and was looking forward to his return. All reports were that he did indeed have a good time.

Matthew had summer school this week and after a rough start the first day he seems to be settling in quite well. Gail and Andy continue to be busy. Gail has gotten involved in the production of a musical to be performed in the fall. She has rehearsal two nights a week and other than the subject matter is glad to be able to use the talents she has been blessed with. She had a busy week work wise. She has her accounts set up so she essentially works every other week. She enjoys the time that gives her to do things with the boys.

Andy has been busy as always. Between church and work he keeps himself fairly busy. This last week was a bit quieter than normal. He is looking forward to teaching in the fall at the local community college. He will be teaching a course on introduction to American government.

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

We have had a wonderful week, mostly because we had a nice long weekend where we had no commitments or places to be.

Friday we all slept in, a rarity around our home, and once we were up we ran some of our weekly errands and then decided to go for a trip up Lamoille Canyon which is nearby. The pictures posted this week were all taken in the canyon. It was absolutely beautiful and as you can see we saw several waterfalls and even a neat beaver dam. We didn't find the beaver.


There is a six mile road that goes into the canyon and along the way we stopped to see several of the sites. There is one area that has several avalanches every year and you can see the effects of that on the topography. Once you are at the end of the road there are several trails to hike along. We hiked along one until we found this neat stream. The boys enjoyed playing in the water and Mom and Dad just enjoyed being together. The boys reported that the water was quite cold and you can see why from some of the pictures. There is still quite a bit of snow in the area.


Matthew the Polar Bear did not think it was that bad. Once he got out though his feet were beet red and very chilly. Nikolas "accidentally" dropped his shoe in the stream. Thankfully, some other hikers with a dog passed by and we were able to recover the shoe. After the hike we went home and had a great BBQ.







Saturday was also a great day. This weekend was the National Basque Festival. We enjoyed the Basque games. The games consisted of a weight lifting competition (how many times can a person lift a 225 lb cylinder in 3 minutes -the winner did it 21 times), a wood chopping contest and a relay race, which consisted of lifting the cylinder, cutting a log and running. In addition to the games there were dancing demonstrations, Basque singing and music and a sheep herding demonstration. It was really neat and we are glad we were here to participate this year. Saturday evening we sat on the hill near our home and watched the 4th of July fireworks which were spectacular. The display went on for almost 1/2 hour. Needless to say we were all very late to bed.





The earlier part of our week was fairly typical. Matthew went to school Monday through Thursday. Andy worked. He was in Wendover on Wednesday and went to a quinceañera which he thought was neat. Elko, like every other occasion has a neat July 4th parade. This one reflected the many cultures of the Elko area. Andy really enjoyed the Mexican riders and cowboys. One the them was doing rope tricks which were neat.

Nikolas left this afternoon to go spend time with his grandparents in Idaho. We all hope he has a good time.

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