The boys have survived the 1st week of school and all has gone well. Nikolas has enjoyed being able to walk or ride his scooter to school. He likes his new teacher who is actually his old teacher from 2nd grade. Overall he is glad to be back at the school he started when we first arrived in Nevada. It is hard to believe we are coming up on three years here. Matthew had an excellent week. He began the 6th grade and so far we have had excellent reports. We finally got his report card from last year to discover Matthew ended the year with 5 A or A-. We were very excited for him but he has no realized the expectation is high for this year. We will keep you posted as the year continues.

Unfortunately, Gail was very sick this week so was not able to enjoy the beginning of the school year. She is doing better but was up and off her feet for most of the week. Andy was back at work and did his best to help her, get the boys ready each day and get to work. Andy begins teaching his classes tomorrow and he is looking forward to teaching again. Overall, except for Gail it was a great week.

This morning at church our whole family spoke in sacrament meeting. Everyone did a great job and we are adjusting to our new ward.

We hope all is well.

We have had a great week back from our trip to NH. It was back to work for Gail and Andy. Andy found out this week he will be teaching a second course at the local college this semester which he is excited. In addition to the Introduction to American Government class he will be doing an on-line Introduction to American History class. Needless to say we will not be seeing much of him between September and December. The pay off is we have some extra money to do some fun things. Classes begin for him on August 30th, so he has spent the week getting his materials ready.

Gail continues to do her cleaning, but also picked up some additional voice students. Andy was not exaggerating when he said she is very popular and sought after for her voice instruction.

Matthew had an exciting week. He spent most of it with his grandparents in Idaho. He went to the rodeo, a water park and even got to camp out in the backyard, sleeping in a tent. He reports he had a wonderful time. He left on Tuesday and returned Sunday. Just in time to return to school.

It is hard to believe but the summer is over and the boys start school on Monday the 23rd. Nikolas is returning to the elementary school he went to when we first moved. He is excited because he will have the same teacher he had for second grade. He is even more excited about the ability to walk to school. This idea does not excite Mom, but we did some training and did a trial run and he did OK. Nikolas enjoyed having the house all to himself this week, but admitted he misses Matthew. Andy and Gail will remind him at the appropriate time. Matthew begins 6th grade and we cannot believe our little boy is almost in middle school.

That about sums up our week. We hope all is well in your section of the globe.

We have just returned from a wonderful vacation to New Hampshire. We ended up driving and the reasons are numerous, so to save the explanation it just was the best thing under the circumstances for us to do. It worked out great. Andy and Gail left on August 3 and made it to NH by the morning of the 6th.

We saw many friends, visited with family, went to the lake, did plenty of shopping and just had a wonderful time. We all left on our journey home on Aug. 12. Our first stop was in Palmyra, NY. We went to the Smith Farm, the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah. The boys thought it was great and the walk in the Sacred Grove left lasting impressions. We drove as far as Cleveland, OH the first day. We discovered a chain restaurant Andy actually liked. It is called Shake and Steak and if you come across one make a stop. It serves good hamburgers and big shakes.

Day Two was the longest, or it seemed like the longest. We made it to Lincoln, Nebraska and on the way stopped at the worlds largest truck stop in Iowa. One more thing to check off we saw on the Travel Channel and said "hey, if we ever go by we should stop." Day Three we got as far as Salt Lake City. We arose Sunday morning to attend the Music & Spoken Word and then walked around Temple Square. Again, some great impressions were made. We all really liked the bag pipers during the performance. We are all glad to be home.

Hope all is well where ever you may be.

Things have been very quiet at the Mierins' household this week. Monday afternoon Grandma Mierins met us in Salt Lake City and Tuesday took the boys back with her to New Hampshire. A few tears were shed at the airport and while Andy and Gail were a bit excited, by the time they got home each was missing the boys. Thankfully, we have been able to talk with the boys each evening and it seems they are having a fun time.

Monday we were in SLC for Matthew's annual doctor's appointments and everything seems well. Once the boys departed Tuesday, Gail and Andy went to visit a good friend in SLC and then had a nice dinner before heading home. We were greeted at home by a rain storm which has not happened for a while. It was nice as it helped water the grass.

The rest of our week was uneventful. Gail and Andy went to work and had several dates at night which was nice. We are looking forward to seeing the boys next week.

We hope all is well wherever you may be.