Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family.

I have had an incredibly difficult time sleeping this week, mostly because I have been so excited for Christmas. There is nothing particular that will happen like some cool present or surprise I have planned. I just have been so excited for this entire Christmas season. This morning when I awoke ( 4am, yikes) I had some time to reflect on how thankful I am for all I have been blessed. The first and foremost is my abiding and solid knowledge that Jesus is the Christ. He is my personal Savior and the Savior of the entire world. Perhaps this ever growing knowledge is contributing to my insomnia, as we are just one day from when we celebrate his birth into mortality. The much anticipated event to insure our ability to return to the father of our spirits.

Next I thought about the wonderful family I have, both that I have come from and the one I am working on. My father was a hard working man who came from a very difficult and trying childhood, something I neither can relate or understand. I thank him for the legacy of work he instilled into me. He passed away 14 years ago and not a day goes by I do not miss him. My mother is my role model. I have always felt great support from her, even when I know I disappointed her and did not live up to the potential she saw within me. I appreciate my near weekly time I have to talk with her. It makes me joyous to see how happy she is and am glad because she deserves to be. My sister is an incredibly bright person who I have always known was smarter and more talented. She provided great support to us when we adopted Matthew and I can never thank her enough for the kindness and hospitality she showed. Then there is my extended family which has been always a part of the fond memories I have of the holidays.

I cannot write about Gail without becoming emotional. I found the perfect partner for eternity. I love to hear her sing and she has helped me make my dreams come true with every "new" idea I have. My sons are my pride and joy. Matthew is a compassionate person who provides balance and grounding for what is most important. Nikolas brings me great joy when I hear him sing, play his flute or he shares his art with me. I am truly an blessed man with much to be thankful for.

Now on to our weekly report. Gail survived the week home with the boys, she is glad school starts up again in a week. Andy was home a bit more due to the semester being over freeing up his evenings. He did make one trip into Wendover to meet with clients. Overall is was a great week, although we were saddened by the passing Wednesday of Andy's uncle, Laimonis, whose art work graces the walls of our living room.

We hope you have a wonderful and enjoyable Christmas.

Our tree is up and we will finish our decorating of the house today, just in time for Christmas. The boys are quite excited for they are out of school until January 3rd. Gail and Andy do not share in the enthusiasm, but are looking forward to Christmas.

This past week was fairly typical, we all went about our routines. Matthew was not feeling well so he missed a few days of school. Twice he went in and twice he was sent home by the school nurse. The nurse did not share with Gail and Andy the same level of sickness one must experience before becoming ineligible to be at school. The bar is much lower then what existed when we were in school. Andy was in Wendover one day this week. He was also notified he will argue a case at the Nevada Supreme Court in January. Gail is recovering from all of her signing.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope during this next week you have opportunity to pause and reflect on the blessing the birth of Jesus Christ is for each of us. Have a great week.

Wow what a busy week we have had. This was the week of "The Forgotten Carols." Gail and Matthew did a fantastic job. Each gave every spare minute this week. The show was a great success. We are now ready to get ourselves prepared for Christmas and we are looking forward to the time together with each other.

There is not much else to report. Hopefully this week our tree will go up, our house decorated and the annual letter composed. We are looking forward to entertaining and celebrating one of the best times of the year.

We hope you all have a great week.

Yesterday evening was the debut of "An Uncommon Bond" the trio Gail started with two other excellent singers in Elko. They sang last night at the Creche Festival and did a spectacular job. In the five years our family has attended the festival, last night was the first time we have ever seen a group get a standing ovation. The world will never be the same.

We were also glad to see some friends from Idaho and Utah come to hear Gail sing. It was a great evening.

Otherwise, all is the same at the Mierins' home. We hope you are enjoying this Christmas season. Have a wonderful week.

We all hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We certainly did. Andy was in his prime being able to cook. He spent Tuesday and Wednesday evening and Thursday morning in the kitchen and managed to be able to put together quite a meal. We had 10 people. Gail's parents and sister, brother-in-law and nephew joined us, as well as a member of our ward. We were regaled with a thanksgiving poem which was quite entertaining. We had a wonderful day and considering all the wonderful things which have happened to us we have quite a bit to be thankful for.

We are also glad for a few days with nothing on our schedule the remainder of the week. It gave us time to catch up on a few things. Andy was quite excited because his birthday present arrived Friday, his Kindle Fire. He is enjoying it immensely.

We hope you all have a great week.

We have all overcome the sickness as a family and are grateful to be healthy once again. This has been an incredibly busy week as we prepare for Thanksgiving next week. Matthew and Nikolas are doing well in school and keeping themselves busy; Matthew with his animals and science club, Nikolas with band.

Gail continues to build quite a reputation as a voice teacher and has more students than she has time. "The Forgotten Carols" is getting closer and Gail will be happy when the production is over. Additionally, her singing group is getting ready for some performances coming up in December. Gail has found her niche.

Andy was gone to Reno Tuesday and Wednesday attending a training for a Family Drug Court program. He was back home Thursday working in the office. Friday he was involved in the selection process for the two District Court judge positions in Elko. He found it to be a fascinating process and was honored to serve on the commission.

Saturday was a special day. Andy and Gail joined some friends from the ward in attending the Temple. It was wonderful.

We hope you have a wonderful week and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

We all spoke to soon last week. No sooner had last week's post gone up, then Gail began to feel the sickness Matthew and Andy dealt with. By Monday Nikolas was home from school, so we all ended up being sick. Thankfully, we are all healthy and better.

Once we all recovered things are going well. Nikolas is continuing with his band participation and enjoying the private flute lessons he is taking. Matthew continues to do well. He and Andy went on a youth temple trip to Salt Lake City on Friday and had a great time. Gail is busy as always with the "Forgotten Carols" and her musical group.

We are grateful for our many blessings and thankful for those who have served this nation in our military. We hope you all have a great week.

This has been a rough week in the Mierins' household, all due to sickness. The plague began with Andy who woke up last Sunday not feeling particularly well. He made it to sacrament meeting, but after went home and got into bed. We did not see him again until 6 the next morning. Monday his fever had broken, but still had an upset stomach. He did go to work, but came home for a nap during the day. Tuesday he was feeling better, but then it began with Matthew. Thankfully, he is feeling much better as well. He spent Thursday afternoon until yesterday in bed. Nikolas seems to have been spared. Gail stayed as far away from Andy and Matthew as possible in hopes she does not get sick. Not much more to report on.

After a very late warm autumn, winter is beginning for us. We had snow Friday and this morning we are getting some flurries. Andy went to get our firewood yesterday so we had a fire last night in our newly cleaned wood stove. It was a great way to greet one of our coldest nights.

We hope all is well with you.

The last two weeks have been quite busy. We are all doing well. The gerbils are still with us, but Salem is having a hard time understanding why every time he puts his paw on the glass he is unable to get the gerbil. We watched him several times last night bat the glass and I could swear each time the gerbil flexed one of its digits on the front paw.

Matthew and Nikolas survived parent teacher conferences. Matthew is doing so much better this year and we are glad. He has 2 A's so far, one of which is in PE, which is amazing in of itself. Nikolas has shown some improvements as well. We are proud of both of the boys. Nikolas continues to enjoy band and is showing improvement every day.

Gail remains busy with her students, singing and "The Forgotten Carols" all of which keep her busy. Andy is the same. He returned from a conference in Seattle last week and reported it was a beautiful place.

The big trip was a trip to Salt Lake City. It was a boys trip. Matthew had a doctor's appointment and Friday was Nevada Day, so Thursday after school the boys left. They went to a movie, did some shopping, had sushi for lunch (yes, Nikolas admitted he likes it) and spent several hours at the Clark Planetarium. All were exhausted when they got home.

This weeks update begins with a report on the animals of the Mierins' Zoo. Vanilla and Garlic are still with us. Salem as assumed nearly all the "security" detail, diligently posting up on top of the cage. He reports no unusual activity, but seems quite confused by the gestures the gerbils give him. He was unaware gerbils have a middle digit on their paws.

The boys continue to do well in their activities and school, which keeps Andy and Gail happy. Parent/Teacher Conferences are in two weeks. Hopefully the reports match the increased effort we have seen at home.

Andy continues to be busy as always. He was appointed by the State Bar of Nevada as a temporary member of the Commission on Judicial Selection. This is the group which nominates candidates to the governor for vacant judicial positions. Elko County has two vacancies to fill. He is excited to serve.

Gail continues with the busy schedule she has. She and Andy are excited to celebrate their 18th anniversary tomorrow. How grateful both are for temple ordinances.

Overall, things are great in Nevada. We enjoyed some summer like weather the past few days. We are thankful for all our friends and family and hope all is well with you.

The Mierins family's week was magnificent. Mother Nature mocked us for bragging about the beautiful weather we were experiencing by asserting herself with the first snowfall of the season. Tuesday to Friday it was cloudy outside, with occasional rain. Wednesday we saw our first snow fall in the mountains. Despite this the week went great.

Matthew's Zoo continues to prosper. Salem and Blizzard have volunteered to "watch" the gerbils for him while he is at school. Both take turns posting up on the screen covering the cage, reporting no unusual activity. Vanilla and garlic are not sure what to make of the security detail.

Nikolas is enjoying band and doing well progressing on learning the flute. He still sits on his island at school but has come to the conclusion maybe if he focused more on his work and less on socializing he may get to return to the mainland.

Gail and Andy remain busy as always and cannot believe in one week will celebrate their 18th anniversary.

We hope all is well.

October is now here and it is amazing to think we have lived in Nevada for almost 4 years. We have had many trials, but at the same time we have enjoyed many blessings and when we look back upon how the Lord has blessed our family since we arrived, we all are coming to the realization this was a good change.

The past week saw some changes to our family. We have added two gerbils to our list of animals. "Vanilla" and "Garlic" joined us on Monday afternoon. While Matthew has been ecstatic, Salem has been licking his chops more frequently. We have caught Salem sitting on top of the screen cover looking down at the gerbils. It is quite amusing.

Matthew continues to have a great start to the school year and unlike in years past, he is doing well in all of his classes. His most recent grades show nothing less than a C, which is a great improvement. Matthew also enjoys being in school which makes Gail and Andy happy.

Nikolas started band practice this last week and is doing well practicing his flute. Gail is quite excited she has a child very interested in music. He is getting as much bike and rip stick riding in as he possibly can. The weather has been very warm, which he loves.

Gail and Andy continue to be their busy selves. Andy's job, teaching, community work and church service keep him away most of the week. He was glad to have General Conference this weekend as it has kept him home. Speaking of conference how grateful we have been to hear the uplifting messages of our leaders. Gail keeps busy with her students and "Forgotten Carols."

We hope all is well with you.

Fall has now arrived in Northeastern Nevada and all continues to go well for the Mierins clan. We are enjoying the warm, not hot, beautiful blue skied days that fall brings. One of the things we love about living her are the cloudless blue sky days we enjoy. There is something exhilarating about these kind of days.

This is Andy's favorite time of year. His office is about to hire a new attorney so hopefully his schedule will not be as chaotic as it has been. He was in town for the entire week, which has not happened much since we returned from out summer vacation. It looks as if it will be a few weeks before he needs to be gone.

Gail is in full swing with the "Forgotten Carols." She is grateful to have an opportunity to do what she loves best, sing and work with people who appreciate music. Her singing group has also picked up some new performance dates and so things continue to go well. She has found that outlet she needed. She continues to be asked to take on new students.

Nikolas is still on his "island" and not sure why. He continues to do well in school and is excited to start band. Matthew has shown some great progress. He absolutely loves science club and he has been assisting the science teacher care for the animals in his class. He has even convinced his parents to let him have a gerbil at home. Thus this week we will probably be adding to the Mierins' Zoo, both literally and figuratively. We are so very proud of both the boys and count them a great blessing.

We hope all is well with you in your part of the world.

The Mierins clan had a great week. We learned that except in math, Matthew has all A's in his classes so far. We are extremely proud of him and have seen some significant changes in him which has us all very happy. Nikolas continues to be on his "island" and while he hopefully will soon return to the "mainland", he has problems getting his assignments done. He is not sure why. Overall, the boys are doing well and Nikolas' new interest is being in the band, which has his Mother quite proud.

Gail has begun working on this year's production of "The Forgotten Carols." Auditions were this week so that kept her quite busy. Andy had both Municipal and Justice Court in Wendover, so he was gone all day Wednesday and Friday. Thankfully Saturday has come along and he has time to get caught up on the projects at home. He fixed Nikolas' bike using some of his Grandfather's tools which would have made him proud. Overall, life is good in northeastern Nevada. Until next week.

It is hard to believe our little Matthew is now a teenager, but it is true. Matthew turned 13 yesterday and we cannot believe it. He had a great day. He invited two friends over and had pizza and a movie. It was great seeing him have a great time.

The boys are continuing to have a great start to the school year which is a relief. Each has seemed to adapt to their new school.

Andy and Gail continue to keep themselves busy. Gail is the music director again this year for the "Forgotten Carols" which is getting ready to start up rehearsals soon. Andy was gone quite a bit this week. Wednesday he was in Wendover and then Thursday he left to attend a conference for public defenders put on by the American Bar Association in Las Vegas. He returned on Sunday and we were glad to have him home. He reported it was a great conference. While in Las Vegas Andy got to see a friend from law school which was great.

We hope you are all well.

Elko County Fair weekend has arrived. This means one important thing....four day weekend. The boys had Friday and Monday off, while Andy had a half day on Friday. We enjoyed a great Friday afternoon together. The weather has cooled off a bit as well.

School continues to go well for Nikolas and Matthew. Nikolas still cannot understand why he is on an island in class (this means he has to sit at a desk by himself). Interestingly, there was clarity once Gail received an email from Nikolas' homeroom teacher. Matthew has had one of the strongest starts to a school year and after two weeks has shown an easy transition to his new school. We are all so glad.

Gail and Andy continue to be busy as always. Andy's first week of teaching went well and he thinks this is going to be a great semester.

We hope you all are well.

School has begun and the first week has thus far been a success. There were no complaints and each boy reports he likes his respective new school which is a great relief. Matthew is excited about science club and Nikolas is talking about band. Hopefully, Week Two will go just as well.

The rest of the Mierins life is pretty much the same. Gail is enjoying the quiet of the day. She is still teaching voice and practicing with her singing group which takes up a good amount of her time. Andy's office had an attorney retire the end of August and thus his work has increased slightly. He also starts teaching his college classes this week and is excited to begin. Essentially it has been the same routine for both.

Matthew and Andy enjoyed a fun trip to the Twin Falls Temple Saturday. Each is looking for many more opportunities. The temple certainly serves as a strength and how grateful we are for them upon the earth.

We hope all is well.

The end of summer for the boys has arrived. In about 12 hours Matthew begins 7th grade and Nikolas 5th Grade. Friday was spent touring schools, getting supplies and preparing for a new school year. It has been a quick summer, but we did quite a bit of fun things. The boys seem excited and ready to begin school.

Monday and Tuesday of this week were spent in SLC. Matthew had his annual checks ups with his doctors at Primary Children's. Everything seems good, which we are glad. We did get to go finish some last minute school shopping.

Gail continues to be quite busy with her singing and students. Andy is about to begin a new semester of teaching next week. He spent a good amount of time getting ready for his two classes; Introduction to American Politics and The Nevada Constitution.

We hope all is well.

We just returned from a nice visit to Boise for a family reunion. We left Friday afternoon. The reunion was Saturday and it was nice to become acquainted with members of Gail's family. We then got together Saturday evening with Gail's brother and his family to do some swimming at our hotel and then some dinner.

Otherwise it was a normal work week for us. The boys start school in a week and it is hard to believe our summer is almost over.

We hope all is well.

We had a fairly quiet week. Matthew spent the week in Idaho with his grandparents. He reported having a good time, but was glad to come home as well. The boys have had a busy summer and it is amazing to think that in two weeks school starts. Nikolas had a great week ruling the house. He will not admit to this, but he missed Matthew. Nikolas and Gail played about forty games of Yahtzee. Mom was the champ.

Andy and Nikolas continued projects around the house. Nikolas is a great assistant. Gail and Andy had typical weeks of work. Outside of work, nothing to spectacular occurred. We hope all is well wherever you may be.

We need a vacation to recover from our vacation. We have wonderful friends who took great care of our home and cats, but Andy returned to quite a pile at his office. He spent Tuesday and Wednesday playing catch up. Then on Thursday discovered another attorney who was thought to be on vacation has retired, so now the workload got spread even more. By Friday he was on top of all assigned to him.

The boys were glad to be home as well and for the last 100 miles talked about how excited they were to see Salem, our older cat. Salem was not as glad his people came home.

Gail had a performance this week signing for the opening of the Elko Senior Games and the show went well. She received an invite to sing for a group that will perform on Temple Square at Christmas. This outlet has really helped.

Matthew was off to Idaho to spend a week with his grandparents. He and Gail left Friday. Nikolas and Andy stayed home. Saturday was a great day. Andy and Nikolas spent the day working in the yard, fixed a sprinkler, did chores around the house and ended the day going to a movie. Both report it was an excellent day.

We hope all is well with you.

We returned last evening from a wonderful trip back to New Hampshire and Washington, DC. We left July 9th early in the morning and drove to Lincoln, Nebraska. Next stop was Cleveland, Ohio and we made it to NH on July 11th. We had good driving weather, no delays which made the trip easier.

Our stay in NH was wonderful. We spent time visiting with friends and family, did some shopping and just relaxed. Gail and Andy left for Washington on July 16th. Andy was attending a national conference on Drug Courts. Matthew and Nikolas stayed with Grandma Mierins and Jim. The conference was held at the Gaylord National Harbor side. Andy reports the conference was great with quite a few informative sessions. Gail enjoyed exploring the area and really enjoyed Mt. Vernon. While in DC, Andy and Gail sampled Korean, Pakistani, Ethiopian and Peruvian food. They also went on a tour of the Capital, FBI Building, the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress.

Matthew and Nikolas arrived on Thursday morning and the family went to explore the Museum of Natural History and Museum of American History. Friday we visited the Air and Space Museum located near Dulles Airport. One of the highlights was seeing a space shuttle. Friday afternoon we left for Nevada. We drove as far as Columbus, OH. We left early the next morning and made it to Omaha, Nebraska and the Rock Springs, Wyoming. We got back early evening on the 25th.

While a great trip we were glad to be home.

We had an exciting week. Matthew returned from Camp Kostopolus on Friday. While he will not admit it, he had a good time. Gail dropped him off on Monday morning and within 2 hours Matthew called to say he wanted to come home. Gail convinced him to give it a day and we did not get any other calls. Gail and Andy went to pick him up on Friday and he was excited to see us. Matthew said the food was good and the best part of the week was riding the horses.

Nikolas spent the week at his grandparents in Idaho and he also reported a great week. He went to the YMCA and the zoo and got to spend the week with his cousin. Gail's parents brought Nikolas back on Friday and we enjoyed having them spend the weekend.

Gail and Andy had a fairly quiet week working each day. They did get to go out a couple of nights, but missed their boys and were glad to have them home.

We hope all is well.

The house will be quite quiet this next week. Nikolas is in Idaho visiting his grandparents and Matthew in Utah attending camp for the week. The boys were very excited to go and Mom and Dad have mixed feelings. The week was spent getting ready for their departure. Matthew and Nikolas both had jobs to finish before leaving and the jobs did get done.

Gail and Andy continue to be busy. Gail's group sang Friday evening at a meet the candidates forum for an upcoming special election to fill the seat of our congressperson. Then on Saturday evening the group provided entertainment for the Relay for Life. The concerts both went well. Andy, thanks to Nikolas finishing his job, was able to finish the landscaping and planting in out flower beds. Unfortunately, for some reason all of our plants died. Oh well.

We hope all is well in your part of the world.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. We had a great week. Gail, Matthew and Nikolas left for Idaho on Thursday for a visit with family. They all returned Saturday afternoon. Andy remained home, but was quite productive. While gone he attacked the jungle of weeds in the front yard, cleaning out many and planting flowers in its place. He also filed in the gaps with some mulch. The project was about a 1/3 done when everyone got home. We had a family project to continue and got another 1/3 done planting some vegetables on the way. We hope to have all the flower beds done by the end of next week. Andy was quite sore when done, but sure enjoyed sitting on the front porch and looking at the progress made.

Gail and the boys had a great visit with Gail's cousin and playing at the YMCA. Nikolas particularly enjoyed the climbing wall and Matthew was in heaven with the mega pool. We are looking forward to our remaining summer trips.

We hope all is well with you.

We have survived the first week of summer vacation. Nikolas rides his bike and rip stick, while Matthew continues his exploration of the yard. Amazingly, neither has "time" this week to get a simple weeding project taken care of in the yard. This may change now the bike and rip stick are in time out until further notice. Matthew went on Youth Conference this week up to Twin Falls. He went to the Twin Falls Temple and camped at some hot springs. Unfortunately, he came home with a sun burn that blistered up. He reported it was a great trip. We are also getting some consistent warm summer like weather which has also been nice. Nikolas has now completed the baseball season and he received an award for being the most improved player on his time.

Gail and Andy continue to be quite busy and are looking forward to their various trips this summer.

We hope all is well.

We have had a busy two weeks here in the Mierins' family. Yes, the boys are done with school for the year which is almost to hard to believe. Nikolas earned a Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. Matthew did pass all of his classes. He had a rough year, but with a new school year and new school next year hopefully things will be better. We are glad the summer is here and are looking forward our trip this summer back to NH, then to Washington, DC. We also have some weekend trips planned to Idaho and Matthew will be attending summer camp the end of June.

Nikolas had an exciting week in baseball. Last Thursday he had such a good game he was awarded the game ball after his team came from a 4 run deficit in the last inning to win the game. Nikolas is now glad to be able to ride his rip stick and bike for the rest of the summer. He and Andy joined some friends over the Memorial Day weekend at some cabins in Hanna, Utah and had a great time. They enjoyed the trout fishing which was great and it was nice to get away together.

Gail and Andy continue to be quite busy as usual. Gail has secured several singing opportunities with her group for the summer. We are very proud and excited for her.

We hope all is well with you wherever you may be.

What a fast week this has been. Everything is about the same in the Mierins household. Busy, busy and busy. The boys are in the countdown to the end of school with 9 school days left. It does not seem possible, but is true. Matthew and Nikolas are ending strong and each got to visit the new school they will attend next year. Gail and Andy wonder how it is possible that Matthew begins middle school.

Nikolas continues to enjoy playing baseball and with the nicer weather likes riding his rip stick and bike. Matthew is glad to get back outside and collect bugs and rocks. Andy and Matthew had a trip to SLC Thursday for a doctor's appointment which went well. Matthew is doing much better on his new medication and the doctor even commented on a change since his last visit. We are all glad.

Gail and her singing group are tearing up the music world. They performed this weekend at the California Trail Center and have now been asked to sing at a 4th of July celebration. Gail continues to teach students and has found two great outlets to use her magnificent music talents.

Not much else to report. Hope all is well.

We are certainly enjoying spring in Nevada. The trees all have leaves, the flowers are in full bloom and we need to water the lawn. The last several days have been absolutely beautiful. In addition to the warm weather, Gail recently celebrated a birthday. Andy tried to make her a special cake, but it did not come out the way he planned, thankfully it was the thought that counts.

Gail has been very busy the last several weeks with the 'Miracle Worker" which came together and the cast and crew did a fantastic job. Nikolas played the part of Jimmy and he was great. The only disappointing thing was how few people came, it was one of the best productions put on here. In addition to the play, Gail continues to be busy with her voice students and taking great pride as they are achieving some recognition.

We had a fantastic visit with Andy's Mom and Jim last weekend. Gail went off to Boise on Saturday to see "Wicked" and had a wonderful time. We enjoyed the Cinco De Mayo parade and celebration in Elko and Jim and Nikolas got to golf. We all were sad to see them leave, but grateful for the time we got to spend together.

Matthew continues to show some great improvements since we changed some of his medications. Since the change his effort and behavior at school has drastically improved. While he still has his challenges, we are glad he seems happier. Nikolas has had a good season in baseball and is playing better. The boys are both excited for school to end in a few weeks.

Andy continues to be busy as always. He spent quite a bit of time the last two weeks on finding a new home for the Family Resource Center and if all goes well, the Board of Directors will finalize the purchase of a new building which will enhance the service the organization can provide to the community. Over the last week he was in Reno on Tuesday and Wendover on Wednesday. He finished teaching his class this week. He is glad the summer is almost here.

We hope all is well in your part of the world.

Mother Nature has been trying to trick us this last week. Typical of living in the high desert, we had cooler temperatures and some snow flurries this week. It looks to improve to spring like weather this week, meaning we can get back outside and work on our gardens and the yard.

The Mierins family had quite a busy week. Gail has been enjoying herself attending all 3 performances of "The Sound of Music" this week by the high school drama departments. She has several students performing and she had a great time attending. The boys were not as interested so they stayed home, meaning everyone was happy.

Matthew and Nikolas are doing well. Each is excited for summer with one month of school left. We had an IEP meeting for Matthew this week and he has shown some great progress since taking his new medication. All of us are glad he is shown some improvement. We have not seen a progress report, but each of his teachers reported he is more attentive and motivated.

Nikolas is in full swing of baseball season. He had 3 games this week and all went well. He is having adjustments going from coach pitch to facing a real pitcher, but he is doing well.

Andy is busy as always. He was in Carson City last Monday and Tuesday for some parole violation hearings. He reports the capital is beautiful. Andy was elected the President of the Board of Directors for a local social services non-profit and that has taken up even more of his time lately due to an immediate need to move. Overall he still enjoys what he does and with him happy all of us are happy.

We hope all is well.

Happy Easter to our friends and family. Christ's birth was a magnificent event in human history, but his sacrifice and resurrection brought to pass the ability for each of us to enjoy eternal glory. Hopefully we all will take time and show appreciation for this event in human history.

We were so excited as a family to enjoy a nice spring day Saturday. We got the sprinkler system up, mowed the lawn, cleaned out our flower beds and ended with dinner cooked on the grill. We are glad warmer weather is upon us. Nikolas also had his first game and he did well. His team won 8-5 and he has shown great improvement over last year.

The past week was fairly typical. The boys went to school and Andy and Gail worked. Andy was on the road to Wendover and Wells this last week for Court and meeting with clients. He has been appointed to represent several "dancers" at a gentleman's club accused of prohibited acts. We will keep you posted. Gail is getting ready for "The Miracle Worker" as well as adding new voice students. She keeps busy.

All continues to go well and we hope is true for you. We wish you all a Happy Easter.

We have just returned from a great weekend in Idaho. We travelled up Friday afternoon and stayed in Boise. We were up for a family get together to celebrate Gail's Grandmother's birthday. We had a nice time visiting with family. Andy went to the temple on Saturday morning while the boys went swimming at the pool. Once Andy got back we went to have Thai food and then went to visit one of Andy's mission companions who owns a car wash in Boise. He had a great time catching up. Once our visiting was done we did a bit of shopping and then went to the party. We all had an early night in bed. We got up Sunday morning and went to church before heading home. We attended a ward that meets next to the temple so after our meetings we went for a walk around the temple grounds. It was a great way to spend a sabbath day. We then went back to our room, packed up and were on our way back home. We are glad to be home. We hope all is well with you.

We had one exciting week. It was the boy's spring break, so there was no school. Despite this unfortunate development, the boys managed to stay busy and generally out of trouble. Tuesday morning we were off to Salt Lake City for a doctor's appointment for Matthew. The appointment went well and we have a new medication for Matthew to use which will help. We tried a new place in SLC, Kaiser's BBQ, for lunch and it was good. Our good friend Irene met us and it was great to see her. She was kind enough to take the boys, so Gail and Andy could go to an alumni reception for his law school at Lamb's Cafe. We enjoyed seeing some of our good friends we made while in school. We were up early the next meeting and off to Elko. Andy went to work, Gail and the boy were off to Idaho. Gail was asked to sing at a funeral for a family friend. While in Idaho she went to a recital in which a friend of hers was performing. The boys got to spend time playing with their cousins which they enjoyed. Gail left Wednesday, because of an unusual snow storm on its way. It was a good decision because it snowed on and off from Thursday to early Saturday morning. Once it stopped and the sun came out, the entire amount melted. Gail and the boys returned late Saturday afternoon and we were glad to be back together as a family. We hope all is well wherever you may be.

This is spring break week for the boys and they are excited. Interestingly the last three days of school were half days, so really the boys had half of one week off and then all of next week. Grades came out as well and Matthew has shown some improvement while Nikolas continues to do well. We are amazed that in 9 more weeks the boys will be done for the year. Matthew and Andy had a great experience in Salt Lake City Saturday. They were able to attend Priesthood Meeting at the Conference Center and what a wonderful spirit was present. This whole General Conference has been uplifting. How grateful we are as a family the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is upon the earth and we have the opportunity to hear prophets speak. Up until Sunday we had beautiful weather and then Saturday night we had some snow and the temps dropped back into the 30's. We all hope all is well with you.

We have all returned safely from some fun weekend trips. Gail was up in Idaho to see a play at Boise State University on Saturday. She had the opportunity to do some shopping, visit family and have lunch with some friends. She left Friday morning and returned Sunday. The boys were off to Las Vegas. Andy had a meeting to attend Saturday morning, so he and the boys left on Friday. He met up in Las Vegas with his uncle who lives in California and had a great visit. The boys spent a good amount of time in the pool, but they also went to see a movie, had dinner at Five Guys Burger and Fries and introduced Matthew to sushi. It was great to spend time with Uncle Charlie. They returned on Sunday evening. We hope all is well with you.

This week was pretty typical for the Mierins family. The boys went to school and Gail and Andy went to work. Gail continues to add voice students and she is getting better known in the community for her artistic skill, meaning she has found a way to get away from her cleaning business and make some extra cash. She is very happy to be teaching voice.

Andy settled back in after his trial and is gearing up for the next one in 4 weeks. The next one should not be as stressful. He is enjoying teaching and was approached about applying for the director of the criminal justice program at the local college. He is not sure this is the direction career wise he wants to go, but is glad to know he is appreciated for the work he is doing at the school.

Nikolas had try-outs for little league Saturday. He was selected to be a member of a team coached by one of Andy's friends and heard it is the Yankees. If true, Nikolas is not happy, but we are not sure that is the team's name. Practices start on March 28. Matthew decided he is not going to play an organized sport until Elko has a dodge ball league. He continues to be about the same.

We have began the clean-up of our yard and are getting ready to plant some flowers and a garden. We spent time Saturday picking up the sticks and twigs in the yard. The weather has been in the 50's and in a few weeks it will be time to start mowing the grass. Several of the perennial flowers around the house are coming up and starting to bloom.

We hope all is well.

Another quick week has come and gone. The boys are gearing up for little league which starts next week. Matthew and Nikolas are both going to play and are excited. The boys continue to move along at school and are looking forward to their break coming up the beginning of April. Nikolas sang in a talent show this week at his school and was awarded a certificate for a free hamburger at Burger King. He was proud of his accomplishment.

We have Andy back after a very tiring week of trial. He was glad his client was not convicted of attempted murder, but was convicted of a lesser crime. The jury finally came back with a verdict Friday afternoon. Monday he gets back to the grind.

Gail added a new voice student this week and is gaining quite a reputation as a teacher in the community. One of her students was featured in the local paper for a performance she gave as part of a invitation only choir at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Gail was beaming.

We hope all is well wherever you may be.

Matthew survived his first Klondike Derby this week. Gail and Andy were quite nervous about how he would do with camping in the snow. All reports were good and other than the tent collapsing there were no negative reports. Thankfully, it was also quite warm Friday evening. He and Nikolas continue to persevere at school. The school year has gone quickly. We are still amazed at the fact Nikolas is barely passing PE, until we discovered the reason is his inability to follow instructions and wait for instructions before beginning. Crystal clear now.

Gail has taken some time to recover from her sickness. This cold really has taken a toll out of her but she is almost back to full health. Andy also picked up the cold, but not as bad. He has been incredibly busy and starts a major jury trial on Tuesday. We have not seen much of him this last week. He did travel to Wendover on Wednesday to teach a class for the West Wendover Police on juvenile law that he says went well.

We all enjoyed a wonderful Stake Conference last Sunday. It was broadcast from Salt Lake City and heard from President Uchtdorf, Elder Andersen of the Quorum of the 12, Elder Duncan of the Seventy and Sister Stevens of the Primary Presidency. How blessed we are as a people for the advances in technology.

We were excited to have the boy's mid semester progress reports come home this last week. Matthew has shown great improvement over the past nine weeks and we are so very proud of him. He approached Andy one morning and asked what he can do about his difficulty staying focused. They had a great conversation and Matthew is trying some of the ideas. Nikolas continues to do well in school with A's and B's except for PE. When asked why he is barely passing PE he said "I talk to much." Amazing.

This week the boys both signed up to play little league in the spring. This will be Nikolas' third year playing, while it will be Matthew's first. We hope for great success for both.

Andy had a new experience this last week. He was a judge for the Miss Elko County Pageant, which was held Monday. He said it was a great experience and he came away with a different view of the pageant. He found it to be a great organization and something which is positive in a young woman's life. He continues to be busy as always and is a week away from starting one of his biggest trials. He has spent a good amount of time preparing. In addition he continues to teach his class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Gail also had a busy week. The group she is performing with was asked to sing at Great Basin College this last week for one of the theater classes. All reports are that she did fantastic. She also began auditions for the "Miracle Worker." Needless to say her musical and theater talents continue to keep her quite busy. She still finds time to teach her voice students.

Well that about sums up our week.

We are so very proud of both of our boys. The Blue and Gold Dinner was last week and Nikolas received his Bear award, as well as several belt loops. He now has them prominently displayed at home. He worked hard to earn the award. Matthew also had an exciting week. The Middle School Science Fair occurred and Matthew did a project on crystals. Gail and Andy were very proud of him for doing the whole thing on his own. He definitely had some encouragement, but when it came time to create the display, he completed it on his own.

Our unusually warm weather also continues, Tuesday it made it into the 60's which we all enjoyed. The boys especially enjoyed being able to get outside and run around. It wasn't to last, as Saturday we had some snow squalls, but they were not as bad as predicted.

Gail continues to be quite busy with her theater and voice students. She missed having Andy around as he was off to Reno for a training and to attend some meetings Tuesday to Thursday. He also had a chance to attend a concert and reported it was a great time. You will have to ask him of the details, but he said it took him back to his college days.

We hope all is well.

Another week come and gone and most things stayed the same. The boys continue to be busy in various activities. Matthew completed day 2 of the merit badge powwow Saturday getting him closer to earning 3 merit badges for Boy Scouts. We are proud of him for his accomplishments. Nikolas took advantage of the warmer weather to get out on his rip stick. He has been riding and mastering the tricks one can do on the rip stick. He is excited for baseball season to begin so he can play. Andy is just excited for baseball season to begin so he can watch Nikolas play.

Gail continues to stay busy teaching voice lessons and working on her theater activities. The company is going to be doing a fund raiser of singing valentines and Gail is primed and ready to go. She has found great joy in being able to use the beautiful skill she is blessed with. She is also quite glad to be able to pare back he housecleaning accounts to devote more time to the music.

Andy continues his busy schedule. He was in Carson City Tuesday for some parole violation hearings at the state prison. Otherwise, it was in the office most of the week. He is getting ready for a jury trial in a few weeks and that takes up quite a bit of time. He is enjoying teaching his class, especially this semester. He has a smaller class and most of the students are engaged in the material. He will be off to Reno this week for some meetings and a training.

That about sums up the Mierins family's week. We hope all is well with you.

Wow, what a quick week this has been. Unfortunately it was not as good as weeks past. First, we had cold weather return for a few days. While we cannot complain, it sure was nice to have it sunny and in the upper 40s for a while. Things cooled off, but then Saturday returned. More importantly, Gail was sick with a leg infection. We are grateful she was not as sick as in times past, it still kept her down for most of the week.

The boys are doing OK. We were able to attend a program Friday morning in which Nikolas was drumming. He did a great job. He was very excited and reminded Andy about 10 times of the program. We also were in several meetings for Matthew this week for his 3 year IEP plan. We think some good adjustments have been made and hopefully he will have a better experience.
Matthew had a great time at the merit badge powwow and is working on his horsemanship, woodcarving and pet care badges.

Andy continues to be busy as usual. His class this semester is much smaller and he reports so far is going really well. He is about the same. He and Gail were able to go out Saturday evening with some friends to try out a new BBQ restaurant in town. The food was good, service very slow, but they were glad to spend time with some friends and enjoy a night out.

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

We are excited because the nice warmer weather has continued this last week. We have hovered around 50 degrees for the last week and with the bright sunshine it has felt great.

Our warm weather is a reflection of this last week. All continues to go quite well for us here in northeast Nevada. Report cards came out and both boys are doing well. Nikolas especially has shown some great improvement over the last year. We are especially proud of him. Matthew proudly announced at dinner on Tuesday that he has straight A's (not bad for the 2nd day of the semester. We strongly encouraged him to keep up the great work).

Gail continues to add voice students and seems very excited about the opportunity to teach lessons. She spent time this week assisting the high school choir with an upcoming competition. There has been a different outlook at the Mierins' home since Gail found a musical outlet.

Matthew was off Saturday to a merit page powwow and reported he worked on his wood carving, pet care and horsemanship badges. He said it was great, especially getting to go to McDonald's for lunch.

Andy continue to be busy with all he is involved in. He started teaching an evening class again and so now Tuesday and Thursday evenings he is at the school. Friday night he went with his friend Brian to a Utah Jazz game. He said it was fun and enjoyed the opportunity to get out of town for the night.

Hope all is well where ever you may be.

Another week has come and gone and all continues to be well for us. We had quite a turn in temps this week. Monday we hit a high of 55 and the rest of the week was in the mid to upper 40's. One of the things we like about living in the desert is the milder winter temps. Not much has changed for the family this last week. The boys had a short week of school. Monday was a holiday and Friday a teacher improvement day so only three days of school. Gail was a bit batty by the end of the week, but survived.

Andy was wrapped up in his trial prep, but then Friday the case came to a resolution and so we had him home for the weekend. Since he was planning to work all weekend in preparation for trial, his being home freed us up to work around the house all day Saturday. We ended up cleaning and organizing the garage, which was badly needed.

Not much else to report on this week. We hope all is well with you.

This last week sure flew by. We are all doing quite well and have survived a bit of cold, well at least cold for Northeast Nevada. This afternoon it was in the lower 50's with the sun shining and Matthew was outside with his shorts. While that may be extreme, it sure felt much better than the cold temps we had been experiencing.

The boys continue to do well school wise. This week will mark the 1/2 point of the year and the boys are glad. Nikolas got a nice break this week. Andy had a meeting to attend in Reno Wednesday and Nikolas went along to keep him company. They hit some snow on the way which slowed them down a bit, but they made it safely and had a nice evening together. They stayed at Circus Circus and Nikolas cam home with quite a bit of loot won at the midway.

Andy is in trial mode so we will not see much of him until after next week. He starts trial next Tuesday so this week he will be cloistered getting ready. Gail continues to serve with her theater group and she is getting quite excited about some upcoming shows.

We are starting to work on our summer vacation plans and we are hoping to coincide a trip back to NH with a conference Andy will be attending in Washington DC. We will keep you posted.

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

We cannot believe how quickly this last week has gone. It was back to school and work for everyone. Gail was glad to see the boys back to school after a two week break. It was great to be able to do things together as a family, but cannot say heartbroken over Christmas vacation being over. The boys seemed to adjust quite well to returning to school and it is hard to believe that half the school year is over.

Winter started off quite snowy for us, but lately it has been just cold. it appears we may get some snow this week. We shall see.

Gail and Andy were back to work this week and we barely saw Andy for much of it. He was in town, just extremely busy, leaving early and returning late. He did have a quick trip to Wendover Wednesday, but otherwise was in court quite a bit this week. Gail got back to her routine of cleaning, voice lessons and holding the fort down.

A closing thought. It is great to know that from now on until June the days will get longer. Hope this week is well for you wherever you may be.

Happy New Year to all our friends and family. We know two weeks have passed since we last posted. The Mierins clan has been busy and enjoying the holiday. We had a trip to Idaho and then resurrected the Mierins Family Holiday Festival.

Christmas was spent with family in Idaho. We arrived on Christmas Eve and spent the evening with Gail's family at her Grandmother's house. We were able to attend a traditional Christmas Eve candlelight service that brought back many memories for Andy. We all got settled in for the evening and the boys made it to 8am before each discovered that Santa brought Nerf guns this year. Mom and Dad were not happy, but sure enjoyed the excitement. Once some presents were opened, it was off to Gail's parent's home and then to spend the afternoon with Gail's Grandmother. We enjoyed visiting with her and describing our neat trip to Georgia in November. The boys ended the evening at the movies, while Gail got some much needed quiet time back at the hotel room.

Monday was spent doing shopping and everyone picked out what they wanted. Tuesday it was time to return to Nevada. Tuesday morning it was raining/snowing in Boise, but by the time we got outside the city, the rain stopped and thankfully the roads were dry the remainder of the trip.

It was back to work for a few days until New Year's Eve. Nothing exciting happened that evening (Andy slept in the chair, Gail played on Facebook and the boys watched movies on their portable DVD players). New Year's Day was full of excitement as we had a party, the first official in the house. We cleaned and organized and cooked and then greeted 14 guests to our home. We had a holiday feast and it was wonderful. Andy was in his glory cooking away.

Tomorrow it is back to school and work. We are very grateful for a wonderful 2010. Heavenly Father has tremendously blessed us with health, jobs, a house and great friends. We look forward to opportunities to serve in 2011 and wish all of you a Happy New Year.