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.