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.

All is well in sunny Northeastern Nevada. It has been a short week since the last post but here is an update of what has occurred. Matthew and Nikolas are on top of the world-school is out. Mom and Dad are not so giddy, but glad each had a successful year. The boys will each be starting a new school in the fall. Matthew begins 'middle school" at Flagview-yes he is in 5th grade. Nikolas will go to the school for the area will live in and will begin 3rd grade. To celebrate Andy and the boys went to the movies and had a good time.

Gail would have come allow, but unfortunately was in SLC attending the funeral for the daughter of some friends of ours from law school who only lived 54 days. We were all saddened by her passing and have kept them close in our prayers. Gail left Thursday afternoon and came back Sunday. We were all glad to have her home.

Andy had a relatively quiet week. He was suppose to start a jury trial but it settled a week or so ago, so he had a clear schedule. Which worked out really well. This allowed him to participate in Matthew's field day Thursday. Andy oversaw the tug-o-war and had a great time helping out.

Nikolas' baseball season is almost over. He had a game Tuesday and Saturday and had one more Friday. He continued to do well and has shown great improvement in his playing.

That about sums up our week. We hope all is well with our friends and family.

We just returned from a fantastic weekend in Park City, Utah. We left Saturday morning and staying until yesterday afternoon. On the way back we spent the night in Wendover with our friend's the Boatmans.

Park City was cloudy and cool, but we still got out to see quite a bit of stuff. The boys took advantage of the swimming pool at the condo. In total I think we spent 5+ hours swimming. Saturday we mostly hung out at the condo, exporing the general area. We went into Park City and thought it was beautiful. The next morning we went to church and then for a ride. We stopped at the olympic center where the ski jumping and bobsled events we held and found it to be neat. The park offers a chance to take a bobsled ride, Nikolas was the only one excited to give it a try. Needless to say, he was outvoted.

We stopped to have dinner with our friends in Wendover on Monday evening. Brian had just bought a new dirt bike for one of his kids to learn how to ride. Nikolas asked if he could give it a try and as you can see he did pretty good on a 50cc dirtbike. He took to the bike quite naturally and now wants one. He did have a small spill and burned his leg on the engine, but that did not stop him from getting back on. He did a great job.

Just wanted to give a quick update and hope all is well.

We are in the midst of some beautiful spring weather here in Northern Nevada. You can smell the sage in the air, the trees are in full bloom and everything is actually green. We probably will not see any rain until the fall, so we better enjoy it while we can.

All of us are doing well. Nikolas continues to tear up the baseball field. This week he went 4-6 with another RBI. He is even beginning to play great defensively. His overall BA is at .581. Matthew has been making a great coaches helper and he even enjoys coming to the games. We are so proud of both of the boys.

Gail continues to struggle with the nagging cough she has had, but it seems to be on the decline. She was in SLC this weekend doing some Pampered Chef stuff. We joined her Saturday and had a nice visit with our friends Irene, Daniel and Oscar. We enjoyed getting away for the day.

Otherwise it was a typical week. We hope you are all well and until next week.

Greetings friends and family. Spring is setting into Northeast Nevada and it is the one time of year we actually have green around us.

We had some exciting things occur this week. The biggest was Andy being sworn into the Nevada bar. Thursday afternoon quite a few people gathered at the Elko County District Court to see Judge Puccinelli swear him in. We are all very proud and glad to have this over, the uncertainly was a bit troubling. We now know we can stay and have options. Andy was quite busy this week, he was out in Wendover on Wednesday and then tried a few cases in Carlin. He remains quite busy and is looking forward to transitioning out of the juvenile work in August.

Gail was not feeling so well this week, but seems to be getting better. She has had a nagging cough that just won't go away. She is staying busy and is getting more involved with a local theater company.

After much deliberation and thought we have decided not to enroll Matthew in the new charter school. Matthew is glad and we have had some transition meetings as he will be going to a new school next year.

Speaking of Matthew he continues to work on his entry for the Elko County Fair and wants to know how long until the fair begins. Nikolas continues to tear up the baseball field and after a great week he has raised his BA to .560. We are so very proud of the effort he is making.

We want to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all mothers. We all hope you have a wonderful day.

What a wonderful week it has been. The biggest news was that Andy passed the Nevada Bar Exam, giving us some sense of security. He has a temporary license, but had to successfully pass the NV bar exam before October 2009. He will probably be sworn in within the next few weeks and hopefully we will have a picture to post. The results came out on Wednesday and what a relief it was for everyone.

In addition to this great news Andy won on two issues this week in Court. Thursday he won a motion hearing forcing the State to produce a witness in an upcoming trial. The witness was a phlebotomist who drew blood on Andy's client. NV has a statute allowing the introduction of an affidavit, without the witness and Andy challenged it on constitutional grounds. He was excited about this, then on Friday he had a long hearing concerning whether one of his juvenile clients should be certified as an adult. The end result was the judge ruled against the State and the juvenile will be adjudicated in the juvenile system. Andy was especially glad.

Andy and Gail went out twice this week to celebrate.

Gail continues to do quite well and slowly but surely the Pampered Chef business is picking up. Gail is also serving as the music director of a local theater group and she had her 1st meeting concerning the upcoming performances. She is quite excited to find an outlet for her talents.

Matthew and Nikolas are counting down the days until school is out. In 4 weeks the boys will be done. Matthew continues to work on his Lego project. The command center is looking quite commanding. Nikolas is enjoying baseball more and more. His Monday game did not go so well. He was 0-3, and struck out twice with the bases loaded, but like a good athlete he didn't let it get him down and he roared back for Saturday's game going 2-3, with 2 RBIs, his BA is now .353. We are all so very proud of him.