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.