Gail and I have returned from our trip to New Hampshire. Gail came back with a bit of struggle, but she did get off the plane once we reached Las Vegas. The boys stayed for an extra week with Grandma.

We had a great trip and even better weather. Our flight out to NH went great. We were all tired when we arrived, so day one we did some shopping. While there we enjoyed a few evenings with some of our dear friends. We have posted only a few of the pictures, but there are many more on our Facebook pages.


One of the highlights of the trip was the time we spent in Tamworth. The cabin is where we stayed and it was fantastic. It was quiet and peaceful and we had a great time. While there we got to see Andy's sister and nephews. We also got to do some swimming. Nikolas was getting some great air as his Dad threw him as far as he could. Andy and his aunt went for a great swim to some rocks on a sand bar in the lake.





Andy and the boys also enjoyed a trip to Boston. They went to Haymarket, ate some great pizza and then went for a walk through the North End, stopping at a few bakeries and taking in some of the historic sights. The highlight of the Boston trip was to the Temple of the Nation, otherwise known as Fenway Park. While they boys did not get to take a tour of the park, they walked around, hit to the official Red Sox store. The boys got a photo with Wally the Green Monster and even brought back some new hats. It was a great trip.



Gail and Andy had a good flight back. We got into Las Vegas about 9pm. We stayed at the MGM and it was nice. For some reason, maintenance decided to do some work on the room next to us so we were awaken by some drilling and banging.
We did some shopping in Vegas and then headed to Wendover to see our friends the Boatmans. It was great to see them.

We got back Friday and it was back to work.

While we enjoy the time at home, we will be glad to have the boys home. We hope all is well with you.

This was a quiet week at the Mierins household, mostly because we were down one child and kept ourselves quite busy. Nikolas enjoyed the week up in Idaho visiting with his grandparents and playing with his cousins. He got to go to the pool, eat at McDonald's and watch TV. When we would try to speak with him during the week we could get no response as he was trying to watch his shows. Matthew enjoyed the first day Nikolas was gone, but by day two missed his brother and was looking forward to his return. All reports were that he did indeed have a good time.

Matthew had summer school this week and after a rough start the first day he seems to be settling in quite well. Gail and Andy continue to be busy. Gail has gotten involved in the production of a musical to be performed in the fall. She has rehearsal two nights a week and other than the subject matter is glad to be able to use the talents she has been blessed with. She had a busy week work wise. She has her accounts set up so she essentially works every other week. She enjoys the time that gives her to do things with the boys.

Andy has been busy as always. Between church and work he keeps himself fairly busy. This last week was a bit quieter than normal. He is looking forward to teaching in the fall at the local community college. He will be teaching a course on introduction to American government.

That about sums up our week. We hope you are all well.

We have had a wonderful week, mostly because we had a nice long weekend where we had no commitments or places to be.

Friday we all slept in, a rarity around our home, and once we were up we ran some of our weekly errands and then decided to go for a trip up Lamoille Canyon which is nearby. The pictures posted this week were all taken in the canyon. It was absolutely beautiful and as you can see we saw several waterfalls and even a neat beaver dam. We didn't find the beaver.


There is a six mile road that goes into the canyon and along the way we stopped to see several of the sites. There is one area that has several avalanches every year and you can see the effects of that on the topography. Once you are at the end of the road there are several trails to hike along. We hiked along one until we found this neat stream. The boys enjoyed playing in the water and Mom and Dad just enjoyed being together. The boys reported that the water was quite cold and you can see why from some of the pictures. There is still quite a bit of snow in the area.


Matthew the Polar Bear did not think it was that bad. Once he got out though his feet were beet red and very chilly. Nikolas "accidentally" dropped his shoe in the stream. Thankfully, some other hikers with a dog passed by and we were able to recover the shoe. After the hike we went home and had a great BBQ.







Saturday was also a great day. This weekend was the National Basque Festival. We enjoyed the Basque games. The games consisted of a weight lifting competition (how many times can a person lift a 225 lb cylinder in 3 minutes -the winner did it 21 times), a wood chopping contest and a relay race, which consisted of lifting the cylinder, cutting a log and running. In addition to the games there were dancing demonstrations, Basque singing and music and a sheep herding demonstration. It was really neat and we are glad we were here to participate this year. Saturday evening we sat on the hill near our home and watched the 4th of July fireworks which were spectacular. The display went on for almost 1/2 hour. Needless to say we were all very late to bed.





The earlier part of our week was fairly typical. Matthew went to school Monday through Thursday. Andy worked. He was in Wendover on Wednesday and went to a quinceañera which he thought was neat. Elko, like every other occasion has a neat July 4th parade. This one reflected the many cultures of the Elko area. Andy really enjoyed the Mexican riders and cowboys. One the them was doing rope tricks which were neat.

Nikolas left this afternoon to go spend time with his grandparents in Idaho. We all hope he has a good time.

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

We had one exciting weekend. The boys went to a cabin in Hobble Creek Canyon and Gail stayed at home. The adventures began on Friday afternoon. Andy and the boys departed for Utah about 12pm. They were going to stay with our friends, the Boatmans, at a cabin in the canyon. They arrived to a huge thunderstorm and once it passed the weather was absolutely beautiful.

Saturday morning they got up and went fishing

and caught some beautiful trout.

Andy and Brian met up with another friend of ours, Chris Johnson, and played golf at the Hobble Creek course, which by all reports was fantastic. The boys then all went kayaking and swimming and Nikolas took another try at riding dirt bikes (no burns this time). They finished off the day BBQing some ribs and had a feast. The boys return Sunday afternoon, all tan and tired and were ready for bed.

Gail enjoyed her weekend at home. She was doing a Pampered Chef party on Saturday and rearranged furniture while everyone was away. Other than some peace and quiet, she was excited because she made herself fish both evenings without any complaints.

The rest of last week was fairly typical. Matthew started summer school and had a good start. Gail and Andy worked and the boys continued to enjoy their summer.

We hope all is well.

We have been having a rather odd summer. Nearly every day for the last two weeks it has rained and not just sprinkled, but really rained. It has resulted in things staying very green and quite nice. It has also been relatively cool. Gail is happy, because by this time last year, things were beginning to turn brown and did not look so good. It is good to have her spirits up.

The big news this week was the Motorcycle Jamboree this weekend. The jamboree brings out the best in Elko culture, including Sue's Fantasy Club offering free drinks to its "clients" and setting up a vendor booth to sell alcohol laced Otter Pops. I am not making this up. One of the many shocks coming to Nevada was how loose the liquor laws are. Essentially, except for in your car, you can drink whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want. Thus, the jamboree results in a lot of local yocals having a good time, insuring Andy will have plenty of work.

Andy was quite excited because this year there were suppose to be two nights of concerts. The first night L.A. Guns, Great White and Molly Hatchet were scheduled to play. Night two were two all-female cover bands Zepperella (Led Zeppellin) and Hells Belles (AC/DC). Andy went both nights. The first night was rained out and the second night the sound system did not work so well. He was greatly disappointed.

Other than the Jamboree it was a fairly quiet week. Our nephew Gareth was with us until Thursday and we enjoyed having him visit. It gave the boys someone else to play with. Gail did a few cleaning jobs, but she has arranged her schedule so she works every other week, thus giving her time with the boys. So far the schedule has worked out.

We are all looking forward to our upcoming trip to New Hampshire. Everyone is excited to be going back.

Not much else to report. Hope all is well with our friends and family.

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.