We are all quite happy this week, due in part to having a great week and the amazing weather we are having. It continues to be clear and warm, the last several days in the upper 80's and the 30's in the evening.

The big news this week was Matthew's birthday party on Friday. Gail and Andy were a bit nervous as we had sent out 5 invites, but no RSVP had come back. Matthew decided he wanted to have pizza and watch a movie. We picked up "Robin Hood" and ordered several pizzas. Matthew ended up having 4 people come and it was quite a crazy evening at the Mierins' home. Gail had gone out with some friends. Andy was left alone at home with six 9-12 year old boys. There was a Nerf gun fight and general chaos. When all was done and cleaned up, Matthew gave Andy a big hug and said thank you. We were glad all went well.

We rolled out a new chore chart this week that showed we have one "the glass is half full" and one "the glass is half empty" child. The boys lost money for failing to do weekly or daily chores. On Saturday both boys earned roughly the same amount. One was excited to have some spending money and the other crying because he could have earned more. A very interesting experiment.

Over all it was a fairly typical week. We hope all is well.

The excitement continues for Matthew. Today was his first Sunday to pass the sacrament. He said he was a bit scared at first, but then realized how easy it was. He did a great job. Andy gave him a bit of advice before hand, the best was that if you see Mom crying (which she did) it doesn't mean you are not doing a good job. After church he reiterated that being a Deacon rocks.

September chugs along. The boys continue to do well with school and playing. Nikolas has found a friend next door and enjoys riding his bike and playing with his new friend. We are having a bit of a time getting Matthew to do his homework, so any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Gail continues to do her thing and Andy is busy as always with work, school and now his new calling.

Andy was in Carson City this last week to do some parole violation hearings at the state prison. He said it was nice to be out there again. While in Carson City he met up with a friend and did a bit of shopping at Costco. We were glad to have him back Tuesday evening.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

What a fantastic weekend we just had. Matthew turned 12 on Friday and we had a neat family gathering Saturday to celebrate his birthday as well as be together for his receiving the Priesthood and being ordained a Deacon on Sunday. Gail's parents arrived Friday and her sister arrived Saturday morning. Gail's Dad, her brother-in-law and Andy went golfing and all reports were they had a good time. Andy fired up the new grill (literally, it got so hot the paint caught fire) and we did ribs, which is what Matthew wanted. Matthew was excited to have all of the company. On Saturday evening some friends from NH arrived with their 2 kids and we had a full house.

Sunday morning was crazy at the Mierins' home. We did a big breakfast and then all headed for church. We had some friends join us from Wendover as well as Gail's brother in law and nephew from Tooele. There was a great showing in support of Matthew. Following Sacrament Meeting we did Matthew's ordination. Some of Gail's family left once we were done as they had a long ride home. Those that remained joined us for lunch and the celebrations continued. We were so excited to be able to entertain again and is was nice to have friends and family with us for the exciting day. We are grateful for the sacrifice made to be there and just wanted to thank everyone.

Sunday evening was Stake Priesthood Meeting and Andy was excited to be able to attend his first meeting with one of his sons. Matthew leaned over to Andy during the meeting to say he was glad he came and that being a Deacon rocked. Hopefully he keeps up the enthusiasm. By Sunday evening we were exhausted and all of us went to bed early and had a great night's sleep.

The rest of the week was fairly typical. Matthew and Nikolas continue to do well is school and are enjoying the new year thus far. Matthew and Andy are still doing their daily walks and enjoying the time together. Gail is still busy with her voice lessons and getting ready to be the musical director for another production in the fall.

Andy had some exciting news this week. He finally got a new calling. In addition to the excitement about Matthew, Andy was sustained and set apart as the new ward clerk.

We hope your week has gone well.

We have had a fairly good week. While it took a while for summer to make its way to Northeastern Nevada, it certainly is in no hurry to leave. Most of the week was spent in the mid to upper 90's which is not typical. The area matched previous high records.

The boys continue to do well at school. Nikolas still enjoys walking to school. We shall see how long that lasts. Matthew has shown some great improvement as well. Still getting good reports. Matthew had an MRI last Tuesday and then some doctors appointments. All went well and after consulting with all of the doctors it has been decided to take him off of his meds. He will still take the aspirin and allergy pill. We all feel good about this decision. Matthew told Andy this week that he feels happier without his meds. While Matthew's distractability is up, the positive changes outweigh the minor drawback. We will continue to monitor and see how the year goes.

Gail and Andy continue to be busy with work. Gail has picked up a few additional voice students and the cleaning business is going well. Andy was in Wendover Wednesday and then back in seclusion getting ready for a jury trial that was suppose to begin Sept. 7th. Thursday afternoon due to some unforeseen circumstances the trial was continued, which freed him up Friday and for the long weekend.

This weekend is the Elko County Fair. While not as grand or big as the fairs in NH, it is still a fun time. County offices close early on Friday, so everyone can go and participate. Friday morning there is a big parade and we all enjoyed it this year.

With Andy free we spent Saturday cleaning and working on the house. Andy had been eyeing a new grill and it went on sale this weekend so we now have a grill. It was christened the "Man-B-Q" by the boys and is probably big enough to roast a pig (not really, but easily could do a couple of slabs of ribs). We are looking forward to entertaining and putting it to good use.

We hope all is well and hope you have a great week.

The boys have survived the 1st week of school and all has gone well. Nikolas has enjoyed being able to walk or ride his scooter to school. He likes his new teacher who is actually his old teacher from 2nd grade. Overall he is glad to be back at the school he started when we first arrived in Nevada. It is hard to believe we are coming up on three years here. Matthew had an excellent week. He began the 6th grade and so far we have had excellent reports. We finally got his report card from last year to discover Matthew ended the year with 5 A or A-. We were very excited for him but he has no realized the expectation is high for this year. We will keep you posted as the year continues.

Unfortunately, Gail was very sick this week so was not able to enjoy the beginning of the school year. She is doing better but was up and off her feet for most of the week. Andy was back at work and did his best to help her, get the boys ready each day and get to work. Andy begins teaching his classes tomorrow and he is looking forward to teaching again. Overall, except for Gail it was a great week.

This morning at church our whole family spoke in sacrament meeting. Everyone did a great job and we are adjusting to our new ward.

We hope all is well.

We have had a great week back from our trip to NH. It was back to work for Gail and Andy. Andy found out this week he will be teaching a second course at the local college this semester which he is excited. In addition to the Introduction to American Government class he will be doing an on-line Introduction to American History class. Needless to say we will not be seeing much of him between September and December. The pay off is we have some extra money to do some fun things. Classes begin for him on August 30th, so he has spent the week getting his materials ready.

Gail continues to do her cleaning, but also picked up some additional voice students. Andy was not exaggerating when he said she is very popular and sought after for her voice instruction.

Matthew had an exciting week. He spent most of it with his grandparents in Idaho. He went to the rodeo, a water park and even got to camp out in the backyard, sleeping in a tent. He reports he had a wonderful time. He left on Tuesday and returned Sunday. Just in time to return to school.

It is hard to believe but the summer is over and the boys start school on Monday the 23rd. Nikolas is returning to the elementary school he went to when we first moved. He is excited because he will have the same teacher he had for second grade. He is even more excited about the ability to walk to school. This idea does not excite Mom, but we did some training and did a trial run and he did OK. Nikolas enjoyed having the house all to himself this week, but admitted he misses Matthew. Andy and Gail will remind him at the appropriate time. Matthew begins 6th grade and we cannot believe our little boy is almost in middle school.

That about sums up our week. We hope all is well in your section of the globe.

We have just returned from a wonderful vacation to New Hampshire. We ended up driving and the reasons are numerous, so to save the explanation it just was the best thing under the circumstances for us to do. It worked out great. Andy and Gail left on August 3 and made it to NH by the morning of the 6th.

We saw many friends, visited with family, went to the lake, did plenty of shopping and just had a wonderful time. We all left on our journey home on Aug. 12. Our first stop was in Palmyra, NY. We went to the Smith Farm, the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah. The boys thought it was great and the walk in the Sacred Grove left lasting impressions. We drove as far as Cleveland, OH the first day. We discovered a chain restaurant Andy actually liked. It is called Shake and Steak and if you come across one make a stop. It serves good hamburgers and big shakes.

Day Two was the longest, or it seemed like the longest. We made it to Lincoln, Nebraska and on the way stopped at the worlds largest truck stop in Iowa. One more thing to check off we saw on the Travel Channel and said "hey, if we ever go by we should stop." Day Three we got as far as Salt Lake City. We arose Sunday morning to attend the Music & Spoken Word and then walked around Temple Square. Again, some great impressions were made. We all really liked the bag pipers during the performance. We are all glad to be home.

Hope all is well where ever you may be.