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3/3/2002 10:10:00 PM
Boulder Creek, CA
In the Santa Cruz mountains and the redwood forrest

December 2001/January 2002

The last you got to read was that Robert and Sebastian went off to Vienna for a week. They got back happy and safe on December 14th

Hallo everybody for the first time this year!

Yep, you haven't received a report yet and yes, it is already March - SORRY!!!! I am soooooo lazy, the German one was actually sent early February and this time you are not only 2 but even 4 weeks behind..... I also decided to combine the next German one for February and March, so I thought I should probably send you this one otherwise it will be way toooooooo long to read. Well let's get started:

The last you got to read was that Robert and Sebastian went off to Vienna for a week. They got back happy and safe on December 14th, both enjoyed their time together tremendously. Sebastian supposedly was a very well behaved, never whined for once (as he so often does) - almost unbelievable to me, it made met think that it could be linked to me (?), but Robert convinced me that it is not...?!? I have to say that Sebastian matured a lot that week and is much better about whining about everything (but Benjamin is starting now...) Back to the actual subject; as you all read the reason why they went was Robert's grandma and even though it was not the most pleasant one to go and see the family it turned out just the opposite, since she had gotten better so quickly. She only had to stay in the hospital for a week (quite short for a stroke), had stayed with Robert's mom over the holidays and moved into her new senior citizen apartment by January. We are all very relieved that there is care for her if she needs it, but has her own little studio and being independent.

Sebastian did great with the jet lag and had not sleeping problems coming back either - how wonderful! Benjamin was very happy when they came back and yelled at the top of his lungs "PAAAAPAAAA - BAAAASTIAN" at every airplane on our way to the airport! It didn't even help to explain to him that they couldn't hear him....

A week later we went right back to the airport to pick up my very good friend Ingrid, also a former colleague from the travel agency in Vienna. We all were very much looking forward to her 2 week visit. Sebastian and Robert had just seen her in Vienna, and even though he would have remembered her from the last trip a year before, it helped to break the ice. It didn't take long for Benjamin either to get attached to her, specially since she is his godmother. It probably was the most special to me though that she came, not only do we get along just perfect, but I was also looking forward to pamper and spoil her a bit. Ingrid had lost her husband (Bernhard also my former boss), last April and it was very sad for me not to be with her in such a moment and help her right then. After many phone talks over the first few months we thought it would be nice to have her here for Christmas. She immediately jumped on that idea and was grateful for the scenery change and company. Ingrid and Bernhard were our very first and most frequent visitors after our move to the US, one of the very few who saw all of our places we lived in, joined us for the house building AND inspired us to do the pond.

We had 2 most enjoyable weeks together. She came a few days before Christmas, so we were able to buy and trim the tree, baked a few cookies and wrapped the presents. All at a cozy fire, with hot punch and Christmas carols - just like it should be. Christmas eve (our main celebration) was quite exciting for Sebastian and so that it would not be too much in the evening we decided to open the gifts that Ingrid brought from grandparents in Austria, in the morning in their room with their own little Christmas tree - very cute! Late afternoon our friends Maura and Bob and their daughter Melissa (hint: best babysitter in the world!) and Manual (our dear Mexican friend and next best babysitter in the world!)  joined us for our celebration. We had lots of happy faces, glowing kids eyes, joy and wrapping paper... The rest of the evening we gathered around the table for a wonderful fondue, ate, chatted and just enjoyed without any "usual" Christmas stress thanks to all the help!

Unfortunately the weather was not quite so pleasant and in-between lots of rain we only saw the sun a few days here or there. But Ingrid wasn't here for sightseeing anyways so it did not matter too much and we had a lot of cozy days at home. Robert was also off for 2 weeks and we managed to do a few little side trips, one day Robert watched the boys and we two "girls" went SHOPPING! I enjoyed it a lot to just to walk around without a whining kid on my arm "Mommy can I have some ice cream - Mommy when are we going - Mommy can I have this, PLEEEEASE -.... you get the idea!? I could actually go to the changing room (loaded with clothes) and try things on and have our own little fashion shows.

For New Years we got together with our Australian friends Catharine and Paul, their friends Tina and Aaron, and Paul's brother Jeff and wife Lynn (visiting from Aussiland for 6 weeks). We all stayed at a little hotel in San Jose, had fine dining at their restaurant and afterwards danced and partied. At midnight we were all a bit disappointed that there are no fireworks in America. We were even more disappointed that once we were ready for a location change that all the venues closed at 1.30 on New Years Eve!!! We still had great fun together and a nice evening but decided that we "foreigners" know better how to celebrate the years change.... The only good thing was that we all were quite rested the first day of the New Year - since none of us got woken up by kids at 7.am! Our boys stayed home with Manuel and I am sure also had a wonderful time with him!

Our year always starts with Sebastian's birthday on the 2nd, turning 5 (very proud!). His best friend Sammy, from pre-school, had a sleepover the night before, so we took them ice-skating and afterwards to Chuckee Cheeses (no idea how to spell it) - a pizza place with lots of slot machines - Sebastian's favorite! He had his big party 2 weeks later - 12 boys, not to say more....!  On January 3rd Ingrid had to leave again, with one sad and one happy eye. We had such a nice time and Robert enjoyed a lot having two women on his side! We hope to have her back for many more times, those extended visits really get you even closer.

Well and than our daily routine started again, Robert went back to his Chevron project and is gone during the week (Mo-Thu). It is about a 1 1/2 -2 hour drive and due to early morning meetings and occasional client dinners it is not worth the drive and commute. It was quite a change for us in the beginning again but by now we are used to it and it helps that he tries to work out of the house on Fridays. So far he will be there until the end of April, and we will see what comes next. It already helps that he can drive and does not have to depend on airplanes and schedules in those days.

The last week of January my friend Hemma with kids (Lucas 5 and Mia almost 2) plus me and the boys and Manual (as a babysitter) went up to Kirkwood to the snow.

We wanted to take the big boys skiing, Lucas went during their visit to Austria at Christmas, and Sebastian had started already last year. The first day we all made it to the slopes and even though Sebastian had a bit of a panic attack in the beginning we all managed to ski together in the afternoon. Unfortunately Hemma ended up having fever that evening and felt worse every day, so that she wasn't able to go out at all anymore (it ended up to be pneumonia!) - we were so grateful to have Manual with us. Wednesday and Thursday I took Lucas and Sebastian by myself and was surprised how well it went. They both behaved excellent - Sebastian tried to ski a bit faster and Lucas tried to work on his style - so that was a good combination and a lot of fun, we even managed the lift rides. It had snowed real hard on our arrival day, but with Hemmas "weather luck" (wherever she goes the weather is perfect!) we had 3 marvelous days - sunshine, blue skies, no wind and beautiful winter wonderland!!!! It was pretty sad that she really couldn't enjoy any of it, but she said that she was even better off there than being at home - the kids were entertained and she was well taken care of. We went back home on January 31st and therefore this is were my report ends.

With some of you I have mailed during the last weeks, but don't stop - we are also looking forward to getting some news form others and stay in touch. So long, many dear greetings from the

4 Schmids and zoo

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