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8/7/2002 12:05:00 AM
Boulder Creek, CA
In the Santa Cruz mountains and the redwood forrest

May 2002

There is only a week left and then I will be off to Europe, unbelievable! The weeks with my mom just flew by

Good Morning to you all,

There is only a week left and then I will be off to Europe, unbelievable! The weeks with my mom just flew by and I sure hope that the time in Munich and Vienna will run a bit slower.... I am so looking forward to this  trip and are in the middle of preparation to get things set here for so many weeks since Robert will be gone Monday to Friday. Luckily my friend Huberta is going to take Broesel the whole time so my biggest "problem" is solved. Sebastian has his last days at pre-school and a lot of activities going on there, plus all the prep work for his start at Kindergarten in fall. We had a lot of play dates lately since my mom has left, which is good, that keeps them busy and I can catch up on things to do. Benjamin is right in the middle of the big boys group and besides that his little legs won't carry him  as  fast he is duing pretty well with catching up. He also does not like to be called "Little", he immediately replies "I am not little - I am a big boy!" - oh and forbid sake one should use the word "Baby", that calls for  trouble! I am going to do my best to get him potty trained this summer and with that he should be able to start pre-school this  August.

I enjoyed the time with my mom a lot, she was a big help with the kids, the household chores and a real welcome change in my daily lonely routine, being by myself during the week now. It was great to have a partner at the dinner table and actually have a "real" conversation during (certainly not uninterrupted) the meal as well as company and a companion to do things together. We basically stayed around the area, my mom got a pretty bad cold in-between and took it easy in the house, the garden and pond. Thanks to her help I was able to accomplish many of my projects that have been on my list forever like thoroughly cleaning the garage, re-arrange  my kitchen, detailed weeding and gardening, etc. which was wonderful and very satisfying to finally get them done.

One weekend she watched the kids again together with our dear friend Manuel - he knows the house and garden inside out and the garage (specially tools) definitely better than us. Robert and I went to a retreat area close to Napa, with hot springs and a lot of tranquility. We had 2 wonderful relaxing days, warm long baths and time together. The boys behaved excellent, did not whine, listened well, ate good,.... - there got to be something that we do wrong as parents...?!? Well it isn't that bad but it certainly is amazing to see how much less they try to get away with with other people.  It is good to know tough that they don't have a problem when we are gone and we are certain that once in a while we owe it ourselves and the marriage to be just the two of us - no battery lasts forever...

The last week in May Robert flew to Canada, to attend a paragliding competition and since my mom was still here I wasn't too upset that he went on a "vacation" by himself. We hope to spend a family trip at the end of the summer and maybe all go together to a competition close to Yosemite. Unfortunately this time he totally got rained in and only 1 day out of 7 were flyable. First he tried to relax, read a lot and do things with the other participants, but after a few days they all got antsy and decided to attend a 3 day tandem course. He finished the theory and only needs to do the necessary flights to continue on. I am fearing the day that Sebastian asks to go flying with dad...

Well in a few days it is June and what I have to tell you about that you will get to read once I am back (ha, ha, ha,...) Some of you I will hopefully get to see soon but please forgive me if I cannot get to call and see everybody, I'll stay in touch at least through my reports - PROMISE! We really like to hear from you and send many dear greetings and kisses around the world

Yours the 4 Schmids and zoo - the frogs (at least 100) are back again!

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