Who knew we'd be so busy?

You think with having 6 weeks home with family, there would be plenty of time for blogging; nope. But we did think about it every day. We have uploaded oodles of pictures and a couple of videos to our my space account (you must be a member to view the photos) and our new picasa photo page (viewable for everyone), and will continue to do so, check them out at http://www.myspace.com/sailmaia and http://picasaweb.google.com/sailmaia

We’ve been spending lots of time with family. We started out our trip staying at Reinhart’s parent’s house in Hoechst and visiting his dad in the hospital. We later moved in with Reinhart’s brother Andre and his wife Tina, and their four energetic boys, Aaron, Gregor, Aurel, and Leander; where everyday brings a new adventure.

We took Reinhart's Mom to visit her sister, Beth, for one night at her vacation home in the tiny rustic village of Ronco in Ticino, Switzerland. Those of you who know us well, have heard us go on and on and on about how magical Ronco is, and it enchanted and renewed us once again.

Reinhart’s dad was finally released from the hospital and he had a happy return home. We filled in as baby sitters for Adrian and Nora, Reinhart’s nephew and niece from sister Klaudia and her husband Klaus, while Klaudia traveled to Strasburg for work. Adrian and Nora play a wicked game of UNO and we spent our rainy afternoons playing game after game. On the other rainy afternoons, we played Yahtzee with Aaron, Gregor, and Aurel (Leander just got to roll the dice every once in a while.)

After several rainy days in a row we were ready for another trip to sunny Ronco. We spent 3 days taking long walks with Beth and her two dogs, Juri and Lara, along Lago Maggiore and its rivers. We can never get enough of the beautiful Ticino scenery, so we’ll be making another trip there before we come home in January. Currently, we are living with Reinhart’s brother Juergen and his wife Elizabeth, and their two sons, Mario and Andreas. We’ll be here a few days before we move to Klaudia’s house around December 21.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a brilliant New Year.