Once again time has gotten away. Thankfully I've got Stan to keep me on track - he never fails to remind me that I need to post!! So...Jaymie is back in Shanghai (which was untouched by the earthquakes) after spending a couple of weeks here. We enjoyed having him home again :-) We also had company during that time - Terry & Suzanne spent about 10 days with us. We showed them the sights and Jaymie & Terry drank every kind of German and Belgian beer they could! Hated to see them leave - it was nice to have fellow Americans to hang out with. We also got to see some Bayer colleagues during that time too. It was great to see you guys (and gals)! Thanks again for the Claritin, Mark! Sounds like everyone will visit us again next year in Shanghai - I'll work on something a little more exciting than the circus...^o^...ha!

We sent everyone in their different directions last Sunday, then the kids & I headed to Spain on Tuesday. What a great trip we had. The weather was great - a little chilly on the beach, but not too bad. The kids still splashed around while I enjoyed sangrias. We stayed in Torremolinos, Malaga and then drove through the Cadiz province to take a ferry to Morocco. That was the highlight - a day in Tangiers! We rode camels, toured the alley markets, visited rug showrooms (yes, I endulged!) and even had lunch in the Kasbah, complete with belly dancers. It was unbelievable - like nothing I've ever seen!! I have to add Morocco to my "favorites" list right above Budapest - and y'all know how much I loved Budapest! A tip for anyone headed to Spain with kids....beaches have a Tops Are Optional rule. Yeah, you can only imagine the education Ross got. The only problem was that most of the women enjoying the rule were rather aged and rotund. Instead of explaining what he was seeing, I was trying to reassure him that "they don't all look like that, son, I promise"!!! Poor kid was terrified. Thank goodness bottoms were required (even if they were Speedos) or I would have had a nervous breakdown trying to explain that to Emma! Europeans have zero modesty. Imagine a 300lb, hairy, old, saggy man in Speedos. Uggghhh.

So, that brings us up to date once again. My next post should come from Shanghai since we leave in 17 days. Not sure who is counting down more - me or the kids - since we miss Jaymie so much. In the meantime, I've got an entire house to condense into Air Freight material. Where did all this stuff come from??