Day 648. After feeding them breakfast, we dressed them and got everything ready to leave the house. They were running around and rediscovered this corner that they went into, and then I'd come around the corner at them and they'd just giggle with joy, which is when I took this picture.
At 9 am we left the house and rode the subway for a few stops to the famous Vienna amusement park which is historic (opened 1766). While we were waiting for Sonja at the subway exit, Tammy kissed the elephant there, and then both her and Emmy got to ride on it. Then we walked on to the park. There were very few people, which was surprising given the beautiful weather and that it was a holiday. It turned out that the rides were only opening a little later. I knew of a ride for little kids, so we were walking in that direction. There were lots of things to see. Tammy sat on a lion, and Sammy on a donut. Emmy was just overwhelmed. He's our fearful one, and was scared the whole time we were there, holding on to Sonja for dear life, who had to carry him the whole time. Only once did he go into a train with his sister for a few seconds. I got them all to look at me, when I took a step back to take a better picture and fell over the big stone behind me.
We made it to the ride I was thinking of. It has different vehicles that the children can sit in, and then it just goes in circles, slowly. Tammy didn't want to go into the closed vehicle, but sat down in the open one. Emmy refused to leave Sonja's arm, and it wasn't secure enough for Sammy to be able to sit in. Then the ride started, and Tammy's car moved away from us. She was looking back at us. When she went around the corner, where she could not see us, she started panicking. The operator stopped the ride, and I went there to get her out. I could just barely reach her and had a hard time getting her out of the seatbelt, but finally succeeded. I guess they're still too young for even this simple ride.
So we turned around, as we had passed a carousel earlier, and once we got there, it was up and running. It was possible for adults to sit in it with the kids. Tammy rode on a horse, with Randy next to her, Sonja sat in a wagon with Emmy, and I did with Sammy, who greatly enjoyed it. They all did. But it wasn't cheap. It's the first time we've had to pay for the little ones for anything.
We walked on as we wanted to take the little train that does a big loop around the park. And that's when we got a first taste of what it's like being a family of 5, which makes things really expensive, when you have to pay for each member of the family. Nobody went free on the train, no matter the age.
But it was worth it. It was a twenty minute ride, and at times you thought you were in the middle of woods. They enjoyed it. Sammy has recently started waving and loves to do so. He's also been clapping, which he does with his fists. Emmy is now saying "nein" (no), which is new. "Heiß" (hot) was his favorite word first, then "aua" (ouch), and now he's saying "gaki" (poop) all the time. They also repeat our words more and more often. And I've noticed how Emmy often says "ball" in English, rather than German (which is not that different). He does spend more time with his Daddy.
After the train ride we put them into the strollers and walked to the exit and then the subway and went back home, where we arrived just after noon. I had already cooked lunch the night before, so I just had to warm it up. They had great appetite and ate a lot. Sammy went to bed first, a few minutes later than usual, while Sonja was playing with the other two downstaris. At his regular 12:40 time I put Emmy to bed, and then Tammy around 1 pm. And then they set a new record, in particular Emmy who slept 2 hours 45 minutes and did not wake up crying wanting us to pick him up. Tammy slept as late as he did, and so the afternoon meal ended up being later than ever, at 3:30. But it was as tough as always, them not wanting to sit in the chairs, and not easy to get them to eat.
Then they all went downstairs, where they played with Sonja, while I had to catch up on office work, not having had the morning. Earlier than planned I went downstairs to join them, even though I wasn't feeling that great. At 5:30 I went upstairs to get their dinner ready, and they came upstairs to eat just after 6 pm. They finished their food in the bathtub, and then came out and went to bed. Emmy wanted his Mommy, but I never actually sat down to stay with them. Tammy needed a while before falling asleep.
I made my food, ate, and started working, but I felt more and more miserable, having a headache and getting a little nauseous, and just overall. It finally got so bad I could not do anything. Randy was so kind to clean the dining room for me. I finally had to turn the computer off at 9:30 pm and lay down in bed, not able to do anything. Randy actually lay down as well, and soon we were both asleep. When I woke up later, I felt better and finished loading the dishwasher and turning it on, before going back to bed. The most important things were done. At 3:30 in the morning Sammy needed milk, which is very rare these days, but I was also able to do that. I think I ate meat that was already starting to go bad. I often eat expired meat, as the date comes and passes quickly, and just maybe Randy buys to much of it at once. Thank you for praying.
