Day 1410. After having gone to bed late last night, they got up later than they have been, just after 7 am, and it was Emmy who was the first one up again. Our friend brought us some breakfast, then we put our swimsuits on and went to the pool. The kids were excited to be going swimming. I would have loved to go myself, but I had about half an hour until my 10 am online lesson. And so I was watching them have fun in the water until my lesson started.
Because of the weak signal in the trailer, where we are staying, I took my computer to the pool area and sat down at a table there and put my headset on to be able to work. I only had a few interruptions while teaching. At one time they all got popsicles (for the first time in their lives) and sat right in front of me. They enjoyed them.
At 11 am my lesson was over, and I could finally go into the pool myself. We were all having lots of fun. Then our friend brought some food out to eat, and I found out that Tammy likes grilled cheese sandwiches, and they all like potato chips. Randy found a toy lawnmower, and Sammy enjoyed pushing it and pretending to mow the lawn.
After having eaten, they went back into the water for some time. They have become real "water rats", being in the water the longest time ever today. Tammy and Emmy kept jumping in, until Tammy had really red eyes. She surprised me, when she enjoyed sitting on my shoulders and me throwing her backward, doing a somersault into the water. She also stood on my shoulders and let me throw her in or jumped off. Emmy wouldn't do either one.
We finally got out of the pool and returned to our trailer for their nap. They already lay down at 1 pm, so a little earlier, but were all asleep quickly. I then lay down myself, but had to set my to 30 minutes, as that was all the time I had. I was pretty tired and would have preferred to get more sleep, when it went off at 1:45. However, Emmy was already up as well, and then his brother also woke up. I sat down at the table to start correcting homework and prepare my lesson, which was the reason for me to get up already. Just before it started at 2:30, we also woke Tammy up. And then I had a rough lesson with Randy and the kids around and Sammy crying and the kids coming to me repeatedly. I held Sammy for some time while teaching. Outside, there was a storm, and it was raining. Because of that we did not leave at 3:30 pm, after my lesson, as planned. The weather was still not good enough for the planned boatride.
Some time later our friend came with her neighbor who wanted to meet us, and we then all walked over to her garden/yard. There was a canal there where our friend's boat was tied up. We walked all the way to the lake and out on the pier, where they had a bench. I just love the ocean. This was a lake, but I still enjoyed the sound of the waves. The kids enjoyed looking into the water, but couldn't see any alligators anywhere.
They were eager to go to the playground they had seen in the garden, so we went there next. It was in bad shape, but Sammy could still use the baby swing, and the others still climbed around a little. They also got to briefly sit on a swinging bench closer to the lake. Then our friend said we could now go on the boat ride as the weather had improved, and so we all got on the boat sitting there. They had swimvests for all the kids. The kids were excited, except for Sammy.
And then we slowly left the canal and were out on the open lake. After some time, my friend's husband who was steering the boat took Sammy and let him steer. Suddenly Sammy LOVED the boat ride and couldn't get enough of it. He also got to honk, and then he let him pull the lever, so we went whatever speed Sammy chose. Sammy loved it. The others watched him a little, but would rather look at the water and enjoy the wind.
And then they stopped the boat and let the kids put their legs into the water, which they enjoyed. I told them they could now boast that they've had their feet in water where alligators live.
After about an hour we docked again, where we had started. Sammy was brimming from ear to ear with pride, having steered the boat for so long. We went straight to the trailer, where we put our bathing suits on, and walked to the pool again. They were eager to get back into the water and had a blast. Sammy wanted me exclusively to himself. He sat in a kind of seat and sat in there really well. I did play with the others a little as well, but he was not happy.
Since Emmy and I were really red and it was getting late, we finally got out of the water. Randy hadn't even gone in this time. We returned to the trailer, got changed, and waited for our friend to bring us some food for dinner. The kids were so hungry and impatient that they started eating leftovers before the spaghetti came, except for Tammy. She then ate a big plate of spaghetti. And they all had chocolate as a dessert.
Then it was time to get cleaned up and ready for bed. I read them a good night story, prayed for them and put them to bed. They all needed a little time and were not all asleep, when I left, but they were fine. I went to work going through the pictures, and it all took a long time. Now it's 12:30 am, and once again I keep falling asleep, my eyes not wanting to stay open. Time for bed.
