Day 1518. Yesterday Tammy and Emmy had piano class at 10:30, and Randy took them there, while I stayed at home with Sammy. We then met up at McDonald's after their class and had fun eating there.
We ended up having nothing going on in the afternoon, so I looked at options and happened to find a firefighter playground. The pictures were looking great, and I knew that especially Emmy would love it. It was even in our district, even though you had to take two buses or the subway and a bus to get there. It was a warm and sunny day, and so we took the buses and got there at 4:30 pm.
The kids were loving it and were having lots of fun. Tammy was at first scared to climb all the way to the top, where the slide started, but then soon got there and went up and down a few times. Emmy was scared as well, but then found another way up and also went down the slide. As for Sammy, he enjoyed steering the firetruck, and I took him to the swing that he greatly enjoyed. After an hour we started our long trek home, where we arrived at 6 pm.
This morning we had no commitments, which was nice. When I put the kids to bed last night, I asked them to let us sleep this morning, but I guess they're not old enough yet, or not selfless enough for that yet. I helped Sammy out of bed and gave Emmy what he wanted, including breakfast, and lay back down in bed. Eventually Randy got up to make breakfast for himself and the rest of them. I stayed in bed. At some point Randy and the kids went downstairs, which allowed me to fall asleep again. I appreciated that extra time in bed. I got up at 11 am and went to the kitchen to cook lunch.
At noon we sat down to eat, and at 1:30 pm I put them to bed for their nap. Thankfully they all fell asleep, even though it was Emmy today who needed a long time to get there. I got to lie down, but a few minutes later Sammy already woke up, and I went to get him and took him to bed with me, where we were having fun. He had his tablet with him and was playing children's songs.
At 3:15 I got up and went to the kitchen to make the kids' dinner boxes for church. Then we got them all ready to go and left the house together at 4 pm. We hadn't been to that church since returning from the US, but today was the date set for them to go through the "transitioning ceremony" from the kids' group (up to 3 years of age) to the next group (4 and older). And the church had moved location since the last time we were there. We now had to take 2 subways, which took about 45 minutes, which was similar to how long it took us to get to the previous location. However, Sammy was really excited that we were taking the subway and not the train, and he was lucky that it was a new train both times, and also both times on the way home.
We got to the building before the service started. It's actually a school building for adult education, like where the kids do a lot of their classes, and we had been there before. There was a big staircase, and I was wondering whether there was an elevator anywhere. Then someone told us where it was. However, the door to the building was locked. We were then lucky that a lady living in that house unlocked the door for us, and we were able to take the elevator to church. We found ourselves some seats in the back and to the side and saw Sonja and some other people we knew.
Then the service started, and we went to the front, where they had some paper and crayons for kids to draw in a corner. Tammy and Emmy were both drawing, Tammy several papers, then Emmy wanted to use the streamers, and he started dancing and did a great job. Then Tammy also did some dancing. And then it was already 5:30 pm and time to go to the kids' rooms.
At first everyone went into the biggest room and sat down to eat. It was a little early for our kids to have dinner, but they ate a few bites. However, what they really wanted was to go play, and they were happy, when they were finally allowed to do so. They especially enjoyed the climbing and sliding construct, and Sammy was happy to ride the little car.
Then the lady in charge started talking and saying that three kids had turned 4 years old and were going to the older kids' church. They had to master an obstacle course to get there. Tammy went first, climbing up and sliding down, then crawling through a tunnel, and then riding the little car to the door. There the lady gave her a medal and a sheep. Then Emmy, and then Sammy, mastered the obstacle course. Then all the other kids created a tunnel with their hands that they had to walk through. Sammy stayed on his car and rode through first, then Emmy, and then Tammy followed, and they all went to another room.
There was a good number of children there. First they went around the circle so that every child could say their name. Then they were playing a game, that was not very successful. Randy left to go to the sanctuary, as it was enough for me to be there. Next they were doing a little teaching, followed by drawing and cutting, and then they brought some toys. The kids were enjoying playing with the train tracks and trains. Sammy was already eager to go see Anna, even though the end of the service hadn't come yet. So I finally took him. The other two kids then went into the room with more toys and got their dinner box out, as they were hungry.
When we got to the sanctuary, there was Anna, much to Sammy's delight. They started having fun together, and then the service was over. I saw another good friend, which I enjoyed, and talked for a few minutes. Then it was time to go home. We rode the elevator down, walked to the subway, and got on. Someone the kids know happened to get on as well and joined us. The kids were having lots of fun with her until she got off. Then we took another subway and got home at 8 pm.
We got them ready for bed right away. I read them some stories and prayed for them, then put them to bed. As Randy was still making his dinner, I climbed to the top and lay down with Tammy and Emmy. After a while I went back down to sit by Sammy, and Emmy also moved to his old bed on the bottom, where he sleeps every night. Once Randy was done eating, he took my place, and I was finally able to get something to eat. It was already 9:15 pm. After having eaten, I went back to work. Now it's nearly 1:30 am, and I still have to clean up the kitchen before joining the rest of the family that has long been asleep.
