Day 1824. What a busy day! Randy left with the boys first to take Emmy to his soccer camp. Then I left with Tammy to take her to her dance camp. As always, we were early. Once the teacher arrived, we went inside and sat down on the sofa to wait for the program to start. As every day before, Tammy wanted me to stay until after it starts. Then the teacher called everyone into the dance hall, and they all sat in a circle. She did the roll call and asked each kid what they had liked most this week. She also asked them which game they'd like to start with. She then picked one, and I waved Tammy good-bye. She waved back to me, and I left to go home.
Once home, I only had a few minutes left to prepare for my 10 am student. A few minutes after my return, Randy and Sammy also returned. After I was done teaching, I went to the kitchen to make lunch. We ate at 11:30 am, and just before noon we already left the house.
It was the kids' last day at camp, and the parents were invited to both camps for the big final. We got to the soccer field just before 12:30 and sat down in the bleachers. The kids were all gathered on the field, in their teams, getting ready for their big final competition.
And then they started. Each team played three times for 10 minutes each, and always against a different team. The one with the most points in the end won. They were separated into the younger and the older kids. And so we watched the kids play for about 90 minutes. Emmy was the youngest of all the kids. He had two other smaller kids in his team, as well as two older kids. Those two carried the team. One was the goalie, and the other one scored the goals. Thanks to those two, the team won all three games - much to Emmy's delight.
For Sammy, it was not very easy to sit and wait for that long. Emmy came over quite a bit and even organized a ball for Sammy one time and then played with him for a while, throwing the ball back and forth. There was a good number of yellowjackets, which amused Sammy. Thankfully they didn't sting anyone.
By 2 pm all the teams were done, and we had to vacate the area. Emmy put his regular shoes on, we packed everything into his backpack,then we all walked in the direction of the exit and stopped by the tree, where they had set up a table with the trophies and medals. The camp leader said a few words, then started calling the teams forward, starting with fourth place. In the end the winning team was called forward, which included Emmy, and they each got a gold medal. Emmy was brimming from ear to ear. They took a picture, then they walked away. They were supposed to get a certificate as well, but for some reason didn't. They still had trophies and some other prizes to give away, but it was 2:15 pm, and I had to run to get to Tammy's dance performance in time. Randy was staying with the boys to finish up, just in case Emmy got a trophy and that they'd still hand out the diplomas. What I found out later was that Sammy started screaming after I had left and would not stop. He was disturbing everyone. Randy was not walking away with him in case Emmy got called up, as he had to take his picture/video. I heard that it was absolutely terrible. One kid gave his medal to Sammy, hoping that that would help, but it only led to a very short screaming break.
As for me, I walked as fast as I could the long stretch to the main road, where the bus stop was. I rode it for one stop, then got on the subway to take me to the dance studio. I got there at about 2:50, so that was perfect. Tammy was happy to see me. She still had her regular clothes on, so I helped her put her unicorn costume on. Then I got a seat inside the dance hall and reserved a spot for Randy and for the wheelchair. The kids were sitting down on the big mat on the floor to one side, while parents were sitting down on the mat along the other wall. All the kids were getting ready, and just after 3 pm it started. Randy and the boys had not arrived yet.
Tammy was in the very first dance. All the kids were disguised as animals. I was glad that her position was the one closest to me. Tammy was the youngest in her camp, but she did a great job. She was smiling the whole time she was dancing, always watching the other kids to know what to do. After her first dance, I helped her change clothes, as she had to be dressed in black and white for the other two dances. Then we went back inside. She was performing her second dance, when the boys arrived. Emmy sat down on the mat with the other kids, Randy took the reserved chair, and since the wheelchair had stayed outside, I took Sammy and continued filming. It wasn't easy for Tammy, but she was having fun. After all the kids had performed all their dances, it was over. I packed up Tammy's stuff, and we all left to make our way downtown.
We were walking to the subway and talking whether it wasn't smarter to eat at the McDonald's right there instead of eating at Town Hall square downtown. The kids thought it was a great idea, so we went there. The little boy from the dance camp was there as well. They had a new set of Smurf toys, which they were excited about. We had a good time eating, then left to go downtown.
We rode the subway downtown, then took a tram for one stop to arrive at Town Hall square. A few weeks ago we had passed by, and I had seen that they were showing "The Magic Flute" for kids tonight at 5 pm. That was perfect! I had told them about it and sung one of the songs to them since they were little. It had been my first opera to ever see, so I wanted them to see it. We got there on time, then started walking in the direction of where I had seen the children's area was located. At first we found some sports stations, but then we saw where it was. Many kids had already gathered there, sitting on the few benches that were set up. They also had some cardboard boxes to sit on. We were looking for a way to get in there, as they had put heavy benches next to each other along the path, leaving no room to get in. We finally moved a bench and rolled the wheelchair in. Now where to find a seat? We ended up going all the way to the front, where I sat down on the ground next to Sammy, while Emmy was on a bench and Tammy then sat down on the ground by us. I got Sammy out of the wheelchair. After a while he wanted one of the green boxes and got one that was available. I put him on top, and he told me to let go of him, as he wanted to sit on there by himself. And so he did, and he had no problem doing so.
Randy left us there right away, as Emmy was crying over his new cap that he had left at McDonald's. Randy went back there and retrieved it for him, then rejoined us. As for the opera itself, it was a one-hour version for children that was adapted to little kids. I thought it was very well done. And the kids finally heard the real version of the song I'd been singing to them. Tammy said a few times that it was boring. Emmy was watching carefully and so was Sammy - at least, when they were singing, as he was enjoying the music, as usual. He was waving his arm with the music, like he likes doing. I'm glad they liked it. It was their first contact with opera.
It was 6 pm, and everyone was very tired after a long week and a very long day. I was exhausted. Emmy was his usual sensitive self, his tired self, upset and crying over every little thing. Randy ended up carrying him part of the way. I was so exhausted I couldn't keep my eyes open.
By 6:45 pm we were back home. I was glad I didn't have to make any dinner. We put the kids into the bathtub, where they had some fruit, then got them ready for bed. I was really too tired to read a story, but did it anyway. Just after 8 pm they were all in bed.
I was glad that all the gifts were already wrapped. I had lots of pictures, though, to work on, which is also why I didn't get to write my report. I went to bed at 1:30 am.
