Day 1601. I had set my alarm for 7 am this morning. It was Randy's second night being sick. Emmy slept next to him in my spot until I went to bed, then I carried him to his bed, as Tammy was already sleeping next to him, and there wasn't any room for me. Emmy stayed in his bed for the rest of the night. Both Sammy and Tammy were the ones wanting something to drink at adifferent times throughout the night. At 6:45 it was Randy who already got up, as he was hurting and didn't want to stay in bed any more. At 7 am I got up as well. The kids were still sleeping a few more minutes, then Emmy was up first, and soon the rest of them as well.
I dressed the kids and finished packing and was ready way before our scheduled departure time of 8:30 am. So was Randy, and so we left the house at 8:20. We had two big suitcases, their two kids' suitcases, my purse and the bag hanging off the wheelchair. I wasn't gonna take Tammy's suitcase, but she cried so long and so hard that I finally gave in and let her take the empty little case.
We all left the house and walked to the train station. And we had actually left so early that we were able to make the 8:32 train instead of the 8:50 train. It was an old train, though, where everything and everyone had to be carried up a few steps to get on. After we got off, we sat down in a waiting area, as it was too early for our train to be on the board, so we didn't know where to go yet. I left everyone there and left to find a store, as I needed to buy one item urgently. I found it, bought it, then stood by the board, waiting for our train to appear. Then Randy called me to ask where I was, and the moment I picked up, our train appeared on the board. I walked back to where they were, and together we went up to the platform our train was leaving from.
There was still another train sitting there, so we had to wait. It was really cold and Tammy was whining. Not long after the train had left, our train pulled in, and we got on. It was pretty empty again, like last year, and we occupied two tables with two seats on each side each. We had a 4-hour ride ahead of us, but thank God, it was a direct ride to Schladming, which is why we were on this specific train. All the kids turned their tablets on right away. It was also Sammy's second day of being sick, and he wanted to be with me the whole time. And so I had him for most of the time. He was either resting on my chest or sleeping there, or sitting next to me. The other two moved around and also had some fun together, but were watching or playing on their tablets for most of the time. Tammy was the most impatient, asking all the time, when we'd be there, and saying that this trip was taking so very long.
At 1:48 pm we arrived in Schladming. We got off the train, and then found out that the elevator was out of order. Just great! We had to go down, and then back up again on the other side. Some nice people also traveling offered to help, and I didn't turn it down. One lady was carrying two of the smaller bags, while I was rolling Sammy down the staircase one stair at the time. And then there was the guy from the hotel picking us up; we recognized him right away from last year. He took the wheelchair and finished the staircase with it, then helped Randy with the big suitcases. The second elevator was then working, and we all went up together, where his car was sitting and waiting for us. We loaded everyone and everything into the car, and off we went to the hotel.
The kids were really excited to be there and couldn't wait to go play with all the toys. When we arrived, they took their coats and shoes off and went straight to the ballpit. Randy stayed with them, while I went to check us in, which took a little time. Then we all went to our room, which turned out to be the same room as last year. We put some stuff up, then I left with the kids, while Randy lay down to rest after the arduous journey. It was 3 pm.
We went back to the play area and stayed there for about an hour. They were having lots of fun. They were getting hungry, as they hadn't eaten much on the train, and only the boys had eaten some of the bread with Salami. And so we returned to the room at 4 pm, waking Randy up. At 5 pm we had to see the ski school representative, so we had to keep that in mind. The kids were eager to go swimming, so I put all their swimsuits on, packed in a bag what we needed to take, and we left Randy to continue sleeping and get well and went to the pool without him.
But first we stopped to see the ski school representative. She actually recognized the kids from last year and was really nice. Then we continued on to the pool. We were the first ones there, but suddenly the pool was full of people. We were having lots of fun, but Sammy soon said that he was cold, as he gets cold easily and as he was not yet over the virus. And so I left the pool with him, wrapped him in a towel, and sat down with him to watch the other two kids play in the water. Sammy then fell asleep in my arms.
With 6 pm approaching, I finally got the other two kids out of the water, and we all returned to our room. There we got dressed, and then the five of us left to go to the dining room for dinner.
This year we have a table in the corner, with a big, deep couch on one side. Tammy and I sat on it. They have a kids' buffet, and that's where I got them all plates, so they could start to eat. Then I got myself a nice salat. The kids were already done eating before we got our first course served. Then we had a main course, and finally dessert. By then everyone was really tired, and it was time to return to our room and put them to bed.
It was about 8 pm. I put their pj's on, brushed their teeth, and put Sammy into the crib, while the other two went together into a kid's bed. They insisted on a story, so I turned the lights off and got my phone and read a story. Then I prayed for them. Tammy was soon asleep, and Emmy not that much later. Sammy was asleep first. Randy also went to bed, and I was so very tired I could have gone to bed right away myself, but I still had to do the pictures and report. Now it's just after 11 pm and I'm ready to go to bed as well.
