Day 1607. The alarm went off at 7:30, but all three kids were already up before that today. We got them dressed and went to breakfast, then they went to the playroom after they were done eating. We let them play until 8:45, then we went to our room to put their skiing gear on. And - what a miracle - they did not whine or say they didn't want to skiing today! That was a first since day 1! I guess they were looking forward to the race today.
Once they were dressed, we went downstairs and outside the hotel, so they would not be too hot. There we waited for Randy and Sammy who came a few minutes later. Then we went to the bus stop and took the 9:25 bus to the skiing resort. Today Sammy was in his weelchair, as we were gonna stay the 2+ hours there instead of going back to the hotel.
It had snowed during the hotel and was still snowing, and the snow was just beautiful. So much so that I was wishing that I could go skiing myself, even though there was a lot of fog, so the sight conditions weren't great. Tammy and Emmy enjoyed the new snow so much that they lay down in the snow and made snow angels, right there, when we reached their skiing school. Then we went to the hut and put their ski boots on, then went outside with their skis that we put on them. The race track had been set up for days, but now they had added a fence and a start and finish line. Tammy and Emmy then went off with their teacher and up the hill.
We hadn't had a chance to see them ski the last few days, so I was looking forward to finally getting that chance. We went half-way up the hill to where the hut was, where I had a good view, and where there was a bench to sit down on. We waited for their group to be going down the hill, and then the time had come. I actually recorded every single time they went down the hill. They skied down behind their teacher and were doing really well. Every time after they had gone down the hill, Randy, Sammy and I went back inside the hut, as Sammy was cold. He had a phone to watch children's songs on, but was still rather cranky - especially every time I walked away from him and went back outside to film the kids skiing. Randy then always followed me with Sammy, so he also went in and out of the hut all the time.
Then the kids went straight down the hill twice, and I could hear Emmy laugh and have fun. He was clearly the fastest, overtaking the others as he went down the hill with a lot of speed. But he had no problem braking.
Then the teacher had them go down the race track by themselves, instead of following her, which they had done a few times, and I was impressed that they were able to go around the flagpoles correctly, no problem at all. And then it was time for the race. Their group was the first one at the start line, and Tammy was the very first one with number 11. Emmy was second with number 12. The ski school boss had a microphone and announced that Tammy was coming down the hill. I recorded her race and was so proud of her going down the hill so sovereignly, not making any mistakes. And then it was Emmy's turn, and he did great as well. We walked down the hill to the finish line and congratulated them on their race. Then it was time to wait for everyone to have gone down the hill. Waiting is not so much fun for them. We returned their number and took their helmets off. Emmy also wanted to take his ski boots off, but not Tammy. Sammy was pretty cranky, not wanting to be there any more, but to return to the hotel.
Finally the race was over, and it was time for the award ceremony. They set up a few steps for the winners, but all the little ones stood on them. First, it was the turn of the smallest of the kids that had not gone down the race track, then it was our kids' group's turn. They put them all on the steps and handed them their certificates and put medals around their necks. We took pictures, then they left and we congratulated them again and took their picture. When I looked at their certificates, I saw that Emmy had won first place and Tammy second in their group. Emmy was 3 seconds faster than his sister. I was so proud of them both! Of course Emmy played the "I'm first card" to the max, making Tammy disappointed that she was second, which was also a great achievement.
We took their skis and started walking back down to where the bus stop was. First we went into the shop and returned their skis and boots. Then we went to the office of the ski school and returned their vests and helmets. Then we went to the bus stop; we still had 20 minutes until the 12:45 pm bus. After ten minutes I suddenly realized that we had left their skilift passes inside the ski school jackets, and we were still getting money back for returning them. Emmy wanted to come with me, so the two of us returned to the ski school, where they handed us the lift passes right away. Then we went to the cashier, where you buy your tickets, went to the front of the line and returned the cards, getting the €6 back. We rejoined the others at the bus stop, and a few minutes later the bus arrived.
We rode the few stops back to the hotel, where we took all their clothes off. Then they went into the play area, as they wanted to eat with all the kids again. Randy, Sammy and I went to the open fire room, where Sammy ate his plate of food, while Randy and I ordered a soup for ourselves. We ate, then joined the other kids in the playroom. Like yesterday, I left them there and went to the room to take a nap, as I was really tired. It was already 1:45 pm. I stayed in the room for about an hour, then went back downstairs, and Randy was the one to take a break and go to the room. At 3 pm the time for crafts started, and Tammy made three items, while Emmy didn't even finish the first. She likes crafts, while Emmy doesn't care much for it. He preferred playing. He's been playing being a detective and trying to catch a master thief for the past few days. Sammy was again enjoying the little car that moves and plays music that he likes so much.
Emmy got these little blocks out that you can step on and that have different heights and put them out to try to go from block to block. I then suggested to put them all up in a circle and to look who could walk around longest without falling down. Several children played along, and it was usually Tammy or Emmy who were the last ones standing. They were enjoyign the game.
At 4:15 I told them it was time to go swimming. On our way out they still wanted to go into the ball pit, so they had fun there for a few minutes. Then we went to our room, where we put our bathing suits on. Together we all went to the pool, where there were a lot of people again. And we had lots of fun in the water again.
After a while we left and returned to our room to get dressed. Then we went to the playroom. There were a lot of kids there, as there were also a few new arrivals. And Donki was gonna come again to dance with the kids just before dinner. This time Tammy was also dancing, and they had lots of fun. Sammy sat on a horse right next to me and wasn't as afraid of Donki as the first two times. He was even on the picture with him as well!
Then we went to the dining room. I got the kids their plates, then got my soup and salad and bread with cheese. Tammy ate well for a change, and Sammy also ate a lot. At 6:30 pm the children's disco started, so Tammy and Emmy left at that time. Sammy wanted to go as well, so I took him there and left him, unsure whether it was going to work. A few minutes later Randy went to check on him and returned with him to the dining room. Sammy said that the music was too loud. After we had finished eating, we all went over there to join the fun, and Sammy danced with me. Emmy and Tammy had disguised themselves and were having lots of fun. They had kids' songs playing, but also did some games. After a while Sammy had had enough of it. Just before it ended at 7:45 pm, the teacher started making little balloon animals and handing them out. Sammy wanted to have one as well. They all loved them. Then we returned to our room. Sammy made part of the animal pop, when he gnawed on the balloon, and then Emmy opened his animal up and was crying. I tried to fix it, but then it popped and he didn't have an animal any more. He was crying hard, and I promised him I'd get him a new one. Then I ordered those balloons on Amazon.
It was about half an hour later than it's been all week. We got them ready for bed, then I still read them a story and prayed for them. They all fell asleep really quickly. I then turned my computer on and started working on the many pictures of the day, as well as the many videos. And so it's now 1:20, which is much later than any of the days this week. Tomorrow morning we're leaving after breakfast to take the train back to Vienna.
