Day 1671. After Sammy's one day of being sick, he went back to kindergarten yesterday and had a good time there. The rest of us stayed home. I taught from 10 to noon, and then from 3 to 4 pm, and then did much-needed office work. As the weather was nice, Randy took the kids outside our apartment while I was working. After I was done teaching, I went on the balcony to look down on them and took these pictures.
This morning Sammy was up extra early. I helped him out of bed at 6:30 am and took his braces off. Emmy was up too and stayed with him and played with him. At some point Randy got up to make breakfast for the kids, and then they went downstairs to play. I'd had a short night and made myself get up at 9:30, as I again had to teach from 10 to noon.
After I was done teaching, we all got ready to leave the house, which we did at about 12:30. It was quite a long walk to the tram stop, which is why we rarely go that way. However, it was sunny and warm - the warmest day of the year so far - and so we took our light jackets off and were short-sleeved.
We just missed one tram, so we had to wait a while for the next one to come. Thankfully all the trams were new ones today. We rode it for 6 stops and got off right by the McDonald's - our first destination. We had never been to that one before and were surprised to not only find an outside area, but also a small playground outside. Of course that's where we had to go, and so we chose a table right next to it. They went to play, while I ordered the food. They then brought the food to our table, and the kids stopped playing to eat. After they were done, they went back inside the tower to climb and go down the slide.
It was a little windy and getting colder, with black clouds increasing in the sky and covering the sun. At 1:30 pm we left and took the tram in the direction we came, but just for one stop. From there we had a long walk down the road to the Danube. And it actually started thundering. More and more other kids were also going in the same direction, to the same event. We reached the Danube and saw a rowing club get ready to get into their boat. We turned the corner and saw the entrance to the "Friends of Nature" compound. We had never been there before. Outside their gate, there was a banner saying, "welcome to our family festival". In the background, two sailboats were sailing by.
We took a picture outside the gates and walked inside. They had a table set up for registration; I'd had to register us online in advance. We received three drink tickets for a free drink for each child, and tickets for the show that was playing at two different times. Then we were off to explore.
First there was a course set up up, but it was very simple. They had to jump from pad to pad and weave through the cones. And they dutifully did it. Next there was a soccer board with twho holes to shoot the ball through. That was too hard for the kids. They did it using their hands. We continued walking and passed crafts stations to come back to. Then we reached the playground with the climbing wall behind it. We were some of the first ones there, and Tammy and Emmy jumped on the see-saw right away. Then they continued on to the rest of the playground, and then the climbing wall. They did pretty well on it. They also went on the swing for a short time. Then we started walking in the direction of the crafts station, and all three used some playmais to make a work of art. Then it was time to get to the show that started at 2:30 pm. I had already started raining anyway, so it was great timing.
We gave them the tickets and walked into the small building. As we among the first ones inside, we got to sit in the second row. I had Sammy on my lap. Once the room was full, they started the show. A clown lady was doing all kinds of "magic" tricks, all with lots of fun and lots of laughter. The kids were really enjoying it. Even Sammy was following it and laughing and having fun.
After half an hour it was over and we left the building again. Randy left with Sammy to change him, while the rest of us went to another crafts table. They had clay that the kids go to roll out and then use different shapes to cut them out of it. Tammy ended up with 4, and Emmy with three to take home. They put a hole into them to hang them up - after having dried a couple of days.
We had done everything, and it was raining and suddenly cold and windy. We picked up the free drink and then left to start the long walk back to the tram. The kids were whining about the cold and rain; we had not brought any umbrellas. We then rode the tram for 5 stops and had yet another long walk ahead of us to our house. And this time the wind was really strong in this street we had to walk down. And so I suggested we'd run, and we did, which made the kids laugh.
But we were all wet and cold by the time we got home just before 4 pm. I made hot chocolate for the kids, and then they went downstairs to play, while I started up my computer to do much-needed work. At 5:45 they came back upstairs, and half an hour later I started making their dinner, starting our evening routine. After dinner and bathtub and the story, I lay down on the top bunk with them for a while. Then I went to the kitchen to get myself something to eat. Now it's 1:30 am and time to take care of the kitchen before going to bed.
