Day 1763. Yesterday the kids had their last piano class of the academic year. Sammy has now also conquered the chickenpox, but as he had it the worse, the blisters are still quite visible. And so we decided not to take him to the piano class as not to scare anyone. However, I wanted to be there and take pictures of the kids receiving their certificates and report cards, and so Randy had to be the one to stay with Sammy. Thankfully it worked out, which was the first time in a long time.
I left with Tammy and Emmy just before 10 am to take them to the music school. We took our scooters with us, as it was just the three of us, which got us to the school earlier than we would have been without. There were only two other students there today, and one of them was a little boy Emmy has befriended a little. The two of them together are bad news, and so the teacher always separates them.
She started with the greeting song, then gave them the colored stickers to put on the keys of their pianos. Then they played a song together that was in their books and that was a little more challenging. I tried to help them both, but that was a little hard to do. Emmy did not have a good day and was hard to motivate.
After playing the piano, she called the kids to the front. She did a freeze dance with them and had the kids play the piano and stop, and then everyone had to freeze. She did that game for quite some time. Then she did the song with them again, where they hide little instruments and have to respond to her sung question with a sung answer. TIme went by fast, and so it was already time for the story at the end.
After the story, it was time for the stickers, as always, but this time there was more. She handed them their certificates, and we took pictures of them. Emmy's friend was also there for the last time, even though there is one more class next week, and so he also got his certificate. Later she also gave us their report cards.
We left to go back to the subway and rode it to McDonald's where Randy and Sammy were already waiting for us. He was so happy to see us. They liked the toys they got, and we had a good time eating together. Then we returned home.
I was really tired and was glad to get a little nap in. Randy eventually took the kids downstairs to play. I then taught from 3 to 5 pm.
This morning we had to leave the house early for their very last swim class this academic year. Again, there would have been another one next Sunday that they're going to miss because we leave Vienna on Wednesday. We left the house at 8:45 am and took the train just before 9 am. After the train, we took the tram and then walked to the swimming pool. There were considerably more people there than last time, as it was warmer, though there was a cool breeze that early in the morning. We paid and walked to the locker rooms, where we changed. There was still time until our 10 am class, and so Tammy and Emmy ran into the water and played in it. I told Sammy he could go in the water after the class. We were concerned he'd be too cold if he went in before the class.
A few minutes before 10 am we went inside. The inside pool was closed except for the swim classes. Emmy had forgotten his googles last time and was really glad, when the teacher had them, so he got them back. At 10 am she started her class with the greeting song. Then she had them swim on their bellies as well as on their backs. They're now very close to being able to swim all by themselves. The boys had neoprene suits on because the water was so cold, but Sammy was still too cold to be in the water rather quickly and got out with Daddy. Emmy was also too cold at some point, and so was Tammy. All three were still enjoying the slide the teacher had for the kids. In the end, they were glad, when the class was over, and we all got out right away to go outside and warm up in the sun.
They all sat down on a bench to warm up and only briefly made contact with the water. It was still too cold for them. I enjoyed it and swam a few laps. When the waves started in the big pool, we went over there, and they enjoyed them for a few minutes. But they were ready to leave and not freeze any more, and so we went to the locker room to get ready.
We left the pool and went back home, where we arrived just after noon. I warmed up some chicken noodle soup and put a pizza in the oven, and everyone had either one or the other or both. After lunch, Sammy wanted to look at pictures, and even though I was so tired I just wanted to sleep, I let him watch old videos for a while. Then Randy took them all downstairs to play, while I called Paul in Mali to get some information. I had some office work for Mali to do, as well as preparations for our trip on Wednesday. However, Randy already came upstairs with the kids at about 4:30 pm, which made it harder for me to work. Still, I worked until 6 pm, then I went to the kitchen to make their dinner, which started our evening routine.
