Day 2043. Last night we turned our clocks forward by an hour. Sammy was up at 6 am yesterday's time. Soon Emmy was up as well, and he was trying to get Daddy out of bed because he was hungry. I kept telling Daddy it was 9 am (new time) already, but he had a hard time getting up. Tammy was sleeping really long next to me, then she woke up and joined the others for breakfast. As for me, I had set my alarm for 11 am, which was 10 am yesterday.
When it went off, Randy and the kids were downstairs. I had a hard time getting up, but I needed to make lunch, as we had to leave the house early. So I went to the kitchen to make chicken-noodle soup. At noon we sat down at the table to eat. I had the time in my focus the whole time, as it was short. After having eaten, we all got ready and left the house at 12:40 pm.
We took the subway, then an old train to go to the north of Vienna. It was a challenge getting three scooters and the wheelchair plus kids in. Once we got off, Tammy, Emmy and I went ahead on our scooters, covering the long distance to the tennis hall, as it was late already. Once there, they took their long pants off, then we waited for Daddy who had their shoes. In the meantime they got their name tags with a number. Emmy was 9, and Tammy 10. After having put their shoes on, they went on the court, where lots of children were already playing with their parents. I then started playing with Emmy as well.
But not for long. The director called everyone together to greet us, then put the kids into groups. When only Tammy was in a group, I asked him to put Emmy into the same group, so I wouldn't have to go back and forth between groups. Thankfully he agreed.
While they had six courts last time - and lots of kids - they only used three courts today, and there were not that many children. It was all younger children that can't play tournaments yet. There were two other kids in their group, and I know that one was 4. The other one was probably 6 or so.
At the first court where they were, three kids had to try to make cones fall over by hitting balls on the floor, while the fourth kid was playing tennis with the teacher. The teacher was counting how many times they could play back and forth. Emmy was doing very well, hitting every ball and having better posture than his sister.
Sammy wanted to play tennis as well, so I gave him a racket. Randy then played with him, then sat down with him. There was a door there, which was much more interesting to Sammy, so he played with the door for a while.
We then went on to the second court, where it was not about tennis. They had three tasks there. First, an obstacle course that they timed, then moving a ball through cones, which was also timed, then throwing a ball into buckets. Then we moved on to the third court.
It was back to playing tennis. This time all at the same time, more or less, moving down the line. Sammy sat down on the bench next to me with his tablet.
Once they were done, it was over. The teachers left to get ready for the award ceremony, while the kids and parents got to play together. Emmy had been looking forward to playing with me, while Tammy still did not care to do so. She played with us briefly, then played with Sammy. Emmy and I had a great time playing together. It's a little challenging for me with my eye condition; I'd play better if my eyes were working properly.
Then they told us that it was over. They set everything up for the award ceremony, and we all gathered there. The director talked, then called the kids up in groups of three. Each kid got a medal, then they got to pick a gift out of a box. Both Tammy and Emmy picked a sheet with tennis stickers, then Tammy went back to get one for Sammy as well. Emmy wasn't happy that Tammy's stickers were so much nicer than his.
We all put our clothes back on and left. This time we went to the tram, as it was a long time until the next train. After getting off the tram, we needed to take another one to get home. It was a 10-minute wait time. The kids saw the stands of the Easter market and wanted to look at them, so we went there and walked by them. It wasn't very interesting. But at the end, there was a little train and caroussel. The kids wanted to ride right away. Sammy was not feeling well, but wanted to ride as well. He saw the Peppa Pig ride next to the caroussel, and that's what he wanted to do, and he loved it. Tammy sat in a helicopter, but she was not happy, when she saw that Emmy could move his car high up, which she couldn't. Emmy was greatly enjoying it.
After it was over, we left to walk to our tram. Sammy was screaming because he wanted to keep riding. And he never stopped crying, all the way home. Nothing we did got him to stop- I only succeeded to make him stop briefly. He said that his ears were hurting. Tammy was sick first and is nearly completely over it. Now the boys are coughing, and both said their ears were hurting. I tried to cheer up Sammy on the tram, together with Tammy, while Emmy fell asleep on Daddy's lap, maybe Daddy did too.
After we got off the tram, we still had a long walk home. We were all glad to be home. It was nearly 5 pm. I gave Sammy some medication, as he was still crying, and he then fell asleep on Daddy's chest. They were both taking a long two-hour nap together. Emmy got on his tablet, while Tammy made some storybooks, as she was not allowed to have her tablet today. She was also hungry, so I warmed up some food for her. Then I lay down for a little bit with my phone.
With Tammy done eating, I suggested we go downstairs for piano practice, and as we were not under time pressure like we are during the week, they practiced longer than usual. It was Tammy who wanted to keep repeating the hard part of the song, and she did. Emmy usually does not want to repeat anything. But today he made a deal with me - he wanted a lollipop for not having a fit or crying during practice, and he kept his end of the deal, as I did mine. Of course it meant that Tammy had to get one as well.
After piano practice, we went back upstairs, and I went to the kitchen to make their dinner. They ate, then they went into the bathtub, where I got Sammy to eat a little as well. Then we got them ready for bed, going through our routine of stories and prayers. It was obvious that it was an hour earlier than usual, as they had a hard time falling asleep, especially Sammy after his long nap. Sammy has woken up frequently tonight, and I've given him medication to help him sleep. Emmy also had a tought time, and I gave him some as well. He also lay down next to me in bed, where I was working. When Randy went to bed, I went to the kitchen to work. Now it's nearly 2 am (new time), and I have yet to do the dishes before going to bed.
