Day 2070. I went to bed later than usual last night. What was unusual was that no kid joined us in bed; for Tammy it was already the 4th or 5th night, and for Emmy the first. This morning, my alarm went off at 9:30 am, but of course the kids had woken me up several times before then, usually with their fights. I got up, and we got ready to leave the house at 10 am.
Tammy, Emmy and I took the subway downtown, then we walked to their music school, where their class started at 10:30. Both other students were back today. They hadn't had a class in three weeks, so it was great to be back. Before class, I paid for their fall semester as it's the cheapest to do so this early.
She started with the greeting song, then she asked the kids what they had done during their Easter break. Then it was time for their finger warmup. After that, she went straight to the "Twinkle Twinkle" song. Then they went to the board and learned the 8th and 16th notes. Back at their pianos, they had to do a little exercise in their books, drawing notes. Then it was already time for the story. After the story, they got their stickers and stamps for every time they've practiced at home. Then the class was over, and it was the first time ever she didn't do the good-bye song.
Randy and Sammy were in the hallway, waiting for us. They had already been there for a while. Together we then left and walked to the nearby playground as we still had some time to kill. It rained a lot yesterday and during the night, so it was partly still wet, but there was lots they could do. They enjoyed the zipline, especially Sammy, while Tammy and Emmy did lots of climbing. Tammy tried to climb up the articifial rock, then she went to the climbing construct that had a round net in the middle. All three ended up on there which made for a great triplet picture.
At 12:15 pm it was time to go. We walked for a while to get to the tram stop where we had to get on the tram. We stayed on it for quite some time, then still had quite a walk ahead of us. We reached the restaurant ten minutes before 1 pm.
It was my favorite pizza restaurant that I grew up with, and we were gathering to celebrate my Mom's and my brother's birthday. Except for my Mom, it's the only time of year I see the rest of the family. My Mom and her husband were already there, so was my sister-in-law's dad. We sat down by them; Tammy got to sit next to Grandma. That was nice as we usually sit on the other end of the table.
Soon everyone had arrived. We ordered and all enjoyed our food. Tammy ate quite a lot, surprisingly much. After we had eaten, it was time for the presents. Grandma came first and enjoyed her gifts. We gave her a blanket that had the yearly triplet photos on there that were taken each year since their birth. Then it was my brother's turn. The kids gave him the drawings they had made. Then he opened the our gift which was a T-shirt. He is fan of a well-known soccer club, and so he and Emmy connected over soccer. Sammy wanted to sit with Grandma, and then dessert arrived, and he got to eat it there. Emmy sat next to Grandpa and had lots of fun with him.
At 4 pm we all said our good-byes. It was time to walk back to the tram, then take it to the subway and ride it home. It was 5 pm before we got home. I was so tired that I went straight to bed and actually got to fall asleep, even with the noise. At 6 pm I got back up and went to the kitchen to make dinner for the kids which started our evening routine. Randy was removing the old, broken washing machine and installed the new one. Tonight it was 8:30 before the kids were all in bed. Then I got my dinner, and after I was done eating, I started working on the pictures. There were so many that it took a long time, and I didn't get to finish my report. It was after 2 am before I quit and went to bed.
