Day 753. Last night I went to bed at 1:30 am after having used every trick I could think of to stay awake and write. Tonight I'm even more tired and unable to stay awake.
Last night was not only short but also rough. Tammy joined us in bed and was rather restless, which is not like her. And at 6:30 they were all up, which surprised me after the late night they had had. We had breakfast, dressed them and left to go get a Covid test done so we could go to a petting zoo.
We had an appointment at 9 am, and we got there exactly at that time, just by accident. However, there was no pharmacy at that address. I called them and found out where they really were. When we got there, it was a container in a parking lot, and there was quite a line of people waiting to be tested. And so we all got out of the car to stand in line. Thankfully the line moved fast and before we knew it we were back in the car and started the half-hour drive to the petting zoo at the other end of the lake. We got our test results before we arrived there. All three of them fell asleep in the car. Sammy woke up quickly, Emmy when we arrived, and I picked up a sleeping Tammy who woke up a little later.
Once inside the petting zoo, the deer were the first animals we saw. They were right at the fence eating out of people's hands, and we also had some feed to give to them. Tammy always wanted to feed the animals, and it was great to see that Emmy has lost his fear. Today he'd have no problem approaching the animals and being on the ground; he was just a little hesitant feeding them by himself. He greatly enjoyed that first deer.
We soon regretted not having brought the stroller from where we were staying as it would have helped big time. As we walked on, we ended up walking up a little mountain and had a long walk around it before we got back to the entrance where the petting zoo was. My back was hurting as kids wanted to be carried a lot. Randy carried Sammy and sometimes another kid as well, while I often had one on my shoulders to make carrying easier. But I was sure glad, when we finally got back to where we had started.
After the deer we saw the nandus next, an ostrich-type animal, and then a type of cow. Then we started walking up the mountain, saw a jackal, some birds, but no wild ducks. Sammy wanted to walk as well not be carried, so Randy let him take a few steps before walking on.
Then we saw bisons and milus, who were just sitting there. There were some turkeys and a table with benches, where we sat down for them to have their snack and take a break. We were about half-way around the mountain. When we continued on, Tammy and Emmy were walking holding hands, which was just the cutest thing to see. It wasn't long before Emmy wanted to be carried again.
On and on we walked without seeing any animals. Just before we reached the gate, we did see some kind of deer up on the mountain.
A short walk later we were in the area of the petting zoo and started going from enclosure to enclosure, seeing all kinds of different types of sheep and goats, as well as donkeys, lamas, kangaroos, and rabbits and guinea pegs. I was disappointed that their website had promised more. There were no cats or pigs, and you could not pet the rabbits or guinea pigs. They did put their fingers through the fence. One rabbit was right by the fence, and the guinea pigs were too. They enjoyed feeding all the goats and sheep and petting the donkeys.
There was also a playground right there, which is the last stop we made. They had fun as always. Randy showed Emmy how to walk up an incline with the help of a rope, and I had Sammy on the hanging bridge, jumping him up and down. And there was a carrousel with three animals to sit on, and they all went round and round for a while. While on it, they saw the excavators right next to it, which is what they love, and they couldn't wait to get there. Randy put a coin in to turn it on, and all three enjoyed moving it, even though they couldn't really do it right yet.
It was getting pretty late, and we had a half-hour drive back to the apartment. We bought some fries to go to hold them over until lunch at home. We had arrived there just after 10 am and left at 12:30. They all ate some fries, and then Tammy and Emmy fell asleep.
Arriving back at the house, I went to the apartment with Sammy, while Randy stayed by the car with the sleeping kids. I put Sammy down and started packing our suitcases. A while later the other two woke up, and so they all came upstairs as well. We sat down to eat lunch, and then continued packing up, which was no easy task. The kids were playing at the same time, as well as doing stuff they shouldn't, and they don't listen, when you say no. It was nearly 4 pm, before the car was all loaded, and we were ready to leave. And the promised rain had arrived.
And so we started our long drive home, which was scheduled to be 3 hours 15 minutes. It didn't take long before Tammy and Emmy fell asleep. Sammy did his usual "no sleeping in the car", even though he was tired, and only fell asleep for 5 minutes twice the whole trip. With this long a trip, we usually stop to give them a chance to run around, by the other two slept so long that we never stopped. Tammy woke up after about 2 hours and was not cranky or anything. Emmy even slept nearly the whole trip. They had some catching up to do from the previous night. Only Sammy was crying quite a bit because he was tired and not sleeping. When we were getting closer to home and they were all awake, I started just having fun with them and making different sounds and noises that make Sammy laugh, and so he got to laugh a lot the last part of the trip.
Just after 7 pm we arrived home. It wasn't easy to find parking, and so we were parked a little distance from our building. The kids were glad to get out of the car, and we slowly walked to the entrance of our building, while they were in a great mood. Once in the apartment, we sat down at the table to have dinner, while the bathtub was filling with water. They ate more than I had expected, and then we went into the bathtub, where they were all having fun. We got them out and ready for bed, and just before 8:30 they were all in bed. Sammy fell asleep right away, but not so the other two. I sat with them, encouraging them to sleep. Randy started bringing our stuff from the car, and the first time he brough their pillows, which they had asked for. After a while Tammy fell asleep, but Emmy had slept a long time in the car, and just would not fall asleep and complain every time I'd walk away. It was around 9:30 he finally did fall asleep as well. I had already myself fallen asleep in the chair by their beds a few times. I was so very tired. I got myself something to eat, downloaded today's pictures but knew I could not work on them, and then started writing my update. I did not get far at all. I simply could not stay awake. I was probably the most tired ever while trying to write an update and simply gave up. I turned my computer off and went to bed at 11 pm.
