MORE PICTURES TO COME
Day 932. Last night I headed to bed at 1 am. But before I could fall asleep Emmy came crying to me, wanting to crawl into bed with me, and I said no. He finally asked for Daddy to come sit with him, and Randy sat down with him, rocked him, and then put him to bed, where he fell asleep. It was 1:30, when I looked at my phone the last time. Tammy joined us in bed at some point during the night, and just after 6 am Emmy came as well. But it wasn't long before the two of them were up, and Sammy was crying, so we got him to join us in bed. Just after 7 am I got up.
I made breakfast, and we sat down at the table to eat. Then I cleaned them up and dressed them, and we went downstairs, where we read a Bible story together. Then I put a few more things in the bags for our Mali table and went upstairs to pack and get everything ready, while Randy was with them downstairs as he is every morning. There was still a lot to do, but I was in the zone getting everything done. By 10 am I had finished my part. Now Randy just had to take everything to the car.
And so I went downstairs to be with the kids, while Randy started packing the car. They wanted to watch Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig, and I let them. Then we went upstairs, as Randy was about done. We finished everything, grabbed the last few items, and together we left the house to walk to the car that Randy had parked just outside the building. The kids were really excited that the trip was finally starting and ran down the corridor to the elevator. Once we had reached the car it was a different story. Tammy and Emmy got in and sat down in their seats, and we put the last items into the car. I had to get in on the right side but Randy was parked too close to a fence and first had to move forward. When I closed the car door on the left, where Tammy was sitting, she started screaming because she wanted me to get into the car, and I was outside and she was inside, and then Daddy started driving away. Then I got in on the right side, which comforted my little girl who had tears covering her cheeks. I sat down in the middle with Tammy on my left and Emmy on my right, while Sammy was sitting in the front. It was 11:30, when we finally pulled away in the car.
We stopped at the gas station to hand in our Covid tests, then continued on to the interstate. I searched for a McDonald's along the route and added one to our itinerary. We got there exactly at noon, which is when they always eat. We ordered three Happy Meals plus our food and sat down with a number. They were getting impatient, and I told them they were gonna bring us the food shortly, which they did. They had forgotten one drink, and there were two elephants but the third gift was not age-appropriate, and so I exchanged it for another elephant and got the third drink. Tammy and Emmy only liked the fries, but not the chicken nuggets and wouldn't even try the cheeseburger. They did like the strawberry milkshake. It wasn't long before they were getting up and running around, having fun. Once they were done eating, I took them to the bathroom with me to wash their hands. Everything was well until I showed them the hand dryer. I put my hand in there, and the wind started blowing. It was loud and unexpected and freaked them out. Emmy had run as far away as possible, and it was hard to still wash his hands after that. We returned to the boys, then I took Sammy to clean him up. By 1 pm we were done and leaving the restaurant. On the way out I asked whether the kids could have balloons as they were on the wall as if for taking, and they said yes. So they each got to pick a color. Emmy went for purple, a color he knows well, while Tammy chose orange. We got back into the car and started our two-hour journey to Upper Austria.
They were playing with their balloons in the car, having fun, while I was making sure they were not flying to the front to bother Randy who was driving. They were getting pretty tired, and I believe Sammy fell asleep first. However, he never sleeps long in the car. Tammy fell asleep next, while Emmy was so tired he threw a fit. It's amazing how much strength they have in such a situation. He actually managed to get out of the seat, even though I did everything to keep him in it, and to sit on my lap, where he finally calmed down and quickly fell asleep. I then slid him back into the seat and put the seat belt back on, and he continued sleeping. I leaned against a car seat and closed my eyes, ready to sleep myself, but Sammy was crying and would not be comforted. I still fell asleep a little bit. And then Tammy woke up, and now it was her turn to throw a fit. Again, I could barely keep her in her seat. I finally turned Peppa Pig on on my phone, and she immediately calmed down and started watching. After a few minutes Emmy woke up and also glanced in the direction of the phone, watching with her. However, we were approaching our destination , and so I needed the navigation on my phone. Again Tammy started screaming and throwing a fit, while I was directing Randy where to go. It wasn't far, but Tammy continued her fit, and I tried to keep her in her seat. As we were making our last turn and were about to park, I stopped my efforts and Tammy ended up laying quietly down on the floor of the car, her thumb in her mouth.
I texted our friends that we had arrived, and within minutes they had reached our car to help. We all got out of the car, and Tammy and Emmy were still a little shy at first, but not for long. We walked into the building and took the elevator up to the top. The apartment door was open with the rest of the family standing there to welcome them, but they stood outside not moving. I had to coax them to go inside, with them still being shy. We took their coats and shoes off and went all the way inside.
And then the 4.5 hour fun started. It was 3 pm, when we arrrived. I had been telling them that we were going to see a rabbit, and they were impatient to see it. There were lots of toys waiting for them, and they started playing with them right away. Then we sat down for some cake, before they returned to the toys. And the rabbit. Tammy immediately went to the cage and started feeding it and trying to pet it. Emmy wouldn't even come close as he was scared, and Sammy was also getting scared, when we got him close.
Walking away from the rabbit, Emmy soon discovered the drum set in the corner, and his eyes lit up. He started drumming, grinning from ear to ear, and it was surprising how much stamina he had, sticking with it for the longest time. Tammy joined him for some of the time, even though he wasn't too excited about that, and I joined him with Sammy for some time as well. But the drums weren't the only instrument. There was also a piano, and all three kids got to play at different times. And they also brought out a guitar that both Emmy and Sammy explored. And then there was a xylophone, and a melodica, and even an accordion! And then a trumpet! An intensive music class!
Tammy had her focus set on the books, pulling out one after another to look at it, and our friend even sat down with her to read to her. She also did some puzzles and aced them.
At 6 pm we sat down for dinner. They ate a little bit, then got up to return to the instruments and toys. Once the whole family was back home, everyone sat down at the table, including the kids, even though they didn't really want to. Tammy ended up sitting with our friend for a short time, but it wasn't long before they were all up and running again.
After dinner they were having lots of fun again. Tammy was laughing and giggling constantly having fun with their son, but it was time to go to our Airbnb. We put their clothes back on, and everyone went downstairs and to the car with us to say goodbye there. They didn't really want to leave, having had so much fun. But it was 7:30, when we pulled away, a time when they're usually already in bed. I directed Randy how to get to our destination, and at 8 pm we pulled up to the house. I was glad that none of the kids had fallen asleep on the way, but I had played a video for them, and when I stopped it so we could get the directions, Tammy started throwing a fit again. I was glad, when we were at our destination and got out of the car.
I got the key out of a lockbox, and we went into the house and up the stairs to our AIrbnb apartment. Once we were in the apartment, Randy left to get everything out of the car, while I stayed alone with the now tired kids. I took their clothes off and changed all their diapers. Tammy and Emmy were still wild and having fun, while Sammy was rather cranky and wanted to sleep. Even though there were three single beds as well as our double bed in the apartment, I put the travel mattresses that we had brought on the floor around our bed and put sheets on them. Sammy was the first one ready for bed, but he was crying, needing his Daddy. They were all doing some eating and drinking still, and then I got them ready for bed and put them down. It was 9 pm. It didn't take long for Emmy and Tammy to fall asleep. I was sitting on the floor between their mattresses and had turned my computer on, knowing how many pictures of today I had to go through. However, wifi was pretty bad there, and so I got up after they had fallen asleep. Thankfully it was a lot better on our bed, and so I started working there. Randy was on the bed next to me on his phone for a while, before he went asleep. I powered on, writing today's report, with my eyes falling shut frequently, because I am so tired. When I felt like I could barely go on, I got off the bed and took my computer to the living room, where I was able to finish my report. However, I have no time to do the pictures tonight. It's midnight now, and I feel like it's 3 am.
