6 years 7 days

Day 2198. The big day had finally come! First day of first grade! Tammy has been sleeping in her own bed most nights, while Emmy still comes every night. When the alarm went off at 7 am, he was up immediately - and very excited. Soon they were all up, and Randy made them breakfast. However, none of them really felt like eating so ate very little. Tammy and Emmy were ready to explore what was in their school bags, so they opened them up and looked at all that was inside which was anything that could not fit into the school cone. I then asked them to take all that out as they wanted to take their bag to school with them but didn't need anything today. Emmy kept asking for the school cone, but I told them they'd get them before we leave the house.

When they had finished kindergarten at the end of June, they had received a T-shirt that read "First grader of 2025 - I went to kindergarten for a long time to earn this". It was the perfect shirt for their first day, so they wore it today. Tammy had a white dress underneath, while Emmy wore jeans. Sammy put his birthday shirt on.

We were ready to leave the house earlier than necessary. When the time had come, I got their cones out and handed them to them and took a picture. Sammy had Mickey Mouse, of course, Tammy a unicorn and Emmy a soccer theme.

We left the house and walked in the direction of the subway. Tammy, Emmy and I could have taken the subway, but opted for the bus as we didn't have to walk as far after getting off. And so Randy and Sammy continued to the subway, while we went to the bus stop.

Randy and Sammy only had two subway stops, then they were there. Sammy got to say hello to his former kindergarten group and teachers, but it rather confused him as it was time for school which was two doors down. He was the only first grader in his class, as the classes in his school go by the degree of the handicap. Sammy is in the group where the kids are the least affected by it. Even though he was the only first-grader, the teacher had prepared little cones for all the students there. And Randy had to leave - and he never even took a single picture.

Tammy, Emmy and I had to take two buses to get to their school which takes a while. We got there early, at about 8:40 am but there were already lots of parents and children standing in front of the school. Grandma was supposed to be there as well but there was some issue not under her control that made her arrive late. Tammy saw her best friend from kindergarten and ran to her right away. I took their picture. 

As people were already going inside the school even though it was early, we joined the crowd and went up the stairs to their classroom. It was already full of kids and parents. Their teacher Connie was at the door greeting them and telling them to go find their seat. She had put name tags on each desk, together with their school books, a colored pencil and a little school cone from the local radio station that all first graders in Vienna received today. The tables were put together in groups - four in total - so that there were 6 students at each group of tables. Two groups were up front, and two in the back. Emmy sat in the very back, while Tammy at the group of tables in front of him. Tammy was disappointed that she could not sit with her best friend who sat at Emmy's table. She had a boy next to him, while Emmy had a girl next to him. And Emmy was the only boy at his group of tables with 6 kids.

Even though it wasn't even 9 am yet, the teacher said a few words and told us the books had to be taken home so that we could put a protective cover on them. So I put their school books into their respective school bags. Then the founder of the school also spoke a few words. Then the teacher told us to leave the building and wait outside for the kids to be done today. They only had 50 minutes on this first day anyway. Tammy immediately reached out to me, as she didn't want me to leave. I had  not told them in advance that I was not going to stay there with them during the whole time.

And so all the parents were outside the school building. It was a sunny and hot day. I talked to a few parents, then Grandma arrived, and we enjoyed talking with each other. Earlier than expected, just after 9:40 am, the kids already came out of the school building. Tammy came out first, then Emmy, and they greeted Grandma. I then took their picture with the school logo. 

It was time to move on. There was an icecream shop a 15-minute walk away, and we were gonna go there with Grandma. She left to take her car, while the three of us had to walk. And it was quite a long walk. They were getting tired of carrying their heavy school cones, plus Emmy had his school books in his school bag, making it heavy. Tammy had come out of the building without her books as another teacher had set she could take them home another time.

When we finally reached the icecream shop, a guy kept us from going there. He told us that the shop was closed as they were filming a movie there today. What are the chances! Of all days today! It was quite annoying, and the kids were disappointed. Grandma hadn't made it there yet, so I called her. I then gave her the address of another ice-cream shop where we could go. 

The three of us got on the next bus going in the direction of our home. But we got off early and then still had to walk quite a bit. Again, they were whining a little about all they had to carry. I also had stuff to carry and helped them carry their cones at times. We were glad when we finally reached the ice-cream shop. It was quite close to our home yet I hadn't even been aware that it existed, and we've lived here for 5 years now.

We sat down at a table and looked at the menu. They had a children's cup with a surprise egg so it was obvious that that was what they wanted. I ordered for them and me, and we had a good time eating and talking with Grandma. Grandma took her icecream with her to eat at home. After we were done, it was time to say good-bye to her. Then we walked the rest of the way home - with more whining. My feet were hurting too.

Sammy was already home when we arrived at 11:20 am. For him school had finished at 11 am today so I was surprised he was already there. The kids were eager to finally open their school cones. Emmy had already done so while waiting for the bus and on the bus, but not Tammy. And Sammy not either. They were pulling everything out of their cones - school supplies and candy. Sammy also got two cookies (chips with stories) for his headset that he was very excited about, and they got diving goggles as they had lost theirs in America. I put the kids' school supplies where they needed to be so that their schoolbags and everything else were ready for tomorrow.

At 12:10 pm we all left the house together to go to the amusement park - another tradition in Vienna for the first day of first grade. We took the subway for a few stops, then walked to the McDonald's right there for lunch. We ate, then continued walking to the amusement park. We were coming from the back where we knew a couple of children's rides were. It was time for rides for them.

I bought 10 chips so that they could each do 3 rides (with one extra). Emmy was ready to hop on the plane, and Tammy into the car. Then they did some flying, while Sammy went to the caroussel and then rode the train. Tammy later also rode the train - all by herself. Emmy preferred riding a motorbike on the caroussel,a nd he also rode the car.

Once the 10 chips were gone, we continued walking to cross the amusement park and get out at the other end, the entrance. There were more children's rides, and Tammy and Sammy were excited when they saw the children's rollercoaster, while Emmy wanted to drive a car. We were happy when Randy didn't have to pay for himself because he was helping Sammy. And so Randy went on the rollercoaster with Tammy and Sammy, while Emmy was already off to ride the car, going in circles. The rollercoaster was pretty cool. Sammy was loving it, while Tammy not so much. She sat behind Daddy and Sammy, and Daddy had to hold her leg.

We continued walking and got to flying saucers. They were going round and round, and you could go up and down in them. Again, Randy was able to go for free to go with Sammy. He went in one with Sammy, while the other two kids got into another one, right behind them. They were having lots of fun.

We continued walking - purposefully as I had a specific ride in mind that I wanted to take them to, and we found it. There was a very long line but we lined up. However, Sammy is not good with lines so I soon pushed myself to the front to talk to the cashier whether it was possible to go to the front of the line. And she let us. She told us to go to the exit so we got on where the people were getting off. This time I was the one to ride with them. We were in a car together - Tammy and Emmy in the front, and Sammy and I in the back. It was a cute ride in an iceworld and then in the ocean. Every rider had a camera they were supposed to take pictures with. Emmy did great and had over 3300 points while Tammy's camera was apparently not working. Sammy was having fun as well.

After that ride, I was pretty much done for the day. We started walking in the direction of the exit. We walked by a boat-ride in water that they wanted to do, but Daddy didn't want to. We looked at another flying merry-go-round but the kids were still too small for it. It was time to leave - but they were upset about that, especially Tammy. I told them they needed to be thankful for what we'd done instead of constantly wanting more and whining. Emmy understood and thanked me, while Tammy was still whining.

We got on the subway and rode it home. My feet were hurting from all the walking we had done, and I was tired. I was very glad when we got home at 3:30 pm. And I was glad that their afternoon class was only starting next Monday.

I turned my computer on as I had lots of work to do and tried to get going. Soon I got so tired that I closed my eyes and fell asleep. It was Tammy who woke me up as she wanted help with her tablet. Some time later I told them it was time for us to go downstairs for piano practice.

Tammy went first and did great. Then it was Emmy's turn. Once again he started crying when I asked him to play a sequence again. But I was able to get him to continue playing, and today he finished his practice though it hadn't been easy to get him to. And he still plays the piece better than his sister.

We returned upstairs where I made their dinner, then it was bathtub time. And I told them it was time to start bathing one after another instead of together. Tammy went first, then Sammy, then Emmy. It worked out better than expected. After they'd put their pj's on, it was story time. Then I prayed for them, and they went to brush their teeth and went to bed. It was actually only 7 pm instead of 8 pm, but tomorrow they'll have to get up even earlier, plus they didn't know it wasn't 8 pm yet. It took them a while to fall asleep but eventually they did. I went to the kitchen to make myself a salad, then ate while watching the news. I knew I had to get moving with all the pictures today, but I still didn't get them all done. Now it's 12:30 am, and I still have to do the dishes. Tomorrow the alarm is going off at 6:15 am.