That was a great day. O.K. I’m exhausted and I have to sort of force myself to feel its greatness, but still.
The day started well, with Annie occupied in her room until 7:30. (I wish I could say she was reading books, but really I left her dvd player, a snack and water up there to tempt her to not come down the very loud and creaky stairs.)
The morning was spectacular, with the sun reflecting off the mountain snow. Bright and not too cold (about -2C), I became committed to spending a good part of the day outside. I picked up Chloe and Julian around 10, and spent a good while making sure everyone was warmly dressed. There wasn’t enough snow to bother driving somewhere farther away to slide, so I took us all to the big park near the city center. There is a small hill there, with still enough snow that the girls could use their plastic sliders! They went up and down for about half an hour while Julian ran and rolled around until pretty much all of the dusting of snow was gone. Then we played for another hour in the rest of the playground.
Next up was lunch and hot chocolate at the cafe. A round of bathroom breaks and diaper changes, and off we went to the Christmas Market. Julian fell asleep on the way in the stroller, which made things quite a bit easier. The girls went on a pony ride, two rounds on the carousel, ate a treat and then watched the puppet show. After sitting for half an hour at the Kasperltheatre, though, they were very cold and some tears ensued. We rushed to the car and all was well.
At home I guess they needed some alone time. I read to Julian, Chloe coloured, and Annie put on a dress and fairy wings and danced to some music. Dinner was uninspired but eaten, and then Margriet came to pick her two up.
I enjoyed the day and love that I was able to help out a very appreciative friend. Now I’m off to tuck a tired Annie into her bed. I’m pretty sure I won’t be far behind.