On Tuesday the girls did their practicing and then we all went to the mall to return some things. After our errands, the kids played in the mall playground. Ammon screamed and cried when it was time to go, but we placated him by letting him have some pretzel dogs and a cup of pretzel bites before leaving.
By the time we got home, he was asleep. While he slept, I took care of Clarissa and watched part of The Greatest Showman with the girls.
Then we ate “dinner” at 3pm and headed to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. I didn’t take any pictures all day because I was overwhelmed at the prospect of having to upload them to the blog, but if I had taken a picture, I would have taken one of Lydia helping Ammon in the museum. She gave him boosts through the whole ropes course, and in the play areas she guided him everywhere with her hand on his back. When he was determined to run the wrong way or make a break for the fire exit, she would grab him by the shoulders and point him in the right direction, and he trustingly followed her lead.
Lydia is such an outstanding big sister, and her patience with Ammon touched my heart. Also, she made the outing possible. I couldn’t have taken all four kids anywhere without Lydia’s help. As it was, leaving any fun place is a challenge with Ammon. I was wearing Clarissa while physically wrestling with a kicking, screaming, exceptionally strong two-year-old Ammon. It’s always a spectacle that ends with him sobbing and me sweating.
After the museum we drove through Krispy Kreme for dinner or dessert, depending on how you look at it. It was dinnertime, but since I fed them three meals before we left, I justified it as dessert. The kids happily said it was the “best day ever.”