Can You Tell Me Which Way to Flocke?

Today we finally made the trip to see the famous Flocke.


The baby polar bear that was born in captivity at the Nuremberg Zoo in December. You can read more about Flocke here

WIKIPEDIA



I can honestly say going to see Flocke was a LOT smoother and more enjoyable then it was when we saw Knut in Berlin last year. The Nuremberg Zoo definitely had a much better system in place. It was insane the size of this crowd that was there to see this 5 month old Polar Bear. Since it was hot today Flocke didn't play a whole lot but opted instead to sit in the shade and play with her burlap sack and chew on some toliet paper instead. Either way she was well worth the wait! So we got to watch Flocke for about 20 minutes until the zoo staff hearded us all out like caqttle making room for the next batch to come in.

This a glimpse of the crowd waiting for Flocke...


Here comes Flocke!!!



Not to be out done by Flocke this Polar Bear was putting on his own show laying on his back banging on his belly.


After Flocke we spent the day walking around the zoo. Overall it was a nice relaxing day and we all very much enjoyed ourselves. The kids are torn on whether Flocke or the playground at the zoo was their favorite..


The billy goats were a favorite of the day too...


As well as this little fella...






I think the day was a success. What do you think?

A Red Carpet Premier!

The Z man's class just wrapped up a huge movie project called "Attack in Iraq". The screenplay was written by two children in his class. Zac was fortunate to have one of the leads.

To present this great piece of work, the Z man's class had a red carpet premier Hollywood Style!!! The teacher had a red carpet rolled out and even had an autograph session after the movie for those who wanted to get autographs of the stars.

"Attack in Iraq" is a FANTASTIC play and Z was just way too funny in it. There is a blooper reel at the end where you get to see the Z man in quite colorful form.

After the premier and after all autographs were signed we were given a copy of the DVD. We have since burned copies of the DVD to send to all the grandparents.


Do you like how Z got himself dressed....lol


Signing autographs:

We Survived!!

Paul and I survived Syd's slumber party, barely.

From the feedback I have heard her party was a complete success, complete with pillow making, wallet decorating and a whole lot of noise! I finally fell asleep at 1 am and they were still going strong. Paul and I were woken up the next morning by the wonderful sound of Hannah Montanna on the Wii.

Instead of a traditional cake Syd opted to get an ice cream and then to have cupcakes where each girls could decorate their own. That was a HUGE hit and also a HUGE mess.

I took a bunch of pictures but I have choosen not to post them on the blog due to the other children in the pictures, especially in PJ's. Too many sickos out there. I will be sending out pictures privately to the grandparents to see.

Yellow Karate Man!

The Z man earned his yellow belt!!!


Now let's just hope he doesn't use those moves on his sister.


Here he is testing for his belt:

Say a Prayer...

for my neighbor's family. She is originally from Burma also know as Myanmar. She has yet to hear from her parents and she can not return to the country for fear of imprisonment because she married an American. She is my closet and dearest friend here. My heart just breaks for her right now.

Myanmar death toll 'more than 10,000'

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- The death toll from the Myanmar cyclone is more than 10,000 people, Myanmar's Foreign Ministry office said.

Diplomats were summoned to a government briefing Monday as the reclusive southeast Asian country's ruling military junta issued a rare appeal for international assistance in the face of an escalating humanitarian crisis.

A state of emergency was declared across much of the country following the 10-hour storm that left swathes of destruction in its wake.

The staggering death toll would make the cyclone the deadliest natural disaster to hit Myanmar in recent history, according to figures compiled by a United Nations-funded disaster database.

The government of neighboring Thailand said Myanmar's leaders had already requested food, medical supplies and construction equipment, AP reported. The first plane-load of supplies was due to arrive Tuesday, a Thai spokesman said.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and the destruction suffered by the people of Myanmar" and pledged to mobilize international aid and assistance as needed.

A United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team is on stand-by to assist the government in responding to humanitarian needs if required, the statement said.

Scenes of the destruction showed extensive flooding, boats on their sides in Yangon harbor, roofs ripped off buildings, uprooted trees and downed power lines after cyclone Nargis battered the Irrawaddy delta with 150 mile (241 km) an hour winds throughout Friday night and Saturday morning, dumping 20 inches of rain. Watch how the cyclone crippled Yangon »

"After about noon, the sky cleared and everybody came out and were just stunned," said Shari Villarosa, U.S. Charge D' Affaires in Yangon. "People on my compound who had been there for about 15 years say they had not seen anything like this here, ever."

Residents of Yangon trudged through knee-deep swirling brown waters Monday as the delta city remained mostly without electricity and phone connections. Watch the cyclone hammer Yangon »

The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar has issued a "disaster declaration" in the country and authorized the release of $250,000 for cyclone relief efforts, Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Monday.

A disaster relief team is standing by, Casey said, but the Myanmar government had not given permission for the team to enter the country.

Hakan Tongkul, with the United Nation's World Food Programme, said residents in Yangon needed urgent assistance. "This has pushed people to the edge. All that they have has been blown away."

Michael Annear, regional disaster manger for the Red Cross, said the group was helping provide safe drinking water.

Relief agencies met at the United Nations' Bangkok headquarters Monday to coordinate their response to the disaster. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it had released 200,000 Swiss Francs (about $190,000) to help with the aftermath.

A state of emergency was declared Sunday across five regions: the city of Yangon, Irrawaddy, Pegu and the states of Karen and Mon. All flights to Yangon, the former capital, were canceled.

"Most Burmese with whom we've been in touch report they lost their roofs, although so far everyone we have been able to contact reports that they and their families are safe," said a Yangon-based diplomat who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Most telephone and cell phone service was down in Yangon, a city of about 6.5 million people, according to a CNN correspondent there

Earlier Monday, an editor for an independent Myanmar newspaper based in Thailand told CNN that people in the Southeast Asian nation were angry over the response to the disaster by the ruling military junta.

"People are very angry with the slow response coming from the military government," said Aung Zaw of Irrawaddy news magazine. Listen to Irrawaddy journalist discuss the situation in Myanmar »

Khin Maung Win, a spokesman for the Democratic Voice of Burma -- a broadcast media group run by opposition expatriates -- said the whole of the delta region had been affected and entire villages had disappeared.

Pictures from inside the country showed a cyclone-ravaged region with tin huts crushed under trees. Bicyclists navigated around large branches that littered the deserted roads.

A man with his pant legs rolled up waded through knee-deep water and strained to clear massive limbs that were blocking the entrance to a house.

"The cleanup is beginning, but this will take a long time," the diplomat said. "The damage around town is intense." See photos of the destruction »

"Fuel is not easily available. International emergency assistance would be needed within seven days. There is no food for eating," Win said.

Food prices -- already rising steeply -- climbed further. Long lines could be seen at gas stations in Yangon. Many of the stations were operating on generators. At one gas station more than 100 buses lined up to refill.

Despite widespread damage, Myanmar's junta plans to proceed with a referendum on the country's constitution on May 10 -- the fourth step of a "seven-step road map to democracy" -- according to state-run media reports. Learn more about Myanmar »

A critic of Myanmar's government said the referendum most be postponed.


"They would be very stupid to go ahead with it," said Khin Maung Win with Democratic Voice of Burma, a broadcast media group run by opposition expatriates. "Thousands of people are dying or missing. It is very difficult to get around or get food and water. How can people vote?"

Myanmar, formerly called Burma, last held multi-party elections in 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy handily won. The military junta ignored the results. Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years

She Did it AGAIN!!!

Syd did it again!! A-B Honor Roll!!!

This quarter she is shooting for the A honor roll!!!


Can you see her excitement that I was there with my camera :)

Happy May Day!!

It's May Day here in Germany!!

May Day is HUGE here in Bavaria. Yesterday, our neighborhood had a nice little Strasse Fest (street fest) where all the men of the neighborhood dressed up in their traditional Bavarian wear, got drunk, and tried to put up a giant May Pole. It was very entertaining as always. When I took Banjo for a walk earlier today a few of the locals were guarding the May Pole because it is tradition for the neighboring town to try to steal it. If the May Pole gets stolen, which I can not imagine the logistics of that since it is 20 feet tall, then the town has to give some sort of ransom to the other town in order to receive it back.

You can read more about May Day HERE

I will try to post some pictures of area May Poles later in the week.

On a different note, the "Z" man will be testing for his yellow belt in karate this weekend. I will make sure to post an update with pictures of that. Soccer season has also kicked off for Syd and Paul is back in exercise mode so that leaves me pulling my hair out trying to get the kids to every place they need to be.