White flowers....
If someone that's part of my regular reading crowd out there sent Mom an arrangement of white flowers via an FTD florist (it was an online purchase, we know that) could you please send me a quick email and let me know. Apparently the senders name got cut off and FTD can't tell us who they are from.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
It’s been quite the adventure so far - and it’s definitely not over.
We showed up at the Ramstein PAX terminal (airport) and after much confusion/discussion were told that there was only ONE seat available on the airplane to Andrews AFB (Washington D.C.). We made the very quick decision to send me ahead and Ryan and Katy would join me on the next available flight out, which they were told was at 9:00 that night.
I waited patiently at the gate. It turns out that I was literally the only passenger. It was a medical transport flight returning injured troops back to the U.S. While there were technically more seats available, I had to sit in the “ICU” section of the plane so they wanted to keep distractions and people to a minimum back there. It was a very overwhelming and humbling experience. I will admit that the shock of us all being separated and them me getting onto a cargo plane full of injured troops was too much for me and I broke down and cried. We were being flown by the Mississippi Air National Guard out of Jackson and they were incredibly sweet to me. They even offered to get a Chaplain on board to talk to me (I just needed to get over my initial shock and I was fine). One of the members of the flight crew’s family used to own a pool hall in Harrisville, where my Mom’s parents live. Small world.
As I said, I was seated in the ICU section. They put me facing the “nicer” looking of the patients, a 29 year old Marine who’d had his legs amputated by an IED in Falluja on October 15. The amazing thing to me is that he “asked” (as well as he could over the noise and considering he had a tube in his throat) if I was ok. It was very humbling that after all he’d been through he was still thinking about other people. I will never forget him or the crew that took care of him. I have this beautiful picture in my mind of the flight nurse pulling out her iPod, plugging two sets of headphones into the bottom, putting one in his ears, putting her arm around him and holding his hand as they sat and listened to the music.
There were 18 litters of “regular” bed bound patients (eye injuries, leg injuries, burns), 4 beds of ICU patients and two walls full of more mobile patients all heading toward San Antonio. The medical crew was incredible and even tried to take care of me. Every time they’d offer the patients food, after they were finished handing it out, they always offered me a leftover tray. They also stopped every once in a while just to see if I was ok. Again, a very humbling experience.
When we landed at Andrews I was the only passenger getting off (it was a refueling stop) along with a few members of the flight crew based out of D.C. As I waited for Customs to come check my bag (yes, they had to come out just for me) I was talking to a D.C. area crew member and he asked how I was getting to the airport. I explained that I would take a taxi, no problem. He was flabbergasted and would not hear of it. I had three Colonels and a SMSgt (who is the one that offered the ride) holding my bags hostage until I agreed to let him take me to BWI. We were late enough landing that I was guaranteed of missing my flight so he let me use his cell phone to call the airline and reschedule, then I called Dad in NM to let him know to call Ellen for me (in the process of me getting on the plane alone I traded bags with Ryan, which means I had no phone numbers to call anyone). Dad called back a few minutes later and told me that I might want to call Ryan because he was having a tough time. I had a very pleasant trip to the airport and chatted amiably with the SMSgt the entire way. He has a daughter one month older than Katy so we traded “travel war stories”. It turns out that he was the loadmaster. He said that if he had known that I was trying to bring a baby on board he would have opened up at least a second seat. He also said that they should have let me hold her on my lap (which the desk people said I couldn’t do). But, hindsight is much clearer. Finally, he let me know that it’s very difficult to get a taxi on Andrews due to Washington D.C. security issue - something that hadn’t even crossed my mind. So, the kindness of strangers saved me and I will be forever grateful.
I made it on time for my rescheduled flight but there were storms all over the U.S. which means that just about every flight is delayed for some reason or another. I’m currently sitting on the floor of the Las Vegas airport thinking of Frank a lot. He loved Las Vegas and always teased Mom that she needed to take him there. He wasn’t a gambler but just liked to see the sights. I put a dollar in an airport slot machine for him. I didn’t win, but since he’s not a gambler I didn’t expect to win - but he always insisted that we should go and at least play a quarter for him (I tried but the machine wouldn’t take coins).
Ryan and Katy are currently lost in the ethos. He thinks they’ll be leaving in the morning for Charlotte. If not, they’ll get out in the afternoon to Baltimore. I have no idea when to pick him up, but we’ll figure it out.
---------
Update:
I landed at about 3 a.m. in Albuquerque; Ellen graciously showed up to bring me back and we had to flip a coin over which one of us had slept less and who would drive. I also called Ryan and got his status report.... I crawled into bed with Mom at about 5 a.m.
Ryan and Katy ended up on the Saturday afternoon flight bound toward Baltimore. They landed at about 9:00 p.m. local time. Ellen had sent a friend down to meet them and offer assistance if needed. Ryan refused and headed off to the USO. He left asked the guy behind the counter if he could leave his bags and wander around. The man said "Sure" and off Ryan and Katy went. What the man failed to tell Ryan was that the USO closes for the night at 10 p.m. (it was 9:45 when he left the bags). He returned at about 10:10 to find it locked up tight with a sign stating they wouldn't reopen until 9 a.m. Not a problem except that their flight left at 7:30 a.m. So, Ryan spent the night arguing with the Baltimore Transit Authority that wouldn't open the door for him because they "didn't have jurisdiction." He finally took Katy in, in one of her rarer moods, having just thrown up all over both of them and pleaded again. They finally relented and off they went, barely catching their flight.
They had a layover in Phoenix. Since Katy was travelling in Ryan's lap he had to check her stroller and only took the car seat on the plane. During the layover she would only sleep if she was moving so a gate attendant helped Ryan rig her car seat to a wheelchair - and then offered to take a picture.
Ryan and Katy were due to arrive at 2:19 p.m. Ellen's return flight left at 3:00 p.m. She, of course, wanted to see Ryan and Katy and waited outside security as long as she could but, as is inevitable, they missed each other in the lines.
Ryan presented me with a baby that was barely making noise. Katy had spent the last 5 hours screaming (yes, she was THAT baby) and had literally screamed herself hoarse. She also had a runny nose and was definitely coming down with a nasty cold. We went to retrieve our bags and Ryan confidently stated that he was sure Katy's bag wouldn't make it. He was right. So, as we're filling out a baggage claim form I get a plaintive phone call from Ellen. She was involuntarily "bumped" off her flight. Luckily, since we were still there we were able to give her a ride back to Los Alamos. On the way, Ellen joined us on our Target shopping adventure to buy Katy some essential clothes to replace the clothes I had just bought her on our last trip to the U.S. three weeks earlier. *sigh* It's 4 days later now and still no bag.
That night most of us were up at about 2 am for various reasons or another (Ryan being the exception - poor guy had been up with Katy for 48 hours - I let him sleep as much as he could) and I determined that Katy was REALLY sick. So, Mom, thankful for the distraction, and I took Katy to the ER. The doctor was a complete jerk and without even looking at Katy informed me that she wasn't sick. No child would be bouncing like that if they were sick (those of you that know Katy know the bounce - it was about a 1/2 normal speed bounce...). So, he sent me home with a stern lecture that "all babies get sick, deal with it." Off we went, dejected.
Ryan kept up with the sickling all week so I could help Mom with a lot of things. Since she's (Katy) back to sleeping through the night again we decided that we would leave at midnight to get him to the airport so that I could make it back home before she woke up for the morning (obviously, Mom was in the house with her while we were gone - we didn't just abandon her...). When Katy woke up I decided that she didn't have "just a cold" and did some detective work on how to get her to a real pediatrician down here. We spent all afternoon dealing with that but the doctor was very nice, took me seriously, and in about 1 second flat discovered a massive ear infection. We have antibiotics and have been told she should be back to herself in about 2 days.... So, Noah, if you're out there reading this, don't be Mr. ER doc that I ran into and blow off Moms in distress - we know what we're talking about when we say the baby isn't acting well...
Ryan just called and he was given a seat on the Space-A flight back to Ramstein and should be on his way shortly. At least the return trip is going well so far..... Katy and I plan on staying a few more weeks to help out.
---------
Final update:
Ryan made it home safey and is still planning on running the Frankfurt marathon on Sunday...
I'll do an entry about the memorial and the rest of the week in the next day or two as I have some down-time.
We showed up at the Ramstein PAX terminal (airport) and after much confusion/discussion were told that there was only ONE seat available on the airplane to Andrews AFB (Washington D.C.). We made the very quick decision to send me ahead and Ryan and Katy would join me on the next available flight out, which they were told was at 9:00 that night.
I waited patiently at the gate. It turns out that I was literally the only passenger. It was a medical transport flight returning injured troops back to the U.S. While there were technically more seats available, I had to sit in the “ICU” section of the plane so they wanted to keep distractions and people to a minimum back there. It was a very overwhelming and humbling experience. I will admit that the shock of us all being separated and them me getting onto a cargo plane full of injured troops was too much for me and I broke down and cried. We were being flown by the Mississippi Air National Guard out of Jackson and they were incredibly sweet to me. They even offered to get a Chaplain on board to talk to me (I just needed to get over my initial shock and I was fine). One of the members of the flight crew’s family used to own a pool hall in Harrisville, where my Mom’s parents live. Small world.
As I said, I was seated in the ICU section. They put me facing the “nicer” looking of the patients, a 29 year old Marine who’d had his legs amputated by an IED in Falluja on October 15. The amazing thing to me is that he “asked” (as well as he could over the noise and considering he had a tube in his throat) if I was ok. It was very humbling that after all he’d been through he was still thinking about other people. I will never forget him or the crew that took care of him. I have this beautiful picture in my mind of the flight nurse pulling out her iPod, plugging two sets of headphones into the bottom, putting one in his ears, putting her arm around him and holding his hand as they sat and listened to the music.
There were 18 litters of “regular” bed bound patients (eye injuries, leg injuries, burns), 4 beds of ICU patients and two walls full of more mobile patients all heading toward San Antonio. The medical crew was incredible and even tried to take care of me. Every time they’d offer the patients food, after they were finished handing it out, they always offered me a leftover tray. They also stopped every once in a while just to see if I was ok. Again, a very humbling experience.
When we landed at Andrews I was the only passenger getting off (it was a refueling stop) along with a few members of the flight crew based out of D.C. As I waited for Customs to come check my bag (yes, they had to come out just for me) I was talking to a D.C. area crew member and he asked how I was getting to the airport. I explained that I would take a taxi, no problem. He was flabbergasted and would not hear of it. I had three Colonels and a SMSgt (who is the one that offered the ride) holding my bags hostage until I agreed to let him take me to BWI. We were late enough landing that I was guaranteed of missing my flight so he let me use his cell phone to call the airline and reschedule, then I called Dad in NM to let him know to call Ellen for me (in the process of me getting on the plane alone I traded bags with Ryan, which means I had no phone numbers to call anyone). Dad called back a few minutes later and told me that I might want to call Ryan because he was having a tough time. I had a very pleasant trip to the airport and chatted amiably with the SMSgt the entire way. He has a daughter one month older than Katy so we traded “travel war stories”. It turns out that he was the loadmaster. He said that if he had known that I was trying to bring a baby on board he would have opened up at least a second seat. He also said that they should have let me hold her on my lap (which the desk people said I couldn’t do). But, hindsight is much clearer. Finally, he let me know that it’s very difficult to get a taxi on Andrews due to Washington D.C. security issue - something that hadn’t even crossed my mind. So, the kindness of strangers saved me and I will be forever grateful.
I made it on time for my rescheduled flight but there were storms all over the U.S. which means that just about every flight is delayed for some reason or another. I’m currently sitting on the floor of the Las Vegas airport thinking of Frank a lot. He loved Las Vegas and always teased Mom that she needed to take him there. He wasn’t a gambler but just liked to see the sights. I put a dollar in an airport slot machine for him. I didn’t win, but since he’s not a gambler I didn’t expect to win - but he always insisted that we should go and at least play a quarter for him (I tried but the machine wouldn’t take coins).
Ryan and Katy are currently lost in the ethos. He thinks they’ll be leaving in the morning for Charlotte. If not, they’ll get out in the afternoon to Baltimore. I have no idea when to pick him up, but we’ll figure it out.
---------
Update:
I landed at about 3 a.m. in Albuquerque; Ellen graciously showed up to bring me back and we had to flip a coin over which one of us had slept less and who would drive. I also called Ryan and got his status report.... I crawled into bed with Mom at about 5 a.m.
Ryan and Katy ended up on the Saturday afternoon flight bound toward Baltimore. They landed at about 9:00 p.m. local time. Ellen had sent a friend down to meet them and offer assistance if needed. Ryan refused and headed off to the USO. He left asked the guy behind the counter if he could leave his bags and wander around. The man said "Sure" and off Ryan and Katy went. What the man failed to tell Ryan was that the USO closes for the night at 10 p.m. (it was 9:45 when he left the bags). He returned at about 10:10 to find it locked up tight with a sign stating they wouldn't reopen until 9 a.m. Not a problem except that their flight left at 7:30 a.m. So, Ryan spent the night arguing with the Baltimore Transit Authority that wouldn't open the door for him because they "didn't have jurisdiction." He finally took Katy in, in one of her rarer moods, having just thrown up all over both of them and pleaded again. They finally relented and off they went, barely catching their flight.
They had a layover in Phoenix. Since Katy was travelling in Ryan's lap he had to check her stroller and only took the car seat on the plane. During the layover she would only sleep if she was moving so a gate attendant helped Ryan rig her car seat to a wheelchair - and then offered to take a picture.
Ryan and Katy were due to arrive at 2:19 p.m. Ellen's return flight left at 3:00 p.m. She, of course, wanted to see Ryan and Katy and waited outside security as long as she could but, as is inevitable, they missed each other in the lines.
Ryan presented me with a baby that was barely making noise. Katy had spent the last 5 hours screaming (yes, she was THAT baby) and had literally screamed herself hoarse. She also had a runny nose and was definitely coming down with a nasty cold. We went to retrieve our bags and Ryan confidently stated that he was sure Katy's bag wouldn't make it. He was right. So, as we're filling out a baggage claim form I get a plaintive phone call from Ellen. She was involuntarily "bumped" off her flight. Luckily, since we were still there we were able to give her a ride back to Los Alamos. On the way, Ellen joined us on our Target shopping adventure to buy Katy some essential clothes to replace the clothes I had just bought her on our last trip to the U.S. three weeks earlier. *sigh* It's 4 days later now and still no bag.
That night most of us were up at about 2 am for various reasons or another (Ryan being the exception - poor guy had been up with Katy for 48 hours - I let him sleep as much as he could) and I determined that Katy was REALLY sick. So, Mom, thankful for the distraction, and I took Katy to the ER. The doctor was a complete jerk and without even looking at Katy informed me that she wasn't sick. No child would be bouncing like that if they were sick (those of you that know Katy know the bounce - it was about a 1/2 normal speed bounce...). So, he sent me home with a stern lecture that "all babies get sick, deal with it." Off we went, dejected.
Ryan kept up with the sickling all week so I could help Mom with a lot of things. Since she's (Katy) back to sleeping through the night again we decided that we would leave at midnight to get him to the airport so that I could make it back home before she woke up for the morning (obviously, Mom was in the house with her while we were gone - we didn't just abandon her...). When Katy woke up I decided that she didn't have "just a cold" and did some detective work on how to get her to a real pediatrician down here. We spent all afternoon dealing with that but the doctor was very nice, took me seriously, and in about 1 second flat discovered a massive ear infection. We have antibiotics and have been told she should be back to herself in about 2 days.... So, Noah, if you're out there reading this, don't be Mr. ER doc that I ran into and blow off Moms in distress - we know what we're talking about when we say the baby isn't acting well...
Ryan just called and he was given a seat on the Space-A flight back to Ramstein and should be on his way shortly. At least the return trip is going well so far..... Katy and I plan on staying a few more weeks to help out.
---------
Final update:
Ryan made it home safey and is still planning on running the Frankfurt marathon on Sunday...
I'll do an entry about the memorial and the rest of the week in the next day or two as I have some down-time.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
OK, it's just random photos today, but boy have I accumulated a lot of them over the past few days. Have I mentioned how much I love my new camera?
Again, who says you need toys to entertain a baby? Ryan went to get Katy up from her nap on Sunday afternoon and I'd left the empty laundry baskets upstairs. I didn't get the camera out in time to catch her "riding" in them, but you get the picture....
I tried my hand at making Katy's first sock puppet. It was a big hit all the way around.
And finally, the sand box. It turns out that there's a "long jump pit" about 200 yards from our house. Katy had a very bad day the other day (which actually means that I had a very bad day while I tried to make sure she at least had a salvageable one), we assume due to teething, so Ryan took her off my hands for a while and they went down to explore. They both came home covered in sand. Yesterday I was invited to come along on the sand box adventures.
First was the burying of Katy up to her waist....
She thought that Ryan rubbing these cups together was hysterical.
It all started innocently enough....
Where did it go?
All right, one thing in your mouth - but only one thing....
Ok, now we're in trouble....
Luckily, we're both of the opinion that children don't eat enough dirt nowadays. Plus, who could resist letting this face make a mess? She was SO happy.
This was on our way home. I just thought it was a sweet picture.
Again, who says you need toys to entertain a baby? Ryan went to get Katy up from her nap on Sunday afternoon and I'd left the empty laundry baskets upstairs. I didn't get the camera out in time to catch her "riding" in them, but you get the picture....
I tried my hand at making Katy's first sock puppet. It was a big hit all the way around.
And finally, the sand box. It turns out that there's a "long jump pit" about 200 yards from our house. Katy had a very bad day the other day (which actually means that I had a very bad day while I tried to make sure she at least had a salvageable one), we assume due to teething, so Ryan took her off my hands for a while and they went down to explore. They both came home covered in sand. Yesterday I was invited to come along on the sand box adventures.
First was the burying of Katy up to her waist....
She thought that Ryan rubbing these cups together was hysterical.
It all started innocently enough....
Where did it go?
All right, one thing in your mouth - but only one thing....
Ok, now we're in trouble....
Luckily, we're both of the opinion that children don't eat enough dirt nowadays. Plus, who could resist letting this face make a mess? She was SO happy.
This was on our way home. I just thought it was a sweet picture.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Major milestone!!!
We watched in amazement last night as Katy got up on her hands and knees and slowly pushed herself backwards into a sitting position! She did it twice during the evening, so it definitely wasn't a fluke event.
It's pretty exciting - everything I've read says that they don't learn to do that until after they're crawling pretty well.... She's always been her own person, doing things at her own pace. Now she just needs to fully master the crawling thing.
We watched in amazement last night as Katy got up on her hands and knees and slowly pushed herself backwards into a sitting position! She did it twice during the evening, so it definitely wasn't a fluke event.
It's pretty exciting - everything I've read says that they don't learn to do that until after they're crawling pretty well.... She's always been her own person, doing things at her own pace. Now she just needs to fully master the crawling thing.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
I've been slow to update this week because we've been very busy. Katy and I have managed to be out of the house every day this week doing one thing or another.
On Friday we joined a group of friends and went to a basket factory. We had a good time and spent entirely too much money. Afterwards, we went to a chocolate factory. It was fun to watch them make chocolate Santas to get ready for the upcoming Christmas season. We got home and unloaded; I'm in the process of building Katy a "play area" in a corner of her room and I found this bean bag chair to go in there. My baby looks all grown up!
Of course, Lia wasn't about to let a new sitting surface go untouched. She stayed perched there until well after Katy went to bed.
In other excitement, Katy is really about to start crawling. I'll try to get a picture but she's consistently getting her knees under her and rocking back and forth. Every once in a while she'll shoot forward some in a wild motion; we're working on the coordination aspect.... I think the floor has been too hard (there's no padding under the carpet here) so I bought her some play mats while we were out on Friday (I told you I spent too much money) and her skills went up instantly (also, it could be a coincidence, who knows).
On Friday we joined a group of friends and went to a basket factory. We had a good time and spent entirely too much money. Afterwards, we went to a chocolate factory. It was fun to watch them make chocolate Santas to get ready for the upcoming Christmas season. We got home and unloaded; I'm in the process of building Katy a "play area" in a corner of her room and I found this bean bag chair to go in there. My baby looks all grown up!
Of course, Lia wasn't about to let a new sitting surface go untouched. She stayed perched there until well after Katy went to bed.
In other excitement, Katy is really about to start crawling. I'll try to get a picture but she's consistently getting her knees under her and rocking back and forth. Every once in a while she'll shoot forward some in a wild motion; we're working on the coordination aspect.... I think the floor has been too hard (there's no padding under the carpet here) so I bought her some play mats while we were out on Friday (I told you I spent too much money) and her skills went up instantly (also, it could be a coincidence, who knows).
I'm amazed that I didn't include this in my London recap. Better late than never, right?
So, as many of you know, we actually usually call Katy "Boo" or "Boodles" (don't ask me where that came from, neither of us even knows). So, I'm riding around on the bus tour of London and had put my camera away because I was getting off at the next stop when we stop next to this awning. I couldn't resist and pulled the camera back out.
I walked past it later and it was a VERY posh jewelery store. Who knew there was a store out there with the same name as the strange nickname we've given our daughter?
So, as many of you know, we actually usually call Katy "Boo" or "Boodles" (don't ask me where that came from, neither of us even knows). So, I'm riding around on the bus tour of London and had put my camera away because I was getting off at the next stop when we stop next to this awning. I couldn't resist and pulled the camera back out.
I walked past it later and it was a VERY posh jewelery store. Who knew there was a store out there with the same name as the strange nickname we've given our daughter?
Friday, October 13, 2006
On Columbus Day we took a quick trip to Worms; the German city famous for the "Diet of Worms." For those that know nothing about history, it has nothing to do with eating worms; it was the inquest held after Martin Luther famously dealt the symbolic blow that began the Reformation when he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of a Wittenberg Church. The beginning of what we now know as Lutheranism. It's a beautiful building.
We came into town directly upon this square with a pretty fountain.
There was also a section of beautiful gardens.
Of course, there were other beautiful churches as well.
Finally, we've found that it's unusual for Germans to have any type of memorials to war. So running across this one was a different experience. Since we can't read German that well we didn't know specifically what it was referncing but we assume it's to World War One.
And finally, the photos of Katy! We stopped for sandwiches at a bakery and got Katy a roll to chew on. We tore it into several pieces and she wanted to hold them ALL at the same time.
I put this at the end because it has nothing to do with Katy or our trip; it's only worth reading if you have extra time or are extrememly bored....
I was doing some research online to figure out exactly which building the diet was held in and I ran upon this description of the diet of worms in Wikipedia (not always held to be the most accurate of sources, since anyone can edit it):
The Diet of Worms was the diet of Martin Luther. He enjoyed eating this small pink creature because of the abundance of protein within their wriggling bodies. He was regarded as a heretic and gross because of this strange diet.
....
He presented Luther with a table filled with worms. Eck asked Luther if the worms were his and if he still believed what these worms tasted good. Luther requested time to consider his answer. It was granted.
....
Counsellor Eck, after countering that Luther had no right to teach contrary to the normal human diet through the ages, asked Luther to plainly answer the question: "Would Luther reject his worms and the icky taste they contain?"
....
Despite the agreement that he could return home safely, it was privately understood that Luther would soon be arrested and punished. To protect him from this fate, Prince Frederick seized him on his way home and hid him away in Wartburg Castle. It was during his time in Wartburg that Luther began his translation of Atkin's Diet Revolution into German. While in hiding, Luther arranged the Fiest of Worms whereby worms were consumed by Fredrick III and his people during the celebration. It was rumoured that Frederick III, ate three bucket-fulls of worms at the day of celebration. Primary sources say that Frederick III ate more than that.
When Luther eventually came out of hiding, the Emperor was preoccupied with military concerns, and because of rising public support for Luther among the German people, the ban on eating of worms was never enforced. Luther continued to call for reform until his death in 1546.
....
Statistics show that millions of people of every faith continue to have a diet of worms. Bless them for being faithful and religious. They were excommunicated for the "disgusting consumal of worms".
Worms is a dietary source of Protein, Calcium and is known to have 2 calories per worm. (People on diet should have a diet of worms)
Although a diet of worms is disaprooved by the religious community, George W. Bush once stated in a speech that A Diet of Worms shall be the National Diet of America. If I am to be re-elected, I shall legalize the Diet of Worms and influence other countries into taking it.. Bush received numerous positive response from the global community. Worms are the answer to world peace. He quoted.
We came into town directly upon this square with a pretty fountain.
There was also a section of beautiful gardens.
Of course, there were other beautiful churches as well.
Finally, we've found that it's unusual for Germans to have any type of memorials to war. So running across this one was a different experience. Since we can't read German that well we didn't know specifically what it was referncing but we assume it's to World War One.
And finally, the photos of Katy! We stopped for sandwiches at a bakery and got Katy a roll to chew on. We tore it into several pieces and she wanted to hold them ALL at the same time.
I put this at the end because it has nothing to do with Katy or our trip; it's only worth reading if you have extra time or are extrememly bored....
I was doing some research online to figure out exactly which building the diet was held in and I ran upon this description of the diet of worms in Wikipedia (not always held to be the most accurate of sources, since anyone can edit it):
The Diet of Worms was the diet of Martin Luther. He enjoyed eating this small pink creature because of the abundance of protein within their wriggling bodies. He was regarded as a heretic and gross because of this strange diet.
....
He presented Luther with a table filled with worms. Eck asked Luther if the worms were his and if he still believed what these worms tasted good. Luther requested time to consider his answer. It was granted.
....
Counsellor Eck, after countering that Luther had no right to teach contrary to the normal human diet through the ages, asked Luther to plainly answer the question: "Would Luther reject his worms and the icky taste they contain?"
....
Despite the agreement that he could return home safely, it was privately understood that Luther would soon be arrested and punished. To protect him from this fate, Prince Frederick seized him on his way home and hid him away in Wartburg Castle. It was during his time in Wartburg that Luther began his translation of Atkin's Diet Revolution into German. While in hiding, Luther arranged the Fiest of Worms whereby worms were consumed by Fredrick III and his people during the celebration. It was rumoured that Frederick III, ate three bucket-fulls of worms at the day of celebration. Primary sources say that Frederick III ate more than that.
When Luther eventually came out of hiding, the Emperor was preoccupied with military concerns, and because of rising public support for Luther among the German people, the ban on eating of worms was never enforced. Luther continued to call for reform until his death in 1546.
....
Statistics show that millions of people of every faith continue to have a diet of worms. Bless them for being faithful and religious. They were excommunicated for the "disgusting consumal of worms".
Worms is a dietary source of Protein, Calcium and is known to have 2 calories per worm. (People on diet should have a diet of worms)
Although a diet of worms is disaprooved by the religious community, George W. Bush once stated in a speech that A Diet of Worms shall be the National Diet of America. If I am to be re-elected, I shall legalize the Diet of Worms and influence other countries into taking it.. Bush received numerous positive response from the global community. Worms are the answer to world peace. He quoted.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
On Friday we went to Neunkirchen (for those that are scratching their heads, Neunkirchen here is kind of like Springfield in the U.S. - there's one in every county here). The weather was somewhat crummy and we thought there was an aquarium there (indoor activity). It turns out there was only a zoo. The weather had cleared a bit so we decided to check it out. We started off at the "sea hundes" (literally, sea dogs) - the seals.
It was actually a very nice zoo with all of the typical animals you'd expect.
There was a pen of miniature ponies. The baby one was adorable and had gotten free and was bucking around outside the pen. The big ones liked being patted and Katy enjoyed it too until one took a small nip at her (no harm done).
After the zoo we headed to the mall in town. It was an actual "American style" mall. Most German shopping areas are outdoors so it was interesting to wander around at an indoor mall. We came home and horsed around on the floor for a while.
On Sunday we went to "zoo day" at the Kaiserslautern zoo. It was very crowded but fun for kids a bit older than Katy. There was lots for Katy to enjoy too.
We took Katy to feed the goats but stayed outside of the fence this time; they were a bit agressive to some other kids and we didn't want to take a risk.
There was a bouncy slide and Katy loved watching the other kids climbing and sliding down.
Birds are always a hit - and these ones thought that Katy was pretty neat too.
We took a break to watch kids at the playground.
Then we joined in. The sand was a major hit!!
Next stop: Worms
It was actually a very nice zoo with all of the typical animals you'd expect.
There was a pen of miniature ponies. The baby one was adorable and had gotten free and was bucking around outside the pen. The big ones liked being patted and Katy enjoyed it too until one took a small nip at her (no harm done).
After the zoo we headed to the mall in town. It was an actual "American style" mall. Most German shopping areas are outdoors so it was interesting to wander around at an indoor mall. We came home and horsed around on the floor for a while.
On Sunday we went to "zoo day" at the Kaiserslautern zoo. It was very crowded but fun for kids a bit older than Katy. There was lots for Katy to enjoy too.
We took Katy to feed the goats but stayed outside of the fence this time; they were a bit agressive to some other kids and we didn't want to take a risk.
There was a bouncy slide and Katy loved watching the other kids climbing and sliding down.
Birds are always a hit - and these ones thought that Katy was pretty neat too.
We took a break to watch kids at the playground.
Then we joined in. The sand was a major hit!!
Next stop: Worms
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