She's an ARTIST

Do you remember that line from Toy story 2, after the Prospector gets put into the little girl's backpack? (sorry for those of you who haven't seen Toy Story). Natalee recently proved to us that she too, is an artist. However, she would much rather draw on herself than paper. This time, she used blue sharpie.

When she's not coloring on her legs, she and Kaitlyn are typically outside with 10-20 of the neighborhood kids (okay, not really but sometimes it feels that way!) Sometimes its too much for Kaitlyn to handle, emotionally, and therefore it is too hard for me to handle! Natalee is a trooper and tries to keep up with Kaitlyn and her friends. They run or ride their bikes down the street and Natalee runs or pedals her little push car after them. I will say this, however--Natalee can beat up her big sister. ;)

I am finally seeing how beautiful this place is. Most beautiful are the huge fields of tall yellow flowers. Germans love bouquets of flowers. At the outdoor markets, women flock to the flower stands to buy cut flowers. With spring also comes the sale of Spargel, a.k.a. asparagus. It is EVERYWHERE--unfortunately, I happen to hate Asparagus.

Another "tradition" of Germans during the spring is wearing coats. I mentioned this once before, but German people really don't like taking off their coats. It is a whopping 20 degrees celcius (around 72-73 Fahrenheit) and people, I kid you not, are wearing coats. Mommies still put hats on their kids. Don't get me wrong, I still do put coats on the kids in the mornings when it is a little chilly--but that's as far as I let it go!

For mother's day, the girls (and Ben) made me a M-O-M made out of cardboard--complete with crayon scribble and some quotes about motherhood. I got breakfast in bed...and so did the girls. Ben just got Kaitlyn's eggs smooshed into his side of the bed. What a guy. My favorite part, however, was hearing Kaitlyn wake Natalee up (after being dad's helper downstairs). She said, with such Christmas-like excitement in her voice "IT'S MOTHER'S DAY NATALEE!! IT'S MOTHERS DAY!!" My kids show me the same love that they have seen their dad give me. It humbles me to the core.

Yes, yes, I let my 2 year old stir raw eggs. I have long awaited the days when I could bake cookies with my girls. Although its not the most clean and orderly proccess, they like to do it and I like to teach them. Maybe one day, they will take over the kitchen duties of the house and I can nap all day. Don't you love how it appears that she is reading the scriptures while she cooks? Aren't we so righteous.

Since this post has been mostly about the girls, I will throw in the last little paragraph about Ben and I. I just recently took a step toward being German and bought me a city bike. I attach the girls in a trailor behind me and we ride all over. I feel very German...since everyone rides bikes around here. I'm staying busy with my new job in the FHV (relief society women's organization at church). Ben just got promoted to the position he originally came out here for. They're finally giving him the official title of manager. Way to go T-birdy. We are coming up on our 8th anniversary and feel so very blessed. Before this starts to feel like a cheesy Christmas letter, I will halt meine Klappe! (shut my pie hole)