Uberraschungsei/ Surprise Egg

This miniature excavator joined my knickknack collection this evening. Christin came home from school a few days ago with news from a presentation one of her classmates had given that day: the Kinder chocolate brand creates a popular kids chocolate called the Uberraschungsei in which a toy is hidden inside a thin chocolate egg, but this particular product is not permitted to be sold in the United States due to the risk of children choking (ie risk of law suit). So, since I was not acquainted with this particular product, Christin gifted me one of these eggs this evening. I was going to take a photo of the whole combo of broken open egg, the plastic egg in which the excavator parts were in, and the excavator, but I couldn't resist eating the delicious Kinder chocolate long enough to get the camera. The chocolate might not have lasted long, but this plastic excavator will be with me forever.

Curious about the histories behind the other knickknacks?

The red object on the left is a lighter I got in a bag of worthless free stuff from the bookstore. The word printed on it is Flaschenoffner/Bottle Opener.

The camel was a gift from Mrs. de Vries, Prof. Bert de Vries' wife. She gave one of these camels from Bethlehem to all of us upon completion of our month in Jordan/Palestine/Israel. The word printed on it is Bethlehem.

The lizard was originally a key chain, but the loop on his tail finally broke recently after about 3 years of dangling on my backpack. He was a gift from Marina, one of my good friends whom I worked with at Potts Park in Germany in 2006.

The green cylinder is a candle holder with an expired candle which was gifted to me for my birthday by Asta, also a good friend whom I worked with at Potts Park in Germany in 2006. I've mostly kept the candleholder around because I like how it looks.

Lastly, on the right is a farmer woman holding a lamb. I bought this little figurine while working at Michael's Arts and Crafts last Autumn. I grew up with a few sheep as pets, so this little figurine reminds me of happy times spent with Betsy, Jake, and the rest of their woolly ancestors. Additionally, the woman is holding a baby bottle in her hand with the lamb, which reminds me of Jake's first few months of life spent in the house getting bottle fed, wearing diapers, and getting smacked by the cat.