What did you get for Koninginnedag?

I got some guys. I got a Spiderman; he can roll.

And Malooshka [a.k.a. Zorro]; he can fly up in the air... And he has a sword, so he can do battle... Spiderman changed his name into Malooshka, because he thinks he's cool.

And Lord of the Beans; he's the guy goes to the church to help the guys do the battle.

And Basketball Man; he's the guy that gives them directions to do the battle. He looks kind of sad because he's got yellow underwear.

And Fireman; the Fireman saves people. Everybody is my favorite, but I really like Fireman.

[From foreground/right to background/left: Malooshka, Lord of the Beans, Basketball Man, Fireman, and -- on the ground in front of them --Spiderman]

What is your favorite snack?

Veggie Tales Scoobies [fruit snacks]... 'Cause they taste so good. They taste like strawberry. And some of the Veggie Tales go inside Elliot's mouth. Some of them don't.

They come in a box. They're in bags. They have Larrys and Bobs on them.

What do you like about Mommy?

That she tells me good stories. That she goes to school for Nederlands, and I'm going to have vakantie. She krobbles up, because that means she gets up and she throws up and she pushes into the ground.

My favorite thing to do with Mommy is to go to the playground. We like to play games: Ring Around the Rosie and also Memory, 'cause that's cards. When I give her a hug.

What does "unusubal" mean?

[Eating breakfast this morning, Elliot announced a new reason for not going to school]

Daddy, I'm too unusubal to go to school today.

[The word "unusubal" sounded like a cross between "unusual" and "unuseable" -- but its context was a bit vague. So I asked for clarification.]

Unusubal means that I'm not too handsome to go to school. That's what unusubal means. So I can't go to school today. Don't you know what unusubal means?

What was your favorite thing about visiting Budapest?

[Elliot has not posted anything for the last week because our family had been visiting Hungary, for a missions conference. But to commemorate the traveling adventures, Elliot was asked about his favorite aspects of the trip... You might be surprised by the response...]

[His favorite thing was not the immense medieval castle]


[Not the huge lion statues]


[Not the mysterious underground Labyrinth caves]


[Not the fascinating architecture]


My favorite was the Popper [a small wooden toy that was bought for the equivalent of about two euros in one of the markets of downtown Budapest]! I like that it pops. I think it's cool and it's really good. And it also has a big stick, and it pops down. The thing comes down in, and it goes, "Pop! Pop! Pop!"

Why do we celebrate Easter?

Because God is risen today. We sealed our own tomb. And then the tomb was opened. Today we opened it.

What did you do last night?

I went to a basketball game. It had lots of things there. Lots of people. And there was a red guy and a monkey. But the red guy was sick [this apparently explains why he would occasionally leave the court area to go back to the locker rooms]. The monkey came out, and the monkey had a drum. Monkeys don't usually have drums, so he doesn't need a drum. Monkeys don't need houses either.

I like shaking their hands. And then they gave me the video! If I go back to another game, I'll tell a joke to them. I'll tell them the story of "The Grapes." Grapes are a fruit. There once was three grapes. And they went over a hill. And then they slipped. And then they blop-blip-blooped. And then someone crunched them. And then they slapped them. And then they licked them. The End.

What did you do at school today?

[On Elliot's last day before Easter vacation, his peuterspeelzaal organized a special Easter egg hunt and pannekoeken lunch. A series of probing questions brought out the adventures of the afternoon.]

So how was the Easter egg hunt?

I like that we looked in there, but we didn't do it in Oosterpark. 'Cause we did it out where you can ride the bikes [in the enclosed playground area behind the school]. We found the eggs there. They had all this kind of stuff out there, like trees and bushes and those kinds of stuff. The bike house and other stuff. We had to look for eieren [eggs].

Where did you find the eggs?

In lots of places. In sand. In dirt. And I found one in the bush. I also found one in the dirt.

And were there a lot of other kids, too?

Real kids. I joined forces with Imine, Oliver, Manar. It was lots of fun 'cause you find eggs.

And then how was the special Easter lunch?

I had some syrup met mijn pannekoek [with my pancake]. Want to know what shapes we had? Squares. Big squares. And you can roll them up. I know a song about rolling up. Do you want to hear it? Roll it up... Roll it up... Alles goed... Alles goed... [roughly to the tune of "Frere Jacques"].

What is Easter all about?

It means about Easter eggs. It also means about eggs that crack. It was like when you put them in the pink and then you take them out. Then you got to take them out.

[The question was asked with expectation of more spiritual insights, but when the day's earlier activity included coloring Easter eggs, there should probably not be much more of an answer expected.]

Could you tell me a funny story?

There once was a muffin that her name was Pogy. So... Togy! [uproarious laughter]... Then some guy... [laughing]... Someone came and kicked them... [laughing]... Someone ate them again, and then someone watched them eat it... [more laughing]...

He came down to the bottom of the sea and drinked... [laughing]... He burped underwater... [laughing very hard]... Then a tractor rolled over him... [laughing]... Then he's not alive anymore, right? Then he came down to the bottom of the sea again, and he drinked again. Then the ducks came and pecked him.... [deep belly laughter]... And he went underwater, and he burped... [laughing]...

He splashed, and then he threw himself underwater... [laughing]... And then he stinked underwater. He was stinky... [laughing]... And then he plop-plop-plopped [laughing]... Then he threw the rest of his stuff in the water.

That's funny.

[Note to reader: Even after several readings of the story, the funny parts retained their comedic effect -- especially the parts where there's drinking, and burping, and stinkiness.]

What is your favorite animal, and why?

My favorite animal is a giraffe. 'Cause they can stand taller than mice. And they have looooong necks. They have black feet. I like that they also have spots on their backs, and all over them. I like that they're yellow; that's my favorite color. I like that they can stand by themselves, without no other animals.

What do you like to do on Saturday mornings?

Go to the Coffee Company; eat some moofins (Do you want to know what "moofins" means? "Muffins.")... Sometimes, we go feed the ducks. We feed the ducks some muffins sometimes. Ik vind hen heel lekker [I think they're delicious]. I like to go to the Coffee Company met mijn papa [with my Daddy]. Ik ben klaar [I'm done].

Could you tell me about last Saturday at TunFun?

I like that I can go there with Tobias. I like that they have the little cars there. I like the balls. And we played in the balls. And, uh, we just didn't know if Lego people were there. I think that's all for now, Daddy.

What do you like about your sister, Olivia?

I like that in the morning, I can play with her a little bit. But then I have to work on something else. I like that I get to play with her sometimes. But I don't have to play with her all day. I get some time by myself. But she says "Elliuh! Elliuh!" She doesn't know how to say "Elliot" so she says "Elliuh." That's how she says "Elliot."

Would you put that thing down please?

I - am - a robot.
I - am - a robot.
I - am - a robot.
I - am - a robot.

[Elliot got an electronic voice-distortion megaphone for his birthday. It has four settings: Boy, Old Man, Kid, and Robot... Guess which one is his favorite.]

Why do you like to pretend to be a kitty in the morning?

Because I have so much fur covered on me [the kitty's fur is Elliot's blanket]. Daddy likes when I am a kitty. I like that he pets my fur. I like that it's warm. I've got a kitty friend -- his name is Valentino. And I can do neat tricks, too. The kitty likes this blog.

Do you like blogging?

I like that Daddy made the blog because then I didn't have to do it. I like doing blogging.

I also like this turtle [that I'm playing with while dictating this blog]. I like this scooter because he hangs from it. I like that he throws it.

Could you tell me about "Monkey Support Raising"?

[Instead of going to school today, Elliot proposed that he spend the day "doing monkey support raising" -- a concept presumably linked to the "support raising" that his father must do to share the story of our ministry in Amsterdam with other Christians around the world who commit to providing financial support on a regular basis in order to allow us to be involved with ministry with Zolder50 on a full-time basis. Because the concept of "monkey support raising" was so intriguing, it was only logical to follow up by asking for an explanation of things.]

I play with all the monkeys. We play "hang" -- hanging on the trees. We play with a ball and run fast and play with a ball.

I'm a monkey. But monkeys can't swing to school.

Could you introduce us to your "Guys"?

Monkey. Jorge. Froggy. And Elmo.

Jorge and Monkey can both hang from the chair, and I can hang from the chair, too. Froggy and Elmo told Jorge what they were going to have for supper. Jorge said that he was going to have bananas for supper. And Monkey is going to have bananas, too. Froggy is going to have salmon. Elmo has carrots.

Jorge is my favorite today. Because he hangs from his tail. And he's a good hanger. I got Jorge from Renske... for my birthday.

I think that's all right now.

Why don't you have to go to school anymore?

"I don't have to go to school anymore."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Mevrouw Wil is gone."

"Yeah (she retired on Friday)... but your other teachers are still there."

"Yeah, but when they get tired, then they'll go home too -- and I won't have to go to school anymore."

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a bee. Because then, I can fly. It would be nice if I had a sting on it. I wish I could make honey. I wish I had a bee hive. If I take all my clothes off then I turn into a bee, right? Because then I can fly around with all the other bees.