Love in Green and Gold

"Yes!" he exclaims, as the Seahawks recover a Vikings fumble.

"Wait, Buddy," I ask, "Why are you cheering for Seattle? You do remember that they brought you to tears at the end of last season, right?"

"Yeah, I know," he says very matter-of-factly.
...

"So why are you rooting for them?"

Without missing a beat (or looking away from the tv)..."So we can crush them."

And there you have it, folks. It's all about the Packers. 💚💛

Whatever you say, Neil!

Tom moved in with Neil this week.  It was a big switch that has been coming for a long time.  Beth is getting her own room to make way for the babies' birth, so Tom is now in a big-boy bed, bottom bunking it up with Neil.  Very exciting stuff.  They love each other (Neil always tells Tom that they are "best friend brothers!"  It's very sweet.) and will certainly prove to be terrific roommates.

Today, after just 3 days, Neil announced that he wants his own room back.  "Sorry," I said.  "He's your roommate now!"  And then...one of Neil's classic, random-and-hilarious statements:

"He kept me up 'til midnight last night!  Okay, well, at least 'til ten.  Rooming with him is like rooming with General Washington!  He thinks of war and not sleep...all night long!"

Sure...whatever you say, Neil!

Neil Says, First Grade Edition

"I would like to be a tiger because is it fierce.  I would hunt for other animals.  I would run in the grass and eat some meat."

"Neil

Fast, awesome, strong, smart

Brother of Beth, Rex, and Tom

Lover of sports, fish, and pets

Who feels happy when I am good, excited when I am bowling, and sad when people are hurt

Who would like to see Florida, the zoo, and my grandma

Resident of Wisconsin

 Hoffbeast"

The things you learn when your kid writes poetry!  I had no idea that he loved fish or got as excited as he does about bowling!

100 Days of School

It was the 100th day of kindergarten, and he was asked to think of an object, pretend that he had 100 of them, and explain what he would do with them.

"If I had 100 Lego sets, I would do 1 every day."

And I would love to do every one of them with you, Buddy!

The Missing Piece

I knew there was something we were missing, but I just haven't been able to figure it out.

It's a tiger.  That's what we need.

Today at our parent/teacher conference, Neil's teacher explained a little more about these fantastic peaks into his little imagination that we are getting.  She said that she always gives the kids a question, and they have to answer it in words and then draw it out.  It's part of their writing curriculum, and in it, they are looking to express detail. 

It's hard to argue with this.  That is some serious detail.

Grrrrowl!

(By the way, Neil's teacher gave him high marks in almost everything, with the exception being penmanship...not because he can't do it, but because he rushes and his work ends up sloppy.  Thank you, competitve spirit, for that one!  So we're going to work on that.  Also, he is still quite tired in the afternoons, so 2 days a week, he will be coming home at half-day, and we'll keep evaluating in case even more time at home would be good for him.  After this year, we won't have a choice...it'll be all day, every day for the next 12 years.

A few more afternoons with Neil at home will be good for me him.  He's growing up so fast...)

What Ifs and Mood Colors

 I'll have to ask him, but I'm assuming that the happy people are adding 0 + 0 and 1 + 1 and coming up with the correct answers; the confused-looking person is adding 0 + 0 and getting 1.  That would be confusing!

Can we ask for anything more than our son feeling orange because he is happy to go to school??!

Neil is Thankful

He told me that the watermelon and the orange were rainclouds, and the grapes, the apple, the banana, and the blueberries were the rain.

The whole school went to a ballet.  Now, Hoffbeast was hoping that Neil would say that his favorite part was when it was over. 

(Yes, he's not the most cultured of men--ha!) 

But no....Neil can make just about anything he does fun. 

(It's part of our problem with discipline, to be honest.) 

The best part about the ballet for him?  The backflips, of course!

Neil's Choice is...

These are quickly becoming my favorite of his school assignments...they crack me up every time one gets sent home in his backpack.  This one takes the cake, though, I'm pretty sure...hilarious!

Neil's favorite thing about school...

Isn't this fantastic?  This from the kid who can't get enough of anything having to do with a ball.  When he could have picked recess, he picked MATH.

Fantastic!  A wee bit surprising, but completely fantastic.

A conversation on the way to church today...

Rex:  When I grow up (He says this kind of thing a lot, and I always know that the creativity is brewing...), I'm going to make a Christian mini-golf course.  (At this point, I'm wondering how exactly you make a mini-golf course "Christian".)  There's going to be a waterfall that you have to walk through to get to the next hole, and in case there are any grandmas there, there will be a button that you can press that will turn the waterfall off.  (Oh, I guess that's how.  It's a mini-golf course that's nice to grandmas.)

Me:  I like that, Rex.  That's really nice.

Neil:  When I grow up, I'm going to make a Christian mini-golf course, too.  (Oh no...here we go!)  It's going to have the cross and the Garden of Gethsemene, and then it'll have the tomb, and you'll have to hit the golf ball into the tomb, and if you get it right on the first try, your ball will role down and go back to the clubhouse.  I like it when they do that.  (At this point, I'm cringing, and Rex is in the front seat with me, so he can see my face.)

Rex:  You're not so sure about the tomb, are you, Mom?

Me:  (How'd you guess?)  No, I'm not really too sure about that one...but it's very creative, Neil.  (Trying to be positive here, but, um.....no.)

Neil Says...

1)  Basketball = Dasketball

2)  Naked = Maked

And, my personal favorite...

3)  Super Bowl = Super Goal

...as in, "The Packers won the Super Goal!"