"Ella, what are these?"

This morning I was helping Ella get dressed. Next to her bed is a play kitchen. While she was putting on her pants I noticed some tiny balls on the top of the kitchen. I picked up one and looked at it wondering what it was. "Could be a seed," I thought. "Could be a dropping from a bug?"As I gathered these 7 or 8 tiny balls, I asked Ella if she knew what they were. This is the conversation that followed:

Me: Honey, do you know what these are?
Ella: Yes. Those are my boogers.
Me: What? These are your boogers?
Ella: Yeah.
Me: Ella, why do you have boogers up here? Were you saving them?
Ella: Yeah. I was making a pile of them.
Me: Why?
Ella: So I could make a booger monster.

At this point I'm laughing so hard I'm crying.

Me: Honey! That is gross. We don't keep our boogers! We throw them away. (At which point I did - throw them away.)
Ella: Mom! Don't get rid of them! I need them!
Me: No. Ella. You don't. How long were you collecting your boogers, anyway?
Ella: Twenty years.
Me: So you wanted to make a booger monster?
Ella: Yup.
Me: And how many boogers does it take to make a booger monster?
Ella: Fourteen.
Me: And what were you going to do with the booger monster when you made him?
Ella: It was gonna be HUGE! And it was going to be Unicorn vs. Booger Monster!
Me: It's time to brush your teeth for school. No more collecting boogers, 'kay?
Ella: But Mom!
Me: Brush your teeth.

OK. So my kid is 5. She picks her nose. Don't even try to tell me your 5 year old son or daughter has never done that. But, how many of your kids could come up with such an elaborate story for why she was doing it? I thought so. I've got one very imaginative daughter!