Maria stayed with Alana all weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Ionno’s house and got spoiled royally.

Jon and I missed her “Maria-isms” through the weekend. We can always count on her crazy sense of humor to get us belly laughing.

But she didn’t disappoint even if it was at the tail end of the weekend. I let her ride her bike to the grocery with me. As soon as we walked through the door, she begged me for a donut. I told her she could get a small one for her treat for the night. I left her at the donut case while I picked up some fruit. I returned and she was still contemplating.
“Seriously, Ri?!”

“Sorry, mom. This is as hard as picking a coach on the Voice!”

Gotta love that girl. I laughed so hard that others around me couldn’t help but smile.

When we got home, Maria found the stationary bike we carried to the basement this afternoon. She called up to me. I peeked downstairs and her head was on the seat, her body stretched along the length of the bike and her legs barely touching the pedals. She was laughing and having a good ol’ time.

I went back to the dishes and ten minutes later she whispered “mom” to me. I looked behind me and there she stood with a water bottle and towel. “That was a hard workout!”

Glad to have you home, pumpkin girl.