Playdough Picnic

On Wednesday, we got to celebrate the life of a little girl who holds a very big place in my heart.

 When Ramona came downstairs that morning and saw the balloons and streamers, she asked: "Is it my birthday now?" Then she continued with, "Did you get my birthday ready while I was sleeping? You decorated with red balloons? I love red balloons now!" I smiled at how appreciative she was.

The theme of her party was "Playdough Picnic." Part One of the party was at our house, making little lunches out of playdough.

Do not eat.

 

Ramona's only request for the party was: Party hats

Mika actually tolerated her hat quite well

 

Ramona was anxious for guests to arrive

 We had a crowd of about 10 kids attend our "pretend" lunch party . . .

 . . . which spilled out into the backyard before too long, once the playdough had lost its charm. After about 20 minutes of throwing rocks into the grass, going in and out of Ramona's play cottage, and some form of hide-and-go-seek, Part One of the party was pretty much done.

 Part Two of the party was lunch and playtime at the park--a REAL picnic this time, of course, with some edible food. The kids took a few bites, and then were off to the playground.

 

Usually when I take Ramona to the park, in an effort to avoid the dreaded nagging (and dragging) to get her off the playground, I set a timer on my phone and allow the alarm to dictate when it's time to go home--not mom. But this day was Ramona's day, so I didn't set any timer and let her play until she was almost sick of the park. It took a while.

 

The remaining afternoon just included picking out a birthday balloon and baking a chocolate cake with pink frosting. (Ramona's one request in regards to her birthday cake was that it should be pink. Simple! Is it possible that she was somehow aware of her mother's cake incapabilities?) When Daddy got home from work, he had a bouquet of flowers for Ramona--a gift from Paca. She gave them a hug.

 

Even after all of this, there was still cake to eat and gifts to unwrap!

Blowing out her birthday candles

 

  

Just when we thought she might fall asleep on her slice of cake . . .

  

. . . the birthday girl came alive again when it was time to open presents all over the living room floor.

 

She continued to "party" for some time afterwards that evening, even a little past her usual bedtime. I guess she wanted squeeze as much out of the day as she possibly could.

We love you, Ramona! Thanks for being a part of our family these past three years.

Hiking, ham, and hiding eggs

 Good Friday was a good day for our family to test out some new hiking boots and an upgraded child carrier at Devil's Backbone.

 

 

 On Saturday, Dan and Christie came to visit from Boulder. Together, we set out on another hike--this time at Horsetooth Mountain.

 

 When we got home, we put some ham in the oven (an hour or two past schedule), while the girls basked in attention from their aunt and uncle. Mika hardly ever left the arms of Uncle Dan . . .

 . . . and Aunt Christie accommodated Ramona's many "dress up" demands.

After a late dinner, she even read Ramona a bedtime story. We love having Dan and Christie close by!

Easter Sunday mostly involved various church responsibilities. For our sacrament meeting I was in charge of organizing and leading a group of 9-11 year-old girls in a short musical number. When it was time for the girls to line up in front to sing, Ramona grabbed a folder and went right up with them, then held her music in front of her just like the older girls. I didn't make any attempt to stop her, assuming it would have been even more of a disruption to try--but wondered if I had made the right decision when the front lights went out during the performance and I realized Ramona's little hands had found the light switch by the podium. Thankfully, the rest of the girls continued with their "Easter Hosanna" despite the flickering lights, and sounded lovely.

At home, Ramona hid several Cadbury eggs from Daddy, only to "find" them for him a few minutes later.

Then she found some chalk eggs for herself, and spent much of the remaining afternoon playing with empty plastic Easter eggs. My original intention was to carry out the customary tradition of filling them with candy and hiding them in the backyard, but I hadn't gotten around to it. Ramona was so eager to hide them herself (and she had already eaten a substantial portion of candy at church), I gave up and let her play her own way. Of course, this involved her tripping, spilling an entire bowl of eggs, and bursting into tears--but hopefully she had a happy Easter, overall.

My favorite part may have been hearing Ramona's little voice singing: "Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the most high God!" periodically throughout the day. Just like "big" girls.