I have been lucky enough to spend some quality time with this adorable, whirling, twirling, non-stop moving delight named Maya! She and her grandpa and aunt came over this morning for a nice long visit!

Maya is the granddaughter of my dear friends, Sharon and Gary, and she is here visiting with her mom, dad, and cutie patootie baby sister, Samantha. They live in San Jose, Costa Rica and don't get here as often as I would like...so, this was a real treat.

I can still remember when her dad was an energetic five year old and seeing his beautiful children brings back so many happy memories for me.

Maya is one of those special kids who just exudes love. She is totally animated as she sings and dances. I put on the Mama Mia cd (which is her very favorite) and we laughed and danced together this morning. This was after playing in clay for a while....and, then making some M & M cookies together.

I think that her favorite part of playing in my clay was getting her hands into the "slip" which is basically dried clay that has been remoistened with water and is used to "glue" clay pieces together. It is kind of like mud and she loved how it felt on her hands. (I got her to the sink before she decided to use the mud on her face!)

The favorite part of making the cookies seemed to be the eating some of the delicious raw dough as well as the M & M's! (Shhhhh....don't tell her mommy!)

When they left to meet up with the rest of the family for lunch, I plopped down on the couch for a minute feeling quite exhausted....but with a full heart and a huge smile on my face...

Me-Oh-Maya's joy is quite contagious! : )