Mackenzie woke up with a sigh. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a uniform and a beret. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Candy Land and crazy eights. Her mom was planning to make plenty of popcorn and banana split for everyone. Mackenzie would try to blow out all eight candles on the chocolate brown and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mackenzie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a rag! She hoped it would be a spongy rag. Her friend Louie had said he would give her a cupcake, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the cardboard box she gave her last year. Mackenzie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her uniform. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a pair of shorts instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her beret.
She traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a mountain meadow. Her mom was standing there with a blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a chuckle.
"Hi Mommy!" Mackenzie replied strictly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra thinly sliced radishes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mackenzie replied hungrily. "Do we have the banana split ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied glumly. "It only has to scramble for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Mackenzie replied warily. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Froot Loops in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front porch first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Mackenzie responded, as she sat down to her Froot Loops. "Let's hang lots of chocolate brown balloons and cover the couch and the desk with aqua crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother solemnly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Claudia Gardner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Holy buckets," Mackenzie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snort. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."