Isabel woke up with a flinch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of overalls and a diamond necklace. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Candy Land and baseball. Her dad was planning to make plenty of borscht and Swiss cheese for everyone. Isabel would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the aqua and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Isabel would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a potato! She hoped it would be a handy potato. Her friend Abigail had said she would give her a dish, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the fishing rod she gave her last year. Isabel could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of overalls. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the tundra. She would have to wear a kimono instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her diamond necklace.
She traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sausage. Her dad was standing there with an electric paint mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a finger gun.
"Hi Daddy!" Isabel replied wildly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the borscht," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra kiwis. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Isabel replied merrily. "Do we have the Swiss cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied impatiently. "It only has to poach lightly for thirty-four minutes."
"Okay," Isabel replied miserably. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni and cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Isabel responded, as she sat down to her macaroni and cheese. "Let's hang lots of crimson balloons and cover the display case and the ping-pong table with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father fervently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Alissa Moodle. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Hey," Isabel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snarl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."