A birthday greeting from Miami..

Mary called to wish her a Happy Birthday!

We had a birthday party...

a jelly bean party...

with mystery taste testing...

the caramel popcorn flavour was pretty awful...

but the toasted marshmallow was not bad...

Party go-ers were given bags of jelly beans

then they would taste the jelly beans without looking...

and they had to write down the flavours in their bag

Amanda had some extra help...

Katherine was the judge..

Grandma made quesadillas with extra jalepenos

We tested our Amanda knowledge with a puzzle...

How many jelly beans in the jar?

Sarah was the winner, but she gave the prize to her little sister

Then some presents...like most December birthdays, there is an abundance of Christmas wrap

No, she did not get a pillow for her birthday...

this was the way Katherine wrapped one of her gifts..

there are more than a dozen pillowcases here...

gales of laughter swept the room...

Amanda having the most fun of all...

before finally receiving her

Spongebob Drawing Kit!

Then there was a cake...

and as usual, there was not a cake candle to be found.

The next morning... bright and early

before anyone else was awake...

Amanda was completing her first drawing.