My JellyBellies: A great Family Party for Ryanne

Ryanne turned twelve May 13th. She has been very excited for her birthday this year. In our Mormon culture, twelve is the "coming of age" year. This is the year young boys get the priesthood and girls leave primary behind and advance to the young women's classes. They get to start attending youth activities at church, which is fun and exciting for them. In our family, it means a later bedtime (hooray!) and it means Ryanne gets her ears pierced!

We had a family birthday dinner for Ryanne. She picked her favorite meal and we dished it up on Grammy's fancy dishes complete with flowers and candles on the table. For dessert Ryanne picked a molten lava cake with strawberry sauce on top. Yum!

I love this series of pictures because it shows what a happy, silly, light-hearted evening we had as a family. We really like to spend time together. Ryanne has become quite the comedian, complete with jokes, movie one-liners, and austentacious voices she mimics from others. If you are one of those she has fooled into believing that she is a shy, reserved, quiet girl, take a good look at these pictures! She was her own spotlight this night and we loved it!

Cheese? Can I eat it now?

I am wishing

Something.

But I won't tell you what because

If I did

I'd have to kill you.

Notice how Leah is laughing?

Ryanne has the gift to really get her siblings

rolling on the floor in hysterics.

O Yeah! Candles!

Happy Birthday to me!

So sweet!

My presents. I love them.

If I close my eyes and chant,

I will be able to foretell what is in this present.

Her true laughter face.

Getting her ears pierced brings a new line of gifts--

jewelry!

Picture of Leah with her hair-band

bracelets that she wore to school.

He's always like this.

He's always like this!

What's in here?

She got a purse from Mimi. It had five dollars in it

Some of these pictures, I just don't even know what to say---

I will let you imagine your own captions!

Mckay felt bad that he didn't get Ryanne a present. He and Ryanne have become very close friends over the last two months. So he whipped out some paper and started folding. Then he presented Ryanne with her own special origami: A Lollipop.

I was worried that Ryanne would think it was stupid and that she would let him know that.

Tact isn't always her forte.

But she was so sweet-- and the best thing was, she loved it! She and the kids got the biggest kick out of playing with the lollipop (later it became a microphone). Who would have ever guessed?!