For Sammy - here's your going-to-the-restaurant book!

Happy birthday, your sister, Lilah

    BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! goes Sammy's alarm clock. 

8:00

"It's today! It's today! It's today!" she shouts. "The day I go to my very first RESTAURANT!" 

Sammy JUMPS out of bed. 

She runs downstairs shouting,

    MAMA!!!!!!

   DADA!!!!!!

RESTAURANT!!!!!!

     TODAY!!!!!!

But Mama and Dada say Sammy has to wait all the way until DINNERTIME to go to the restaurant!

OH NO!

OH NO!

Sammy is DEVASTATED!

"But Mama," Sammy says. "You have to WAIT," Mama says. "But Dada," Sammy says. "You have to WAIT," Dada says.  

So Sammy WAITS.

And WAITS. 

And WAITS some MORE.

In fact, she waits all the way until DINNERTIME to go to the restaurant. Just as she thinks she'll have to wait ALL DAY, Mama says, "Go put on your fancy RESTAURANT clothes. We're leaving SOON."

Sammy JUMPS with JOY! She never thought she could be this EXCITED!

JUMP!

JUMP!

Not wasting a second, Sammy RUNS up the stairs to get dressed to go to the restaurant. 

She picks out a BEAUTIFUL outfit! And to top it off, she ties her hair in MAGNIFICENT pigtails! 

TA-DA!

TA-DA!

Finally, after lots of waiting...

SAMMY GOES TO THE

RESTAURANT!

!

    I'M SO EXCITED TO 

GET TO THE RESTAURANT!

Sammy, Mama, and Dada get in the car and set off towards the restaurant.

Sammy had imagined the restaurant to look like a lot of things, but when Sammy, Mama, and Dada arrive at the restaurant, the sight that greets them makes Sammy breathless.

Mmmm... Señor Miguel's Mexican Restaurant

"This place is cool, isn't it?" Mama says. Sammy nods, in a daze. "I bet the food here is YUMMY," Dada says. Sammy nods again. She can't quite find the right word for it, but it certainly is the BEST feeling she's ever had!

Finally, she says, "LET'S GO IN!"

Mmmm... Señor Miguel's Mexican Restaurant

When Sammy, Mama, and Dada enter the restaurant, it's like all of Sammy's feelings when she first laid eyes on the restaurant are on replay - she is again AMAZED! 

Suddenly, interrupting her moment of surprise, someone Sammy doesn't know walks up to Sammy, Mama, and Dada and says, "Hi, my name is DANIELA and I will be your WAITRESS this evening. Please sit down at this table over here." Daniela gestures to a table next to Sammy.

Eyeing Daniela SUSPICIOUSLY, Sammy slowly sits down with Mama and Dada. 

"I'll give you some time to decide what you'll be eating tonight. Your menus are on the table. Today's special is CHICKEN TAMALES. If you have any questions or concerns, I'll be checking in with you frequently. Make sure to inform me if you have any food allergies. I hope you enjoy your MEXICAN DINING EXPERIENCE!" 

Then Daniela LEAVES.

Sammy reads her menu, and she doesn't recognize ANY of the listed foods!

 Special: Chicken Tamales.............$9.99

Rice..............................................$5.50

Chips & Guacamole.......................$2.00

Cheese Quesadilla.........................$11.99

Fajita......................................$12.00

Burrito...................................$6.99

"Mama," she says. "Can I just get PIZZA?"

"You CAN'T," Mama says. "This is a MEXICAN RESTAURANT. You can ONLY get MEXICAN food       here."

"Oh," Sammy says, disappointed. "But...what if I don't LIKE Mexican food?" 

"I'm pretty sure you will," Mama says. "Yeah," Dada says. "Mexican food is YUMMY. It's almost as good as CANDY!"

"CANDY?!" Sammy shouts, surprised. "Candy as in CANDY CANES, GUMDROPS, GINGERBREAD HOUSES, JELLY BEANS, CANDY CORN, and my favorite, LOLLIPOPS?!"

"Yep. CANDY," Dada says.

YUMMY!

"WOW!" Sammy exclaims. "In that case, I'll have the fajita, the quesadilla, the burrito, the rice, the chips and guacamole, AND the special chicken tamale!"

Mama and Dada exchange WORRIED looks. 

WORRY!

WORRY!

"Honey," Mama says, "I love that you want to try new foods, but that's TOO MUCH FOOD!"

OH NO!

OH NO!

"OKAY," Sammy says. "Then I'll have the fajita, the quesadilla, and the special chicken tamale."  

"Good job deciding," Dada says. "Now let's ORDER."