S I X

Six is such a mix of emotions. It's like the middle age of those pre-teen years. You have some maturity and real big kid prowess, but you're not always able to control yourself and you might still get into trouble for stupid stuff. The joy is real as are the fits of rage and this year Carolina showed us both. She was bursting to wake up and celebrate and fortunately, I've gotten pretty good at making birthdays on vacation happen effortlessly. These past few years, we always seem to be in Spain for her big day and the last two we've been on vacation away from Nacho's family. She's expressed her displeasure with that scenario a few times, but there hasn't been much I could do to change it. So we try to make the most of it. I mean, how to explain to a six year old that spending your birthday on the beach in Spain isn't the worst thing in the world? But then Carolina has high expectations from life and why shouldn't she? She's my littlest and my perfect example of how labor should go. She has developed into an independent, conscientious girl who loves her family and her friends and gymnastics and ballet and swimming. Her light shines so bright. And her smile makes you want to play and be as happy as she is all the time. And yes, she's got some moxie under that sweet veneer. She's not always rainbows and sunshine, but even her stormiest days are pretty good. 

After I initially passed on stopping by this table, we found the "Wizard" and her wares again today and I was more than happy to let the birthday girl pick out something cool. She even complimented Nacho on his Spanish...hahahaha....

We spent the day at the beach in Agua Amarga with the girls new bikinis and lots of other folks who decided to make a week of it in Almeria. At lunch, we went to our favorite restaurant in the plaza and I tried to make Carolina happy with pork chops and potatoes though she wasn't thrilled. Knowing we'd do cake at home later was enough to tide her over though...and it was Trolls cake at that. She had picked it out from the store the day before and so we sang happy birthday just before sunset and enjoyed a little frozen slice before walking the beach to dinner at the far end of town.