Avalon's 6th Birthday

Our sweet, first-born baby girl turned SIX on April 26! We celebrated in the best way we Kelishes know how... on a cruise, of course! Our 4-day cruise on the recently-updated Carnival Inspiration was to appropriately put us in Avalon (on Catalina Island) on Avalon's birthday, but you know what they say about best laid plans. Right before we checked in for our cruise we were informed that the itinerary had been changed to avoid a storm, and we ended up celebrating her birthday at sea on Tuesday. Fortunately our birthday girl didn't mind one bit and we had an absolutely delightful day celebrating our six year old!

First photo as a six year old!

For her birthday breakfast, Avalon chose a waffle followed by a strawberry frozen yogurt cone

After breakfast we went to the "towel animal theater" puppet show (no pics allowed) and then watched an ice carving demonstration 

Goggled and ready for a birthday swim! (I sneaked away during the ice carving demonstration to decorate our stateroom!)

Posing in front of our door with her birthday card from Carnival

I can't believe this little beauty is SIX!

Post-swim birthday lunch...pizza!

Looking lovely while buttering her bread at dinner

The birthday girl chose flat iron steak for her dinner entree

(After our waitress gave Avalon the royal treatment by cutting her steak for her!)

All smiles when her chocolate birthday cake was delivered

After making her birthday wish!

Elegant Night birthday pic with the little sibs :)

After dinner our birthday girl announced that she was excited to go back to our room and go to sleep!! That's what a long day of partying at sea will do to ya! :) We went on to enjoy another fantastic two days of our cruise vacation before returning home on Friday, April 29th...but the birthday festivities weren't over yet! Two days later we headed up to Placerville for a little belated birthday party!

How many six-year-olds you know could wait FIVE whole days AFTER their birthday to open their presents without a single complaint?? This stack was worth waiting for! Thank you Nana and Papa, Uncle Jesse, Grandma Judy and Grandpa Aaron, and Oma Kathy and Opa Bill!

Posing with one of the things she most wanted for her birthday... a Rubik's cube!

After Avalon opened her birthday presents the girls gave Nana and Papa the cards they made for them. Since Papa's birthday was the following week on May 6 and Mother's Day on May 8, we went ahead and celebrated those special days too!

Avalon reading Papa the "birthday card book" she made for him

Uncle Jesse had the honor of scrambling Avi's new Rubik's cube. Our birthday girl also received three Lego sets (Legos were the other thing she asked for) and arts and crafts kits and supplies.

Enjoying a birthday "mocktail"!

Birthday cake time (again)!

Happy Birthday Avalon!

... and Papa!

One happy birthday girl!