Rayleigh's 9th Birthday

I like to go BIG on birthdays and celebrating Rayleigh is one of my favorite things to do. She is so easy to love. She is compassionate, loyal, tender hearted, and tough. She will literally run into battle to save you. And I think she is extraordinary. 

We pooled some ideas and got to work planning an epic “Girly Girl” party. We made hand written invitations for every single girl in her class and a few from other classes. She also invited all the girls from Activity Days. I wasn’t sure who would all come but I think we had about 25 girls show up!

Tanner brought home a huge popcorn maker, a snow cone maker, and a cotton candy maker! He was the snack King- literally. He was the only man there and he fed everyone delicious snacks. I could see some of the “school moms” goggling at him. He even cleaned! We set up 3 long tables all in a row and decorated with unicorn plates and napkins, a huge balloon arch that Sydney and Parker put together, and 3 long boards at the center of each table filled with flowers, beads for bracelet making, treats, and nail polish. My mom brought Kim, Kaela, and Jessi to help with make up and blessedly, Sophie brought Mabel so she was able to stay and help too! 

I really wanted to prioritize General Conference so I tried really hard to prepare as much as possible before Saturday. It was a little difficult since I’d only arrived home from Illinois late Tuesday night and had to pack again for our week in Hawai’i! But we did our best and the party ended up being a huge success. Rayleigh said it was the best birthday she’d ever had. I was a little worried about who would show up but it was a great turn out and all of the girls were so sweet and kind to each other- and especially to Rayleigh. Shannon was selling some Dot Dot Smiles dresses earlier that day and when I stopped by to support her, she gave us a ton of free necklaces and scrunchies and stuff that we used for the party. She even gave me tons of pink toile that I tied around all of the chairs. Tanner bought her a yummy chocolate cake and we all sang Happy Birthday to Rayleigh and watched her blow out her candles. I wish she could stay 8 years old forever! But I guess I’ll have to somehow deal with her being 9 now. 

She was completely spoiled with tons of gifts and loved opening all of them up. What a special treat to be showered with so many girly toys and goodies! On Sunday, we let her open a few gifts from us- a make up box that she can use for beads or bracelets… whatever she wants! I also got her a few little accessories and Tanner got her a comfy unicorn blanket. Rayleigh is all about soft and comfy things! We watched Conference and Tanner made crepes and then drove to the airport to pick up his parents! It’s the first time ever that they are watching our kids and I really hope and pray that all goes well and that they all enjoy their time together. We showed them how to get the kids to and from school and a few things around the house… I HATE that we are leaving early in the morning on Rayleigh’s actual birthday and I know I’m going to cry all day because of it. But I know we worked really hard to celebrate her all weekend long and I’m even sending her to school with some nice goodie bags to pass out to her class. 

I love Rayleigh with all my heart. She is fierce and determined, smart and guileless. She loves Jesus and isn’t afraid to share her testimony. She always wants everyone to feel good and be happy and she’s the only one who will pack a first aide kit wherever we go. She’s the first to help someone in need- especially if that person is bleeding. I am in awe of her every single day and I’ll randomly cry when I start thinking about her and how extraordinary she is. I am so so so eternally blessed to be her mother. And I can’t wait to see how God’s plan for her reveals itself. My one and only goal every day is to help her reach her potential. I know she is bound to blow us all out of the water with what she accomplishes. How lucky am I to get a front row seat to her brilliance!?

I love you, Rayleigh Kae. Let’s celebrate you all year, shall we?

Waiting out front for her friends to show up.

The Aftermath