Rayleigh's 12th Birthday
We took the day off and attended the Pacific Coast Airshow in Huntington Beach on Rayleigh's birthday. It wasn't her idea and not something she necessarily wanted to do for her birthday but we had the opportunity to represent Rondo as a "field trip" and scored free tickets. (although, parking was an astronomical $50) Everyone who signed up to go with us wore a Rondo shirt and we enjoyed premium seating right at the center of the show. The kids had the privilege of exploring dozens of booths, some with hands on STEM activities and loved the bounce houses and face painting. In true Rayleigh fashion, she saw that the face painter needed help holding kids' hair back and sat with her for hours getting to know her story and helping her so she could paint.
Tanner was so happy to be at the air show seeing some of his favorite planes and pilots. It was a perfectly beautiful warm, sunny day and the music and vibes were on point. We could hear the PA easily and really enjoyed the whole event.
After the show, we drove down to the Spectrum for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with my parents and Jon and Brody. A cute gaggle of girls sat behind us and coincidentally, one of the girls was ALSO celebrating her 12th birthday! Ray found a few more people at the Spectrum celebrating and always made an effort to go up to them and tell them happy birthday. Dinner was excellent- so yummy and so good after a long day at the beach. We all loved celebrating Ray and making her feel special. My mom gave her a special ring that she wore constantly as a child. It was a bit too small for Ray but such a thoughtful and sentimental gift!
The other thing Ray requested for her birthday was a second ear piercing and because she is so desperate to grow up (and is still very much a little girl) I thought she deserved her wish to be granted. We stopped at a jewelry shop and she sat down to do it only to have a bit of a a freak out and said, "I don't want to do it anymore!" But I held her hands and she mustered her bravery and realized that it really didn't hurt too badly and she was happy with her little gold balls.
We arrived home around 9pm that night to check on Winston (who did great home alone all day) and open her gifts. I got her a cute backpack, sunglasses, and small hoop earrings. She loved it all!
The next day, Rayleigh had a fun lacrosse game (not awkward with Erika, Haley, April, and Betsy and honestly felt good to be surrounded by members of the church for once- especially on Conference weekend) She played so well and seemed to really enjoy herself out there with her church friends! Ella and Jack both had soccer games at the same time so Tanner and I divided and conquered. Ella played well and her team won! And Jack scored a goal!! Ray stayed home to prepare for her party that evening.
She invited her 2 friends, Shriya and Alaina from school and they did a candle craft, made pizza, ate candy and snacks, and of course, played with Winston. Rayleigh felt so loved and had so much fun at her little party and these girls really made her feel special.
Rayleigh, it is astonishing to watch you grow in to a remarkable young woman and see your God given gifts start to expound. You are truly a gift to all those around you with your compassion and light. I prayed endlessly for you to be my daughter and Heavenly Father saved you for this specific time to do a great work for Him. It is my prime goal to prepare you for that work and witness your divine potential unfold. I'm so proud of you and love you so very, very much!!!!
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