Lake Trips Squared

Mali ~

What a great way to start off July but with a package from our friend, Jo aka Yoyo! She wanted to send you a special package for being so brave about your surgery in June. It was so thoughtful and sweet of her and as you can see below, the boxes were bigger than you!

Jo could not have picked out any better gifts for you,
almost all Stars Wars!

With July comes Independence Day and also one of our favorite parades to attend, the Doo Dah! It was a bit rainy that day, which was actually nice because it was a lot cooler than usual. We definitely didn't let a little rain ruin our spirits. Always a favorite, silly, irreverent time for us.

Uncle Flint, me, you, and Lao Lao 

this guy is in the parade every year

And it wouldn't be Doo Dah without seeing our crazy friend, Erin. Usually she is a spectator like us but this year she actually marched with her friends and had a ball doing it! Love her spontaneity!

here she is coming to see (and terrify) you!

I was the only one brave enough to get a hug

Unfortunately, on the actual 4th Daddy had to work (boo) but we had fun meeting Jos and her family at the Westerville fireworks anyway.

you, Dylan and Jos

Uncle Flint joined us too and entertained you kids with his
box o' explosives before the actual fireworks began

a little hard to tell but you both have your heads resting on my knees

waiting for traffic to disperse a bit...can you
believe you'd never sat on a tailgate before?!

stuck in traffic for an hour...luckily one of us got some sleep

The following day, since you were feeling more up to eating different foods again after surgery, you chose an old favorite, Chinese buffet.

food coma

We're also putting a new patio in our backyard and Uncle Kevin's crew has done a beautiful job. It will be exciting when it's all finished. Daddy is putting up a fence along the back wall to keep everyone a little safer. Here you are below being "Daddy's little helper".

And we also got a surprise house guest in July...Malcolm ~ the FTM Traveler himself, on his way across the country! It was a spontaneous visit and he was only going to stay for a night of two but ended up staying for three and we loved having him.

arm wrestling over breakfast

While Malcolm was here, Lao Lao, Malcolm, and I were able to attend a unity march with the Black Lives Matter movement, which basically is a movement that seeks to expose the racial bias and brutality in our society's law enforcement institutions and work towards remedying that tension between police and communities of color.  With all of the racial tension and police brutality happening lately, it felt so good to actually do something and join with others in a peaceful movement to show that we care and want to help. We marched from the riverfront all the way to the statehouse where we chanted, sang, cried, and listened to various speakers. It was a powerful event, to say the least.

Lao Lao and I with the crowd, waiting to start marching

Malcolm with his sign

beginning to march

That night we had a fire and you and Darion had fun giving Malcolm a hard time as your own personal jungle gym.

Before Malcolm left to continue his trip around the country, spreading visibility and connection among the trans community, we took the picture (below) together to remember his stay. He has overcome so many challenges in his life, even dealing with some really big ones while he was here. I am so glad he was with us through them. We will always have a soft spot in our hearts for Malcolm and wish him all the best! I sure hope our paths will cross again someday.

We also celebrated your Family Day (officially on July 6th) this month by going out to eat at Mongolian BBQ and taking some go-karts for a spin afterward. It was an evening full of silliness, smiles, and laughter, and reminded us all how lucky we feel to have you in our lives.

silly kid

selfie time

group photo before leaving Mongolian BBQ
(belly shot!)

after a super long wait to ride...you were all smiles
as you zipped around the track

July also had us seeing a lot of your friend Darion from down the street and watching the two of you get into all sorts of shenanigans...you are so funny together.

here you were about to go explore in the
 woods together ~ not sure about the outfits

And below is one of our conversations...you always surprise me with how your brain works.

Mid month we headed up to Huron by Lake Erie for some time with Lao Lao, Uncles Flint and Forge, as well as Monica and Kenzie. It was really nice to get away from it all for a bit and spend time together.

I think GG wanted to come too, packing himself in your suitcase

we made it!

you couldn't wait to get into the water as soon as we arrived

We even took a day trip to Put-in-Bay on Saturday...riding bikes all the way around the island.

lunch at an Irish pub on Put in Bay

getting ready to head out on the ferry back to Huron

plugging your ears because the horns were loud!

Iroh is intense when watching someone eat, ha!

And we even squeezed in some more beach time the next morning before hitting the road to come home.

completely buried you in sand

a sand castle you made with Daddy

posing like a strong beach babe

And once home...more shenanigans with Darion. You conned me into getting some rainboots to match Darion's (that he wears ALL the time, even in the heat of summer, because he doesn't like tying shoes. Haha!)

having a dude day...too hot for your shirts, evidently

popsicles with your Audrey Ayi

And since I have been having a really rough time (personally) lately, it felt refreshing to have a leisurely dinner with you at Panera one night where we chatted and had some fun with Snapchat. It felt so good to laugh with you, my silly kid.

face swap

watching Carpool Karaoke (a current favorite) with James Corden
and this time, Michelle Obama ~ coolest 1st Lady around

Part of my irritation lately involves politics. Good ol' politics. Nothing like an election year to drive me insane with all the rhetoric. This year, the two candidates are Donald Trump (for the Republicans) and Hillary Clinton (for the Democrats). In the picture below, on that particular night, Hillary Clinton was officially confirmed as the first woman candidate of a major political party in the history of our country. It was a pretty big deal and you were very excited to stay up late and listen to her speech. I am so glad that you are taking more of an interest in the world around you and that we could share this moment together. Regardless of the ultimate outcome of this election, it was a big deal to watch Hillary accept this nomination.

we are trying to show how surprised and excited we are...
did we pull it off?

And this brings us to the last weekend of the month where you, Daddy, and I decided to get out of town again and head back up to the lake. This time it was Lakeside. Friends of ours had been telling us about this place and it turned out to be pretty cool. A nice, quiet getaway with just the three of us, desperately needed for us to reconnect as a family. It felt wonderful.

hello, Lakeside! we have arrived!

letting you drive the golf cart around the peninsula

you loved these rocking chairs at a local ice cream shop

trying to pretend that Daddy is a crazy golf cart driver

where we stayed, Hotel Lakeside

the view of the beach and docks behind our hotel

evening swim with Dad before bed

And the next day a storm rolled in and crapped on our kayak time. At least it was pretty!

gorgeous, right?

So, to wait out the rain we headed to the gift shop and loaded you up with a t-shirt, hat, and sweatshirt that said Lakeside. In case we forgot where we were? Ha ha.

Later we rode bikes all the way to the Marblehead lighthouse. It was hot outside but the scenery was pretty and after having only one meltdown (by a certain someone whose name rhymes with 'Ollie'), we all had a really good time together.

checking out the rocks by the lighthouse

3 cool people and 1 big lighthouse

Daddy doing his usual...being a goober

And that night we played shuffleboard together. Evidently, Lakeside is famous for its shuffleboard. Who knew?

shuffleboard!

then we putt-putted and Daddy and I (ok, I) thought
it would be funny to pretend we were getting married
under this structure on the course. I'm a goob, I know.

Daddy also taught you chess before bed. you caught on super
quickly and it was so nice to sit with you both on the big screened
in porch of the hotel, listening to the crickets with the lake just beyond the lights

the bed of the hotel room was super comfy, so you
got all the winks you could before leaving in the morning

our breakfast stop on the way home...Wake and Bacon!

Like I mentioned before, this trip was exactly what our family needed and was a wonderful way to wrap up July. 

Now, on to August!

Love, 

Mama