Pals, Pride, and Protest

Mali ~

What a way to kick off June and Pride month. Here is our experience as I shared on Facebook on June 1st. What a kid you are...

"Sometimes our kids can surprise us, showing just how mature they are actually getting, in spite of the daily annoyances to the contrary. Lately, M has been embracing her role as a tween and living up to almost every frustrating stereotype imaginable. This summer could be interesting as far as that goes. She has also always had a hard time w gross/scary situations (understandably) and tends to panic. Well, tonight Abby (our elderly dog) had another really bad fit of sneezing blood, throwing clots all over the house, us, and eventually the deck and yard. It looked like a horror movie (again) and unfortunately, Shawn had just left for his camping weekend. It was up to us to figure it out. While I tried to think of a solution, M remained calm through the whole thing, comforting Abby, fetching the medicine, trying to help me give Abby the epinephrine, and then later cleaning up the bloody "crime scene". All with a helpful, calm attitude. The whole thing, while awful, was also an amazing glimpse into M's capabilities in a stressful situation. My little one is growing up. These moments always take me by surprise. So thankful I get to be her mom."

And then this...our enjoyable morning of gardening together. Love spending time with you...

"My pots look different than usual but I wouldn't have it any other way. This kid not only helped me mulch (hoisting bags of mulch almost as heavy as her to the flower beds) but also helped me plant the flowers. I let her pick all of our flower placement and listening to her chatter, giving each plant a name and having a story for each pot, made the asymmetry totally worth it."

In honor of Pride month, Lao Lao and I sported our new Pride shirts from the Hot Chicken Takeover fundraiser for Kaleidoscope Youth Center on some of our walks through the neighborhood. On one particular night, we got to meet a guy named Lex and tell him all about the shirts and supporting the LGBTQ community. Always fun to share the love for a good cause.

June also meant it was vacation time. This year we decided to just go visit the Williams family in Charlottesville, VA. It was nice to see them and relax instead of worrying about rushing to the hospital and sitting at a bedside vigil for Daddy...even though he did have to go to urgent care for a double ear and sinus infection while we were there. -- Geesh, Daddy! You just can't help yourself, can you? (kidding) --

this picture is my attempt at packing

this picture is your attempt at packing

Clearly, you are a better packer than your mama. Ha.

here was our road trip music selection...I love singing
at the top of my lungs with you

Pool time on our first full day in Virginia.

you and KK... #twinning

mini van surfing

they have the cutest dog, Alfie
(and a hammock room ~ so cool!)

walks at dusk through their hood

you little ones are getting so much bigger

Daddy didn't quite hit the mark with the sunscreen
(can you see the S?)

parents' night out at the vineyard

wiped out...sleeping butt to butt on the way to Virginia Beach
(KK rode with us all the way there)

go all the way to the beach and you just want to swim in the hotel pool

hotel room snuggles

sunrises from the balcony

Stacy had us play a joke on the server at breakfast

our breakfast crew
(you, KK, Laurel, and Sierra)

After a couple days, we headed home. Well, back to Charlottesville, anyway. Alfie had missed everyone while we were gone.

I love Alfie's hair

Being near Charlottesville, we also wanted to visit the memorial from last year's tragedy. Here is what I shared on social media after our visit...

"Spent time w dear friends in Charlottesville this week and took a trip to the downtown mall yesterday where we visited the site of Heather Heyer's murder. Almost a year later and the memorial at the intersection where she was killed is still alive and well. No monument is worth a human life. Especially when you consider the fact that most of these monuments were erected during Jim Crow solely as a means of intimidation to prevent Black people from exercising their right to vote. Dear White people...enough is enough."

I took many more pictures but I think this one was my favorite

If you don't know what this tragedy is, just Google it and read. It was a horrible black mark on humanity, to say the least. One of many lately, I'm afraid. *sigh*

Breakfast on our last morning

Then it was time to head home...driving with you and Daddy is always entertaining. Even stopping at a completely random general store/gas station in the middle of nowhere was a fun time. I love our little family.

And bonus points because we got home in time to see Malcolm Ribot who was passing through town and wanted to stay with us for a couple nights. I am so glad the timing was just right and we got to give him some big hugs before he continued on his way. He's such a great guy/amazing human!

taking Grayson for a walk when we got home while Malcolm headed
out to hang with the friends he met through the Venture Out project

you, Ana, and Gray-baby

Another reason we came home a day early was so that we could head to our Pride parade on Saturday morning. We love this time of year and try to never miss a celebration. It is my absolute favorite parade in Columbus!

pre-parade picture with Malcolm

all rainbow'ed up for a celebration of authenticity and love and
pride and embracing everyone just as they are

Daddy and Malcolm stayed behind and enjoyed breakfast
together before Malcolm headed back on the road

Here are just a few pictures from the parade. I love our diverse, progressive community.

a little fun at homophobic VP Mike Pence's expense

here comes the parade!
look at all those people supporting the LGBTQ community!

Ana's family was there too so Ana came and hung with us

So, if last month was the month of the snapper turtle...this month (along with Pride) was the month of the box turtle. Much less scary and bite-y than their snappy brethren.

And we'll throw in a cute cat for good measure.

Pippy looking cute with her toy

And a kid with a guitar, too! Hehe.

you dabbled a bit with self-teaching guitar this month
(gotta love YouTube tutorials)

And oh-em-gee! Look who got a brand new bike! Here's my silly post about it...you are so cute:

"M is super stoked to have her "first ever, brand new, not found on someone's curb w a free sign" bike!  While showing it to Lao Lao, M said..."And guess what! Nobody has ridden it but me!"

rocking the mongoose

That night Lao Lao and I stumbled upon another oddity on the trail...not a turtle but a crawdad just walking right down the middle of the path. Big guy too! I couldn't believe both of his claws were still intact. Pretty impressive.

"let me sing you the song of my people!"

Since you got a nice new bike, Daddy and I decided to get his all tuned up at a local bike shop too. We are officially ready to rock!

After the bike shop, you, Lao Lao, and I went to Fourth Fridays in the 'ville. This time we even found a really cool tea shop with a gorgeous garden in the back. Here you are below being silly as you danced your way out of the garden.

Once home, you slept downstairs with me on the couch...sleepova' style!

snuggled in with your purchase from 4th Fridays
(a worry eater that holds all your worries in
its mouth while you sleep at night)

The pool was a good place to hang this June...since Daddy is off certain days of the week, it made it easier for him to join in the fun and take you all to cool off and be silly.

We also treated ourselves to Zoombezi Bay this month and your cousins even got to come with us! It was a lot of fun going between the lazy river, the wave pool, and the big jungle gym pool. No giant slides for you since you have a more cautious spirit, which was probably better anyway because the lines were insanely long on this 96 degree day!

you and Sam

no alcohol beyond this point? no problem!

heading home...relaxed and happy

And finally, like I said earlier about black marks on humanity lately, we wrapped up this month with a protest rally to speak out against the separation of immigrant families coming across our borders seeking asylum. Google it to get the full story. Our current administration is adding to their long list of atrocities and in Lao Lao and I's usual fashion...we are speaking out against it. With this particular debacle involving immigrant children and their families, it hit a little closer to home and felt more personal than usual. Anyway, here are some photos of the event.

"Voldemort called...he said take it down a notch"

yesssss

my shirt for the occasion...a reflection of my protest
against this administration's 1st travel ban

So, there you have it, Peanut. June in a nutshell. I've had a really good beginning to our summer together, I hope you have too.

Love you so much!
Mama