checking in

I have been so swamped lately that I've hardly had time to blog. Between work, the university course I'm taking, and parenting, there has been very little time to spare. On top of all that, I am hosting the Erase Racism Carnival at my other blog, White Anti-Racist Parent, this month. It's been taking me quite a few hours to put that together. When it's up, I'll let you know, so you can peruse the contributions from all the brilliant bloggers that sent in their writing.

At the end of May, Jonah's Montana grandparents paid us a visit. It was wonderful to see them, as always. The highlight for all of us, I think, was seeing Jonah "swim" in a pool for the first time. He swam on the backs of several whales that day - daddy whale, grandpa whale, and uncle whale. So much fun! Pics here.

I also enjoyed the Portland Underground tour that we took to learn about the disturbing history of women and single men getting "shanghi'd", or basically kidnapped and enslaved, for labor (or prostitution) and profit. Portland was the number one U.S. city for this in the mid to late 1800's and early 1900's, with anywhere between 1,500 and 3,000 men being kidnapped each month to be imprisoned underground in dark holding cells, then sold to sea captains to work on ships for no pay, and shipped who knows where. Scary stuff! The underground in Portland's old part of downtown is so complex, that one could easily get lost. It's also one of the most haunted places in North America.

As you can see, the granparents' visit was quite an adventure.