Pride 2012, Hiking Donut Falls, Mom's Birthday

Last year, as you may remember, I attended the Pride Festival. I have always wanted to go to the parade. This year, I not only knew when it was, but what time it started.

I couldn't convince Mr. Wright to come with us this year. I was a little disappointed, but Spitfire and Sunshine came with me. We got there just as the first entry rounded the corner of 200 South. This year was kind of a big deal, because there was a large group of Mormons who marched in the parade. They were not marching in protest, but as a peace offering. They called themselves Mormons Building Bridges. I was a little unsure how well this group would be received, but when the parade spectators saw them, they began cheering and applauding. It was REALLY cool!

Mormons Building Bridges at the Gay Pride Parade 2012

I saw my friend Michele and her son marching with them! I wonder if anyone from this group is going to get a call from their bishop...let me know Michele. ;)

Some other entries I liked:

Salt City Roller Derby Girls...I SO want to go to one of their matches!

Planned Parenthood...you better BELIEVE I'm a supporter!

Orgazmo and Choda Boy
You'll only understand the reference if you've actually seen the movie,
Orgazmo

The parade was SOOO much fun! We'll have to make it a tradition. We only stayed for an hour, because my kids were starting to melt in the hot HOT sun. Spitfire and I had a nice conversation on the way home from the parade. She said that she really likes gay people. I'm proud of her for growing up tolerant and loving.

After the parade, we went back to Big Cottonwood Canyon (again), to hike Donut Falls with Mr. Wright. It was a lot harder to hike when the sun was beating down on us! Spitfire, wanted to climb higher up the waterfall than we had with my mom and all the kids.

You can see the "donut" part at the top of the picture.
The water goes through a hole in the rock.



After the hike, we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday! She is such a great mom, and a fantastic grandma!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Pride 2011

I have been wanting to attend the Gay Pride Festival for a long time, but I don't usually know when it is until it has already happened. This year a friend from high school, Justin Utley, was one of the headliners, so I made a point to go. I still didn't make it to the parade, but maybe next year.

I convinced Mr. Wright and Spitfire to come with me. I knew it would be a hard sell for Mr. Wright. But I told him it would be like the Arts Festival only more flambouyant. I think my argument hurt my cause rather than helped it, but he agreed that since Sunday is our family day, we should all go.

I convinced Spitfire that she should wear a pink tutu, and I think she was nervous about looking weird at first. But once we got there and she saw several other people wearing tutus she relaxed. Coincidentally, she was also wearing her purple Justin Bieber t-shirt. She was surprised when a gay guy came up to her and said, "I LOVE your shiiiirrrrttt!"

We showed up around 3:40 to hear Justin play at 4:00, but when we got there we noticed that he had played at 2:00, so I completely missed him. I had checked the schedule of events on Saturday, and somehow in my memory, I thought he was playing at 4:00. Bummer!

We stuck around for Expose`. I knew they were a band from the 80's and 90's, but I couldn't remember what their famous songs were. After sitting in direct sunlight for two to three of their songs, we decided to move on. I still didn't recognize anything they played, and I wasn't very impressed by their costumes, stage presence, or vocals. Even Mr. Wright said, "I thought maybe you could pick up a few pointers for your band by watching them, but you're already better than they are."



Expose`

Spitfire was excited to get feather extensions put in her hair.

Overall we had a good time as a family. I hope we can make it to the Parade next year. And I was very proud of my husband for stepping out of his comfort zone.