I'll be writing a longer travel post that details the trips we took, but I thought I'd fill in some of the gaps since the last time I posted with some family and friend updates.

As I went through my favorite, non-travel photos so far this summer, the common theme was water. It seems like all of our best moments, all of our local activities, revolve around those two elements.

From swimming in our backyard, from flying my drone around Town Lake (Ladybird Lake) in Austin, running around the Lake, swimming in Barton Springs, or just finding a swimming hole to keep cool in, water is our everything.

The boys have become such confident swimmers and it's just awesome to see their independence growing as they play with friends, as they explore the Springs and the Lake, and as they converse with adults on their deep thoughts.

Tater's vocabulary is also growing exponentially and we've started keeping a journal of the crazy things that he's said to us. Here's a sampling:

Tate was tubing down the San Marcos river with his grand parents last week and later told Sara and I, "I was in my tube and saw two baby deers. And then my tube became detached and some dude pushed me forward."
Tate had his shirt off and told us, "I don't know how I eat so much and stay so thin."
Henry was upset about something and Tate told him, "Stay calm, sweetie pie."

Tate made himself into a robot in a leftover Amazon box

It makes me so happy to read through those again!

The boys are also super-into crafting and their "crafting" is responsible for so many paint marks on the kitchen table, tape stuck to the floor, and scissors left on the ground. Tate has also found our expensive breast cancer stamps and has begun sticking them onto envelopes that he never intends to send.

Runners crossing the bridge on Town Lake

I've also been shooting quite a few photographs of the Lake for the amazing Trail Foundation. The Trail Foundation is the FANTASTIC organization that works in partnership with the Austin Parks and Recreation department to maintain and build additional infrastructure around Town Lake. In my mind, Town Lake is the absolute gem of the city providing a huge boost to our quality of life in the form of running, biking, and walking trails, green spaces, water recreation, habitat for our wildlife, and beauty for the city. I can't say enough about this awesome organization, but, please, check out all the amazing projects that they're planning for the near-future. They're a non-profit and they're always in need of volunteers and donations (if you're able).

There are several more images below that I wasn't content leaving out. I'll be back with another update soon. If I'm missing something awesome about Austin that I need to take the kids to do, please let me know in the comments!

Have a great day and a great rest of your July!

Views of downtown Austin for The Trail Foundation

Last weekend I had the privilege of working with Lewis Conway Jr. on several photos for his campaign for a position on the Austin City Council.

Lewis isn't your typical candidate by any measure of the imagination. When Lewis was 21 he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. For his crime he spent eight years in prison and another 12 years on parole. Lewis, now 48, works for Grassroots Leadership, an organization focused on ending mass incarceration, deportation, and criminalization. Previously he worked with the City Council in 2016 to pass the Fair Chance Hiring ordinance which prohibits an employer from using criminal background as a condition for making a job offer.

As Ava DuVernay outlines in 13th (which is amazing and can be found on Netflix) our prisons act as contemporary slave plantations condemning people, even once they've served their time*, to an extremely difficult life after prison. This life after prison often results in a loss of public housing, the loss of voting rights, the loss of someone's rights to serve as an elected official, and very high odds of recidivism. These are just the tangible impacts and it says nothing about all the intangible and unseen threats affecting a person who has served time in prison.

Lewis and Grassroots Leadership are fighting against these stigmas and these "tough on crime" initiatives to try and ensure that the next generation of people serving time in prison, or those at risk of serving time, have a better shake than what Lewis experienced.

The hitch to Lewis' candidacy is that he may not be qualified to run due to his conviction. A ruling has not yet been made and while he waits for his lawyers and the city to determine his eligibility, he's out doing meet-and-greets, talking on panels and ensuring that the community knows his story.

In November's elections Lewis aims to bring his unique perspective to the Austin City Council, challenging whether or not someone convicted of a crime has the ability to serve as an elected official and challenging what kind of world we share with those that have been convicted of a crime; people who have paid their debt and now want to run for office to leave a better world for those after them. I couldn't be more excited to see what Lewis is able to accomplish over the coming months and I'm absolutely rooting for him!

Lots of articles are better-written than this blog post and you should absolutely read them for a more-thorough understanding of how Lewis' background affects his ability to run for office and how our local, state, and national laws are setup to discourage those who have been historically underserved from running for change:

*that's not even to say whether they're guilty or not or whether they've received a fair trial due to not being able to afford a lawyer or parole

Hank + Tank's Journeys:

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Summer Family Updates

Lewis Conway Jr. is Running for Austin City Council