That's Okay By Me.: Buzzin' Cousins in Chapel Hill Part 2 -- A Wonderful Surprise!

The next morning, while the two Kangs took desperately-needed naps, Chris, Lisa Sookmo, Emma, and Kate strolled to a nearby park to catch some bugs.

Emma and Kate pretending they are tigers lurking in the bamboo.

"Rooaaarrr!"

Towards lunchtime the tigers' blood-sugar began to crash. Luckily, emergency Cheez-its from a vending machine saved the day.

An example of North Carolina's beautiful flora.

After lunch, Emil Samcheon gave us a tour of UNC's gorgeous campus. The school was founded in 1795 and is the oldest public university in the United States.

The Old Well. It was erected near the spot where the original well stood, which provided water for the school. The original Well, circa 1892:

The Kang Weyants. Don't know how to explain Kate's expression in this shot.

Emil gave us a VIP tour of Memorial Hall, the venue for the Carolina Performing Arts program which he curates. He oversaw its multi-million dollar renovation a few years ago and celebrated the grand opening with performances by Tony Bennett, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, and Leonard Slatkin. Not too shabby.

Kate and Emma loved seeing the dressing rooms, the private elevator for the performers, and of course, the stage.

Where they put on a little show for us.

Next up on Carolina Performing Arts' calendar -- The Bolshoi Ballet! Emil was hired to be UNC's first "arts czar" whose goal was "to make culture as popular as sports" at UNC. He's clearly doing exactly that. A side story that illustrates the impact Emil's had in a few short years: Chris and Emil were at a Starbucks near the house, and while they waited for their order, Emil took a phone call on his cell. A woman came up to Chris and whispered, "Is that Emil Kang??" Chris told her it was, and she watched him, wide-eyed, until he got off the phone. She introduced herself to him and said she just wanted to thank him "for doing such great work" -- ! Apparently, this happens often to my amazing brother. Emil Kang, arts czar and rock star.

We rounded out the tour with a peek inside the spectacular Wilson Library, the inside of which looks like a small version of The Met. The architecture inspired Emma and Kate to do a fashion shoot.

"Winged Victories" of Chapel Hill.

While Chris and I visited Emil's office, Lisa Sookmo took these two lovely shots:

After the tour we each sampled a local treat called a "Locopop," a gourmet Mexican popsicle made from fruit juice. Yum.

Kate and Sookmo. Kate really loved her Cherry & Hibiscus locopop and had a hard time saying goodbye to it.

Later on, while cooking dinner, I got a HUGE surprise. Jina Eemo, Scott Eemo-bu, and Baby Kiki drove all the way down from NYC and walked through the door! As you can tell from Jina and Scott's faces, my jaw literally dropped open.

They spent a couple of days in Atlanta with Jina's maternal Aunt and cousins and then drove back up to show off Kiki, Kate and Emma's brand new cousin! Unbeknownst to me, Emil, Lisa, and Jina had been plotting this surprise for months.

Me -- in shock.

Still shocked.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Beautiful Kiki was born in February, and I assumed we'd have to wait until at least August to meet her. Kate, always a big fan of babies, begged to hold her.