Happy Mother's Day!

In honor of Mother's Day, Kate and Chris presented me with coffee, a handmade card, and presents, including a Ped Egg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzsQV6-02Yw) and a gallon of pickles from Guss' Pickles in NY! Smooth soles and a month's worth of pickles -- what more could a mother ask for? This is a portrait of "Princess Alexa" that Kate drew for me. She's wearing a red gown to match her long, red locks. Kate made this card at school for me. The inside...

I love this card. It made me laugh and cry. And I love that among all the educational, spiritual, creative, and nature-oriented activities Kate and I do together, the things that stood out in her mind are the occasional trips to the mall and the Disney Store!

Chris and Kate took me out for a lovely brunch in South Pasadena where there was a man singing and strumming a metal guitar. Kate always loves a live show.

Kate feeling the "I ate too much" blues.

Post brunch -- Kate with a tall dandelion and a very full belly.

Of course, Kate wasn't too full for a Fosselman's ice cream cone.

Or for a kiss and a hug for her Mom.

Spending Mother's Day with my husband and daughter was the best gift I could ever ask for.

Start Your Engines!

A couple Saturdays ago Kate participated in her preschool's 1st Annual Trike-a-Thon fundraiser. She was a little tentative at first, but decided to join in for the second heat with the older kids. And they're off! Kate is in the back wearing a pink shirt. Kate did several laps around the old, oak tree... ...until her race car ran into trouble. The Team Weyant pit crew hustled and was able to fix the broken wheel in 20 seconds flat.

Nice job, Appa! Go Kate!

Several laps later, Kate and the others earned a medal for their hard work. Kate raised $80 for her classroom -- hooray for Kate!

Buzzin' Cousins in Chapel Hill -- Part Three!

On our last full day, the Kang-Weyants and Paik-Powells visited the beautiful Duke gardens at Duke University. The stunning wisteria was in full bloom. It smelled as heavenly as it looked.

Super Emma! Able to leap wide rivers in a single bound.

Kate, Jina-Eemo, and Baby Kiki's dangling legs.

Kate loves her Samcheon. "You're a funny guy!"

Baby Kiki and her proud Papa.

Emil and Jina.

Emil Samcheon challenged Emma and Kate to a race. Of course, they happily obliged, several times.

Exhausted, Emil had to pass the baton to Chris in the final heat:

I call this shot "The tree of life."

Of course, only after racing across the lawn several times and climbing all over the old magnolia "tree of life" did we see the signs that read: "no sports activities" and "absolutely no tree climbing." Oops.

Kiran "Kiki" Sue Powell in a cap and blanket knitted by her talented Momma. I love her tiny finger poking out of one of the holes.

The new family.

That evening, at Emma's request, we made bibimbop for dinner. Everyone pitched in, and it came out wonderfully.

Of course, it wouldn't be a family get together unless someone ended up in the ER. During dinner, Kiki managed to thrust herself off a chair with her strong legs and hit her head on the floor. Poor Jina and Scott were officially christened as parents with their inaugural ER visit. The doctors monitored Kiki for a few hours before declaring she was just fine. Thank God.

Despite the ER scare (and the Kang-Weyants being stuck in the Houston airport for ten hours (ah!) on the way home), it was a lovely, lovely visit. Most importantly, it was a continuing reminder of the preciousness of family.

There really is no place like home. I just wish our homes were a little closer.

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.

"She's so soft, she's just like my dollies at home, Momma!"

Cousin Emma got a turn.

A photo Kiki will be mortified by one day.

Emma showing off an Easter gift from Kate's Nana Eleanor.

Kate also hamming it up.

Meeting the newest addition to our family was the best gift we could've asked for. Thanks, Emil and Lisa!!