Greensboro

"I know! How about you guys live here now!"

Momma and Poppa at the office

Chamero kept us company while we repacked the Accordion

After Raleigh we stayed with one of our very favorite little families in Greensboro, NC. Katia, Adam, their beyond charming little boy Lio, and their lovable (if a little crazed) dog, Chamero welcomed us into their home on the outskirts of town on Wednesday night. We arrived just in time to give plenty of hugs, fill some whiskey glasses, and then watch Kate and Adam’s band practice. (Eros and the Eschaton has an album coming out in August and will be touring this fall, so look for them – they are outstanding!) Though we loved our private little show in the back bedroom of their home on Wednesday night, we got to see them play a proper one in Winston-Salem on Friday, which was fantastical. They played in a coffee shop/warehouse/club with 3 other great acts (of note a dangerously talented lady that calls herself Willower). I, of course, chatted up the locals while Katia and Justin hung out “backstage” (two couches next to the stage) and reminisced. The show itself was of course great and when we got back to Greensboro at 2am the only logical thing to do at that point was to stay up until 4am drinking wine. Our stay, bookended by Eros, was mostly spent playing with Lio. Racing trains with Lio, reading books with Lio, rocking the park and playground with Lio, filling a hole in the backyard with water from the hose (sorry bout that one, parents) and then splashing with Lio, and of course watching Kipper the Dog with Lio. We had the pleasure of meeting Lio when he was just a couple of months old and while we were absolutely smitten with him then, now, at two years old he has grown into a whole wonderful little man with a hilarious personality and facial expressions like you wouldn’t believe. He took a couple of hours to warm up to these strangers in his house, but once he did it was like we’d been there his whole life. Lio would just grab a book off the shelf and crawl up into my lap for snuggle time, or set up his train tracks and then take Justin by the hand to gently lead him over for play time. He also greets everything he sees with a chipper, “Hiya mama!” “Hiya fire truck!” “Hiya bird!” – a practice that Justin and I have adopted, “Hiya Texas!” All-in-all, our stay was quite low key but it was just what we needed and a few times since we’ve left and had hectic days of long drives and strenuous (but great!) camping, I have thought longingly of lazing around on the floor all day with Lio, the trains, and Kipper. The Hawkins family is much missed by Team KePow.

So yea, Lio likes him some Mychie

On the emotional roller-coaster that is...

...Kipper the Dog