Atticus was inspired to create this comic by his big brother Lucas’ comic, “The Evil King.”
He tells me he is already at work on many other songs for this comic, so I’ll be able to add them as we record them. (He is actually singing one of them as I type. ๐
After we took the grand tour through our new house, my aunt Joy, in from Atlanta, took us out to dinner yesterday at our new favorite Mexican restaurant, Nuestra Hacienda: great food and great service! ๐
We had fun talking and listening to the kids. Joy bargained with Atticus to eat nine (not ten!) french fries and the rest of his chicken nuggets. Lucas explored various ways of annoying Kevin with his drink and food. My dad gave my mom the rabbit ears when I took a picture. Yenni, who (along with her brother) owns the restaurant, brought the sombrero out for the kids to have fun with.
Last Tuesday, my cousin Wesley Holtsford and his friend Laura Liem, both in from west Texas, played some bluegrass music with Kevin and his dad, Ryland Hawker.
Their impromptu jam convened at James Lynch’s house. He’s Wes’ great-grandfather and my dad’s sister’s husband. (You really wanted to know the details, I know. ๐
It was so awesome! The four of them really sounded great to have never played together before!
Kevin played guitar and sang most of the songs. Ryland, of course, played banjo. Wes played mandolin and fiddle. And Laura played fiddle.
(I sang some backup and one lead, I think, but was mostly on Kid Patrol. ๐
James was dancing and singing along. He invited his brother and his fiance over to listen, too.
Even Jo-Jo, James’ little poodle had fun … although he probably would’ve had more fun if Lucas and Atticus hadn’t wanted to play with him soooo much! (I wish I’d gotten pictures of that.)
And Wesley and Laura? Wow. They are really great musicians. And both sweet as can be. I wish they didn’t live so far away!!
6/18/11 UPDATE:
I’ve finally been able to sit down and figure out my file-transfer issue from phone to laptop. What a mess!
I used my Droid X’s (awesome!!!) TapeMachine app to record eight songs … and then my phone died.
I didn’t get the beginning of the first song or the end of the last, and I only got eight songs from the several hours of playing. (I wish I’d remembered to grab the H2 on the way out the door, but we only had about 15-minutes notice.)
I’ll come back later and post the individual songs, but here’s the whole of what I recorded, talking and laughing and all in between:
7/17/11 UPDATE:
Here, finally, are the individual songs that I recorded.
The Man Who Wrote ‘Home Sweet Home’ Never Was a Married Man:
It was Halloween 2006. Atticus was just over a month old, and we were at my parents’ house, showing off Lucas’ costume. He would’ve been about 2-1/2. Awww!!
Taking Mommy to work; having Starbuck’s breakfast with Papa; getting tires checked, replaced, and repaired; taking the trash to the dumpster; singing along with Neil Young on the player…
There’s only so much Daddy Day a kid can take before a crash is imminent. ๐
Lucas with his rosary and Atticus' Blue Puppy ๐
Kevin picked up this rosary last year at church when it was on the give-away table.
It’s easy to see why he picked it; lavender crystals with an Our Lady of Lourdes signet, it really is stunning.
Not long afterward, he gave it to Lucas when he said he wanted it. Not long after that, though, he’d broken it, probably tugging a little too hard at its delicate links.
We put it up in my jewelry box, still broken, waiting until he was a little older and better able to take care of it.
Yesterday, Kevin decided to take it out and fix it up. Lucas was ecstatic!
Although he’s not ready to take it wherever he goes, Lucas wanted to wear it around his neck like Kevin does with his sometimes and sleep with it under his pillow like Kevin does with his every night.
This morning, as soon as I went in to wake him up, Lucas shot up in bed: “MY ROSARY!” He reached under his pillow and scooped it up, hugging it to him like a long-lost friend.
We headed to Dan Daniel Memorial Park today to enjoy the southern (and mostly shaded) end of the Riverwalk Trail. What an awesome way to spend the good part of a day! It’s definitely the best thing Danville ever did!!
When I asked them about their favorite part of the day, both Lucas and Atticus said they liked throwing sticks and rocks into the river best. ๐ Kevin said the best part was that he got to kiss me. ๐ And I liked holding Kevin’s hand and taking lots of pictures (and not having to be in a single one). ๐
Lucas stopped to pick up every caterpillar and worm he saw on the trail. ๐ ๐
Atticus fell and scraped up his knee. It bled a lot. ๐
A biker told us about a black snake up the trail, but we never saw it. ๐ ๐
A big group of people came out from a little path to the river with their fishing equipment, but when we looked down the path to see where they’d been, we also saw all the trash they’d left behind. ๐
And it’s in the gallery above, but I just can’t resist posting this rainbow picture separately!!! ๐