the cancienne's...

My cute niece, Kerrie, and her very cute family have been natives of New Orleans their whole lives.  But an opportunity has presented itself for them to relocate to Nebraska.  Yes....I said Nebraska!  Now I know, it's just a 'tad' different than New Orleans, but what a great new adventure for them to meet new friends and experience a whole new side of the country.  They might actually have to buy some coats!  ;)

Well, Kerrie called me the other day and asked if I wanted to go hang out with them at The Riverwalk and The Aquarium.  Of course I said yes!  Any chance to go downtown and hang out with family is always a good thing.  We had fun chasing kids around and seeing a few sites.  I brought my camera along, of course, to document the fun day.  Here are a few snapshots of them that I was able to capture while roaming about...

Here's little Miss Kaelyn who loves striking a pose for the camera...

The adorable Miss Morgan who is always so curious and always on the go...

The ohhh so cute baby Jackson...

Did I mention this little one was always on the go!  She couldn't sit still for anything!  But she's still the cutest thing ever!  I love this one of her trying to sneak away...

Aren't these kids soooo cute!!

Yep, we're playing around the railroad tracks!  (Don't tell mom!)  ;)

We headed over to The Aquarium for some more fun!

Now if any of you have ever gone to this aquarium and have never gotten your picture taken in this shark jaw, then there's something wrong with you!  ;)

I had to get one of the shark tank!

I mean seriously....do they really need all those teeth?!

I absolutely love these last two of Morgan!  She's such a little daddy's girl!  I love it!

Thanks Kerrie, Ryan, Kaelyn, Morgan, and Jackson for letting me tag along with ya'll for a few hours!  It was so fun!  Many prayers and wishes of good luck are coming your way from all of us on your new journey to the mid-west!

I love all of you so very much!

egrets, raccoons, and swans....oh my!

My dad and I have decided to stop talking about going on morning walks and decided to actually start doing them!  Well, in his defense, we put it off due to a couple of broken toes my dad suffered while playing in the gulf waters off of the beach of Gulf Shores, Alabama a couple weeks ago.  So I cut him some slack!  ;)  

So to start off Memorial Day we headed over to Lafreniere Park in the early morning.  There is a nice paved 2 mile path that goes around the whole park.  When we hit the 1/2 mile marker, we both looked at each other and thought really....only 1/2 mile!  Did I mention that it was a 2 mile long path!  All I could think about was my dad's poor toes.  What a trooper!  

Now I know I grew up around here, but I honestly don't remember most of this park.  It was actually quite beautiful.  It had just finished raining, the sun was rising and there was such a sense of peacefulness as we walked by water, and many different types of animals such as squirrels, ducks, geese, and lots more.  You name it, it was there.  The egrets were absolutely gorgeous sitting by and in the water and cyprus trees.  

We definitely felt triumphant when we finished our 2 miles in record time!  Well, it was our first walk, so we can call it our record time!  Right?!  ;)

I had to....just had to go back and take some pictures of some of the "wildlife" we witnessed there.  The egrets were not that easy to find by the time we made it back, but here are a few of the fun things we saw.

Gorgeous views...

Swans...

Turtles...

Roosters...yes, roosters!  There were a few of these guys roaming around, and they didn't stop cock-a-do-a-doodling all day!

This little guy startled me when he came down from a tree I was standing next to. 

He was a little bashful at first, but he walked right up to me!  I got a little nervous though so I moved on to the next site!  ;)

Nutria!  They ARE for real!  If you don't believe me, here is a momma nutria.  There were some cute little babies she was tending to just behind her.

Here is one egret I managed to get in the distance...

I just like this scene!

Well, we gave my dad's toes a couple days off, but we're gonna be back at it bright and early tomorrow morning!  We're gonna see if we can break our current record!  ;)

dragonflies

Today, my mom and I waited for my dad to get home from work.  He walked thru the door, kissed his wife on the forehead, and asked how she was doing.  My mom proceeded to tell him about her 'Oprah' experience today.  As he took a seat in his chair, she spoke of a Dr. Oz who has been a part of the Oprah show for the last 5 years.  Well, this was his farewell show.  He has become so successful and popular that he is off to do his own series.  As tears started to form in her eyes, the room kind of fell silent.  She told us of Dr. Oz's efforts to help the people of New Orleans post Katrina.  I mean 'post' Katrina.  He was there in the New Orleans International Airport, which at the time, was acting as a trauma unit in a hospital.  He told of his experience.  Well, that he in all his 20 years of experience, has never seen anything like it.  People everywhere.  Ambulance lines stretching 2 miles long.  And doctors seeing 800 patients an hour.  Patients who were too ill to be helped anymore were put in a separate room so that they may live there final moments in peace.  They called it the morgue.  

He then went over to the convention center and saw even more things that he just couldn't believe.  It was there, where he had met someone that had impacted his life and has kept a place in his heart even after all these years.  It happened to be a 3 week old baby.  Not in good condition.  He checked the baby and immediately realized that he needed nourishment and needed it quick.  All he had was some gatorade (I believe).  So that's what he fed him.  As today's show touched on Dr. Oz's work and shared his Katrina experience once again, he mentioned that he still thinks about that little baby and has been searching for him ever since.  Just to see him.  Just to make sure he was alright.  Even after all this time.  Well, Oprah had a surprise for him....one of her producers found the baby, who is now, a few years older.  And as my mom was telling us this story, I couldn't help but notice how this Dr. and the reunion of these two individuals touched her.

But not only was she touched by these actions, it happened to bring up some of the still so very real emotions for both my parents from that time some years ago.  My mom and dad started remembering some of the events and people that they had witnessed.  My dad bringing up the fact that some of their neighbors in the area have yet to come home.  That is, if they are still with us on this earth.  That part...the part not knowing about friends and family members, was and still is in some cases, the hardest part.  Not having any "normal" anymore.  No familiarity.  As life does go on, there are those of us who will always have those memories.  And seeing little acts of kindness, like this Dr. Oz,  sets an example and just reminds us of all those who helped and are still helping in all different ways.

I had to post a picture, well because I think that every post needs one!  :)  I took this photo today of this dragonfly because it reminded me of when I was here in NOLA a month after Katrina.  There were no birds or anything like this in site.  It was kind of an empty, strange feeling.  It's funny how sometimes the little things like this simple dragonfly go unnoticed throughout our busy lives.

8 clydesdales & a king

The Budweiser Clydesdales were in town for a few days here in NOLA.  So we headed down to the City Park Stables where they were staying for their visit. 

These beautiful horses were being fed at the time, but I managed to grab a few fun shots of them anyway.

Anybody remember this guy?  Well, this is "King", their mascot or whatever his purpose is...  :)  But he's pretty famous too!  He's in just about all the commercials that the clydesdales are in.  He gets just as much pampering and attention as the horses do!  I love it!  

Their very nice traveling accommodations! :)

kim

Kim is not only one of the most beautifulest girls I know, she happens to have a fun and ever-so-energetic personality!  Did I mention magnetic!  You can't help but love to be around her...to hear her stories or just feel her energy that she seems to carry with her wherever she goes.  She also happens to be one of my best friends.  So believe me.  I know.  

She wanted a to do a little photo session one day, so we met and I managed to get a few 'head shots' of her.  :)  She was such the model!

Thanks Kim!  I had so much fun hanging out with you.....as always!  Love ya!  :)