We took a trip to New Orleans this week. For me, it was part pleasure and part business. For Brad, Lucas, Gigi, and Papaw, it was all pleasure. On Saturday, we took a city tour. We saw the French Quarter, the Garden District, a cemetery, and some of the areas affected by Katrina. It's amazing that after
2 1/2 years, there has been very little built back. It was surreal to see the Fema trailers in the driveways, the water lines on the homes, and the holes cut out in the roofs so that people could escape through their roof. It's hard to imagine what the people went through and that they now have no way of obtaining assistance to rebuild their lives. We saw middle class neighborhoods. They still don't allow anyone to go through the 9th ward. If you look closely at the pictures, you can see the water lines on the homes.
After the tour, we strolled down Bourbon Street and through the French Quarter. Lucas saw a few things that I'm hoping he won't remember. Brad and Papaw's eyes were HUGE. It was funny.
On Sunday, we went to the aquarium and then rode a bus to the zoo. We walked a lot and were tired. Lucas didn't make it through the whole zoo, but he saw most of the large animals. The elephants were brought out where they could be pet on if you wanted to touch them. We just looked.
Monday, I attended a conference while Brad and Lucas just hung out. Gigi and Papaw went on another tour. That evening, we took a ride through the Garden District on the street car. Lucas loved riding all of the "buses".
We had a really good time. It was warm there. We wore shorts. It was hard to come home to cold weather again. Lucas liked flying on the airplane. He would look out the window when we were landing and say "Woe Nelly". I found out that a laptop is a good thing to have on a plane. All I had to do was put in a DVD and put headphones on Lucas. He sat still the whole time. This is the last big trip I'll be taking for work. We've had a good time over the last 3 years visiting new places.
2 1/2 years, there has been very little built back. It was surreal to see the Fema trailers in the driveways, the water lines on the homes, and the holes cut out in the roofs so that people could escape through their roof. It's hard to imagine what the people went through and that they now have no way of obtaining assistance to rebuild their lives. We saw middle class neighborhoods. They still don't allow anyone to go through the 9th ward. If you look closely at the pictures, you can see the water lines on the homes.
After the tour, we strolled down Bourbon Street and through the French Quarter. Lucas saw a few things that I'm hoping he won't remember. Brad and Papaw's eyes were HUGE. It was funny.
On Sunday, we went to the aquarium and then rode a bus to the zoo. We walked a lot and were tired. Lucas didn't make it through the whole zoo, but he saw most of the large animals. The elephants were brought out where they could be pet on if you wanted to touch them. We just looked.
Monday, I attended a conference while Brad and Lucas just hung out. Gigi and Papaw went on another tour. That evening, we took a ride through the Garden District on the street car. Lucas loved riding all of the "buses".
We had a really good time. It was warm there. We wore shorts. It was hard to come home to cold weather again. Lucas liked flying on the airplane. He would look out the window when we were landing and say "Woe Nelly". I found out that a laptop is a good thing to have on a plane. All I had to do was put in a DVD and put headphones on Lucas. He sat still the whole time. This is the last big trip I'll be taking for work. We've had a good time over the last 3 years visiting new places.
Lucas and Madison
All of the excitement has just worn Lucas out. Yesterday, he crashed pretty hard for his nap. Tonight, I brought in a bowl of snow (or ice) for Lucas to play with.
He enjoyed making snowballs and throwing them at me. 
This is the first time he's ever felt snow. He liked it. I wish we would get a good snow that he could play in. All we are getting now is a lot of ice on top of snow. I'd love for him to be able to be pulled on a sled. For now, we'll just stay in and stay warm. It's good weather for hot chocolate!!!
Is this what you call bare back riding??? Here lately, Lucas likes to run around with no clothes on, especially with no underwear. This night, he washed dishes while baring it all and rode his horsey. I guess there's nothing like letting it all hang out.
