NOLA

Some of you may have heard this story, but we tried to keep it on the DL so not to worry anyone.  Now that we are safely out of NOLA, it's time to blog about our arrival in that amazing and wild city.  We left Nashville and made the drive to NOLA in one day.  I drove with the dogs and Brad drove our moving truck.  When we arrived in NOLA, the moving crew we hired to help unload our moving truck was MIA.  Not a huge deal because we were staying in a hotel.  We had to negotiate a simultaneous close for our Nashville house and NOLA house, and that date was several days after we moved to NOLA.  The owner of the NOLA house said we could go ahead and unload our stuff into the house, but we obviously couldn't live there until we closed.

Day 3 in NOLA, moving company still MIA.. we unloaded our dining room table and a few other items. I was sitting at the dining room table in front of a huge window with no window coverings.  Brad and my dad had gone to Home Depot for various supplies.  When we arrived in NOLA in 2008, the city was still freshly recovering from Katrina.  Our neighbor across the street had hired a crazy contractor who had basically moved into his house with his posse work crew.  The crew had had a huge BBQ earlier that day and was in the process of packing up to head north and to supposedly help with the flooding that had happened in Iowa that year.  As I quietly read a magazine, all of a sudden people are scattering and running in all different directions like ants after an ant pile gets stepped on.  A man comes running out of the front of the house, screaming "he shot him, he shot him" and I see a body lying in the doorway.  Call Brad!!  Our conversation went something like this, "uh, babe, I think someone just got shot."

Next thing I know, I'm watching a live version of CSI/Law and Order unfold before my eyes.  First, an ambulance shows up.  Paramedics walk into the house and then leave.  Next, the coroner's truck shows up... lots of police and detectives.  Like an idiot, I'm standing right in the window watching everything with a morbid curiosity.  Brad and my dad finally make it back to the house.  Then I see a detective point towards me and start walking to our house.  Next thing I know, I'm being interviewed.  Surreal.  I gave my statement to the detective and then I had a question for her.  "We just moved here and we haven't actually bought this house yet.  Are we going to be okay living here?"  Her response, "Oh, you'll be fine here.  This is a great neighborhood. We believe this is an isolated event between two people that knew each other.  Welcome to New Orleans!!" she said cheerfully and walked out of the house.

Welcome to New Orleans indeed.  Moving company finally called to say they were on their way.  Alas, our moving truck was roped off in the active crime scene.  It would not be unloaded that day!  Needless to say that ordeal was the low point of our time in NOLA.  It could only get better from there.

In the four years we lived on S. Prieur Street, we made NOLA our beloved home.  We grew to love the city, the culture, and the people.  We celebrated the birth of our son and the birth of our daughter!  Brad and I celebrated the big 3-0 in NOLA.  We cheered the Saints to a Super Bowl victory and partied on Bourbon street.  We paraded like pros through Mardi Gras and ate more King Cake than anyone should.  We evacuated for Hurricane Gustav; we got eaten alive by mosquitos; we sadly grew accustomed to the violence and nightly murder reports.  I won't miss the heat, humidity, bugs or guns.  I will deeply miss our friends and our church.  When people ask me where I'm from, my response these days... New Orleans.  The city where we started and grew our family.  New Orleans, you taught us how to enjoy life!   Laissez les bons temps rouler...

 Moving day...

Last night in NOLA... finally rode that street car with Paw-Paw.

Dino Obsession

Campbell has had an obsession with dinosaurs for a couple of months now.  It started when we rediscovered an old book, I Love You Stinky Face.  In the book, a little boy asks his mom if she would still love him if he were a wild creature.  "But mama, but mama, would you still love me if I were a terrible meat-eating dinosaur."  Campbell went nuts when we got to that page.  So that night Katherine bought several "How Do Dinosaurs" books by Jane Yolen.  To say he loves them is an understatement.  We read them over and over at night.  He still has a tough time saying dinosaur so he has just shortened it to "dino".  It wasn't long after we arrived in Toronto that we heard about this incredible exhibit called Ultimate Dinosaurs at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), and we knew it would be right up C-man's alley.  It's the largest exhibition of dinosaurs ever in North America and the largest dinosaur exhibition in the ROM's history.  Needless to say, Campbell loved it.  He sprinted around the exhibit checking out all the dinosaurs shouting "Dino!".  It really was pretty fun.  I think Mackenzie liked it too.

When July 11 rolled around,  the decision on the theme for Campbell's birthday cake was an easy one.  Katherine knew she had to make a Dino cake.  She set the bar high after the amazing monkey cake for birthday #1, but she managed to outdo herself yet again.  Her chocolate cake is simply the best.  Campbell loved it.

There were many birthday highlights including trucks and tricycles.   The big truck from Paw-paw was perfect because he also loves trucks.  Every time he sees a truck on the road, he emphatically states "Big truck".  It could be a cement mixer, moving truck, garbage truck, dump truck; you name it.  Living on a busy street has actually been kind of exciting for him because he can stand in the window and watch the big trucks go by.
Katherine and I got him a tricycle, which he loves to ride and is actually getting much better at riding.  At first, he hated to wear his helmet, but now I think wearing his "Duck-goose" helmet is his favorite part of riding.  His legs are just a touch short to stay on the pedals for a full revolution, but I don't think that will be an issue too much longer.