Meet Tchoups

Right After Adoption
Getting His Belly Rubbed
Kirk, Elise, Morgan, Tchoups & Poydras
Tchoups
Relaxing in the Grass
Me w/ Tchoups & Poydras
Tchoups When He Was Still in the Shelter

Two weeks ago we went to the PetSmart in Slidell and they were having a Humane Society Adoption Day. We only went in to get some food for Poydras, but ended up with a new doggie!!! He's a 9-month-old German Shephard/Collie mix and he's so cute and sweet and very smart. His name was Angus when we adopted him, but we changed it to Tchoupitoulas and call him Tchoups. He and Poydras mostly get along, except when there is food involved, so now we feed them separately. His favorite activities are digging in mud puddles, nipping at Poydras' neck to get him to play, chewing on all his toys, opening the back door with his paws and laying in the sand box. He also likes to pull the cushions off the patio chairs and make a bed for himself. Smart dog!

Papal Visit to the US

Sophiya
Hana
Jared
Busy NYC

I was fortunate enough to be able to cover the Pope's visit to the United States. I went with Sarah from the Arch. of N.O. and served as her producer. We went to Washington, DC and then on to NYC to cover all of the papal events. Needless to say, it was a VERY busy trip with all of the shooting and walking we had to do. We hired a photog and an audio op to be with us to shoot interviews, b-roll and Sarah's stand-ups. These guys (Idin and Mike) were absolutely fantastic and we loved working with them. We ended up with great footage and made a great show out of it. In New York, I was able to visit with my brother Gene, his wife Saya and kids Jared, Hana and little Sophiya. We went to lunch on my last day and walked around a bit in Times Square. I wish I could have visited longer, but unfortunately had to also work that day. The pics in this post are the only ones I took during the entire week! No sightseeing for us!

Surprise 30th Birthday Party #2

Mallory (singer), Me (drummer) & Jason (guitar)
Me & Mo

Well, on my actual 30th birthday, little did I know that my family was planning me another surprise birthday party. Kirk took me out to eat at Trey Yuen (yummy) and Mallory was supposed to be babysitting Morgan. When we got home, I was treated to another round of people yelling "surprise" and saw that a lot of my family, friends and co-workers were in my kitchen. Mallory and Morgan had been setting up things, along with my mom and dad, while we were at dinner. For some reason though, I only have pictures of us playing Rock Band, which is what was going on for most of the night anyway. Another great party!!!

Easter Sunday

Me & Mo
Me & Kirk

Surprise 30th Birthday Party #1

On the way to "Pat's" Surprise Party
Right after everyone surprised me for MY surprise party
How old am I?
Me & Sher
Gary, Lisa, Rodney & Lee
Kelly, Pat, Scott & Becca
Sher, Kirk & Me
Mal & Me

Me trying to hula hoop
Me, Rodney & Mal having fun
Me on stage telling everyone who old I am
Dancing on Stage

So Kirk, Mal & Sherry decided to throw me a surprise 30th birthday party at Rock & Bowl. I thought I was going to a 40th surprise party for Kirk's friend Pat, which if you look at that first picture, you can tell how excited I was to be going (I slept in the car the whole way across the lake...love ya, Pat!). When I got there, I realized it was for me since everyone yelled "surprise" when I got to our bowling lane. It was a lot of fun...we bowled and then listened to the Top Cats play for a while. Thanks guys!!

St. Patrick's Day Parade 2008

Mal, Mom & Me
Me & Kirk
Dad & Mom
Kevin & Pat
Katie, John & McKenna
Kirk & Lee

Me & Sherry
Mo & Me
Mo & Gavin
Mal & Mo

We hosted our annual St. Paddy's Day Parade Party at Kirk's office this past Sunday. LOTS of people showed up (unlike last year), the weather was great and we had lots of fun. Can't wait till next year!

Cruising...on a Sunday Afternoon

The Main Lobby
One of the Towel Animals We Found in the Room Everynight
The Solarium
The Outside Pool Deck
The Orpheum Theatre
Having Fun in the Disco w/ My Mom and Her Co-workers

The final day we just cruised around, which I kind of didn't like much. My mom and her co-workers had business meetings all day, so I was pretty much by myself the whole time. The pool was pretty packed, too, and at times it was very cold and windy outside. All in all, I had lots of fun and have already let them know I'm ready for next year's trip!

Key West, FL

Key West
Mom and Ms. Michele
We Were Excited to See Mallory Square!

A Crowd Watches the Boat Leave Right after Sunset

I was a little surprised when I got to Key West...I thought there would be more beach. But I quickly discovered Key West was all about shopping. We could've walked to the other end of the island, but decided to go souvenir shopping for everyone instead. It's really a beautiful place and I would love to go back.

Cococay, Bahamas

Cococay is a private island owned by Royal Caribbean and it was absolutely beautiful there. My mom's work had a volleyball tournament when we first got on the island and then there was a barbecue for everyone. There were also little shops and hammocks. I tried going on a diving excursion but they only allow 10 people to sign up for it. 10 people out of the entire ship!!