New Orleans Summer 09
To celebrate the completion of our first year of tutoring, we wanted to bring our hardest working students on a special trip. Loren, Tory, and Ivy Carriere, the interns, and Derrick Carriere went on down to the Audubon Zoo with the kids from HFO: Tavian, Trevon, Matthew, Megan, Amber, and Tyriana.
After riding the ferry across the Mississippi River (a first for most of the kids), we got our tickets and entered the aquarium. We saw eels, sharks, whales, jellyfish of all sorts, and encouraged the kids to read the information tags at each exhibit. I am sure they learned many things they hadn't known before about aquatic life. The kids got a kick out of the white alligator, and all took crazy pictures putting themselves on magazine covers.
After the kids were done exploring the waters, we walked to the iMax theater and saw a 3D movie about dinosaurs and new discoveries about their origins, prompting a good discussion by the kids about "why information changes about the origin of the earth" as we headed to the Insectarium. This museum was entertaining, colorful, and informative, and was definitely good preparation for our upcoming camping trip!
When the kids were completely exhausted, we drove to Bradley and Crystal Dunn's house to eat some delicious boiled crawfish with corn, onions, sweet potatoes, and garlic (mmmm)--but not before a heated water balloon fight! That night, the boys slept out under the open sky and saw shooting stars, after a time of worship and Bible study.
The next morning, we made pancakes and headed to the Zoo to smell the flamingos and watch elephants roam. The Cajun exhibit was especially interesting to the kids because it was unique to our area. Later that afternoon, we walked the French Quarter and some brave kids even tried raw oysters!
This trip was a great time with our kids, and a fruitful time of teaching them things--not just about God's creation, but about staying together as a group, and being respectful of each other.
-~Tory