Put On That Cap and Gown!

Well everyone, Zac and I have been enjoying some time in the Crescent City, or New Orleans, whichever you prefer. We arrived here on Thursday night to be here for a very special graduation. My sweet husband was to graduate with his Master of Divinity degree on Saturday, and with rehearsal and things on Friday we decided to leave on Thursday. My mom and dad came down with us and Zac's parents came down on Friday. It has been great so far. On Friday we wanted to go visit the Garden District and have lunch there, so we headed for Magazine Street. Magazine Steet is one of my favorite places to hang out in New Orleans! It has gorgeous old homes close by and great restaurants and shopping all together. It is a very laid back area and its not a very tourist area from what I can see. We shopped around first in some antique stores, vintage clothing shops, shoe store, and various other shops, then on to the important thing, eating. We ate lunch at this great little joint called Joey K's that I discovered through Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. They have your classic New Orleans cuisine like red beans and rice, shrimp po-boys, jambalaya, and othe wonderful selections. It is very tasty, and always packed! After our wonderful lunch, we drove mom and dad around the city to site see a little and then we dropped Zac off at the seminary for rehearsal. We decided to rest while he was at practice and get dressed for dinner. Zac had eaten at a seafood restaurant that he loved the last time he was down here, so I found it on the internet and we planned to go check it out after he finished and his parents arrived. Deannie's is the name of the seafood place, and wow was it good! They deliver fresh shrimp, catfish, oysters, crawfish when it's in season, and they know how to cook it right! We were all so full and packed up 3 to go boxes and passed them out to folks on the street. I definately recommend checking out Deannie's if you are ever in New Orleans, and they have 2 convenient locations as well. Well, after dinner we wanted to go see a little more of New Orleans, so Zac and I decided to carry everyone to Decatur Street. It is right on the river and has tons of shops and restaurants. We stopped by Cafe Dumonde, and got some beingets to go and hopped on a horse and carriage tour of the French Quarter. It was very fun, except Zac and I sat in the back and couldnt hear a single word, but it was still worth it! Onto the big day, Saturday. Zac and I got up early to be on Campus by 7:30 for the commencement breakfast. It was very nice. Over 200 people attended, and we enjoyed a great breakfast and some speakers. After breakfast I helped Zac get dressed in his cap, gown, and hood. He looked great! These are some pictures of the chapel that graduation took place inside of and also one of Zac and I before graduation and before his pictures.

Leavell Chapel

My graduate and myself

After our photo op, Zac had to go have some group pictures made and I waited in line to go inside the chapel and defend some seating for our family.I found a row about halfway down the aisles and on the left side just like Zac suggested. It would have been wonderful until a lady horned in on my saved seating, but I am not going to go there. Let's just say she was a little rude and I wanted to get her! But I didn't, dont worry. Here is a picture of my sweetie walking in.

This is the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Class of 2010.

I had some other phtots of the commencement but they were dark, and of course my camera acted out when Zac got on stage. I wanted to smash it for that, but Zac's mother got a good one, so it's all good! This is us after graduation. Here is your newest member of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's Alumni Association. Way to go Zac!! I'm proud of you!

Stay tuned for more photos of the rest of our stay. We plan to take some pictures while we are out and about and I will post them soon. Feel free to leave a comment about your favorite things to do in New Orleans or just leave a message of congrats to Zac, I will be sure to pass it along!