haist happenings in st. louis: Ben's graduation!

On May 17th we boarded the plane and headed to New Orleans... it was a wonderful trip and we had an absolute blast celebrating Ben and spending time with family!

The night we arrived in New Orleans, we took a tour of the city. It was neat to see the city at night and all lit up. I must admit, I was pretty exhausted and fell asleep on the ride back to the hotel :) The next morning we were bright eyed and ready to go.

We took a tour of Tulane's campus (it is gorgeous), and got to sit in on Ben's accapella group as they sang a few songs (including Ben's solo song!) and they sang The National Antheum. They are a very talented group and it was fun to see them live singing instead of on YouTube! Friday, we also got to see the Art Exhibition. Ben did a beautiful job making the advertisements for the exhibition, and his piece in the exhibition was extremely creative. Ben was and is a very valued member of the Art Department at Tulane and is very well respected by his professors. It was fun to meet a few of them, and some of Ben's friends.

We stopped Friday for lunch at The Rum House, which was to die for. The tacos were out of this world! Let me tell you something about New Orleans -- if I can take away anything from my short time there, they know what they are doing with food. It was some of the "best eating" I've ever experienced. That afternoon we enjoyed a walk around Audubon Park and the Wave Goodbye Party on campus that evening. After the party, we took the Street Car (so fun) downtown and I experienced for the first time ... Cafe Du Monte. One word- amazing. Beignets are out of this world. Coated in powdered sugar, a billion deep friend calories a piece, and worth every single melt in your mouth bite.

Saturday morning we woke up early and got ready to roll for the BIG DAY OF GRADUATION at the Super Dome! Tulane's graduation was no joke -- complete with bag pipers, jazz bands, Trombone Shorty, Ruby Bridges (the first ever African American to walk into an integrated public school during the Civil Rights Movement) being awarded an Honorary Degree, fireworks, confetti, and oh the list could go on. Talk about a celebration! And of course, the best part of the graduation-- Ben earning his Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Digital Media. We couldn't be more proud of him. Ben is extremely gifted, and we know that whatever he puts his heart into he will succeed. First stop, UCLA in the fall. Next stop, we're anticipating seeing his name in the credits for Pixar in the near future ... Congratulations Ben, we can't say it enough, we are SO proud.

The night of graduation we had an exceptional meal at Commanders Palace. Words can't even explain the delectable food, wonderful conversation and the overall experience that was...Commanders Palace. That night, we headed to bed early in anticipation of a very long drive home on Sunday. We arrived home Sunday night after a wonderful trip to New Orleans. We couldn't have done the trip without Gaye and Jim's generosity. We were so happy to have been there to see Ben graduate and get a small taste of where Ben has been the past 4 years.

Congratulations again, Ben. We are glad we got to be at your big graduation day. UCLA is going to be blessed to have you join their campus... and oh the places you will go...

Love,

Sam & Katelyn