VIDALIA &045; It was hard to tell who was enjoying themselves more on the river levee Sunday afternoon &045; little Nicholas Stelly and his kid sister, Julia, or the four Labrador pups they were frolicking with.

The kids were with their uncle, Vidalia native Troy Rush and his girlfriend, Ashley Middleton of Natchez. Both are seniors at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.

&uot;We’re both home from school right now, so we wanted to spend some time with them,&uot; Ashley said.

Nicholas was trying out a remote-controlled airplane he received for his sixth birthday recently. Troy helped launch the plane while Nicholas guided it down the levee with the remote &045; though not always to a smooth landing.

Troy explained that the wind was blowing a little too hard for flying, but Nicholas wanted to keep trying.

&uot;Let’s do it again,&uot; he said.

Meanwhile, 2-year-old Julia rolled her toy baby stroller &045; complete with a doll she named &uot;Baby&uot; &045; up the levee and back down again, the seven week-old pups bouncing and tumbling right along with her.

&uot;My dog had a litter of puppies, and we didn’t want to get rid of them. So we kind of kept them in the family,&uot; Ashley said.

Troy was amused as Nicholas took time between flights to run to the top of the levee and roll back down to the bottom.

&uot;I don’t know who has the shortest attention span &045; the kids or the puppies,&uot; he joked.

Nicholas and Julia’s grandparents, uncles and aunts visited from Opelousas recently to help celebrate Nicholas’ birthday.