From Oprah to Disneyland

Finally getting a chance to blog about two trips I have taken. My friend Myndee, a missionary companion from the Hartford Connecticut Mission who lives in Arizona, called and asked if I could meet her in Chicago on Sept. 11th to go to the Oprah show. Thank you grandpa, Sione and Sione's job for letting me go on this last minute trip. While in Chicago we attended the Broadway play "Wicked". Both were great and I'll tell you why. I am not a die hard Oprah fan, but my love for her has grown. Here are a few of her quotes that I picked up during my visit: 1) Live your own dream 2) Love what you've got 3) Discover your purpose 4) Transformation happens when you're willing -- it's your choice. That one is my favorite. It was the one I could relate to the most i.e. My weight and losing it, my relationship with my Family, God and anyone I come in contact with. Who and what I want to be today and 10 years from now. Shoot, I could go on and on, but back to Oprah. She is very wise and has done so much good for many people/causes. She was very down to earth and really funny. Before the show started she came out with her shoes in hand and her pants dragging on the floor and fussed about her shoes asking whose shoes they were because they couldn't be hers due to the size. She asked if anyone in the audience had a mirror because she had something stuck in her teeth. She sat down and started talking about feeling bloated that day and mumbled something under her breath about exercise. The shows subject was Breast Cancer. Christina Applegate was there of course. That evening we ate at a very fancy Italian restaurant in the theater district. I say fancy because I felt a bit out of place and to me it felt like a place that would be in a scene in a movie. Wicked was clever and funny. I loved Glinda, the good witch. She does a song about being popular and it feels the same to me as a song or two might feel to a 5th grader that has just seen High School Musical. I was supposed to leave Chicago the next morning but it was the day before Hurricane Ike hit and all flights into Houston and Dallas were cancelled. I ended up taking a detour to Salt Lake and spent a couple of days with my godson Jarad and the rest of his family. Sione was (eventually) a good sport about the whole thing and I have never been more happy to see him and LaRee.


We as a family took a quick trip to Disneyland. We wanted to use our passes one more time before they expired. LaRee was a riot to watch. We had such a good time. I would rather post a few of my favorite photos then bore you with all of the joyful details. It really is a magical place. Sione and I joke that it is almost a religious experience. I know we are our own kind of crazy!

On our second day there our friends, Becky and Julie, met us for lunch. Who needs an amusement park when you have a baby, 2 toddlers, a fountain and a side of spanish rice. I think this was our favorite part of the trip. and last but not least, Halloween!!! Our little Lady latu was a Ladybug, aahhh, cute! We missed going to see her church grandmas in San Diego. It just wasn't the same.