Fort Worth Zoo

November 09'

Our neighbor Christie has a membership to the Fort Worth Zoo and has been after us to go with her to the zoo. Man, we could not have picked a more perfect day to go, the weather was perfect (not to hot, not to cold) and I really can't think of any animal that was not out enjoying the same day. We saw everything there was to see. I love enjoying the world through the eyes of my girl.

I always love the monkeys and these were definitely up to my standards but to be honest my favorite had to be the bird area, for a dollar you can purchase seeds on a stick and the birds will come sit on your stick and eat. So cool.

Brace yourself for a crap load of animal pictures. I was serious when I said everything was out enjoying the perfect weather.

When I was little my family went to the Minnesota Zoo and while we were watching the monkeys, one of them pooped in his hand which totally cracked me up and then to make the experience even better... he ate it! LOL! Since then, monkeys have always had a special place in my heart.

Towards the end of the zoo they have these big ol' comfy rocking chairs that make everything in the world feel right again.

Baby Mele's Baby Blessing

Baby Mele was blessed the first Sunday in December, flights were open so, we hopped on the plane and headed to SFO.

I think I like her serious face best.

Personally, I think "Cousin Time" is time very well spent and I am glad that LaRee is able to see and play with her SFO cousins every now and again.

While we were there we were able to go see the Christmas decorations and visit the visitors center at the Oakland temple, go to down town SFO and see the half a dozen remaining seals and get Sione's hair cut by his favorite barber, Lote, his brother-in-law. I will never compare!

Pani Popo, such a sweet note to leave on. Thank you Johnalene - Love you long time!!!

Our little GO-GO GIRL

I am finding that the older LaRee gets, the funner the holidays become! During the first part of September we received, in the mail, a Wishcraft Halloween magazine. I made the mistake of letting little miss look at it and from that point on nothing else would do - she was going to be a go-go girl for Halloween and she talked about it NON-STOP!

Well, this is what she wanted to look like...


and on our Latu budget, this is what she looked like...

It actually was really fun putting it all together and my neighbor's mother helped me with umpteen ideas on how to pull it off. We were able to trick or treat with her favorite boy friends which made it even funner!! (and if that's not a word, it should be) My Aunt JaLayne bought her the cute Trick or Treat bag with her name on it and of course she loved it, so thoughtful.

Happenings in the Latu Family

October was a busy month for many of the Latu children and their children...

October 14th little Miss Kristine Lavani Kaleipe'epoli Nau was born in Tonga to Sione's youngest sister Kahealani .

October 30th little Miss Mele Lineti Ku'uleimomi Moala was born in San Francisco to his middle sister Johnalene.

All babies and moms are doing well and those little girls are knock outs. Sooo cute!

Nanasi, daughter to Harvalene, Sione's oldest sister, graduated from High School the end of October. She had third highest grades in her class, little smarty!! Makes me wonder what she will end up doing with all of those"smarts".

on left with head held high

Cheese!!! Such a pretty smile.

Nanasi left and her proud momma Harvalene in the middle

Disneyland

After our day at California Adventure we slide on over to Disneyland for the day. I can't even put into words how Disney at Halloween time makes me feel inside, they do such an amazing job.
(as I sing) Loooove it!

We made the mistake of letting LaRee pick out her own ears - what a girlie girl! Look at that smile on her face, makes me think I'd do it again.

Lots of rides makes for one tired girl.

A sign of caution : little shifty eyes
I found it very cute that Tinkerbell and Whats-his-face wondered if LaRee's voice had been lost and that they wished her luck in finding it.

The icing on the cake: The Haunted Mansion

I love the things that make our girl, our girl, like throwing her blanket on her head as she falls asleep. Silly yet priceless to the parents that think the sun rises and sets with this little girl.

California Adventure

This is going to sound corny, but the Disney Parks hold a special place in our families hearts. We have made some real special memories there and this trip was no different. It just keeps getting better with time.

Some of our most memorable things this trip were:

• The Pixar Play Parade - they have got it going on, too cool!
• Bumper Cars - LaRee was having a, "I want to do it myself" moment, so the whole ride was with the wheel turned all the way to the right as we went around and round in circles.
• Mommy loves the caterpillar train ride because of all the over sized food (so sad) and the smell of animal crackers that wafts through the air.
• LaRee had been chatting about Snow White for forever and we saw her and she posed for a picture with us.
  
• LaRee remembered a few things from the last time we went (a year ago). Amazing!

Ya gotta love and mom and dad that are willing to look like a couple of goofs for their kiddo.

Note how happy LaRee is and how over it I was.

My two loves...awwww!

If your dad has to hold you up from falling over, you have gotten your moneys worth on that ride.