Following our afternoon of baking, we went to a special place in the hills where many hot air balloons ("Hot Balloons" as they are called by the Butterfly!) were lighting up in the beautiful, clear night sky. This was such a special way to begin our celebration of the Lantern Festival... watching and enjoying some VERY LARGE, hot air lanterns! We stayed there in the field for over an hour enjoying the the visual symphony as the balloons synchronized their lights with each other. Simply beautiful!
The following evening, the girls dressed up in their favorite Chinese outfits, we all grabbed our homemade lanterns (something we created last year for the festival), and took to the streets of our neighborhood. We visited some of our good friends in the area, offering them some of the delicious cookies the Bug and I made the day before, told them we were thankful for their special friendship, and wished them a wonderful Autumn. It was so special for us to share this Chinese holiday with our friends, who loved our visit and were inspired by our enthusiasm for continuing this tradition.
Following our walk around the neighborhood, we settled in back home and reminisced about all the reasons we are thankful to be a family. It was a very special evening for all of us. One that we all look forward to celebrating again next year.
~~Aloha!
