Decorating for Hallowen

Halloween Ghosts, or as Wren calle them, ghosteses.

FCC Mid Autumn Festival Celebration

We celebrated the Mid Autumn Festival with our FCC Group (Families with Children from China) on Saturday night. Wren loved being with all the big girls and getting right in the middle of everything.

First Camping Trip

Monte Sano State Park
Huntsville, AL

Setting up camp


Goofball


We did it!


Wren and Daddy


Roasting marshmallows


So this is a smore...


I'm not sure I like it.

Yard Art

We love yard art. Luckily for the neighbors, we only have three pieces.
We added a new piece a couple of weeks ago when we were at the
Monte Sano Art Show.


We got Ollie the Ostrich in the Spring at Panoply. We got the flower from the same artist at Panoply in 2002. The flower even traveled to Italy with us and lived in our garden there!


Wren with the stars and moon



I became interested in these kinds of things way back in 1998/1999 when Jason and I were living in Colorado Springs. One weekend day when we were driving around and exploring the area, we came across a home with a fantastical sculpture garden. It was amazing! Come to find out, it was the work of artist Starr Kempf (died 1995) and had been displayed at his home for many years. Apparently, there was much controversy surround the sculpture garden and I'm not sure if any of the art is still there.



Obviously we would never have (nor could we afford) things of this size on our property, but isn't it neat?!

Monte Sano Art Show

We enjoyed ourselves at the 10th Annual Monte Sano Art Show. Unfortunately, we mostly have pictures of the playground. If you live in the Huntsville area and didn't make it this year, then I encourage you to check it out next year. It's great!

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Playing at Pump It Up with Daddy

Pumpkin Head

The Things Kids Say

I wanted to write this one down before I forget it.

One of the funny things Wren says now is about spelling...or as she says, smelling. For example, we are trying to teach her spell her name and so we say, "W-R-E-N spells Wren." And she'll say, "W-R-E-N smells Wrens!" all exuberant like. She keeps us laughing.

Mid-Autumn Festival

On Monday, we had our own little family celebration of the mid-autumn festival. We made paper lanterns and ate a Chinese dinner underneath them on our front porch. We finished off the evening with a little full moon gazing and sugar cookies shaped like moons.

The following description of the Mid-Autumn Festival was taken from the webpage of the Chinese Cultural Center of San Francisco.

Celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Also known as the "Full Moon Festival," the Mid-Autumn festival falls on the fifteen day of the eighth lunar month. At this time, the moon's orbit is at its lowest angle to the horizon, making the moon appear brighter and larger than any other time of the year. In the Western tradition, it is also called the Hunter's Moon or Harvest Moon. According to the lunar calendar, it is also the exact middle of autumn (which begins in the seventh month and ends in the ninth).

To the Chinese, this festival is similar to the American Thanksgiving holiday, celebrating a bountiful harvest. Compared to many Chinese festivals that are inundated with vibrant colors and sounds, the Mid-Autumn festival remains more subdued. Traditionally celebrated outdoors under the moonlight, people eat moon cakes and gaze at the moon. In modern times, barbecues with families and friends are also common.

Legendary Origins
Like most Chinese holidays, the mid-autumn festival is rich in oral history and legend. According to stories, Hou Yi was a tyrannical ruler who won the elixir of immortality by shooting 9 suns out of the sky with his bow. But his wife, knowing that the people's lives would remain miserable for all eternity if Hou Yi lived forever, drank the potion. The fluids made her lighter, and she floated up into the moon. Even today, Chinese like to think of the moon as home of Chang E.

A Historical Anecdote
The Mongol Hordes of Ghengis Khan subjugated the Chinese, and established the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th Century. However, many Chinese resented the fact that they were ruled by a foreign regime. In the 14th Century, Liu Bouwen helped plot the overthrow of the Yuan Dynasty by organizing resistance. Secret messages were passed along in mooncakes.

Mooncakes
The ubiquitous fare at any Chinese celebration of the Full Moon festival, mooncakes are a flaked pastry stuffed with a wide variety of fillings. Egg Yolk, lotus seed paste, red bean paste, and coconut are common, but walnuts, dates, and other fillings can be found as well. Most have characters for longevity or harmony inscribed on the top. Special cakes can reach almost one foot in diameter.

School Picture Day

Pre Picture Day picture. I know, it's redundant!





Where did my baby go? She looks like a little girl now!

Last Pool Day

Sissy and Pappy are closing the pool for the season. Here are some pictures of the last swim.


Goodbye for another year!


Wren and Ryan


Sammy likes to keep an eye on everyone!


Ryan and Wren

Say Cheese!

You might wonder why Wren is taking a picture of this plant. Well, she's acutally taking a picture of this...




...our resident writing spider. He's been living around our front porch area for the last few days. He's pretty, don't you think?

Hah Hah Hah!

Tiny Dancer