Autumn Moon Festival

Chang E and the Jade Rabbit. Chinese folk lore states that both of these characters live on the moon.

Today the girls and I celebrated Autumn Moon Festival. In years past we haven't done much more than read the story associated with the celebration, choke down a mooncake and bow to the moon. The girls do always send a message to their birthparents on this day. It is a day for celebrating family and loved ones and being together. This is typical of ALL Chinese celebrations.

This year we were invited to join some friends on Fort Lauderdale Beach just before the sunset. We all took our own dinner and ate it picnic style. The kidlets all got to make s'mores run and around and play in the ocean as we waited for the brightest moon of the year to make it's appearance. Everyone had so much fun, even the moon. It had so much it even played hide and seek and refused to come out!

We finally saw it as we were driving home and it was absolutely smashing. In the interest of the environment the kids didn't attach wishes to helium balloons or lanterns this year and set them free to get carried to the moon instead they all wrote their wishes on a piece of paper and they were all stuffed into a bottle. The bottle was then launched into the sea.

building tiny sand castels

I just happened to take this at the moment that Lily was bitten by something...nice face huh?

S'mores girl.......minus the chocolate.

Look at all this beatiousness. I think I made up another word.

David swimming out to sea to launch all the wishes of the little ones. 

I have no idea what Lily wrote, it was a message to her birth parents, she told me to read it but I didn't. Rosie on the other hand, wrote, I wish I had a dog. I have one child who is an old soul and one who is just as shallow as all can be. It would be dull if they were the same. The girls agreed that s'mores beat mooncakes any day of the year!