Year of the Monkey!

Feb. 8 was the start of Chinese New Year, the Year of Monkey. For the past three years, we've celebrated with a big family dinner. Although we love this tradition, it didn't seem like a good idea this year, with my sister still confined to her home and other family members caring for her. So, we decided to go out for dinner at a local Chinese restaurant that has a Lion Dance. 

First, of course, we had to take some photos of Sarah in her new dress, being both serious...

...and silly.

Before the dinner, we went to a concert of Chinese Melodies presented on traditional instruments at the University of M*ssachusetts. Unfortunately, it was at a different venue than I thought, which resulted in a long walk across campus (in nice weather, thank goodness) and missing half the music. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing in the end, however, since Sarah grew antsy pretty quickly. It was perhaps just the right amount of exposure.

Then, it was on to Ginger Garden. The lions were awesome -- so silly and fun. I love how their ears wiggle and tails wag. Staff handed out red envelopes so we could put money in them and feed them to the lions for good luck in the new year.

Gong Xi Fa Cai from our home to yours!