Lantern Festival

We were able to cross one more thing off of our summer wish list last night when we went to see the Lantern Festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens with our good friends.  We knew it would be a late night for the girls (given we didn't even head to the gardens until after their usual bedtime start), but it was such a unique cultural experience (for them and US) that we just couldn't pass it up (and it's only going to be on display for a couple more weeks...).  Artists came from China to create 26 magical lighted scenes, most made from silk and steel (though one was made from 40,000 pieces of actual china dishes and steel and one was made from small glass bottles filled with colored water!), to showcase Chinese culture in a way that is rarely done outside of China.  It is billed as "art by day and magic by night" and it certainly lived up to it's name.  The girls had a magnificent time, not only seeing all of the lanterns, but also playing with each other and experiencing life after dark :).  What a great way to spend an evening!

 excited to see a sand drawing show -- it was really neat to watch, unfortunately my camera doesn't do the picture justice...but the temple below was drawn on a light box in sand

 sharing a slow dance -- after which Millie said, "I think we're married now"

 playing around a random tree at night was just as much fun for the girls as seeing the lanterns!