Happy Chinese New Year!

Today was Chinese New Year and also my brother, Will's, 30th birthday.  Will drove a race car around Talladega with my dad and brother, Gaines.  They had a great time.  From what I hear, Will was very close to beating Dad, but Dad outraced him just a bit.  Happy Birthday, Will!

Amelia and I celebrated Chinese New Year with Sue and Ella.  David and I brought the girls matching Chinese dresses back from China for this special day.  It was the first time both of the girls would celebrate Chinese New Year.  David picked out the sweet pink qipao dresses for them to wear.  We had a lot of fun taking pictures of them at my house before we headed out.  We began our celebration by taking the girls to lunch at Kobe.  This was Ella's first time at a Japanese steak house, and she did great.  The girls really enjoyed watching the show, and Amelia enjoyed eating the fried rice.  They gave her a HUGE plate full of rice, and she did her best to finish the entire thing.  After lunch, we went to the Chinese New Year Festival downtown.  We arrived toward the end, but we were still able to see some of the Asian dance performers.  Amelia was mesmerized and really enjoyed the performances.  It was VERY hard to get two little girls to look at the camera at the same time, but we were able to get a few shots.   For dinner, we met the dads and Poppy and PawPaw at Hunan Cuisine.  The owners are so friendly and love that we celebrate Chinese New Year with them each year.  The food was fabulous, and we managed to bring home some leftovers.  Amelia LOVES to eat and the dumplings, chicken fried rice, and Moo Shoo Pork were favorites.

Enjoy our pictures from our fun day and Gong Xi Fa Cai (Happy New Year in Mandarin).  We hope you have a prosperous year of the snake (my birth year)!

Showing off my new qipao dress from China.

Amelia likes to sit in the sink when she gets ready.  I think it gives her a better view into the mirror.

Brushing our teeth is very important before we go out.

Ella looks so cute in her qipao, too!

Showing off their dresses

Waiting for the show to begin at Kobe

Can you see this HUGE plate of fried rice?

Tired of sitting in the strollers.  Amelia is trying to escape.

Amelia is mesmerized by the dancers.

It is the year of the snake, so I celebrated the my Chinese year.

Amelia was finally able to walk around the auditorium and thought it was great!

Feeding Daddy some fried rice.

Poppy gave Amelia a fortune cookie right before this photo.  Her mouth is still full.

Thanks for the Mardi Gras beads, Holly!  I LOVE THEM!

The Huang Family

Poppy and PawPaw enjoyed the celebration.  Poppy even wore red!

*Phone update:  Unfortunately, Amelia and I ended up having to go to the Apple store for a new phone.  The rice trick may work for some, but it didn't work for me.  They were very nice, but I am out a chunk of change that I really didn't need to spend.  If you need me, you can call me now. :)