Chinese New Year: take 1

So cool that we got to spend tonight celebrating our first Chinese New Year with our Chinese friends!  The food was so good, so different from what we usually eat, and of course very authentic for the holiday. The kids love each other and had a great time playing and talking. 

And is grown ups had fun making dinner (I got to help make dumplings!), eating, and talking. I don't understand any Chinese words except Mom, Dad, sister, brother, and thank you...but I picked up one more to add to my Mamdarin arsenal--"we".  Impressive I know. But anyway, our friends are sweet to translate back and forth when more understanding is needed and we talked a lot about our upcoming trip and what to expect on our first time in the country. Sadly Matt had to go to work early and missed most of the festivities, but we hope to do it again next year with Allie! Great cultural experience and our friends even gave all the kids traditional red envelopes with half dollars. So thankful for these friendships!