~ THE CNY PARADE IN FLUSHING ~

We drove into Flushing, Queens on Saturday to see the Chinese New Year parade with our friends and neighbors - Paige's parents and big brother ~ however, we never got to see it! It was over an hour drive and the traffic in Flushing was horrible...we drove around and around and around looking for a parking garage, a parking space; but there were none! We finally found a spot quiet a few blocks away, but by the time we got to the parade route - we were told by two nice policemen that the parade had ended! Oh no! We were told we could catch the fireworks and quickly walked down the block and around the corner. We did catch the very end of the fireworks and the dragon dance:

(I am having trouble with my new - adorable purple laptop :) - so I could not rearrange the photos in this post! You'll get the idea though):

Lisa and I -

Lisa had me try a bubble tea; which is very popular in Taiwan (where Paige was born). I got a coconut bubble tea and she got a taro bubble tea. Mine was delicious and tasted just like a sweet, sweet tea with lots of milk, ummm except this had tapioca beads on the bottom. I enjoyed the tea; however slurping those beads through the straw and chewing them was less than desirable to me. The tapioca beads have a gummy bear consistancy and freaked me out a bit!

This photo is of the "Dumpling Stall" -

I had printed out a sheet of good places to eat in Flushing and this one sounded great; however, we should have read into the "Stall" part and realized it was just that a STALL, a tiny little, walk up dumpling shack! We turned around and had to walk all the way back the opposite way in search of a place to have lunch...
The Dragon Dance!

Mia on daddy's shoulders

The firecrackers were loud!

Me and My Girl!

We went inside the Queens Mall because we heard there would be some cultural events going on (not so much, just a few tables with solicitations and one selling books), but the dragons came inside and graciously posed with the kids ~ it made our day!

lanterns!

Silly brother: Coleton & Anthony

After our "Dumpling Stall" fiasco, we found a great place to have lunch! It worked out so well and we got a big table in the back of the restaurant. It was very authentic and the waiter did not speak much English and had to get another waiter to help us out.

Mia had me pour her apple juice into the tea cup :)

John, Lisa, Paige, Coleton, Anthony, Mia, Me, Eddie and Ed
We had such a great lunch and SO much fun together!

Mia & Paigey

Auntie Lisa reading Mia her new Chinese/English book

What started out as a frustrating, traffic-filled morning ended up being a wonderful day we will remember forever. We will be celebrating Chinese New Year this coming Saturday - where all four families will each make a dish - we are so looking forward to seeing everyone!