Night of the Floating Lantern

I got a phone call.
*Would you like to join us when we launch a floating lantern?*

Time spent with the neighbor kids is always fun.
...and besides, I had no idea what a floating lantern was.

Although the girls had explained it as something that floats and is on fire.
Okay...

Now
that
sounded
wickedly cool and dangerous?

So I was intrigued by the thought.
And thought...Hey this could be fun if I brought my camera!

And so it began after a gorgeous sunset...she lights the lantern...timed exposure of 4 seconds...

She begins to swish it to fill with air...

I love this shot, it looks so exotic and yet graceful! Tipping the lantern:

She has the lantern tipped so the fire is building up into the lantern...the heat will make it rise into the night air...

She releases it and it begins to rise up glowing orange and red...rising gracefully on the warm sultry air.
There is barely a whisper of a breeze until it gets further up, and then it begins to move as the flames engulf the lantern.


We are reminded that we can make a wish before we lose sight of the lantern.
We all do.
Me, a 5 yr old, a 7 yr old, and my neighbor...the other two are fast asleep in the 3 wheel stroller.

We walk back home in the dark.
The crickets are singing.
My heart is happy.
We stop and make shadow puppets on the gravel road using my flashlight.

The children giggle and my heart soars.

I accidentally hit the shutter on my camera and it takes a long exposure of a child dancing with a flashlight.
For some reason, I feel my day is complete.

Although I turn down a very tempting invite from the girls to have a sleep over in their tent that is in the yard.
PS:
The lantern self consumes and I was guaranteed that the ashes were cold by the time they hit the ground and that they were biodegradable.