USAF Christmas Concert

This past Saturday, we went to Omaha and met up with Jim's folks and his sister Mary's family... we went to lunch together at Old Chicago in the Old Market, then we walked over to the Holland Performing Arts Center. There, we attended the United States Air Force Heartland of America Band's Christmas Concert. This was Jim's parents' fourth year attending, our third year, and Mary's family's second year. It is an AMAZING event!!! This was the USAF's 20th year hosting the event with the Omaha World Herald. There is this huge symphony orchestra, along with several vocalists. They're all members of the Air Force. They perform many instrumental tunes, several vocal songs, and this year, they did a few numbers from The Nutcracker--they even had some members of the Creighton Dance Company perfroming ballet. The girls were enthralled--as was their Mommy! As in years past, just after Intermission, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived as a 'surprise'. Santa sauntered down the main aisles where we were seated, greeting children in various seats. Josie scooched out towards the end so she could have Santa shake her hand... but instead of just doing that, he pulled her out into the aisle with him and they danced for a bit. She was excited to do that, but ready to come back and be by Mommy and Daddy! The MC of the event asked Santa and Mrs. Claus to come up on stage and read a story to the children. This year's story was "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", and it was punctuated by appearances of The Grinch, as well as one of the Air Force Vocalists singing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch". The best part, though, was that they asked children to come up on stage (as they have in years past) to gather around the Clauses as the story was read. Lindsay, Josie, and our niece, Sara, went up on stage, along with about 20 other children. Santa promptly grabbed Josie's hand and asked her to sit upon his lap. She had done this last year, too, but we'd forgotten our camera. Luckily, we remembered it this time! I think Josie's feeling like quite the superstar now, having been singled out by Santa two years in a row! The music was entertaining as well as moving. Another great part of the event was when they had a short video "hello" from soldiers deployed all over the world, sending their Christmas Greetings to family members in Nebraska. It's always quite emotional, thinking about these people serving for us not just throughout the year, but during the Holidays while we're safe at home. We love this tradition we've started, and we hope to keep it up for many years to come!