Christmas performances

 First off, we had Miriam's band concert on Monday, December 15. Due to their last concert having standing room only at the BHS Little Theater (seriously ... how has that auditorium not been expanded?!), they scheduled this concert at the Hillcrest Performing Arts Center. Miriam played with the jazz band (vibes and auxiliary percussion), percussion ensemble and both concert and symphonic bands.

Miriam on the vibes. She had a couple-measure solo on the glockenspiel for "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

With the slappy guy. I'm sure he's got a name.

Talking to grandparents after the concert.

Then on Wednesday, December 17, Miriam traveled with the bands to three different assisted living facilities to perform for the residents. I tagged along as a bus chaperone (but didn't even get assigned to the same bus as Miriam) and shot pictures. I saw two childhood friends' parents at different facilities, which is a little eye-opening because in the past it's been my peers' grandparents who have been in such places. 

Miriam playing bongos.

And the tambourine.

And on Thursday, December 18, Miriam and the rest of the jazz band performed at the Church's Giving Machines in the Grand Teton Mall. It was a busy week of performing for this kid.

Playing vibes with jazz band in the mall.

Rebekah and Nathan had traveled from Delaware to Utah and then Utah to Idaho to spend time with us but didn't arrive until Christmas Eve. They were interested in performing at Lincoln Court, so I called very early on to see if we could come on Christmas Day. They apparently only serve breakfast and lunch on Christmas, so we came during their lunchtime (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.).

At first I was discouraged at how few people there were to listen to us. It seemed like many of the residents were leaving to spend the day with families. But my attitude quickly came around when I realized that anyone who was staying there, even if they were few in number, ought to be able to enjoy some Christmas cheer in musical form. By the end of our time there, however, the dining room filled up pretty well. 

We ended up with more material than we could squeeze in during the two hours and had to cut out a few of our songs. That's a great problem to have.

Rebekah playing Miriam's electric drum set.

Andrea playing piano while Ana sings.

Rebekah on trombone; Nathan on piano.

Seth singing and playing.

Miriam on drums; Ana on ukulele and singing.

Miriam on cajon, Ana on uke, and Seth singing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." He really leaned into it and had fun.

Winnie on piano.

Ana singing while Nathan plays. We're really spoiled to have Nathan a part of the family. There were a few songs Ana was interested in singing, but I hadn't practiced them at all. Nathan took a quick look at them and said, "Yeah, I can play that."

Andrea and Seth singing and playing uke/guitar.

Winnie and Miriam playing a piano duet. They totally picked out and practiced these pieces on their own without my encouragement or instruction.

Group photo outside the facility after our performances. Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis came partway through to listen to us and kindly took this picture.

Even though it was after Christmas, I'm still counting our family's Giving Machine performances in this post. Seth, Rebekah and Nathan, and Ana all had the opportunity to perform at the Giving Machines at the Grand Teton Mall.

This was the first time the Giving Machines came to southeast Idaho, so this was kind of a big deal. Our family had visited the machines in Salt Lake a few years back, so we were familiar with this form of donation. Seth and I had the opportunity to learn much more about the machines because we were called to serve on a stake committee that organized a shift at the machines.

And how did we receive this assignment? My parents were the head of the Idaho Falls East Stake Giving Machine Steering Committee. (Try saying that five times fast.) So naturally they asked if they could have us work with them. Our stake's shift was on December 31, so in the time leading up to that day, Seth and I attended meetings, educated the youth and adults in the stake regarding the machines, contacted individuals in the stake who expressed interest in making treats or entertaining, and designed announcements and lanyards.

The day of our shift, Seth and I spent eight hours at the mall (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Seth was in charge of the entertainment, so he ran the sound board and mics and helped those who had signed up to sing/play. I stuck around to help him and my parents in whatever way I could. I also ran to Subway to get us (Seth, my parents and me) lunch and took the kids to get Jamba Juice after their performances. It was a full day, but it was also very rewarding.

Seth performing in the morning. Up until the week of our shift, we thought the Giving Machines (and therefore the entertainment) wouldn't be opening up until 11 a.m. Then we learned that the head honchos of the Idaho Falls Giving Machines actually wanted to open up the machines at 10 when the mall opened and not at 11 when the stores opened. That left a whole hour of unscheduled entertainment, so Seth magnanimously filled it with his guitar and vocals.

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Rebekah playing trombone.

Nathan accompanying her on piano. The two played one Christmas song and then switched to some jazz standards. Even though the Giving Machines are purposely set up around Christmas, we got permission to play non-Christmas music during our shift since the holiday had already passed.

Ana singing and playing the uke. She mostly played Beatles songs.

Ana playing/singing while the family listens.