Oh Tannenbaum

Tonight was the annual Vilseck Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.  I had intended to walk with the girls to the parking lot at the commissary so we could see the program and watch the lights go on, but unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control we ended up racing around like crazy people at the last minute as I shuffled them into the car and we slid sped toward the parking lot praying there would be a place to park the car. 

We should have taken our time.

Last year's tree lighting was P.A.C.K.E.D.  This year - meh...not so much.  Last year the ceremonial part took F.O.R.E.V.E.R.  This year - meh...about 10 minutes.  Last year was a 30 minute wait for St. Niklaus in a horrific L.I.N.E.  This year - meh...in and out after about 5 minutes.

And we had a great time.

We got pretzels to munch on and drank some nice hot wassail...

...sang and danced to some Christmas carols...

...listened to some Army guys and the Mayor of Vilseck speak and then watched the tree light up. 

And last, but not least...a trip to St. Niklaus.  We didn't even attempt to put Bella on his lap.  She grabbed the goodie bag and R.A.N.