Norway's King's Guard

What a treat we had today. We have several children at our school that are either children of ambassadors or are here from other countries for a year or two due to their parent's job. Well, two Norwegian families(one in my class), were able to pull strings and get Norway's King's Guard, who is touring VA and DC, to come visit.

They were amazing. It's hard to explain how good they were because you had to see the performance to understand. However, being a band dork to the core, I know the synchronized moves they performed were VERY difficult. Click here if you want to read up a bit about the King's Guard.

The only shocking moment was when they fired their rifles in the air. Supposedly they were told by the U.S. big wigs that they weren't allowed to do that, especially for our elementary kids.

Oh well, no harm no foul right? Not so much for my four special education kids who immediately hit the ground covering their ears and wanting to go in ASAP! Luckily they were reassured quickly and stayed out for the rest of the performance.

The United States Army Band also performed. They did an amazing job as well. We joked that the Brittish were coming when we saw them, but in all seriousness it was such an honor to have them perform for us.

The coolest thing of all was that the King's Guard allowed the 5th and 6th grade band out on the field with them while they performed the Norwegian Anthem. They then joined our band in playing our National Anthem.
Finally at the end, they were brave nice enough to allow our kids to attack ask questions. I wondered how it was going to work being that they were from Norway, but it turns out they all speak English very well.

Although muddy and a little tired, my kids could not stop talking about their interactions with Norway's King's Guard. How often does someone get an opportunity like that?!