100 Top Military Wife Blogs

Saturday, October 17, 2015

USO Events- Parent Child Fun

The USO (United Service Organization) plans a lot of fun and free events for military families.  Josh took the girls to a Father Daughter Dance in February.  He wore his mess dress and the girls looked like princesses.  They ate dinner, danced, took pictures, did princess crafts, and had prize drawings.  It was a magical night for the girls and Josh.



Tonight was the scheduled USO "Momster" event, a mother and son Halloween Party.  At the last minute, they changed the venue to accommodate more people.  The event was changed to a Sunday night.  I did not feel comfortable attending the event on the Sabbath and luckily, one of my friends arranged an alternative date for our sons tonight.  We went bowling and to a free lazer light show at Sam's Town here in Las Vegas.  Bub and I had a great time!
Gamora and Starlord, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, Luigi, Mario



Gamora's little Starlord


Friday, October 9, 2015

When a partnership is missing it's partner....

Josh leaves for Master Resiliency Training next week.  Josh and I work really well together to balance our busy lives and the lives of our kids.  When one of is unavailable though, it all falls apart.  This is what a typical school/work week will look like without my amazing partner:

Monday- Pick the kids up from school and take them to ballet (40 min away). I do homework with one and then switch while the other is in ballet.  Who is at home making dinner?  No one.  Dinner will be McDonald's take out so that we can spend the 40 min home productively and I will not have to clean up the kitchen.

Tuesday- Josh usually picks Bear up from cheer leading so that will be my job.  We will drive to Kumon Learning Center (25 min away) and try to do homework in the car while the kids yell back and forth to me from the back seat.  What will dinner be?  Pizza at Costco which is right next to Kumon.  I will have to miss the one yoga class that I get to attend a week (poor me.)

Wednesday- Drive to ballet again straight from school.  Bear will do homework in the car until she gets car sick.  Bub and I will do homework while Bear is in ballet.  I teach on Wednesday nights so the kids will need a babysitter.  Dinner?  TV dinner night possibly while watching a movie, how cliche.

Thursday- Deep breath, Thursday is my busiest day, the day I teach four classes.  Bear will have no ride home from cheer leading as I will be teaching at the YMCA with Bub and Pants in tow.  Luckily, her coach lives on base and we are friends.  I will have to remember to give Bear the garage door opener. Dinner will be Little Caesar's Pizza that I pick up on the way home.  Then it is off to soccer for Bub.  After the game, a babysitter for the kids since I teach again on base.  I will have to hire a babysitter who helps with homework because that will still need to be done.

Friday- Ahh!  I think I will finally be able to cook dinner!  Though, I may be too tired to make anything.  Maybe I should get some extra TV dinners just in case.

I wonder how long I can keep this up?  Come home soon my amazing partner, come home soon!

Pants - Nellis Thunderbug soccer team


Bear- Varsity Cheer for Lomie Heard Desert Hawk Flag Football Team

Bub- LDS church soccer team coached by Josh



Nellis Air Force Ball 2015

September 26th was a big day for Josh, the day of the Nellis Air Force Ball, which he has been planning for a year.  Since he was large and in charge, we knew that he would be unavailable for a bulk of the night so I took my friend and neighbor, Christie Bloom.  Her husband is TDY completing SOS training at Maxwell Air Force Base so it was perfect for us both.  The ball was held at the South Point Casino and airmen were lined up through the casino to lead the way to the ballroom.  That was a nice touch.  We received a challenge coin as we checked in.  That was a nice little gift too.  There was a heritage room filled with displays from the wings and flights on base.  Josh found us (he looked great in his mess dress) and led us to the ballroom so that we could have good seats.  As we waited to begin, I had three people come seek me out because I was Captain Turner’s wife; TSgt Langley who did the decorations, SMSgt Lancaster who was in charge of ticketing, and Colonel York who oversaw the process.  I felt pretty special and little intimidated by the ranks.  They all had good things to say about Josh and the ball. I was really proud to see the year's worth of hard work by Josh and his committee. 


Josh and me
My "date" Christie
The night started with the posting of the colors, the national anthem, introductions of the leadership, and the ceremony of the POW/MIA table.  Colonel Boutwell, the 99th wing commander, thanked Josh by name for the preparation of the ball.  That was fun to hear!  I like the solemness of the military ceremony.  I was impressed looking around and seeing everyone dressed so well and all the uniforms of blue.  I felt privileged to be attending an event that belongs to an exclusive group.  The entertainment was Matt Goss, a world renowned headline singer at Cesar’s Palace.  He had all the flash of a Vegas show.  Then we ate and Josh checked in on us periodically.  The speaker for the evening was Major General Thomas Deal.  His speech went right over my head but I am sure those who deal in warfare were impressed.  Then they brought out the cake and had the oldest and youngest airmen cut it together.  The night concluded with dancing, either with a DJ in the main ballroom, or the Spasmatics, an 80's cover band, in another room.  Josh continued to come and go as he dealt with things.  The huge event cost $144,000 (all raised from sponsors and ticket sales, no tax payer dollars were used for this event) and served 915 people. I know that Christie and I had a great time at the ball! All of the people that spoke with Josh and I said they were having a great time and that it was full of great energy and a lot of fun. I think Josh will be happy with the event as well. This was an amazing event for Josh to lead.  He has learned a great deal and has met some very amazing people.  

Elegant ballroom



Vegas style entertainment
The Spasmatics

Party people!