Move to Base Housing

We finally were able to move to our base housing on Nellis Air Force Base on June 26th.  We were about two and half months in the TLF without most of our stuff and any internet connection.  I was ready to move.  I guess that it is too much to expect for the move to go smoothly.  The movers were not allowed on base until 1:00pm.  They sat at the guard post for four hours while their entire truck was searched. I am  not sure where the problem was because I am sure lots of people move with similar amounts of household items.  Once they did arrive at the house things went pretty quickly.  Then we started to find all the broken items.  The driver and movers on the Springville side did a horrible job.  Here is the list:  Our bed is completely broken as it is an air bed and the tubing was snapped, the parts box was missing of any parts so we could not set up Bear and Bub's beds, the kids homework table arrived in pieces, our dresser has two chunks of wood missing from the base, a floor lamp base was broken, my curio case was cracked in half on the base, the toy kitchen had water damage and the base was crunched, there was a chunk taken out of the kids dresser, the computer desk arrived in pieces, and couch had a ripped seam, and the piano paint was scratched on the side.  The movers kept complaining about the way the items were labeled and and listed on the paperwork.  They did not leave until 6:30 and we had a mess and only Pants had a good working bed. Thank goodness for good neighbors who arrived with dinner and an air mattress.  Since we have been unpacking, I have noticed the lack of our broom and mop.  I had a breakdown in Lowe's over that because they did not have the step on it dust pan that is now lost to me.  Thank goodness for Amazon.com. So, we are in, we have broken stuff, but we are determined to make this home!

Nellis Base Housing

In Search of Yoga- Found!

My quest for Yoga in Las Vegas is mostly concluded.  I have found this magical place called the YMCA.  At the YMCA I can attend my own fitness classes while Pants goes to Kids Gym, Bub goes to a Y-Kids class called CATCH, and Bear can attend class with me or go to CATCH with Bub.  It is just wonderful.  I am not sure why Utah County is not filled with YMCA’s.  They are a Mormon mother’s dream come true!  Perhaps that is why they are not in Utah County, it would be busting at the seams with all the Mormon kids.  I do miss going to yoga class in a yoga specific studio but for now, while my time is parceled out by children, this is working.  Bear and I attended Aqua Zumba together today.  I love having her as my little pal.  We both wore our hair in high buns (twinners!) so that it would not get wet.  Well, my hair stayed dry.  Another benefit that we are enjoying is the military family discount, 50% off every month.  I do value exercise and I want my children to grow up having positive memories of being active.  I want it to be our family culture.

I am also finally teaching ashtanga yoga again.  I cannot believe how much I have missed it.  My first class at the Warrior Fitness Center on Base was attended by 17 people. I was very encouraged.  I like listening to the military conversations around the room; spouses talking about their husband’s assignments, discussions of TDY (Temporary Duty Assignment, I have no idea what the Y stands for), and transfers to and from other bases.  There certainly is a culture here that I feel I barely understand.  I am happy that yoga is so popular on the base.  When I was completing my expensive and time consuming training, Josh was losing his job.  He was not being paid as the company did not have any money to pay him.  We were paying money that we did not have for the training and to the babysitter.  Josh was so supportive of me, saying that I should be able to teach anywhere we were.  That seems to be true and I am grateful for his foresight and his support.  

Las Vegas Temple

Bub's Kindergarten graduation. He had glitter on his head for days!

Lagoon day in Utah

14 things we have learned about Las Vegas and the Air Force in 2014

1. Everyone has a tattoo here so Josh finally fits in!

2. White Oleander is everywhere on the base, surrounding the walls, the post office, and beautifying the homes.  It is a poisonous plant that causes allergies and skin irritations.  I think this is a threat to national security!

3. Need to read a newspaper?  Just look outside.  There is bound to be one blowing around along with tissues, napkins, paper, etc.

4. The favorite color in Las Vegas is Salmon. The houses are salmon, the rocks are salmon, the rock walls around the housing is salmon, and even inside the temple is, you guessed it, salmon.

5. The drivers are really courteous here...until you leave the base. Watch out for red light runners!

6. Goodbye Utah County mommy, hello Gangsta motha!  I have tinted my windows really dark.  It is totally HOT!

7. Even a three year old can pull rank.  Pants has been know to yell, "That's Captain Turner" to the gate guards as they salute him.

8. The Air Force likes to tell us how to do everything, even when to wake up.  6:30 am revelry every morning.

9. What should Josh wear to work, Air Battle Uniform 1 or Air Battle Uniform 2?  They look very much the same...hmmm

10. We must be in sin city because it is hotter than *^&#!$*

11. We have perfected the art of hurry up and wait.

12. We are starting to speak acronym, our second language!

13. If Josh gets a sunburn, he can be arrested for damaging government property.

14. Josh likes to play two games here in Las Vegas: Spot the Mormon and Spot the Call Girl.

"Tourist" weekend- Mirage Hotel

Heart Link Meeting

I am constantly amazed at the people who will thank me for Josh’s service in the military.  This is a humbling thought to me.  I feel like we entered this job to help ourselves.  We needed a change, we needed to fix our situation.  So, I am humbled when I am reminded by a stranger that he is also helping others serve this nation.  Sometimes it feels that he is not doing much in that he is not flying or attending to the planes that protect our interests.  He is serving the country though because he is looking out for the mental health needs of those that are flying those planes.   This life is still a little surreal to me.

Here is a way that Josh practices for his PT test.  He passed at 94% so he does not have to take it again for a year.  He was really excited.  In a year Pants should be a little bigger too so he better not let up on his training.

I attended the Heart Link meeting on the base today.  The meeting is put on by the Airman Family Readiness Center and is for new spouses to Nellis AFB.  I actually won a prize for being the newest Air Force spouse- 3 months new!   These kind of meetings make me feel excited for this new life that we have entered.  Colonel Perham talked to us about the base and how large and influential it is.  There is usually one wing on a base but Nellis has five.  It is the lower 1/3 of the state of Nevada, at 2.9 million acres of land.  This is bigger than the state of Rhode Island.  The desert climate is very conducive to flying and training as the air is dry and the mornings are clear.  Nellis houses all of the fighter aircraft for the Air Force so there is always an air show here with the pilots flying, training, and practicing war.  This is the biggest complex in the entire Department of Defense.  Nellis contributes 5 billion dollars to the local community here in North Las Vegas. 

The most exciting part of the meeting was that I obtained my first challenge coin.  Challenge coins are a military tradition and most service members collect them as they move from base to base and ranks.  Colonel Perham presented the coin to all of us with a handshake as is tradition.  Now I have to carry it with me always.

Here is a funny little thing we received at the training.  It is amazing how true these things are.  I am already noticing the truths after just three months:

The Ten Commandments of a Military Spouse

1. Thou shalt not write in ink in thy address book or planner.

2. Thou shalt not covet choice assignments.

3. Love thy neighbors from other branches of the service no matter how superior the Air Force may seem.

4. Honor all thy benefits for as long as they all shall live.

5. Be thou kind and gentle to retired, white-haired Commissary, Exchange, and Thrift Store customers, because someday thou too will be a retiree.

6. Thou shalt not threaten to, or kill thy children or spouse when your spouse is TDY.

7. Thou shalt look for the best in every assignment even though the best may refer to “most childhood diseases in one year” or “record snow in one month. 

8. Thou shalt remember all thy friends from all thy assignments when holiday greeting cards, for thou never knowest when thou may wish to spendeth the night with them while enroute to a new duty station.

9. Thou shalt not curse thy spouse when s/he is TDY during moving days, holidays, birthdays, or anniversaries.

10. Thou must never arrive at a new duty station and constantly speaketh about how much better thy last base was.

Just a note on #9:  We have only been in the service for three months but by June, Josh will already have been gone for a moving period (while he was at COT and I was selling our Springville home), three birthdays (Nora’s, Tessa’s and his own), and one holiday (Father’s Day.)  Now he just needs to be assigned a TDY in September and we will miss our Anniversary!

A Church Focused Weekend

Josh and I went to the Las Vegas Temple on Saturday.  It is in North Las Vegas but not our area of North Las Vegas.  We drove past the Walmart that is nick named the “Stab-Mart”, past the tent squatters in an abandoned field, and up onto the hill where there are beautiful adobe style mansions.  It took us 15 min to go into a completely different tax bracket.  Amazing.  We feel that we are lucky being so close to the temple.  It is ironic that the farthest we have ever lived from a temple is when we were in Heber, Utah.  It took 45 min down either canyon to reach the Provo Temple or the Salt Lake Temple.  We were 20 min from the Denver Temple when we lived there and now only 15 min from the Las Vegas Temple.  We had a beautiful experience there.  We are used to serving in the Provo Temple, one of the busiest temples in the world.  So it was refreshing to notice the lack of people and the quiet atmosphere.  Everything seemed a little more laid back.  I do wish we could have been in Utah for the opening of the downtown Provo Temple.  That would have been our temple district.  We just left a little too soon.  

On Sunday Josh and I both received our callings in our ward.  Josh is going to be the Executive Secretary and I am going to be the Primary 1^st Counselor.  This is actually a calling I have never held.  After three times as the Primary President in previous wards, the 1^st Counselor sounds like a relief.  I was being really irreverent when our names were announced for sustaining.  Our membership records were just read in last week and now we both have substantial callings, one week later.  I could not stop giggling and I definitely embarrassed Josh, something that I do frequently and often while in church. 

That evening we had the missionaries over for dinner.  I had forgotten how great it is to have missionaries assigned to one ward.  In Springville, Utah, the missionaries are assigned to a Stake and it is rare that one congregation sees them more than once.  When we lived in Denver we were well acquainted with the missionaries as they lived in our apartment building.  They used to like to visit and I had to send them away many times because Josh would be gone from home studying.  So, I think it has been 10 years since we have had missionaries over for dinner.  They challenged our kids to invite them over for Family Home Evening.  I think that is a great idea but we will probably wait until we move out of TLF (Temporary Living Facility.)  I am starting miss all my stuff that is packed neatly away in storage.  

Not my turn, but his

As I look back on our marriage, I see a lot of times that Josh has supported me.  He spent many hours waiting for me while I had rehearsals for multiple community theater productions, he acted as my third counselor during my three stints as Primary President, and he doubled as Mr. Mom while I did my 200 hour yoga training, and so many more instances.  This is what we promise when we say that we will love and support each other for all eternity.  It is my turn now to support him.  I am convinced that this move has been for him.  Once again on Sunday, it was proven to me that the Lord has some sort of plan for Josh.  He was given the job of Executive Secretary after the Bishop picked him out of the Sacrament Meeting audience on our first week in the new ward.  Inspiration works in mysterious ways.  Every time I feel sorry for myself that I have left behind a calling I loved, teaching yoga and ballet that I loved, friends that I loved, an elementary school that I loved, and a neighborhood and home that I loved, I just look at the man that I love.  I do not say this to prove that I am some sort of saint.  Anyone who knows Josh and me will say that he is the saint.  I just say this to remind myself of my priorities.  I have had plenty of turns to be supported during our 13 years. I am grateful that Josh works so hard to take care of us and that he is now able to have some happiness in his life again.  I will strive to remember this as I am searching all of Las Vegas for Yoga, friends, and meaningful activities to fill my kids’ days.

Josh is my hero, he is my Cap.

How the Word of Wisdom prepares one for Military Service

Josh and I attended the Right Start meeting on base today.  The base offers a nice service of 20 hours of free babysitting from the AF licensed providers within 60 days of arrival.  This is why I was able to attend the meeting too.  The meeting was comprised of briefings about the area surrounding Nellis AFB.  They discussed the weather hazards (we are to expect high winds and possible earthquakes) and the crime. Historically bases are not built in high economic locations and this is true of North Las Vegas.  A police team discussed crimes of assault, robbery, and gang violence.  I do know that I lock the doors of my car when I drive my kids to the library right past the Salvation Army.  We are not in Springville, Utah anymore! 

The commander of the base discussed the five ways that he sees airmen get in trouble and get removed from the Air Force. As he talked I kept thinking that because we understand the Word of Wisdom and are striving to live it, we can avoid four of the five problems:

1. Drugs and alcohol.  The commander stated that the core values of the military are always on display and we need to be vigilant that we stay out of compromising situations.  Personal safety can be effected when impaired. CHECK thanks to the Word of Wisdom.

2. Physical Fitness Test Failures- He stated that if an airman calls himself/herself a warrior, he/she needs to work for it.  An airman should be physically fit, mentally focused, socially well adjusted, and spiritually connected.  Does that sound familiar to any of you men?  CHECK- thanks to the Scouting program values and the Word of Wisdom.

3. Safety mishaps off base- The commander discussed alcohol related fatalities.  While I cannot control the choices of others, at least I know that for us, CHECK- thanks to the Word of Wisdom again. 

4. Failing at our job- CHECK.  Many of the things that we avoid have lasting impacts on our brain functions.  “And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures.” –Doctrine and Covenants 89:19

So, just another thing that we have learned about the base and about the surrounding area.  We are slowly getting adjusted.  It is difficult to me that yoga studios and ballet studios for Bear are 30 min from us.  I am having a hard time finding places to teach yoga and take classes for my own practice.  I have to remind myself that I have only been here two weeks.  Patience is not a quality that come easily to me.  There are some great blessings though in this life we have chosen to live.  We have had dinner with Josh nightly for the past two weeks.  It has probably been six months since we have had consistent dinners together.  We are enjoying seeing more of Josh.

I finally got a replacement USB cord for my camera.  The camera cord is safely packed away in storage.  It was really hard to know what to bring to our temporary housing and the camera cord was overlooked.  Here are a bunch a pictures and from now on, there will be a picture with every blog post. 

Easter morning at our TLF.  We have beautiful trees that make me forget I am in the desert.  Bub is upset because he is in the shade and is cold. I cannot keep him happy.

Eddie Griffin came to the BX.  We love the movie Double Take so we were excited to meet him.

Hoover Dam day trip

Rope swing in our TLF huge backyard

Look at this beautiful backyard!  It does not feel like the desert.  We love this backyard.

Here is the TLF from the front.  It was former Officer quarters before the new housing was built.  We are on a quiet circle with full trees and housekeeping daily.  We put up with 6:30 revelry and no internet connections.  Bub is unhappy again because the sun is in his eyes.  Can't win!