Thoughts on Las Vegas

As time goes by, we adjust to things in Las Vegas.  I am still getting used to the weather.  It is October 11th and the daily temperatures remain in the high 80's.  As I was going through the kids clothing boxes to make sure they have a few pants for when we go to Utah next weekend, I discovered cute long sleeved Halloween shirts.  The kids wore them to school on Friday even though it was 88 degrees.  Halloween is my favorite holiday and even though I am all decorated inside the house and out, it feels so different at 90 degrees.  I miss the crisp fall scents and the smell of food canning in the house.  I am not sure how to can here as I do not understand the seasons of growth.  I am going to make this a goal for next.  This year is all about getting settled and finding our place.

I like to ask local people why they enjoy living here.  Today I attended a Kappa Kappa Gamma Founder's Day tea with the Southern Nevada Alumni Association.  I really enjoyed talking to the women who have raised their kids here.  One woman has a beautiful garden and grows lettuce and spinach year round.  I will have to learn from her.  She also felt when she was raising her kids that the Las Vegas Strip was a great cultural experience for them.  They could visit a pyramid (the Luxor), explore an artistic conservatory (the Belagio), float in a gondola (the Venetian), and watch a volcano erupt (the Mirage).  I have to admit that I have never thought of the Strip as a family cultural experience.

"Staycation" at the Mirage where the kids saw the white tigers, dolphins, and volcano.  They did love it!

Perhaps more profound was the conversation that I had with a woman in one of my Zumba classes at the YMCA. She is LDS and has lived in Las Vegas her whole life.  When I asked her why she liked it here, she said, "I have the strip 20 min from my home in one direction, and the temple 20 min in the other. I get to decide what side I am on."  This gave me the chills.  I like the idea that I have the power to choose which way I point my gaze.  "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." -Joshua 24:15.

Las Vegas Temple

Family Vacation

We just got back from our vacation to Southern California.  It is nice being only four hours away!  My mom and brother met us from SLC.  Las Vegas is a good half way point.  We spent our first day at Sea World where all military families get in for free.  They had all the military members stand to be recognized at the beginning of the Shamu show.

We also enjoyed the Mormon Battalion visitor center which is just five minutes from Sea World in Old Town San Diego. It is a great interactive visitor center and is very educational about the history of the battalion.  I think it is a good missionary tool for the area.

Bear is dressed in Battalion gear with the help of the sister missionary.

We did spend one day at Knott's Berry Farm.  We are really just Disney fans though.

Josh is still practicing, even at Knott's!

We purchased our entire trip through our ITT office on base.  It is nice to be able to take advantage of some discounts due to Josh's military service.  I dressed Pants in Princess costumes every day.  Bear feels a little too big for that now and that makes me sad.  She was excited to dress as Elsa from Frozen though.  It was perfect to have Pants was Anna.  We had a great time at the happiest place on earth!

Meeting Red in Radiator Springs- California Adventure

Yes, we waited to see Captain America!!  He was so great with the kids- telling Bear (dressed as Elsa from Frozen) that he was afraid of her because he does not like ice.  Then he told Pants (dressed as Anna) that they had a lot in common since they had both been frozen and unfrozen.  Notice me and Bub have a coordinating shirt on.

Meeting the Frozen characters.  Notice to matching costumes.

My favorite- THOR!  Yes, he noticed my shirt.  I should have brought my hammer shirt to change into in the bathroom.  

Halloween Party costumes- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Immersion into the Nellis community

When Josh received his orders to report to the Nellis AF Base, we made the conscious decision that we would live on base.  We felt that since we were not raised in military families we needed to learn as quickly as we could about the culture of the military.  What better way to learn the terms and access the benefits then jumping right into the base community?  Truthfully, most of the time I do not notice much of a difference now that we are in our permanent base housing. I am just a mom on the street taking the kids to school like the other moms.  I feel like it is a mini town sometimes. There are times when I really do notice though, like in my correspondence with the Warrior Fitness Center.  This is one way that I have found to connect myself to the community.  I am starting to recognize some of the people that come to my classes and I see them at the Commissary or at the school.  It helps me to feel that I have a place here.  I have also joined the Nellis Area Spouses Club.  This club is open to any military affiliated person in the area, so retired, active duty, reserve, national guard, etc.  There is a lot of military around. I am glad that this group is not specific to Officer's Spouses only. One thing that I will be doing is volunteering time once a month in the Thrift Store.  The Thrift Store sells donated clothing and housewares and all of the profits go back into the military community.  They fund scholarships for military family members as well as give to local area charities.

It is important for Josh to be involved in many different aspects of military life as well. At the end of every year he is given a Officer Performance Review (OPR). This review is an evaluation of his work over the last year and is used when he applies for higher rank, different positions and opportunities within the Air Force. The evaluation looks at his professional accomplishments (leading an element, money saved or money earned, number of people he help return to service, etc.). The OPR will also look at his contributions to the Air Force community outside his professional duties (services, activities, volunteering). He takes all his activities and writes bullet statements or "bullets". These are reviewed by his rater and commanders and then submitted to the Air Force. These are kept in his file and follow him throughout his career.  Josh has been chosen to lead the Family Advocacy Program (F.A.P.) at Nellis. F.A.P. is the program that provides services to family members that have issues with domestic violence, child abuse, neglect, or maltreatment. His element works to prevent first and treat second. Josh has exposure to all levels of Air Force leadership and this bring a great deal of exposure and pressure. His element is comprised of 10 individuals and most are civilians.  Many have some form of military experience or have been working in the program for a few years. Josh is very excited about this opportunity. He will have monthly meetings with the base vice commander so he will become well known in some circles.

The second major project that Josh has undertaken is the planning of the 2015 Air Force Ball. This is the formal event for the base. Josh will observe the 2014 ball committee to learn how they planned and prepared for the event and then starting in October he will take the lead for the coming year. This is a very complex event that he will lead a team of people to implement it. I am excited because I will have an excuse to get all dressed up and go out with Josh in his mess dress (formal military tuxedo.)  

 

First day of school for Bub and Bear.  Pants is in the background and is unhappy at being left behind.

Looking back over a year...

A year ago my family went to the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, Utah.  We visited a war memorial for people who served and died from Iron County.  It is very impressive and includes memorials from the Korean War, World War I, World War II, Vietnam War, and Iraq.  Josh was inspired by these memorials last year and started to write his statement of intent to join the Air Force.  Look where this year has taken us!  He is now an Air Force member and we live on Nellis Air Force Base.  I did not foresee this when we visited the memorial last year.  You just never know where life will take you!

Josh and the kids standing by the Air Force memorial in Cedar City, Utah

New job and Summer Fun Jar

I have been teaching Yoga and Zumba at the Warrior Fitness Center on the Nellis AF Base.  I recently accepted the contract manager position so I create the monthly fitness schedule, hire new teachers, and complete payroll.  On my second day of holding the title, I received a call from a Master Sargent at the Fitness Center.  He was so formal, constantly calling me ma'am, and filling me in on the politics of the base fitness center.  I wanted to tell him, "Wait, I am just a mom who loves to teach yoga!"  Sometimes when I receive emails always, addressed to "ma'am" with lots of acronyms and titles at the end of the email, I feel out of my league.  I do not know how to respond properly.  Can I just say Hello?  I need to create a title for myself:  Master Mother Ashtanga Lieutenant.  (Can I put that on the house under the Captain Turner sign?) I took the job so that I could schedule myself more classes.  I did not realize that I would be in contact with the Air Force on a weekly basis.  I am used to working as an independent contractor so I will have to get used to working with a huge military facility.  This is just another little culture switch for me.

For the last few summers I have created for my kids the "Summer Fun Jar."  Every week we would some activities out of the jar to fill the long summer days.  In Utah we did things like picnics in the park, hike up Hobble Creek Canyon, fish in Salem pond, visit the farm at Thanksgiving Point, play in the Springville Splash pad, etc.  None of these things apply to Las Vegas.  When I attended the Heart Link meeting (orientation for new military spouses), I received a booklet of things to do around Las Vegas.  We have been slowly working through them, trying to find out about our new surroundings.  Truthfully, most of the time we end up at the pool but I do get sunburned no matter how much sunblock I put on, so I need a break every so often.

Today we picked the slip, "M & M World."  Ok, seems easy, it was on the strip but we left at 10:00am, so I thought it would be fine.  Everything is 20 min away from us so we had some travel time.  Then we had to find parking. Why did I think I could find some parking and walk right in?  We found a spot after 10 min in the MGM Grand Hotel parking garage.  Then we took a 20 min walk through the hotel, no joke, I timed it.  By the time we got to the M & M World, the kids were already saying they were hungry.  The M & M World is free but I should have known better.  It is just a big advertisement to buy the product.  After watching the 3D movie and starting to get hungry myself, I bought into the marketing ploy.  Then we had to walk back to the car.  Remember, 20 min through the hotel, 10 min to get back to the freeway, and 20 min home. I threw up my hands and said, "We are going to the Rainforest Cafe!" because it was in the MGM Grand Hotel.  These are the kinds of outings that I have in Las Vegas.  I used to be the mom that would pack our lunch everywhere, find a bit of grass to sit on, and eat.  All in all though, it was really a fun morning.  The kids loved the M & M World and the Rainforest Cafe and I have noted that the "M & M World" slip will be removed from the Summer Fun Jar for further summers.  Once is enough!

Race Car the M & M World. Pants is already clutching her desired purchase

Rainforest Cafe at the MGM Grand.  The whole time I was reminded of the Animal Kingdom in Disneyworld, one of my favorite places!

Family time and Home

We spent some time in Utah with our family over the 24th of July. In Utah, the 24th of July is Pioneer Day, the commemoration of the Mormon Pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley.  We watched the parade on TV and the kids were very aware of the military tributes in the parade.  This is some thing that we have gained with Josh's service.  I do not think the kids would have noticed the Air Force veteran riding in the car or the Air Force anthem being played by the high school band before this life change.  It is fun to hear their cheers of recognition and excitement.  I am glad that they are starting to have some pride in their country and that this has become a bit of their life.  I noticed military words creeping into their vocabulary while we were with family.  Bear said to her cousin, "Have you ever been to the commissary?"  She made it sound like the commissary was some new and strange place and that her cousin should be jealous.  I did not burst her bubble by stating that the commissary is just a grocery store.  Bub was telling his grandparents that he likes Las Vegas better than Springville, Utah because there are jets over our heads every day.  That is hard to top.

When I visit Salt Lake, I feel like a visitor.  We have not lived in Salt Lake since 2004 so it still remains my childhood home but is now the place that we visit family.  We did stop in Springville on our way to Las Vegas to meet some old friends.  This felt strange to me. Springville became home to us quickly.  We lived there for four years and we were very integrated in the community.  It was strange to drive the streets but not head toward Brookside Drive. I feel in between places right now. We are settling into Las Vegas but it is not home yet.  What does the feeling of home mean? I am not entirely sure except that I do not feel it yet. I suppose that the feeling creeps up on a person one day unawares.  I look forward to finding my haunts and places that make Las Vegas special and meaningful to us.

Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City

Fairy Forest in Kamas Utah

Historic Cove Fort in middle Utah.  LDS historical site

Military Day to Day at Nellis

It has been a while since I have written about Josh's military day to day life.  Josh has applied for Squadron Officer School.  He can either complete this through distance learning in which he would have 18 months to complete the course or he could go back to Maxwell AFB and do an eight week residence.  He would need to complete this course before he would be eligible to advance to Major.  He would like to go back to Maxwell and take me with him for the eight weeks. Anyone want to volunteer to watch our kids? Each rank in the air force has an educational piece associated with it and this is the education for Captains.

I asked Josh about his day to day life in his job.  He wears his ABU's daily and he does not have the strict protocol and ceremony like he did at COT.  He did have a formal ceremony today though.  A new colonel arrived as the Squadron Commander so they all met at 7:00am at attention. The change of command ceremony dates back to the Prussian Military. The Squadron flag was given from the exiting commander to the new commander in front of all the troops so that they would see the change in command.  Josh said that there is more ceremony on the operational side of the Air Force because they are constantly war ready.  The medical squadrons have a different focus.  They support in time of war.  These kinds of things are interesting to me because they do not compare to our past experiences in the civilian work force.  When a new boss arrives to the workplace, you get an email and a board meeting.  Some of these new experiences we are having still surprise me.

Our discussion of ceremony at dinner prompted our kids to practice their salutes.  Bear has hers down pretty well.  Bub is not quite stiff enough and Pants is determined that the salute comes from the top of the head.  There is no convincing a three year old.

I actually really like the names on all the houses on base.  Then I can find the house I am looking for.