Merry Christmas!

I am glad to say I was able to get Christmas cards out, but couldn’t quite get myself together to get a Christmas letter out this year. So, I thought I would utilize this wonderful blog space and send out my Christmas wishes and updates to you this way.

This year has been busy for us, as I’m sure it is for everyone. The most amazing thing is that we are at the same address as we were last Christmas! Wow! We still like living in Las Vegas too! We have all just jumped right into things here….

Claire is almost 8 years old! Her big news this year is getting her hair chopped off. All on her own, she decided she wanted to donate her hair to Locks for Love. It needs to be 10 inches in order to donate, so she patiently waited for the length to come. Well, in November she decided it was time. We went to Josh at Euphoria (I love him) and he did the big deed. It was 11 inches when it was finally cut! Such a BIG difference! Claire wasn’t so sure she liked it for a while, but after EVERYONE told her how cute it looked, she started to come around. ☺ Claire is doing very well in school, math especially. She started in Girl Scouts this year! She really enjoys it and loves earning her badges and patches. Her vest is already filling up. They do lots of fun activities and it’s always very positive. She’s even got me involved – I’m the newest leader for her troop.

Mike is always on the go this year. He’s working for the Department of Energy doing Systems Engineering (computer-work for you non-IT people). It is a good job and he likes the people he works with there. On the weekends, he’s also working at Front Sight, a gun training facility in Pahrump. When he’s not working at Front Sight, he’s volunteering on the Las Vegas Ski Patrol on Mt. Charleston. On weeknights (and some weekends) he volunteers for CAP (Civil Air Patrol). He’s a Captain on Wing Staff (for non-CAP people: he’s on the state level for Civil Air Patrol. They do Search and Rescue, Homeland Security and work with Cadets.) Even though he is very busy, he still finds time to hang out with the girls at home, which we really enjoy. ☺

I’m still teaching fourth grade at Rhodes in the NW. I love my job and the especially the people I work with. Last year was a big challenge (student-wise), but this year is just flying by and going very well. I’m also still playing tennis on a league here. My team is great and I love being able to play with them. We play about three days a week. We aren’t the best in our division, but we have so much fun, and that’s what counts. I finally committed to getting my Master’s degree after many years of just talking about it. I’m going to UNLV to get my degree in Educational Technology. (It has a really long title, but the short version works just as well.) ☺

Although we are always going somewhere, it’s nice to able to visit with friends and family. Please give us a call if you’re in the area! We’d love to get together. Drop us a line and let us know how you’re doing. It’s always good to hear from you!

Have a WONDERFUL Christmas and a VERY happy New Year!

Snow Day!!

We had snow in Las Vegas today!! It snowed from about 8:15am until 3:15pm today! The kids at school were ecstatic. We even went outside and had snow ball fights! The weather man said the last time it snowed like this was in 2003. The funny thing was about a mile in either direction it just rained all day. I guess we were really lucky we got to see the snow. Some of my students had never been in snow before!

Claire really was missing Michigan and New Hampshire as we drove home this afternoon looking at the snow covered bushes and palm trees. After we played in it at home, her hands were freezing (I haven't got the snow clothes out yet) and she thought maybe Vegas wasn't so bad after all. :-) The dog loved it. He ran and ran and together he and Claire had a grand time in the snow (for the whole 15 mintues we were out there!).

Claire's Haircut

Claire decided she was going to donate her hair to Locks for Love, all on her own. Finally, she (well, all of us) were tired of washing, conditioning, and altogether dealing with her hair, so today was the big day! She had 10 inches cut off! Wow! Now, I hardly recognize her; she looks so grown up....

Hiking

Mike and I took advantage of a beautiful Friday we both had off and drove up to Mt. Charleston with our dog, Sam. We found a trail up by the ski resort and started off. We saw a few people at the beginning of the trail but then we were by ourselves. Sam loved it because he could be off-leash and roam free, chasing after chipmunks and birds. We didn't hike too far, but it was still great to be out on trail. We hiked to the snow line, and then decided to turn back. Mike threw a snow ball at me for good-measure. :) Here's a few pictures of our excursion. (Remember, this is only 30 minutes from our house in Las Vegas! Can you believe that!)

Mark's Plane

This is about my brother, Mark...



AL-ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 21, 2008) – An F/A-18 Hornet, (left) flown by Brig. Gen. Randolph Alles, the commanding general of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) and an AV-8B Harrier, (right) flown by Capt. Mark Ferguson, a pilot with Marine Attack Squadron 311, taxi the runway prior to lift off. While participating in a mixed section flight, Alles and Ferguson provided overwatch to ground troops patrolling an al Anbar city. “This is a great way for the CG to come down, fly with us, motivate our Marines and it shows that he is interested in our squadron,” said Lt. Col. John H. Cane, commanding officer of VMA-311.

Our Crazy Dog, Sam

Our dog is slightly obsessive. He hurt his foot about a month ago. Now it is healed completely, but in his crazy mind, he thought it would be easier to go up the stairs backwards! Of course, he didn't even start this until his foot was already healed! Now that we got it on video, we will try to fix his issue. You may notice the scratching at the end...also an obsession with him. (Caesar - the dog whisperer- would need to spend at least a week with us!)

Claire and Fred

My class was given a ball python in June of this year. We have been getting used to Fred (the snake), how to hold him, take care of him, etc. He is about 1 1/2 to 2 feet long now. (He doesn't easily stay straight to measure him.)

Last night, Claire and I went back to school to feed him. Before he ate, we took the opportunity to hold him and snap a few photos. Claire got a Reptile Book recently which lists all of the various reptiles, and how easy they are to care for. The ball python page states that ball pythons should be cared for by experts. At this point she turns to me and says, "But Mom, you're not an expert!" I know!! Like I said, we are still learning. :) As a funny side note, a day after we got Fred in our classroom, we were also given another class pet: a hamster! Her name is Cupcake. Fred and Cupcake have to be kept on opposite sides of the room, just in case. :) We tend to like Fred much better than Cupcake; Cupcake keeps biting us!

(To see pictures of Fred eating, check out Claire's blog: cmizner.blogspot.com)

Here is Claire holding Fred. When Claire was taking some of the photos, she didn't want me in them, so that is my hand in the one. She would take a picture of him, then one of my face. :)

New Site

I have just heard about a new site Geni.com, a genealogy site where you and your family can build your family tree online. It is very easy to use and is editable by family members (if so allowed) so that your family's information is preserved and maintained. I've sent invites to most of the family, so please update your info! You can even add pictures, if so inclined. If you want, it can send birthday reminders for those in your tree, too. You should check it out and get started on your own tree! :)

Steve's wakeboarding

Check out my brother, Steve, wakeboard at Buena Vista Lake in California. The last 10 seconds are the best!

Why Bother, It's not on the Test :)

Las Vegas Rules

These are so funny because they are so true....

Las Vegas Rules:

1. First, it's pronounced LOSS-VAYGUS. It doesn't matter how they say it in other places. And it's NEV A DA not NEV AH DA. . .

2. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Las Vegas has its own set of traffic rules. There's no book about them. All you can do is get in your car and hope you survive to learn them.

3. All directions start with, "Go down 95...'cause you don't want to get on 15."

4. Las Vegas Blvd, Charleston Blvd, and Torrey Pines have no beginning and no end.

5. It's impossible to go around a block and wind up on the same street that you started on. The Chamber of Commerce calls this a "scenic drive."

6. The 8:00 am rush hour is from 4:30am to 11:30am. The 5:00pm rush hour is from 11:30am to 10:15pm. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning and ends sometime late Sunday night.

7. If you actually stop at a yellow light, then you cannot be from Las Vegas . You may only apply your brakes when the end of a yellow light and the beginning of the red light create a "pumpkin-orange" hue.

8. For the most part, you can do anything you want, as long as it isn't in a school zone.

9. Just remember that Camino Al Norte is Martin Luther King Boulevard, Boulder Highway is Fremont Street, Eastern Ave is 25th Street or Civic Center Drive, Desert Inn is Lamb Blvd., Spring Mountain/Sands/Twain are all the same street. And don't forget that Ft. Apache turns into Rampart and then turns into Durango . Don't try to figure it out. Just accept it. If you question the intelligence behind this naming convention, people will simply tilt their heads to the right and stare at you.

10. Henderson is the only place in the world where THREE "parallel" streets intersect at one traffic light. That would be the 4-way of Green Valley Parkway/Eastern Avenue/Maryland Parkway . For laughs ask your middle school Geometry teacher to try to explain it.

11. Rainbow Blvd. Has THREE exits from the 95, this just makes giving driving directions to newbies more entertaining. There is also a Lake Mead "Drive" and a Lake Mead "Boulevard" and both run east/west but are 30 miles apart. You have to be specific when you say "the corner of Lake Mead and........" Again, this is just another way to harass the 7000 newcomers every month.

12. Many major roads just end abruptly in somebody's garage, a Home Depot, a Casino or McCarran International Airport Runways and start again after the interruption. That was done to encourage you to "see the sights" and meet new people. For fun, just try to take Harmon Avenue from Rainbow to Nellis.

13. If moisture at hand is determined to be rain, not sweat, all traffic must immediately cease. Ditto for daylight savings time, girl applying eye-shadow across the street, or a flat tire 3 lanes over. Do not attempt to access any road after an apocalyptic event like snow, blowing dust, or a 3-day weekend.

14. Once a year, when it rains, the Las Vegas wash and the City of Las Vegas are one.

15. The wind blows every day, and it is impossible to live in Las Vegas without some kind of allergy drug.

16. Construction on I-15 and US 95 is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment. They actually move the construction cones every night to make the next days drive a bit more exciting for you. I-215 will never be completed. Get used to it!

17. Stay away from the corner of Nellis and Las Vegas Blvd. If you do not like the thought of being in a remake of the movie "Top Gun."

18. And, yes, we all know that man in a teddy and a tiara on Fremont Street. His name is Leslie and he probably makes more money than you do.

19. And always remember, when driving in Las Vegas in the summertime, it is a good idea to wear pot holders on your hands

20. If you are a tourist on Las Vegas Blvd, and you keep walking when the sign says 'don't walk' I'm allowed to run you over with my car, because I don't want to spend an hour trying to get out of, or into a hotel driveway because some dumb person thinks they have the right of way!! Not
in Vegas, we proudly run over the morons who don't stop!

Latest Finds...

I have been into a Health Kick lately. Not that I've lost many pounds yet (about 5), but I have been feeling a lot better and have lost a few inches. It's a slow process. But, in my wandering around looking at health sites online, I thought I would share my latest finds.....

Daily Plate: www.thedailyplate.com
This is a daily food and fitness tracker. There are several food logs out there, but I found I like this one the best because it has so many restaurant foods already entered, so I don't have to guess at how many calories are in the chicken platter at Chili's...someone already did the hard work for me. Another fun thing.. after so many days of logging in or tracking fitness, you are awarded "badges" for your hard work. :) Whatever works.

Gmaps-Pedometer: www.gmap-pedometer.com
This is a great site for finding out the distance of your walks around the neighborhood. I like to use it to plan out where I'll be going. When I'm increasing my distances, it's nice to plan ahead so I can increase the distance but still be home in time for work. :)

Podfitness: www.podfitness.com
This is a fun site that allows you to download customized workouts onto your ipod (or any mp3 player). I just finished my free 8-week trial. You put into your profile what workouts you like to do, at the gym or home, what equipment you have, how long you'd like to workout for and it recommends trainers for you. They have about 80 different trainers for everything from walking to yoga to weight training. Although I think this site is cool, at the moment I'm not using it. Because my free trial is over, I'm trying to discover new alternates to paying. :)

Free Podcasts
Couch to 5k: www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/index.html
Podcast Intervals: www.djsteveboy.com/mixes.html
These are two sites I'm trying out. I'm on my third week using these podcasts for my "training." :) Each week, you run three times a week, running a little bit farther each week. The first week is running 60 seconds, walking for 90 seconds, for about 8 intervals. The second week is running 90 seconds, walking 90 seconds. The third week, you run 90 seconds, walk 90 sec., run 3 minutes, walk three min and then repeat. After the third week I can't tell you about because I'm not there, yet. I have my goals set though. You are supposed to be able to run 5k (3.2 miles) after 9 weeks of this schedule. SO, I'm registering for a 5k in May. That will be my motivation to continue on. Plus, I've written it down here on the blog, so that will be very encouraging knowing that others are now aware of what I'm trying to do too. I'll keep you informed of my progress!

Ski School

Claire went up with us to Mt. Charleston about a month ago and tried out all-day Ski School. She LOVED it and had a blast! She did great, especially for her first time out. We went back again, last week. This time, she and Mom skiied the day away together. Claire even ventured onto the BIG hill. (Although, it will be awhile before we try that again.) Afterwards, everyone was content to ski on the bunny slope for the rest of the day. :-)

Here are a few pictures from her day at ski school....



Nice Wedge!


Here I come! Watch out!


Mike and Claire on the ski lift

College

Well, I just got my acceptance letter into Graduate School at UNLV! I'm excited! I guess I didn't really think there would be a problem getting in to the program, but there is always a little tug of "what if"s that gets me wondering, so it's a relief to find out for sure I made it in. After the excitement of getting the Congratulations letter, a new thought begins to take shape....

I have to go back to college!! AUGH! (It's a little scary.) I wonder when I'm going to fit it in. Life sure doesn't seem to be slowing down, but slowing speeding up. Now that Claire is in more activities, Mike and I are in just as many. Pretty much, we have Friday and Sunday nights with nothing usually planned. Every other night of the week has something regularly going on, if you can believe that. Monday night is Civil Air Patrol for Mike, Tuesday is tennis practice for me, Wednesday is Girl Scouts for Claire, Thursday is Bible Study for me, and Saturday and Sunday Mike works a few weekends a month at Front Sight. And that doesn't include various events that get added in from time to time. (Especially now that Mike is on the Wing staff with CAP (that's the State-wide CAP), he is attends a lot more meetings than just Mondays.) So, now you may see why I wonder where I'm going to fit in ANOTHER activity. :) I am not going to worry about it, just take it as it comes.

This summer, I think it's going to work out that I am able to take three classes. Two online classes in June and another that meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights from 7-9:30pm. (Luckily, only for 4 weeks in July). Summer classes are great. They are fast and furious and then its over. The hard part this time is that I'll still be working this summer. So add lesson plans, etc. on top of that fast and furious college schedule. Wow. For now, I'm just going to try to be content concerning myself with the coming semester, not even trying to worry about where I'm going to fit in Fall classes into my week.

Oh, you may be curious to know my major. Well, its in Education. The official looonnnnggg title will be: Masters in Education in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Technology Leadership. Wow that's a mouth-full. The short version is Educational Technology. (I just made that up, but it sounds appropriate.) I want to have some different options, in case I get tired of being in the classroom. With this major, I will be able to teach Computers in middle school and also be an ECS (Educational Computer Specialist). These people work in a school and do all of the tech stuff, like install computers, fix broken parts, teach students (and teachers) software programs, etc. Similar to the Help Desk. Each school here in Vegas has one person assigned to that school. Then, if the ECS can't solve the problem, they can go to the higher ups at the district office. Mike thinks that would not be a fun job, listening to people complain about problems all of the time, but I'm used to complaining, and at least I wouldn't have to do lesson plans!

But, that is far in the future planning. It will be about two or three years until I have to seriously think about changing positions. Now that I'm starting school again, we are definitely NOT leaving Vegas anytime soon! Yea! (I still wouldn't write our adddress down in pen... just to be safe.) :-)

Freestyle Dressage

My dad just sent me this YouTube clip. It is amazing! If you are at all interested in horses, you should check it out. The horse is dancing....even if you don't know anything about dressage, it is VERY impressive to see. They even made the commentators speechless! :-)

Girl Scouts

We have taken the plunge into Girl Scouts! Claire is offically a Brownie now! Getting involved mid-year is very overwhelming at first (at least for me, Claire jumped right in and did great!). But, because it is mid-year a TON of stuff is going on right now. Selling Girl Scout cookies is the biggest thing on the plate right now. Claire (and myself!) have taken a lot of pre-orders for the cookies that are delievered on Feb. 23. A big thank you to everyone who bought cookies from her! It is exciting and she does earn a patch for her hard work, so its all worth it in the end.

Her troop is participating in "Thinking Day" in a few weeks. Each troop has a country they have been learning about; Claire's troop is learning about Poland. On Thinking Day, the troops come together to share what they've learned. And, the each troop dresses in the type of clothing of their country. As you can see from the picture, this is how the Polish girls dress. Claire was able to pick out the fabric, and one of the moms sewed it together. I think it turned out nice. I'm not sure where she'll be able to wear it again, but it's still fun to do. (Kind of like a bridesmaid, I guess) :-) All in all, I'm as excited about Girl Scouts as Claire. I wasn't in them when I was young, so now I finally get to join in. Her troop is hopefully a good one; they seem to do a lot of activities. Claire's calendar is getting full very quickly. :-)