In The Army Now

Hello again! Dan asked me to update his blog for him. He's still working on getting reliable and steady internet access in Iraq.

Dan went to a bazaar while still in Kuwait and bought a few items from the approved vendors. He had a good time and saw lots of very unique items. He called and asked if I wanted a hookah pipe. I don't even know what that is!

He is doing well and now working each day. He had a little bicycle accident and flew over the handlebars, with full gear on, but he only scratched up his hands. I've mailed him a new pillow and fun string lights with beer mugs, chili peppers, and Hawaiian shirts on them. He wants to hang them outside his door.

Dan says that he keeps very hydrated. They have bottled water and Crystal Light available everywhere. He's also been getting his daily fix of coffee from Green Bean, a gourmet coffee house on post.

The time difference is nine hours so we talk mostly while I'm at work. It's kind of funny because I'm eating breakfast and he's on his way to dinner. He says the food is good.

I'll close for now and let Dan update everyone when he gets time.

Thanks again for all your support.

Who Is That Masked Man?

Hi all and welcome to my BLOG.

I haven't written lately because of all of the training we have been doing as well as getting ready to move north from Kuwait. We do get some time to ourselves to wonder around and check things out. As you see in the picture, we do have a couple of creature comforts from home like a Burger King, Subway, Starbucks, and Baskins Robbins (My personal fave). The army does try to make it more homey on FOB's, so that you may forget for a little while that a war is going on around you. I will be leaving to go north to Iraq soon and then I'll have my own place to call home with my roomy. I have my next post after I get settled in there and I should have better access to Internet also.

Again, I thank all of you for your support and Sarah thanks all of you for being there for her during this time. Take care and I will talk to you all later.

Dan

Now This Is What I Call HOT!!!

Hello again everyone. I hoped you enjoyed Sarah's guest writing on the last post. It is a little tougher to get on the Internet here in Kuwait and I asked Sarah to do it for me and she did a wonderful job. She is a little more wordy than me but, I like her that way.

Now for the update............IT IS HOTTTTTTTTTT! Did I tell you it is hot? Well it's hot like an oven hot. But it is a dry heat (LOL). I am getting used to it already so now I just have to deal with the sand and other great things about the middle east.

As you see in my picture, my living arrangements here are cramped but cozy for now. We are in big tents and mine has about 40 guys in it. As I said earlier, the Internet sucks but, at least I can get on. They do have some things like home here in Kuwait, like there is a Subway, Burger King, Steak Escape, and a Starbucks all on post. I will try to take pictures so you all can see what they look like. The mess hall food is a lot better than in Oklahoma. Tonight I had Steak and Shrimp and it tasted like Steak and Shrimp, AMAZING!

Well, it's getting late here so I will let you all go. I will update when I can until I get to Iraq and to my own Internet connection.

Take care everyone and I'll see you in the funny pages.

Dan

Off to the Sandbox

Hey Everyone! I'm writing for Dan since he's now left for Kuwait and then on to Iraq. His leave went by so fast. He came home on July 23 and both of us left for Fort Sill, OK on August 1. During the 8 days he was home, we attended my brother's wedding, which was a huge success, had a ginormous BBQ at our house for family and friends, (I think we had at least 50 people over), ate at all of our favorite places, and celebrated our anniversary early. We also had guests come and stay with us from Germany. There was so much to do!

When we arrived in Lawton, OK, we rented a car and drove to OK City to see the memorial. It was a very somber visit. The memorial has been done really tastefully and truly honors the victims and survivors of the blast. We weren't able to see the museum, but we both want to go back so we can go through it. It chonicles the timeline of the blast, the investigation, the arrests, and the trial. We just arrived too late to see it. If Dan demobolizes at Fort Sill, then we'll go back. Dan sat on a bench and reflected on the last few months. He said that "this is why I'm going to Iraq. It may have been here, but terrorism is terrorism." I'm sure it was a poignant moment for him.

We came back to Lawton for dinner. We had steaks at a local steakhouse. They were so yummy! During dinner we heard about the bridge collapse and we were in shock! What a tragedy. We then drove back to the base and sat in the parking lot for awhile to talk before Dan had to check in at 10:00.

August 2 was the ceremony. It was 20 minutes long, but it was worth it to be there. All the top brass from the MN National Guard was there. I got to meet other people that Dan is deploying with. The Hawaii Family Readiness Group was there and they gave candy leis to all the soliders. It was really nice. People from MN were discouraged from coming to Fort Sill, but there were many people there from Hawaii.

Dan left for lunch and then we met up afterward. We couldn't leave the base, but he showed me around. Fort Sill is like a city of it's own. It huge! They have their own post office, bowling alley, bar, movie theater, etc. It's not a bad place to be. The weather is the only downside. The dewpoints were very high and the temps were in the 90s. The heat index was around 100 everyday I was there. I can't imagine marching with an extra 40 lbs of weight on me in this weather. Yikes!

We had our last dinner together at the Burger King on post. It was quick, but nice to spend any time we could together. I dropped him off at the barracks after dinner so he could attend some meetings. I went back to the hotel. Dan called about an hour later and I drove back to post. We spent time talking in the car and ended back at the Burger King for some coffee and soda. It was good to just be near each other.

I dropped him off for the last time at his barracks and we said goodbye. There were just a few tears and I went back to the hotel.

It was a whirlwind tour while he was home, but it was so good to see him and have him close. Just five more months, and he'll be back!

Dan will update again once he's settled.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.