Week 31

Well, leave is getting closer! The next time I post, Patrick will actually be state-side! My post is a day late this week because my mom and I trekked down to New Bern where all of mine and Patrick's belongings are in storage. We retrieved some civilian clothes for him to wear while he is home, and most importantly, his passport. We haven't booked the vacation yet (that will most likely happen tomorrow) but we have decided on a 5 day/4 night stay at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It's called the Dreams Resort and Spa. And it's gorgeous! We are so excited!!

Of course the week leading up to Pat's leave has been the craziest of all. He's been very busy, and had to spend a significant amount of time in a helicopter which I don't like very much. Yesterday I actually didn't hear from him all day, and I knew what kind of stuff was going on and what he was involved in, and of couse I panicked. Mom and I didn't sleep at the hotel in New Bern last night until we heard from him (around 2 am). But thankfully he is ok, and will be en route back to the good old U.S. of A. very, very soon!

That's all for now, I look forward to posting next week, I'm sure there will be about a million pictures to post! 31 down, 11 to go!

Week 30

Well, it looks like I'll have to be adjusting my countdown. It's as official as it can be that Patrick will be coming home earlier then January! There's a window from the end of October to the beginning of November, so we'll over estimate and instead of saying 22 weeks left, it will be a max of 12 weeks! In the meantime he'll be home in less then 2 weeks for leave! Still no trip finalized...

Over in Iraq, Pat has been keeping busy. He said before he left that he wanted to see a camel spider, and now he has. He had to kill one, and he said it has pinchers like a crab on its mouth. Also he got to take a trip to the oasis on base, and he said it's a place that is referenced in the Bible. They had to get special permission from the Iraqis to go there. Back in his office, his aerogarden has flowering tomatos and peppers now. Pat also bought a new camera and said he's taking as many pictures as he legally can. Hopefully he'll remember to bring the memory stick home with him so we can upload the pictures here!

That's all for now, as I said before, 30 weeks down... 12 to go!

Week 29

Another week down, another week closer to Patrick's leave. It's coming up realllly fast! Exciting news is that our friend Justin arrived in Iraq this week, and is on the same base as Pat! They met up for lunch today and Pat said he showed him around a little. Needless to say Patrick was very excited, he said it was like seeing civilization again. Other then that, not much is going on. Still no concrete plans on a vacation during leave; we'll figure something out I suppose...

23 weeks to go...

Week 28

Well it's officially August, and Patrick will be home for leave in less then a month! I can't believe it. We still don't have plans for a vacation, it'll have to be a last minute thing since we won't know the exact dates of his leave until basically the day it happens. I'll be meeting him in Atlanta where he will be flying into the States, and we'll fly back up to Baltimore together. From then on he'll be here for two whole weeks! Other then that, no new news... Just counting down the days. 24 weeks left!