Scroll to the bottom of the page.

And you can view the new slide show I've added. I think it's easier to look at this way rather than me adding them in each post. So I've started a slide show. As Nic posts pictures on his myspace I'll steal them and load them into a slide show, which will always be at the botttom of the page. So enjoy! Also, if you'd like to email me some GI Nic pics we can do a slideshow of those as well. Happy photographing! :-)

A little note on phone cards.

Nic suggested that if we send him phone cards to send the AT&T ones. I think you can buy them at Walmart. He said they're the easiest to use and take less time dialing and getting through all the crap to just make a call. So for future reference, AT&T is best if sending phone cards.

Thanks again for all your support. It means the world to him and to us as well.

Nic posted a couple of pictures on myspace.

This is Nic and his roommate, Armanderez posing in what appears to be their barracks (not sure about that though).

Here is Nic on patrol, freezing...notice the gloves. And you thought it was always warm in the desert!

Update - Shipping and Lists

If you want to mail Nic a care package, but don't want to spend a fortune on shipping you can use the post office's Flat Rate boxes. If you get these boxes you can stuff as much stuff as you want and make it as heavy as you want without paying more than the flat rate. The box I used was $8.95 for the shipping and it fit everything I listed in another post below. It weighed 5 pounds, but still didn't cost me more than $8.95. You will only need to get the box, which is free, and fill out a customs form to send with it and then you'll be all set. It's a great deal and such an easy way to send Nic goodies. If you have any questions email me.

Also, if you send Nic books please email me and let me know so I can add it to the list. We know we can't completely avoid duplication, but if we can prevent it we will certainly try. Thanks again to everyone who has sent him anything.

New GI Nic Pic

I think any of us who ever lived in Ashland or the surrounding area can understand how serious this photo is. EUPHORIA being demonstrated!

News from Nic.

I got an email from Nic. He said he received our boxes and gave me a "mental high five" on the candy. So for future reference candy is a BIG hit. :-) He loves reese cups, but I wouldn't send him all reese cups because I'm sure he'd like some variety. The games and movies made it to him safe and sound.

He did tell me that he's being trained to drive the Stryker.

For those of you who don't know what that is I have posted a picture. He said he's not sure why he's being trained unless the current driver goes on leave or gets injured. He said it's a very sweet job...all he has to do is drive...no more dismounting. He's kind of like the getaway car driver. :-) So while I hope nothing bad happens to the current driver, I would love it if Nic got to remain safely in the armored vehicle. He's very excited about it!

So that's the latest update.

What's kickin' with Nic...

I got an email from Nic yesterday. He said he finally did some cool stuff. He said his squad snuck up on a guy's house and "stacked up" against the wall...except him because he got to kick the friggin' door in! He was really proud of himself because it only took one kick. :-) He said it was straight out of movie and that it was really awesome. He said he was really feeling great and proud until they found out the guy whose door he kicked in was innocent. He said his little girls and wife were really scared so he gave them some Fig Newtons. hehe. That's the Nic we know and love! He said it made them feel a little bit better and that they gave the soldiers some bread and that it was actually pretty good darn good bread. He said that luckily the mission wasn't a total loss because another squad caught a guy, a neighbor I think, who had all kinds of insurgent contraband.

Mom talked to him on the phone and he said that while tensions were high and guns were pointed at the innocent family they were securing the property and had to kick in a gate at the back of the house and were surprised to hear "Baaaaaaah, baaaaaah" (goat talk) upon their entry into what they lovingly called "the petting zoo". There were goats, chickens, cows and who knows what else back there. (I hope I got that right, Mom!) :-)

Anyway, he's doing really well and he seems really happy to be actually doing something now. It seems to me that he feels a lot better now that he's being productive and making a difference. While I hate that he's in harms way, I'm glad he's feeling good about what he's doing and most importantly that he hasn't forgotten that there are innocent people over there who are people, not just animals. I think that's evident since he gave the family fig newtons to make them feel better. I love that he cares about them as people...that's a true soldier in my opinion.

Okay, well that's all I know. :-) Check back for more.

Blog from Nic's myspace account.

"Well... now I can say I've actually done some work for the army. It's nature is... classified :) Heh not really, but I probably shouldn't blog about it on Myspace. I just find it funny that, after being in for a year, I am finally getting paid to DO what I was trained to do.

When I'm out on foot patrol, I don't see anything that makes me feel alienated. Or rather, I don't feel as if I am a thousand miles away from my home. This place is like any other... it has roads, power lines, houses. All the signs are written in Arabic of course, but... hell you can see that in America, too. My peers seem to think that I have been desensitized to new cultures. I told them that all I saw at a certain village we went to, was a run down, trashy place. It looked a lot like Flatwoods, KY. No offense to whoever lives there. I haven't been there in years so maybe it's better than when I knew it. but yeah... it looked like Flatwoods. There was trash everywhere. The children came up to us, begging for candy, sunglasses, our watches, ANYTHING they could get. So you get the picture. That pitiful picture I just tried to paint for you should, hopefully, commune my initial analysis of this village.

But there is, indeed, something spiritual about it. While we were there, they started praying over the loudspeakers. And what was once the sound of a culture that I saw on the news as a hateful one, was a soothing psalm in Arabic. And though it may forever be obscure to me, I cannot but be aware of it's effect."

I felt this was very comforting...so I thought maybe you guys would like to hear it straight from the horse's blog. :-)

Suggestions for Care Packages

He loves candy. He loves cookies. He loves movies. He loves to read. He said he would read anything. Now, I'm guessing just by using common sense that Nicholas Sparks and Danielle Steel would not go over well...but John Grisham, Dean Koontz and similar authors would probably go over great. We've started a list down below on the right-hand side of the page to keep a running list of movies he's received so we don't duplicate. If you send him DVD's please email one of us and let us know or post a comment so we can add it to the list. If you're sending books please let us know that also and we'll start a list of those as well. You could send him magazines as well.

Our care package this week is going to include: Homemade peanut butter cookies, some cream candy, a few DVD's, some XBOX games, some candy bars, Doritos, and some conversation hearts (just for funsies). Now you don't need to send that much stuff, I just couldn't stop buying things. He will be 100% thrilled with any packages he gets and thrilled that you took the time to put it together.

Some tips: Movie Gallery & Blockbuster sell previously viewed movies and you get them for cheap. I got 4 for $20 the other day. This is a great place to buy DVD's for him and Walmart always has cheap DVD's too.

-Em and Brad

XBOX games n' such.

Unfortunately when we sent Nic (AKA "the roaming gnome of Kentucky")his XBOX we did not include an a power converter for him to use in-line with facility power over there. The results of not using an adapter ended up with a well-done XBOX and a kicked breaker for the whole barracks.

Mom and Dad bought a used one and sent it to him to replace the toasted original. In addition to movies, he probably might want used XBOX games as well. Also, I think he's got a Zune so I bought a 1 GB memory stick and put about 200 songs on it. If you do this, be sure not to put any iTune purchased songs as they are write-protected and only work with iPod/Phone and not the Zune.

If anybody wants to get together one weekend and get some stuff together to send, let Nikki and I know and we'll make it happen. Maybe make a day of it or something if nobody's busy. (That never happens, right?!?!?)

ZAC + NIKKI

GI Nic Pics from Kathy Hogg

Kathy posted this link in the comments, but I wasn't sure how many of you would see it so I'm reposting it here. Go check them out!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kathy.hogg


Thanks Kathy!!

Salute To Nic!

Nic has been promoted to Private First Class! Be sure and update the address you may have to reflect his new rank. Instead of PV use PFC! He has always been first class in my book!

Welcome!

We're so glad you found us! This is a blog that is devoted strictly to Nic. We'll update you on what's going on with him, what he needs, what he wants, and anything else we can think of to keep you in loop about your favorite soldier. The posts will be from anyone in the Conley family. If you have something you'd like to have posted (GI Nic pics or whatever) let us know and we'll make sure it gets up on here.

Also, if you do not have his address please contact on of us and we'll get it to you ASAP. He loves getting mail of any kind and he loves peanut buttery things...so if you're sending a package if you include something with peanut butter in it you'll score big time! :-) So anyway, stop by often and we'll try to update as often as we can.