THE MAN HAS ARRIVED!

Well, he finally, after many calls, flight changes, flights, and hours of waiting and rain drops, is home! We greeted him at the airport, but his flight got in early and he surprised us...so his sign that Mom made for him wasn't as proudly displayed as we would've liked and we didn't have time to get our flags in hand, but by God he's home and we're thrilled to see him! He is happy to be here and we're ready to enjoy the next 18 days! Woohoo!!

After a nasty evening in Dallas...

we heard from Nic this morning. He is scheduled to fly home now on flight 1912 to Louisville and will arrive at 10:45pm. Again, any night owls that would like to greet him at the airport feel free to come and hang out with us. We'll all be there with flags on! :-)

Last night he was well taken care of. The USO (I think) put him up in a hotel and bought him dinner and fed him all day yesterday and will do the same today. So he's doing fine, just ready to get home. He's looking forward to a beer and some good breakfast. Probably not together...

Damn you mother nature!

All flights to Louisville have been cancelled and it appears that all flights to Lexington have also been cancelled. So, although we haven't heard it straight from the horse's mouth, it looks like Nicholas will be spending the night in Dallas with all the severe weather surrounding him and the airport. The good news is, if you want to look on the bright side, his leave gets extended one day because of all this nastiness. So he SHOULD be home sometime tomorrow. We will keep you posted as we learn more.

Here's the skinny on Nic's arrival.

As of Tuesday, March 18th at 1:25 pm he is on flight 1912 from Dallas-Ft. Worth arriving in Louisville at 10:45. He was originally supposed to land at 1:25 and then bumped to a flight arriving after 5. But for now he's on flight 1912 departing at 7:45 and arriving at 10:45. So for any of you Louisville night owls who would like to greet him at the airport...the Conley's will be there with signs in hand. :-) So feel free to join us!

Cave Run on Easter Weekend

NIC'S COMING HOME AND IT'S TIME TO GET THE BOATS OUT!!!!

The last couple of weeks we've been tossing around when to get the boats out and open up the cabin for the season. Because the weather's breaking and Nic is homeward bound, we folded like cheap envelopes (no arm twisting required) and decided to get summer started on Easter weekend.

The tentative plan is to head on up after work on Good Friday. I figured just about everyone has to work, so we'll more than likely head up later that day. Anyone can catch a ride up if they want, just let us know.

Be sure to bring the suntan lotion and we'll set it on the windowsill to thaw.......don't forget your hooded sweatshirt either.........

ITS TIME TO HIT THE LAKE!!!

Nic's Coming Home!

We talked to Nic yesterday and he is COMING HOME on March 17 or 18th! He will be home for 18 days. Of course, he will have to return the week before spring break. Bummer! But it will be great to have him home. We were getting a little nervous because we had not heard from him for about a week. 2 or 3 days is about my limit. We're not sure what he will want to do while he's here, but we'll keep you posted on parties or cookouts. It would be fantastic to have a big crew there at the airport to welcome him home, but we don't expect people to come out at 3 a.m. if he happens to arrive at that time.

Nic has been "breaking bread" with the elders of the town. He said his team leader asked them if they were hungry and, of course, they said, "Yeah!" Nic thought he would tell them to go get an MRE, but instead, he told them to go in this house. When they got in there, the company commander was there and he said, "Sit down, boys, and take off your helmets!" Then they had dinner with the elders of the town. He said it wasn't that bad, except he didn't eat the fish. Chicken and rice. So that was a great experience. We continue to caution him about getting too chummy with the locals, though. The news is not good about "friendlies" in Baghdad.

Be sure to look at Kathy's GINic pix! They are great! Thanks to all for the boxes and cards. I know he feels so loved and appreciated. Speaking of boxes, though, hold off for the next few weeks because they probably would not get there before he leaves.

Stay tuned and we'll keep you "posted"!

Johnda "Army Mom"

New GI Nic Pics courtesy of Kathy Hogg.

Well, sorry Kathy, but I'm a dingbat when it comes to PicasaWeb photo slideshow creation. :-) I can do it on Photobucket, but I think I'd have to download all your photos and then re-add your comments...and your comments are too good to chance screwing up. So below is a link to Kathy's public photo album of GI Nic pics. Enjoy everyone! If anyone else has any they would like to have posted please let me know. :-)

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

PS - GO CATS!

Word on the street.

I bet you all thought we forgot about you, huh? :-) Nope...just not much word from Nic lately. I did hear from him yesterday. It was a very quick email and he just basically said he's been really busy on missions and unable to get online much. When he does get online he only has 45 minutes and he has sooooo much to reply to from where he hadn't been on for a week that he couldn't get to everyone. So...he's doing fine and he seems like his spirits are up, which we love to hear.

That's all for now, but we'll keep you posted. Thanks for checking back.