Spoke to Nic today.

Nic called this morning at 6:30am. He said it was supposed to get up to 111 degrees today over there. He was not looking forward to that at all, but he said it's pretty typical these days...and it's not even August yet!

He also gave me some tips for care packages. I sent him one and he said what was good and what was not so good. He doesn't have easy access to a microwave...so microwavable foods are not ideal. He said no Skittles or M&M's...they come in the MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) and they're sick of them. I apparently have also burnt him out on Laffy Taffy...so skip that at least for a few months! :-) He said Fruit by the Foot and snack bags of Cheetos/Doritos are always welcome. Also, sending him new release DVDs aren't always a good idea. They get bootleg copies of them all the time so they've usually seen them before we can get them sent to him. So stick with classics or movies that have been out for a while. Oh, cookies are always welcome...cookies of any kind.

So there ya go...that's all I've got for now.

The latest...

We haven't heard from him since Father's Day, but he seems to be doing fine. Mom said when he called on Father's Day he said he was going to call the Guiness Book of World Records because he was sure it was the hottest day in the history of the world in Taji. :-) He and Armanderez were unloading a truck and he said when they got finished they were dripping with sweat, and not just from their skin, their clothes were completely saturated with sweat and dripping. He said it was nasty.

From what I gather (I haven't heard from him personally for a while.) he is doing fine and they're in Taji doing patrols and manual labor. So at least he's not in Sadr City! We'll keep you updated as we hear more...but keep the cards, letters, packages coming. I don't think we can even understand how much it means to these guys when they get mail. So thanks for taking care of our boy.