He's In Kuwait

I just got off the phone with Nick tonight. They made it into Kuwait yesterday but it was too late here in Hawaii for him to call (even though I slept with the phone next to my pillow...just in case). Their total flight time was about 25 hours from leaving Honolulu to arriving in Kuwait.
9 hours to Maine
6 hours to Germany
5 hours to Kuwait

The time difference between Hawaii and Kuwait is 13 hours. Nick is 13 hours ahead.
Time difference from Iowa: 9 hours, Nick is 9 hours ahead.

Nick said it's very cold at night. Down to the 40s. During the day it can get up to the 60s. Luckily he got a heads up from a few guys on advanced party and brought some warm clothes. The only mishap during the flight was a busted cinnamon flouride bottle....so a few of his shirts smell "cinnamon-y". I told him it could be worse.

They should find out later 'today' when they will get a flight into Al Asad. It was great to finally hear from him. He sounded great, well rested.

More updates to come...

Nick called and left a message on the phone before he left Honolulu before we got back home, so I played it today and Addison immediately walked right up to his voice and smiled, so I knew she recognized his voice. I'll have to keep that message as long as I can.

Trevor came up to our room this morning when he woke up and crawled into bed with me, looked around, and said "Where's Daddy?" I told him, "Daddy is in Iraq." He giggled and said, "Oh yeah..."

I know that Nick always wonders if the kids notice he is gone... I think that's a pretty good answer for him.

McKenzie has always been emotionally strong...(she sure didn't get that from me...I can be an emotional train wreck at times), but I can tell that she misses him. By the end of past deployments she always makes a comment like, "Ugh...when is he coming home already?!"

So here's to a safe and speedy deployment!