This Week's Dallas Update

Hey again everyone,

Getting to FaceTime a bit. He caught
me off guard with his call---No
makeup! Eak!

Dallas has made it safely to his final location, a bit ahead of schedule. Yesterday a flight opened up and he was able to push out. The FOB (Forward Operating Base) that he flew from was large-- it had coffee shops, restaurants and a shopping complex on sight. As Dallas put it: Weird.  Time change is a full 12 hours and he seemed a little tired the first few times I spoke with him. However, he was not too tired to be extremely exited about Texas A&M upsetting Alabama. He also wanted to know how everyone was doing, including the players on his fantasy football teams. :) Internet is better now and, speaking selfishly, I'm very excited about. We were able to FaceTime this morning (for me)/last night (for him).

Dal tweaked his foot a few days before he left for AFG but it is feeling much better now. He's able to get into the gym fairly regularly to work out which, as you know, makes him very happy. After all that travel, he is excited to get back to running again--even though it will take place on the tredmill.

If some of you are worried, the FOB he is at is very safe with many protocols in place to ensure it stays that way.  He really likes the situation he is in now. I think being in continual transit was beginning to wear on him a bit. Now that things are more constant he has better control over his daily activities and can begin to proactively work on the mission at hand.

Additionally, he was able to get his hands on his address. As soon as I learn which mode is more secure I will be sending it to those of you who requested it. If you are planning to send a care package plan on it taking up to 2 weeks for him to receive it. Rumors say it only takes 7-10 days, however that's from an officer on a larger FOB and I'm not sure if it is accurate for Dallas. For those of you sending baked goods, I heard packaging them in zip-locks and then in a second airtight container helps them keep while shipping. While on this subject, I must say: Thank you for your kindness and willingness to send dal a little piece of home. I know it will make the time much easier for him.

Lastly, with Dal having better access to internet I hope to send updates fairly frequently. If you would like these blog updates automatically sent to your email inbox there is a link on the side panel of the page for you to enter your email address.

XOXO

Ash