REPLY:We both won a game!

Answers:
Yeah, it's pretty crazy for being away for almost 2 years. Mikayla told me a story about both of her parents being away for exactly two years. They're both in the Army. No, he's not really saying my name or "Joe" that much. Well, "meow" and "shower". He says "meow" like "mow" like "now". Okay, I'll try to get him to say "mama" if I can. Yes, I remember what a pedicure is and I want to go get a haircut and pedicure with you.

Isn't it funny that Balen says "meow" like "mow"? It's pretty silly, but he's just a baby and he's learning. I think this might sound a little sad. When I was in the little inner tube thing in the pool at the Cafferty's, I flipped over. I was sitting on the side and I fell into the water. I didn't see it coming. I was trying to make it not flip, but I was too late. So under the water I went. I stayed under the water for a little bit. When we arrived home from the Cafferty's, I was thinking that maybe I could have tried swimming under water while I was down there, but it was too scary.

I want to go. So.... Goodbye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back...

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY:We both won a game!

Good morning Sweet Pea! Well, for me it is morning. For you, it is night.
So, good evening Sweet Pea!

We are getting closer and closer to coming home! Oh, I just can't wait!
All of us here can't wait to get home. We are very tired of this place. We
are all very glad that we are not in the Army - most of those people stay
here for a year or more at a time. That's way too long. A lot of Army
people just left to go home, and some of them have been away from their
families for almost 2 years! Isn't that crazy? I'd get out of the Army if
I were them, because that's just too long to be away from your family.

So, is Balen still saying your name? And Joe? Has he learned any other
words yet? See ify ou can get him to say "mama" for me, would you?

Ok Baby Girl, my flight is going to breakfast now. It's almost 7am for me.
We always go to breakfast together a little later in the morning (yes, 7 is
later in the morning for us) on Saturdays. It's kind of a way to make
Saturday a little bit special. At home, Saturday is part of the weekend.
Out here, it's just another regular work day. I can't wait to have my
Saturdays back!

Daddy says that you'll need a haircut by the time I get back. Would you
like to get one with me? Here's what I want to do: schedule appointments
for us to get haircuts and pedicures. Would you like that? Do you remember
what a pedicure is? I think it would be fun to do that together.

Goodnight my girl! I will see you next month!! :o)

Love,
Mommy

REPLY:We both won a game!

That's cool! We both won a game of Battle ship!

Answer:
We're moving on August 15th!?! Awesome!

What? No telling about your day? Oh well.

I want to go because I want to ask if I can play my computer and, plus, it's
already 9:00, to be exact.

Goodbye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come
back...

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY:Congradulations! You win!

Thanks for the congrats!
And you know what? We don't have time to start another game - I'll be home
LONG before we'd finish another game!!! Cool, huh?

Ok, now I know when your lessons start.

Daddy and I talked about what day we are going to move, and we decided that
we'll be moving on 15 August. What do you think of that?

I love you!
Mommy

REPLY:Congradulations! You win!

Your shot: the winner! :-)
My shot: the loser. {-(

Answer:
My lessons start this Tuesday.

[Daddy is terminating this email, she has been sitting here for 30 minutes screwing around. If the email to you is not important to her, then I'm not going to waste our time.]

RE: REPLY: E4 is a hit!

Ok, if both E4 and E5 are hits, and E3 is a miss, then my next shot will be
E6, and that should do it!

That movie sounds cool. Like a good story. I like good stories.

So when do you start horseback riding? I thought it was soon?

Have a great time with Aunt Danusia visiting! I hope that you behave
yourself as well!!!

Until I come back, which is getting closer and closer!

(Btw, tomorrow is Uncle Bryan's 30th birthday - maybe you guys could call
Baba and Papa and see if he's there to tell him happy birthday, or maybe you
can send an email to Baba to give to him.)

Love you lots & miss you lots and can't wait to get home to my girl!
Mommy

REPLY: E4 is a hit!

E4 is a hit silly G-O-O-S-E!

Answers:
No, I haven't started horse back-riding lessons yet. Yes, Aunt Danusia is doing good. Yes, I think picking your nose and eating it is nasty.

You won't believe what movie Daddy and I saw! We saw "Surfs Up"! I hope you'll be able to see it! It's a really good movie. It's about a penguin named Cody who loves to surf but he needs training. The movie shows that you are a winner only if you are helpful and loving. It also shows how to be a good person throughout your life. It starts out as Cody telling a story. He says this: "When there was a first wave there was a first surfer. His name was "Big Z". Everybody loved him. But on a big wave he fell into a section where there was a bunch of rocks ( I mean like long pointy rocks) whitch was called the "bone yard". Everyone thought that Big Z was dead because he never did come back. I'll tell you more about the movie tomorrow.

Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning, Until you come back...

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY: It's a hit.

Ok, so if E5 is a hit, that means that E4 is a miss?

Have you started up your horseback riding lessons yet? If so, how are they
going?

I've been VERY busy this week. We have a couple of big projects to get
ready...it's taking up all of our time! It's craziness around here!!!

Please don't lie - you know that it doesn't do any good to lie. And don't
pick your nose and eat it - don't you think that's gross?

Is Aunt Danusia doing ok? That really stinks that she got that chemical on
her foot!!! I'll pray for her...

Until I come back...not too much longer now. June is almost over - just a
few more days of June, then it's JULY!!! And that's when I come home!!!

Love,
Mommy

REPLY: It's a hit.

Sorry! I didn't mean to make a mistake! And it is a hit.

Answers:
Yes, I am staying up late all the time. He goes to sleep at like, 7:30 I
think. Of course I'm exited about going back to riding lessons!

And I lied 2 times today. One was about picking my nose and eating it in
secret and the other was about me saying that I wanted to stay in my bed
when really I wanted to play. In the morning I lied about picking my nose
and eating it in secret. I had picked my nose and ate it and I thought I was
in secret, but really I wasn't. Daddy had seen me. And when he came outside
he said: "You've been picking your nose and eating it in secret, haven't
you? Then I said no when really the answer was yes. That was my second lie
of the day. In the very morning I lied about wanting to stay in my bed when
really I wanted to play with my airplanes. I'm not trying to hide anything,
but I just want to move on with my email. I also want to know if I can play
the typing games that daddy got online for me.

Sandbags? Why do they want to know about sandbags? I mean, It's just a bag
with sand in it.

I want to go now. So...

Goodbye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come
back...

Love,
Abigail

Which is it?

So which is it? A hit or a miss for E5?

So now that it's summer time are you staying up late all the time? What
time does Balen usually go to sleep?

I can't wait to get home to you! Just a few more weeks! I hope they go by
very quickly!

I understand that you are starting horse-back riding lessons again. Are you
excited? I hope so...I want you to pay attention and behave, ok?

I'm gonna get to work now, ok? I've got tons to do. But I need ot go now
because I've got to brief another squadron - their whole entire squadron! -
about barriers and sandbags.

Love you!
Mommy

REPLY:Oops! I made a mistake.

Yes, I made a mistake. I'm sorry for making a mistake. You are right. I did
say miss as the title but for the body of the email I wrote miss. Silly Me!
I should have paid attention!

I'm going to go byebye now because It's already 9:24. So...

Goodbye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come
back...

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY: Silly! You didn't make a shot!

I didn't make a shot because I don't even know what's what on our game
anymore!

See what I've got:
1. The first attachment is an email where you said that E4 was a hit.
2. The second attachment is where you said that E5 was a miss.
3. The third attachment is you telling me that you already told me that E5
was a hit.

Can you clear this up for me? I think that what might have happened is that
you put "hit" in the title of the email (for shot E5) but you didn't put hit
in the body of the email, you put miss. That's what I thought it was, a
miss!

I'm glad that you had fun at the beach! I wish I could spend a little time
at the beach...oh well. I do look forward to coming home. We are counting
down the days! We get more and more excited every day!

Well, I've got a lot to do...I'm gonna get going, girl.

I love you!
Mommy

REPLY: Silly! You didn't make a shot!

You need to make a shot you silly goose!

I want to make a short one becuase I want to ask if I can play my computer.

My day was... Can you guess? Beacho! I went with the Maynards to the beach.
That's why My day was beacho. It was fun at the beach. The water was so cold
that I was shivering. Even my teeth were chattering! Now, for the hearing of
the story: The Runaway Bag. Once there was a little bag that flew out of my
hand and went so far that I could not catch it. It went in the parking lot,
I think, at the beach (this is a true story for your info). I want to go.
So...

Good bye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come
back.

Love,
Abs

RE: I screwed up and I lied so I'm going to go to bed

Thanks for owning up right away - see, it makes a difference, doesn't it?

Yes, until I come back...not too much longer now...

I love you vey much, Daughter. I can't wait to get home to you!

Love,
Mommy

I screwed up and I lied so I'm going to go to bed

Today I lied and I'm not allowed to have my DS for a week so I need to go to bed, said Daddy. I owned up right away though. So that's all Daddy did to me.

Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back...

Love,
Abigail

REPLY: you are out of your mind!

E5 was a hit, and I said it was a hit. What are you, out of your mind or something? My shot: H7

I'm just going to make this email a short one because I want to look at the "Crazy cats" some more and I want to ask if I can play my computer some more.

What number is the DO RE MI FA SO LA TI DO clue?

Well, that was the question. So... Goodbye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you ocme back.

Love,
Abby

RE: REPLY: You sunk my battleship!

Your shots: You already shot E8, and G3 is a miss. But I may have made a
mistake saying that you had already shot G8. For some reason, I already
showed it as being a miss, but it isn't listed on my list of shots taken.
You did already shoot E8 though. And G8 is still a miss.

My shot should have been a hit. I shot E4 and got a hit. I've already shot
E3, E5, and D4, and they were all misses. The only direciton left is going
down, and the next one is F4. So it should be a hit. What happened?

Apricots, huh? Were they fresh or dried? I love dried apricots - they are
so yummy!!!

Today is another very busy day for me. I have a briefing to give tomorrow,
and I'm getting ready for it today. I also have a lot of projects to work
on, and some paperwork for people that I need to get done.

I love you very much and miss you lots. I was thinking of what it would be
like to have you here with me. It would be reallky weird, since there are
no kids here. But I would just put you right to work here! You could be a
"runner" for me and pass messages to people for me. Wouldn't that be funny,
a kid working out here? I'd also have you to PT with me. We'd go running
together!

I can't wait to get home to you Sweet Pea!
Love,
Mommy

Re: REPLY: You sunk my battleship!

Your shot: Miss
My shots: E8, G3

It's about 9:00, so mine is going to be short, too. Btw, today I got a box from Baba. I got some apricots in it. We were planning like last month or something that maybe sometime she would send apricots over to our house. They look yummy. They feel soft and fuzzy. I like the soft feel of fuzzy apricots. Well, I should go because it's exactly 9:01.

Goodbye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come home on the... I can't tell you.

Love,
A b i g a i l (I spelled my name)

RE: REPLY: You sunk my battleship!

Oops - you already shot G8! I said miss, and it was a miss when you shot
it, but go ahead an take two turns this time, ok? One to replace G8 and
then your next shot!

Mommy

RE: REPLY: You sunk my battleship!

Your shot: Miss
My shot: F4

Well my girl! This will be a short email...I'm so busy lately. I'm feeling
really overwhelmed with all my work- there really is a lot of it for me
right now.

Happy first day of summer! I'm happy that it's summer because that means
that I get to go home in season! I'm glad that you understand about not
sharing the date...

I love you!
Love,
Mommy

REPLY: You sunk my battleship!

Your shot: Hit.
My shot: G8

We think we know the answer. It's earlier than we were expecting. Sorry this is so short, but I want to go, plus it's past midnight. It's 12:29. Midnight is exactly 12:00. Now it's 12:30, so I should go. We went to Chad and Dana's. So...

Goodbye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come on the... I can't tell you.

Love,
Abs

RE: REPLY: Your going to win!

Your shot: Miss
My shot: F2

Not unless you get my destroyer! It only takes two shots, but you have to
get lucky and find it first!

Oh, darn! I would like to see the fireflies too! I love fireflies! They
just look so very cool!

We have started counting down the days. That's very exciting for us. I
know exactly what day I'll be home!!! We have our flights booked. We are
all very happy about that. Here's a way for you to know what date I'll be
home: count how many doors and drawers there are on the buffet. Add your
age. Then add one. That's it! Don't write back to tell me your answer,
okay? We need to keep it like a secret. Daddy will tell you if you are
right or wrong, okay?

And if you like, now you can start a chain and break one each day until I'm
home!

I'm glad that you had a great day. I hope today was great for you as well.
I also hope that you are behaving!!! Please see the video!

Yesterday I went on a tour of the Ziggurat and the surrounding location.
They say that it is the home of Abraham. How cool is that? I took some
pictures and I hope that you enjoy them!

I love you,
Mommy

REPLY: Your going to win!

Your shot: hit! You sunk my Carrier!
My shot: H4

Answers:
Yes, I got some summer clothes. BTW, we did donate my school clothes except for my gym clothes. Yes, it's very frustratingwhen you're shopping for clothes. It's hard to pick out the perfect clothes.

My day was perfecto. I had a really really really really really really really good day. I had such a good day because I had cake and I got to watch Stargate Atlantis and other things.

Once we were doing show and tell and Bryon asked the person who was doing show and tell, "What is your favorite donut?" (Abigail's giggling uncontrollably at this point - Daddy) Everyone started cracking up then. Especially me. Bryon's really funny. He asked it a little slowly.

Do you know what the foot game is? If you don't, the foot game is where Balen and I or Balen and Daddy step on each other's feet lightly. I did the foot game with Balen. Daddy showed me just now.

We just saw a bird that was walking back and forth along the fence. It looked like it couldn't fly at first. But when we went out there and Daddy touched the bird (I've never touched a bird!) it got scared and flew over the fence. It was just odd. Daddy guessed it was just maybe hurt for a while. Right now the fireflies are out. We haven't seen the fireflies for a long time. "Not since last year", said Daddy. Man, I wish you were here to see the fireflies.

Well, I want to go, so...

Goodbye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY: HIT!

Your shot: Miss
My shot: C10

I take it you got some summer clothes? That's cool. Hey - we should tell
Daddy to take all your old school clothes and donate them to your school for
someone else to buy/wear. What do you think? Everything but your gym
shirts, because those have your name on them.

I would like to see the pictures of your latest "fashion show." I bet you
look super cute! I know how it is shopping for clothes, and how sometimes
nothing fits you right. It's very frustrating, isn't it? I have a really
hard time with clothes too, sometimes. With shirts, I always have the
problem that if they fit me around my tummy and chest, they are usually too
tight under my arms - like around my arms and shoulders. With pants, it's
sometimes hard to find something that's small enough in the waist (like
you). I wish that a lot of my pants had those bands that you have to cinch
them up and make them fit a little better!

I don't know what clothes will fit me when I get home. I'm talking about
pants/jeans mainly. Shirts won't be that big of a deal. But my body has
changed a little bit since I came out here - my hips seem to have gone a
little more back to where they were before Balen. It's both cool and
frustrating - cool because I'm getting my body back, but frustrating because
I just want my body to stay put in one size so that I can find clothes that
fit, instead of it constantly changine and my clothes never fitting right!

Well Sweetie - I should get to work! I can't wait to get home to you. I
can't wait to get to wear jeans again, or shorts or even skirts - once in a
while, anyways. I love you very much and miss you tons and tons.

Love,
Mommy

REPLY: HIT!

Your shot: Hit
My shot: E8

Answers:
Yep, those crazy cats really have my attention. I love the karate one, too, especially with the tongue and the eyes. It's really funny. Just imagining it almost makes me laugh. Yes, we'll just have to wait and see until we find out where we're going to move. I would rather live in a townhouse that's connected to three other townhouses. I would rather wake up and meet you at the base.

My day was perfect. It was perfect because Miss Kim took me shopping for clothes for me and I got ice cream. I got ice cream because I was really good while we went shopping. We got everything from Target. We went to Justice (just for girls) and nothing good was in there. Justice just wasn't the right store for me becuase nothing fit me. Miss Kim told me that once she went to a store and none of the clothes in that store fit her. She has a size 4 and she looked in the size 4's but none of them fit her. But then she went to a different store and that store's size 4's fit her. The same thing happened to me. I went to a store where the size 6 or 7 didn't fit on me but when I went to Target all the 6's and 7's fit me. It's kind of weird how only certain stores are right for you, huh? We're going to send you pictures of the new fashion show. A bunch of new clothes! But I want to go because I want to look at the crazy cats and then go to bed because it's 10:10pm! So...

Goodbye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you
come back.

Love,
Abby

RE: REPLY:HIT!

Your shot: Miss
My shot: C9

Those crazy cats really have your attention, huh?

I'm glad you are excited about our move. Hopefully we will find
somewhere nice to live. We'll just have to wait and see, huh? Do you
have any preferences about what kind of place we move into? We night
live in a condo or townhouse or something like that, not a full house.
It all depends on what's available out there.

I'm not worried about your tooth - I'll let you worry about that, okay?
I'm sure it'll be out before I get home. The time for me to come home
is getting closer! It's almost summer! I come home in summer! I can't
wait.

Goodnight, Sweetie. I also wish that I could see you in the
morning...if I come home really late, like in the middle of the night,
would you prefer to get up in the middle of the night and meet me at the
base, or would you prefer that I wake you up or just be there in the
morning? Think about which one you would like best, in case I do come
home in the middle of the night.

I love you!
Mommy

REPLY:HIT!

Your shot: HIT
My shot: H6

Answers:
I think that where we are moving is cool! I'm not excited, I'M REALLY EXCITED!!!

I don't really want to say much because I want to look at the "Crazy Cats". We went shopping today. We went to Circut City first, And after that Wegmans. We had Arby's for lunch. And don't worry, my tooth is doing fine. Well, I want to go now. So...

Goodbye, I love you. I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY: You sunk one of my ships again!

Your shot: miss
My shot: C8

Yes, I got the email with all those silly cats. Crazy cats! I liked
the karate one a lot - that one is funny.

So what do you think about where we are moving to? Are you excited or
sad? I'm a little of both, myself. I can tell you that I'm excited that
we'll get to home school you though. I think it's going to be great!

Sorry this is so short, baby girl...but I've got meet someone for dinner
right now! Aaa!!!

Love,
Mommy

REPLY: You sunk one of my ships again!

Your shot: Hit, you sunk my cruiser!
My shot: J3

Answers:
My first day of summer vacation was not that good. I got in trouble for a lot of things, but mainly disobedience. That's what Daddy said. Daddy sent me to bed because I was being so bad and I took a nap. He didn't tell me to take a nap, I just took one. I slept in a little bit. Not too much, though. This morning Balen woke up but then trampolined into Daddy's bed (it's a joke, of course). He trampolined so high that he broke the ceiling. When he broke the ceiling the whole house tumbled down, but then got built back up again by God. It was funny. No, he didn't, he showed me just now. That's cool.

I have to go to bed because it's 10:56! (it's close enough to 11, so just make that 11:00)

Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail
p.s. Did you see the cats pictures?

RE: REPLY: HIT

You are right! I forgot to send this one out!

Your shot: Miss
My shot: H9

So how was your first day of summer vacation? I bet it was great! Did
you sleep in? Or did you get up at the normal time? I'm guessing that
you slept in a little bit, and I bet that Daddy loved not having to get
up and get you ready for school. Of course, I'm sure that Balen wakes
up at his normal time no matter what, huh?

I can't wait to get to home and do cool things with you, like cook and
sing and play games and read and learn about something together.

So, did Daddy tell you that we know where we are going to move now?
What do you think about that?

Well, I'm gonna get going and head to bed. I get up pretty early since
we start work at 0530 or 0600 now, so that we don't have to do as much
work during the hot part of the day. It's really yucky here - it's
always over 100 degrees in the day and its usually very dusty too. Just
yucky. I can't wait to get home to some clean air! And it's still warm
during the night, too. In fact, right now (at 10:30 pm) it's 93 degrees
outside and that actually feels kind of cool to me, compared to the day.
Man! Even though it's summer at home, I think I'll feel like it's cold
outside at night when I first get home, because I'll be so used to the
hot weather. I'm so thankful that we have air conditioning! I can't
imagine living here for your whole life...it's not for me, that's for
sure!

Love you!
Mommy

Looks like you forgot to send me an email again

Too bad you forgot to send me an email, but it's okay (I can't assume that you forgot to send an email to me, but maybe there's a problem with the network).

My day was perfect.Today was my last day of school, as you know, and now school is out! I can't believe it! So soon I might have horse back lessons again! I want to go now because it's 9:21 but I want to tell you a few more things. Tonight I went to dinner at On the Border. It was fun. Today I got a Happy Meal. I got it because Mrs. Maynard offered to by me something with the $3 that I had brought to school. She offered to because I was staying there to help clean the classroom. Daddy didn't leave my car seat at school because he forgot to. So I had to stay at school while Mrs. Maynard, Gabriella, Christopher, Ethan, and Alex went to get Happy meals. I don't know if Alex got one. I needed a car seat because Mrs. Maynard was bringing me home and she dropped me off at my house before she went home. Today I brought my DS to school. I should go now. It's 9:27. So...

Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back...

Love,
Abigail

REPLY: HIT

Your shot: hit
My shot: H5

My day was perfect. Today was a half day again. Tomorrow is going to be a half day too; which is my last day of school! I can't wait until tomorrow is over! It's going to be so fun when it's summer break. I should go soon because it's past my bedtime. Tomorrow morning, right when my alarm goes off, I have to get in the shower because I didn't take a shower tonight because I wanted to take a shower tomorrow morning. I hope I don't screw around. That's for sure. Man, I wish that you could tell me the exact date that you're going to come home. I want to go now because it's 8:19.

Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY: Miss

Your shot: Miss
My shot: G9

You are right about Balen and the ocean - not safe for him to just walk
in there alone. You either, for that matter, until you learn how to
swim. And even then, you need to be careful. You've got to know what
you're doing, and that comes with practice and with being around other
people who know what to do in the ocean.

Today was another very busy day for me. I hope that you had another
perfect day! I love to hear about your perfect days!

I can't tell you exactly when I'll be coming home, but I did find out
the date today. I can't tell you exactly when because it's a security
risk. What that really means is that I can't tell you on email or the
phone because it's possible that some bad guys would get that
information, then they would know a little bit of what's going on here,
and that's a big risk, because then they could plan an attack on us. We
don't want that to happen, so I can't tell you the date. I should be
home around the time I told you before - 23rd or 25th or somewhere in
there. We're talking about July, remember...

And hey - CONGRATULATIONS! That's my girl! Little smarty-pants! Good
job Abigail! Excellent work. I'm going to look at the videos that
Daddy sent me in a few minutes. I'm very proud of you, Sweetheart.

I love you lots!
Mommy

REPLY: Miss

Your shot: Miss
My shot: D6

Answers:
I got hit by the waves, too, so I was kind of in the ocean. But no one really went swimming or stuff. They just went in the waves or down by the waves. I kept going back and forth, up to the shore,down to the waves, up to the shore, down to the waves. I did that like 4 or 5 times, or 3 or 4 times. Yes, Balen was there. Yes, he seemed to have a good time in the water. Daddy put him in the waves. I don't mean like set him down standing, because then Balen would probably get killed. He would fall down in the water and maybe fall over laying down under the water then maybe he would breathe water and that's not good. That means he would drown. I got the idea of throwing my horse in the water because Daddy kept on throwing a ball in the waves and then it would wash up to the shore and Mercer and I would try to catch it.

My day was perfect. We had a half-day. Daddy didn't know. So I wanted Miss Wanda to call Daddy so she called Daddy and she told him that it was a half day today. Daddy was like, "Oh, oops!" So he had to come and pick me up. Today was my promotion ceremony. At the ceremony I got my envelope. Guess what! I got a blue ribbon! I got the blue ribbon for the highest academic award for the class overall. I also played my Spirit game a little. I got to have McDonald's and I got to have a McDonald's ice cream cone! I want to go now. Plus it's 10:18 already.

Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail
p.s. Do you know almost exactly the date that you might be coming home? Like July 25th or 23rd?

RE: REPLY: Sunk

Your shot: Miss
My shot: F10

You are so funny Abigail! I love it! Yes, having sand in your butt
crack does suck. Did you go in the ocean yourself, or were you just
throwing your toy into the ocean? Was Balen there too? Did he seem to
have a good time? It sounds like your luau was lots of fun.

I'm talking on the phone with you right now. I love talking on the
phone with you! And that little Balen - boy he makes a lot of noise!
But, that's what little boys do!

Thank you for giving Daddy those 8 kisses for me! That's very nice of
you to pass that along for me.

I hope the rest of your week is as good as the first couple of days have
been. I love you very much Sweetie.

Love,
Mommy

REPLY: Sunk

Your shot: hit! you sunk my destroyer!
My shot: E3

Answer: Yes, he makes a lot of noise.

My day was perfect except for getting sand in my butt-crack. We went to the beach today. That's why I got sand in my butt-crack. I had a toy horse. I kept throwing it in the big waves and I went the farthest into the ocean in my class, I think. Eventually I was told to stop. Daddy took a shovel off of a bucket handle. I didn't know how to take it off at first. he got the handle back on. I don't know how. Once I almost lost her. Luckily Mercer found her. I kept on doing it and I didn't lose her. She's in my bookbag right now. To be honest, I want to go and play my game Spirit: Forever Free.Once I made a picture of Spirit jumping a canyon with Little Creek on his back. So I want to go now.

Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abby

CAPT ABIGAIL
08048

RE: Why didn't you send me an email?

I thought I sent one, but looking back at my email it doesn't look like
I did...I'm sorry Sweetie!

I'm glad that we got to talk though! We talked for a little while,
anyways. I hope that you have a wonderful last week of school.

Oh, yeah, btw:
Your shot: Miss
My shot: I2

It looks like Balen is making all kinds of crazy noises. He's learning
what his voice and mouth can do with sound. It's part of learning to
talk. You should have Daddy show you the videos that he sent me. There
are two particularly cute ones of Balen - one with him "talking" and one
with him giving Daddy a dirty look. They are both super duper cute! I
think you would like them too.

Does Balen walk around "talking" all the time now? I imagine that he
makes a lot more noise now than he used to.

Well, Little Punk, I've got a lot of work to do. I should get to it!
It's going to be pretty busy for me over the next couple of weeks as we
take care of things that the new people want. Then I'll be getting
everything ready for the people who are coming to replace us! That will
be exciting for me, because it will mean that I'm even closer to coming
home to you!

I love you,
Mommy

Why didn't you send me an email?

For some reason I didn't get an email from you.

My day was perfect. Today I got to play some of my Spirit game, Lego Star Wars, I got to have Gabriella over, and other things. We got to watch finish Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. It was a cool movie. Daddy doesn't like Jar Jar. He thinks he's so annoying! I think he's funny because of how he talks, how he moves, and how he does things. Balen's a police car because he's raising his voice and then lowering his voice and then raising his voice and then lowering his voice just like a police car. I think I should go now because Balen's crashing.

Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail

CAPT. ABIGAIL
08048

REPLY: Missy missy missy

Your shot: Hit
My shot: H8

I have to do a short one, too, because Gabriella's here and I need to do my shower. It's already 9:40.

So... Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY: Missy missy missy

Your shot: Hit! You sunk my submarine!
My shot: I3

Sorry kiddo - this is a short email. It's really late for me and I need
to get to bed - I'm crashing!

I have two things to say to you:
1. Good job at dodgeball!
2. Don't cut Daddy's hair off.

Goodnight!
Love,
Mommy

REPLY: Missy missy missy

Your shot: Miss
My shot: A6

Answers:
Yes, someone will want to buy our house. No, it doesn't make any sense about the military.

Today we had an extra long gym because of a movie at gym. We played dodgeball the rest of the gym. I don't really like dodgeball that much. I'm horrible at dodgeball. I'm stupid at it. But this is so cool. While we were playing dodgeball, I did not get hit, not even once. Oliver and company was the movie that we watched in the gym. Daddy said that's funny because we just put Oliver and Company in the dvd player in the car. This afternoon we are going to the boat shop, and when we were going home we watched Rolie Polie Olie - The Baby Bot Chase. I like that movie. I was saying I was going to cut Daddy's hair off because he was about to end my email. I mean bald! There is a pair of scissors up here. I'm staring at them right now. I think I should should go now because Balen is crashing.

So... Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abs

RE: REPLY: I meant to say A9

Your shot: Miss
My shot: J5

ANOTHER perfect day! Whoa! That's so cool though! I'm glad that you
are having perfect days!

Do you think someone will want to buy our house? I love our house, and
I'm sorry that we have to move Sweetie - it's all my fault, since I'm
going to school. One day we will settle down and be done with moving
all over the place. Stupid military - it's bad enough that they send us
away from home to the desert for several months at a time, but they also
make us move a whole lot too. Doesn't make any sense, does it?

That's so exciting for you! School will be done for you very soon, and
that's closer to me going home! First, school will be done. Then after
another week, it will officially be summer. Then after another week it
will almost be July. At that point I'll have a little over 3 weeks
before I leave to go home! I can't wait!

Well, Baby Girl, I need to get going. I've got TONS of work this week,
because everyone's evaluations are due on top of all the regular project
work that I'm doing. There is so much to do...

Anyways, I love you and can't wait to be home with you again. Until the
next email, Little One.

Love,
Mommy

REPLY: I meant to say A9

My shot: A9

Answers:
No, I didn't take any pictures. No, I do not know where my digital camera is. Only 7 days until school is done because school is out on June 14th. So June 14th is the last day of school. Yes, about a week left. We do have the 7-s clue, I just didn't list it in the last email. It stands for "even".

My day was perfect. When I came in my room my desk was nice and clear, my bins were put together, the black TV was out of my room, my bed was made but Daddy had made it better, the bookshelves were nice and clean, my colorful bins were full of toys, and my nightstand and colorful drawers were nice and clean on the top. The only thing on my drawers was my clock, that's it. Daddy told me to keep it that way, and I hope I do because there will be people coming here even though we're not here. There's this kind of grey lock thing on the front door so the real estate agents can get in the house while we are gone, like out to lunch or breakfast or something. Tomorrow they might come with people. I got my homework and my shower done real fast. I got my shower done in 3 minutes again. I only had one thing to do for homework. That's why I got my homework done so fast. We went out to dinner tonight at TGI Friday's. We went with Mr Joe and Miss Kim. I wore my cream colored dress which had white, green, and pink polka dots, I think. I was wearing some white sandals that didn't fit me any more. I didn't notice them at first. Daddy let me wear them though because he said, "Good choice." He also let me wear them because I already had them on. I want to go.

Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abs

RE: REPLY: Missa chirisa!

Your shot: you already did that shot...scroll down and see
My shot: I'll wait for you to reshoot!

A field trip to the aquarium! That sounds so cool!!! Did you take any
pictures? Do you even know where your digital camera is? You should
find it and use it - take lots of pictures of things that are
interesting to you.

How many days left until school is done? You've probably just got about
a week left, huh? That must be very exciting, second grader! But soon
you won't be a second grader anymore, you'll be a third grader!! You
are getting too big! STOP GROWING!!!

You are right about the first sentence. It is "You are always in my
heart." The first word of the next sentence wasn't listed. It's the
"7-s" clue. The next one is the "How, Where, Who, What, Why, ?" clue.
You are right - the happy face is glad. That should be it. You should
have two more clues on their way. I've got about 6 left to send, and
that matches the number of weeks I've got left here, there abouts.

I love you Sweetie. Hang in there, ok?

Love,
Mommy

REPLY: Missa chirisa!

Your shot: miss
My shot: A8

Greetings, Mommy

We have figured out the first sentence already: "You Are Always In My Heart." Now we're working on the second sentence. That's why we did not send the answers for the first sentence.

Okay, I will not lie. If I don't lie, then I won't lose stuff. Like you said, it is good to correct yourself very quickly. I think that the happy face means glad.

My day was perfect. I didn't get my name on the board because when I got back from the field trip school was already over. We went to the Camden Aquarium because we raised a lot of money for the race for education. When we got to the aquarium it was so cool because I recognized it because we've been there a long time ago. I got to touch little mini sharks that could hurt, they felt so fuzzy soft. Zahra thought it was creepy touching the animals. I also got to touch a lobster, some shrimp, and a jellyfish. The jellyfish felt really gooey and slimy. Yeuch! I got to see penguins and seals. Too bad we didn't get anything from the giftshop.

I have to go because I need to get in the shower. Goodbye, I love you, I wish I
could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love you, Mommy.
Abby

RE: REPLY: HIT!

Your shot: Hit!
My shot: E9

Hmm...please don't lie, little girl. I'm glad to hear that you
corrected yourself very quickly though.

You should have more clues than that! I've sent one each week that I've
been gone. You probably don't have the last couple that I've sent
because they take so long to get there, but it looks like you are
missing some, like the "U," the heart, and word "ALL" with the
arrows...did you lose those?

Well, here's the order of what you gave me, but there are gaps where
some words are missing:
YOU+ME = we or us (it's WE)
R = are
E_G, _BC, PQ_ = far
four circles together, then four circles ? = apart

I+M = I'm
DO, GO, HO, NO, , TO, YO = So
happy face = happy or joyful (nope...it means those things, but it's
another word)
back and forth, here and there, to and fro, this and _____ = that
U'R = you're or your (YOU'RE)

The next two you don't have yet...and you're missing all the ones before
these. Can you see some sentences?

Well, Sweetpea, I need to get to work! For some reason I've got a LOT
of emails today, so I need to go see what they are all about! But yours
is the most important one to me!

Love,
Mommy

REPLY: HIT!

Your shot: Hit
My shot: A7

Hello, Mommy.

Answers:
Yep, yesterday was a perfect day. I did 22 push-ups. Mikayla did 23. Today was not quite a perfect day. Over here the weather is really rainy. Like 4 or 5 days straight raining. We only got a little bit of sunshine. Okay, as long as you guys figure out which school you are going to go to. Please say it's Penn State! Pretty pretty please!

I lied today. I was in bed because I had interrupted Daddy while he was putting Balen to sleep, or trying to anyways. I went in and asked Daddy, "Can I play my DS." He said, "No, go lay in your bed." I went to lay in my bed not feeling so happy, of course. Later, like 15 minutes later Daddy came in and he asked, "What do you have in your hands." I said, "Nothing." He started walking towards me to look at my hands and when he was walking towards me I said, "Well, something in my hands." So that was my lie.

Here are the clues we have:
I+M = I'm
DO, GO, HO, NO, , TO, YO = So
E_G, _BC, PQ_ = far
four circles together, then four circles ? = apart
back and forth, here and there, to and fro, this and _____ = that
U'R = you're or your
R = are
YOU+ME = we or us
happy face = happy or joyful

We don't know what order they go in.

Daddy said I need to say goodbye, so... Goodbye, I love you, I wish I
could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY: H-I-T!

Your shot: HIT!
My shot: F9

Another perfect day, huh? How many push ups did you do? I kind of get
the idea of what you are talking about...sounds like they were measuring
how far you could stretch and bend. That's important for them to check,
I think, because I'm guessing that it has something to do with your
spine/back and your overall body.

How is the weather there now? Are you getting some sunshine finally?
It's still hot here, but it actually started out relatively cool and
clear this morning, without dust filling the air. It was really nice,
while it lasted. Now it's warmed up and soon it will be really hot
again. I can't wait to get home and get away from this heat. I don't
like it.

Daddy and I are still working out which school I will be going to and
where we will be moving, but we should know soon, okay? I'm sure you
are very curious to know where we are going. We should know in about a
week, hopefully. Ok?

I love you very much, my Little One. Give Little Two a kiss, and tell
him that his mommy loves him. Then give Daddy a kiss and tell him that
mommy loves him.

And here's your kiss: *kiss*

I love you!
Mommy

REPLY: H-I-T!

Your shot: hit!
My shot: A8

Greetings, Mother!

Answers:
Yes, I said I made my own oatmeal. Yes, I do it myself now. Yes, I think you and I should make breakfast, lunch, and dinner. How does that sound to you? Something like rice, some cooked vegetable, and fish (not raw, of course). Okay, that's fine with me: not knowing exactly when you are going to come home.

My day was perfect. I did not get my name on the board. Today I brought Baby Icing (my little horsey that I got for my 7th birthday). This is unusual: we had gym first thing in the morning. I think today was part of our physical fitness test, I don't know. We did push-ups, and we... it's hard to explain... but we stood on this measuring thing. There were two bars and you stood on the outside of the bars. The box was wood. There was this white thing in the front of it. Kind of like a big piece of paper with these numbers on it all the way up to 11. You would stand on the box and put one hand on top of the other hand and put your arms high in the air. Then you would bend down and put your hands on the front of the box. There's numbers on each side of the box, so there were lines from each number, even half of each number, they were inches. So you would have to stretch down and touch the wall as far as you can go down without bending your knees. Then Mrs. Barrett would follow the line from your fingertips and whatever number that line was at she would write on a clipboard. Do you kind of get the idea?

Daddy says I should go because it is 8:00. Goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY: Missa Tissa!

Your shot: Miss
My shot: C7

A perfect day! How wonderful! I'm so glad that you had a perfect
day!!! Even though it was rainy and even though you had to watch your
brother for part of the day, you still said it was perfect! That's
awesome! It sounds like it was a wonderful day for you.

You said that you made your own oatmeal? Do you do that yourself now?
That's pretty cool. I know it's just adding some hot water to the bowl
of dry oatmeal, but still, I bet it really helps Daddy that you can do
that do that yourself.

I can't wait to get back to you and start cooking with you again! Maybe
you can make a meal all on your own (with my supervision and help when
needed, of course) for the family. Would that something you'd like to
try sometime? Something like some baked fish, a fresh vegetable, and
some rice? What do you think about something like that?

I had a pretty good day yesterday too, all things considered. I came in
to get some work done, and I did get quite a bit of stuff done. I was
happy about that, because there were a few things that I had been
meaning to do for a long time, but just hadn't gotten around to yet.
This gave me the chance to get those things done, and that means that
I'm a little less pressured to get stuff done today. This is a good
thing!

I've got less than 7 weeks left. It's probably close to just 6 weeks,
but we don't know the exact dates yet, and we won't know them until we
get really close. And even when I do know them, I won't be able to tell
you exactly because we aren't allowed to do that. It's too dangerous.
The enemy might learn when we are leaving and take that opportunity to
attack us. We don't want that to happen, so I won't tell you the exact
dates or times but just generally when you can expect me. Ok?

Alrighty Little One. I should get back to work. I love you, my
beautiful daughter!

Love,
Mommy

REPLY: Missa Tissa!

Your shot: miss
My shot: E1

Good evening, Mother!

Answers:
I really do think that it's better for me to hug you first because Daddy explained it to me last night. Daddy's not certain that Balen said his first word. Sometimes it sounds like he's calling me. Yes, Daddy has tried to get him to say "Abigail", but only when I'm around so he can think, "Oh, that's Abigail". Yes, some people have said that I'm a good big sister. These days it's kind of really rainy. I'm barely able to go outside except for playing with Nathan in the afternoon. Two days in a row I went into his hot tub with him and Sarah.

My day was perfect. I woke up. I went to Daddy's bed to lay with him for a little. Then I had to get up and go take my shower. I brushed my hair. I did not brush my teeth. I made my oatmeal for on the way and I ate a little bit at the house. We went to church and we arrived there earlier than we usually do, so we got to sit in the very second row. I picked the row. I wanted to sit in the very front, but it was kind of cut off because there were wires and people's stuff. We sang a few songs. I went to children's church and when I was going to my second class Daddy picked me up with Balen and then we left. Daddy gave Balen a snack then put him down for a nap. Later in the afternoon I watched Balen while Daddy worked on some of the mulch. I played with Nathan when Daddy came back inside. I put one of my raincoats on and got some shoes on. Daddy gave me a black umbrella. I went to their house and I stayed there for almost 3 hours. Miss Michelle told me that. When I came back I played with my DS while Daddy watched TV. Soon Daddy put on Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi. We didn't finish that. We paused the movie and left to pick up some pizza because Daddy said he would order some pizza. When we came back we ate dinner and I took a long time to eat dinner as normal. Daddy went to change Balen's diaper after a while. When he came back down I had paused it. We watched a little more, like a few minutes of it. Then I went upstairs to get ready for bed. I started working on my email and here I am working on my email. That's my day.

Well, I should get going because it's 8:36. So, goodbye, I love you, I wish I could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail

RE: REPLY: I FORGIVE you!

Your shot: Miss
My shot: B6

You don't think that Balen would think it's more ok if he sees you
hugging me first? I'm sure that would make him feel more comfortable,
because I'm sure that he cares very much about what you do.

So it sounds like Balen has said his first word. Have you heard it yet?
I thought for sure that you would be his first word...does he call you
anything? Have you tried to get him to say "Abigail" at all? Maybe you
should give it a try and see what he says.

Even though it's Sunday, I've got a lot to do today. There is so much
work to do, that I've got to take care of some of it during my time off!
That stinks! But that's what we're out here to do - work. We're not
out here to play games and have fun!

Sounds like you had a good time with the little ones...you are a great
big sister, you know that? Does anyone ever tell you that? I think you
are a super big sis. I'm glad that you are there to help Daddy out when
he needs it, and to give Balen someone to play with and be friends with.


How is the weather for you these days? Remember last time I asked you
and you said that it was really hot? Well, I think that you don't know
what hot really feels like, because every day it's well over one hundred
degrees here. And at night, it's usually in the eighties. It doesn't
even get cool anymore, only warm and hot. Warm and hot. Never cool. I
hope that the weather at home is cool for at least a couple of nights
when I first get home, just so I can feel refreshed. I sure am glad
that we have air conditioning!!! We'd get almost no work done if we
didn't have that, because everyone would be too hot and too tired to do
anything!

I will talk to you tonight for me, after church for you. Of course, by
the time you read this we'll have already spoken...

I love you little girl! I hope that you have a wonderful Sunday and
that your last couple weeks of school are marvelous! Just think - soon
you'll be done with 2nd grade and ready for 3rd! You are getting so
big! You need to stop growing up so fast!!!

Love,
Mommy

REPLY: I FORGIVE you!

Your shot: miss
My shot: D7

Have greeting, Mother!

Answers:
OK! I'll look in my cook books. How does that sound? Yes, that sounds good.

My day was good except for Balen getting in all my drawers and stuff. Right
now it's 8:34. I should get going soon. Yesterday my DS arrived. Hooray! We
had Baja Fresh for dinner, and my black beans spilled, which tasted a little
spicy and weird. Daddy said I didn't have to eat them. We went to the
Diamond restaurant for lunch with Mr Chad and Mrs. Dana and Lyla. For
breakfast we had normal cereal as usual. After breakfast I played my DS a
little. Then Daddy brought Balen upstairs so I had to play with him. I
couldn't play with my DS because I had to pay attention to him. So I closed
my DS and started playing with Balen with my big snake. We had a good time
and that's when Dana and Chad arrived with Lyla. A few minutes after they
arrived we went downstairs and I walked around with Balen and Lyla a little.
Daddy was putting Balen down for a nap, and Lyla went down for a nap, too. I
went upstairs and I did my homework and I got dressed. I showed Daddy my
homework when he had come back from putting some trash in the garbage cans
just down the street around the corner. So I asked Mrs. Dana a few math
problems.

I think I should go because it's 8:41 now. So, goodbye, I love you. I wish I
could see you in the morning. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail
p.s. I think you should hug Balen first because he wouldn't know you as well
as we would.

RE: I wonder why I didn't get an email from you.

Oh my goodness my little Sweetheart! I read your email and people kept
coming in to see me and I had so much to do...I realized when I was in
the shower last night that I forgot to send you an email! I'm so sorry
sweetie! And I didn't have a car to get back to work, and I didn't want
to walk because there was a wind with a lot of dust in the air.

Well, I apologize, my dear.

4 days straight without your name on the board! That's AWESOME!!!

Btw, here's my turn:
Your shot: Miss
My shot: A5

I wish I could give you a bunch of hugs with squeezes and kisses too.
You know, you'll probably be the first person I hug when I get home.
You know why? Because I love you! And Daddy will probably be holding
Balen and you'll be able to run to me! I can't wait!!! We've got less
than 60 days, less than 7 weeks left. We're getting closer. Now it's
June. I hope that June goes by fast, then it will be July, and we get
to come home in July!!!

Keep up the good behavior, Little Punk!

I want you to start thinking about what meals you want us to make
together when I come home, ok? That way we can do some shopping and get
what we need then cook up some yummy delicious foods. Sound good to
you? I'm looking forward to being able to cook again. I'm also looking
forward to being able to eat fresh eggs again. They don't have any out
here because the birds in Kuwait where we were getting the eggs from
were starting to get sick, so they stopped sending/serving the eggs.
It's been like that since February! So it'll be nice to have some fresh
eggs again!

Well, my little angel, I need to get to work. I love you!

Love,
Mommy

I wonder why I didn't get an email from you.

I wonder why I didn't get an email from you. Did you get yesterday's? Or did you just forget to send one to me?

My day was perfect. I did not get my name on the board again. 4 days straight! I get 20 things back because at the beginning of this week, my daddy told me that from now on, "You lose 5 things if you get your name on the board, and you get 5 things if you don't get your name on the board." When I was at Nathan's house, Sarah had a puppy of mine. I had brought it over a few months ago, or something like that, and Sarah was taking care of it for me! It was a little Dalmatian puppy. She was bringing out some of her stuffed animals, and she brought out that little puppy. I haven't seen it for a long time. It's going to be one of my things back because I love it very much. I just think I should go now because it's really late. It's 8:43.

Goodbye, I love you, I wish you could be here with me so I could give you a bunch of hugs and squeezes with kisses. Until you come back.

Love,
Abigail