23 down...32 to go!
Today is the last day of July...which is a very important day. Happy Birthday to my incredible Dad! I'm such a lucky gal to have him in my life. I called to him earlier and he didn't answer. When he called me back he said he couldn't answer because he was casting his net for bait. I was quite happy to hear this because he was out on the boat fishing with my Mom, and those are his two favorite things. So, what a great birthday for him! :)
The past 23 days have been very busy, so before I go into my update about James and Boot Camp, I wanted to put a few pictures below I've snapped the last few weeks. I'm not in many of them because I've been having so much fun with my "real" camera as Aunt Sue likes to call it. Below are a few pictures from Josh's 30th birthday cookout, Tricia's first baby shower, a weekend I spent at the beach with Josh, Gwen, Cameron, Aunt Sue and Uncle Lin, and Lilly just being cute.
So, how is James Howard surviving after three weeks in "Great Mistakes" as he likes to call it? On Thursday I got a text from his brother who checked the mail in Dunn (Thursday is usually when letters arrive from him) only to find out I did not have a letter. Well, after two weeks of not hearing from him I really couldn't hold it back anymore. I called my dad crying and very upset, and the sweet man was trying to calm me down, telling me it was not in James's control, that I would get one soon, etc. etc. Well as Dad is chatting with me to cheer me up I stop by the post office to check our PO Box. I stick the key in, open the box, and I see not one letter with the Recruit Training Command center logo, I see LOTS of letters with the logos. 6 letters! I'm sure I busted one of my Dad's ear drums from yelling, a post office employee asked if I was ok...craziness. I really can't tell you a time I've been that excited/happy/anxious/relieved/elated. Of course my Dad is going "SEE! I TOLD YOU" and we get off the phone so I race to my sister's house and sit down and read all of them without causing a major wreck on Falls of Neuse Rd. in Raleigh. Life According to James is one of my favorite things in the world, and Boot Camp according to James is even funnier. Below are some excerpts:
July 12
"I wish I could tell you how beautiful Chicago is, or Great Lakes rather, but I have been inside one building this entire time."
"The two recruits beside me snore extremely loud. I would pull my hair out if I had any."
(In his normal cursive writing) "Do you want to see my Recruit handwriting?"
(big capital print letters) "MY NAME IS JAMES GREEN."
July 13
"Today I received my new camo working uniforms. They are SWEET! I also had blood drawn today. I did good! :) I did not pass out."
(Randy I know you will appreciate that one)
"Can you send me a picture? Sleeping in a room full of a bunch of guys is not the greatest thing to look at."
July 15
(Very beginning of letter) "Hey babe! MY ASS HURTS!! I got my shots today. The one in my butt did not hurt when I got it, but now it feels like there is a golf ball stuck inside my butt cheek."
July 16
"My division has started to march together. It is not too pretty right now."
"Its so weird. I feel like I'm shut off from everything. No TV, no beer, no anything"
(Guess those are the two things he misses most???)
"I need a picture of you. Ok I'm going to fall asleep now."
July 19
"To my right is a guy from GHANA believe it or not. I will have to write Annie and Will and let Annie know. She will get a kick out of that!"
"I had baked fish for dinner tonight. It made me think of you and being with your family at the beach."
His letters are so funny. He seems to be doing really well and passing his tests with flying colors. I got an even better present that afternoon, my cell phone rang and I saw the 847 area code and my heart completely stopped. I got a phone call! He sounded great but VERY tired.The further into training it gets the more he is starting to dislike it, but I don't think they designed boot camp so that you'd want to come back :) He finally got all of his mail too and he had 32 PIECES! He said he got the most mail of anyone in his division so a big super thank you to everyone that sent mail. He said it definitely gave him some new found motivation.
Love you all and take care, more Boot Camp According to James will come soon I hope!
Much love,
Jules
The past 23 days have been very busy, so before I go into my update about James and Boot Camp, I wanted to put a few pictures below I've snapped the last few weeks. I'm not in many of them because I've been having so much fun with my "real" camera as Aunt Sue likes to call it. Below are a few pictures from Josh's 30th birthday cookout, Tricia's first baby shower, a weekend I spent at the beach with Josh, Gwen, Cameron, Aunt Sue and Uncle Lin, and Lilly just being cute.
So, how is James Howard surviving after three weeks in "Great Mistakes" as he likes to call it? On Thursday I got a text from his brother who checked the mail in Dunn (Thursday is usually when letters arrive from him) only to find out I did not have a letter. Well, after two weeks of not hearing from him I really couldn't hold it back anymore. I called my dad crying and very upset, and the sweet man was trying to calm me down, telling me it was not in James's control, that I would get one soon, etc. etc. Well as Dad is chatting with me to cheer me up I stop by the post office to check our PO Box. I stick the key in, open the box, and I see not one letter with the Recruit Training Command center logo, I see LOTS of letters with the logos. 6 letters! I'm sure I busted one of my Dad's ear drums from yelling, a post office employee asked if I was ok...craziness. I really can't tell you a time I've been that excited/happy/anxious/relieved/elated. Of course my Dad is going "SEE! I TOLD YOU" and we get off the phone so I race to my sister's house and sit down and read all of them without causing a major wreck on Falls of Neuse Rd. in Raleigh. Life According to James is one of my favorite things in the world, and Boot Camp according to James is even funnier. Below are some excerpts:
July 12
"I wish I could tell you how beautiful Chicago is, or Great Lakes rather, but I have been inside one building this entire time."
"The two recruits beside me snore extremely loud. I would pull my hair out if I had any."
(In his normal cursive writing) "Do you want to see my Recruit handwriting?"
(big capital print letters) "MY NAME IS JAMES GREEN."
July 13
"Today I received my new camo working uniforms. They are SWEET! I also had blood drawn today. I did good! :) I did not pass out."
(Randy I know you will appreciate that one)
"Can you send me a picture? Sleeping in a room full of a bunch of guys is not the greatest thing to look at."
July 15
(Very beginning of letter) "Hey babe! MY ASS HURTS!! I got my shots today. The one in my butt did not hurt when I got it, but now it feels like there is a golf ball stuck inside my butt cheek."
July 16
"My division has started to march together. It is not too pretty right now."
"Its so weird. I feel like I'm shut off from everything. No TV, no beer, no anything"
(Guess those are the two things he misses most???)
"I need a picture of you. Ok I'm going to fall asleep now."
July 19
"To my right is a guy from GHANA believe it or not. I will have to write Annie and Will and let Annie know. She will get a kick out of that!"
"I had baked fish for dinner tonight. It made me think of you and being with your family at the beach."
His letters are so funny. He seems to be doing really well and passing his tests with flying colors. I got an even better present that afternoon, my cell phone rang and I saw the 847 area code and my heart completely stopped. I got a phone call! He sounded great but VERY tired.The further into training it gets the more he is starting to dislike it, but I don't think they designed boot camp so that you'd want to come back :) He finally got all of his mail too and he had 32 PIECES! He said he got the most mail of anyone in his division so a big super thank you to everyone that sent mail. He said it definitely gave him some new found motivation.
Love you all and take care, more Boot Camp According to James will come soon I hope!
Much love,
Jules
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