Hello from Kuwait. We have arrived here and are awaiting our movement up to Iraq. It is a good time of the year to arrive as the temperature is not nearly as hot as it was last time. We should hit in the low 90's today rather than the 135 that greeted us in 2004. Overall the trip here was uneventful. We traveled for about 29 hours and stopped in Colorado Springs (unfortunately no chance to see Caroline), Bangor Maine, Hahn Germany and finally Kuwait.

Prior to leaving I had the chance to return to CO for 10 days of leave. Caroline had a gathering of friends at the Elbow Room (a bar in the Springs). It was great to get together with everyone there for the evening. Once I have the pictures I will post them to the blog. We then spent four great days in the mountains with Matt and Wendy (from Ann Arbor) skiing and having a great time hanging out. I also got to meet the newest addition to the family, Jackson the cat. I had a good time laughing at his antics and spending time with Caroline and friends before returning to CA. Caroline was able to come out to California for the last weekend and we had a lot of time top just hang out. Her time in CA was the only time that I made it down to the beach, which was nice. She got the opportunity to meet a couple of the guys on my team (besides the ones that she already knew) and their wives. As with all leave blocks and weekends both ended too early and we had to part ways. I also got to spend time with Caroline's aunt Doloris, Uncle Tom and Cousin Chris and his fiance Jessica. It was great to see them and hang out prior to getting out the door to Kuwait.

I also got to catch up with my parents and Dan in Virginia Beach for a weekend in February. I was attending a class in Myock NC (just over the VA/NC border) and got to extend my stay a day to see the family. It was a short but fun visit and it is always good to catch up when you can.

Not too much happening right now. My .mil email address is going to change, so do not send anything to the one I posted earlier. Once we are in Iraq and getting started with our mission I will update everyone with what we are doing. Hope all is well with everyone and I'll type to you again soon.

Dave