The best letter yet!

I have decided getting a letter from Nic is like the golden ticket in the Wonka bar! Today's letter is several days in one again. Here are a few parts from each day.

Sunday, Feb. 22
This page starts out, "So I had a huge reality check tonight...". They were shown two movie clips of soldiers being killed by I.E.D.s. He said it hit him really hard and now he wants to learn everything he possibly can to keep himself safe. The rest of the night was a struggle for him.
"The day even started out as a way good day too because I got to spend a couple of hours with Alex! It was the greatest thing ever to see him".

Monday, Feb. 23
"Today was a much better day! We started shooting and switched to white phase! We did grouping today which is where you put 5 shots in a 4cm circle and I put six dead center of the mass in a qtr size circle. I have to do stupid fire guard tonight! Its the most stupid thing ever cause it's two hours long and I absolutely hate it! But, oh well, everyone has to. One more thing that sucks is we don't even have and freaking pillows because they ran out!"

Tuesday, Feb. 24
"Today was fun. We shot our M-16 from 0900-1700 hours! It was so great. "

Friday, Feb. 27
I had sent Nic a ton of questions to answer:
1. Do you like the food? Depends on the day. My favorite three things are beef stew, chicken patties, spaghetti, and there are lima beans every day! Heaven!
2. Do the drill sgts yell all the time? Depends on if we get in trouble, but not as much as they used to.
3. Have you seen Alex? Yes, I saw him at church last week. It was so good to see him. He looks way different with his glasses (military issue). He is doing good.
4. Whats your favorite thing you have done? Probably shooting and hand to hand combatives. They are both way fun and I really enjoy it. Least favorite is getting smoked when it's pouring rain and getting soaked. (I think "getting smoked" means getting in a lot of trouble)
5. Do you get free time! Yes, about an hour to 2 every night. Sundays is pretty much our day usually. I just chill with my battle buddies or write letters. By the way, I love getting letters so much and the more pictures the better.
6. Who are some people you get along with so we can watch for them on the website? Ford, Fichter, Klabones, Hollingsworth, Dias. I should have pictures on there soon because I have seen them taking my picture and video.
7. Have you had to clean the bathrooms? yes
8. Have you gotten in trouble? NEGATIVE
9. Do they have mail call everyday? yes, if we have time.
10. Who have you gotten mail from? mom, grandma, morgan, katie and aunt kelly's family
11. Do you get your cell phone? yes, but don't know when. lol.
12. Are you used to the schedule? yes, finally
13. Do you have your rank on your uniform? yes and it's way cool!
14. Are you tired of wearing camo? "are you kidding? Hell no! I love it. Lol "
15. Did you throw up during the gas chamber? No, it didn't really affect me as bad as it did other people.
16. Did it hurt when they did the I.V. in you? noway. didn't even feel it, but when I was putting the needle in I could feel it puncture the skin and like a pop feeling in the vain (way cool)
17. Is your rifle really cool? Hell yes! oh and Brandon should be proud of me. Today we went to the range where the targets pop up and you have a time limit. The targets were at 75m, 175m, and 300m. I hit 40 out of 40! Best in my platoon! (60 people)
18. Do you have it (your rifle) with you all the time? Yes, if you forget it you have to carry "big bertha" which is an M16 just like mine only 15 times normal size and weighs about 50lbs! No I haven't experienced it.
19. What bases to you want to get assigned to? Ft. Louis, Washington, Hawaii or England

Sunday, 3/1
"So, yesterday was a long and VERY cold day! I have never seen it rain so much and so hard for so long. It rained downways and crossways and diagonal ways and this one tie it was like it was coming from the ground! Its sunday morning and I'm hanging out in the laundry room because I am waiting to do laundry because I have zero clean uniforms! I know you are thinking I should have washed them earlier...lol...and ya, i probably should have! I got to see Alex today so I'm pretty excited. Thats pretty much what I look forward to all week long!"
He says he will be glad when he can move onto AIT because basic is starting to get really old. He is "getting really sick and tired of people not getting disciplined and getting us all in trouble. I mean week five is starting and people still talk in formation and can't keep their mouths shut!"
"We did the worst thing ever last night! We got in trouble so we had to do 50/50 fireguard so half the bay was up for two hours then switch and do that all night. We had to do it in full battle rattle, which consists of your helmet, your vest with both plates in and your weapon. It was miserable!"
"So this letter is extremely long because I think I will be stuck in the laundry forever. From now on I am going to start sending my laundry out cause they have a laundry service where I can send it out and I will get it back all pressed and folded! Someone just said there is 38 days til family day!"
He ends his letter with, "I just want you to know how much I appreciate all you guys are doing for me, like sending me tons of letters! Because it makes this so much easier so write me as much as you possibly can! It makes my whole day to have a letter every night! Something for me to always look forward to so I really really really appreciate it so never feel like you are writing me too many letters because the more the better! Tell everyone I would love to hear from them too. Tell everyone hi and that I am doing good. I will talk to you next Sunday, hopefully!..."