Straight to the point

• Mark said yesterday that during the past couple days it has been raining. As of yesterday they had bad downpours and all the ditches are flooded.

• I've gotten to talk to him via e-mail about 6 our of 7 days, which is very nice...and he calls when I ask nicely :). He has been calling from other peoples cell phones (they bought special phones that work over there), as they had their phone taken away and it's hard to get on the public phone (long lines and such)....or he calls from Skype.
  
• His e-mail today said, "It is super cold out right now, with windchill it is like 25 degrees out and walking a mile in that sucks. My ears are freezing and it is hard to type because my fingers are cold. " Poor guy! I highly doubt they have heated buildings, especially in a desert.
• They got all of the packages, as said before...and loved them...they said that it definitely boosts their spirits just to get something. Their favorite was all the food, as usual :)
• Trooper is.....a puppy. He is adorable....when he's sleeping. Naw, he's cute most of the time when he's not finding new things to chew on. He's recently learned how to fetch, he sits, shakes, and lays down when told. We're trying to get over the stick eating...last week he ate a bush worth of sticks and that was an unpleasant outcome.
  
• Today we went to the dog park and he had a ball. It was "small dog hours," and I thought Trooper was going to eat the little ones. I brought him in and it was the exact opposite. Those little dogs are used to defending themselves, so they put Trooper in his spot. He was being chased by the teeniest little doggies...so cute. I've been taking him on walks everyday so he can get a little energy out, as well as taking him to a friends during the week for puppy play dates- he loves it.
• The picture to the right is of Trooper sleeping and still standing. He wanted so badly to get on the recliner, but we wouldn't let him. He played hard that day and was pooped...so he wen't as far up as we would let him and took a nap. Haha.
  
• In other news....less than 4 months until he's back, and less than a month until we move! Woop Woop! (Trooper told me he is excited to run laps around a fenced backyard instead of a living room).

H