24 years old!

Mark's birthday was on 6 Oct. Yes, he still had to work- but he was happy that it was a relatively slow day at work. Everyone sang to him at shift change that evening when a fellow soldier/friend of Mark's, J.S., shared that it was Mark's birthday and the S3 (boss) started singing. Everyone else joined in. He stated that he enjoyed reading all of the Facebook birthday wishes and enjoyed opening birthday cards and packages. Thank you everyone who tried to make his day special- from so far away!

I sent Mark a care package complete with birthday cake, candles, forks, and a stuffed monkey with a voice message recorded in his paw. I made the monkey at the Build- A- Bear workshop. If any of you have been to the store, you can appreciate the rest of the story. I went to the store where you pick out the animal you would like to make (which comes "unstuffed". You then go to a machine that stuffs the animal to your desired softness. Of course, there were two little girls in front of me in line ages 5 and 6, then me, then a little boy and girl behind me ages 7 and 3. I'm sure I looked absolutely ridiculous in line. To make the situation even more mortifying, the man stuffing the animals had you insert a little heart into the inside of the animal. But it couldn't be that simple. I was to first rub the heart on my stomach so that it would never get hungry, blow on it so it would have the breath of life, rub it on my ear so it would always listen to me, rub it over my heart so it would have a heart beat, and finally kiss it so it may always feel loved. The man started his instructions and I politely interrupted and asked if we could just skip it. He wasn't too fond of that idea because of the kids behind me. So I had to go through the whole process. I felt so stupid and thought was this all really worth it? After the monkey was stuffed and my voice message was put inside (which had to be recorded in the bathroom because there were so many screaming kids in the store) I headed over to the cash register. The clerk asked me then if I had made a birth certificate! I looked at her in disbelief and said "No (in a slightly shocked voice)" Seriously a birth certificate for a stuffed animal?! Wow- amazing how things have changed since I was a kid!

Mark may have been underwhelmed when he saw the monkey in the box when he opened it, but when he heard the story behind it and the embarrassment I went through to have it made- he had a good laugh out of it all. I fully realize the monkey will probably never leave his trunk- but hopefully he enjoyed the voice message and the thought! The cake on the other hand was a HUGE success! He loved it! All in all- I think the birthday boodle was a success. (photos of the box are below)

Hope everyone is doing well! Classes are going well for me and the countdown until the big move out to WA in December has begun! 65 days to go!

Love,

Angie

New Job- yet again

Hello All,

Well, I went to the Badger game this weekend with my parents and father-in-law. It was a bit of a blow out (70-3) but we had a wonderful time. To top it off, we got a phone call from Mark! He has been so busy since prior to the Afghanistan elections that we have hardly gotten to talk or even swap many e-mails. He had some news though- his job changed- yet again. I think we are on "full time" job number 3 for this deployment (correct me if I'm wrong, Mark) and what seems like at least 4 or 5 additional little add on jobs.

His new job title is Battle Captain for the Battalion. As the title of the job states- it is meant to be held by a captain- but Mark will be having this job as a 2nd Lieutenant. The good news is, though it is a new job, this position is something he did receive training for prior deployment. So, thankfully, it is not totally new. His job consists of tracking and documenting where all of the companies in the battalion are, what they are doing, what they plan on doing, and what they need to be doing. The best part of the job (in my mind) is that the hours aren't quite as long! A typical day for him will now be 9am-9:30pm. Today was his first day so we'll have to see how the next few weeks go.

That's about all from this end. I hope everyone is doing well.

Love

Angie

How to post comments

I have heard that many of you have tried to figure out how to post a comment and have been unsuccessful. Here's my best effort to make the task easier and successful!

Under each of the posts, let use the Afghanistan Elections post as an example, there is a line that says posted by Angie Kloiber at 7:24 PM then says 1 comment. To post a comment all you have to do is click 1 comment button. The window should change and it should show anyone else's comments that may have already been posted and then there will be a white box with a title above that says "Post a Comment." Type your message there. Right below the comment box there will be a line that says "Comment as: " and then there will be a drop down bar. Select "Anonymous." Then click the "post comment" button.

AND THEN YOU'VE DONE IT! Don't worry if you don't see your message right away. All comments are sent to me to confirm them to be posted on the blog.

I hope this is helpful!

Angie

Afghanistan Elections

Hello Everyone,

Well it had been a few days since I was able to talk with Mark last. But- today he checked in. We knew it was going to be a busy end of the week for him due to the Afghanistan Elections on Sept 18th. He was off somewhere in the city from what I know and was a part of the QRF (quick reaction force). His job was to escort the EOD (the people who get rid of IED's or improvised explosive device). Got to love the military and all its acronyms! He states he was sleeping 4-4.5 hours a night and is happy to catch up on some sleep this evening. He also was very excited to have gotten to be a Truck Commander. That job consisted of talking on the radio telling people what to do (speed up, slow down, etc). So he was leading the whole convoy. He loved it and found it very exciting. I think I could probably have done without knowing that... sounds dangerous to me! He was happy to have real food served tonight at midnight his time since they have been eating only MREs (meals ready to eat). MREs are the most processed, longest shelf life food items that you could ever imagine. The only person I have known to like them is Mark's little brother Brian. They are just gross. So he was happy to eat some good food and from the sounds of it- a lot of it.

Thank you again for everyone who said an extra prayer. They are always appreciated! We knew this was a potentially more dangerous time.

That's all for the update.

Love

Angie

Mark Meets Secretary of Defense

So Mark shared some fun news and even a picture! Last week (or around then, he can't really remember date details) Mark got a picture with Secretary Robert Gates. I haven't gotten to drill him on the experience yet.

I just got the message from him this morning. I initially asked how he "forgot" to tell me about that exciting detail of his day/week when we talk!? But due to Secretary Gates' safety- Mark could not share that information until Sec. Gates was back on US soil safely. Makes sense, but I found another reason why I may not be good to have on enemy lines. I have a hard time keeping the lamest secret- let alone meeting such an honorable person!

I'm glad he got a chance to meet and snap a picture of Gates. I know Mark felt he had a good commencement speech when he spoke at Mark's Graduation from West Point in May 2009. Hope you all enjoy seeing the picture! I know another Lt from Mark's unit got the honor to meet Gen. Petraeus and snap a picture with him as well.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4329231/secretary-gates-tours-afghan-front

Love,

Angie

Surprise Flowers

How did I forget to post this on the blog! I have the best husband in the world! As you have seen before (thanks Marky) my husband has quite the sweet side with his words, but he always has something up his sleeve and enjoys planning surprises! Well he got me yet again on this one!

As I posted earlier, I was out in WA painting the inside of our house before my classes in WI started up. I was gone for 10 days. Mark knew this. So he sent a letter to my landlords with an enclosed envelope for me and some money for them. He wrote them a nice letter about how everything was in Afghanistan, but also asked them to surprise me with flowers on his behalf. He asked them to purchase some sunflowers from the grocery store (my favorite), put them in a vase, go into my house, and put them on the table. They did just that.

I got home from my trip, opened my front door and saw his beautiful flowers on my coffee table! Tears came streaming down my face. I immediately knew who they were from and was curious how he pulled it off. I read his note and it made a few more tears stroll down my face with his kind words. I have the best husband in the world. Thanks again baby for the wonderful surprise. I love you.

Love Ang

504th MP Bn. assumes duties in Afghanistan

I usually don't look at the news because I can't edit/screen it. Today, I for some reason, I found my fingers typing in the google search bar- "504th MP Bn". Here is one of the articles on Mark's unit. You can click on the link below and it should bring you to the news article.

504th MP Bn. assumes duties in Afghanistan

Love,

Angie Kloiber

Reading Time

Hello Everyone,
Mark and I have begun a new form of communication. Email chat. That's right- rapid firing of e-mails back and forth which really equates to a long drawn out conversation where you can actually discuss only about 1/100th of what you could from a regular chat session or conversation. However, from our few e-mail chats we have had I have gotten that his days are super long but he is not nearly as busy as he was previously. He has finished his first leisure reading book in I'm not sure how many years! He was very excited about the book and enjoyed it. Other than that- no new news from him.

As for me, I had my last, first day of school! And it feels awesome to know I'm on the final stretch! I just was out in WA for 10 days and got the rest of the inside of our house painted. 8 gallons later it looks like a totally different place and is ready for Mark to come home to a beautiful house.

That's about all I have here. I hope everything is well.
Angie