Longest Phone Call Yet!

I just heard from Nathan!  He is doing really well and says that these next few weeks are going to just fly by because they have so much packed into those weeks.  He got 10 more minutes on the phone then normal because he's leader was so impressed with them this past week!  He knows how to put together and take apart some fancy gun, and he's learning to shoot some other gun tomorrow that he's really excited about.  Sorry I don't know what they are, he told me, but the information didn't stick.  This last week was the one where they went into a gas chamber.  They went in with all the gear and masks on and then had to take off the masks and say something (I don't remember what it is called), but he got as far to say, "AB Sinex reporting," before the gas started effecting his body.  He said that it wasn't scary at all, which completely baffles me.  He's a barometer for needing to worry.  Whenever things come up, I can tell if there is going to be a good or a bad result by his reaction.  It's like he preprogramed to know if things are going to turn out poorly and if they aren't, he doesn't sweat it.  And he knew that he was in a safe controlled environment and so he didn't worry about it.

The only exception to that rule is roller coasters.  I love a good ride, the feeling of your stomach doing a back flip and losing track of which way is up.  Nathan, however, like his stomach to remain stationary.  For our first anniversary, we went to Vegas and stayed in a hotel that has an indoor theme park.  We were so excited!  The first ride I wanted to go on was the biggest one there.  It had loops, and corkscrews, and a big drop.  We sat down in the coaster and the harness came down over our heads and he begins to FREAK OUT!  He tries to push the thing in as far as it could go, afraid that it didn't lock or fit him tight enough so he might slip out or something.  I had never seen him like this before and I had no idea what to do.  And then he starts talking about his death, and how did he get here?  If he could have had jumped ship as we were climbing up that first big drop, I think that he would have.  I tried to calm him down at first and when I decided that wasn't going to happen, so I just enjoyed the entertainment he provided.  That same experience happened on every ride we went on except for the ferris wheel and the water ride.

We went on the water ride a lot.

It was super fun watching him freak out every time, but it was also nice to watch him have a good time, so we went on the most exciting ride he could handle, the water ride, a lot.

He told me that he puts yogurt on everything at boot camp.  It is apparently consumed at every meal and his favorite thing to do right now is to take a biscuit and dollop some yogurt in it and pretend that it is strawberry shortcake, a jelly filled doughnut, or a cake with frosting.  I laughed so hard and told him that sounded kinda gross.  He defended it and told me I should try it, it's like a big cream puff apparently.  I do love cream puffs.  I dunno if I have a yogurt covered biscuit in my future, but I will keep you posted.  It still sounds gross to me.

We are past the halfway mark for boot camp now.  He's starting week 5.  I'm so happy that it is almost over!  The last week in April is his graduation and I really cannot wait to see him.