Foot Patrol in Sha Joy.

Meeting with a Village Elder, going over projects that need to be completed in the area.

Crowded Bazaar in Sha Joy. (A bazaar is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold.) Everything here is built out of mud, so when it rains the mud can be knee deep. They are hoping to pave this area to allow for a proper gutter and drainage system.

"Acoff, where the heck did you get a watermelon?" Acoff says, "Sir, I hope it's ok. . . I've been craving me a melon!" :) Rob told me the story of the picture above. I was laughing so hard because of the way he told it! I had to post this because I think it is such an adorable picture and it makes me smile when I think of Robs reaction to him having a watermelon!

Rob found an easier way to send me pictures! These are the first 4 of hopefully many that he will be able to send over. He tries to take a significant amount of video of their missions , which he then uploads and is able to take snapshots of the video and send them by email, to me. The picture quality isn't the greatest but I told him I'd take what I could get! :) Anything was better than nothing! So I am excited because I think that I should be able to post pictures of him at least once a week, as long as he keeps them coming!

The election is this week which means an expected increase in violence. Robs leave has now been decreased to only 7 days from what used to be 14 days. He isn't even sure when he will be able come home. There was talk of September but with the elections going on this week, he is thinking it will continue to get pushed back. I will keep everyone posted!

I have been sending him at least one box a week. This week I sent 5! (See post below) I know he doesnt like to eat a lot of the food over there so I mail him snacks to munch on in between meals, along with lots of protein to keep his body mass up so he will have the strength and endurance needed to get through his daily missions. He continually asks how things are back at home, how friends are doing and what his family is up to and why they haven't kept in contact. He said that he did receive a letter from a lady who was a pen pal of the soldier that was in Rob's position before he arrived in Afghanistan. When the previous soldier returned home, he passed on the soldiers information that would be replacing him, which happens to be Rob. :) This sweet lady sent him a letter and package with some M&Ms and popcorn. I thought that was the cutest thing that a complete stranger would send something to show her appreciation of his efforts over there! What a blessing it is to have good people like that in this world! Thank you to whoever you are. . . :)

Upon receiving his popcorn, we realized there was no way for him to cook it. The base does not have a microwave. . . so I decided I'd try to find one that was small enough to fit in a flat rate box but still had enough "juice" to cook a decent sized meal. So. . . I found this microwave at Costco. I am going to try to ship it to them so that the guys at his base can have a microwave to cook the food sent from loved ones back at home. We all know that a guys idea of dinner is anything that they can stick in one of these right?? :) I'm positive it will get some good use! :)

Sending Daddy some boxes of goodies! :) She always tries to put her toys in the boxes. . . I take it out and when I go back to the box there is another one of Adah's toys in it! Next time I will get it on video. . . Cutest thing ever!

We miss you babe!!!

My dad came to visit from San Diego! He was here for 4 days and I spent every night that I could with him! The first night we hung out at my Grandma's house while Adah was the center of attention, playing with toys and refusing to let anyone relax. :)




The 2nd night we had dinner at my place and played cards while enjoying the view of the valley and a wonderful sunset.

The next day, I took a half day off work and we went up to Sundance and walked around while waiting for our river rafting bus to arrive. We then rented a 4 man raft and went down the provo river! It was an absolute blast! Took us about 2 hours to get down the river and when we were on the last leg of the river, we got soaked by some teenagers that thought we needed to cool down. :) The water was 46 degrees so it was quite a shock at first but gave us a good laugh! On our way down the canyon we decided to hike up to bridal veil falls. What an incredible feeling it was to be misted by the freezing water while standing on the edge of the waterfall. :)

On his last day in town, he worked on my brothers bronco, and we enjoyed a late lunch before saying our goodbyes! It had been 9 months since I saw my Dad last, hopefully I'll get to make a trip down to Cali before too much time passes. Sure enjoyed having him here!

Finally a picture!

I absolutely love this picture! It's the first one I have received in about a month and I can't stop looking at it! I think it is so neat to see the helicopters behind him and to see the terrain surrounding him. He was trying to send over a few pictures at once but only one made it through.
The internet at his FOB is not as fast as we originally were told. Rob has a hard time accessing email at the time and sending pictures or video, is next to impossible. They are looking into going with a different internet contract that promises faster speeds so hopefully that will be fixed by the end of the week!
He received his combat badge within a couple days of arriving in Afghanistan. They have engaged in quite a few attacks since last month but he has remained safe. The physical demands of what he is doing has really taken a tole on his body. His back and foot are always sore. He doesn't sleep nearly as much as he should. On his down time he is studying, networking with other knowledgable people, always trying to learn as much as he can.
I continually ask him if he needs anything, searching for ideas of good things to send him. I can't ever get him to really say he needs much. I have a lot of people asking me what they can send him and at this point I think lots of love and prayers is something that is most appreciated by him.
They have been discussing his "leave" dates and so far it is looking like it will be about a month before we know for sure. He was told September originally but then it was changed because of the elections that are taking place soon. I will keep you all posted since I'm sure I'm not the only one missing him like crazy!!!
Lots of missions and projects up ahead. He is in one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan right now and there is a lot of activity all around him. He is not able to share any information with me regarding his missions but I do pay close attention to a few websites, that I feel, give me an accurate idea of what is taking place over there. According to the casualties report for "operation enduring freedom" the number of coalition deaths was the highest last month (July). It is now at 77 deaths just last month alone which is almost double any other month since 9-11!
Rob is the most capable man I know. He has more determination and ambition than I've ever seen someone have. I believe he is absolutely qualified to do extraodinarily well and make such a difference in the lives of people around him. Even during these scary times, I have no doubt that he will make it home safely!
He sends his love home. He's always asking about everyone, always wanting to make sure things are going ok back in the States. He is missing his friends and family and looking forward to coming home and making lots of great memories!
If there is anyone that you know that would like to receive future blog updates then just get me their email and I will make sure to add them to the list. Thank you to everyone for all the support!

“Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more then others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible” – Marc Anderson