Kristie's First Letter Arrives

Tim and Kristie waiting in line to get their boarding passes.

Kristie, just before she goes through the security gate. Sad time.

I got my first letter from Kristie today. Pretty exciting. She is writing much earlier than what she thought she would be able to. It was funny seeing her signature "PVT JOHNSON". She still does not have a return address yet but will send it when she has it. She also said that she might be able to use her phone on Sundays. She didn't call this Sunday, but we'll wait and see.

Jodie

Here are parts of Kristie's Letter:

Wednesday, 2 July 2009
Hey Mom,
Well I know I just talked to you but I thought I’d tell you how my last 2 days have been, things I didn’t have time to tell you.
Yesterday when we got off the bus we had to sit in the main foyer FOREVER & and get “briefed” about what’s going to happen during reception. I found out today that we get “briefed” more than we actually do what the day has in store for us. One of my drill sargeants says freakin’ all the time. And she has a southern accent so it sounds even funnier. But after we finished talking we went and got all of our PT clothes, towels & linens. Tim was right about it. We wait in line for hours just for one item. We finally got back to the barracks around midnight & had to shower & get ready for bed. Then at 2 a.m. I got woke up for CQ. It think it was suicide watch cause I got sat outside of a little room. It’s like fire guard though.
Today we got woke up at 5 a.m. went to chow then went to the medical, dental, and vision area. I got my blood drawn, got a TB test, confirmed I still have 20/20 vision, got a mouth guard, went to chow again, got briefed on the liaison for the National Guard and the laundry service, went to chow again & now I’m done for the day.
I’m having fun even though I’m tired and I haven’t even started PT yet. :/ I ship off to the “real” basic on Wednesday unless something goes wrong with my paperwork. We have a 3 day weekend because of 4th July so we don’t have anything to do for the next 3 days. On Saturday we are going to a carnival to watch the fireworks. Haha sounds like boot camp huh? The corporal said that we have PT in the morning and someone asked him what we will do…run ½ mile. How lame. I thought I was getting in shape. JK. I have yet to see what it is all about.

Kristie's First Call Home

July 2, 2009

Kristie just called me on my cell. This is the call to tell us that she made it. It only lasted for a minute but here is what she said:

Everything is going good. Her first night she only slept for about an hour because she pulled fire guard duty. The rest of her group got 2 or 3 hours of sleep. She said drill sargeants can be scary. There were a couple of girls that have already broken down. One she said the drill sargent was in her face shouting "you want to go home, well you signed up for four years of this". Another girl got into trouble because she had a black pony tail holder and her hair was blonde. She has already spent the $250 the army gives her for supplies. She had to get more bras, new running shoes (she found out she has a high arch but is still flat footed), new shampoo and they threw her hair spray away.

She is very thankful that she has RSP prior to shipping. Some of the others that didn't attend RSP are getting in trouble because they don't get that you have to line up in a straight, know their commands, and other small things.

She sounded tired but was positive and in a way happy.

At the end of the call, she said her drill sargent was looking at her so she had to go. She said she loves everyone. She thinks she will be able to write soon.

Kristie Leaves for Basic Training

Dinner at Red Robin the evening before Kristie left for Basic Training.

July 1, 2009 The day finally arrived. Kristie shipped off to Basic Training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. We knew about this day since February but it is still sad anyway.

Kristie's flight left at 6:15 a.m. out of Boise to St. Louis. She took her phone with her so we were able to talk off and on all day until they took her cell phone away. At about 6:00 p.m. today, she signed off and surrendered her phone to the Army National Guard.

Last night we all stayed at the Holiday Inn in Boise. No one slept a wink it feels like today. We are all exhausted. It is off to bed early at least for us left behind. Not sure what Kristie will be doing though.

Tears were flowing from all of us. It has been a hard day to get through.

Kristie doesn't know the next time she'll be able to call home or even start writing letters. Some people tell her she can start writing very soon others tell her that it will be 5 weeks before we'll get letters. I hope that she gets to write soon.

Kristie ordered a mocha milkshake after dieting for 3 straight weeks and losing close to 10 pounds. She couldn't wait to eat anything and everything.

Kristie and Christie saying good-bye to each other. Christie drove Kristie to Bliss to meet us to take her the rest of the way. Lots of tears going on.