January 2009 MINI GUNZ NEWSLETTER Written for and about the kids supporting the Gunfighters

1. Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed your Christmas break and are settling back into school. A New Year means a new start and new things to look forward to…like your Mom or Dad coming home. I know you feel like time is moving slowly, but stay busy and your parent will be home before you know it. It’s getting very cold out here. Sometimes the temperature gets below freezing, and the puddles turn to ice on the ground. We don’t get any snow but there is sand everywhere. When the wind blows we have big dust storms. The wind that causes the really big dust storms is called a ‘shamal.’ When a shamal blows, it gets very hard to see, like when you have fog at home. It doesn’t rain very often here, but when it does the sand and dirt turn into a thick mud. It makes it very hard to walk around and it sticks to everything. Your Mothers and Fathers are doing a great job out here even though they miss you a lot. Your pictures and artwork hang on the walls so that they can feel closer to you at home. The MiniGunz are very important to everybody out here and we know you help out a lot at home. We couldn’t make it through this deployment without you! LtCol Zamagni, aka Spenser’s dad Mini Gunz rule! January 2009 MINI GUNZ NEWSLETTER Written for and about the kids supporting the Gunfighters

2. Mini Gunz Affirmation Mini Gunz are awesome Actually Mini Gunz rule! Respect, that’s what it’s all about, I feel it inside and shout it out! Never doubt my strength and pride, Even though I am small in size! • Answers to word scramble: • 1.New Years Day 8. kiss 15. Happy New Year • 2.New Years Eve 9. noisemaker • 3.Midnight 10. toast • 4.Football 11. friends • 5.Party 12. countdown • 6.Timessquare 13. confetti • 7.Fireworks 14. balloons

3. Craft page Here are some crafts that you can make and mail to your deployed parent. Make a Book mark: Use anything you want to create your own special bookmark for you and one for your parent that is deployed. You can cut and glue pictures, or draw, or paint, or whatever you would like. Make a memory box; Use a shoe box, or coffee can and decorate the outside with pictures, words, drawings, or anything you choose. On the inside place things that remind you of your parent that is away. You can also write down your feelings remember that feelings can be happy or sad. Put that piece of paper in the box. You can even put letters from your parent inside. If you get sad or just miss them, you can open the box and look at all of the things inside. It will bring a smile to your face!

4. New Year’s day, today, is celebrated many different ways in many different countries. Here are a few examples of celebrations in other lands: Sweden- The Swedish people celebrate the New Year with parties and family gatherings on the last night of the year. There is much food and merrymaking. Friendship and good wishes are expressed to one and all. Nigeria- The people of Nigeria celebrate the New Year at the beginning of the fishing season, usually the first part of February. Thousands of people gather along the banks of the Sokoto River with the fish nets in hand. At a given signal, everyone jumps in the water, startling the fish into the nets. The fisherman with the largest fish wins a prize. Seminole New Year- For four days, during the month of July, the Seminole Indians of Florida celebrate the harvest of new corn as the beginning of the New Year. The first day, they play games, feast and dance. On the second day, the men of the tribe begin a fast. Everyone dances the Green Corn Dance on the third evening and gives prayers of thanks for the good harvest. The fourth day, the men break their fast and eat the new corn of the New Year. United States- In our country, the old year is symbolized by an old man, Father Time, and the New Year is represented by a baby in diapers. In the southern states, it is customary to eat certain foods on New Year’s Day in hopes of prosperity through the coming year. Blacked-eyed peas symbolize pennies and greens represent dollar bills. Making New Year’s resolutions is a relatively new custom based on the idea of improving the New Year in hopes it will be better than the last. Does your family have any New Year customs? Would you like to start some new customs? Do you have any New Year resolutions? If you do, then write down your resolutions or customs on a separate piece of paper and send it to your deployed parent. Ask them if they have any resolutions or customs.

5. Coloring page

6. New Year’s word scramble Here is a word scramble, see how many you can do. Erase your answers and send it to your parent and see if they can unscramble the words. 1.YeyNrwaasDe _______________________________________ 2. rYewseNaeEv ______________________________________ 3. Mnihtidg _______________________________________ 4. aobtllFo _______________________________________ 5. rtPya _______________________________________ 6. uSeaqmreTsi ______________________________________ 7. sFrkwrieo _______________________________________ 8. ssik _______________________________________ 9. Nokmasreie _______________________________________ 10. sotat ________________________________________ 11. nirdsfe ________________________________________ 12. oudwnncot _______________________________________ 13. nfttoiec ________________________________________ 14. salboonl ________________________________________ 15. rYaeayHppwNe ____________________________________

7. Cooking with the Mini Gunz Peanut Butter Kisses Cookies What you need; 1 roll of refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough. 30 Hershey’s kisses unwrapped. Cookie sheet Pam cookie spray Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet with the Pam spray, wash your hands. Have an adult unwrap cookie dough and cut into slices. Roll each slice of peanut butter cookie dough into a ball. Push a Hershey’s Kiss in the middle of ball. Put on cookie sheet, have an adult place them in the oven. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Have an adult take them out of the oven, cool completely. Pack them into an airtight container and send to your Gunfighter. Enjoy, from Susan Phillips DATES TO REMEMBER February 6- Sock Hop dance at Abby Reinke Center 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Come dressed in your favorite 50’s style clothing.