Care Packages #2 & #3

I've been going a little overboard with the care packages lately.  But I have a good excuse: Josh's birthday is Oct 30th and then there's Halloween and our 1st anniversary is November 6th.  My goal is to send him a care package every major holiday.  So since we have a lot in the end of October I had to make a lot. 

 The 2nd care package I sent was Halloween themed.  This package was STUFFED with tons of candy (and by tons I mean 15 treat bags full of candy!).  Of course I told Josh to share the goodies with others.  There were also some spooky decorations.

The 3rd care package was Josh's birthday care package.  I've heard of other military wives sending their husbands "cake in a jar" so I attempted to try to my own "cake in a jar".  Putting the cake in a jar is perfect for sending to guys overseas because the cake doesn't go bad so matter how long it takes to get there.  It actually was a lot easier to make than I thought.  First, buy some canning jars (I found mine at Michaels) and boil the lids.  While the lids are boiling, make your favorite box cake mix.  Place the cake batter in the canning jar and fill it halfway, then place in the oven on a cookie sheet and cook according to the instructions on the box (mine took about 30 minutes to bake).  As soon as you take the cakes out of the oven place the boiling lids on top of the jar (make sure to use tongs).  Screw on the tops and as the cake cools you should hear a "pop" which means the jars have sealed!  Now just send along a jar of frosting and birthday cake can be enjoyed overseas!  These would also make super cute Christmas goodies to give to friends and family. 

 For the rest of his package I packed it full of other birthday fun including streamers, some birthday candles, birthday card, some birthday noise makers, a birthday banner and of course, his birthday present.  I didn't want to get Josh anything too valuable for his birthday and have to send it in the mail.  So I decided to buy him a book by an author he really likes.  The book is over 1,000 pages long so I'm thinking it'll keep him busy on the ship.

As of today Josh hasn't gotten ANY of my care packages.  In fact, they haven't gotten any mail on ship since they left.  But I kind of expected it to take about a month to get to him.  I don't really know how mail works on a ship in the middle of the ocean.  I think they either have a helicopter fly the mail in when they get closer to land or they get mail when they port somewhere.  I'm just hoping my care packages don't get lost along the way.