Happy Birthday Maddie!

Six years ago today Maddie joined our family!













Happy Birthday!

Summer Has Arrived

Yes, the thermometer was accurate when it read 126 degrees. I took this picture while driving from Camp Virginia to Ali Al Salem AFB. We are far enough inland that we do not get any cooling effect from the water like they do in Kuwait City; hence it is usually about 15-20 degrees warmer here than it is there. True, there isn't as much humidity as in Milton for instance, but it is still the most oppressive heat I've ever experienced. Even at 6 am it is so hot I break into a sweat walking the 100 yards between the shower trailer and my room.

Still, I don't have it too bad. The air conditioning in my room works well enough. I'm on my third unit now, the previous two having died under the strain, but I have to say the Army has moved pretty quickly when it has broken down. And our office air conditioner keeps up well enough most of the time too.

Nevertheless I have to wonder why anyone would choose to live in this. Hopefully your summers are a little cooler!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday Dearest Jonny
Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!
.....and many more...
.....when you get home from the war....

...hopefully to go no more!!

28 years old!!

PSST..(Oh my!

You are catching up

with your Mom, Jonny!!

CONGRATULATIONS-

ZACK & JEN!!!!!

It is always a special moment to graduate with your Bachelors Degree, but it is especially awesome when you are graduating with your sibling!! We are very proud of you both!

Both of them graduated with honors and magna cum laude. Zack forgot his cords and stuff, & the book forgot to recognize Jen as magna cum laude, but we are the important audience here, and we all know they are both brilliant!!!

When it came time to throw their hats, Zack & Jen were the only 2 of the graduates to celebrate with the traditional hat throw!! WOO-HOO!!!

Afterwards, we went over to the new Red Robin restaurant in the Cordova Mall to celebrate with hamburgers and french fries! Aunt Marie & Amy came over to celebrate, and Joey came down from Sylacauga too!

A blizzard in Kuwait?

Yes, it's true. Yesterday we had the heaviest sandstorm since I arrived and it reminded me a lot of a blizzard. When I woke up in the early morning hours there was a heavy layer of dust in the air that has given everything a light powder coating during the night. It cleared up by 6:00 and it was beautiful but windy for a few hours. About 9 o'clock as I was driving to another base there were unusual clouds building in the distance, a strong wind was beginning to pick up, and the pressure felt like it was dropping. It was the type of weather we associate with tornado season in Indiana. I made it a point to hurry back. The storm hit just after lunch time. I did not see it roll in, but often such storms roll in as an enormous, billowing wall of sand, looking very much like that scene in the Mummy when Brenden Frasier has to hide from the sandstorm created by the mummy. In any case, once it hit, it was almost like a blizzard- you couldn't see more than 100 yards in front of you. The roads on base were completely obscured by the blowing sand and you couldn't go faster than 10 miles per hour due to the poor conditions. Once out of the vehicle we had to wear goggles to keep the sand out of our eyes and balaclavas to keep the sand out of our ears, noses, and lungs. The dust and sand clogged the radiator to the diesel generator that provides power for our office tent, causing it to overheat and shut down at the height of the storm. The sand blocked out so much sunlight that it seemed to be twilight. Then, after about two hours, the storm passed and it suddenly became clear and sunny again...

This was taken with the flash on, which is why you see the individual grains of sand blowing by.


This is without the flash. The gazebo in the picture was about 50 yards from where I was standing.


Once the storm passed, sand was everywhere. This is the sink in the deluxe porta potty outside our tent.


This is the sand that drifted into our walkway. Time to break out the shovels!

Trailer Life

I have a confession to make.  Yes.  I live in a trailer.  

But in the neighborhood where I live, only the high rollers have trailers.

The huddled masses live in tents with a dozen or more of their closest friends.

We high rollers, on the other hand, have 200 square feet to call our own.

Check out that luxurious bunkbed- er... I mean couch!

And the window treatments are definitely top shelf.


And the walls are decorated with priceless works of art:

Monet, Degas, Piccasso? Amateurs.

The bathroom is the pinnacle of luxury too.


Oh, and of course it is in a gated community.


And everyone drives Hummers.


But sometimes the riff-raff do come to visit...



In seriousness, while I didn't think that I would find myself living in a trailer again, we do have it pretty good here. This is the only place in Kuwait where junior officers like myself actually get their own room. Anyway- just thought I'd share a slice of life from over here. Hope everyone is having a great Mother's Day!

Reunions in Kuwait

Jonny and I caught up with each other yesterday as he passed through on his way to Germany.  All the Soldiers headed for R&R pass through Ali Al Salem AFB here in Kuwait, which is only about 6 miles from Camp Virginia.  We had lunch, watched a couple episodes of Top Gear and I trounced him repeatedly at Ping Pong.  Having thus humbled him, I put him on the airplane to Germany...