Deployed Info

For those of you interested in KIT with Sarah, here is some info you should find useful.

Mailing address:
Sarah Huntington
379 ELRS/LGRDAP
APO, AE 09309

Email address:
sarah.huntington@auab.centaf.af.mil
sep2sarah@yahoo.com

If you plan on sending a care package and wonder what she would like, here is a starter list:

Craft Items
Jolly Ranchers
Brain Teasers
Science and Christian Magazines
Anything with Caramel
Good Books
Trident Gum
Puzzle Books
Tea

She did it! She really did it!

Sarah got her haircut. And I like it! She wanted to have short hair so she wouldn't have to put as much effort into taking care of it while deployed. It will also make those hot days a little more comfortable.
We celebrated Sarah's Birthday a couple of days late due to all the hustle and bustle of work schedules and base exercises. We were able to take about a week of leave to spend with her parents in Colorado.
Sarah enjoying one of her favorite hobbies prior to leaving on her deployment. (Don't ask me which one is her number one favorite; I can name about a half-dozen of the top of my head)
The Church had a farewell potluck for a family PCS'ing to Texas on Sunday. They said that it could be a sendoff for Sarah as well. We enjoyed the fellowship.
Sarah's folks outside of their home. Her parents have been living in this house while they get their own home built up enough to live in.


When we got back to work and Sarah was finishing her out-processing checklist, we found out that her departure date got moved up. Sarah boarded a plane Monday morning at 1:30 am on her way to SW Asia. By the time you read this, Sarah will be in Europe. She is expected to be in country later this weekend.

Deployment!

It is official. I am deploying again. This time, though, I'm not going to Iraq but to Qatar. I don't really want to leave Michael, but I feel that God wants me to deploy, so I'm at peace about it. I'll be leaving in just a few weeks and I'll be gone for six months. This will be my last deployment, though, because when I come back, I won't have enough time left in the Air Force to deploy again. If you're not sure where Qatar is located, here's a map.

It's going to be a major climate change for me. Right now, the weather in Alaska is around -15 with no humidity. In Qatar, it's in the seventies with over 80% humidity. Come summer, it's going to be up in the 100s. I'm not really looking forward to the heat. Oh well, I'll survive.

I'll try to keep everyone posted and the blog updated. I know when Brandon was over there, he couldn't check their blog...I may have to email Michael what I want posted and have him post it.

Crazy Weather

The cold streak finally broke Sunday night. Some of the old-timers around here say it set a record for being the longest cold streak. We went three weeks where the warmest it got was -36. If you want cold, that's cold. In like three days though, we went from -45 to positive 45. It's a BIG jump. Everyone here is walking around in their shirtsleeves, no jackets or anything. I've heard that everyone down south is getting some really cold weather, though, so while we're up here enjoying the +50 temperatures, everyone in the lower forty-eight is freezing. Hahaha. Seriously though, having such a drastic temperature jump up here is very dangerous. The snow melts and the water covers the road and since the ground is still cold, the water glazes over so the roads and highways are just a solid sheet of black ice. Every hundred yards or so, there's another spot where a vehicle went off the road. Even we aren't exempt. Sunday (before the temperature warmed up) we had a little fenderbender in our new Toyota. When it's really cold out, anything plastic doesn't bend, it shatters. So, our right front bumper is shattered. At least Michael says it's only cosmetics, it didn't damage the frame. Our warm weather isn't going to last, though. The weather site is predicting it will be back down to zero by Monday night. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.....

Physics @ -40 Degrees (& Colder)

This entire post has one purpose; to show you how cold it has been here lately. We have collected these images over the last week . We heard that one marquee sign in Fairbanks showed -63 degrees. bbbrrrrr...! The coldest that we have actually seen ourselves this week is -52. More of these same temperatures are forecasted through the end of the week (as far out as they dare try to predict). And oh, BTW, the high temps have only made it to -38. This picture was supposed to be toward the end, but accidentally got deleted and had to be downloaded again. this is where it ended up. This is what happened to the bubbles after being exposed to the air for just a couple of seconds. When the temperatures get this cold, we get a dense build-up of ice fog. This picture shows North Pole as viewed from the highway overpass above the town. This is the accumulation of ice around our three-pane windows in the bathroom. Michael is enjoying the snow... in his bare feet of all things. This "Hanging Glacier" on our front room window is growing bigger each day. It collects its ice from the warm air that leaks out through the window and wall SEE THAT?! We are not just making this up. There is proof the temperatures get colder than negative forty degrees!! What do have to say for yourself now? This is the bubble film left over after the bubbles burst in the cold. Michael is blowing bubbles outside while Sarah is safely indoors with the comfortable 68 degrees.


This video demonstrates what happens to cold water thrown into the air at -40.


This second video demonstrates what happens to hot water under the same conditions. Be sure to turn up the volume and listen closely