Definitely a Night for a Glass of Wine!

Okay, so normally the part of the blog about my day is kind of boring and the part about Brian's day is fascinating.  Not the case today.  I can honestly say that I was terrified tonight. 

Most of my day was boring.  The highlight was buying a case for my new phone.  Then I took A to her Bible study.  Our church is on the outskirts of town right off the freeway.  I was on the freeway when I saw, what I thought was an accident scene.  My first thought was that it must have been a bad accident because there were cops and fire trucks EVERYWHERE!  I tried to get off the freeway was made to get back on, that's when I noticed that all the streets where blocked off.  I thought "WOW, this is a really bad accident" and even started praying for who ever was in the accident.  I told the girls not to look, just in case, I did not want them to see anything to bad.  It wasn't until I got to the church that I found that it was not an accident but a man with a gun.  I had called my BFF to say we were running late and was still on the phone with her when I was told what was happening.  The people at the church had everything locked down, but kept things running smoothly.  Even though I trust the people at the church to keep my baby safe, I decided to stay.  There was no way in Hades I was leaving A!  Or my BFF's kids for that matter!  My BFF and her husband were stuck in traffic on the freeway.  She had already dropped her kids off and had gone to go get something to eat.  I hung out in the lobby and things seemed to be calming down outside. Brian called and was telling me about his day (few tickets and a small accident).  While I was talking to him, I noticed a large van pull into the church parking lot and a lot of people got out.  It was kind of hard to see, but it looked like they were wearing helmets and matching clothes.  Shortly after, a couple came to pick up their daughter. The husband had a police scanner and had a better idea what was going on outside.  While I was still on the phone with Brian, he informed us that the man with a gun was at the propane place in a propane truck.  He might have already shot someone, might have a hostage, and was threatening to shoot the tanks.  Oh, the van in the parking lot... the swat team.  The propane place is just down the street, I could easily run the distance.  Which means WAY TO CLOSE for comfort!  At that point Brian told me it would probably be best to get the kids and get out.  I was on board with that idea.  I called my BFF, who was still on the freeway and also very close to the propane place, and gave her an update.  She gave the clearance for me to take her kids.  I grabbed my girls and her little boy, then ran next door to get her daughter.  The swat team was standing out in the parking lot.  There was the helicopter with the spot light on in the sky.  As I was driving away, a news van was coming down the road.  Meanwhile, on the freeway my BFF's husband, with some interesting maneuvers, got them out of traffic and turned them around.  I met them at my BFF's parent's house.

The situation is over now.  The man is in custody, and the person who was shot should be okay.  I know the Bible promises that the world would- for a lack of a better way to say it- go to hell in a hand basket, but it sure seems like the process has sped up lately.  So many officers have been shot and killed lately, two just yesterday.  Violence is a everyday thing.  I am sad to see the world going in the direction it is heading.  I do have hope though, because of my faith.  The Bible does promise all the bad stuff, but it also promises that God wins in the end.  So I am on the right side.  I know eventually everything will be made right.  That is what gets me through.

As for Brian...his FTO is a nice guy.  He is making his time with Brian a learning experience.  He is not using his time to belittle or degrade Brian.  Brian has already learned a lot!  Last night Brian came home- he was off on time- he was exhausted, both emotionally and physically.  Today was a longer day so he is a my brother's house, but will be able to come home tomorrow night.

Well, I am pooped! Tomorrow I have to take A and M to the dentist to get some work done.  SO not looking forward to that!  Then I have the PHC, and then movie night! (Brian will be sleeping up stairs.)

Blessings, (Trust me, I am counting mine tonight.)
Cara

Yes I am Still Alive! :)

I know, I know it has been awhile!  Having Brian home has been cutting into my blogging time.  It is like he wants me to pay attention to him!  :)  Having him home the week he was off was so nice!  It was no longer three against one, and I got a break from being the bad cop.  I actually got to be the good cop a few times!  :)  His week off was filled with activities and chores, and he was choosing to be busy.  He could not sit still!  He asked me to make up a "Honey Do" list for him to accomplish.  I thought I made a pretty LONG list.  I thought it was full of wishful thinking, but he finished it...in a day.  Then he made his own list, and finished that also.  Brian would sit down for a minute and I would think he was finally going to relax.  He would fidget then jump up and start on something else.  He picked the girls up from school; picked up dog droppings; worked out (CrossFit); studied his Beat guide/ maps; re-arranged his stuff; cleaned out and organized our files; helped with my chores, and kept M entertained while I did some spring cleaning.  At one point I did say "DUDE!  Sit down and relax!"  :)  We also had a date night and had a family fun day.  Of course the family fun day involved driving around San Jose.  :)  I have to say, I am seriously happy I do not have to learn my way around San Jose.  No joke, we were going north on one freeway, when all of the sudden without taking any exits, we were going south on another freeway!  All the freeways look the same, and you cross the same avenue/ parkway multiple times.  I would be lost, so it is a very good thing it is Brian who has to learn his way around, and not me!

Brian reported to his office on Tuesday at eight in the morning.  It was a little nerve wracking, because that was all he was told.  We had no idea what the rest of the week would look like, what days or hours he would be working.  His whole first week was spent on paper work, re- certifications, and training.  Some of his newly minted officer friends started break in with their FTOs (Field Training Officer) during their first week.  Brian's office spends the first week in training on everything from the computer systems to "Don't do 'this' because you will get you fired" training.  The system in the cars they use is a new and fancy system, so Brian spent time training in those.  Needless to say, but he found the new system to be exciting.  Due to the training he as able to come home every night, but that will not happen any longer.  The commute is long, and with the hours that Brian will be working, we thought it would be best if Brian has a crash pad closer to the office.  (Academy part deux!!)  Brian starts his first phase of Break in tomorrow with his first FTO.  He got pretty lucky for his first phase!  His FTO has been on the job for more fifteen years, so Brian's will be working weekday days his first phase.  Hopefully his FTO will be full of wisdom that he will be willing to share.  To be honest, I have heard some Break in stories that were not very pleasant and are very humbling. (Academy part deux!)  Praying it goes smoothly!

So that is what has been going on here!  Just catching up with all the stuff that has been put off the last six months.  :)  I plan on keeping the blog up and running through Break in, (unless I am told not to) so I will do my best keeping you all in the know.  :)  But for now I have to go to bed, M and I have MOPs in the morning. 

Blessings,
Cara

We Made It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!  I cannot believe it is over.  Yesterday Brian went from cadet to officer.  I watched him receive his badge and get sworn in.  Then I stood in the quad at the academy and pinned his badge on him.  I was prepared to cry like a baby, but surprisingly I did not cry!  I got teary eyed a few times, but that was it.  Maybe I was just in a state of shock, or maybe I was just super focused.  Either way the whole day was amazing!  I am so proud of Brian.  He has worked so hard the last twenty seven weeks.  He has grown and became stronger than ever before.  He has always been one of the best men I have ever known and now he is even better!  So proud of him!

Although Friday was the big day, the week was full of stuff.  First there was the capital run Wednesday morning, then the party Wednesday night.  The party was so much fun!  It helped to already know many of the wives.  It was nice to see Brian and the other cadets finally relax.  It was also nice to meet the people that Brian has been talking about the last six months.  Thursday morning was the family support seminar.  The class was a little overwhelming but full of great information.  During the four hour seminar we were warned that Break In is the academy part deux.  Another four to six months of stress.  Needless to say, I will be taking advantage of this week Brian has off.  :)

Well I guess I should spend some time with my OFFICER husband.  :)

Blessings,
~Cara 

CHP Academy Day 185/187 CAPITAL RUN!!!

Today was the capital run!! It was AMAZING!  I barely slept last night which is ironic since I did not have any children with me.  My alarms- I set two, just in case- were set for 3:30 am and I think I woke up every half hour.  I met some of the other wives at Starbucks at 4:30 and walked over to the academy gates by 5:00.  It was cold! I was wearing two sweatshirts and I was still cold.  There we were standing in the foggy cold, holding our home made signs, when all of a sudden we hear our cadets, loud and proud, off in the distance.  It was really cool!  The fog made it kind of mysterious and awesome!  (The fog also made it impossible to get a good picture!)  It was SO exciting!  No joke I started to tear up a little.  Everyone was pumped, even the cadets!  I could not find Brian in the group, it is amazing how hard it is to tell apart all the different bald heads!  I still still cheered my loudest!  I was a WOO-girl this morning.  :) 

After all the cadets ran by, we all loaded up and headed over to the capital.  I rode over with one of my friends and her adorable daughter.  Once the cadets arrived at the capital, the captain gave a speech.  The speech was so inspirational.  It was really hard to hold back the tears.  Alright...I was not completely successful at holding them back.  I tried to distract myself with the steam rising off the heads of the cadets, but it did not work.  After the speech the cadets went to take pictures.  I snapped a few pictures, but they did not turn out so great. 

If you look carefully you can see the steam coming of the cadets heads.  After the pictures the cadets came down and did knuckle push-ups while yelling "CHP!".  I did get a few moments to see Brian, which was a surprise!

The whole experience was so amazing!  It was totally worth waking up and freezing.  I do not have words to describe all the emotions that I went through this morning.  :)  Or how proud of Brian I am!  Just awesome.

The only thing I have to do today is get ready for the party tonight.  I am excited for the party tonight. :)  Well I should probably take a nap or something.  If I can...writing this has me all pumped up again.  Or is it the three cups of coffee?  :)

Blessings,
~Cara

CHP Academy Day 183/187, Week 27... The Count Down Begins!

Monday of Week 27!  It did not go according to the plan...not a surprise.  Just means I have more to do tomorrow.  I needed to take the car in to get a SMOG check.  I thought it would be a fast and easy thing, but I was wrong.  Try #1-Brian had taken it over the weekend but the place was closed for the weekend.  Try #2- I drove over at about 9:30 and saw that there was a sign taped to the window that said they would open at 10:00.  I thought "no big deal, I will wait".  I watched a lot of people come and go.  At about 9:55, M (who was getting very antsy) and I got out and walked around.  A man walked up tried the door, pulled out his phone and called the number on the window.  He turned to me and said "the owner said he is about an hour away. He is stuck in traffic".  Fine, I will go home, wash some dishes, do some laundry then come back.  I get home and the sprinkler guys are in the front yard and informed me that the water was turned off.  Okay so no dishes or laundry, fine, I will work on other stuff.  Try #3- At about 11:15 I drove back over to the SMOG Check place...still not open.  Again I wait, and again I watch people come and go.  And again a person calls the number.  (Is that a small town thing?  The place is not open so you call to see why they are not open?)  Again the person tell me that "the owner is stuck in traffic, he is an hour away".   Really?!  Is "traffic" code for "I over did it during the Superbowl"?  Try #4 was a success!  I went after I picked up A and H from school. 

I am excited for tomorrow!  Even if my list is a mile long.  :)  It is a large possibility that I will get to see Brian after I get to Sacramento!  He had liberty tonight and thinks he will again tomorrow night.  Yay!  To add a little frosting to the cake I also get to get a mani/pedi tomorrow thanks to my awesome mother-in-law.  I might have to pay for M to get her nails done too, since she is going with me.  Maybe I will be able to talk her out of it.  ;)

Tomorrow is the start of all the week activities.  The rest of the week should fly by at lightening speed!  :) I should probably start packing now...I guess I will call it a night.    

Blessings,
~Cara

CHP Academy Days 180-182/187, Last Sunday Night Good-Bye!!!!!

Last Sunday night good-bye!  Tomorrow starts week 27!  That is week 27 out of 27!!!!!

This weekend veered a little off the plans we had made for this weekend.  The plan was Saturday we would visit our new beautiful niece who was born on Friday. Then we would make a stop at Costco, where part of our purchase would be pizza (take-&-bake) for our family movie night.  The first thing that went wrong was I woke up with a cold Saturday morning.  So I did not get to go to meet our niece.  Another detour was the repairman, who I was expecting Friday, came on Saturday to finally fix the dishwasher.  Which of course is a good thing, especially since I have been waiting since December.  When it was time to go to Costco, Brian volunteered to take all three girls so I could stay home.  Told you my husband was awesome!  When I knew they would be home soon I went into the kitchen to preheat the oven.  It would not turn on.  Stove works...no oven.  So I finally get my dishwasher fixed and now my oven is broken.  Luckily, my BFF let us use her oven and saved our dinner.  Sadly, by the time our dinner was ready and home it was too late to watch a movie with the girls.  Instead we watched a couple episodes of My Little Ponies.  Today we stayed home from church due to my annoying cold.  We watched the Superbowl with the girls.  M was adorable and repeated everything we said.  The girls sat and watched the whole game and were a little disappointed that "our team" lost.  After the game I gave Brian his hair cut and sent him one his way for his last week at the academy.

This week should be crazy.  Monday and Tuesday I will spend preparing and packing.  Tuesday night I am staying in Sacramento.  Wednesday morning is the Capital Run, where the cadets run from the academy to the capital.  I will be joining the other wives/ families in cheering our cadets on as they leave the gates of the academy.  Then we will meet the cadets at the capital where there will be a speech given and pictures taken.  Wednesday night is the cadet party.  Thursday morning is the Family Support Seminar.  Friday, of course, is the BIG DAY!  WOO-HOO!!! :)  Big week!!

Now I should probably get some sleep so I can get rid of this annoying cold.  Don't want to be sneezing during the graduation.  :)

Blessings,
~Cara