Friday, August 28, 2009
First Week of School
Samantha successfully completed her first week of 5th grade and she seems to be loving it... for this I am truly thankful. She brought home an assignment this week where she was to tell her teacher all about herself through answering a series of questions... they were great questions like what kinds of things does she like and dislike. It was awesome because I learned a bit about my kid! I knew she liked a quiet atmosphere but I didn't know she is happiest reading in her room... She also wrote that her role model is her dad and that her worst habit is that she picks at pencil erasers! And, she wants to be a famous artist one day and that compared to other families hers is really cool. How did I get so blessed with the best kid ever!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
End of Summer
Wow, the summer has really flown by. I can't believe Samantha went back to school today! She started the 5th grade! Doesn't it seem the older we get the faster time flies. It was just yesterday that she was finishing up the 4th grade and we were getting ready for summer and just yesterday that she was a tiny baby pooping in her kiddie pool!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Whitehall Old Lady Beat Down at Walmart...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r9rUtktxHk
Ok, I feel it is time that I weigh in on the video that's been circulating regarding an incident at Walmart in Whitehall, Ohio.
Everyone knows my husband is a police officer and most of you know that Officer Scott, the officer in the video, is a friend of ours... So, I have something to say regarding the incident....
We live in an ever increasing busy world where things move at lightening speed. We receive texts while at dinner with friends and we get news updates at the same time more updates stream across the bottom of the screen. Sometimes it's mind boggling and hard to keep up with. But this lightening fast pace is nothing new for police officers. They have dealt with split second decision making long before we knew about Twitter... heck, they've dealt with it since before we even had email.
When an officer is dispatched to a call they are given very basic and often severely limited information about the situation to which they are responding. Upon arrival they have literally seconds to make a decision on what to do... that's "one one thousand"... there, do you have everything all figured out? In those seconds they have to determine how to handle a situation in order to protect everyone involved, the victims, innocent bystanders, the "bad guy" and lastly themselves. And often these decisions are made under conditions most of us couldn't concentrate in.
So, there you are, at Walmart where there is a woman with a knife saying she is going to cut someone and she's surrounded by witnesses all yelling at you. What would you do? "one one thousand, two one thousand"... There, do you know everything there is to know about the situation? Do you know what led up to this moment? Do you know who the old lady is? Do you know who all the bystanders are? Do you know how many people are involved? Do you know if anyone is injured? Do you know if she's already cut someone? Do you know if someone is trying to harm her? Do you know what's going to happen next?
Police officers receive ongoing training throughout their careers. This training is to enable them to make the best decision possible for everyone involved in a matter of seconds, well before any of us "regular folk" would have even gotten out of the car. And they are trained to make these decisions under tremendous stress. They are trained to consider every possible outcome while we would still be getting our seat belts off and they are trained to act right then and there... no time to reconsider.
Yes, this was an old lady. But, did you know if she'd already cut someone? Did you know where she came from? Did you know if she actually intended on cutting anyone? Did you know if she intended on cutting anyone in particular? Did you know if any of these bystanders yelling were trying to hurt her? Did you know if she was hurt? Did you know if she had mental issues? Did you know if she was alone? (Remember, you have a matter of seconds to figure it all out...)
Officer Scott reacted in an appropriate manner. She said: "Put the knife down". She repeated this several times and the old lady did not comply. Do you know why the old lady didn't comply? No. Does the officer have time to sit down and analyse why? No. The officer's job is to protect and serve all... all those bystanders who are screaming at her as well as the old lady with the knife.
Officer Scott did what she was trained to do: disarm the subject with little or no injury to all those involved... Police officers are trained on how to disarm a subject in the quickest and safest way possible. The "move" Officer Scott used to keep everyone safe was amazing... It was perfect in my opinion. And once she had gotten the knife away from the old lady and was waiting for additional officers to respond she still had to protect all involved. She stayed right there with the old lady attempting to calm her down all while keeping bystanders back at an appropriate distance. Quite a fete in my opinion as Officer Scott was kneeling down in a vulnerable position to anyone intending harm. Did you know who all those bystanders were? Did you know what their intentions were as they ran up upon the old lady?
Did Officer Scott pull up on the situation an think: cool, great opportunity to beat up an old lady... um, no. She did think about all those people standing around watching and how she didn't want them to get hurt. And, she thought about how she didn't want the old lady to hurt herself.
Had the old lady cut one of those bystanders the reaction from the public toward the police, I feel, would have been much the same. People would have been outraged at how the police handled the situation.
Had Officer Scott been cut and injured by the old lady I believe no one would have ever known about the incident.
Ok, I feel it is time that I weigh in on the video that's been circulating regarding an incident at Walmart in Whitehall, Ohio.
Everyone knows my husband is a police officer and most of you know that Officer Scott, the officer in the video, is a friend of ours... So, I have something to say regarding the incident....
We live in an ever increasing busy world where things move at lightening speed. We receive texts while at dinner with friends and we get news updates at the same time more updates stream across the bottom of the screen. Sometimes it's mind boggling and hard to keep up with. But this lightening fast pace is nothing new for police officers. They have dealt with split second decision making long before we knew about Twitter... heck, they've dealt with it since before we even had email.
When an officer is dispatched to a call they are given very basic and often severely limited information about the situation to which they are responding. Upon arrival they have literally seconds to make a decision on what to do... that's "one one thousand"... there, do you have everything all figured out? In those seconds they have to determine how to handle a situation in order to protect everyone involved, the victims, innocent bystanders, the "bad guy" and lastly themselves. And often these decisions are made under conditions most of us couldn't concentrate in.
So, there you are, at Walmart where there is a woman with a knife saying she is going to cut someone and she's surrounded by witnesses all yelling at you. What would you do? "one one thousand, two one thousand"... There, do you know everything there is to know about the situation? Do you know what led up to this moment? Do you know who the old lady is? Do you know who all the bystanders are? Do you know how many people are involved? Do you know if anyone is injured? Do you know if she's already cut someone? Do you know if someone is trying to harm her? Do you know what's going to happen next?
Police officers receive ongoing training throughout their careers. This training is to enable them to make the best decision possible for everyone involved in a matter of seconds, well before any of us "regular folk" would have even gotten out of the car. And they are trained to make these decisions under tremendous stress. They are trained to consider every possible outcome while we would still be getting our seat belts off and they are trained to act right then and there... no time to reconsider.
Yes, this was an old lady. But, did you know if she'd already cut someone? Did you know where she came from? Did you know if she actually intended on cutting anyone? Did you know if she intended on cutting anyone in particular? Did you know if any of these bystanders yelling were trying to hurt her? Did you know if she was hurt? Did you know if she had mental issues? Did you know if she was alone? (Remember, you have a matter of seconds to figure it all out...)
Officer Scott reacted in an appropriate manner. She said: "Put the knife down". She repeated this several times and the old lady did not comply. Do you know why the old lady didn't comply? No. Does the officer have time to sit down and analyse why? No. The officer's job is to protect and serve all... all those bystanders who are screaming at her as well as the old lady with the knife.
Officer Scott did what she was trained to do: disarm the subject with little or no injury to all those involved... Police officers are trained on how to disarm a subject in the quickest and safest way possible. The "move" Officer Scott used to keep everyone safe was amazing... It was perfect in my opinion. And once she had gotten the knife away from the old lady and was waiting for additional officers to respond she still had to protect all involved. She stayed right there with the old lady attempting to calm her down all while keeping bystanders back at an appropriate distance. Quite a fete in my opinion as Officer Scott was kneeling down in a vulnerable position to anyone intending harm. Did you know who all those bystanders were? Did you know what their intentions were as they ran up upon the old lady?
Did Officer Scott pull up on the situation an think: cool, great opportunity to beat up an old lady... um, no. She did think about all those people standing around watching and how she didn't want them to get hurt. And, she thought about how she didn't want the old lady to hurt herself.
Had the old lady cut one of those bystanders the reaction from the public toward the police, I feel, would have been much the same. People would have been outraged at how the police handled the situation.
Had Officer Scott been cut and injured by the old lady I believe no one would have ever known about the incident.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Fun on the Fourth of July
Here is Samantha is the SWAT camper John drove in the 4th of July parade... Samantha watched TV in the back while we waited for the parade to start...
Me being corny as usual...
And, John and Samantha walking around before the parade started...
Dogs on the Fourth of July
We saw these lovely ladies as we drove by in the Fourth of July parade... I thought they were just great... I want to be like that when I'm old!Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Time Flies...
The summer is really flying by... The weather has been quite nice, not too hot so we are spending lots of time outside... We have enjoyed the new fire pit John made several times and are almost out of firewood... Samantha had a lot of fun when John's dad was here... She loves walking his cats on leashes... Now she is looking forward to visiting my parents in Eden and seeing the flying squirrel...
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Enjoying Summer...
The Fourth of July was really fun. John drove the SWAT vehicle in the parade and Samantha and I rode with him. I love a parade, especially when I'm in it waving to people. Then we watched fireworks with Kelly and her family. There were some sprinkles but not enough to deter us. We just constructed a tent out of blankets in between our cars. It was quite a sight but totally fun.
I have been trying to sit outside on the front porch and read in the evenings and watch the world go by. It is so relaxing and totally what summer is all about. I wish I could have those nights all year long! The other evening while I was on the porch I put on the lotion from the hotel in Indy and it reminded me of our stay there, walking along the canal in the evening and watching Samantha swim in the pool. It's just a little bottle so when it's gone I'm going to have to go online and buy a bigger one. I noticed that the Westin has a web site where you can buy that kind of stuff. Don't you just love how certain smells remind you of special memories.
This week John's dad is in town. He and Lita have their RV at the fairgrounds again for the car show this weekend. This year he brought a 1961 Willys station wagon. It is just adorable.
Yesterday we went to the Zoo and finally got to see the baby elephant who was born at the end of April. The last several times we went there was over an hour wait to see him but yesterday there was no wait at all. He is so cute! He followed his mother around and get treats from one of the keepers.
After the Zoo we went downtown to Mongolian BBQ... yummy! I love it when John's dad is in town because it feels like we are on vacation too. (Plus, everyone know about my fascination with RV parks...)
I have been trying to sit outside on the front porch and read in the evenings and watch the world go by. It is so relaxing and totally what summer is all about. I wish I could have those nights all year long! The other evening while I was on the porch I put on the lotion from the hotel in Indy and it reminded me of our stay there, walking along the canal in the evening and watching Samantha swim in the pool. It's just a little bottle so when it's gone I'm going to have to go online and buy a bigger one. I noticed that the Westin has a web site where you can buy that kind of stuff. Don't you just love how certain smells remind you of special memories.
This week John's dad is in town. He and Lita have their RV at the fairgrounds again for the car show this weekend. This year he brought a 1961 Willys station wagon. It is just adorable.
Yesterday we went to the Zoo and finally got to see the baby elephant who was born at the end of April. The last several times we went there was over an hour wait to see him but yesterday there was no wait at all. He is so cute! He followed his mother around and get treats from one of the keepers.
After the Zoo we went downtown to Mongolian BBQ... yummy! I love it when John's dad is in town because it feels like we are on vacation too. (Plus, everyone know about my fascination with RV parks...)
Thursday, July 2, 2009
My Favorite Holiday
The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday! I love parades and I love festivals, cookouts and fireworks... and it's almost here. This year the police department where John works got a new SWAT RV and John's going to drive it in the parade and guess who gets to ride with him: me & Samantha! And, this is the first year that John will not be working 2ND shift and will get to watch the fireworks with us. I love the fourth of July!
Monday, June 22, 2009
My baby is 11 years old...
Samantha turned 11 on Friday! John's mom threw a lovely surprise party for her with her friend Joyce and the 2 other kids she watches... Samantha had a nice time with that and I think she was truly surprised... And, I was touched, it was such a nice thing to do... Then John's nephew Ryan came over with a card for Samantha from his family... again I was truly touched...
We let Samantha pick where she wanted to have dinner and she chose CiCi's Pizza Buffet... then when we got home she got to open her presents... Her main present was a new & bigger bike which she loved...
On Saturday poor Samantha had to work before her party... first thing in the morning we went out by the bridge in our neighborhood to install the kiosk the homeowners association purchased to keep the portion of the community who doesn't have Internet informed... We hired a guy who lives in the neighborhood & does construction to install it and we helped a bit... Samantha helped me go to the creek to get a couple buckets of water to pour in the post holes with the Quickrete...
After that we went to our neighborhoods community clean up day where poor Samantha had to work some more picking up trash around our ponds and at the entrances to our neighborhood... When we decided to trim tree branches at the entrance she asked if she could go home... lol...
Trimming the tree was quite an adventure... there were bugs all over the branches that we loaded into the back of my Element... they didn't bother me at first but after a while I felt like they were crawling all over me... And then when I went to pull out onto the main road all the branches fell out of the back of the Element into the street! Thankfully everyone was very patient while we got them cleaned up...
Finally it was time for Samantha's Birthday Party! She was so excited for Tara to come over and spend the night... Kelly and Tim hung out with us and we had a cook out... And then later in the evening the girls watched their 80's movies... They absolutely loved "Sixteen Candles"... I told the girls how when the movie first came out my best friend Carolyn and I had gone again and again to the hairdressers to get our hair cut just like Molly Ringwald in that movie and how disappointed we'd been each time that we looked nothing like her... My precious little angel says: "Well, your hair looks like hers now Mommy..." It took me 25 frickin years but I finally got the Molly Rinwald in "Sixteen Candles" hair cut!
We let Samantha pick where she wanted to have dinner and she chose CiCi's Pizza Buffet... then when we got home she got to open her presents... Her main present was a new & bigger bike which she loved...
On Saturday poor Samantha had to work before her party... first thing in the morning we went out by the bridge in our neighborhood to install the kiosk the homeowners association purchased to keep the portion of the community who doesn't have Internet informed... We hired a guy who lives in the neighborhood & does construction to install it and we helped a bit... Samantha helped me go to the creek to get a couple buckets of water to pour in the post holes with the Quickrete...
After that we went to our neighborhoods community clean up day where poor Samantha had to work some more picking up trash around our ponds and at the entrances to our neighborhood... When we decided to trim tree branches at the entrance she asked if she could go home... lol...
Trimming the tree was quite an adventure... there were bugs all over the branches that we loaded into the back of my Element... they didn't bother me at first but after a while I felt like they were crawling all over me... And then when I went to pull out onto the main road all the branches fell out of the back of the Element into the street! Thankfully everyone was very patient while we got them cleaned up...
Finally it was time for Samantha's Birthday Party! She was so excited for Tara to come over and spend the night... Kelly and Tim hung out with us and we had a cook out... And then later in the evening the girls watched their 80's movies... They absolutely loved "Sixteen Candles"... I told the girls how when the movie first came out my best friend Carolyn and I had gone again and again to the hairdressers to get our hair cut just like Molly Ringwald in that movie and how disappointed we'd been each time that we looked nothing like her... My precious little angel says: "Well, your hair looks like hers now Mommy..." It took me 25 frickin years but I finally got the Molly Rinwald in "Sixteen Candles" hair cut!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Indianapolis Mini Vacation... Pictures in no particular order...
This was at the Children's Museum in the Chihuly exhibit... They had this cool bench that moved around in a circle so you could lie back and look up at the Chihuly glass in the ceiling... It was so beautiful... Chihuly is one of my favorite artists...
I can't tell if John's eyes are closed because he was taking a nap or just because he blinked...
Samantha at the Children's Museum digging for dinosaur bones...
I always love the doll house exhibit at the Children's Museum and this visit it was one of Samantha's favorites as well...
Samantha was also very interested in Anne Frank... They had a video about her life and Samantha asked a lot of questions... I thought about getting her the Diary of Anne Frank but John and I decided to wait a few more years...
This picture was amazing... It was tiny pictures of the Holocaust made into Anne Frank's face...
John and Samantha playing checkers... For a while there I thought Samantha was going to win but she didn't...
The Indianapolis War Memorial...
Our hotel... We had fun finding our room from the outside... It was on the right side, the third floor down and fourth room over...
Samantha brought her hamster, Twitchy and got her Boston Terrier at the hotel gift shop... She named him Westin...
Samantha tucked into her cloud bed... I believe the Westin calls them heavenly beds and they truly are... I want one of those beds...
Wow, John and his dad look exactly alike!
Me, Cheryl, Jazmyn and Samantha...
This is the bridge from Madison, IN to Kentucky... Back when I first met John we went to visit his Grandma... She asked if I wanted to go to Kentucky and I said sure... Well, John, it turned out, is terrified of bridges like this one... When Grandma realized this she made him drive over it again and again all the while sitting there in the passenger seat laughing... It was great... 
The Jefferson Proving Ground is where Grandma's family lived until the government took the land... They kept the family home and used it as officer's quarters...
This is the bridge between the Bear Creek Cemetery and Grandma's family farm... The farm is where John's dad grew up...
Covered bridge we saw on our drive through the Indiana countryside...
The one room school house across from the Proving Ground where Grandma went to elementary school...
I know some find it morbid and odd but we love looking around really old cemeteries...
This is the out house at the Bear Creek Cemetery where John's Grandma and Grandpa are buried... I have used this out house on several occasions and it is similar to the one at the cemetery across from the Proving Ground where I was so traumatized that I forgot to take a picture... I got locked accidentally in the out house! I had to go really bad and my options were the bushes or this really old and really creepy out house... I was hesitant to use the out house because it was totally full of cobwebs but I didn't want to use the bushes either because there was a creepy caretaker mowing the lawn... Finally I decided on the out house and when I was done the wooden latch on the outside had slipped down over the door locking me in there with all the cob webs and icky out house stuff! I could see though the crack in the door that John and his dad were all the way on the other side of the cemetery looking at a grave... I couldn't see Samantha but I yelled for her... When she stopped laughing she let me out... Oh, it was so icky!
Older portion of Bear Creek Cemetery...
John's Grandparents' grave...
We all thought this was an interesting picture above the toilet in the bathroom of our hotel room...
When Ellen and her family went to the beach they took foot pictures so I wanted to take foot pictures too... We were walking around downtown Indy and for some strange reason my Birkenstock were giving me blisters... they've never done that before...
Most of you know Samantha has an obsession with squirrels...
You all will surly recognize this view...
One of my favorite spots in Indianapolis is the canal...
Samantha found some ducks...
More canal...
Samantha and I were thrilled to find Starbucks coffee in our hotel room!
View of the Court House from our hotel room window...
The trip home!
More Chihuly at the Children's Museum...
Dinosaur dome at the Children's Museum...
Another favorite part of the Children's Museum...
The Chihuly sculpture... Note the bottom portion... it is what you looked up at on the circle lounger thing...
Me and Samantha at the Indiana War Memorial Museum...
The lobby of our hotel where Samantha and John would wait for me... They are so impatient!
Samantha in her Aeropostale necklace... She doesn't look like a baby anymore...
Except when she's sleeping, then she still looks like a baby...
You never ever see me in a bathing suit let alone in the water... and if you do get me in the water I never put my face in but this time I did! I showed Samantha how to do summersaults under the water...
Samantha's first shopping trip to Aeropostale... She got a necklace, bracelet and a tee shirt... She said she has always wanted a peace sign necklace...
Here we are outside the Native American Museum...
We left on Monday but on friday Samantha was all packed... I love how she packed her vintage suitcase that I had decorated for her...
And she left this note that John and I thought was adorable...
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