Caught Red Handed!

The Evidence

Ok, I'll admit it. I've been known to swipe my kid's Halloween candy. I look at it as a public service since no one should have to see my kids hyped up on that much sugar. Anyway, tonight I ate one of Natalie's peanut butter cups after she was asleep. At least I thought she was asleep. Sneaky little girl... I didn't even hear her coming!

"Mommy, is that mine?"

Uhhhhhh... I was at a loss for words. So I lied. "It's mine, sweetie." (Look - don't judge me! You weren't there!)

"Where did you get it?"

Crap. Why did I ever let her go to Kindergarten? She's getting too smart.

"Mommy has candy too, sweetie." Now that's not a lie. I do have candy... it's just not this candy. So I shooed her off to bed and I feel slightly guilty about lying to my innocent child, but... I'm sure another piece of candy will help me get over it.

Here are the little rascals.... I think the Chicken has a future as a detective. Watch out, there could be two Officer Fear's one day!

In CHP news...

Jay is doing well although he still dreads PT. He has scored well on all of his academic tests so far and is enjoying what he's learning. Of course that could all change tomorrow. Such is the life of a CHP Cadet. Today they practiced writing their first ticket! Cool! They also boxed a little in PMA (Physical Methods of Arrest) class. Surprisingly, he enjoyed it. That's good though, because they'll be doing more of it later on.

Jay had liberty tonight but we decided not to go see him because it's Halloween. (And again, Natalie now knows the calendar so I can't tell her that Saturday's Halloween party at church was The Real Thing.)

So for liberty he visited his brother Jack in Sacto, which he enjoyed. He also had to stop at The Evil Empire to try to find a pair of navy or black swim trunks. Apparently they are swimming in PT on Friday and Jay's red trunks are not going to fly, even though the paperwork we received from the Academy did not specify a color. *sigh* It's Halloween, people! Do they even sell swim trunks this time of year? Oh well... what can you do? It's not like we haven't spent a fortune on odds & ends for the Academy already. We're made of money so it's no big deal.

Seriously, I'm convinced that Jay really comes from a very wealthy family and he just hasn't told me yet because he wants to make sure I love him for HIM, not for the money.

Come on, babe. I think I've proven it by now. Just tell me... you're stinkin' rich, aren't you?

Week 2 CHP Class Blog up!

The second of the CHP class blogs is up!

http://www.chp.ca.gov/cadet/07-III.html

There is also a link to pictures at the top. Jay isn't in any of these pictures because these are pics of Company B (Jay is Company A), but his good friend Craig is in the 9th one down. He's the guy second from the end in the middle row, looking like he's concentrating. *smile* It's interesting to see what they're doing while they're away from us!

Laundry and pumpkins and cake... oh my!

The weekend started with me pulling a week’s worth of disgusting, wet, smelly Academy laundry out of Jay’s bag and shoving it into the washing machine with as little physical contact as possible. After the laundry was clean and dry, Jay pressed his uniforms with a fancy military press. He’s a much better ironer than I am. At least that’s what I’ve told him.

After laundry and a little studying, we took a quick trip to a small pumpkin patch (aka: pumpkins in a parking lot). The girls were more interested in the bouncy house than the pumpkins, but eventually we were able to choose three.

Sunday was church, where Natalie was part of the Primary program presentation. (Primary is the name of the church organization for kids ages 3-12.) We were able to hear about what the kids have been learning all year, and Natalie did a great job with her part and with the singing as well. I can’t believe Bea will be in the Primary program next year. Time is flying!

We also celebrated Jay’s birthday today because his actual birthday takes place during the week. For his birthday I let him “bic” his head. Not only did that present make him happy, but it fit within our budget, too! Of course, he now looks like Lex Luther, but that is neither here nor there. In celebration of his bday, we had yummy lasagna and, of course, mayonnaise cake. Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!

Happy Birthday, schmoopy.


And now it’s Sunday night, he’s off to the Academy again, and I’m missing him. I do not like Sunday nights. This one is a little better than last week, but I have a feeling that even at week 20, saying goodbye will still be hard. To cheer me up from this depressing fact, I will end this post with a picture of my adorable son. How can anyone possibly be sad when looking at this face?

Phew! End of Week 2

The last day of Week 2 was a pretty good one for Jay, especially when contrasted with the beginning of the week. (see previous post)

Friday started with a rough PT workout, but Jay made it through again. Yeah! Pull-ups continue to be the bane of his existence but I have confidence that he will conquer them soon. Or at least by the time he’s a senior. And if not... dinkin flicka! You don’t need to do pull-ups to graduate... I think...

After Friday’s PT, on his way to breakfast, a yell is hurdled at Jay from somewhere behind him:

SS: “Hey you!”
Uh-oh.
SS: “Did you even look in the mirror this morning, cadet?!”
Jay: “Yes, ma’am!”
SS: “Are you sure?!”
Jay (knowing he must have missed something): “I think so, ma’am!”
SS: “Then WHY is your back pocket button undone?!?!?! Fix it!!”

The uniform rules are very strict – everything needs to be done perfectly. Jay and his roommates usually look each other over every morning to make sure they haven’t forgotten anything, but apparently they all missed Jay’s back pocket button that morning. Of course, since it was just a bit of yelling it wasn’t that bad. But now that he’s passed the SOP test (whoo hoo!), that kind of small mistake could result in a gig if the Staff Sergeant (SS) got up on the wrong side of the bed that morning.

I realize I’ve focused a lot on the negatives of the Academy (because they make for better stories) however, there are a lot of things that Jay is enjoying. For example, he is enjoying the Vehicle Code and Penal Code classes. He is learning a lot and finding it all very interesting, which is good since it’s going to be his career for the next 25+ years. He especially likes his Penal Code class because the instructor keeps them all laughing and has been known to use Terry Tate videos as part of his instruction. And if you don’t know who Terry Tate is, I highly suggest going here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzToNo7A-94

So far there have been good days and bad days, but in general Jay seems really happy and grateful to be there, training for the career of his dreams. Keep sending happy thoughts and prayers his way... he is feeling them and appreciates them more than you know. He swears that’s how he’s getting through PT every morning, and I’m sure he’s right. So thank you!

Mall Cop

Grueling PT, additional PT testing and an obstacle course, being yelled at, and missing home were the order of the day for Our Cadet on Monday. When he called that night I could tell he was exhausted and more than ready for the day to be done. Plus, because he had received 2 gigs* that day he wasn’t sure if he would be granted liberty* Wednesday night. He was not happy. He seemed a little better after we chatted, but I went to bed really worried about him. I didn’t think he would be knocking on our door in two hours, bags in hand, but I just hated knowing there was nothing I could do to help (except pray, which I did fervently).

I spent most of Tuesday waiting for Jay to call at 8, and when he did, boy... I could tell right away that he was in a better mood. He didn’t have PT that day, and that combined with a good night’s sleep really did wonders for his mood. Plus, he told me he would in fact have liberty on Wednesday. Whoo hooo!! Sacramento road trip!

Tuesday was also a minor milestone for the cadets... they received their first equipment items: the baton and handcuffs. Jay told me, “I feel like an official mall cop now!” They were issued the equipment because they started PMA class, or Physical Methods of Arrest. This class is taught by the dreaded PT staff, but apparently they were a little nicer than they are during PT. Instead of screaming at everyone they said things like “You can ask us any questions you want, just make sure they’re not stupid!!” Fantastic. Really makes you want to raise your hand.

Wednesday the kids and I drove up to Sacto to meet Jay at IKEA for dinner (mmmm, Swedish meatballs) and hanging out. The girls were almost as excited about seeing the Hartley’s there as they were about seeing Daddy. We had a wonderful time and Jay looked really good and his spirits were up. He had completed the entire PT workout that day without getting yelled at! High Five! Plus, he’s enjoying the academics and even feeling more comfortable with Drill.

He hasn’t called yet tonight but I’m anxious to hear how today went. He had three tests, including the SOP* test. Once the SOP test is completed, the cadets have to be really careful because that means they should know (in theory) all the Academy rules and regulations and whenever they break one... gig time (or worse).

All in all, I’m excited that tomorrow is Friday and Jay will be home again for the weekend. Things seem to be moving by at a pretty good pace. Hopefully it stays that way.


*see Handy Dandy CHP Terminology Guide to your right!

Clean Plate Club

Here we have a rare glimpse of Beatrice with a clean plate...

I thought I should document it because it's likely to never happen again.

Jay's Academy Class Blog

So... the CHP does short little blogs each week for each Academy class. The first of Jay's class blogs is up!! Check it out at:

http://www.chp.ca.gov/cadet

Under "Blogs" click on III-07. This is Jay's class. Above the message there is a link for pictures. Jay won't always be in the pictures but he's in one of them this time (3rd pic from the bottom). See if you can spot him in the sea of bald heads.

Starting class size: 188
Remaining cadets: 184

Huffing and puffing

Week 1 is done!

It is so exciting to have an entire week crossed off of our “Countdown to Daddy’s Graduation” calendar. There are 26 more to go, but... we’re trying to focus on the positive.

Jay’s last day of Week 1 was extremely challenging, and it was all due to Physical Training (from here on out referred to as PT or H-E-Double-Hockeysticks). Friday was their first full-blown workout and to say that it was difficult is a serious understatement. The PT instructors are machines... they get paid to stay in prime-time physical shape... and they like to yell.

I’m not going to detail the workout because I don’t think I could do it justice. I’ll just say they did extremely strenuous floor exercises over and over and over again. And if they were supposed to be counting to 30 and the PT Instructor couldn’t hear them, he would say “What number are we at? Oh, ZERO, that’s right...” and start them all over again. That’s just cold.

Only about 1/3 of Jay’s company was able to complete the hour-long routine. Jay was not among that 1/3, but he kept up for quite a while. Even the ex-marines in Jay’s company didn’t make it through. When you don’t complete the entire routine, you are made to lie face down on your mat after receiving a severe tongue-lashing for being “weak,” “lazy,” “fat,” or something along those lines. So Jay’s lying there, his head face down in a pool of sweat, and he hears the PT Instructor holler that it’s time for pull-ups. Yippee. At least for pull-ups the person behind you is allowed to help lift you up if you can’t do it on your own. When it was Jay’s turn, he walked to the pull-up bar, turned around and who’s behind him? Some guy about my weight and height. Jay looked at him and silently mouthed “I’m sorry.”

After pull-ups it was time for the “Challenge Run,” also known as the “Pork Run.” It’s a 4 (maybe 5 or 6, I forget) mile run around the Academy grounds and they start at about a 6 min mile pace. There is a van following behind the runners in case someone’s on the brink of death or something. Jay was keeping up with the front-runners for the first couple of miles until the were passing by the EVOC course and then he just couldn’t continue... he needed to walk for just a minute... unfortunately for him, one of the PT Instructors (who we will call Sgt G) saw him and started running along side of him, yelling at the top of his lungs something like this:

Sgt G: FEAR!! What are you doing? Why are you walking?!
(Jay starts jogging, Sgt G right along side of him).
Sgt G: FEAR! You’re walking right in front of the EVOC staff!! What does that say about my PT training?!? Get moving!
Jay: (huff, puff) Yes, sir!
(Jay is now huffing and puffing, trying to keep up with Sgt G’s pace)
Sgt G: FEAR! Stop sucking all the good air!!! Some guy hears you huffing and puffing like that and he’ll know he’s got you!!
Jay: (huff, puff) Yes, sir!
Sgt G: Are you going to have a heart attack Fear?! (not said in a tone of concern, btw)
Jay: No, sir!
Sgt G: That’s right, you know why?! Because you have no heart!! Why don’t you just quit?! Why don’t you just give up? I’ll walk you to the office myself!! Come on, just quit!!
Jay: No, sir!

I should note that Jay is not the only one getting this treatment.

So, Sgt G moves on to someone else and Jay is able to walk briskly for a minute. Coming up behind him are a few cadets that sit next to him in class, and they encouraged him to keep running. He finished the run in the top half of his company – yeah!! And he didn’t have to get a ride in the van! Double yeah!!

All in all, out of the 185 people his class, only about 6 were able to complete the PT workout, the pull-ups, and complete the run. So only those 6 get to keep their official PT shirt. The rest of the group is now referred to as “marshmallows” (because they’re soft, you see...) and they are required to wear plain white shirts to PT with their names on the back in puffy, marshmallow-like writing. They have to earn their official shirt back.

So that was the end of week 1. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that Jay was thrilled to come home Friday evening. And of course we were happy beyond words to have him with us. It was not a relaxing weekend by any stretch of the imagination, because Jay had a lot of homework and errands, not to mention laundry and uniform pressing, BUT... we were together and that’s what matters.


Sunday evening stunk. I knew that it would be harder to say good-bye this weekend than it was when he left for his first day, but I didn’t realize it would be this hard. The girls were sad, I was trying to hold back tears, and Jay was trying to hold it together, too. But, we know it’s the best thing. He needs to be there, 100% focused on his training. It’s going to be a long six months, but in the end, he will have accomplished something few have, and he will have a fantastic career that he can be proud of. Here’s hoping we survive week 2!!!