On Duty

Our friend, Steve, got to do a ride along with Rob last week and was able to snap some action shots.

I can't lie. I married him for his looks.

Bad Boys and My Little Ponies

Harper's teachers send a paper home with her every day that reports what she did during the day. Below is part of her report from yesterday.

Yep. You read that correctly. Harper sang "Bad Boys" while doing her artwork. Rob watches a lot of Cops and Harper's brain is like a little sponge. It was only a matter of time before she shared our little secret with the world. And now, I'm sharing it with you.

Catch Up

I've been at a workshop on career development for the last two days. It was awesome, but my brain's a little fried. So... here's a quick bullet list of what's been going on.

• Harper got a new night light. I gave her the choice of these two and guess which one she picked.

To no one's surprise, she picked the princess one.

• My grandma will be 90 years old in October. And yet, she'll still jump on the back of a 4-wheeler. That is the definition of awesome.

• It was inevitable. My husband pulled me over last night. Good thing it was only to say hello and not because I ran a stop sign.

• Harper has a new best friend. A watering can.

They do everything together. She slept with it last night.

Congrats, Rob!

Last night, my husband received an award from the police department. He was given a Metropolitan Police Department Chief's Coin in recognition for going above and beyond the call of duty. Something about catching 5 armed robbers at one time. You'll have to ask him about it. Doesn't sound like a big deal to me, but what do I know:)

Computers, Challenges, and Dead Deer

I'm liking the random thoughts/bullet point format of my posts this week. So, I'm going to keep it going today.

• Sometimes it takes me more than one try (like 2 or 3) to correctly identify and fill in the letters on word verification things. I'm not a computer. I swear.

• I successfully completed day 2 of my 10K training. I stepped it up a notch last night. I'm a little sore today. Part of that is due to the fact that I need to get some new running shoes. But the other part is because I am not used to challenging myself physically (or otherwise). Last night as I was running, I was trying to remember the last time I challenged myself in any area of my life. Sadly, it was probably 5 years ago when Rob convinced me it would be a good idea to do an 80 mile bike ride with him. I say sadly because it's been 5 years since I have really done anything that has made me uncomfortable - that has been outside of my comfort zone. This needs to change. The 10K race will be a good physical challenge. Now I need to find things to stretch other areas of my life.
• Rob is working 3rd shift for the month of January. It's going to be an adjustment for all of us. His first night was eventful. It included drugs, guns, and a dead deer in the back of the police cruiser. That's all I can say about that.

Graduation Ceremony

Here is a little video that I put together from Rob's graduation last week. I was very impressed with the ceremony (in the video still, Rob's in the last row standing in front of the little boy). Because he was elected class leader, he had to give a speech and also won the leadership award. His first day of work was yesterday. He said it was a quiet night. I hope they are all quiet nights.

Last Night

What a great night. Rob did fantastic and even won the leadership award! I'm working on piecing some video clips together. Thanks to our friend, Steve, for taking the first two pictures.

I got to pin Rob's badge on. Good thing he was wearing his bullet proof vest because I almost stuck him.

All things considered, Harper did really well at the ceremony. It was a long time to ask her to sit still and be quiet. Besides getting momentarily stuck under the pew in front of her, she came through relatively unscathed. She must have known there was going to be cake afterwards.

Annual Reminder

Well, I got pulled over this morning. 43 in a 30. As some of you know, this is a recurring thing for me. Click here for a reminder. This time, I was lucky. He only gave me a warning - and a really nice one at that. I think the power of Harper's cuteness had something to do with it. She said hi to him as soon as he came up to the window. I didn't even have to tell him that my husband is 2 weeks away from graduating from the police academy. Actually, I wouldn't have told him that anyway. I speed. I deserve every ticket I get. There is no point in trying to get out of it or feeling bad about it. I make the choice to speed and therefore I accept my consequences. But today I got lucky. No ticket. Just my annual reminder.

Man Vs. Dog

Rob is loving the police academy. Here is a video of him squaring off against a police dog.

Quick Study

You may remember that Harper likes to help her dad shine his police boots. She has now moved on to polishing any shoes that she finds laying around. I am thinking of ways to harness this new skill of hers...

Earning Her Keep

Rob has to shine his police boots every day for the academy. Harper likes to help.

Bad Guys Beware

So, many of you already know this, but some of you may be wondering why my handsome husband shaved off all of his nice hair. Well, the reason is that he was accepted into the police academy. He's in his his 3rd week (of 22 weeks) of hell academy, and he's doing great. He admits that it's challenging, but he is excelling at the physical training and thinks that he just aced his first written exam. I knew that being a police officer was a good fit for Rob. I'm just really happy that he is excited to go to work every day. Now if I could only get used to his shaved head, we'd be in good shape.