Hey Mother Nature....It's Fall!

It's September 30th. Tomorrow is October 1st. Why or why is it still 107 degrees outside? What a cruel trick Mother Nature is pulling on us. Well my boys have bested Mother Nature. Awhile back Joe came home from a Target shopping trip with 12 waterguns. Yes, I said 12 waterguns. Yikes at the time! However, thanks to his ability to over buy stuff on sale, each water gun was about $2 and they are supersoakers, anyone who wants to play water fight in the 107 degree weather can play. Here are few pictures of the boys with neighborhood kids doing just that. They go home soaked and a little tired from playing so hard. Not a bad thing at all. So there Mother Nature!

Just Say NO!!

Last night at my Academy Class we had the best presenters. We were at the Superstition District which is just over the freeway from my house. After a short introduction from the District Commander, we toured the facility. This time there were actually officers around, and I was looking the that cop that pulled me over for not stopping all the way out on Hawes and Baseline, but he was not there. We then had a presentation by the CIS, Civilian Investigation Specialist. This is my dream job. No guns. You get to go through a modified Police Academy training and then you spend your day investigating property crimes around the city. It sounds so interesting.

After that we had what looked like an average Joe show up. It actually was a Sgt from the Street Crimes division. He was so funny. He taught us about undercover work, Mesa hookers and "massage" parlors. Great stories, PG13. He just went on and on. We had a break after his presentation and he hung around still talking. When the next presenter showed up he finally left but not until someone gave him a really hard time for it.

The next presenter was from the Gang division. Let's just say that he warned us that Gangs are very Adult and his pictures were very Adult. Graffiti, tattoos, hand signs and gang violence were his focus. Very educational.

Lastly we had Narcotics. Drugs! He actually brought little baggies of drugs to pass around the room. Marijuana, crack, cocaine and meth were a few. He showed us pictures of what someone on crack looks like over a 10 year period. He showed us pictures of meth labs, kilos of drugs, PCP, Oxycontin and so on. It was amazing. Seeing what people will do for drugs and what teenagers are messing with. It really opened our eyes. The girl sitting next to me leaned over during the presentation and said, "Wow, I've really led a sheltered life. I've never seen or heard of some of this stuff." I told her sheltered is not a bad thing. Although I've never seen many of those drugs, I have heard things about certain drugs. It was cool.

The next 2 weeks we will be down at the Central Station. I can't wait. It just seems like each week it gets better.

K-9 Unit

Last night at my Mesa Police Citizens Academy we got to learn about the K-9 Units. They brought in 2 dog, Jake and Kino. Jake is a dual purpose dog. He does patrol with his officer as well as narcotics detection. Kino is a narcotics trained dog. Their officer handlers gave us a demo of what they do. They hid drugs in the room and dogs found them, fast. They put on the big training coats and sleeve and the dog attacked. They even let people in the class wear the sleeve so you could feel the strength of these animals. They bite and hold on. It was cool. No I didn't do the sleeve thing. I figured with my dog allergies and size, that dog would throw me all over the room. I watched Jake throw around a over 6 ft and I'd say over 200lb man last night. There was no way that sleeve was going on me. But it was fun to watch.

Here is the K-9 Unit website if you are interested in checking out all the MPD dogs. I'm hoping to schedule a demo for our Cub Scouts and Activity Day girls some time in the future.

http://www.mesaaz.gov/police/k9/jake.aspx

MIA

It seems Mr. Turtle has gone MIA. It's been about 3 weeks since I've seen him. I don't know if he got out and has wandered away, or if he buried himself so deep in the hole he dug out back that he either escaped out under the fence or is just down there deep. If he shows back up, we will be very happy. Our family really loves this silly turtle. But if he has moved on, whether to the next life or to the little patch of desert near our house, we wish him well on his journey. We love you Mr. Turtle, and miss you.Little Mr. Turtle, when we first got him. Jacob is about 4 and Tyler around 2. That means we've had him for about 6 years. He was a good pet. Quiet, never complained and provided lots of entertainment.

Good Report

I am glad to report that I have nothing to report. After all we have been through the last couple of weeks, I can happily say that things have calmed down and we are starting to get into a schedule. Jacob's sugars are up and down, but that is to be expected. The doctor is still adjusting his medication and it seems to be getting better. The other boys have adjusted to our new changes too. We have settled pretty well. I couldn't be happier.

I have been enjoying my Citizens Police Academy classes. Last week we visited the Red Mountain Precinct. This is where my sister in law works from. I got to see her mail box. I know really exciting! I scheduled my ride along for October 11th at the Superstition District. And my shooting range day is Saturday, October 23rd. Many things to look forward to.

Mesa Citizens Police Academy

Last night I went to my first class in the Mesa Police Citizens Academy. I will go every Wed night from 6:30 to 10:00 and get to learn every aspect of the Mesa Police Department. This is a 11 week, 12 class experience. I get to go on a police ride along and have a day at the shooting range. I will get to tour the city jail and 3 of the 4 precincts in Mesa. I read in the paper about a citizen investigator pilot program and went looking for information about that and found the citizen academy. So I signed up.

We met last night at the police training center on Greenfield north of McKellips. We toured the facility, met the chiefs and other high ranks and learned about the hiring process. I will not kid you, by 9:30 my eyes wanted to shut. The lack of sleep from this last weekend is catching up with me. I'm excited about these classes. I'll post about my experiences as I go.

I know now that an afternoon nap every Wed is going to be necessary. Good thing I still make Jared take a daily nap, so I can have the excuse to lie down too.

Just Breathe...

We are doing it! We got all the supplies organized and stored away. Got Jacob totally settled at school with plenty of snacks and supplies. We have a teacher meeting today to have Jacob show how his meter works and answer any questions they may have. And Jacob is managing his care with supervision better than we had hoped. He tests his own sugars when we tell him to. He records it in the log so we can monitor that. He draws his own insulin, we check it, then he injects himself. It's really manageable. I'm sure he will grow tired of this schedule and it will become a fight, at least that is what everyone tells us. But for now we are enjoying how well he is adjusting.

I am required to call his Endocrinologist, Diabetes Doctor, every day at 2pm to give his blood sugar levels. They are monitoring and adjusting doses as we go. This will occur for a while and whenever he had a growth spurt and hits puberty, there will be adjustments.

It seems like a lot, but I am handling it pretty well. Fixing lunch today was a little more hectic because I had to total his Carbs and record it in his lunch so the nurse is sure he gets the correct amount of insulin. But I think I am working a good system and feel good about it.

Joe and I are both still pretty tired. But are recovering.

Thanks again for all the prayers, we definitely need them.