So I got my uniforms ordered and everything on Friday. I couldn't believe how expensive it was. They told me when I registered for the Academy to plan about $350 for uniforms but with my boots, handcuffs, belt and jacket it was like $480! Oh well I guess, I kind of have to have them in order to go right? :) Now I'm just waiting for my student loan to come into my bank account so that I can go pay for the rest of them. My boots that I got are so freaking cool! They had a nice pair of Rocky boots that were cooler but they just felt kind of tight on my feet and I figured it wasn't worth having sore feet just to get the cooler boots. But the ones I got were pretty dang cool anyway. They're like combat boots, but they zip up the side so they're easier to get on which I like. That's what I hated about the Army was the boots were so dang hard to get on. They were just regular old combat boots though, so what could I expect, but these new ones are so nice I can't wait to go pick everything up. I got my handcuffs and case too, which was cool. They are black handcuffs and they look super awesome! I was reading what I need for the second block of the academy and I think it's kind of wierd that we have to provide our own firearm and 1500 rounds of ammo! Luckily I have a pistol, but I don't think it will work good enough, so I'm going to have to try and sell it and get a Glock I think. Plus I priced the ammo and holy crap it's going to be like $400 for that much ammo. I don't understand why you have to pay almost $4000 in tuition to attend the Academy but then you have to supply your own firearm and ammo? That doesn't make much sense to me. I would think that type of thing would be included in your tuition. You'd think that they'd have firearms and ammo that they just issued out to us on the days that we needed them, but whatever I guess. I'll have to try and figure all of that out when I get to that point I guess. I'm still excited though!

Sheena and I went to the Living Planet Aquarium Friday after I got my uniforms ordered. We haven't been to it since it was just the little tiny place up in the Gateway Center. It was pretty dang cool, I think they've put it in an old grocery store or something. It looked like it used to be a Smiths or Albertsons or something I don't know. It was way cool though. Sheena finally pet a Stingray! We sat there and pet them for like 1/2 hour or so. They are so cool, you'd think they would be all slimy, but they almost feel like velvety. They are so friendly though, they kept swimming right up to the side of the pool and poking their noses out at Sheena so she would pet them on their noses. It was pretty cool to see, but of course we forgot the dang camera at home and didn't get any pictures taken. Then we came home, ordered pizza and downloaded some more songs for Rockband and just jammed till like 1:30 in the morning. It was so freakin fun, we had the T.V. cranked! She was singing like crazy, and we were being so silly and acting like such dorks. We're all too good at acting like that though :) Then today we slept in and when we got up we went and took a drive out to the west side of Utah Lake and went shooting my pistol. She wasn't going to shoot but I convinced her to try it and she loved it. She actually did pretty good, she hit the target several times. It was so funny because on the way home she told me "At least I don't close my eyes when I shoot this like I do when I shoot my .270 rifle." I was SHOCKED when she said that she closes her eyes with her rifle! She just said it so matter of fact like and couldn't understand why I was so shocked when I heard that. It was so dang funny, because she's actually a really good shot with her rifle, and to think she's shooting without looking at it. I told her imagine how good you could be if you'd keep them open..she laughed so hard! I think we've had so much fun this weekend, and we still have tonight and tomorrow. I know I've had a blast and I'm so glad to have her in my life, I know that it wouldn't be nearly as exciting or hilarious without that freak in my life. I love her with all of my heart and there is nothing I wouldn't do for that girl. As corny as it sounds she's the light of my life. Sure there are a few rough patches, but show me a relationship that doesn't have that. I wouldn't trade any of the past 6 years of my life for anything.

I gotta run, but I'll write again soon!

Great Awesome News!

Well I got everything back from my financial aid. I got a Pell Grant and I took a small Student Loan. I turned in my application and got accepted into the Police Academy yesterday. I start on September 9th and I can hardly stand it I'm so excited and nervous all at the same time! This Friday I have to go get fitted for my uniforms, so that will be exciting. I also got my MPN for my student loan this morning, I didn't expect it for at least a week. When I talked to the girl at the Financial Aid office, she said that it would probably take at least a week to get all that stuff sent where it needed to go. Well I checked this morning and it was already there. I signed it and everything and it should be here in a few days I'm hoping.

I also e-mailed my boss last night and told him about it and that I was going to have to adjust my schedule a little bit so that I can get the kids picked up and get to school by 5:30 p.m. I basically told him that I was going to the Academy and that I'd be finished in about a year. I was kind of worried that he was going to be upset at the fact that I was going to leave, but he was actually really happy for me. He called me this morning at work and told me that I was a "stud" for following my dreams and bettering myself. I was a little surprised by his reaction, I really thought he'd be upset, but he wasn't.

Anyway, I'm gonna go eat my lunch, but I just thought I'd update anyone who reads this....yeah right.

Well I'm still waiting to hear back on my financial aid. I did call them today however and they said that they are working on them now, and it should be within the next few days when I should hear back. AARGH! I wish I had known about the whole $35 fee needed to be paid to UVU and NOT the Academy, I would've registered a month ago and gotten all my paperwork in for Pell Grant then, but I was under the impression that I had to pay the $35 to the Academy and so I waited till I was almost done with all my appointments and tests and stuff. So now I get to wait because it's so close to school. I hope it gets taken care of quickly though. I just want to know how much I'm getting so that I can plan accordingly whether or not I need to get a student loan or not.

Anyway, tonight we decided to pass some time by drawing....well attempting to draw. I realized tonight why I haven't ever really drawn people, I CAN'T! I hate it, because I want to draw these pictures Sheena found so bad, but I just can't get it down. I guess I'll keep practicing though and hopefully eventually I'll get it. Anyway, while I was looking through my drawing tablet I found this picture of a catfish I drew that I was going to get tattooed on me a while ago, but never did. I like it, I think it's a cool picture. For my tattoo I was going to put a fish hook in it's mouth though, other than that it was going to look pretty much like this. I think it would be cool with a background also, like maybe some old license plates or something. And maybe some rocks with a little moss growing on them, who knows.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention something that happened to me this morning. I FELL DOWN THE GOD DAMMED STAIRS! Luckily I only fell down the last 5 or 6. But it was dark, I was tired as hell and it was like 6:00 A.M. and I didn't get to bed till after midnight, plus I didn't sleep good at all last night. SOOO needless to say my day didn't start off on too good of a note. I was grumpy and sore all day. I'm still pretty sore though, but I'll get over it. I have to, I don't have a choice, I have to go to the gym and workout tomorrow and Sat. Then I'll get a day to rest (Sun.) then it's back to my regular schedule. I took today off from the gym, I figured falling down the stairs was a good enough reason to cancel my workout for today. Although I feel really lazy when I don't go to the gym, so I probably should have gone, but I'll make up for today over the next two days. :)

Anyway, I am going to go watch some Olympics I think. Maybe have some ice cream too! Yummy...I'll write again once I have more to write about.

Almost finished....

Well I got my physical today and I can honestly say that it was the EASIEST physical that I have ever had the "pleasure" participating in. It lasted all of about 5 minutes, long enough for the doctor to ask me a couple questions about surgeries and diseases which I've had none of either. Then he listened to my lungs, heart and stomach. He then was trying to think of anything else he could ask me to do and the only thing he could think of was having me squat down and then get back up without using my hands, which was a piece of cake, no problem. So then he signed my paper and I was out of there, lickety split! Woo-Hoo that part is over now! So then because it was over with so fast and we didn't have to pick up the kids for a while, Sheena and I came back to the apartment and I went online and registered with UVU and paid my $35 fee. I then called them and they told me that I should be receiving an e-mail telling me about the financial aid that I applied for. So then once that was over it was only like 3:30 or so. So we decided to go to the bank and have the lady notorize my application for the POST Academy. So she did that, then we went and picked up the kids. After we got them, we went to Wal Mart for groceries and printed off my picture of me that I have to turn in with my application. We got Sheena some clothes then got groceries and came home. I couldn't believe how much we actually got accomplished in such a short amount of time. It was nice to be able to get all of that stuff done and now I don't have to worry about it anymore. So basically the ONLY thing I'm waiting on to see if I can still go to the academy is the financial aid. If I don't get the Pel Grant then I'm going to have to try and get a student loan or something, but I'm going to have to get it done quick because the academy starts on Sept. 9th. I hope that I do qualify for a Pel Grant and that it will cover all my costs. In talking to the guy at the financial aid office, he said that just by looking at my application it looks like I should qualify for one. That would be so freakin nice! So I will probably know Mon. or Tue. about the financial aid and then I can go from there. Either get a hold of Capt. DeMille and set up my appointment to meet with him if my Pel Grant goes through, or try to get a student loan and then meet with him. I just want to wait to find out about the financial part of it before I meet with him. Because once I meet with him, he'll tell me to go get my uniforms and I won't even know if I'm able to go or not, so it's easier to just wait until I find out for sure about the Grant.

Well I've kind of rambled on I guess, but I'm just so excited that I got all that crap done today. I didn't think I'd be able to get it all done till mid next week at the soonest. But I also didn't think my physical would be over so quickly. It was a very eventfull afternoon. And best of all we got to take off from work at 2:00 and still got our full 40 hours for the week. I planned ahead and didn't take lunch a couple days to make up the hours. See I DO use my head for something other than holding my ears apart, like my dad always says to me.

Sheena looks super HOTT in her new clothes. She looks good anyway, but she looked really really good today when I saw her in her new "diggs". It's hard to not look good when you already look as good as she does! I'm so excited, tomorrow we have to head down to Sanpete to go to her little sisters b-day party. But I think we're going to drop her present off and then try to get back to my parents house quickly because my mom agreed to take the two rugrats for the night and then we'd meet them Sun. and pick them up. It will be SO nice to get a night to hang out with Sheena and hopefully do something fun. We have quite a bit left over from our paychecks and I think we will probably do something. We haven't really done much of anything as of late. My entire life away from work has consisted of getting all this stuff done for the academy. And plus once I start the academy I'm really not going to have much time with her or the kids. Basically Mon.-Fri. I'm going to be going non stop from about 5:30 a.m until about 9:00 p.m. I have to work my normal job until about 4:30 then I have to hurry and go pick up the kids take them and Sheena home, get changed and get to the academy by 5:30 p.m. where I'll be until 9:00 p.m. Then on Sat. I will be at the academy from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. So basically my only free time with the kids and Sheena will be Sat. nights and Sunday. But I'll have to be studying for a better part of that time, so who knows. I know I'm going to be going on some ride alongs also with some officers, so that's bound to cut into my family time as well. AARGH! The sacrifices are so small though when I compare them to the big picture and the end reward. It's going to be a rough 9-10 months or so, but we have a strong marriage and a stronger love for one another ( I hope she does anyway :s ) that I know we'll be fine. My kids will understand hopefully. Poor Elgen he'll be so small and I'm going to have to miss a lot of his "firsts" I'm sure, but what do you do? There really isn't a whole lot that I can do about it. I need to do this for them as well as myself. I need to prove it to myself as well as EVERYONE who thinks that I'll never do it that I can and will do this and I will succeed. I'm done having people not believe in me. All I can say is just wait and see. It seems like it's forever away 10 months! But I'm sure once I get in there and am so busy with work and the academy that time will fly! I sure hope so, I want to be done with it already, I can hardly stand it. I keep seeing Provo City police cruisers all over and I keep imagining myself driving one of them. I keep telling Sheena that I would LOVE to have one of the new Dodge Chargers for my patrol car, but I highly doubt that I would get one. I'm sure where I'll be the FNG I will get the older kind of crappy car, but I dont' care. A Police cruiser is a Police cruiser for me, I'll just be happy to be a cop!

Anyway, I better end this now. I could ramble on like this forever it seems sometimes. I'll update you once I know anything.

Ahhh...life.

Well it's been a while since I've posted so I guess I'll write something. I have my physical tomorrow for the Police Academy...yee-haw! No, it's not going to be anything bad. For god's sake I went through the Army's physical, so I know there is NOTHING that bad! I just hate going to the doctor, but oh well it's not going to take too long and before I know it I'll be finished with it. It's stupid though, since I don't have insurance I have to pay $60 up front...how gay is that? I guess that's just one of the "luxuries" of not having insurance available from my job. That's actually one of the reasons that I'm going through the Police Academy. I want to be able to have insurance...good insurance.....for my wife and kids. Especially with Chelsea starting Kindergarten this year. That's not the only reason for me going though, otherwise that would be kind of wierd. No, I've always wanted to be a cop, considering my dad was in Law Enforcement for nearly 40 years, I've kind of "grown" into it I guess. I'll be making quite a bit more money and plus the whole job security thing too. I could go pretty much anywhere and get a job if I needed to. I hope that I can get on with Provo City and I like it. That way I'd just stay there till it was time to retire. Which brings me to my next reason for going through, retirement. I don't have that where I work now and I really think it's an important thing to plan for.

Well along with Sheena I've given up soda this whole last week. I have been drinking so much freakin water it's insane. I never thought anyone could drink as much water as I've been drinking over the past week. I am constantly having to go pee, but I do feel quite a bit better so far. I'm hoping that by cutting out soda I can lose more weight than if I was still drinking soda. I haven't been as dilligent this week for going to the gym as I have been for the last month and a half. I just haven't been able to get a decent nights sleep this whole week and so it's been nearly impossible to get up at 5:30 A.M. to get ready to go. I am going tomorrow morning and Sat. morning though no matter how tired I am. I have to at least get a few days in or else I'll really feel like crap. I've felt extra chubby this whole week because I haven't been going like I should have been.

Well, for anyone who reads this blog, as cheesy as it sounds, keep me in your prayers. I am going to need help with the academy at first I'm sure, so I could use all the extra prayers and "I'm pulling for you" that I can get.

I'm going to go get Chelsea, and get her ready for bed, so I guess I'll write again another time.

Well I haven't written in here for a few days so I figured I'd better get it done before Sheena told me that I needed to and I got in trouble ;) Not a whole lot has happened that I can think of to write about really. How sad is that? I did get my driving record for the academy though, so now all I need to do is get my physical paper signed by a doctor and get a hold of UVU and pay my $30 fee then go meet with Captain DeMille on the 11th and I should be good to go. I also need to find out about my financial aid, whether I am approved and if so for how much. I'm really hoping that I can get financing for the academy so i don't have to take out a student loan, but I guess if I have to then I have to right? At least I can put off paying it off till I graduate. And by then I'll be making pretty dang good money so I would be able to pay for it no problem. It seems like a lot of things to do, but it really isn't that bad. I've got all month to get it done, so I should be fine.

I was thinking the other day that I'm going to be in pretty awesome shape once I'm done with the academy, whether I like it or not really. I'm going to be attending for about 10 months and I'll have P.T. about 2-3 times a week for 10 months. I'm just so excited cause it means that I will finally be able to get rid of my chub that I hate and want gone. I've been working really hard at the gym to get it gone, and I have lost almost 30lbs but I just honestly don't see that much of a difference for it being 30lbs gone, but whatever I guess. Sheena keeps telling me that she notices a difference, but I don't see it. But I believe her, and I know she wouldn't say something if it wasn't true....or I hope not at least cause that would be sad. But I'm so excited to see what I look like when I'm done with the academy. Sheena really won't be able to keep her hands off me, especially once I'm in uniform...ha ha ha.

So yesterday we went and bought the kids some shoes. We got Elgen a pair of shoes, because he hasn't been able to wear the ones we bought him a long time ago for a while now. His feet are to chubby to fit into them. He has pretty big feet too though. I couldn't believe it when we got a pair that would actually fit him and it was a size 4! He's not even 1 year old yet. But if he's anything like me or his sister then he'll have big feet. Chelsea is another story all together, I hope she keeps getting taller because that way she'll grow into her feet. She just barely turned 5 and we had to buy her a size 10! Her shoes are really cute though, but she has to wait till school starts to wear them otherwise she'll have them ruined in a week. It sucks cause they're so cute and they look so cute on her, but oh well I guess she'll have to wait. She's so excited for school, it's kind of stressful but I'm really excited for her to go. She's going to have so much fun and she's going to learn so much so fast, she is such a little sponge. And it helps that she LOVES to learn new things. Kindergarten starts on August 26th, so we still have a little while to get the last minute things that she needs. We still need to get her a backpack and a few more outfits. She did get some clothes for her birthday so that was nice and she looks really cute in them. She is growing up so fast it's crazy. It's hard to believe that she starts school this month. It makes me feel REALLY old!

Well I guess that's about it for now, I'll write again once I have something to write about.