Catching Up: Graduation & Beyond!

From the beginning they engrained it in our brains: the days are long but the weeks are short.  My goodness, isn't that the truth!

Here we are, post graduation, and K is already smack dab in the middle of his 1st week of break in. I on the other hand have already made in through my first semester of three in my nursing program! My passing grades should be a good enough excuse for my absence on this blog throughout the second half of K's academy ;) My vision for this blog started out as a place to include every detail of this CHP journey, but my school program is more grueling than I could have imagined, and I am much more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of gal these days!

In short, graduation week was hectic and incredible. Wednesday morning was the traditional Cadet Capitol Run where all 78 cadets ran from the academy to the state capitol, escorted by a motorcade of officers. My dad and I were able to watch them leave the academy grounds at 0530 and then drive over to the capitol to wait for them. It was fun meeting some of the other families, and it all started feeling very real!  Wednesday night there was a cadet party held downtown and K and I got all dressed up for this which was really fun.  I met lots of cadets, officers, wives, and girlfriends and it was all a bit overwhelming but also exciting to meet some of the guys K will be working with! On Thursday I spent the entire day at the academy for the Family Support Seminar where I heard a lot of helpful information about what life as a CHP family is going to look like. It was really helpful that they offering this seminar, because it really does feel as if we are walking into unknown territory! After the seminar I helped K pack up his room and that felt so strange, especially for him! This week didn't even really feel like academy life because K got to stay with me Wednesday and Thursday night and the officers weren't treating them like cadets anymore. He left really early for the academy on Friday morning to prepare for the big day - graduation!

I thought for sure I would cry on graduation day, but I was just too happy for tears! The ceremony was really special, and my in-laws, parents and I got to go up on stage and take pictures with K and the CHP commissioner after he received his badge. It was such an amazing feeling to witness my husband plus the other 77 cadets receive the badges they had worked SO hard for endlessly over the course of 6 months. Following the ceremony inside the gym, we all went outside in the courtyard for the badge pinning ceremony. The cadets get to chose who pins the badge to their uniform, and having the privilege of pinning K's badge felt so surreal.  That was truly a monumental moment that we will look back on for years to come. After that we went back to my parents house for a party with lots of friends and family - we are blessed by so many people who have supported us along this crazy journey!

K had ten days off before beginning his first week of break in which is this week! "Break in" is essentially three months of on the job training in which K will be paired up with seasoned officers called field training officers (FTOs). These three months are much more stressful on the new officers than the academy was.  Now they are actually on the road expected to remember everything they have learned while remaining safe.  This first week has been mainly orientation type stuff, but K did write his first ticket today! Exciting for him, but not the unfortunate driver who received said ticket ;) His commute to his office is terribly long right now, but this weekend we are moving into our new place! We haven't had our own place for a year and a half now, and we simply can't wait to have a home together again. We are moving to a town right in between his office and my campus, so we are splitting the commute and neither of us will have to drive too far. These are exciting times and I have to remind myself to soak up these times and not wish them away. Although this season has been our most challenging and continues to be, I am thankful for all the Lord has been teaching us and for the tangible ways He has revealed himself to us through it all.

Below you will find my somewhat confusing notes that I jotted down during the second half of the academy. I am posting it more for myself to remember the order of events, but I tried to add some interesting tidbits :)

As always, we love you guys and appreciate those of you who have stood beside us through allthecraziness...you know who you are ;)

-- D


Week 14:
- The cadets spent Saturday at a group home in Sacramento hanging out with the kids and cleaning up the grounds, painting, etc.

Weeks 15 & 16:
- I think it was the weekend of week 15 that we had our last weekend together before I started my weekend clinicals. Basically from here on out K and I only spent a few hours on Friday nights together because he was only home on the weekends but I had 12 hour shifts Saturday and Sunday...not ideal!

Week 17:
- K and the rest of company B got pepper sprayed on Monday and he said it was TERRIBLE. This stuff is more concentrated than the stuff they actually use in the field, so the cadets get quite the experience!

Week 20:
- Qualified for rifle? This was his second attempt, he had to remediate but you can't fail out at this

Week 21:
- Lost 3 cadets in K's company to scenarios
- K's company had night shooting

Week 22:
- Scenarios!
- K only had to remediate on the building search scenario; the rest he passed first try
- One of his two roommates failed and went home Thursday night :(
- They lost 5 cadets from company A and just 1 from company B during scenarios

Week 23:
- He got tasered on Monday! Ouch!
- His class finally got Senior status on Thursday March 31 just in time for April!
- Got their tailored officer uniforms back! (their "tans")
- Had to go to the academy on Saturday to walk through the tear gas...so sad, but he said this was not as bad as pepper spray or taser

Week 24:
- Didn't get a lot of sleep this week, but for the past few weeks he has been able to randomly text or call me throughout the day
- Currently have 79 cadets left

- Started practicing for graduation ceremony 

- Got 2 gigs on Thursday :(

- Wednesday restriction this week cause he didn't pass his Spanish final but he finally passed Spanish this week (you can't fail out of the academy on the Spanish final so we weren't too worried)

Week 25:

- Got his badge number!!! This number will stick with him throughout his career as an officer and after he retires no one will ever have the same number as him

- Got dinner/coffee together Wednesday night 

- They lost a cadet to an LD test :( Pretty rare to lose one this late in the game

Week 26:
- Very chill week, mainly had graduation practice
- Had meetings with the other cadets that are headed to the same office as K after graduation

Week 27: GRADUATION WEEK
- Wednesday: capitol run in the morning and cadet party at night
- Thursday: Family Support Seminar
- Friday: graduation day!

Weeks 11, 12 & 13

Hi friends!

A lot has changed since my last update, and it honestly feels like it has been three months not three weeks since New Years! But here we are, me almost a month into school already and K about to become a SENIOR! Where the time goes, I will never know. I have so much on my heart these days, and I so badly want to write it all down and process my thoughts on this blog right now, but for tonight I'm keeping it quick because accelerated nursing school waits for no man (or woman).

CHP Week 11 (ABSN week 1):

This week was nuts, but also super exciting for us! I had my "New Student Kick Off" on Monday and my classes officially began on Tuesday. I learned very quickly that they don't call it an "accelerated" nursing program for nothing. When you are getting the same degree in 11.5 months that most nurses get in two years things are bound to be crazy.

Over at the academy K had an awesome week! He finally earned his PT shirt back which means that he basically has the privilege of wearing his official CHP t-shirts during PT and PMA instead of the marshmallow shirts. Most of the cadets are still in marshmallow shirts, so it was a big accomplishment for K. They happened to be swimming that day, and after showing some intense dedication during push ups that caught the eye of a staff officer, K went up to take his turn jumping off the "tower" into the pool. Before he yelled his little CHP chant and jumped, the staff officer grabbed K's PT shirt, held it up, and paraded it in front of the other cadets as they all cheered. Then he threw it into the pool for K to jump in and retrieve. K thought it was pretty cool cause no one has gotten their shirt back that way.  It was random that they were swimming that day and made for a good memory of jumping in and swimming to the shirt he earned the right to wear. Sadly they lost one cadet this week to EVOC, but besides that everyone else has seemed to be doing well (or at least hanging on for dear life).

Over the weekend we bought a new car which was crazy! Car dealerships are sketch and I was not a huge fan of the process, but we really needed a second reliable vehicle and we are happy with the decision we made. 

CHP Week 12 (ABSN week 2):
This week I had my first round of exams...yes, you heard that correctly. Two weeks in and already getting tested! One of the running jokes between my classmates and I is that "every week is finals week," and that could not be more true. We basically have exams every Thursday until the first week of February when we have finals and finish up this round of classes.

This week was graduation week for the seniors at the academy. The senior class led the juniors in PT one day and K said it was pretty cool. Not only was it an easier PT session, but afterwards they all sat on the bleachers and got to just talk to the seniors and ask questions. The graduation ceremony took up the majority of the day on Friday, and the junior cadets all had roles to play. K was a greeter at the front of the academy grounds and he was one of the first faces the families and friends saw when they showed up. I may be biased, but I don't think they could have picked a better cadet for that role ;) Sadly K's class lost a cadet who failed the vehicle code test from week 11, and they are now down to 95 cadets. On Friday when I picked him up, we booked it down the freeway (following the speed limit of course) to meet my parents and brother at the movies to see The Revenant. Such an intense and epic movie! The rest of this weekend was mainly studying for me and getting K prepped for his next week. 

CHP Week 13 (ABSN week 3):
For me this was another fun filled week of studying, testing, and feeling like most of the time I have no idea what I am doing! But really, I have experienced the biggest learning curves ever in this program. Not only informational curves, but emotional curves as well. I'll really have to dedicate a whole post one of these days to what my experience has been so far!

K's poor class had their first week of two "hell weeks" as they are so lovingly referred to. Basically, since the seniors graduated on January 15th and the new junior class does not come in until February 1st, K's class has two weeks of being the only class at the academy. They are in limbo...not exactly juniors anymore, but not quite considered seniors either. Although these two weeks are very challenging and all the cadets are getting a ton of gigs and losing Wednesday liberties, K made a really good point about its purpose. The staff officers aren't just doing this to be jerks, it really is their last opportunity to work out the "kinks" in the junior class before they become seniors. When K's class gets promoted and the new juniors arrive, the seniors and juniors have to be very distinguishable - basically the seniors are expected to have their act together so they can set good examples to the juniors and help them succeed. However nice that sounds, it makes for a crappy two weeks of getting yelled at if you are caught making any little mistake!

This weekend was so bittersweet for us. Next weekend K has to be at the academy for different things and we will barely see each other, and the weekend after next marks the beginning of my hospital clinicals (12 hour shifts on Saturdays and Sundays). This felt like our last full weekend together before the real craziness begins. It was a really fun weekend, though! We got to housesit for a family friend which allowed us to pretend for two days that we were a normal married couple with their own house who actually live together! One of our best friends also had her baby this weekend, so I was able to visit her in the hospital and K and I got to visit with other friends who came down to meet the baby as well. The Broncos also made it into the Superbowl this weekend...something my family is very excited about, but K is not as excited about it!

We ended our weekend by going on a walk together which has been such a special part of our marriage. We have talked about so many things on our walks, and it seems like we always go on one right before something big happens in our lives. We know we are entering into the hardest season yet, and we will have to fight more now than ever for time and intentionality together. Although it is so worth it and we trust the Lord in this, I know these next three months will be challenging. I mean, who actually voluntarily chooses to only see their spouse on Friday nights and maybe a few hours Saturday nights? K's graduation at the end of April seems so far off, and mine in December seems like light years away, but if I have learned anything lately it has been that time is far more fleeting than we realize in the moment.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

We can and will make it as a family in this difficult season, but we welcome any and all prayers during this time! As always thank you for your prayers and for following our story :)

-D

New Year ramblings + Weeks 8, 9 & 10

Happy New Year, friends!

I am still in a little bit of shock that 2016 is upon us already. I have realized that as I've gotten older, the years have become much shorter, it seems, making the difficult seasons somehow more manageable and the joyful seasons more precious. Things change so quickly, even if in the moment it seems as though our current state will last an eternity.

For the Walkers, 2015 really felt like the year of waiting - waiting for the next step in the CHP application process, waiting for the academy invite, waiting for an answer from nursing school, waiting to be called up off the waitlist for nursing school (God really wanted to humble me there!) and waiting to finally live in the same city again. For those who didn't know, K and I lived in separate cities for over half of last year. I won't go into all the details of the whys, but we trust that God had a purpose in those seven+ months of separateness, even if the waiting was hard and still is as the academy is in full swing and weekends are short. 2015 was a year of really high highs and really low lows. In a span of three months, my grandma passed away suddenly, K received his academy invite, and I was accepted to nursing school. It has been a whirlwind of emotions to say the least.

After a year marked with a constant theme of waiting, I hope and anticipate that 2016 will be a year of doing. K and I feel a strong calling on our lives to serve God in the CHP and in nursing, and after a year of waiting to see if our desires would be carried out, we are excited for a year of actively making these desires - these callings - reality. I am eager and excited to walk in the plan the Lord has for me in nursing school as my husband walks in the plan the Lord has for him in the CHP. Above all, we are excited to walk together in our marriage, and can't wait to hopefully get our own place again once K graduates at the end of April. 2016 will hold many new challenges for us both, but time is fleeting, and I don't want to waste time wishing away the challenges and miss out on the lessons God has for us throughout this journey.

I'm not a New Year's resolution kind of girl, but if I had one hope for this year it would be that K and I would dedicate all of our doings to the One who gives us the strength, desire, and ability to do.

Here's a bullet point recap of the last three weeks at the academy:

Week 8
• K didn't get any gigs this week!

• Two cadets failed out at the skid pan (part of EVOC)

• I met K on Wednesday night and we ate dinner at a grimy English pub 

• Had an awesome date night on the weekend - mini golfing & Christmas lights! Plus, I beat K at mini golf which I was pretty darn proud about ;)

Week 9
• K got gigged this week for wearing his running beanie inside the gym which meant no liberty next week 

• Lost four cadets in one day...one to an injury and three to EVOC 

• Lost another on Friday to another injury
• K had liberty Wednesday night so I picked him up and brought him to a restaurant where we met my parents and brothers for dinner 

• Released around noon on Thursday, Christmas Eve and we drove straight down to the valley to spend the night with K's family. Then we drove back to Sacramento early Christmas morning to spend the holiday and the rest of the weekend with my family.

Week 10
• No liberty this Wednesday due to the beanie incident
• K got to drive a patrol car to practice responding to certain codes and using the scanner and radio system. It was him and three other cadets in the car at the same time and they took turns driving to meet the criteria they had to practice. He still won't have EVOC until February, but it was fun for him to get behind a wheel!
• Lost a cadet who quit due to family reasons; their class is down to 98 cadets
• This week felt LONG...when I picked K up it felt like I hadn't seen him in a month
• We had a fun weekend with both my brothers and their girlfriends out visiting. K studied a lot this weekend but we also went bowling with my family and went out to lunch with friends and one of the other cadets after church.

The cadets are over one-third of the way through, please continue to keep K and his classmates in your prayers!

Blessings,
D

Weeks 5, 6 & 7

Hello all!

K has been plugging away at the academy these last few weeks, I just haven't been writing updates as often ;) Today marks day one of his eighth week at the academy, here is a recap of the past three weeks...

Week Five:
This week was, by far, the best week yet because the cadets got Thursday AND Friday off for Thanksgiving! It started out great because PT was cancelled on Monday so they only had it Tuesday and Wednesday. K didn't get gigged at all this week and no cadets were sent home or quit...hooray! They were supposed to be released at 5pm on Wednesday, but they got out early and were let out at 3pm. I left the house as soon as I could to get my cadet home for our long weekend together. This really was the best Thanksgiving we have had as a couple. My parents were out of state for the holiday so we got to pretend for a few days that we had our own place again which was really nice and relaxing. We had Thanksgiving "dinner" for lunch on Thursday, and that night we actually went Christmas shopping and had an awesome time just being together and doing normal married couple things. Friday morning we woke up before 4am to go wait in line for Black Friday deals. It was quite the experience standing outside in the cold for hours, annnnd that is probably not a tradition we will be continuing ;) The rest of the weekend we basically did nothing which felt amazing and so relaxing. Our time together was a much needed boost to keep plugging away on this six-month adventure, and I don't think I'll ever forget that Thanksgiving. Then Sunday night I drove K back to the academy and the party was over :( Back to reality.

Week Six:

The week back after the holiday started with a nice 16-hour-day on Monday. I can't even remember all that the cadets had to do that day, but it was one of those long ones where I didn't get a text from K until really late. Company A started their EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operations Course) training this week, but since K is in Company B he won't start driving until February. Statistically, most of the cadets that fail out will do so during EVOC, but so far K's class has been doing alarmingly well! No cadets left during week six for any reason. This week K had his first "earned" Wednesday night liberty! I picked him up once he got off and we drove downtown to have dinner. We also made a pit stop at our bank to deposit his first check (woot woot!). Due to the nature of difficulty at the academy, I sometimes forget that K is a paid employee of the CHP right now...I'm so thankful that he is getting top notch training AND they are paying him to do it ;) Compared to last weekend, this one was really rough! We had been so spoiled with four days together last week that two honestly felt like nothing. Plus, K brought home more shirts that had to be stenciled and I nearly lost my sanity in the process of completing those darn things. 

Week Seven:

All the cadets made it through week seven which means they haven't lost anyone since back in week four. Hopefully they can keep it up and set some sort of a record for lowest attrition rate! K had another Wednesday liberty this week so I got to spend some extra time with him. We went to Kinkos to print some academy stuff, made a Target trip, and ate dinner at a hole in the wall Chinese restaurant. It has been such a blessing to soak up every bit of time we get together, and we really had a great Wednesday night running errands and connecting with each other. On Friday, instead of the usual routine, the cadets suited up and met at the academy's indoor pool for PT. According to K, he would take swimming over normal PT any day. The only downside was they got out late and had to rush to get changed. At breakfast, K got to meet the CHP Commissioner, and then did his best to cram some food in before he had to run off to class so he wasn't late. Over the weekend we had to fix some of the stenciled shirts but I think they are officially completed, thank GOODNESS. I will never look at a fabric marker the same again...I'm dead serious. Saturday night we got to celebrate one of our friends from college graduating her police academy which was really fun! K had to write out a memo of his autobiography which he didn't end up finishing until late Sunday night and we drove him back a little later than usual.

All that being said, if we are being honest this past weekend was one of the harder ones. As most of you know I am starting an accelerated nursing program in January, and my schedule is going to be crazy. I found out this weekend that my clinical days are going to be Saturday & Sunday, while most of my classmates got Sunday & Monday. I'm not going to lie, I was, and still am, pretty bummed out. K and I hardly get to see each other as it is, and once my 12-hour clinical shifts start we will have barely any time together. Plus, we won't be able to make it to any services at our church together which is really important to us. I am trying my best to hold onto perspective, that this is a short season in the grand scheme of things, but I'm having a hard time keeping that mindset. Please be praying for us as we prepare for this change and for me as I enter a very difficult academic season. We also need major prayer for some events currently taking place at the academy. I really can't divulge much, as a lot of what K tells me is confidential, but please pray for the staff involved and that they would make wise decisions. If it all goes south, you'll hear all about it, but if it goes as we hope, all will continue as planned and you won't need to worry about a thing ;)

As I drove K back last Sunday I thought "I can't believe we are in this now, we're just out here really doing it." Over a year of planning, applying, interviewing and praying for this life, and here we are living it. It is easy for me to get discouraged when things aren't going our way, but then I look back and remember what God has brought us through and to, and I know He is orchestrating it all in our favor whether we recognize it yet or not.

Love you guys,
D

Week Four

It is hard to believe that a month has come and gone! Five more to go, piece of cake ;) Week four was challenging as usual, but they did have some new training integrated into their routine which added some new excitement. They started range training this week which seems like a nice break from all the hours spent in the classroom. I'm thankful to hear that these cadets truly do receive the best training available, especially when it comes to handling their guns. PT was brutal (no surprise) and their runs have gotten longer. Unfortunately the cadets were late to PMA one of the days, and as punishment they had to complete a 1/4 mile walking lunges...ouch.

Wednesday night detention was better for K this week because he knew what to expect.  He is getting a lot better at writing memos, but it still took him the full four hours to finish the two-pages required. Sadly, another cadet left on Friday. This was the first cadet to leave because he failed out, not because he quit. Cadets who fail out do have an opportunity to come back, but they have to start all over again with a new class. I cannot imagine having to do that!

Our weekend together was really nice because K really didn't have much studying or tasks to complete. We went Christmas shopping and scouted out some Black Friday deals since he will have Thursday and Friday off next week for Thanksgiving. I am SO excited to have him home for four whole days! We were told at orientation to enjoy this Thanksgiving while we can because once they graduate, getting holidays off is very unlikely at the beginning of their career. Thinking about that bums me out a bit because I love the holiday season, but I know we will be creating a "new normal" for our family, and I am excited to see what that looks like.

This Thursday and Friday I had orientation for nursing school and I got the meet the other 47 students in my cohort. I am so excited to finally get started on my dream of becoming a nurse, but it is certainly going to make our lives a LOT crazier! I start classes on January 4th, and due to the highly accelerated nature of the program, I will probably be busier than K is in the academy. We could not go through with the paths we are taking if we weren't certain that this is where God has called us. I anticipate 2016 to be the most challenging year we have experienced as a couple thus far, but I have faith that it will strengthen our relationship together and with Christ.

Thanks for keeping up on our journey, we appreciate all our friends and family who are praying for us :)

Blessings,
-D

Week Three

I'm calling this post my "bullet point" edition ;) Here's a quick recap of K's third week at the academy:

•Another cadet quit Monday after PT...I don't know why he would wait until after PT :(

•They started PMA this week (physical methods of arrest) and K's partner is a former Marine...luckily they both agreed to give 40% effort during their practices. In the past, cadets have been too gung-ho in PMA and injuries have occurred...not worth it fellas, save it for the real bad guys! 

•Had his first Wednesday night detention for his gigs from last week...had to write a memo that took him 4 hours and got back to his room late. 

•K has still gotten an A on every single test! #proudwife 

•Weekend: stenciled MORE shirts, had early Thanksgiving with my family, and watched every single NFL team we care about get smashed on Sunday :(

That's all the important info from week 3...week 4 will be exciting because the cadets get their guns and start range training!

Almost one month in :)

-D

Week Two

Two down, twenty-five to go! This past weekend was way more relaxing than K's first weekend home. Friday night he worked on shining his boots, and Saturday we drove upstate for my friend's baby shower and he studied on the drive. It felt great to escape reality for a day, take a mini road trip together, and catch up with our close friends. Sunday after church we got to relax for the better part of the day, and K got some more studying and boot shining in.

There isn't much to report about week two besides the fact that it was harder in some ways and easier in others than week one. The first week was hard for both K and me to cope with the changes (like barely getting to talk to each other), but we seem to have eased into a routine now that two weeks are under our belt. Although week two was easier on me at home, it definitely wasn't a walk in the park for K. The academy is now in full swing, and week two marked the start of "blue cards." Each cadet starts off the week with a certain number of blue cards, and if you lose three you lose a Wednesday night liberty. They call it a "gig" if you lose a card, and the cadets can get gigged for just about anything if a staff officer feels they are not living up to academy standards. Unfortunately, K has already gotten enough gigs to lose the next two Wednesdays in a row :( However, since they didn't start gigging them until this week, all of the cadets were allowed this Wednesday night off! I was able to come pick K up at the academy Wednesday night around 6pm and we went out to sushi together. We see each other so infrequently that K even sat next to me instead of across the table...I felt like one of those lovey-dovey couples in public who have to constantly hold hands, but we didn't really care! On our way back to the academy we stopped at Walmart to grab a few things, and sure enough there were other cadets there, too, roaming the aisles. I dropped him off at around 8pm so he could study and get to bed in good shape. Having that middle of the week time together really made week two go by so much quicker! Hopefully he can earn some more off in the near future.

Another cadet quit this week which brought them down from 110 to 107. It is so crazy to me that people spend over a year of their life trying to get to this academy only to quit, but that just shows how challenging it actually is. As I drove K back on Sunday night after the weekend, I was so happy to hear him say how shocked he was that week three was already here. I worry that the time drags on for him making those remaining 25 weeks so daunting. One of K's instructors hit the nail on the head when he said "the days are long but the weeks are short."

-D