Horrific News

Waking up yesterday, first to be delighted and happy and teary eyed about pictures of my new little nephew, the mood suddenly changed in an instant after seeing the news.

Another attack- this time in Nice, France. Sickened by the news, it's horrific, it's almost unthinkable that these terrorists are able to find and outdo themselves with "new" ways of killing innocent people. Instead of "just" bringing guns into the crowd and start a mass shooting, this guy rented a huge truck to drive into the crowd. Zic zac, through the street, trying to steer toward as many people as possible. The scenes and reporting from Nice has been so sad, so horrible that this happened.

It's just another wake up call that you can just never never be really safe. I feel for the families, so many children among the killed and injured. Standing there, a bit tired after a long day in the sun maybe, watching the fireworks to end the celebration of their National Holiday. How many times haven't we been standing with our kids by some parade, watching fireworks. It could have happened anywhere. That's the tragic part. It's so easy like someone reported. To rent a car, drive through the barriers and just try to kill as many as possible. No big planning needed. Just one crazy person with no heart or soul. 

It's so tragic every time these attacks happens. Living years in Europe, one would hear on the news that something had happened in some other part of the world. Often, very often these reports came from the United States. With ISIS and other terror groups, this picture has changed. There has been enough incidents in so many places in Europe the last decade and with the situation in the world, it doesn't seem to slow down any time soon. It's not "somewhere else" anymore, it's right there!

This is one of the reasons why I personally love it here in Okinawa so much. It's safe. It's far away from the rest of the world's craziness. My children are not "at risk" as so many in Europe, where you just don't know where it will happen next..People are friendly, the culture is amazing, locals let their children as young as 5-6 year olds walk to and from school on their own. Crossing many busy intersections on their way. This still makes me watch, and keep an eye over them when I'm out and about, still thinking that it's not safe for them to be roaming around the streets alone in that age - but it is.

Sure, there are other threats going on here in Asia as well, but still it's not as immediate and not that  prominent as the threats and attacks in Europe and in the US.

Still, the bad news reaches us here in our paradise too. The world is mourning and praying. I'm so saddened and feel for the families that are affected by this. My first thoughts ofcourse hearing where it was, in Nice, went to my dear friend Martina. She has lived in Nice over so many years, she could have been standing with her girls watching the fireworks there among other families! I was so relieved knowing that she and her girls were in Sweden at the time. After talking to her, they had been in touch with family and friends and as of yesterday they didn't know of any affected of the people that she knew. But as she said, "Nice isn't very big, it's more than likely that we do know people that have been killed or injured"...

Ofcourse, at this time there were also many tourists in Nice, but still, it's horrific to think that you "most likely will know someone.." Horrible, absolutely horrible!

Another thing that hit me, was that on the date yesterday, it was two years ago since I last saw her! Then we both were vacationing in Sweden, visiting families. She came down to stay with me at my brother's place for a week with her daughters and it was wonderful to spend some time together! We are not spoiled with face to face time, only over endless Skype phone calls over the years, and before that, emails and before that normal handwritten letters..

Martina & I in Vastervik July 2014
 

So happy and relieved that these three are safe and sound!

Okinawa - In A Swedish Travel Magazine

My sister pointed out to me that the Swedish magazine Vagabond, had posted an article about Okinawa. To not loose that information and to make it easier for my mom to read it, I thought I post it here too.

So for all my Swedish speaking family and friends, here is the article about our new home!!

Tropiska Okinawa – sol, strand & sushi

A Good Morning After All..

This morning (or I should write, Wednesday morning as we now past midnight), we overslept. Cassie had switched off her alarm, too, and I had been up a lot with Isabella who now is in the order to have a lot of coughing going on at night, so I was very tired this morning too, and at 7.20am, I looked at the time and jumped out of bed! But, we were all dressed, and ready out of the door at 8am, and Cassie and the twins eat breakfast in school, so it worked out well. Cassie's school is luckily on the way to the kid's Preschool, so we could drop her off there first. She got there in time! While there, I noticed the light came on. Only a few more miles left of gas...really, on a stressful morning and all..!?

So, I knew I couldn't make it to Preschool, so I had to turn around, knowing that we would be late for their school that start at 8.30am. Being stressed I didn't really check the price on the pump, and while the gas was pumping, I was washing the windshield and didn't pay attention. Not until it "clicked" and it was done, I saw - what could it be right? I only looked at the $$ sign first and not at the gallon, and I thought it must have switched off too early somehow.

 Full tank for under $40!! Wohoo! 

Normally, just a few months ago, it would cost me around $70 for a full tank.

We broke the $2 mark!!

So, with this, my mood lightened up a lot and we put the radio on "louder" as the kids "demanded" from the backseat while we drove to Preschool, singing along to all the songs. We only got there 10 minutes late too, and the kids still had time to eat breakfast. It was a good morning after all!!

Crash Site

This morning was a bit different than normal mornings. Instead of having my husband come home after 7am from his night shift, he came home again late last night after receiving a call that he was supposed to go to the crash site of the Military jet that crashed south of Phoenix on Friday afternoon.
Luckily the pilot was able to eject safely, but of course there is an ongoing investigation as it always is when it comes to these things, and the site is blocked off. He left this morning, and he is now in charge of the military securing the area. They have other people there searching for all the parts of the jet, everything that could make them find out why this accident happened.

It's always scary when something like this happens, as we are living next to the base where there are jets, helicopters and all kind of planes flying 365 days of the year, and there is many chances for accidents to happen. Having them flying left and right over your house every day, you can only take a deep breath of relief when the crashes happen in the desert and not over housing areas.

Anyway, he will be there until Wednesday- we think, as they are in the middle of nowhere in the desert, and about 3 hours from here. Hopefully everything will go smoothly, and they will find the things that they still are searching for before they can close up the crash site. Some parts that they were looking for today he said were smaller than a credit card. Try to find that with all the sand...

I was just happy to hear that they at least have a trailer out there to sleep shift in, as it wouldn't be the most pleasant place to set up tents in. There had been plenty of rattlesnakes around, but some of the guys said that they were most likely getting too disturbed by all the commotion out there, and hopefully moving away. But who knows what's going on with the scorpions etc that comes out after dark. Mostly he is upset about that he was going to miss out on going to the Science Award Ceremony that Cassie was selected to go to. But more about that later..

All the pictures borrowed from the article below:

Read full article here.

Crazy Weather

No, you are not going to see any snowy, icy pictures here. I'm not going to rub in the sunny conditions that we have either, but still, It's so hard to think about that we live in the same country, when I see and read about what's going on over on the East Coast. North Carolina and many other states in the south, are covered in snow and ice, more that they ever could imagine. Over the years that we lived in North Carolina, we never came close to anything like this, I don't even recall even having frost, and if so, only for a few nights the most.

I watch the local news, where they shift from showing the snowy pictures for the other side of the US, to show what are weather will be in the coming days. Where many records are broken on the East Coast in freezing temperatures and inches of snowfall, we actually are braking some records on our own.

This is one of the warmest winters for a long time, and one of the shorter ones too. I read that today will be the first day that we actually hit 90C since November 12th last year. That was only 3 months with temperatures under 90F/32C! And even if the temperatures might go up and down for a few weeks, it will slowly but surely only go up from here....According to the meteorologist Garry Frank on our local news, we normally hit the 90's on March 20th.

While we might turn on the AC here during the coming days, I hope that the ones that are suffering through these winter storms will keep their heat pumps working and that the icy conditions won't bring too much power outfall. Stay warm and stay safe everyone affected by this! It's a crazy world - with crazy weather on both sides of this country!

Sonic Boom

This morning, we certainly got a good wake up call, well for some that were still in bed that is! Shortly after 8am, I was standing in the kitchen putting on my morning coffee, Ben was already up and Isabella was actually still sleeping and so was Chris. Cassie was off to school in a normal manner. 

All of a sudden, half way on filling up my coffee pot with water, BOOOOOOM! So loud, and it really takes you a second to realize what just happened. Ben said, Mom WHAT was that? Isabella came storming out of her bedroom asking the same and Chris was shortly after in the kitchen. I went outside to just have a look incase there was something to be seen, like a water heater had exploded in a neighbor's house or something. But, both me and Chris were pretty much sure that what we had heard, was a jet. Or, more correct, as we are very used to hear loud jets here and lots of other airplanes and choppers in training, but it's not everyday you hear them travel faster than sound itself!

If a plane breaks the sound barrier and flies faster than the speed of sound, it produces a sonic boom when it flies past. Speed of sound varies, but 700 mph is typical through air). To fly at that speed, to create a Sonic Boom, is nothing that the pilots are even allowed to do, which was kind of scary when Chris told me. They are not allowed to fly over residential areas in that speed, causing the sonic boom, and there is only one allowed reason - if U.S were under attack! Well, that was creepy to hear, and of course we didn't think that, and most likely someone was tempted in training to experience both speed and sound! Or, the pilot doesn't really hear it himself, but will hear about it later...:)

Sonic boom shakes Foothills residents - Yuma Sun: News

9/11

A date we never will forget, a day that changed so much and so many lives. We all know what we did that day, we all know what happened, we all have seen the pictures live or in countless programs about that day. This year was the first year that Cassie was more involved in the conversations about this day. Sure, she has talked a lot about in school previous years as well, but this year she had to write an essay about it. She had to interview a family member about what the consequences of this day had to that person and to the world. The essay was supposed to be written in school, as a part of a Galileo test, so I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it's good.

It was pretty obvious who she should ask. She interviewed her dad. The person in this family that certainly has seen what this day meant. Her dad, the United States Marine. He was on a ship on his way back to San Diego from a previous deployment when the news hit him 12 years ago. It soon became pretty clear to him and the others on board that ship, that they soon would deploy again...this time to Iraq. 

So many memories, so many tears, so many moments of silence in remembrance of this day. The TV programs in the evening were filled with memories from this day. As every year, I can't watch it without tears. It feels almost extra hard to hear all the news about Syria in the media around this very date, as you as a military family watch the news a little bit extra careful and the words "no boots on the ground" means a lot more to us than maybe the rest of America. We do not need to be reminded about these things, 

 We all remember - we will never forget!

Hottest Weekend Ever

Finally, this hot weekend is going to it's end. We've been doing pretty alright though, even if the temperatures have almost touched the (to me) magic number 50 degrees Celsius/around 120/122 degrees Fahrenheit. We have mostly spent it inside, and as our AC has been working hard, we have been alright.

Still, the weekend ends with such tragic news here from Arizona. 19 firefighters have lost their lives in fires outside of Phoenix. With the record high temperatures that we have been having here in Arizona the last week and that will continue into next week, it's scary to even think about how fast they can spread.

June 30, 2013: 

Flames top a ridge as the Yarnell Hill Fire moves towards Peeples Valley, Arizona. 

(AP/The Arizona Republic)

It's also been very windy here, and as I sit here and write, I can hear the palm trees struggling in the wind outside the patio. Even if we won't be getting any rain (no need to even wish for some) I really hope that the wind would stop. That would at least help a little bit in keeping the fires under control.

What's really scary to think about is that this week, we will be celebrating 4th of July with lots and lots of fireworks. So far there haven't been any cancelled firework shows in the area, I almost hope that they will be, as it's crazy to think what could happen.

Arizona suffers and even if end of June/beginning of July seem to be the hottest part of the summer every year, it's never easy, and I don't think that I'll ever be able to get used to these temperatures. While other parts of the world is wishing for sun and warmer temperatures, I again wish that we could give some away. I hope and pray that these fires won't spread further and all my thoughts and prayers go out for the victims and families that have lost their loved ones.

Honeymoon

What a beautiful photo!

It seems like big news in Sweden, where Madeleine and Chris are spending their honeymoon. I can totally understand that they are frustrated with the press that has leaked their secret location. On the other hand, shouldn't they be frustrated with the staff working there? Or other guests? I mean, if it such a secret special location, and as it seems several celebrities have celebrated honeymoons and vacations there before, it should really be in the hotels interest, that they can "guarantee" privacy. 

The location would be easy to leak, as there is several people involved with the trip, staff during the flight etc. But that pictures have leaked from the location, must be staff or other guests. So if they really want to get to the bottom with this, it shouldn't be too hard to find. 

Still, it's also understandable that the press will be interested if they get this information and I could only imagine that they paid a pretty good price for those picture that they published today. For a poor person that works there, who maybe has left family behind to work for months without seeing them, only to support them back home, any extra cash would be needed. On the other hand, if it comes out, they most likely would loose their position, as I can only assume that the hotels have these kind of privacy policies. Still though, it must be tempting...

The Swedish press though, should really be able to respect their privacy. As I can recall, Victoria and Daniel were left alone on their honeymoon, and also were given privacy from the press - I'm sure they asked for them to respect their privacy - when their daughter was born. Why couldn't the press in Sweden give them just the same respect? If the photos would have been published by other press in Europe or US, that would be a totally different thing, as they most likely wouldn't care at all to respect anyone's privacy, but that the Swedish press didn't do it, is pretty bad.

It also really gives people something to be bothered about, when the price tag is attached to their stay. A ridiculously high price/night, and of course it's easy to say that they could have spent that money differently. BUT, as Chris is pretty wealthy himself, and doesn't get paid from the Swedish taxpayers, no one should really care what they and what they intend to spend their money on. 

The best reaction to the press pictures, is to give them some to publish on your own, then you have the power to select tasteful pictures and avoid too reveling ones,  and hopefully avoid having to stay in the room for the rest of their vacation...

This and the picture above are both borrowed from 

Princess Madeleine of Sweden's Facebook page.

Now I'm curious, where did YOU celebrate your honeymoon?? We unfortunately, didn't have one of these typical beautiful paradise honeymoons. The time wasn't there for Chris to go on honeymoon, after almost 3 weeks of vacation in Sweden around the wedding. That he got 3 weeks in one go, is pretty remarkable in the first place, as it's really stretching it in military means...

But, the main reason of course was the money. We didn't have the budget for it. With the Visa applications, move and starting our lives in the US in the near future after the wedding, there was no money for such a trip. I still hope that I one day, will be able to enjoy such a beach. That would be the ultimate vacation for me - a dream come true! Maybe in 2016, when we've been married for 10 years??

Beautiful Wedding

What a beautiful wedding it was! Many of us followed the wedding of the Swedish Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill either live in Sweden, over computers or TV. Lucky for me with a 9 hour time difference to Sweden, the wedding was held in the afternoon, and I could enjoy my morning coffee at 7am in bed watching the wedding online. For once, the svt.play worked without any trouble at all, which always is a nice plus! Many times when I've watched something, the connection has been horrible.

But back to the wedding. Madeleine looked absolutely stunning. So beautiful. I especially loved her hair, make-up and her flowers. I wasn't too blown away with the dress, as there is so much to choose from and as a royalty there is no limit in how much there is to spend on the dress, so I guess, I just had expected a little more from her. Normally she has a mind of her own, always adds her own touch to things, like many people around the wedding has pointed out, so I thought it would be something really special! Sure, being a royal wedding in church and all, you can't be too reveling, but still, she has shown many beautiful dresses in ball gowns and to different events that has been just as beautiful if not more, but in another color. This one, I particularly didn't like the bottom of, it reminded me of a bed skirt..Still, as stunning as she looked, who really pays attention to the bottom of the dress?

What a happy couple!

The wedding ceremony reminded me in many ways of my own wedding. They held the ceremony in Swedish and English, actually surprisingly more in English, they had chosen a Swedish beautiful love song and a beautiful song in English.

Her sister read something in Swedish, his sister read something in English. We had my brother reading the 1. Corinthians 13:13 Love is patient, love is kind...in Swedish, and my husband's best man, our dear friend Per, read the same in English. The blessing of the rings, the way he was asked and answered in English, the way she was asked and answered in Swedish...just the way we had it. The way I thought would be most meaningful, to answer in your own language. But, one thing was different. The Chris that stood as groom on Saturday, didn't hear the words "You may now kiss the bride", as the Chris that stood as groom soon 7 years ago. But, I thought it was very sweet that he couldn't totally hold it, but gave her a kiss on the cheek.

The touch with the Swedish children lining up the aisle and the touch of honoring the Swedish heritage with the music on their way out of the church. Very nice, and I'm sure very surprising to all the international guests.

I was also happy to see that the weather was holding up. Beautiful sunshine all the way to the arrival of the wedding reception. Then a rainbow came out and teardrops started to fall. But as they say in Swedish, a little rain in the bride's hair brings luck!

I hope that they will have a great and happy life together. Living in the NYC they won't have as much pressure (hopefully) as living in Sweden or Europe for that matter, as the press isn't as interested in the royals here in the US as they are on the other side of the pond. 

Congratulations to the both of them!!

Heartbreaking Devestation

It's been a few days, again, since I last updated. A lot has been going on here at home, as Benjamin and Isabella turned 3 years old on Friday. I have so many pictures and so much prepared that I was supposed to write and post tonight, but those happy posts will have to be posted another day.

Tonight, I am not in the mood for happy birthday pictures. I'm sad, heartbroken and can only watch the news with tears rolling down my face. Over and over again, hoping to hear some miraculous news of survivors.

 

Moore, Oklahoma, the news have reached the world by now, and it's so tragic and so horrific what nature sometimes has to offer. Unfortunately, Oklahoma has seen this before, many times, and every year when the tornado season starts, the sirens keep ringing in Oklahoma.

"The Tornado Belt". Americas Midwest. Known to have the weather that keeps bringing the tornadoes like clockwork, every year...

So they did in Kansas, where we lived for three years. I was horrified every time the sirens went off. The tornado sirens, that loudly called out the warnings, night as day. We had programmed our phones so the weather channels would call us with warnings in case we would not hear the sirens. There is often no time to play around, when the siren rings, it's time to take shelter. Go to the basement or the "safe spot" in your house. We were lucky to have a basement, we had a battery operated radio, water bottles, flashlights, blankets, pillows, clothes, first aid kits and later when the babies were born, diapers and wipes. Already put to the side in the basement, just in case. Normally, there were plenty of warnings that the storm was coming. That the weather would build up thunder, rain and storm. That the risk of tornadoes would increase...

Those days, I had the TV on 24/7 to hear the newest updates, to see how the storm clouds were moving, in what direction they were heading. Mostly also because Chris often was out and about driving around in the open country side as a recruiter at the time. He didn't have the time and info as I had from the weather channels, so I kept him updated and to keep my own mind from going crazy, I needed to know where he was, if he was safe and if he was out of danger.

A few times, it got bad. Hutchinson, KS, was never really hit during our time there, not like  you see on TV, but we were lucky. Touchdowns were seen in the outskirts of town all the time. We just were so lucky to never have a touchdown in town. Many times, the wind would be so strong, that you were keeping an eye to the sky at all times. A few times, the rain and hail would be so strong, that you couldn't see anything. It would be golfball sized hail coming down, pouring down, like someone had emptied hundreds, thousands of big bags of balls, they were popping around on the streets.

A few times, the size were measured up to softball sized hail. I heard from Oklahoma, that people had measured grapefruit sized hail. The damage those sized hail will bring is not hard to imagine..

Many times, I took the kids down to the basement, when the storm hit, when the sirens started to ring. We were always lucky, we never had to experience the devastation and destruction of a tornado touchdown during the time we lived in Kansas.

But we have seen enough from all around us during these three years in the news after each storm system had passed. Enough to be more than thankful. We've seen devastation and horror pictures in the news, like most of the world, and it felt even worse, as it was so close to home.

Always when things like this happen, I can't help myself but thinking what if? What if Moore, Oklahoma would have been Hutchinson, Kansas? What if Plaza Towers Elementary School would have been Graber Elementary School? What if it would have happened while Cassie was in school, just like it happened in Moore, in Plaza Towers Elementary School...It could have been! Nobody could have prevented it if the winds were blowing our way. If the storm was heading toward us, if the tornadoes would have picked up strength instead of normally die down closer to town. It could have been...

 

Credit: KFOR via CNN

A desperate search continued Monday evening at the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, which was leveled by a massive tornado on May 20, 2013.

I can't even go there with my thoughts without starting to shiver. So many children are still tonight unaccounted for. Parents are trying to get news from the rescuers if they have found any more survivors. Just before, I heard on the news, that they were sending people away from the scene that wanted to help. Officials said they are no longer working a search and rescue effort but now a recovery mission at the a Moore elementary school where children and teachers took shelter Monday.
They don’t believe there are anymore survivors in the Plaza Towers Elementary school.
So far the bodies of seven children have been recovered. Crews said they believe 20 to 30 more children may be inside but again, do not believe there are anymore survivors.

I just cry. Hope is everything these people/these parents have right now, please don't say things like this! It's beyond horrifying anyway, let them keep the hope until every stone is turned in that rubble from the building! To be a parent having a child that still is missing, to be standing there crying to help, and to be turned away. To be told that it's now a "recovery mission" and not a "rescue mission" and therefore no extra help needed. The dogs are searching through the rubble trying to pick up any scents.

The National Weather Service said the tornado was on the ground for nearly 40 minutes, with the first tornado warning coming 16 minutes before it touched down. The preliminary damage rating on the enhanced fujita scale was EF4 -- the second most-powerful type of twister -- and carved a 20-mile path through Newcastle, Moore and South Oklahoma City.

"This may be worse than the May 3rd, 1999 tornado."
The strongest winds on earth -- 302 mph -- were recorded near Moore that year.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2013/05/21/children-among-dead-after-twister-strikes-near-oklahoma-city/#ixzz2TtyahgGO

I came across this site, and I think this weather channel/news channel did an outstanding job following and updating this monster storm. Just look at the storm and read the comments/statements that were made, around 9 hours ago now, just before the tornado hit Moore.

Residents of Moore, Oklahoma are being urged to get below ground level. Massive tornado headed for the heart of the city !

 

 A couple of minutes later, this statement:

Massive tornado moving across SW Moore, OK. Homes are reported being lofted into the air. Debris is falling from the sky nearly a mile ahead of the storm . A TORNADO EMERGENCY has been issued for the city.

Then, not long after the last entry, this one was issued:

Violent tornado is now on the east side of Moore. Doppler Radar indicates wind speeds in excess of 200 mph. Catastrophic damage has been observed across much of Moore, Oklahoma. Storm is now pushing into SE Oklahoma City.

I have watched these radar pictures so many times online, on TV and watched the directions of the winds. Been scared to pieces every time the beep-beep-beep-beep on the TV comes on, a high pitch signal that warns you of the dangers. Often, it stayed with Tornado watch. But sometimes, it became Tornado warnings. Luckily, we never had to hear the words...Tornado Emergency. 

On Sunday afternoon, it hit close to where we lived in Kansas. Wichita, just an hour away from our home in Hutchinson. Wichita, where Chris worked and where he traveled on those wide open roads where the tornadoes picked up on speed before it hit towns and buildings. Wichita, three hours north of Oklahoma City...

In Wichita, Kansas, a tornado touched down near Mid-Content Airport on the city's southwest side shortly before 4 p.m., knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses but bypassing the most populated areas of Kansas' biggest city. The Wichita tornado was an EF1 -- the strength of tornado on the enhanced Fujita scale -- with winds of 110 mph, according to the weather service.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2013/05/21/children-among-dead-after-twister-strikes-near-oklahoma-city/#ixzz2TtyTkBs6

The tornado season has just begun, and it certainly has already now caused more death and damage than you ever want to hear about during a tornado season. What still is unclear to me though, is if the school had a basement, a safety room? I'm so glad that my daughter had that in her school in Hutchinson, Kansas. They had tornado drills very often, and it was calming to know, that the safety precautions were taken and that they hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst. 

I will, like so many of us, continue to hope and pray that there still will be some miracles tonight. That some parents will get the news that their children are still alive...

Not A Number 1 To Be Proud Of..

St. Thomas Mission in Yuma, Arizona. 
The city has the highest unemployment rate in the nation.

 (Photo credit: iStockphoto)

1. Yuma, Arizona.
> Unemployment: 27.5%
> 12-month unemployment change: 1.2 percentage points
> Pct. below poverty line: 21.8%

No metropolitan area’s employment situation is worse off than Yuma, where 27.5% of the labor force was considered unemployed in November 2012. Regional leaders point out that the winter months tend to spur employment in fields such as hospitality as people flock to the area to escape the winter cold. They also point out that agriculture jobs tend to be very seasonal in nature, with considerable temporary hiring taking place in the winter months. More than 10% of the metro Yuma labor force works in agriculture, compared with just under 2% of the U.S. population as a whole. Much like many other cities with a high unemployment rate, the Yuma area’s poverty rate is high. In 2011, 21.8% of the area’s residents lived below the poverty line, significantly higher than the 15.9% across the country. The median household income was also quite low at $38,390 — more than $12,000 below the national median.

Read the article here!

It doesn't feel like we'd like to settle down here! This makes it even more difficult to even think about buying a house here. Yes, after all the frustration about finding a good house to rent, we have played with the thought of buying one instead. But as we don't know how long we'll be staying here due to my husbands work, we could theoretically be transferred anytime, it's a big risk of buying. Moving and not getting it sold, having to rent it out, trying to get good renters, and keep the maintenance...Not easy.

So, it's not all sunshine in Yuma, even if the sunny weather and the high temperatures here in the desert certainly give you plenty of both!

School Lock Down

Today some frightening news reached me online, after checking the news, I could read that three schools here in downtown Yuma, had been put under lock down after a student reported that someone had a gun/a student had a gun. 

In an Elementary School! What in the world would a student in K-5th Grade be doing with a gun in his/her hands?? Hello parents where are you? IF it was a gun, and a student had taken it too school, where would the student have gotten it? Most likely from home. Why - why- why, can't people that feel the need to have a gun at home lock them up safely where they belong - in a safe, unreachable for any child to get to.

Clearly, the police didn't take any risks but put three schools close to each other on lock down and evacuated one after 4 hours. 

The parents weren't able to pick their children up from that school, the kids were bussed to a school a few miles away and when they were taken out of the school, the all had to put their hands over their heads. That must have been so scary for the kids, especially as nobody clearly knew what was going on.

The evacuations and checking the school took it's time, but no gun was found. Any suspect or any confirmation hasn't been given, no details about that so far.

I was on pins and needles following what was going on in the news, and even if it wasn't one of the schools that my daughter goes too, it was much too close to home to not get scared or concerned. I do feel good about that i raised concern in my daughter's school, even if nobody else seemed to be concerned about school safety. I'm glad to have had the meeting with my daughter's principal to know what the school would do in an emergency like this. I know now how parents get contacted, where we as parents would go for a meeting point etc. Before the meeting with him, I wouldn't have known, and I'm pretty sure that the parents of these kids today, were scared and confused and many many of them had no idea of what the school's procedures were and where to go.

It's just too much of these kind of news going on now. Too many cases about school shootings, gun threats and just last week now with the poor boy in Alabama that was kidnapped when a man stormed a school bus, shot the bus driver and snatched the boy.  Luckily, that had a happy ending, he was finally saved by the police yesterday, after 6 days, when they broke into the bunker and shot the kidnapper. As it seemed, the boy was unharmed. Nobody knows what that little 5 year old boy have had to go through though, what was said or threatened with during all this time, and even if he physically was unharmed, the mentally scars won't be that easy to see.

Even if it's clear that one can never be safe anywhere. Something can happen anywhere at anytime, it's been too much of this, and it seems to just be more and more. Can I say that I feel safe or that I feel that my children are safe here? Days like today, makes you question this.

Looking at the pictures from the local newspaper, makes it very real. It could just have been Cassie walking there with her hands over her head. It could just as well have happened in her school. I just hope that they go to the bottom of this and that it's going to be a good investigation of who said what, and why, and was something actually seen or was it all made up? If so, I hope that the student and foremost the parents will be facing some consequences, scaring people like this, taking up law enforcement, border police and all kind of resources for this, can't be done every time there is an empty threat. I think it has to be known what will happen if someone says something like this if it's not true - to prevent a situation like this to happen again.

 Pictures from Yuma.Sun

Police put 3 Yuma schools on Lock Down

UPDATE: TUESDAY @ 8:30 P.M.

The Yuma Police Department worked in collaboration with the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, United States Border Patrol as well as the Customs and Border Protection Air support. A systematic search of the school and the surrounding area was completed and no gun was located.

Once the search was completed, students from Rancho Viejo and Salida Del Sol were transported to H. L. Suverkrup, 1590 S. Avenue C and later reunited with their families. No injuries were reported as a result of the lockdown or evacuation. 

Source:  KYMA

Middle School Shooting

Terrible news never seem to end when you turn on the TV here. Every day something new. Today there was another shooting - this time in a Middle School. A Middle School or Junior High, as many people tend to say in this part of the country. A Middle School is what Cassie will start in August. A student in a Middle School brought a gun. That is beyond scary to me. What's more unbelievable is that this school has metal detectors, still this boy has been able to take a gun into the school. How many more shootings will there be, before we see a change happening?? Sure, there is a lot of talking going on, more than ever on these issues, but talking isn't enough..

Read the article: 

Teen Shot by Fellow Student at Ga. School

More Terrible News

Yesterday, in Midland City Alabama, a man stormed a school bus that had stopped to drop some children off, ordered the driver to give him two kids, and when the driver refused to do so, the gunman shot the driver and kidnapped a 6-year old boy. All the other children were able to get out.

All School buses have this emergency door in the very back, I guess that's where all the other kids were able to get out, only the little boy didn't make it out. It's terrible to think that this could happen anywhere. My first thought was that it might be a divorce drama and some custody battle, but no, it's apparently a total random child that just weren't able to get out and the gunman seem to be a very unstable person. As of the news this afternoon, there is still a standoff and the man is still holding the boy hostage in an underground bunker by the gunman's home. I can't imagine what the poor parents are going through right now. Since yesterday afternoon, not knowing if their son will be able to make it back safe and sound.

I'm not very religious, but one can only hope and pray for his safe return to his family!

Read the story here: Boy held hostage

Update: Boy still held hostage on 1/31/2013

Martin Luther King Day & Inauguration

Big Monday yesterday. A lot going on here in the United States and millions of people were watching it live or on television all over the world. It's a day where one might feel a little bit more American, where the Stars and Stripes are waving a little bit more frequent all over the country. I normally keep most political news or thought to myself and make a choice of not sharing too much of it here on the blog, but as this has been on my mind I'd thought I share some of my thoughts about this.

I'm not pro or con, I'm not for or against  - I'm just having an opinion. I would have had this opinion regardless of whom would have stood there yesterday to swear in as the President of the United States.

Monday's oats were purely ceremonial. The Constitution stipulates that presidents begin their new term at noon on Jan. 20, and in keeping with that requirement, Obama was sworn in Sunday in a small ceremony at the White House. Knowing this, it's somewhat bothersome to hear what an insider from the White House had to comment: ”We wanted to spend a billion dollars, but we know that a lot of people are suffering in the country, so we restrained ourselves a little bit.” And further "In comparison, George W. Bush’s first inauguration cost $42.3 million and his second came in at just under $30 million.  Bill Clinton’s first inaugural was $33 million and his second inauguration was $31 million. “Those Presidents didn’t know how to party. We do!” said a White House press secretary. Hmmm, restraining themselves???

Yesterday, when there is so much still unclear about the Fiscal cliff, the US economy, people have less money in their pockets after the tax increases and people starving and suffering in poverty not just all over the world, but in THIS country - it's like a big slap in the face to hear these rumors. I write rumors, as I can't say that these comments and articles are true, nevertheless, after watching parts of what was going on yesterday - we can all agree that this was an extremely costly event for the taxpayers.

I can understand that it was a very big celebration last time, four years ago. That was historical. The first African American President in history of the United States. Ofcourse that had to be celebrated and it was. It was special on so many levels, it didn't matter what party you'd voted for, the history that was written was special and worth celebrating.

But now, the second time around?? All these people that had traveled to the capitol. The big show, the big celebration. After all, it's only another president that swears in for another four years. It's nothing historical like it was in 2009. He is not the first president to be re elected. Sure, the first African American to be re elected..but should one really focus on his skin color? Shouldn't it be more about politic? Did America really need this costly celebration? For what? To show off to the world? I mean, it's not really a secret that the US Economy is in trouble..I don't understand it. I really don't.

Sure, I can absolutely agree that it's special and all, but if Mr. President would have sworn in on Sunday, like he was required to do and to keep the celebrations on Monday to a minimum, THAT, would have made a much deeper statement to a lot of people and he could have won a lot of respect for NOT wasting all those millions for a day of glamor and party. I know, that's not how it works..

Anyway, that's just my personal thoughts about this. I must say, that I rather would have seen a little bit more about MLK yesterday and the true meaning of WHY people had a day off and could spend it in front of their televisions. Separate from the Inauguration. I don't like the fact at all when the president or others want to quote MLK to play on peoples sentimental strings or when media makes it a big deal about him being African American. It shouldn't be a big deal! That's almost reverse racism isn't it? To win people over by emotion that it's a black president swearing in instead of a white president, I think it's just wrong. That it was a "perfect day" for the African American President to take the oath was pretty clear to everyone. MLK would have been proud for sure. Still, we shouldn't forget the true meaning of why we had a holiday yesterday.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of  Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15.

Source: Wikipedia

Attempted Kidnapping

It gives me the chills!! Attempted kidnapping here in Yuma. Luckily, someone was there to pick this 6 year old up from the bus stop. Luckily, her older sister was so courageous that she actually hit the guy and made him run off. It could have turned out very differently!

Christmas Break Is Over...

These last couple of days have been very busy, and as you can tell from no updates, there hasn't been much or any time by the computer for me. We have been enjoying the time that Cassie has been home from school, still on break this week, going back to reality and school tomorrow. When she came home from school on the 14th of December and we were going to be able to enjoy having her home for THREE weeks, it felt so long and now the time is gone. I don't know what happened, so much we wanted to do and still so little time somehow.

But, we have had a great Christmas break, and Benjamin and Isabella has enjoyed having their "Titi" at home. They have enjoyed being able to come in to her room and watch movies in her bed, playing with her toys and Barbie house that she has in her room, which they shouldn't otherwise be able to touch. She has been playing with them, reading for them, and they love every minute of it. They will be so upset when she goes off to the bus tomorrow morning.

I will be too..I have loved having her at home. I can't relate at all to updates that I see on Facebook from parents that say that they can't wait for the break to be over, that they can't wait to send their kids back to school, that they are happy to go back to "normal". I love having her with me. It is so empty without her and I miss her every day when she's in school. I have also enjoyed not having the constant stress with her homework and assignments that is taking away the evenings for us where we so would love to do other things than just homework. 

This time around, sending her back to school, also gives me a uneasy feeling in my stomach. Too many fresh memories from what happened on 14th of December, her last day in school before Christmas break. When I had to pick her up from school because she felt ill. The same day that we all heard the horrific news from Newtown, Connecticut. 

It's not that I think that it could happen in her school, but still, there is many times copycats that like to get attention, and now after the long break, there has been a lot of time to "prepare" for any crazy people out there. That, makes me uneasy. I had also hoped to find some kind of email from the principal from her school, something in the mail - anything ?? - but nothing. No information - nothing! - to tell us parents how this school will keep our children safe. Nothing that will make us feel that security has been looked at, that there has been meetings or something for the personnel before school start again. Now, that is very disappointing to me, and I will for sure send the principal an email if I don't have some kind of letter or information from the school sent home with Cassie tomorrow from the school. I expect some kind of school meeting, and I hope to see some changes in their safety regulations. They need improvements to keep our children safe. Just to let the parents know what this school's approach will be. Will they discuss what happened in Sandy Hook? In what details? Will there be safety trainings? Will there be more and better "lock down" trainings? The students AND all people working in the school need to know WHAT DO I DO? I'm very eager to hear what the school will do and what approach it will have to it all. For you out there, where the schools in the United States already started, where there some information given? Some planned meetings or safety improvements? I'd be very interested to hear!

Anyway, here are some pictures from the last week. Snuggle time with Cassie, Isabella and a very handsome cowboy in a borrowed pink cowboy hat will change the mood here to a little lighter one..

"I'm not here!"

Below are some pictures from another morning, where Cassie needed to work on her project for school that is due next week. Science, Heart Diseases. To let her work without having them screaming to get into her room (Chris was sleeping as he had been on the night shift as usual) I needed her to stay out in the dining room, plus that she needed the laptop to gather information here and there, and we needed to keep things somewhat quiet. Here Santa had the perfect gift waiting, the sticker folders with removable/reusable stickers.

They had this laminate paper (?) where the kids were supposed to be able to create a picture, but somehow the stickers didn't come off as planned when they wanted to change the pictures..Frustration BIG time! Still, they were working on it very good for about 30 minutes, which is a long time sitting still when you are 2 1/2 years old! Homework for the little ones too!

Benjamin worked hard peeling the stickers off the sheet without ripping them apart..

Isabella didn't care about changing page, her motto was "More is better" on each page, and had her stickers were even overlapping each other.

Gathering and reading through her notes about Congenital Heart Disease, Coronary Artery Disease and other heart related diseases.

Homework times three! Too soon, this sight will be a daily event!