Crime-fighting is now a Howard FAMILY activity!

Happy New Year!


What better way to kick off 2009 than with back-to-back interaction w/ the police! :O)



New Years Eve we went out to dinner with friends (20 OF THEM, i didn't even know I had that many!), then to a friend's house for games & drinks. By 11pm, my face hurt from laughing so much and we wanted to beat all the drunks home so we left. Before I could find the freeway entrance (we were in Santee), I got pulled over. I hadn't even had any drinks except w/ dinner but still I was all scared. But the officer was very nice and explained that I had just been speeding. So just a little paperwork and we would be on our way....but, did I have my:


driver's license?


no.


registration?


no.


proof of insurance?


no.


So of course as she's in the patrol car running all my info and trying to confirm who I am, I'm sitting there cursing myself for being so stupid and not having all my docs. Everything is current and up to date, luckily, but I just didn't have any of the proof. And funny enough, my license expired on my bday and one of the investigators here at work brought it to my attention, and I left early from work the day before Christmas Eve to sit in DMV for an hour and renew it...otherwise I would have had even bigger problems New Years Eve!

But the nice officer just told me to gather my docs and put them in my car, and be careful. No ticket. Hallelujah.



Then last night, after dropping the girls off at Nana's for a New Year's slumber party, Jesse and I noticed a car swerving, determined they were more than likely drunk, and called 911. Jesse was relaying the plate # and activity to the dispatcher, as the driver hit a street sign and ran over the median onto the wrong side of the road into on-coming traffic. She carefully backed up and continued like nothing had happened. Another car stopped and picked up the street sign, then went on their way, but us? We were on the chase!


The dispatcher told us we didn't need to follow the car, for our own safety, but I saw that the driver was a middle-aged woman and I didn't feel threatened, and the girls weren't in my car so what the heck. Either go home and watch Larry King, or persue justice......we chose the latter!

So we followed the car, as we stayed on the phone w/ 911.....at one point a police car passed us in the other direction and didn't see the lights I flashed or hear the horn I honked to signal him. Eventually, we ended up in the Food 4 less parking lot, the lady drove around so her car was facing us and Jesse tells the 911 operator "Oh my gosh, she's gonna RAM us!!!". :O) But she didn't, she just pulled up along my passanger side and rolled her window down. I asked if she was OK, and she said with a slur that she was fine, hadn't even been drinking, just accidentally hit that sign. and please don't call the police, don't ruin her 2009, etc etc. I was trying to appease her so she wouldn't take off again, while Jesse got angry and started yelling at her/arguing with her. We watched her drive off but she parked in the lot, and then suddenly 5 patrol cars sped up, we pointed out her car, they surrounded her and brought her out and handcuffed her. Then we gave our statements to the police and went home.

So exciting! See, I told you...it's just a matter of time until Jesse ends up on COPS. And I was laughing so hard, I told him thank goodness that lady didn't hit someone or do something major where our 911 call would have gotten played to a jury or in the media....cause Jesse, sweet as he is, was rambling and nearly incoherent when he reported it. :O)

dinner:

Mallory w/ friend Alex:

Mariah & buddy Chris watching tv as Alex jumps on them: