Father's day/ Mom's b'day

Kylan is having a great summer. He just started swim classes at the YMCA and he LOVES jumping into the water (with mom/dad there to catch him.) Right now we are trying to teach him to blow bubbles. He is VERY close.

Kylan also enjoys his pool and the sprinkler. He doesn't like it when the sprinkler gets him though--he only likes to put his hands in it. (When the sprinkler gets him he cries--I think it just surprises him.) Ky also enjoys the hose. It was so funny, the first time he picked it up and tried to get a drink from it, it squirted him in the face. That caught him by surprise. Since then he has learned to be more careful.

Kylan has also discovered the raspberry bush in the backyard. When we go out, he will run over to it and pick off the ripe berries and eat them. And when he can't find anymore berries, he will eat the leaves--though we stop him before he gets too many.

For Father's day/Mom's B'day we went to the beach (Lake Mendota) and had a picnic. It was a very nice and relaxing day. Ky was a little more interested in his surroundings to eat though--so he spent more time running around than relaxing. He played in the water and the sand (and tried to eat the sand many MANY times.) SIDENOTE--YUCK! you would think that after one mouthfull of sand he would learn that sand is pretty disgusting and sticks in your mouth and is icky-crunchy--Not my boy. YUCK! The boy eats everything....

The weekend following Father's day we went to Milwaukee to visit with Rob's folks. We had a nice lunch with Nana & Gma Jan and then went to Grandpa's and Gma Debi's for more bir thday fun. (The pic above with Ky and Graham crackers and a hammer--is of him helping us make a pie crust for Grandpa.) There Ky got to swim in the pool and of course drank lots of pool water --YUCK! But he had lots of fun. We also went strawberry picking--but Ky did not enjoy that very much since he was stuck in the backpack.

Okay my turn to blog about myself. So This year --as mentioned before has been a bad car year. I didn't even mention the Flat tire I got last month. Well on June 14th I was rearended by a guy who attempted to run--but thanks to a good samaritan, was chased down. Anyways turns out it was a 20 year old kid (I know--i just dated myself) who was driving mommy & daddy's car and had a suspended license. There turned out to be no damage--but the kid should not have been driving in the first place--and since there was no damage no one really cared. The police officer simply gave the boy a ticket for driving with a suspended license (oooh...do you really think that stopped him from driving ....) and because he did eventually return to the scene of the crime (after endangering other lives). So here is the thing...I wanted more to happen--so I hope it did. I wrote a letter to Mommy & Daddy and I also informed his insurance of everything that happened (and don't get me started on the insurance thing--that was another huge mess.) So anyway--below is the letter to Mommy & daddy--and hopefully they took some action. But who knows. (Next week will be a blog on Ky's first camping trip!)

Mr. & Mrs. XXXX,

I am writing in regards to your son, Alan. Last week I was in a car accident with him. Your truck, a blue and white Ford F-150, was involved. I was not sure if you were going to hear about this accident, which is why I am writing. As a parent, I know that I would want to know about my child’s actions--if they were driving MY vehicle which was covered by MY insurance.

Last Thursday (June 14), I was sitting at a traffic light at the Cottage Grove/Stoughton road exit waiting to make a left turn. Alan was behind me and there was a car in front of me also waiting to turn left. When the light turned green, the car in front of me turned left. I then moved into the intersection and stopped, yielding to an oncoming car going straight. It was then that I heard squealing tires and was struck by Alan. My car was pushed forward several feet.
As most people in an accident, I was in shock. I quickly turned to check that my 12 month old son in the back seat was okay. This was when I realized Alan was leaving the scene of the accident. He did not pull up to check that I was okay—in fact he didn’t even glance at me. He quickly pulled around my car and sped off. I did at this point look at his license plate which is now forever engrained in my mind-- XXX XXX.

At this point, I can only tell you what happened through several other witnesses. I was more concerned about my child and getting out of the intersection. I pulled over to a nearby parking lot, checked my baby and called my husband.

During this time a witness (who happened to be the oncoming car I yielded for), chased down Alan who was speeding away. The witness was able to get him to pull over and come back. During this time, Alan sped through the YMCA turnaround. My coworker (I work at the YMCA), was in that turnaround unloading her children at the time he sped through. She was concerned about her children’s safety as well as other families who were also present.

Alan did come back several minutes later to my car along with the witness who chased him. At the time, I was too concerned about my child and car to care much about Alan’s presence. He obviously did not care about me or my child’s safety or he would have checked on us sooner. I did get his information at this point of time. I asked to see his driver’s license, he said he forgot his wallet and had no identification. There was no visible damage to my car or the truck, so we left it at that.

Once I got to the YMCA, I called the police to report the accident. They were going to mail me a self-report to fill out. My coworker (who had been unloading the children in the Y turnaround when Alan came zooming through) also called the police on her own and they sent an officer out since he endangered lives by recklessly racing through the YMCA turn around.

Due to Alan’s irresponsible driving and endangering the lives of the public, the officer further investigated the accident to discover that he was driving with a suspended license. He should have never been on the road. Meaning—this would have never happened if he had obeyed the law. I know he was cited and ticketed for driving with a suspended license and warned for reckless driving.

The primary reason I wanted to write this letter isn’t because Alan hit me (accidents happen.) It was his actions following the accident and the fact that he had a suspended license and should not have been driving to begin with. My personal belief as well as the witnesses was that he intended to leave and not return. Alan may or may not agree with that, but his actions say otherwise.

I also wanted to point out that insurance follows the vehicle in the accident NOT the driver. Therefore, if there are any problems with my car or medical expenses, the claim gets filed on your insurance, as owners of the vehicle in the accident. Honestly, this angers me—because it is Alan’s fault any of this happened—not to mention his lack of sensitivity in the incident--and I would rather have it reflect on his insurance record.

I wanted to make sure you knew all of this, just in case Alan is still driving YOUR truck illegally with a SUSPENDED license. I would also like to point out that Madison has a wonderful bus transportation system that cheaply and effectively gets you where you need to go on a timely basis. It also covers the entire city. I have traveled on it many times and have been impressed. There is no reason Alan should be on the road at this time.

I don’t know you, but I hope you appreciate this letter and have a talk with Alan and reclaim your vehicle or have it put in his name (before he gets YOU in trouble.) As a parent, I know that I would want to be aware of my child’s actions—especially when they are putting my good name at stake by his/her careless actions. If you would like to contact me about any details my phone number is XXX-XXX-XXXX. As far as the other witnesses, I will give you their information only if you request it and they are okay with me providing their numbers to you. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jessica Schnake