COLTON, THE COPS ARE HERE!

On Thursday evening, (Dave's 43rd birthday) we had a wonderful and very unexpected surprise. After work, I walked around the house looking for our missing 3 legged cat, (white, 3 legs, great mouser, lost his collar-call if you have seen him) picking up random trash that mysteriously appears in our driveway and lawn when I saw my Dad and Megan walking down to my house. As we visited, along comes my mother-camera in hand, Cherilyn and Brady and Melissa and Anders. We all stood outside and froze as we visited. I suggested we go in and they said, they were here to wish Dave a Happy Birthday. So in we went. As we stood in the kitchen and I started to wonder, if I had planned a birthday party and forgot to get a cake. Then all of the sudden we see flashing lights in our driveway. Two cops parked diagonal in the driveway. We went out to meet to policemen on our stairs. One said, "Are you Dave Odle?" Dave said, "yes". Then they said, "Will you please step out here for a minute." As Dave was walking down the stairs he said, "Colton, what did you do?" Britton told Colton, you better get out here. So in the driveway was Mayor Steve Curtis and Councilwoman Joyce Forbes Brown. They were here to present us with the "FAMILY of the YEAR" award for Layton City. We are the category of "family with teenagers". What a surprise. They gave us a sign that we keep in our yard. My friend Dawn Brandvold nominated us. She was very sweet and nice in the nomination. There will be a short program at Central Davis on Sunday Nov 23, where we will have a memento table set up, and our family's picture will be given to us. It is an honor that Dave and I have wondered how did we ever deserve it.
On the flip side of this, it has been a good thing to have that hanging over our head. It is a convenient fight stopper or manipulator to say, "that's not how the family of the year should act." Colton took his turn this afternoon to stand out at the sign in the yard and wave to cars passing by. Just a side note, it is not that Colton is the only one that we would ever think the cops are at our house for, it is just that Britton is always with us, and Jackson is too young to attract that much attention.
Another observation, when a fire truck comes to deliver the HOME TOWN HERO (like they did to Laurel), neighbors come out running with concern. When two cop cars are parked diagonally in the driveway, neighbors drive by but try not to seem like they are looking or just stay in their houses peeking through the blinds.