As Caroline would say, "What a BIG Idioit!"

Okay, so we're back from our trip to Alabama.  More on that later.  I'm working on unpacking the kids and putting the things away, so I send the kids outside to play for a little bit.  It's cloudy and somewhat cool so I figured it wouldn't be that bad.  Right!  5 minutes later here come Caroline crying because Jack had done something that made her mad.  So I calm her down and I am getting ready to send her back out when Jack comes in and says, "That was weird."

When I inquire as to what exactly he was talking about here's the answer I got:
       "A guy in a van asked me what my name was and how old I was.  He said he had a couple of boys at his house that were bored and needed someone to play with."

After checking with Jack and asking some questions, I decided to call the police.  They came and patrolled the area and didn't see anything matching the description that I'd given to the dispatcher. The police officer got the information from Jack about what happened.  Apparently, the guy pulled up and asked Jack if he'd seen his dog.  Then asked Jack if he'd lived at the house and then how old he was and what his name was.  Jack got spooked and came into the house.  So the police officer took Jack's description of the guy and said he'd contact us if he found out anything.  He told Jack he did a great job and did the right thing and left.

About 15 minutes later, the kids and I were off to run some errands and I saw this guy walking up the alley with a dog that matched the description that Jack gave the police officer.  So we closed the garage door and I went back to get the phone and call the police again.  As I was getting the phone the doorbell rang and it was the police officer. 

Here's what he said: There is a lady who is moving into a house around the corner.  She has a 9 yer old, an 11 year old, and a 22 year old.  She's moving in this weekend and her older son was helping her move.  Their dog had gotten out of the backyard and so the son went driving out and around.  He had asked Jack if he'd seen his dog, and then knew that his brothers were at home and wouldn't go out and play because they didn't know anybody.  So when he found out that Jack was the same age as his younger brother, he invited him over.  Well, the police officer gave the young man a good talking to and I called the homeowners association to let them know of the outcome.  A neighbor had seen the police outside our house and had come to find out what happened.  When I told her, she contacted the HOA. 

The recall of the security notice on the web page was recalled and the treasurer of our HOA summed it up the best:

Need to send the welcome wagon to the mother and a briefing on why

approaching a child on the street is not good to the son.

Which echoed Caroline's note to Jack: "This guy was a big idioit!"