It's Official...!

Last Wednesday, July 25th, Ro and I took our final PAT for me to be able to officially adopt Ro.  She did wonderfully and we signed all the paperwork afterwards at a celebration lunch!  Ro is settling in pretty well around here, Riley even accepts her as part of the family.  They even share the same water dish now! :)

Today we all went to the Denver Aquarium with Zane's mom.  Evidently there is a tiger there...so we had to get an escort through the middle area since Ro was with me.  I thought there was supposed to be just fish!  What is a tiger doing at the Aquarium?!  Anyhow, basically they just rushed me and Ro very quickly through that part and we waited for the rest of the family to get through before continuing on.  This was one of the more difficult outings I've had with Ro.  She was VERY curious and was trying to smell a lot, but after awhile it got easier when she realized that I wasn't going to let her off the hook and she needed to pay attention!  I did let her sneak in a few good smells on some of the fish.  In this photo you can't see but there is a weird looking fish right by her nose, it was very funny and cute!

Overall, we all had a great time...but it is very difficult to have the entire family look at the camera and smile for a photo...this was the best we had (even with a few attempts at different locations!).

Ro, Zane and I stopped at my work yesterday...we have a lot of things to get ready before next school year.  Ro had to give the room a good smell down as it's been all cleaned and things were moved all over.  I'm excited and nervous for this coming year, but glad that Ro is here to stay and that things are going well.

New Collar!

I noticed the other day that the clip on Ro's collar was broken (it cracked and was barely hanging on).  So I ordered one online and it came in today!  You wouldn't believe how hard it is to transfer the license and rabies tags...maybe it's because my hands nerves aren't that great...but it took forever!  I even got her a new 'Quiet Spot' to match and keep the tags quiet! Doesn't she look beautiful?!

Also...she has a bad habit of sniffing the floor at home (which we've been working on).  Well, yesterday she came up to me and I was like "Ro....have you been sniffing the floor again??!"  She gave me her cute eyes, but also this "Uh....maybe..."  She had a green sprinkle on her nose from Anya's cookie, so there was no denying it.  Silly dog.

We made it to the summer!  Our first working year together has gone pretty well.  Ro and I work really well out in public.  The only difficult time is when I am with the whole family!  I think it gets a little overwhelming for the both of us, and I think Ro feels a little responsible for Zander as she helped teach the little guy to walk!  It isn't all the time, usually just when the kids are really excited about something.  Now when I go out without her, which isn't often, it feels like I've forgotten something. 
So...it has been incredibly hot here lately, which doesn't bode well for me because my legs don't regulate my temperature very well.  We've had entirely too much time indoors...and here are some pics to prove it! :)

 Any guesses on whose hiding under the blanket with a dragon?!..........

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That's right!  A smiling dog named Ro!

We have managed to get out occasionally...but it seems so complicated!  The ground has been so hot for little Ro's feet, so I really have to be careful because I don't want to burn them. And then to top it off, we took the girls to dance class and because it was so hot I thought we'd wait in the car with the AC on.  Well we were PARKED for a good 40 min (relaxing...listening to music...talking...), and then a car came along and hit the van.  SERIOUSLY??  Argh...so now I have to figure out how to work in a repair.  The good thing though was that Ro was relaxing on the floor and it only jogged us and the kids weren't in the car.  Some paint damage and front quarter panel (something like that).  But still...I have terrible luck I think.  I'm just glad that neither of us were hurt.  

I have also been trying to get in shape more, so I have been heading to the gym each morning.  I haven't taken Ro yet as I only go for a short amount of time and it's usually during her morning nap! :)  But we are scheduled to go on another hand-cycling ride this Saturday!  I really hope it isn't like 105°F...that would be crazy!  I wish it would cool down so I could go out and practice more with Ro, we have our Public Access Test coming up and I'm super excited for this one!  As long as we pass, Ro officially becomes a part of our family!  She already is...they'd have to drag her away I think...

Handcycling

Today we tried hand-cycling for the first time.  Ro did a great job of figuring out where to run next to me so that we didn't get tangled.  My best friend June came along for the ride, she did one of the hand cycles as well! I only got stuck once when I tried to turn around because we were going the wrong way.  A nice cyclist by us helped me get turned around and we were off again.  We were able to ride a total of four miles!  Ro was pretty tired at the end, but we had a lot of fun! :)

My sweet girl Ro! :)

I feel that it is once again time for an update as it's been awhile since we posted anything new.  The school year ended, and it was a difficult year indeed.  It is hard to balance something you feel so passionate about (teaching) with the politics of the education system in which I currently find myself.  I know that I will never fit any 'mold' of what a teacher or classroom should look like- I am a unique individual presented with a unique perspective and situation in life.  Every aspect of my life has been difficult this year, and I was very fortunate to have Ro listen to all my cries and whines as I struggled to find the courage to continue to move forward and figure out what my next step is.  I do think the biggest thing Ro does for me is just being next to me...even when I run to the restroom! :)
So what has Ro been up to over the last few months?!  We've been to the movies, out for dinners, to a dance recital, to visit my grandma who has been very sick...and much more- again to far in between updates to remember them all.  Just the other day we went over to Barb's house so Ro could play with two of her half-sisters and her good buddy Chivay!  She ran around for two hours straight and was SOOO excited!  I guess she deserves some time off since I work her so hard (sarcasm...about the overwork part!).  As soon as we got home, she walked right to her bed and didn't get up until morning!
I have also learned a lot about taking care of a dog.  I try hard to make sure she is a clean, lean, hardworking machine!! I really strive to make sure she behaves well, and that her cute tail is always wagging.  I like to think that my dog is the cutest one around.  My students were upset when they realized that Ro would not be moving onto the third grade with them next year, I told them although she is smart-she needed to be held back...mostly because I needed her help again!  I know that this summer is going to give us some much needed relaxing time together to prepare for the upcoming year.  It is going to be great-it has to be!
Last thing, today we started a summer camp called 'Camp Invention'.  There isn't much for Ro to do since there is lots of magnets and things in our unit-and I don't want her to topple over the kids towers and such.  She was so sweet and good about sitting in the corner today.  I felt bad, but really appreciate that on days when I need her to sit quietly, she is able to.  Such a blessing! :)  Here is a cute picture of her being her sweet self!

 My favorite little face!! (Mom...can I eat it now?  How about now?  Now?)

Don't even think about taking her favorite toy!  She likes to guard it...

April's News

Once again, it's been awhile since I sat and wrote a post.  Lots has happened...St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Anya's birthday, outings, etc.  We've had our ups and downs, and have our things we need to work on...but Ro is always there with her cute little eyes and that keeps me going most days! :)  When we are out doings things by ourselves she is fabulous, but at work lately she hasn't been listening as well as I'd like.  Unfortunately it's due to the fact that many adults don't heed my requests to not touch her, and I am feeling like a broken record lately.  I have found that if I am much more forceful and literally begin running my chair between them and Ro-they finally get the hint that I'm serious about "Please, don't pet her." I have had to brings treats a few times on days I deem 'practice days' and she is doing well on those, but I don't want her to only work when I'm rewarding her so I have to really watch what I'm doing and that makes a difference.
Anyhow, here is a cute collection of photos from our random outings the past month or so!

 A picture of all my girls! :)

 The girls dressed for St. Patrick's Day (at school).

 Ro with her green gear (probably thinking "MOM TAKE THIS OFF!!")

 Ro watching our guest speaker during a sound presentation!  She loves this position...and it is my favorite of hers, makes me smile!!

Ro looking very proper with her paws crossed in her favorite spot in my classroom.  The kids all know that if Ro starts walking towards the ottoman, they better get out of the way because she will sit on their things to claim her spot (especially if Mom has said 'Ro, jump on')!

March is a busy month!

So I always promised myself that I would keep this as up to date as possible...but life gets in the way and I find that my online baby book for the kids is also looking neglected.  My goal is to get them updated this month!  In March is not only my husbands and my birthday's, but our anniversary (10 years!).  Unfortunately, the entire family ended up sick...so babysitter was canceled and we spent the day at home watching movies and negotiating who would get up and feed the kids.  Our son was sick as well, but the girls were not and had a lot of energy!  Poor Ro wanted to get up and do things, but she ended up sitting at my feet just looking all cute.
Anyhow, I wanted to get on to put some pictures up that I kept meaning to add of Ro doing various things.  Enjoy! :)

 This is Ro practicing 'leave' with her favorite treat-carrots!

 This is Ro making sure that no one has a seat on the couch....!!

 This is Ro making sure that the students are working!  It's nice that they don't even notice her even though she can take up a lot of room!  She can also take up a very small amount of space...but she usually chooses to stretch out. 

This is Ro during one of our meetings...you can see she was bored (I may have been as well...maybe...)