Meeting 'Thomas the Tank Engine'

We purchased tickets to 'A Day with Thomas' a few months ago and the girls were super excited to go meet 'Thomas the Tank Engine'!  Unfortunately we had a family situation that Zane had to attend to, so he couldn't join us.  Luckily for us though, Barb was able to join us!  So Barb, Alexis, Anya, Zander, Ro and I went to go meet Thomas.  When we got there we were suddenly sent to a parking lot and had to ride a shuttle over to the museum.  I didn't realize we wouldn't be parking at the museum.  So we had to wait there until they could send the bus that had a lift for me.  THEN it started to rain! When the shuttle got to the museum the driver couldn't figure out how to get the lift to go all the way down.  I was suspended in the air for awhile while Barb had to round up all the kids-it's a good thing she could handle all of them (and Ro!). 
Once we finally made it in we decided that we should run to the bathroom to feed Zander and let Anya go potty.  Seems simple enough, but not so much!!  It was an adventure though, and on the way we saw Sir Topham Hat!  So we got a quick picture with him as well.  After that, Barb took the girls up to see a display train they had and they all rang the bell.  Zander, Ro and I hung out below!

When they were done we could see that Thomas had pulled up and unloaded the train ride before us, so we'd be up soon.  We headed over and on the way I was finding it hard to make sure that Ro didn't eat the kettle corn off the ground.  It was everywhere!!  So we will have to make sure to work on that...
On the train Ro went under the seats and we had one of the conductors take another photo for us! :)  All the kids (and Ro) got a Junior Engineer Certificate saying they rode with Thomas the Tank Engine.
Then the girls and Ro went to get a picture with Thomas, but in the end the wanted to charge us $50 for it, so after all that we don't have any photos to show that they met 'Thomas the Tank Engine' because the blue engine was not in any of our photos!!  Well, he is in the background of this one (the blue in the top left that you can barely see!):

Here are a few more of our ride on Thomas

On the way back to the van we had definately passed nap time and Anya threw a full on tantrum (the kind that embarrass you as their parent).  It was a good thing I had help because I don't think I could have got her on the bus alone.  We hurried back and loaded in the van.  All of the kids were asleep before we even left the parking lot.
Even though I was stressed out about other things going on in my life, it was a nice break and it was great to see Barb again!  Hopefully next time I'll be more enjoyable company! :)

Fun Photos

So today has been filled with cleaning, laundry and goofing around the house with the kids! :)  We also took some photos because Riley and Ro have been getting along pretty well!  Ok...Ro has always been doing good-it's just getting Riley to warm up to her.  He's been allowing her to come right up to him lately!  Their beds are still next to each other, so maybe that is helping!  Anyhow, here are some pictures of us just hanging out for the day.  I also added the one of her jumping over the little rock canal thingy in our backyard because she looks like 'Superdog'!  I wish I could take one from the side, but she's always running to me.  Anyhow, Enjoy!

Newspaper Article

Yesterday our article was published! To view it click here.  Scroll down a bit, it starts on the front page!  The kids at school keep coming up to us as we go through the halls saying "Mrs. U!  Ro is famous just like you now!"  Haha, kids are cute!  Things have been going pretty well this last week.  Ro has been helping me solve a lot of problems at work...For example, I was having a problem with two certain students.  No matter how many reminders I'd give them, every time we had our group lesson they would forget the rule that they couldn't sit in our library area on the ottoman.  Any ideas on what my solution was??!  Yep...Ro!

Now the kids have been sitting in the actual group area...and Ro watches over them!!  I just put her on the ottoman and they know they aren't supposed to touch her, therefore they don't touch the ottoman!  Problem solved!  Hopefully soon she can come sit right next to me, after they are in the habit of not sitting there-at least that's the plan. (and yes...that is cookie monster, her new favorite toy that she keeps at work)
Here is another picture of Ro at work.  The article talks about how she is able to fall asleep at random places, that is very true!  But one of her favorite spots is her kennel.  I think because it is quiet and near my desk...

 

 

 We are looking forward to a three day weekend, hopefully we will be able to get some things done around the house and go get some much needed shopping done! :)

Graduation (and update for the week)

Today we had the graduation with CaPR.  It took us awhile to get everyone ready...trimming nails (all the kids including Ro!) baths, hair washing, etc.!
When we got there Ro and I were doing wonderfully, and then we got out of the elevator and she could smell all her buddies!  After that it was hard keeping her from jumping all over the place, but I think that under the circumstances she did really, really well.  Managing the WHOLE family was a bit difficult-but it was great to see everyone who has helped Ro become the wonderful dog that she is today! :)  She was thrilled to see her puppy raisers, trainers and the people from the CaPR foundation.  I made sure to pack my camera before we left the house (even had the battery charged)...and then when we got there it totally slipped my mind :(  Totally bummed about that...so I e-mailed a few people that were there in hopes that they might have photos to share.  I used to be so good about getting pictures, and the past few weeks I haven't.  I need to set it on my lap so that I can see it at all times and maybe that will help!
We got some lovely gifts as well!  Not only did we get a graduation certificate, but we got a nice photo of the both of us with our placement date.  Ro got some treats (which she happily ate a few of when we got home!).  Then the Griffins got us a beautiful book of photos all the way from when Ro was a puppy through our placement training.  I think I might take it to work to show the kids, but not let them touch it because I don't want it ruined!  
So in the past week we had our final interview with 'The Front Porch' (local newspaper) and one of their photographers stopped by the classroom on Tuesday to get some pictures of Ro working with me.  She has really done a great job of not soliciting to be pet while her vest is on.  I think me being more adamant about it while at work has really helped.  I even had to get upset with someone who came up and started petting her after I had been very clear that she is not to be pet while at work.  The funny part was that Ro didn't really respond to the person petting her because she knew that she was supposed to be in her 'down' position.  (Such a proud mommy!)
We also had our first fire drill on Thursday.  Normally Ro doesn't come out of her kennel unless I call her to me (even if she went in there on her own terms) but as soon as the alarm went off she popped right out, had this look on her face like "What are we doing mom??" and listened to my cue's with diligent intent!  I was worried it would hurt her ears (because it hurts mine) but she seemed fine.  Once we got outside I had her sit at the front of the line, like she does in the morning, and she waited very patiently while I took roll and held up our 'green' card to say we were all accounted for.  I was told later that some of the students in other classrooms were worried that Ro would run away because I wasn't holding her leash!  It didn't even cross my mind that she would do that...I guess we are coming along faster than I thought.  I already trust that she'll do what I ask and wait for me. 
 Well, here are the few pictures that I have of her over the last week.  The first is of her taking a nap while the students were at specials.  The second is us today after the graduation-we were both very tired so we took a nap.  Alexis wasn't tired, so she was playing in her room and then took my camera to take a picture (it's a bit blurry but she did pretty good!).  I think the only time I am in photos lately is when Alexis takes them!  The last was of her sitting in the living room.

Our First week with Students

Things have gone fabulous so far at work.  Ro has done an excellent job with having 820 kids around her at work!  She also was a great listener when we got up in front of the whole school to talk about how she isn't to be pet.  I couldn't have asked for a better dog!  :)
We are figuring out a 'groove' and even though we sometimes take awhile to get going in the morning, we've managed to be on-time to work each day!  Again though, I haven't been good about taking photos...I get so caught up in the moment and making sure things are going well that I forget to take them!  We will definitely have some on Tuesday though...the local newspaper 'The Front Porch' got word that the 2nd grade teacher/basketball coach has a service dog, so they are doing a story on us!  Ro has already made the paper!! So they are coming on Tuesday to do a photo shoot during class and to finish our interview. 
Both the girls started school this past week, and Ro helped me pick them up from their first day!  She was so excited to see them, but did a great job of staying calm because she had her vest on.  What an amazingly smart dog...she has figured out that vest=work time.  Way to go Ro!
Well here are the few photos that I have taken the past few weeks.  I promise, I'll get better about taking more!

Back to School

Well today was our official start day and the students will be back next Wednesday.  Even though we didn't have to be back until today, me and Ro have been making trips to the school since last Wednesday so that I can be ready.  I like to have my classroom set up in a very specific way...so it takes me awhile to get it all done!  I was lucky enough to have my Mom and Dad come into town on Thursday evening so they could help me with a lot of things on Friday and a bit on Monday before they left.
Things have been up and down again since our last post.  I have been having a very hard time telling people they can't pet Ro...which led to her trying to pull towards people when we'd be walking past them.  This made me realize that I had to be a lot more strict about it because it was making things much more difficult.  I didn't want to start out with Ro feeling like my school was a place where she'd get lots of petting (although I'm sure there are plenty of people willing!) because I will be needing her help with things.  Anyways, long story short I sent an e-mail out to the staff explaining that Ro is not to be pet because she is a working dog, so today when everyone was back they were very respectful and things went much better than I anticipated!  She is pulling towards people much less and even in the last three days I have noticed a big difference when we are in stores (even with the kids are with me). 
Well I'm sure there will be lots to post about in the next week or so with school starting up and the kids returning.  Until then, I shall leave you with a funny story and picture!  The other day Zander dropped his binky and I didn't notice till I was across the room, so I asked Ro to get it for me.  She carried it back and I was laughing so hard!  So I snapped a quick picture because she looked like she was using it! :)

Family Reunion

We got back Monday night around 5:00am after a 19 hour drive in the car.  THAT was crazy and we were all super tired, except for Zander!  He only slept until about 9:00am...so guess who got the pleasure of waking up?!
Ro did amazing on our trip, couldn't have asked for anything better.  Our extended family did a great job of following my request not to pet her or bring dogs with them.  We left Monday and got to Idaho around 4:00 in the morning on Tuesday.  On Wednesday we went shopping for food for the reunion-it was a long Costco trip and a lot of the family was indecisive...so me and Ro ditched them and went around the store to practice her cues by ourselves.  After that we headed back to camp to set up our tent and things.  We had slept in some of our families tent the night before because they were waking up when we got there!  It was also one my husbands uncles birthdays, so we had cake and hung out around the campfire talking to everyone.
On Thursday we went to Silverwood Amusement Park.  It was SOOOO much fun! :)   I am a huge fan of Garfield (the comic book cat) and the theme park's mascot is Garfield!  I was determined to get a picture of me and Ro with Garfield and Odie to put in my classroom, but Ro was very nervous around a giant stuffed animal that moved, so I got a picture with me and the girls by him instead.  Ro wore her shoes for over half the day and did a great job with them.  We even did a train ride together that had a lift for my chair!  I would have taken a lot more pictures but our camera died about half way into the day.  I borrowed a cousins, but then that died shortly after!  Bummer!! But here is a picture of my favorite ride on the train with Ro!

 

On Friday more of the family came and we cooked on the campfire and got to know some of my husbands family a bit better.  Because there was so much grass and I have a hard time getting around on it, Ro and I played retrieve to get her some exercise.  She is doing so great with coming back to me and no one else, even with a bunch of distractions she'd bring it right to me!  She loved sitting near the campfire at night by me because it was so cold-in the middle of summer and the nights were FREEZING!!  Ro seemed pretty warm, and one night I was so cold I made her come next to me so I could stop shivering. Ro also got an extra dog bed to use outside the tent-but as you can see she shared it with Zander!

Saturday we played badminton and Ro sat on the sidelines while I attempted to play.  I fell out of the chair diving for the birdie once and Ro got really worried, but I had her in a 'settle' so she did her 'boof' (almost asking if I was ok) and then I called her over and she came over and gave me kisses!  Then Zane helped me up and we kept playing.  Everyone kept commenting on how amazing her focus was on me-awwww...makes me feel loved! :)

Sunday we woke up early, cooked breakfast and then broke down camp.  It took much longer than we thought it would and it took awhile to figure out how to fit us all back into the van.  Because we weren't expecting it to be as cold as it was, we ended up buying two new sleeping bags and a big blanket to keep warm after the first night-and they took up a lot of room!  Once we crammed in we headed back and drove straight through.  I sat in the back and hung out with Ro and the kids.  Here are some photos from the car ride.  Ro kept putting her head on Zander's carseat when he'd cry and that would calm him back down!