California Dreams!

So since I have been gone for over a week I have decided to update you on our life with pictures. I didn't post all the pictures I took because that would take forever... and not be near as fun. But here are some highlights, and if you want more pictures you can look at them on my facebook page.

This is before we left. Samantha's crate came in the day before. It is really big, but hopefully will be big enough as she gets bigger. As you can see it is big enough for both of them to be in there.

Snow White! Wished they had the other princesses!

In-N-Out... One of my favorite places!

We got Noah bath tub crayons and he loved them. They float and comes off easily with a towel and water!

This is us in front of the Hollywood sign (the little white letters in the back right) We got to see it closer at Runyan Canyon.

Nathan and Noah sliding down the slide! Noah loved playing at the Park with his Uncle Nathan

This is us after the fabulous WB Tour!

One of our last days there we went and rode bikes from Santa Monica Pier to Venice Beach and back. So much fun.

After leaving LA we headed to Alabama to be there for my cousins wedding.

This is us at my cousins wedding. They had it out on their dock by the lake. It was gorgeous.

We had a quick trip in Alabama, but good to see family.

We are very glad to be home. They always say there is no place like home. We go pick up Samantha today and are super excited. We have missed her a lot. Hope she isn't too mad at us for boarding her the entire time....

"Almost" Wordless Wednesday... Ha

So I didn't blog yesterday... We hung out around the house, and went to the dog park again (after some drama in the car with the dog which caused us to get a nice seat cover for the backseat in my car... I won't go into details for your sake.)

And today... I worked subbing for 2nd grade, and then came home. We went to the dog park again with Samantha!

It was a fun time because there were more dogs/puppies. After several of them left we decided to do the agility side of the dog park...

Let's just say they need dog shows for "non pure bred" dogs... or as we like to call them "mutts."

She's so smart!! Proud Parent

** We are headed to LA tomorrow to visit Nathan's brother and sister-n-law.. then to Alabama for my cousin's wedding, so I may be MIA in the blog world for a little bit.. But I will update when I get back for sure if not before then**

Dog Park!

So time to update you on the weekend, and begin my blogging for the week!

Friday night we just hung out. Nothing to exciting.

Saturday we headed over to a friends house to eat lunch and hang out. Nathan and Christina (yes both husbands are name Nathan..ha) grilled out for us. They also have a puppy that's about 5 months old, so we decided to take Samantha with us. They hung out in the backyard AND HAD A BLAST!!!!! It wore her out. When we got home.... well before we got home she crashed in the car. (sometimes I feel like I am talking about a kid here..ha)

Sunday we went to church, and then headed over to the del Rio's for lunch. After lunch we played a game called Catan. They love it. It's a type of board game. I wasn't the greatest at it! We then went and picked up Samantha, and headed out.

We decided to take her to the dog park here in Bentonville. We've been wanting to take her there for a while, but you have to be at least 4 months old. And it's always been pretty cold or rainy.

So last night we took her to the dog park AND SHE LOVED IT!!

Here she is riding to the dog park. She loves sticking her head out the window... Sometimes we laugh because she tries to bite the air!

At the dog park she was able to play with several dogs. One her size that was perfect. She was really good. She didn't snap at any of the dogs (which I was nervous about because she had done that with dogs in puppy class). We played for a while, and then headed home to watch Tangled!! (I love Redbox!)

Today I didn't have to work, and Nathan went in at 12. So we hung out around the house for a little bit this morning. I decided that I would take Samantha back to the park. She is at the age where she needs a way to let her energy out... And we don't have a backyard for her to run around in.

Here we are at the dog park. Nathan was able to stop by while they were in between calls.

When Nathan had to leave she followed him along the fence.. and then whined after he was gone... But she soon forgot that he left.

Running!!!

Such a happy puppy!

Not to many dogs were there today that were her size. A lot of them were in the bigger size dogs (30 lbs or more) A few came in on our side, but they weren't very playful. She didn't really want anything to do with them because of it. We did take a tennis ball, and she was able to run and chase it!

She came home and crashed!! It was so nice. She wasn't near as rowdy, and she was able to get exercise without being on a leash!

I'm hoping to be able to take her the rest of the week too if weather permits

(until we leave for California that is!)

I officially LOVE dog parks. Now they can get ruined don't get me wrong due to people that don't pick up after their dog, or if owners don't watch their dog and they become dangerous. But I think I will be headed there a lot this summer to help Samantha get a lot of her exercise!!!

Thursday/Friday

So having to do a double post because blogger wasn't working yesterday when I was getting ready to post and for the rest of the night.

So yesterday I taught as normal. After school I headed home. Nathan, Samantha, and I headed to Petco. We needed to get her a few new things! (and of course getting more than expected)

So the first thing we decided to get was a backseat seatbelt zipline. It was the main reason we went. She is able to be in the backseat and go back and forth and lie down but not get up in the front seat or tangled in the mess of her leash. It's really neat.

Here she is lying down.

We also decided to get her a new collar/tag because she is getting to big for her first one. The harness is new too. It's to help with pulling on the leash, and so far it is working! :D

Here's a picture of it all! That's as far as she can go in the car! So nice!!

This was us traveling to Petco... Now we don't have to worry about her while she's in the backseat! She likes sticking her head out the window!!

After going to Petco (and getting her some toys/treats) we headed to Compton Gardens to take her on a walk. She did a GREAT job! She hardly pulled or got excited when we met people along the way! So proud!!!

After we were done walking we came home, so Nathan could grill chicken!

Here he is grilling... Barbecue chicken and then a mesquite chicken. (The mesquite we both took for lunch on bread... so good)

Samantha enjoyed being out on the back porch with dad! Her looking in while he went to go get some things!

Today has also been a great day! School was very hectic but fun. It was young author's day at school. All the students have been working on writing their own books (they get hard back blank books). Then today they got to share them with a small group of different grade level students. It was a neat day hearing all the different stories students wrote.

At the beginning of the day I had a mom/other 4th grade teacher come tell me that her son (in my class) left his hw at home but it was done. She also told me that he is really going to miss me, and I have done a great job (this was the boy that gave me some trouble in the beginning.. just testin me). That really made my day. Those students were great, and I'm really going to miss them. I had the privilege to do what I love to do... TEACH! And not for 8 different class, but one!

I came home and rested because I was worn out from such a busy day.

Update! I meet with HR June 1st!! (It would've been sooner but Nathan and I leave next Thursday for California and won't be back until Memorial Day due to a wedding in Alabama too)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Poetry

Last night we got together for a double baby shower for some girls in our sunday school class. It was so much fun to get together with some girls, and hang out! I took a fruit tray from Walmart! If you've never gotten one there they are amazing! They have a "vanilla bean" flavored dip that is to die for! You should definitely try it!

So I have had a blast subbing this past week and half for 4th grade!

They are so fun... even when they TALK ALL THE TIME! Ha.

I can't believe I only have 2 more days with them. It has been fun feeling like I am teacher, and have my own classroom.

So the past week we have been working on Poetry. They have young author's day on Friday, so the entire school is writing books. The 4th graders are making poetry books. So, we have written several different kinds of poems: limerick, shape, color, tonka, haiku....and several other.

Each day we talk about 2 more poem styles, and then practice writing them together. I wish I would have taken pictures of all of them because a lot of them were written about me.

Well today... we were writing an acrostic, and they decided to write it about me... again

Here's what they came up with:

You have to excuse the writing... I was writing it down quick, and on a smartboard... Not the easiest to write neat on. They learned that my last name meant "of the river" in spanish, so everything that describes me has to mention water or rivers... ha

It has been fun. Friday we are having a "poets corner" with the other 4th grade classes. It is going to be so much fun to hear all the other poems students have written!

So I don't want to jinx anything, but Samantha has been much better today. (Back to her normal self) Hopefully it will continue the rest of the night. We have also ordered her a bigger crate today, so she will not longer be squished in her crate all the time. She's getting so big.

**Also I would like to point out (mom) that I have written on my blog for the past 3 days... THAT'S 3 DAYS IN A ROW!! So much better than I have been.

Rant...

So I am going to rant a little bit in this post...

We have a lovely puppy that came into our lives about 3 months ago! She is great! Fun! Brings excitement to our lives! The best companion!

Well... Let's just say she wasn't this way 3 months ago...

I knew it wasn't going to be easy potty training a puppy to go outside to use the bathroom. I mean really??? Go to the door, telling us you need to go, then go. Who does that?

Well after a few weeks we finally got it down. We had to constantly stay on her though. Taking her out every few hours or even minutes if needed. So we pretty much conquered the whole bathroom deal...

Well then she started teething... OMG! Let's say I have never said the words "LEAVE IT" in my life as I have the past 3 months. She was chewing on EVERYTHING.. The coffee table (which now is missing a chunk) to the carpet.. Geez. Well good to know we pretty much conquered that. She still chews on stuff (like shoes) if she gets ahold of them.

She also has been a great dog in learning new tricks. She learned her name (which I found out is very important.. and she didn't know it when we went to puppy class even though we used it all the time. ha) She knows how to sit, lay down, shake, and high five! She's a very smart dog!

BUT.......................

She has now hit 5 months, and in our puppy training class (that we graduated from a few weeks ago) told us that at 5 months they become bad again, and we will all want to return them. Well for some reason I didn't believe this. I figured Samantha was the angel dog. She was amazing! she had learned everything so fast. Well I was mistaken. It has all happened within the past few days. She LOVES to run from us. If we go outside she must be on a leash or she will run from us and it takes forever to come back. She has forgotten EVERYTHING we have taught her. ESPECIALLY WITH THE BATHROOM.... The past few days have been a nightmare. She is going potty EVERYWHERE. We got her a new bed to lay on upstairs instead of having her crate up here.. and what is she doing, but pottying (I know this is not a word) on it MULTIPLE times in a day. She also is going in the house MULTIPLE times in a day.

Now... don't get me wrong. I love her to death. I love when she lays on the couch with me in the afternoons and we watch TV. I love when she greets me at the door and wants to hug me and lick me (or when I get her out of her crate)... She is so sweet... and big.. and loveable!

This 5 month stage thing though is killing me and it's only been a few days that this has started. I have heard it can be a short time or a pretty long time (like the toddler stage in children) I'm really hoping it's short! We are also leaving in about a week and a half, and having to leave her at the vet. I'm scared we will come back, and she'll be EVIL child for us because we left her.

I have to keep reminding myself that the potty training stage didn't last long, so maybe this stage won't either!! :D (I feel like I'm a parent typing about my child...ha)

Mother's Day!

So a few weeks back Nathan and I decided to have both sets of families over for mother's day to celebrate both of our wonderful mothers.

So this weekend was going to be hit hard with things to do!

Saturday we had to clean the house, clean the "rocks," and get food ready to bake the next morning.

So we headed to Walmart/Lowe's to get things we needed. When we got back Nathan headed inside to clean the house while I was outside pulling weeds and planting flowers.

We finally finished all of that by around 5pm. Then I began getting the food ready to put in the refrigerator.

Here's all the ingredients I needed for my chicken pot pies (I've posted the recipe for this before!) It was Nathan's favorite food I make, so we decided to do it for the families too.

So I made the chicken pot pie, and decided to do Sopapilla Cheescake for dessert!

I was able to also make this the night before, and put it in the refrigerator!

I forgot to take pictures of it... so no pictures of mine!

Here is the link that I got it from. There are several varieties!

Sopapilla Cheescake

Saturday while we were out we decided to get Samantha a bed to have upstairs that she can lay on instead of always being on the couch.

Here is a lovely picture of her on the bed. She is getting more used to it, and enjoying being on it now. (It just has to be in the same room that we are in)

Samantha was also warn out with everything we did on Saturday that while I was cooking she decided to rest on the couch.. But she had to still be able to see me! She's so cute!

So Sunday that families headed over. I had stuck the chicken pot pies in the oven (3 of them). They were only supposed to be in there for 20 minutes. Well I guess since they were in the refrigerator all night, so cold.. And there were 3 of them in there it needed to be longer. I also used a different biscuit mix, so not sure if that affected it too... So about double that time and they were "almost" done. The crust on top was still not cooking. I needed my mom's help. She said, "Let's try uping the temp. and just a little longer" What would I do without her! Just a few minutes longer, and they were done perfectly!

So we had Salad and chicken pot pie!

While we were eating I stuck the Sopapilla Cheescake in the oven. I ended up putting it in for about 5 minutes longer too.

I must say lunch went very well! And I was happy to celebrate my mother. She has done so much for me!

Also happy mother's day to my MIL and sister-n-law (Steph who is also expecting again)!

AND.... Happy mother's day to a mother-to-be my sister-n-law (Kristen)!! So excited!

So many babies around!

Today I went back for my second week with the 4th grade class!

I got to give out an award for the "Grizzly Gathering" they have every once in a while! I gave it to a boy that has done a really good job, and a fellow teacher leaned over to me and told me that it was great for me to give it to him! That really made my day!

This morning the room was a SAUNA! I was dying. I tried to fix it, but nothing was working, so I went to the office. They came by, and finally got it to work! PTL!!! Nothing worse than hot sweaty kids in a hot sweaty classroom.

It has been so much fun in being in the same class because it's starting to feel like they are my own class! I'm enjoying going to school everyday :D

May Flowers!!

So it is officially May!! Which I'm hoping means less rain and more flowers springing up!

So what's been going on with us.

Well I have begun my "semi-long term" sub position. I am subbing for a 4th grade teacher. His wife had a baby, so he is off for 2 weeks!

It has been a blast so far. I went in guns loaded making sure they knew I meant business. They still try to get away with stuff, but then they soon realize that it ain't gunna fly!

Some funny things that have happened so far:

1. I got asked if I was hispanic because of my last name. I said no my husband is part Cuban... BUT THEY HATE US! ha... I then had to explain he was born in the US.. and his grandfather was from Cuba... Then I had to explain that my name meant "of the River" because they thought I was wrong when I didn't capitalize the d in del of del Rio! ha. They have now been saying that I am a river!

2. On Monday the day after we found out that Osama was killed the boys were coming in chanting USA! USA! USA! And to think... They were born the year 9/11 happened.

3. One boy asked me if I listened to Eminem..

4. They are making poetry books for next Friday, so we started writing Haiku's today. We did one as a class. They found out my name is 5 syllables, so we wrote it about me. It ended up going something like this:

I am a river

I am a fun flowing river

Mrs. del Rio

5. I started using the smartboard and the touch pad that goes with it (can't think of the name) Their teacher has never used it before, and one girl goes whoa... it's like there is a ghost in the room! (because it writes on the board whatever I write on the pad, so I can walk around the room and not have my back to the students... it's awesome!)

I'm sure there have been a variety of other fun things that have happened! I have also found a student that is going to be my project while I am here. They don't seem to really try on any work in class. The excuse it that they just don't know how to do it... Well I don't believe that!

Here are a few pictures from my phone:

I passed this bus on the way home today (don't worry we were stopped)

Autobus DEL RIO (bus of the river!)

Crazy!

Here is Samantha squished up in her crate... She is getting so big. We really need to upgrade the crate!

She's SOO cute!

Awe!!!

So yesterday I was driving through Bentonville and stopped next to a car with it's back window rolled down. A little boy popped his head out the window and immediately started making faces at me. Squishing his face.. Then sticking his tongue out at me.. And finally making an L on his forehead... We continued down the road, and several times stopped next to each other. He was so funny. Finally by the time we were about to depart from each other the last time he waved bye!

I have also become OBSESSED with the TV show Las Vegas! It is so much fun to watch! It comes on twice a day every week day (it's an older show so it's all reruns) I DVR it everyday so when I get home in the afternoon I watch it! I got really far behind, so this past weekend I had a marathon!!! I finally got caught up just in time for the new week!

I also have become OBSESSED with "The Voice!" I think it is so much fun to watch, and hope that it ends up being a really good show!

This weekend is going to be fun! Mother's Day is Sunday so we are honoring both mothers in our lives by having them other at our house for lunch! I am making Nathan's favorite Chicken Pot Pie and then Sopapilla Cheesecake for dessert. I have not made the cheescake before, so I'm super excited!! I'll let you know how it goes and then post the recipe!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and celebrate the wonderful women in your lives!