The Day Before (and the week before)

I know I promised some more blog posts than I have been getting out. We have had quite the week traveling by car from Seattle to Dayton. We've visited with friends in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We had rainy picnics (every. single. one.), flat tires, lightening storms, fevers, and check engine lights. We've also had nice mild weather not above 80, national park visits, water park fun, tried lots of restaurants, watched a little Disney Channel, and generally had some good family time. (You can check out Rosalie's facebook page if you want a little more day by day updates on our trip out here.)

At Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Last Wednesday, while visiting our good friends in Wisconsin (Wiscotland according to Malachi), we got the email with our match for Rosalie! He is a beautiful Goldendoodle named Bomber. He'll be one year old on Sept 22. This is his letter to Rosalie.

Dear Rosalie,
My name is Bomber and I am a white golden-doodle from the Aerocraft litter. I was born Sept 22nd 2012 and I'm already a pretty tall boy! My mom, Enya is a big golden retriever and my dad, Zeke is a silver standard poodle. I've been working very hard to get ready for you! I even went to college! I spent a semester at Wright State University with two fosters who loved me se much! My favorite toy is a squeaky tennis ball. I love to get hugs and cuddle. I especially love to lay my head in your lap! Will you let me snuggle with you? Please hurry I can't wait to meet you, Rosalie!
XOXO your boy,
Bomber

Bomber

I can hardly believe we actually get to meet Bomber tomorrow! We have waited so long for this day.

Rosalie seems to be excited. She keeps trying to say his name. It comes out as Bomb. This is a little confusing because they way she says Bomb and the way she says Mom are quite similar.

Rosalie excited over Bomber!

We've had a great couple of days dreaming about Bomber. Bomber's foster, Jacob, has been really great. He friended us on Facebook right after we got our match email. (He actually tried to friend us a day or so before we got our match. But Corey and I didn't know who he was so we didn't accept his friendship.) Right after we got our email, Jacob asked us if we were ready for pictures. He then sent over 100 photos of Bomber for us! (You can see a few of those on Rosalie's Facebook page.)

Jacob and Bomber

Ever since then, he has been more than willing to answer questions about Bomber. We went to Petsmart today for Rosalie to pick out a toy for Bomber. While we were there, I had a ton of questions pop up. Virginia started messaging with Jacob for us while we shopped. He was able to answer all sorts of questions about Bomber's preferences like whether he would like a dog bed or not and what his favorite flavor of treat is. Jacob even wants to get together with us for dinner later in the week. We are very excited about that.

We feel very blessed to have Jacob have been Bomber's foster. He has made a lot of effort to help us out. Some of the other families haven't even heard from their fosters and are even having a hard time tracking them down.

We are excited that Bomber is from the Aerocraft litter. This is the puppy litter that I looked at last fall and knew that they were the youngest dogs we could have. His litter mates have names like Boeing, Sputnik, Echo, Skylark, Zulu, Jinx, and Banshee.

Baby Bomber

One funny, random thing I have been wondering about is how we are ever going to fly on a plane with a dog with the name Bomber? Oh well, at least we drove this time. :-)

Until tomorrow,
Shawna

Match Time!

We are eagerly awaiting a special email from Rosalie's very own service dog! Tomorrow (or rather today) is the first possible day that we will get to know which dog has been specially trained just for her. 4 Paws works extremely hard to make sure the matches are perfect. It could be a few days yet, but I really hope it's tomorrow.

I can't believe the long wait is almost over. I am actually pretty emotional over this. I am not a big crier but I get tears in my eyes just thinking about getting the email in the next couple of days. The more I learn about what these service dogs are doing for kids all over the country, the more excited and hopeful I am for the results we will see with Rosalie.

We have a long trip ahead of us. We leave this coming Sunday and are planning to be in Fargo, ND on Monday night. We are doing a little visiting in Minnesota and Wisconsin next week. Then we leave for the Dayton, OH area on Friday night next week. We arrive in Dayton in the morning of August 3rd. We will have Saturday and Sunday to get our bearings, grocery shop, and relax before class starts.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Class starts Monday August 5th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All the kids are excited too. Rosalie tries to leave every time we mention her dog. She also says, "In a minute," when asked about her dog. Kaylin is such a great sister and has an excitement as well as seriousness about the whole concept of a service dog. Holden and Malachi both keep asking if it's Sunday yet. :-)

We have a Facebook group for all the families getting their service dogs this August. We are all going crazy waiting for our matches. There are many stories of people sitting at their computers all day and refreshing email every 5 minutes. It's been good to get to know these families through Facebook over the last year. They are a big part of the journey to Rosalie's service dog. I can't wait to meet them all.

Thanks again for all your support. We couldn't be here without all of you.

Be on the look out for a letter from Rosalie's dog and a picture, too!

-Shawna

Fundraiser Success!!!

We had a GREAT fundraiser this past Tuesday at Naked Pizza in Kent! Thank you everyone who came out to have some tasty pizza and participate in our silent auction.

We were able to raise $2383 from the auction and cash donations!!!!!! Naked Pizza is connecting with me on Monday with the total they are giving us.

This means we have raised $3263 of our $7000 goal! (And we don't even know how much we are getting from Naked Pizza yet!)

Thank you again and please continue to get the word out about Rosalie and her dog. We still have a few days left to meet our goal. Keep in mind EVERY bit helps. You can donate here NOW or by giving a gas card, grocery card, restaurant card, etc.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

-Shawna

Big Fundraiser Tomorrow!

I'm so excited about our trip to go get Rosalie's service dog. We leave in less than two weeks!!!!!!!!

We are talking with Rosalie more and more about getting HER dog. Every time we mention it, she lights up and starts saying "in a minute." I almost feel bad bringing it up because she wants to leave right away when we talk about it. I still want her to know we are going though. I want her to get excited. Her being interested in the dog is a good step in her forming a strong bond with her dog.

We still have a lot to raise to help cover the travel expenses to drive to Ohio. Come on out to Naked Pizza in Kent Station tomorrow, July 16th between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. Have some pizza and bid on some auction items. I will be there most of the day. Rosalie will come at 5 p.m. for the evening. Can't wait to see you all there!

If you can't make it to the event tomorrow, you can still help out! Donate here now!

-Shawna

Fundraising Event!

Rosalie Jewett Fundraising Event!

Tuesday, July 16th, all day! 11am to 9pm.

Come on out to Naked Pizza at Kent Station. They are donating a portion of their proceeds to Rosalie's trip expenses! There will also be a silent auction, giveaways, fun and a special visit from Rosalie herself!

If you can't make it to the event, please, please consider donating to this great cause! Here's the link to her fundraising site: Rosalie donation site. They are needing to raise $7000 in the next 4 weeks, so your help is greatly appreciated! :-)

You can come eat and drink anytime that day and help Rosalie and her family travel to Xenia, Ohio to pick up her special service dog. You can also donate on site with a donation jar which goes directly to her travel expenses! For more explanation on where, what, who is involved in this amazing trip, see the previous blog post here!

So, to recap:
1. Come to Naked Pizza anytime on July 16th (11am to 9pm) and eat pizza and stuff and enjoy a special time of fun, prizes, drawings, silent auction, another opportunity to donate, etc.

2. If you can't make it, please consider donating directly through Rosalie's donation website.

3. Please, please share this information with your friends and family! Every donation helps... big or little!

4. Or do ALL of these; come to the event, make a donation and tell your friends!

Let us know if you have any questions and we hope to see you there!

Dog Pick-Up Fundraising

Hi Everyone,

In just under 4 weeks we leave for Ohio to meet and receive Rosalie's service dog! We are driving with the whole family to finally add this new member to our family. We are fundraising to help cover travel, lodging, and dog related expenses. We will be in Ohio for two whole weeks taking an intensive class with Rosalie's new service dog.

Our fundraising goal is $7000. We need to have it all raised by July 25th!

Things to donate.

• Cash (use donation link to the right.)
• Gas Cards (Chevron, Shell, Texaco, 76, etc)
• Grocery gift cards (Dorothy Lane Market, Trader Joe's, Kroger)
• Restaurant gift cards (Starbucks, Texas Roadhouse, Cracker Barrel, other midwest favorites :-)
• Other helpful gift cards (Walmart, Target, Costco, etc.)

More ways to help.

• Tell ALL your friends! Every little bit counts.
• Use the link on the right side of this page to donate directly to Rosalie through YouCaring.com
• Facebook, Email, Text, Call, etc.
• Snail mail to 6424 S 236th Pl, Kent, WA 98032

Thank you!
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Shawna

If you're curious, here's the breakdown.
$3449---Hotel in Dayton, Ohio.
$1336---Estimated gas cost. (We will be driving a total of 5126 miles including back and forth to class while we are in Ohio. We will need 366.1 gallons of gas and based our estimate on $3.65 per gallon. This estimate does NOT include trips to grocery stores or restaurants, trips to a store for a forgotten item, or to somewhere like a park for the kids, etc.)
$618---Estimated hotel cost on the way to and from Ohio.
$483---Estimated cost for dog supplies. (crate, bowls, toys, combs/brushes, mutt matts, leashes, etc.)
$400---Estimated cost for dog upon arriving home. (vet, food, grooming, treats, etc.)
$0---Corey's mom's (Ann) flight. This has already been donated by Ann!
The rest will be used for food on our trip.

Trip Info: Part 2

Hello again!

More trip details are included in this post.  This is the exciting part.  If you haven’t caught up on recent posts, you should check out THIS ONE and of course THIS OTHER ONE.  They both have important (and fun!) news.

So, here we get into some of the nitty-gritty...

The Jewett family is going to be driving across the US from Washington to get to the dog class in Xenia, Ohio.  This means they’ll be driving with four kids (yes, all of them are coming along), three adults, and one dog on the way back.  The drive is 5,126 miles round trip.

WHEW!  It’s going to be really really fun.  It’s going to be crazy.  It’s going to be tiring, and it’s going to be messy.  All these things are certainties.  Yes, there will probably also be some bickering and a lot of questions like, “Are we there yet?” and, “Can I have my snack?”  And you better believe we’ll mapping our rest stops according to Starbucks locations (kind of joking, kind of not).

But, even with all the “hard” parts, there will also be some visits with family, and special sight-seeing and miscellaneous stops along the way.  It's not going to be a straight drive-all-the-way-through kind of trip.

So, if you haven’t guessed already, we’re going to be fundraising to help pay for the trip.  Expenses to drive with everyone isn’t cheap, but seriously, who doesn’t love a nice summer road trip?

The Homewood Suites hotel in Xenia has already been booked for the two week dog class, and it’s a pretty nice place...

• 2 bedrooms with kitchenettes
• full breakfast each morning
• dinner four nights a week
• same hotel that most of the 4 Paws families will stay (BONUS!)
• (obviously) allows service animals

If you want to make donations towards our accommodations, you can contact Homewood Suites and speak with Steven Brown (4Paws Sales Manager) or Brian Wipprecht (General Manager).

Also, Ann Jewett (sometimes referred to as Corey’s Mom, or Grandma Ann) is coming on the trip as well.  She will be flying in--she's scheduled to arrive the weekend before the dog class starts.

So basically, we’re all excited to be a part of this adventure, and we can’t wait for Rosalie to finally meet her dog the first day.  Please be praying for all the details of the trip... from safe travels, to no car troubles, to inexpensive gas prices, and of course, good attitudes the whole way!

Thanks so much for checking in with the progress of this journey--we’re so thankful for you!