Happy Birthday, Stanley!

That’s right – today, March 1, the baby bear turns 2 years old. 

Since I have a long ride and serious recovery on tap for Sunday, we celebrated a day early, on Saturday, with a swim and run.  Oh wait, that was me.  I mean, we celebrated with obedience class and a trip to the beach.  Not any old trip to the beach either, but a group trip with his favorite girls!  Max and Stan got to romp at Dillon Beach in Marin County with Beth’s Beatrix (Stan’s littermate) and Maude (Stan’s mom, who is also Max’s younger sister).  We were lucky to have an unseasonably warm and beautiful day for our adventure!  Now if only I hadn’t somehow lost my corporate Blackberry in the parking lot….

Thankfully I did not have to rely on my own photography skills to capture the event – Beth’s husband John stepped in with great pictures for us!

Happy dogs come from California (Max, Stan, Bea, Maude)

Max in the midst of hairy chaos

Moving down the beach en masse

Stan taking it easy in between crazy laps with his girls

Yes, Max, you DO have to come over here with everyone else (this is about the closest shot you will get of my new haircut, fellow Facebookers!)

Gee, I’d really rather be somewhere else.

So anyway, happy 2nd birthday to the baby dog, who brings us lots of laughter!  Stanley is a whole different kind of dog for me and I’m enjoying every minute with him.  He’s already a conformation champion in 2 countries and is titled in herding – we’re gearing up for a big year of agility training with the hopes of heavy trialing starting next year.  I can’t believe it’s been 2 years already since I looked at these babies on the webcam and visited the little potatoes!