This Made Me SO Happy

I took two days off work last week based purely on the fact that I wanted to be outside in the heat. I wasn't complaining about the humidity, I was embracing it. It was glorious, even if I was sweaty and shiny. I went to the beach twice over my long weekend and a few days later I'm still smiling when I think about how wonderful my first trip to the beach with Gigi was.

Around noon on Saturday Gigi and I walked up to the ticket line for Toronto Island. The lines were massive and I was fully prepared that Gigi might be overwhelmed and have a meltdown, in which case we'd turn around immediately and go home. They say that dogs feed off our energy. I was so calm and carefree and Gigi seemed to pick up on that. She sat at my feet while the lines quickly moved. She sat on my lap on the ferry and over the course of the entire day only barked at two people. If you've ever walked my dog you know that she likes to give her opinion freely. "Bark! Get off the sidewalk!" "Bark! Stay away from my mommy!" "Bark! I'm gonna get you birdie!"

To say that I was proud of my fur baby is an understatement. She was so well behaved on Saturday and we had so much fun. Gigi spent most of her time chasing the algae through the water while I laid in the refreshing shallow water soaking up the sunshine. I was so happy. I adore the beach. It always puts me in the greatest mood and Saturday was perhaps the happiest I've been at the beach. Kids were playing with Gigi and she was loving the water - she's not as prissy as she looks.

Later I tried laying on my beach mat while Gigi laid in the shade of the umbrella I brought for her. She dug a hole in the sand and completely covered me in the process, but I just laughed and laughed. You can't really tan at the beach when you bring your dog. Lesson learned. No big deal though because I had such a great time. I'm a responsible fur mama so of course I had lots of water for Gigi to drink and I made sure she wasn't too hot. Later we laid in the grass on our way back to the ferry and then enjoyed the breeze on the way home. I may or may not have tweeted SEVERAL pictures of my beach baby that day. Sue me - I was freggin' happy.

These memories will forever bring smiles to my face. What's making you smile today?