What I Did For My Summer Vacation. Part Uno.

(I am taking Spanish lessons so that I can be tri-lingual. Right now I know how to speak English and American).

I'm putting together a pictorial of What I Did for My Summer Vacation. In piece meal. I don't want to overwhelm you with too many pictures of my awesomeness. (Actually, my mom can't find the camera card with all the other pictures. Which is out of character for her: usually my dad is the one who loses things. Mom just breaks stuff. Now that I think of it, I bet dad lost the card, that's why mom can't find it!).

These pictures were taken during a camping trip with mom and dad a couple of weeks ago. We stayed at a campsite that overlooked a big lake. I got to swim and made a new friend - a hairy Husky named Jack. He was stinky.

We also took a long hike. That was fun.

Until we find the camera card...

Cheers. Adious. Bye.

(English/Spanish/American)

Welcoming Comittee!

We will let you up the stairs - only if you promise to feed us!

That's Right. Ice..man. I AM Dangerous.

On the Road Again

What a busy summer it's been!

Mom and dad have been so busy biking and I've been trying to help out around the house - I lay around and keep dust off the couch. Sometimes I try to wash the pile of bike bottles that collect in the kitchen sink, but I get really annoyed with drying them out. And Kloey micromanages me, which kinda gets on my nerves. Geesh. Big sisters. Always telling you what to do. Kloey - you are not the boss of me.

Last weekend mom and dad took me to one of the mountain bike races. It was at a big ski hill up north. It was hot, but it was fun. We spent Saturday hiking - I loved it! The views from the top of the ski hill were really pretty. I love being outside.

On Sunday, I met a bunch of new doggies. But again, I had a not-so-friendly run in with a German Sheppard. They have some kinda of issues. Always snarling at me. I don't think they like me because I am British. Must have something to do with that whole Germany v. The Rest of the World thing. After all, I am an English Lab. It's kinda like some of the people who live down south - you know....the ones who are waiting for the Confederacy to rise again and get an attitude toward folks from up north?

So, we're off to more races this weekend. Mom packed my bag last night. I get to meet new doggies and hang with mom and dad's friends - they are nice. A couple of mom's lady friends REALLY like me. I think they like my accent. Or it could be because I'm charming and handsome.

Gotta go...I think I hear mom calling me.

Cheers!

Kirby

Quality Time with Dad

Bed Hog

She can lay ANYWHERE in the house. But instead, she hogs my bed. Meanwhile, I'm only allowed on the leather couch/ottoman.

Now she's just taunting me by putting my bed in a chair and then her toy on top of the bed.

O.K. I guess we can share.

And I'm Back!

I know. I know.

I was about to turn into one of those six-blog-posts-and-then-I'm-done bloggers. Sorry about that. I'm back. And I'm back in black. Get it?

So far, I've traveled to Wisconsin for vacation this summer. I've heard it's a place worse than hell, but I think I like that place. Mom did a mountain bike race with a bunch of her lady-friends. Dad (and one of her lady-friendiz husband) was the support crew. And I got to go along for the ride. A couple of hours after we got to the hotel, they left to do this thing called a "pre-ride" where they go and pre-ride the race course. I got to stay in the air conditioned hotel room, lay on the bed, and watch Animal Planet.

It was a nice weekend. But before we headed home, mom and dad went back to trails where dad biked and mom and I went for a hike.

We all had a great time and it was so nice to be with mom and dad.

This is me on one of the mountain bike trails.

Dad crashed. I heard that mom crashed during her race. She didn't bleed, but she got a nasty bruise.......Those two sure do crash alot.

On the Health-Kick Train

As I get older, I'm concerned about eating right and keeping my figure fit and trim. And I need to keep up with the younger chicks at daycare. So I looked through all my mom's health and fitness books, and this one caught my eye. But all that reading made me tired. And I don't know what my blood type is, anyways...all I know is that it's Grade A Sexy.

Day in the Life at Doggie Daycare

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. It took me some time to recoup from the weekend.

Long walk on Friday. And then Saturday was a huge day.

Mom took me to see Mr. Vet in the morning. There were so many puppies in the waiting area and I wanted to play with them all. Except this one German Sheppard. I think he wanted to eat me. In fact, I'm pretty sure I heard him say: "I vant to eat you."

Mom dropped me off at doggie daycare after we visited Mr. Vet. I had so much fun. Of course, when I walked into the room, everyone was happy to see me.

Doggie daycare has this really cool big pirate ship to play in. So we played Pirates of the Caribbean. The other doggies let me play the part of Captain Jack Sparrow for awhile. But I wanted to be that character that Orlando Bloom fellow played because he gets the chick in the end. Oh well.

Napped some. And some other boy dog tried to have his way with me, but I was like "Back off, buddy! I do NOT swing that way." Not that there is anything wrong with that.......all in all, I had a good time.

She Has No Clue

Here's Kloey napping today. I decided to see how many of my toys I could set up around her without waking her up. It's so funny. She's still sleeping like that.

Hanging Around, Surfing the Net

Mom and Dad have been biking and busy this week, which has left me with a lot of time to myself in the evenings. So I've been surfing the internet while they've been out and about. How does a dog know how to use a computer, you ask? I'm a black lab - we are the smartest dogs on earth! That's how.

So, I've been checking sport scores here: http://www.superretrieverseries.com/

And I also found a cool list of what you people named your dogs last year:

Top girl dog names
1. Bella
2. Molly
3. Lucy
4. Maggie
5. Daisy
6. Sophie
7. Sadie
8. Chloe
9. Bailey
10. Lola

Top boy dog names
1. Max
2. Buddy
3. Rocky
4. Bailey
5. Jake
6. Charlie
7. Jack
8. Toby
9. Cody
10. Buster

Did you know my mom wanted to name me Jake? And my parents almost collectivly wanted to name me Bailey? I'm glad they didn't pick either of those names. I'm original! And I'm named after one of the coolest baseball players from one of the coolest baseball teams. Well, that statement about the coolest baseball teams is debatable, but whatever. My one Grandpa likes this one team from Michigan.....I think the name is Detroilet or something like that.

I also found a Web site created by the American Animal Hospital Association that helps people learn about how to take care of thier dogs, vaccinations, stuff about pet medication, pet hospital location finder, and resources to various articles about pet stuff here: www.healthypet.com

And don't tell mom and dad, but I found a great, um, doggieporn Web site. This internet thing is really cool. Check out these cuties: http://www.labster.net/ and here: http://labradorretrieverpictures.blogspot.com/

Oh, baby!

Rise N Shine!

Mom and Dad got up and took me for a walk this morning.

Mom didn't want to get up, but Dad got up to make her coffee and rouse her out of bed. I'll tell you what: my dad does such nice things for mom. I'm not sure who's more spoiled: me or her?

While he was in the kitchen, I gave her a couple kisses to help her wake up. Kloey jumped on the bed and "meow-meow-ed" us a good morning greeting.

Dad put on my necklace and sporty harness and we walked out the door to a beautiful morning. It was a bit chilly, but the birdies were singing and bunnies were hopping around.

Such a nice way to start the day.

O.K.! Nap time!

Greenie Time!

One of my mom's friends came over on Saturday night. Dad gave me a greenie meanie. I love those things! She thought I was so cute that she took a picture of me running around with my greenie.

Without Further Adieu.......

My name is Kirby. I am a black lab. My mom tells me that I'm handsome. I think she is right. My mom is a smart lady. I have a dad, too. He is super cool and plays with me lots.

I also have a sister. Her name is Kloey. She is a tabby cat. Sometimes she is annoying. But I love her.

My favorite things:

- Playing fetch and chase

- Eating "m&m's" in the backyard. Thank you Mr. Easter Bunny.

- Going to Doggie Daycare. I have tons of friends from daycare. They like my charm and bravado. And the chicks dig me.

- Water, muddy swamps - anything to get wet and dirty and annoy my mom and dad

- Going for long walks and trail running with my mom

- Sqeeky toys. especially my goose from Mills Fleet 'n Farm

- Sunbathing

My dislikes:

- Hard, slippery surfaces

- Steps

- The vacuum cleaner

- Unfriendly dogs