dog beach with grandma and pappy

my parents recently came out to visit for a long weekend. we didn't do anything terribly exciting; i figured that they really just wanted to spend time with sullivan, so we could have spent two days in a windowless room and as long as sullivan was present and there was bathroom access, no one would have minded. we did do a few things though, one of which was take blue dog to the beach.

the past two or three months blue has not been himself. he gets spooked at the slightest sharp noise and turns into a shivering, cowering mess when we go for walks near the baseball field. i don't know how or when these fears developed, but i feel terribly guilty about it because i am sure it has to do with something we did, or something that happened when we weren't around. some of it has to do with the fourth of july this past year, but it seems to run deeper than that.

anyway, blue LOVES dog beach. the water, the other dogs, the people, the running...it is all his favorite things in one place. we had not been in a while, so i was wondering if blue would still love it or if he would dissolve into a shaking little puppy velcro-ed to my legs.

blue loved it. he chased his kong down the beach and swam into the waves when ryan threw it into the water. he ran around with other dogs and went up to people with his tail wagging and tongue lolling out of his mouth. my dad said it was so great to see 'the old blue,' the blue we know, the blue that is friendly and fearless and carefree. blue was so happy, and it made me really happy to see him at ease in his element.

sully seemed to enjoy himself as well. he always likes going new places and looking at new things, and he loves being out side and feeling the wind on his face. every time a breeze came along he squinted and lit up with a big, gummy smile.

he chewed on the string of that hoodie until it was sopping. blech.

i was trying to capture blue in action, and i was imaging a shot with him mid-stride, all stretched out with all four paws off the ground. i didn't quite get that, but this is kind of a cool picture too, and i think it looks like he is smiling.