Summer Seaside Fun!

I love adventures, and I especially love adventures with my mama for two reasons: 1. I love almost everything I get to do with my mama—the vet is an exception! 2. My mama is also super organized, so I always know that what she can control and plan will go smoothly. All I need to do is show up! Our adventure this summer was the best! We went on a road trip to San Diego. This was only my second time going on a seaside holiday! It was SO much fun I thought I'd share some of my memories and photos with you.

It was very hard to pick which photos to share with you because mama took hundreds of photos, and most were pretty pawsome. So, I hope you enjoy seeing the highlights of our holiday!

Mama did all the packing for our road trip and holiday. She said that she would have to travel light because I wasn't. I didn't know what she meant until I saw the car loaded up and ready to go. The trunk was jam-packed, with my crate, bed, favorite toys, treats, food that didn't need a cooler, toothpaste, shampoo, hairbrush, supplements, water bowl, food puzzle bowls...you get the picture. And this was just the trunk. The backseat had all my frozen meals and more treats, and to be honest, I'm not sure what else there was, but it was jam-packed like the trunk. It was so full that my puppy had to share my seat with me. But I told mama she was the one that did all the packing, so it wasn't my fault she had to travel light. But I was so happy to have all my favorite things with me. We stayed at a VRBO. It's like a hotel, but it's also like a house. It was really cool. It was only 5 minutes from mama's favorite beach, which is now also my favorite beach! We could even see the beach from our VRBO! Isn't that pawmazing? My first day at the beach was a little scary because I did not remember how much water there was and that it could chase me without ever stopping to rest!

Mama said it was ok to be scared of new things. The trick is to go back to the scary thing because the more you go back, the less scary it would be. She said some of the best things happen when we're brave, and we don't let the scary things stop us.

And she said that just like I help keep people in our community at home safe by being a Security Dog, there are also good people in other places, like at the beach, who keep everyone safe. She said when we go back to the beach, she'd show me who they were.

So we went back to the beach the next day, and she was right about both things: 1. The water wasn't nearly as scary the next day. And I discovered I was faster than the water, and if I wanted to, I could easily run away from it. But now I didn't want to run away from it. I wanted to play in it. Mama said that's what happens when you don't give up just because something is scary - you learn things about yourself that you didn't even know, and then you have even more fun!

2. And, just like mama said, we found the people who keep everyone safe on the beach. They're called Lifeguards. I even got to have a photo next to the surfboards they use when they need to help keep people safe in the water. Their job must have been REALLY impawtent because mama seemed to spend an extra long time taking photos here. I'm so glad I listened to mama and went back to the beach. I had SO much fun playing in the water and the sand. I learned how much I would have missed out on if I hadn't been brave enough to go back to the beach after the first day. But I was also very lucky I had mama to coach me. If I didn't have mama to teach me these things, I don't think I would have gone back, and then I would have missed out on so much fun!

I also LOVED digging in the sand, but it was just like the water that never stopped chasing me - the sand never ended, no matter how much you kept digging. I think it must be a beach thing that the fun things never end, and even though things might look the same every day like the beach, it's never really the same, but if you decide to look for the good and the fun, then you'll always find it! I found all the fun!

I also learned that when you're having so much fun doing new things like running away from the water and then chasing the water and then digging and digging and never getting to the bottom of where you're digging and going for long walks and posing for SO many photos - you use a LOT of energy and you need to rest and refuel so you can keep doing the fun things you love. But mama obviously knew this because she had this covered too...

She brought the most pawsome picnics to the beach for us. They were SO yummy.

I think it must have been the sun, sea, fresh air, and cool sand that made our picnics SO pawsome because I know for sure that mama did not become a better cook just because we were on vacation.

And I'm not saying she's a bad cook, but it's not what she does best, so the conclusion I came to was that the beach made everything better...

... and so we were both very sad to leave the beach because it really did make everything better - even mama seemed so much happier and less stressed at the beach.

This is what I learned on our Summer Seaside holiday: 1. When you travel in life, it's impawtent to know what to take with you, and what to leave behind. Otherwise, it might take longer to get where you're going.

Mama did a good job packing for our holiday because I did need everything she took for me.

2. It's ok to be scared of new things, but don't let them scare you away and don't stop trying to make it unscary! When you're brave enough to do scary things you learn things about yourself that you didn't even know, and then you try other new things you wouldn't have tried, and that's how life stays interesting and exciting. Sometimes, the scariest things can turn out to be so much fun.

Mama also told me that sometimes it's okay for scary things to stay scary as long as it doesn't make your life less pawsome.

I asked her if there was something that was still scary for her but didn't make her life less pawsome. She said it was rollercoasters. She showed me what those are. I think my life is more pawsome with those staying scary.

3. It's good to go to different places and look at life differently. If we just keep seeing things the same way then life stays the same. Like with mama's cooking. When we had a picnic on the beach, her cooking seemed so much better because it was a different experience. And when we went home I decided to see her cooking like I did on the beach. You can do the same thing with anything in your life! Isn't that so pawmazing?

4. If you want to be able to keep playing hard, having even more fun, and learning new things you also need to rest and refresh. Like when mama and I had our picnic on the beach.

5. If you're sad about something, you don't have to stay sad - you just have to choose to make a plan to be happy. Because we were very sad to leave the beach mama and I have planned to go back to the beach for more Summer Seaside Fun next year! I can't wait!

What did you learn from my beach holiday that reminded you of something you can do to make your life even more fun and happy? I can't wait to read what it is!

Toffy xoxo #lifewithtoffy

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