Kira is turning 7 on March 13th, and since we’re going to be in Virginia for the Super Pet Expo, I decided to celebrate a little early with a one-on-one “Mommy and Me” adventure. If you can’t tell by how ridiculously excited she was, this girl knew the whole day was about her. We started with a quick (and very real-life) errand stop to pick up stickers for the Expo, then headed to Island Park to walk out on the covered bridge and check out the Thunder Bay River all iced over. It was foggy, everything was slippery, and I forgot my boots with my ice cleat—so we kept it short and safe. From there, we made it a full birthday date: McDonald’s for a Happy Meal we could split (don’t worry, I took some home for the other dogs), a treat-filled stop at Tractor Supply where Kira worked the front counter like a pro, and then my favorite local shop, Go Fetch Pet Supply, where she wandered aisle-to-aisle sniffing everything. We wrapped it up with a Starbucks Pup Cup… and she basically ate half of it before I could even get the camera going. Life is short—make memories with your dogs, even if it’s just a simple day of little stops that make them feel like the only dog in the world.