Boulder is 5

Today, our first "baby" is five years old.

{Boulder's 5th Birthday - 03.01.10}

Normally I wouldn't blog about my dog's birthday, but last week she ran away & I thought she was gone forever. It scared me big time! And, it reminded me two things:
1. I really do love this dog
and
2. Our family wouldn't be the same without her.

I never had a dog growing up. I never wanted one.
Our family isn't what you would call "animal lovers".
Kevin, on the other hand always had a dog growing up. He LOVES dogs. He loves all animals.
His childhood dog passed away a few months before we got married. It devastated Kevin, he even had to come home from work early. I didn't "get it" because I had never had a pet like that. It was so sad to see a grown man so upset about losing his dog. It was then that I realized that a pet truly is a family member.
Our first few years of marriage, Kevin and I would discuss when we wanted to start having kids. He would always tell me, "We are getting a dog first". I always laughed it off.
Then, in 2004, I realized he was serious. If I wanted to have kids, I had to get him a dog.
I came up with a "plan".

Kevin's 30th birthday was in May of 2005 and I was going to surprise him with a puppy.

So, to make my plan work, I had to make sure Kevin wasn't going to go out & buy a puppy like he was threatening to. So, starting at the end of 2004, every time Kevin brought up getting a dog, I would roll my eyes, say no & change the subject. We watched our friend's the Sharman's dog one weekend & I complained (on purpose) the whole time. Sidenote: The Sharman's were in on my "plan" and they know I love their sweet yellow lab!
{Christmas card picture 2005}

At the beginning of 2005, I started researching yellow labs. (I knew he wanted a lab because they are good family dogs & good with kids. I said if I ever got a dog, I wanted to name the dog "Boulder" because I went to college at University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. I thought Boulder would be a cool name for a dog, either a boy or a girl)
I asked my students if they had a yellow lab to give me the name of their breeder & I kept researching breeders online. I was coaching soccer at the time, so I saved all my soccer paycheck so that I would have the cash to pay for the dog. In January of 2005, I found an awesome family that breed labs once a year, I called the lady & I fell in love with her. Their lab was due in March and I put down a deposit for a female. The puppies were born on March 1st & we had pick of the litter.
We got to pick the dog we wanted at the end of March. (Kevin still had NO idea any of this was going on .) After talking to friends & family about what to do, I decided to surprise Kevin the day we got to pick out the dog.
The family lived over an hour away, so that Saturday morning, I told Kevin we were going on a surprise "field trip". It was the Saturday before Easter, so as I drove, every 15 minutes, I gave him a plastic Easter Egg with a clue in it. I gave him the last egg as we pulled up to the house & inside that egg was a pink dog collar with the name "Boulder" on it.
Then Kevin's eyes started to tear up & I told him we were there to pick out his early birthday present.
Boulder was one of 8 puppies in her litter. All of the puppies were adorable, and it was a hard decision. Ultimately, we chose Boulder because she is the one who slept in Kevin's arms for almost an hour! All the other puppies were really hyper & playful, but Boulder just slept. We realized that was the dog for us!
Boulder was only 3 weeks old the day we picked her out, so we had to wait another month to bring her home. Here we are on the day we "chose" Boulder:
It was such a fun surprise and I am so glad Boulder is part of our family!
She is so amazing with the girls. They were instant best friends as soon as we brought them home from the hospital.
{Boulder & 1 week old Kate}

Boulder & Kate have a very special bond.
One of Kate's first words was Bo Bo (what she calls Boulder).
And, It was Claire's 2nd word. (Mama was first, of course!)
They love their Bo Bo!
When Boulder was missing last week, it was the longest 15 minutes of my life. Hearing Kate crying saying, "Where is my Bo Bo?" it literally broke my heart.
Luckily, Boulder came back home (she has a tendency to escape our house, but just goes to the end of our court to play with our neighbor's dog) But, last week, she really freaked me out because when we got home from Target, our dog was not home or in our yard.

I tried staying calm for Kate & Claire's sake, but I was a mess. Thankfully, Boulder returned home. That was a close call. Too close for comfort!

This is Claire's favorite thing to do when Boulder is laying on the ground. Boulder is so sweet & just lays there while Claire climbs all over her.

I got Boulder this ridiculous dog birthday hat for her first birthday & I make her wear every year on her birthday.
This year, Kate wanted her & Claire to wear their birthday hats also while we sung "Happy Birthday Boulder"

Seriously, this dog is such a good sport. She even let Kate put all the birthday hats on her.
Boulder puts up with so much "abuse" from our girls.

Happy 5th Birthday Boulder, the best dog I've ever had!