Not to brag…but I will…this has been a super birthday week!  Every day has been filled with surprises and fun!  It all began on Sunday when we went on a hike.  But not just any hike, we climbed to a summit of 555 feet in honor of my 5th birthday!  It was a beautiful day, and along the way we met many new dog friends.  Including a Hound who tried to teach me how to howl on the top of the mountain!  Oh boy could his voice echo!

Monday was my actual birthday, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.  The day was filled with all sorts of delicious treats!  I got scrambled eggs with my breakfast, and after dinner I was treated to peanut butter.  But that was nothing compared to all the birthday well-wishes I received on Twitter, Facebook, cards and emails!  THANK YOU!!!!  Thank you to each and every one of you for taking the time to wish me a happy day.  I hope you all enjoyed extra treats to help me celebrate.  In fact, while reading this I recommend you have a big spoonful of peanut butter!

On Tuesday the fun continued with two surprises from Dad!  First he took me on a car ride to my favorite place, the dump!  The people who work there are my best friends, and each week they give me a special treat from the big cookie jar.  On this visit Dad brought along my party hat, and I made them all laugh when he opened the hatchback and my head popped out wearing the hat!  Humans are so easily amused by pointy hats, which is good because it earned me extra treats!  But that was just the start of Dad’s surprises.  Later that day he took me on another car ride.  This time to the bee supply store.  Watch out Azzza Hive!  My hive is coming back bigger and better than ever!

Dad wasn’t the only one who surprised me this week.  On Wednesday I awoke to find Mother Nature gave me more snow!  Thank you Mother Nature!  Asa and I spent the day happily playing in it.  It was also on Wednesday that I read about Asa’s quest to find me the perfect gift.  I wondered where he disappeared to on Saturday, but it’s so rare I get the house all to myself that I didn’t care.  If you wonder what I do here alone, just picture that scene from Risky Business with Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear and you get the idea.  Oh and by the way, thank you Asa for my Alien squeaky toy!  I can’t wait to get it at my party.  Did you really think I couldn’t figure out your clues of “out of this world,” “abducted,” and “unidentified?”  That combined with your love of anything that squeaks made it easy for me to figure it out.  As Sherlock Holmes would say, “It’s elementary my dear Watson!”  Well that, and I peeked in the bag.

At my age I know it is important to pace myself.  So Thursday was rather uneventful as I spent the day napping, and dreaming of my big party.  In recent years I’ve shared my birthday party with my human Grandpa and Aunt.  But this year my party is all for ME!  So it was important on Thursday for me to rest up so I’d look my best for the paparazzi.  It’s a lot of responsibility being the center of attention.

That brings me to today.  Today is International Golden Retriever Day!  Coincidence that it happens to coincide with my birthday week?  Nonsense!  It’s only natural to share my super weeklong celebration with all Goldens!  So if you’re a Golden, your best friend is a Golden, or you just love a good holiday and want to get out of work early on a Friday, grab a leash and head on out to celebrate this glorious day!  However, I have important work to do first.  I need to supervise Mom making my birthday cake.  Momma Butter’s Grandma was kind enough to share with Mom her recipe for peanut butter oatmeal treats.  The recipe looks absolutely delicious!  However, I have one concern.  Mom has many wonderful skills, but baking isn’t one of them.  So it is of the utmost importance that I supervise her making these treats!  We don’t want to risk a repeat of the Christmas Cookies Disaster of 2016.  Good thing she is starting early, so if need be we can run out tomorrow and buy me a substitute cake!

Finally my super birthday week will wrap up this weekend when people all around the country gather for parties celebrating me, while watching a football game being played in my honor!  Even Lady Gaga has offered to perform on national TV for my big birthday bash!  I have to admit though, I’m a bit disappointed Gronkowski is injured and won’t be playing.  Between Gronk’s off the field silliness and his great ability at playing fetch, there is no doubt he has some Golden Retriever in him.  But enough chatting.  I see Mom getting the mixing bowl out, so I better go supervise!

Once again, THANK YOU to everyone who made my super birthday week extra special!  I hope you all have a great weekend celebrating my 5th birthday!