Nick's Birthday Celebration

Mr. Nick Russell will turn 2 on Tuesday and the town of Cardiff threw a party for him this weekend to celebrate! Well perhaps it was not quite for him but he thought it was...We went down to our 2nd year of Cardiff's Dog Days of Summer festival. Cardiff is a very dog friendly town so they know how to throw a good party! There were tons of dogs, vendors with lots of dog treats, contests, and obstacle courses to entertain our furry friends. Nick made improvements on the obstacle course and was able to do 3 of the 5 tricks... a huge improvement from last year when he was not only afraid of the obstacles on the course but the fence around the course too ;)

Next we took Nick to his favorite off the leash dog park... the Park Place canyon in his own back yard! Todd and I are very lucky to live in a development that offers a 1 mile loop of off-leash walking trails for dogs. Nick is spoiled as he gets walks there every morning and night... and soon we will be taking BGR on walks there too! We look forward to it!

But the party did not end there... Nick went to brunch at the old Encinitas Train Station, Pannikin, with his parents, and that night went to a camp fire on Cardiff State Beach where our friends had a camp site for the week. We had a gorgeous sunset, great BBQ, lots of laughs and enjoyed the sea breeze filled night!
Happy 2nd Birthday Nick!

BGR's big day!

Baby Girl Russell and her parents were spoiled by their families and friends this past weekend in New Jersey. Aunt Judy, Aunt ML, Kelly, and Colleen threw an amazing pink and brown themed shower... complete with matching florals, place settings, drinks and m&ms. It was a wonderful celebration and we were lucky enough to have Mom Russell and Aunt Luann drive down from CT to join in the celebration.
Thank you to all the Cronies, Middletown Crew, and Family that made this day so special for Mom, Dad and BGR. We are so lucky to have such caring and generous family that share the same joy that we do about our little girls arrival! Thank you to everyone for a wonderful day.

We also got to spend some quality time with Mom and Dad Fallone in Spring Lake. We got to see the new renovations in Asbury Park... a town my parents spent lots of time in as high schoolers. We checked out the new Beach Bar in the Pavilion at Asbury which offers a cool funky scene and gorgeous ocean views! Between the beach, good dinners and eats, and great company we had a wonderful trip home! Oh and how can I forget the 2am karaoke with my parents and my mom's dear friend, Kathy Smith. The unbelievable thing is that Todd and I were in bed at midnight and the 3 of them carried on their show! Good times!