mini trip to cali.

Hi everyone!

Earlier this week we took a super duper quick trip to L.A. for a big test Zak had to take.

First off let me say that I am so dang proud of him.

He's studied so hard, all the while being a wonderful husband, father and best friend.

He does so much for us, and still kills it in school.

I truly believe with all my heart he was born to be a doctor {haha that auto corrected to actor for a sec and that would have been hilarious} and you're now less than a year away from it happening!

Okay sorry for the mushy gushiness.

I'm just so proud of all his hard work and dedication.

So anywho!

For one of his clinical exams we had to go to L.A., so we decided to make a mini vacation as well.

On our first night we swung by a family reunion that my dad's side of the family was having.

It was super last minute, so it was such a sweet surprise to have Liam spend some more time with his pop and meet other family members.

Fun fact: all of them are names William {obviously except Zak, that's where Liam's namesake came from}!

Love us some fam time!

The next day we took off for L.A.!

We ended up renting a little beach cottage a block away from the Redondo Beach Pier-

{best location ever}. 

It was a teeny tiny place, but perfect for our short stay.

Zak always studying!

Once we got all settled in we ventured around the neighborhood a bit, but then turned in early since Zak had his test the next day.

Side note: we started watching Stranger Things on Netflix that night and it's soooo good!

And scary!

We just finished it this morning and we're so bummed it's over. :(

Anywho!

The next day it was super sunny and pretty warm so we kinda lounged most of the morning.

We went out to the beach once, but decided it was a little too warm to stay long.

One thing I've learned about traveling with kids is that you gotta just go with the flow and not plan out too many things to do.

I mean, we had all the intensions of spending the day at the beach, however it was close to 95 degrees and we didn't pack an umbrella or anything {parent fail} so that was now outta the picture.

But instead we had fun playing inside and then once the sun started setting {and Zak was at his test} Liam, Romie and I adventured around the neighborhood and then had a nice little sunset date at the pier.

It was really sweet!

The next morning we got up super early and headed down to the shore.

Somehow we've become morning people and always swim/go outside in the morning since it's way cooler and no ones ever around.

It was the perfect morning!

Zak went and grabbed some coffees and we spent the morning relaxing on the beach just talking.

It was Liam's first time in the sand and he loved watching the waves and seagulls fly by!

I even uploaded a little vid of him putting his toes in the sand for the first time on my Instagram!

Seeing everything through his eyes is so wonderful.

He's seriously the best little babe.

He was so content just sitting there with us, then he nursed some and fell back asleep so Zak and I were able to just hangout for a while.

He leaves really soon for about a month so times like these are so precious to me!

Afterwards we packed up the car and headed back home!

We stopped by to see Liam's great aunt nana and took a little drive to see the Colorado River for the first time ever!
It was so pretty, but super hot so we just looked from inside the car.:)
Afterwards we visited some more, had dinner and then said our goodbyes and headed home!
We got back just in time to binge watch some more Stranger Things!

I told yah it was a quick one!

And can I just say that Liam is awesome at traveling!

I was kinda dreading the drive- I didn't know if we'd be stopping like a thousand times since he's not the biggest fan of his carseat- but nope it was a piece of cake!

He slept most the time, letting Zak and I indulge in some podcasts, and then played while we would grab some food and that was it!

No crying!!!!! Like what. How did we get so lucky?!

Oh yeah!

I also wanted to tell yah all about a new drink that's kinda my fav right now. 

Since being pregnant and now nursing Liam I'm careful what I eat/drink and try to stick to whole simple foods as much as possible. 

So when Ocean Spray reached out to me about their new PACt Cranberry Extract Water
 drinks I was interested in trying these puppies out!

 I'm picky about what I feature on my blog, I never want to recommend something I don't like or believe in, and these were really good!

This juice has the fraction of sugar and calories {only 10 per serving} that most drinks have-

they were a perfect thing to throw in our bag and take to the beach with us.

I drink so much water nursing.

Like, so much. So having a little cranberry flavor throughout the day is a sweet treat!

Well it's almost the weekend, hooray!

Not really, though because Zak leaves Sunday:(

But we're going to make the best of it!

I hope you have a wonderful afternoon!

xoxo