California to Arizona: Part 3

The last part of our trip, we stopped in Phoenix, AZ to visit Brandon’s sister & fam. That was really cool, we have only seen her a few times since she moved up there (almost 2 years ago). Before that she lived in the same town as us and we would see her every week! So it was really nice to finally visit her and see her new home. And Eliza played happily with her cousin the whole time, poor thing bawled when it was time to leave.

(thank goodness for sleeping in the car!) some celebrating for her third birthday...  Remember this cute little munchkin from our Las Vegas trip? Brandon is her favorite...    That's Brandon up there.... being a crazy boy.    And again, with the being crazy.... that boy.    And here's me, dressed for the desert! 

After a night in Phoenix, it was a 19 hour drive back home! We lost our 3^rd driver so it was just me and Brandon. It was a little tough but we managed. Not the best drive ever but we were elated to finally be back home.  We got in at around 8 o'clock Wednesday morning and all fell asleep in our bed till about noon. It. Was. Sooo. Nice.

Eliza and I had Wednesday to relax and do laundry. Then on Thursday we packed up and hit the road again for Georgia! This trip has been MUCH more relaxing (I haven’t had to do any driving so far!). I've definitely been catching up on some much needed sleep (and homework too!) We will be visiting some new places as well as some familiar places. Brandon wasn’t able to get off work for this trip and we miss him a lot! But my family has been a huge help in taking care of Eliza. Since I have less to worry about on this road trip (money, driving etc.), it makes it much easier to watch after Eliza. Definitely a little less overwhelming. 
Right now we are in Atlanta and tomorrow we start heading back, stopping in Florida for the night. Can't wait to relax on the beach tomorrow night! And maybe find some cool shells for Brandon! Hope all of you guys are having a wonderful weekend. I can't believe it's August and that summer is almost over!  

California, Part 2

After Renegade, we went to visit Venice Beach! And it was BEAUTIFUL. We all love, love, loooooved it. And then the day after, we visited The Getty which is a museum of sorts. I think that was my favorite part of LA, it was just beautiful. We saw an exhibit on Gustav Klimt (love him! I have some of his art here) and the landscape and architecture was just gorgeous.          Eliza ended up getting her dress completely soaked! Luckily Brandon had just bought a shirt and we threw that on her.     the gang

Visiting California was good, very good. But of course, every trip has some drawbacks. Traveling with a kid is obviously more difficult than not, I’ll expand more on this later.

Also, this trip was important because we have been kind of considering moving here. Although I LOVED lots of things about California, I was a teensy bit disappointed about a few things in LA. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great city and I’m glad my friends are happy there but I’m not quite sure it is the place for me? I just don’t know about the desert-ness. It’s just the complete opposite from where we live. I just really like grass and that is hard to come by in LA. 

I loved the cool weather though. That was a major plus in my book and definitely left an impression. I’m thinking maybe California but a different part? Possibly? Somewhere that’s not a desert? Who knows.

But it’s been a great experience for Eliza. She’s been loving the new places and she even made a new best friend! The people we are staying with have a young dog to which Eliza has grown fond of. It was so cute. Almost makes me want a pet.... almost. 

California, Part 1

 

We were so excited when we finally reached California. We drove 24 hours straight and arrived at about 10:30 in the morning. Craziness.  But there were 3 drivers to split it all up so it wasn’t terrible. The only bad thing was that I forgot my camera battery! I accidently left it on the charger at my house! This would have been a total bummer but luckily I was able to find a camera store and bought a new one. All of these pictures wouldn’t even exist if I hadn’t of done that!! So thank goodness for that. 

  Eliza had some red gatorade earlier that day.... can you tell?   

 

I’ve spent so much time outdoors, that’s really all I want to do. It’s a dream come true really and I wish we didn’t have to part with that aspect. Eliza has especially been enjoying the outdoors. I didn’t think it would have made such an impact but I can tell how much she likes outside because she never wants to leave! It makes me happy and sad at the same time. I wish that was something I could give her. She’s been running around and exploring, it’s the cutest thing ever. 

 

I FINALLY got to go to a Renegade Craft Fair. I’ve been waiting for three years and it was AWESOME. Not quite as big as I expected but great regardless. I collected tons of business cards and will definitely be dedicating a post to that, stay posted!