Our trip to CALIFORNIA & a video

Last Thursday we woke at the early hour of 3:45 A.M. to make the drive to the Salt Lake airport for a family vacation in San Diego, California. I was nervous to wake Liam and transfer him to the car but he drifted right back to sleep shortly after we pulled out of the driveway. The excitement of the trip was all that kept Nic and I going even when the dreaded four hours of sleep headache kicked in rather quickly. We blasted the same song over and over again (Army of Helaman, the only song Liam sleeps to in the car) as we slowly watched the sun rise. Despite getting up so early, with traffic and shuttle time we had about 50 minutes to check our bags, go through security, and make it to our gate. After being told several times by the bag checkers, "you're late", I was FREAKING OUT the entire time we stood in the security line that we were going to miss our flight. While waiting, we also noticed our boarding passes didn't list the terminal gate we were supposed to go to which only added to the imminent stress! Needless to say, we sprinted to our gate and were greeted by the nicest man who said with a smile, "You must be the Williamson's!" haha We made it on our flight with five minutes to spare and not a second more. It was the most intense airport experience I've ever had! haha

I pulled out all the stops to get Liam through the flight! A sucker, two bananas, a Lara bar, an applesauce, mustache stickers, jumbo crayons, his favorite movie Home on the tablet, a few new apps, our wallets, stackable buckets, you name it. Naturally he made it through all of those things about 30 minutes into the flight! Our only saving grace was that the third seat in our row was empty and it gave him room to stand up and move around a bit. Bless those sweet airline people for seating us there! We did NOT get so lucky on the trip home. 

We arrived to San Diego around 9 in the morning and killed an hour and a half or so before my mom landed and we could go get our rental car together. Four days in a white mini van and I'm ready to turn in my Rav. haha It doesn't get much better than automatic doors folks! ;) 

The next four days were spent at a beautiful resort right on the beach. We had originally planned on taking Liam to the San Diego Zoo one of the days and maybe do some shopping in downtown Coronado but after the first afternoon playing in the ocean, we realized there really wasn't any reason at all to leave our resort. Besides going out to dinner once, that is exactly what we did. So many relatives from both sides of my family were there that it felt like a little mini family reunion. Liam absolutely adored playing in the sand. He wanted anyone who was around him to bury him up to his chest in it. haha And of course the very first day we were there, not 30 minutes of being in the sand he dunked his entire face right in it and took a big old bite. HAHA Walking in and out of the ocean waves was his second favorite part of the trip. I'll let the 50 pictures do the rest of the talking ... 

It seemed as though the 18 month stranger danger phase kicked in on the trip because Liam didn't want to be held by anyone but Nic and I. It made things interesting when we were there to see family and he wasn't in the best of spirits about being held but I know he secretly loves his Uncle Brendan! :) We are really proud of the man Brendan has become and the accomplishments he has made in his life!

These seagulls completely ransacked all the garbages in sight at the resort. Let's just say they are well fed! haha

My poor husband, I was begging him/trying to convince him the entire trip to move us here where we could be surrounded by the ocean and beach all the time but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter where I am in the world, as long as I have these two with me. I have everything I need.

Liam playing in the sand with his Sita (my mom) and my Aunt Kim!

This was moments after that GIANT bite of gritty sand I was talking about earlier! As you can see it was in his mouth, nose, eye lashes, ears, etc. after that and was so much fun to try and wash out later. Let's just say, this messy little guy was in his element! haha

Jared (my step-brother) and Abby (my niece) jumping in the waves!

Look at that face! He was in heaven! He kept shivering from the water being so cold but he didn't even care. He kept pulling us back in because he didn't want to leave the ocean.

Building sand castles with daddy and my Aunt Kim.

We only put him on that step for a minute and then we were off, I promise. ;)

The face he makes whenever we say, "CHEESE!" I love it! After covering his own legs, we got the hint that he wanted to be buried in the sand.

Swimming with his cousins, Ava and Abby! They were such good helpers with him.

I can't get over how handsome and big he looks here!

We were AMAZED at how well Liam slept on this trip! That was our one fear when booking it but he consistently took his 2-3 hour naps like he does at home and slept through the nights with only one nightmare (which scared me half to death because it was his first one). One day we weren't near our hotel room at nap time and he was exhausted. This moment was one of the only times he has ever passed out in Nic's arms. I also have to mention those little moccasins. He has been wearing those since last summer when he first learned how to walk and still fits in them. I love how he has worn little foot prints in the bottoms.

My dad and brothers Josh, Brendan, and Jared.

Being buried in the sand, round two!

Ava surfing!

There were gorgeous lemon trees growing in everyone's yards all over California!

On our last night there a large group of us went out to dinner.

Going to a restaurant with Liam these days is always a gamble. Sometimes he does great staying entertained by the people around us and the food throughout the meal and other times he grows impatient after a short time. This happened to be one of those times. He was entertained the first five minutes with this water cup. It was his very first time figuring out how to use a straw! He began to get really wiggly after that. I turned to talk to my mom and a second later Nic shouted my name and I looked back to find Liam had scooted his bum all the way through the front bar and was practically hanging from the high chair. One of the scariest moments of my life, even though it only took a few seconds to pull him out. He wasn't hurt but it terrified me. We discovered the band that is supposed to go between his legs was missing on the chair. I was just so glad he wasn't hurt.

I love that Nic got this picture of the two of us. I am usually the woman behind the camera for most of our pictures so this one is very special to me. There is nothing I ever wanted more in life than to be a mom. I feel so lucky to have this silly, adorable, handsome, smart, strong-willed, sweet little boy.

Saying goodbye to my mom and brother on our last day in California.

So many fun memories!!!

I clearly wasn't thinking when I scheduled our flight home because I made it right in the middle of Liam's nap time. There is nothing more embarassing than being crammed in a plane with a random stranger in your row, surrounded by lots of other people, and having a screaming baby who is overly tired. The last 30 minutes or so he finally fell asleep but a 30 minute nap was all he got that day. While the flight home and the two and a half hour car drive that followed was not our favorite experience, it was so worth it because the rest of the trip was a blast!! We'll see you again soon California, you can count on it!

Videography is definitely not my strong suit or something I have had a lot of practice with so parts of it are overly exposed and shaky at times but nonetheless, a video of Liam's first time in the ocean and playing in the sand ...