Vacation in the sun...

This year we had planned a trip to Mexico since we desperately needed some time with sand in our toes and warm sun on our faces. However, with a new job and record high oil prices (yeah, I know, thing of the past it seems but it wasn't like that a few months ago!) we couldn't see the sense of paying double what it would cost us to stay in an all-inclusive resort for a week just to get there. So, we settled for Southern California instead. My great new job allowed me time off (albeit without pay!) and we were off! We spent a super relaxing and warm week at the beach in San Clemente, CA. We hung out at the beach, did crafts at the resort, fed seagulls, spent a day at the San Diego Zoo, took a Dolphin Safari boat ride to see whales, played air hockey (Erin is a maniac!) and saw Twilight on opening day. The craziest part of the trip for me is looking back and seeing pictures of me hard at work writing my yet-unfinished novel on the beach with my laptop. Get a grip, Terra! Erin and Clint loved the body boarding but I was a wuss and thought the water was way too cold to actually get in. My cousin and his wife and daughter came down for the last weekend (since it was their hook-up that got us into the timeshare after all) and we had a blast in the hot tub with the kids and BBQ'ing steaks. Yum-o! It sure was hard to leave the 80-degree weather and head home for the 30's but reality always wins out in the end. Here's a bunch of my favorite photos of the trip...

Quote of the trip: "Does this wetsuit make my butt look big?" Oh did Erin laugh!

Funniest story of the trip: we spent one late afternoon on the beach befriending a particular seagull who we thought was such a phenomena because he would eat right out of Clint's hand - which is why we named him "Big Balls" since he was the only one who had the guts. (See photo above.) Later that weekend Mark - the SoCal resident - was complaining about all the damn tourists who come and think it is funny to feed the birds and then go back to where they came from leaving the residents to deal with the empowered birds who sometimes are so aggressive that they will swoop in and TAKE food from people. Clint and I just looked at each other with smirks and hoped that Erin wouldn't tell the story of Big Balls and bust us for the tourists we'd been!