Judd Cousin Vacation 2010

This year for the cousin trip we went to Oceanside, California for a week. We had a MARVELOUS time! We left on the 5th which was my birthday....ha ha, and I was thinking a long car ride might not be the most enjoyable way to spend a birthday but thanks to Spencer and the rest of the family, it was wonderful. I got many happy birthday wishes from the family throughout the entire day. And when we stopped in Barstow Spencer informed me that part of my birthday presents involved a shopping spree which was fun! When we got to our final destination and after we finished unpacking and what not, we decided to take a look at the beach. We just wanted to walk around....but that didn't really work out because everyone was so excited to be there and most people ended up in the water in their clothes! We were all very wet and very sandy. And some people were so excited that they forgot that they had wallets or phones in their pockets....Later that evening Spencer and I went back to the beach and had the sense to change into swimming suits. It was fun at night....though scary because I thought I would get eaten by a shark! I'd never been to the beach at night and now that I have I would highly recommend it. It's relaxing to listen to the waves crash against the beach. The ocean seems so much bigger at night. We just played in the waves a bit but mostly we just sat on the beach and talked. This was probably the best part of my birthday :) Well, when we went inside I got another surprise. Everyone was in our part of the condo with cake and ice cream and they sang happy birthday. It was fun and only slightly embarrassing when I didn't blow out all my candles. Ha ha ha...overall, great birthday! Thanks everyone!

For our week in California we stayed in a condo right off the beach which was the best! Usually when we went to California as kids there would be one day planned out for a visit to the beach, but with this trip....everyday was a beach day! We had fun playing on the beach, building sand castles, boogie boarding (which mostly involved getting beat up by wave after wave), swimming in the ocean, throwing  collecting shells, and taking romantic strolls on the beach :)

Me and Spence

Go Lilly!

Pretty! This was one of the many views that we enjoyed right from our condo

We were able to enjoy many of the attractions in Southern California during our stay. We were able to go to Disneyland thanks to giving days of service (or thanks to Lu Anne for making quilts and donating them for us) PLUS collecting many, many, MANY plastic bottles. In Spencer's family, when the aunts and uncles were kids their grandfather used to collect cans on the side of the road, recycle them, and use the money to take the grand kids to the county fair. Our trip to Disneyland was a recreation of this tradition. Family history is highly valued in the Judd family. They even have games to get to know the ancestors! Since I've been in the family I've had the opportunity to learn the Judd family genealogy and I've enjoyed the lessons that can be learned when we look back at history. Collecting the bottles for a grand kid visit to Disneyland is just one example of how the Judds honor and remember their family name and traditions.

Disney Main Street

I LOVE the tea cups!!!

Go Splash Mountain!

Pretty Sleeping Beauty Castle.....Spencer wishing he could be sleeping

We also had the option of going to Sea World or Lego Land.....and which one did I choose......SEA WORLD OF COURSE!!!! Sea World is one of my favorite places to go in the whole wide world. Dolphin posters covered my walls until I moved to college. I love love love, ocean life. I wanted to be a dolphin trainer and major in Marine biology....that idea also ended when I went to college. I would ask the trainers at Sea World when I was little what I needed to do to become a trainer myself. WELL, even though I'm not as crazy about dolphins and sea life as I was before I definitely still love Sea World. We had a great time.

Feeding the dolphins is my favorite! Love it!!!

Shamoo Shamoo

Bat ray feeding....Spencer's favorite!

Shark encounter...too scary

Besides going out and having fun there was always stuff going on around the condo. We played loads of games, had bocce ball tournaments, had parties, and ate yummy food! We were all sad to go home. The trip was wonderful. Massive thanks to all who made it possible!