Carriage Rides For Princesses, and Boys, and Grandparents....

We went to the famous Mission Inn while we were in So Cal for Christmas Holiday.  There were all kinds of rides drawn by horses you could take to see the lights.  We knew the girls just had to take the Cinderella Carriage rides.  We figured we would throw the boys on one of the sleighs or wagons, but they wanted a Cinderella Carriage too.  My pictures are horrible and i am hoping Gary has some good ones to snag when he arrives home from vacation.  But the kids loved it and i had fun sitting on top with the driver as he told me about all the history of the Mission.  It has been around for quite some time!  Vicki and the girl cousins in her carriage had fun doing Princess Waves, blowing kisses, and telling their fans how much they loved them.   The boys begged Carissa to ride in their carriage.  Grandpa Mik jumped in with the boys and Grandma Mik jumped in with all the girls.  There was a tiny spot left and Uncle Jake jumped aboard as well.  While everyone was figuring out where they were going to be seating the driver was talking to a driver from last year.  They were going on and on about a horse that went berserk and took off tipping the carriage and other such stories.  I was listening and thinking what could be the worst outcome if Cindy or the other horse on the other carriage did something similar, the thoughts weren't pretty, especially for me up top!  I asked the driver if the horses they were talking about were our horses.  he laughed realizing i had been sitting there listening to them and reassured me the accidents were complete driver error and all the horses on the carriage, wagon, and sleigh routes were all awesome horses and he had been doing this for the last 9 years during the holidays on top of his regular horse duties at his horse ranch and the other driver had even more experience than him.  I was relieved to know i wasn't going to be jumping on Cindy's back during our ride! 

What the Cinderella Carriages looked like from a distance



Vicki




Jocelyn




I rode on top with the driver




Grandpa Mik, Justin, Dallin, Carissa in grey, Ty in purple



Ty and Carissa



Cindy was our horse, she was fabulous!



Another Vicki Pose...

Vicki kills me with her sense of humor and no cares on what people may think....here is another Vicki Pose that had everyone on the prison tour laughing as i took a pix of her being her....

Only A Dozen Missing

Every other year my side of the family gets together over Christmas Vacation.  The site has always been Southern California.  We decided it needs to be a warm place since it is over the Christmas break!  I have hopped in from Kadena, Okinawa to Travis AFB and now twice so far from North Carolina.  I didn't really appreciate the weather while i was coming from Oki, but coming the last 2 times from a NC winter, i really appreciated it this time!!!  I took a quick picture of Grandma & Grandpa Mik with the Grandkids that were able to make it right before we set out on our desert hike.  We were only missing a DOZEN grandkids this reunion!!!! 


Carissa, Jocelyn, Ryan, John, Justin, Ty, Grandma Mik, Dallin, Jodi, Grandpa Mik, Vicki, and Juliana
Missing: Mikaela, Malia, Jorden, Jessica, Jakob, Alina, Rachel, Natalie, Mason, Elizabeth, David, & Matthew



We Love Legos!

Yes, we are dorks, and love giant legos!

Space Mountain

We used to go to Disneyland atleast 3 to 4 times a year while stationed at Camp Pendleton and MCRD San Diego.  We were in So Cal for YEARS!!!!  We did 3 duties on camp Pendleton before moving 35 miles south for 3 1/2 years at MCRD San Diego, so i honestly could not count how many times we have been to The Happiest Place on Earth!  Space Mountain is my favorite ride there.  I love how it is pitch dark inside and you can't see the tracks, so you never know when you are going down or around, or anything!  I have not been able to ride it in decades because i was either pregnant or we had children not tall enough to ride.  There was NOOOOO way i would have let Ed take care of the kids for a few hours while waited in line for my favorite ride, that would just be mean and i actually like the guy.  Sooo, this time i talked everyone into riding it with me!  It was a 90 minute wait but the photo was worth every last second of creeping along!  We even got the very first space car!

The photo literally tells how each member of our family feels about rollercoasters!  Poor Ty, he was regretting getting on this ride before we even pulled out down the tracks!

Vicki, not easily scared, just sitting back and wondering when the ride is gonna get good

Ryan, always looking around to see how everything operates

Ed, a good sport for me

Me, loving the thrill of the ride and hanging on for dear life

Ty, ducking down afraid to see what is ahead!

I found this photo from Vix's first time riding the Log Ride at Knotts Berry Farm, again, just looking out wondering when is it gonna get good!  Miss those Erekson kids!

This might be when Ty became traumatized of roller coasters....Vicki said she didn't like all the yelling.....

Artificial Swimming

I swim laps 4 nights a week at Camp Johnson while Vicki has swim practice.  I am always sharing a lane with a Marine.  I can still hold my own with these youngins, at least that is what i tell myself.  If they weren't swimming in cammies i would have to really push myself to keep up.  The other night i was sharing my lane with a Marine who was not in cammies but instead was sporting a new leg, or an artificial leg for him to use in the water.  I was impressed and i loved swimming with him.  He brought a whole new appreciation for what i take for granted.  While i swam with him i spent a few laps only kicking with one leg and on my flip turns i only pushed off with one leg.  This Marine that was swimming next to me was definitely working a lot harder than me to go the same distance.  I lost him later in the evening as he slipped over to the training area to tread water with a brick over his head and work on his water entries and exits.  This young Marine is forever scarred from battle but i adored him instantly and hope he will continue to be my lap buddy!  

Boys And Football

Ty used to always have a soccer ball at his feet.  Last year he dove into football, and there is always a football within arms reach away for him to talk someone into playing catch with him.  Even if we are on vacation, he will find one!  Lucky for him he had a cousin who was more than willing to play catch with him at any given moment!



Ty

 


John happy to play catch with Ty!



Girls...

Girls are hilarious, especially when you get these cousins together.  Here they are striking their East Coast Girls West Coast Girls gang signs....

Temple Lights

We were just about 40 minutes away from the Oakland Temple, so we zipped over there one evening to see the Christmas Lights, it was beautiful!

Faces While We Waited

Vicki usually always covers the lens to my camera, but this trip she has been quite camera friendly!  We were waiting for the guys to bring the vehicles down from parking when we were leaving the beach and Vicki was making all kinds of faces at me.  These are a couple of my favorites...

Desert Hike Photo Op

My favorite photographer who accompanied our Southern California adventures was taking some photos of me on our desert hike.  We followed the McCallum Trail which took us to the beautiful Thousand Palm Oases which was a great place to stop and take some photos.  It is literally out in the middle of the desert close to 29 Palms.  Ed was zoomed in taking pictures of this and i found these on my camera....i am sure the other ones will be much better, atleast i HOPE so!  lol

Ryan Seacrest Is A Little Guy

We discovered that Ryan Seacrest is a LITTLE guy!  I would never want to be caught in a picture with him! But Ty and Vicki looked just fine, although Vicki said she could easily beat him up or defend him if she was out with him and someone came along wanting to mug them.

Vicki's Favorite Celebrity

Vicki found her favorite celebrity!

Hello Justin

Vicki having fun with Justin Timberlake....now she knows if she ever happens to kiss him she will either have to go up on her tippy toes or he will have to bend down.....


Looking up....



On tippy toes

December Beach Days

We left for Southern California the day after Christmas and had a blast enjoying the sun, sand, and the ocean with our California family and friends. I finally felt like i was at home again. Cold weather clothing is just NOT my thing and Boogie Boarding in December is NORMAL!!!! Here are a few pictures of the fun we had....









The first thing Vicki and Julianna wanted to do was jog the beach....and they did



Ed and Ty started off by playing tag, Ed won...

I just love walking along the water

Ryan was busy building sand castle forts

And boogie boarding

John catching a wave while Dallin got sucked into the wave

Carissa running along the beach

Loving all the negative ions!

My favorite photographer!

Ryan heading back in again

Ed, Jake, and Justin coming back from the tide pools with creatures

Jake, Ty, and Ed playing football

Football on the beach is a must!

On a walk with Ed.....telling him i was Queen of the Rock! 

Every beach always gets tagged with my art work!

Beach Front Fixer Upper

Ed and i were walking the beach at Crystal Cove a few days after Christmas and thought about buying this beautiful little fixer upper right on the beach....but decided not to when we found out that the plumbing used to run out to the ocean and of course that is totally gross and not even allowed anymore anyways!  Sooo, the thought of an outhouse changed our minds.  Oh, and also the whole no electricity thing and the tide can come right up to the front door at times....

But the view was beautiful.....

Balcony Wave & Kiss, Kretschmer Style

I love my Eddie Spaghetti and how he will humor me!  I decided we should do our own version of a royal couples wave and kiss from a balcony...i thought Alcatraz suited us perfectly :)

Merry Christmas.......LATE!

The holiodays are crazy when you travel!  Everything was rushed to get done before we even left on our Christmas vacation!  Unfortunately, many cards were never mailed out, oops :(  Our Christmas card was actually pretty cute but none of those pictures are on this hard drive, so i will just post some family pictures on our travels....from up North to down South.....


Everyone loved their new electronic gadgets and of course never a day goes by that Ed is not on the phone due to one of his devil pups getting in trouble....um, i did not get any electronic gadgets....




We went from freezing Northern Cali to beautiful sunny Southern Cali
Christmas from one extreme to the other!