Hey everyone!! Another year has gone by as we’re ready to get 2011 wrapped up and over with.

The Bernharts would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or happy any-other-holiday-you-celebrate … in other words: Happy Holidays to all our family and friends!!

Some highlights of our year:

• Melanie finished radiation therapy, started the reconstruction process, and has been given the “all clear” from her oncologist that she is currently cancer free!!
• Melanie and Lauren took part in the opening ceremonies of Supercross in Anaheim Stadium in February for their Breast Cancer Awareness event.
• Lauren started 10th grade, passed the 6-foot-tall mark… and made the Junior Varsity volleyball team at her school.
• Brody is still trying to decide on what he wants to be when he grows up. The choices he’s mulling over (so far): waiter, break-dancing bowler, or sound effect impersonator.
• Neil organized Octobeardfest for it’s second year, and with help from Melanie and many, many other friends…  raised $1,180 for cancer research.
• Melanie took a bartending course and passed to become a certified mixologist.
• My friend Tim invited all four of us to be on the Cancer Assassins float in the Chino Christmas Parade. Survivors and families were on the float, and Cancer Assassins raffled off a fully decorated tree that raised over $400.

Special thanks go to our good friend Mike Flores for having the patience to take our group holiday photo, which is not easy with a 3-year-old running around (as you can see in one of the pics below).

Here are some other photos from our holiday season for you to enjoy!

We were on a float in the Chino Christmas Parade this year. My buddy Tim has a cancer fundraising group and he asked for local cancer survivors and their families to be on the float. It was a great time… Brody really loved it, but said that his arms were tired from waving to everyone.

It gets less comfy every year… for me at least since I’m at the bottom. But, it’s so worth it!

One of my most vivid memories of NYC was from a trip into the city to visit the World Trade Center. I’m sure it was not long after we moved back to NY that we went to visit the city, I’m guessing ’78 or ’79 (I think I was 8 or 9 years-old at the time). I remember seeing the Statue Of Liberty from the car as we drove to the Twin Towers.

Most likely from the Brooklyn bridge as we made our way to lower Manhattan. I haven’t been to NYC since we moved out to CA in ’81, but I can still remember seeing those twin towers dominating the skyline.

We were there to go to the top of the one of the towers. Back then it was open to the public to actually go out onto the top of the towers. I can still picture the view from the top; the observation deck was sort of a small area far away from the sheer edges of the tower. But, believe me… I still felt the rush of being so high up in the sky.

The most memorable part was not being up at the top, but rather at an observation level that was on the way to the top. I think it was part of, if not an entire floor, dedicated to tourist activity. I recall stopping part-way up to get to this level and walking up near the windows.

On some windows, they had stickers on the windows that were outlines of city landmarks and other buildings… and if you lined up your sight just right, you could position the outline around the actual object in the distance. I remember my dad lifting me up to help me do it. I think it was the Chrysler build off in the distance that I was lining up.

He put me down and I was maybe a foot away from the glass. I was frozen. It seemed as if I was floating above the city. That wasn’t even the part that was most memorable. Here’s what happened next: My oldest brother pushed me from behind and my heart skipped several beats as I almost hit the window. I don’t think he let me actually hit the window, but it was close enough that I came close to soiling my underpants. Brotherly Love.

Whenever I see images of the Twin Towers, I remember that trip to the city. Seeing the Statue Of Liberty, being on the top of the Twin Towers, my dad helping me learn as he always did, and my brother scaring the living crap out of me.

Those Towers will always mean something to me. I can’t wait to go back to see the memorial.

Brody: (watching me finish a glass of beer) What is dat?
Me: It’s beer
Brody: Beer? Where did it go?
Me: I drank it… it’s all finished.
Brody: Oh
Me: What should I do now?
Brody: Get more beer!!!

So obvious, that a 3-year-old knows what to do!

We started doing these ‘newsletters’ in 2008 as a way of getting out a list of the past year’s happenings out to all of our family and friends. This year’s newsletter is dedicated to two special Bernharts: First, my father, who passed away on May 12th. We all miss him very much. Second, Melanie… who has been a pillar of strength for our family since the day she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I would not be the person I am without having both of them in my life.

OK, now let’s get to some of the fun stuff from 2010!

Lauren turned 14 in April and started high school this year. She’s also decided to make good use of her height (recently broke he 6′ mark) and has taken up Volleyball and made the frosh team at her school. On top of that, she tried out and made the Goldenwest Volleyball Club team, which will help her get onto the varsity team at her high school faster. She is really excited about it and loves to play. We’re looking forward to watching her play in the coming year.

Brody is well into his ‘terrible-twos’ now, giving us a run for our money in the patience department. However, most of the time he’s a great boy and has definitely given us some fantastic moment of laughter. We took him to his first baseball game at the end of the Angel’s season. He even did the ‘wave’! He tried some soccer fun as well. Brody definitely takes to any sport that he sees, either in person or on the television… his re-enactments are very accurate.

In September, we all participated in the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, in Orange County. We had many good friends and family come out and join us, as well as dozens of others who helped us raise $1,185 for the foundation.

Melanie completed her final chemo treatment on December 9th! We are all very glad that part of this whole ordeal is over and we can no focus on the next phase. She is excited to grow her hair back, too!

Neil started Octobeardfest: Guys grow their beards out for the month of October to get attention and help raise awareness and support for cancer research. In it’s inaugural year, everyone who participated helped raise $495 for our Stand Up 2 Cancer team. As you can see in the photos, Neil has gotten attached to his beard and has yet to shave it off.

Yes, 2010 was rough for us… but we’re staying positive, doing well and more than ready for 2011. Here’s wishing everyone a wonderful year to come!

Melanie walked the whole 3.1 mile course without any trouble. When we were done, the line for the bus back to the off-site parking was so long that she, along Lauren and I, walked back to the car… and even ran some parts of it. This was another 1.5 miles! This turned the 5K into a 7.5K. The only thing that could have been better was if it wasn’t so hot that day. Unseasonable weather had the temps in the mid 90s, which is HOT for how close we were to the ocean.

Here are some photos from the day…

When Melanie and I first started dating, we went to the Orange County Fair to waste our money on un-winnable games, scary rides that can be packed up and hauled off to the next county fairground location, and all of that indulgent and deep-fried food. The deep fried avocado and the Aussie battered potatoes are  favorites of ours!

In 2000, we did the photo booth thing with just the two of us. The following year, we started bringing Lauren to the fair with us… and began this tradition of annual family photos in the booth. After about 4 years, I started putting the strips together on the front of our refrigerator in chronological order. Soon after, I began scanning them in and combining them into one picture.

You should click on the thumbnail above to view the photo on flickr.com, where you can see it larger. I believe it’s my most viewed photo on flickr… I think it’s been blogged a few times, which gets it some traffic for sure.

Here is the single strip from our 2010 trip to the fair… Now, I need to update the header image on our family website to include the latest shot.

In 1971, my mother decided it would be fun to pick up and move the whole family to Australia. In March of that year she had heard some friends talking about the Australian consulate and some sort of program to bring workers to that country. By June, we were packed and heading to the airport. I was just barely 11 months old, so I do not recall any of this.

In 1973, we befriended some neighbors of ours, the Graveson family. Parents David and Anne had 3 kids…Two girls, Anita and Karin, who were close in age to my sister Stephanie, and brother Derek; and one boy, Erik, who was very close to my age. We spent lots of time hanging out together at the beach and having lots of fun. Both dads were very fun, and made sure that all of us kids were always entertained.

In 1977, my mom woke up one day and decided that she had enough of Aussie land, and said it was time to go back to New York. We made our way back, staying with other friends in the city until we settled in Port Jefferson, on Long Island. The parents kept in touch, and in 1979, when the Gravesons were relocating to another continent, they arranged to visit us when passing through New York.

The families made sure to get some beach time together and went out to Jones Beach on Long Island. Fun times on the beach included building huge pyramid sand castles, making hats out of beach towels, and singing/dancing to a song that David made up for us; we recall it being the “umkwa ka zinga” song.

The Graveson family have always been a huge part of our childhood memories of fun and happiness. And, after their visit to Long Island, our parents kept in touch ever since then via holiday cards and occasional phone calls. Us Bernhart kids would get updates from our parents at Christmas time on what their family was up to and where they were.

This past Christmas (2009), we learned that their father, David, had passed away earlier that year, after a long battle with cancer. Obviously, this really saddened us as we recalled once again, all of the great times we had with him and our families together. A few weeks after our own father passed away from a much shorter fight with cancer this May, my mother called their mother, Anne, to give her the news… and to talk about everything. My mom told me that she had a nice long call with Anne and they talked about all of the kids and grandkids. A few days after that call, I got a friend request on Facebook from Karin. Then a day later, another request from Anita. I then found Erik through their profile pages and sent him a friend request. And lastly, I found Anne there as well. My sister also hooked up with all of them. My brother, Derek, tried but didn’t like Facebook and removed his account. Oh well, his loss… we’ll have to keep him updated separately. Perhaps I can talk him into re-joining, and get my mom on there as well (good luck to me).

How great is the internet in this day and age? We can all share photos and messages with each other, and keep in touch much easier than if there were no such thing as the ‘net. Erik and I have sent some messages back and forth, catching up on what our own families have been up to. We’ve discovered that we both have some very similar interests and background. It’s been so great to see that they are all doing so well. It’s also been good for some self-healing in dealing with my father’s passing… to be reminded of how much fun it was having him as our father. I look forward to keeping in touch with them.

By the way… I sing the “umkwa ka zinga” song to Brody a lot. It gets his attention and he laughs and tries to sing along. Great for when he is fighting a diaper change!

We now have the living room filled with trains! Here are some photos that I took at Disneyland and him opening and playing with gifts. I have some videos as well, but haven’t processed those just yet. Stay tuned.

It was non-stop action with him; he was only temporarily occupied with my hole digging adventures. He wanted to be down by the water and watch the waves creep up. The water was freezing, probably in the mid 50s, but he did not care at all. He was all about looking closely at the water and sand, investigating every little thing he found. And, another favorite thing to do at the beach is dig in the sand, which is not normally a bad thing… but it is when he throws the sand up into the air and it gets into his hair and eyes. Good times!

I think we’re in store for some fun this summer when it warms up even more. I took many photos and shot some video! Here are some of the choice photos and a little video that I edited together… enjoy.

I thought I’d post this video of Brody and I from a few weeks ago. He’s really trying to say so many more words now, and doing so well at it. Here he is doing his best to say ‘pizza’. You may need to turn up your volume since he’s sort of whispering.

Greetings and happy holidays to all of our family and friends. Welcome to year 2 of our annual holiday newsletter. It’s been quite a year for us Bernharts, and we’re looking forward to it finishing up so we can get started on next year.

To keep you all up to speed on the happenings in our lives, below you’ll find a quick list of significant events in our past year. After that you’ll find a slideshow of photos of us taken throughout the holidays.

A special thanks to Mike Flores who took our family photo this year. With Brody now running around, it’s not as easy to keep him in one place while I set up the camera, like it was done last year. Having Mike take our photo helped keep us stay sane that day.

• Neil was laid off in March.
• Neil started his new job in June.
• Melanie was laid off at the end of October.
• Melanie started her new job on November 1st: full time mommy at home.
• Lauren finished 7th grade with all As and Bs, and has started 8th grade. Her favorite subjects include Drama and Science.
• Lauren started training for her return to soccer next year.
• Neil took Lauren to her first concert (Jason Mraz at the Hollywood Bowl).
• Brody started crawling.
• Brody started walking.
• Brody took swimming lessons and loved it.
• Brody learning baby sign language, which really helps us communicate with him.
• Brody is beginning to say many words. His first word was ball, and his second word was beer.
• Our annual summer Carlsbad trip turned out to be quite the camping fiasco.
• We updated our photo booth collage for 2009.
• Brody turned 1, and is currently 18 months old now (and weighs more than an average 2 year old).
• Lauren became an official teenager in April.
• Melanie and Neil each turned 29, again. :)

Below is a slide show of holiday photos. I’ll be updating this with more photos through the holidays, so please be sure to come back.

If you’re looking for photos, sit tight please. I haven’t had any time to process what shots I had a chance to take. You’ll have to check back later for those.

Day 0: Sunday

Check-in day… we’re all excited and have everything packed into the RV. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that. We usually just throw up some tents in our campsite and “rough it” when we camp there. I use the term “rough it” very loosely as there are restrooms and showers on premises, but for us, this is camping. This year, since we have Brody with us, we decided to rent an RV for the trip to make it a little more bearable for a 14-month-old. We got a great deal on a private rental from a friend-of-a-friend. We picked it up the previous night and spent the morning getting it all ready. So, back to the story: all packed up now, we’re rolling down Interstate 5 South to our destination.

Melanie’s sister is already there and calls us up to mention that someone is already in our reserved spot. What? How can this be? Her sister must have been looking at the wrong site. Mel asks her to go to the entrance and find out what’s going on. A few minutes later, she calls us back and relays the message from the campground staff that our name is nowhere to be found on their list of reservations. Worry starts to set in at this point. Melanie calls up Reserve America and gets someone on the line. Apparently, our reservation was canceled due to “non payment”. AHHHHH!!! Panic ensues now.

That’s impossible!! I was just logged into their web site a few days ago looking for a possibly better spot to open up. I saw the “Current Reservations” section, and it was listed right there: Check-in 8-16, check-out 8-19. Something had to be wrong.

After the final 15 miles of stressful driving, we arrived at the camp check-in booth. No use in complaining to them about the problem with Reserve America, the campground staff doesn’t have anything to do with that. I explained our predicament, and luckily they had one site available for us but we could only have it for one night. The way it works when you want to extend your stay, you have to wait in line in the morning for a “walk up” reservation. They suggested that I get in line at 6am, and wait for the booth to open at 8am, and my 9am you’ll know for sure if you get a spot.

We then found our spot, and set up our camp. Here is what was involved for me to “set up our camp”:
Back in the RV and get it level using wood blocks. Set up the tent for Lauren. Put out the awning on the RV. Put out area rug. Put out folding tables. Put up ez-up sun shade. Put out play pen for Brody. Clear off sleeping areas in the RV (used for storing gear while driving).

Combined, this took about 2 hours or more to complete. Once the set up was done, we started cooking dinner. By the time we finished eating, I was beat and it was time to crash. That’s about when Brody was all cranky and whiny. Did I mention that he’s teething with some mean molars coming in? Yeah, that’s loads of fun at home, let alone on a camping trip. He did not sleep very well that night, waking up every couple of hours probably freaking out from being in an unfamiliar place. When he woke up at 5:30am, I figured I would just head down to the check-in booth to get in line since I was up anyway.

Day 1: Monday

5:45am I ride my bike to the check-in booth to find that I am the first one there. I set up my chair and bust out the iPhone to catch up on emails and read some news to pass the time. 6:20am this older guy rolls up on his bike and gets in line next to me. He was a cool guy, and kept me entertained with all of his stories of RV trips, including one where he drove to Fairbanks, AK and back in a 3 month, 10,000 mile trip… engine replacement and all. I even let him use my chair since he was tired of standing and I was tired of sitting. I’m bummed that I never go this name or camp number.

While I waited, I used my iPhone to log into the ReserveAmerica.com site and checked the “Current Reservations” page. Up, there was my reservation… right there for me to see. Wait, there is a word just below the reservation ID… ‘Canceled’. I don’t think they could have made it less obvious. I never received any notice or warning from them that we were going to lose the reservation. But, more on that at the end of my story.

At 8:05am, the line of campers grew to about 10 or so… the booth worker opens up shop and announces that there are only two sites available. I approach since I’m first in line and he changes his tune to say that there is only one site available. Since there is already someone in it, I would have to wait for that person to possibly renew for another night. They have until 9am to do so. Seated back in my chair, the worker announced that there was actually only one site available and that I would be waiting for it until 9am. The crowd slowly dispersed, the old guy gets onto his bike looking depressed. I tell him I’m sorry and that it’s a bummer he couldn’t get a site. He agreed and rode off.

9am rolls around, and I start writing my check out. The worker tells me he had misread his notes and says there is another site available… site #2, it’s on the beach side, and it’s already open and ready for us to move our gear to. Sweet… check signed and handed over. To make it even sweeter, he then tells me that it’s available for a second night, all I need to do is renew by 9am the next day.

Now I’m riding back to our camp on a cloud. We can move today and not have to worry about moving again until we are ready to leave. When I get back to camp, we are presented with a choice: either keep site #2 that we just got, or take #26 for the next two nights. #26 became available after Mel’s sister was booted from camp for having been too loud and annoying the previous night. Mel and I decide to keep #2 since it’s close to the camp store and to stairs down to the beach. I thought of the old guy that chatted it up with me in line waiting for open camp sites… I kicked myself for not getting his name or site number. He could have had a site, if it weren’t for the foolish staff.

After breakfast, I do the camp tear-down. To simplify the explanation, just reverse the “camp set up” list above.

We arrive at site #2, and I begin camp set up, again. This time I stake down and tie down Lauren’s tent so it’s nice and secure. Since her and her cousin will be in it for two nights, I figured it would be worth it. We were able to enjoy some time at the beach while Brody napped in the RV and Mel’s mom babysat for us. She was a huge help with Brody since Mel and I were always occupied with something. We had a great grilled tri-tip roast for dinner that night and hit the sack.

Brody didn’t do well that night, even worse than the night before. This night, he vomited all over his portable crib… I mean a lot! He was up every few hours again, but I didn’t worry too much since I didn’t need to be up early the next morning.

Day 2: Tuesday

Made some coffee in the morning, and at 8:40am I walked over to the check-in booth and said I was there to renew site #2. Different worker this morning… she said “No, sorry. You cannot do that since we have a reservation coming in today for #2″.

My jaw hit the floor. I explained what I was told the previous day, and the worker said that I should not have been told that and I should have been in-line early for the chance at a “walk up” reservation. I was so pissed at this point that I didn’t know what to say. They had a site opening up that we could move to, oddly enough, it was site #26. I guess the group that was in that site was too noisy the previous night and were not allowed to renew. Trying hard, I asked if the incoming campers for our site could instead take site #26 and let us stay in #2. No deal… they could not let us do that. We could wait and ask that person, but we could not stay in the site.

After I walked back to the RV and explained the situation to Mel and her mom, we considered just packing up and going home. It’s funny, we should have just taken site #26 the when it was offered and we wouldn’t be in this situation. I guess we couldn’t cry over spilled milk at this point.

We decided to stay and stick it out. I know the girls were dying to have more fun down and the beach, and I went to get a rental surf board for Lauren that I’d promised them. I started to tear-down the camp, once again. Then drove everything over to site #26. This time I was only  going to set up the minimal stuff at the next site. Lauren and her cousin agreed to sleep in the two-person tent, without the air mattress. This saved a lot of time. No ez-up sun shade this time.

Again, I told Mel to take the girls down to the beach so that they could get into the water and do some surfing. Mel’s mom stayed behind with me and handled Brody while I set up the minimal camp. After that was done, I helped Brody get to sleep for his nap. When he was out, I grabbed my surf board and went down to the beach. This is the 3rd day we were there, and the first time I touched the water. The surf sucked, but I didn’t care. The water was warm and it was relaxing to get out there.

We spent a few hours down at the beach. This was the only time I can safely say that I had fun on the whole trip.

Day 3: Wednesday

Time to tear down camp and pack up to go home. After dropping off Lauren and her cousin at home, we got to our place and started unloading the RV, then cleaned it up and returned it.

Moving every day to a new site, toddler barfing and teething, and a wicked sunburn. I felt like I needed a vacation after my vacation!!

Some suggestions for the folks that run the ReserveAmerica.com web site

If my reservation is not confirmed:

• Consider perhaps sending an email to me after a certain amount of time has elapsed so that I am aware that if I don’t pay the fees within the next X hours, my site will be returned to inventory.
• Consider making it more apparent on the web site when I log in.
  • Maybe an alert on the main page after login?
  • Definitely a bright orange or yellow background color on the ‘unconfirmed’ reservation that is listed under the “Current Reservations” page.

If my reservation has been canceled:

• Consider perhaps sending an email to me to notify me of said cancellation.
• Consider making it more apparent on the web site when I log in.
  • Maybe an alert on the main page after login?
  • Definitely a bright red background color on the ‘canceled’ reservation that is listed under the “Current Reservations” page.

Moral of this story… if you use ReserveAmerica.com to book your campsites for a family vacation that includes money spent on renting an RV: check the fine print when you make your reservation and call afterward to make sure that it is confirmed. Don’t trust their web site as it appears they have no automated notification system to alert you when you’re about to lose your reservation.

I always love seeing how Lauren has changed over the years! Now we have Brody in there and we’ll have more fun changes to watch.

The ever popular compilation of all the years:

2009:

I know it’s been a loooong time since I’ve posted, and I apologize for that. But, my daddy has been super duper busy over the past few months. He stopped going to work every day back in April, he said something like laying down, or laying off… I dunno what you grown ups mean sometimes. He was real busy trying to find another place that he can go to work. Anyways, he got to stay home with me a lot and I really liked that! Well, he found a new place to go to work and we’re all happy for him.

So, let me quickly catch you up on thingz I have been doin’ over the past few months! I’m gonna run it down in a list for you.

• I know how to crawl on my hands and knees now! Yup, I thought that scootin’ around on my belly was cool… forget about scootin’ because crawling is waaaay faster. I’m really watching mom and dad, because they know how to walk around up on their feet. I like to pull myself up on everything in the house to get up to my feet. You just wait, I’ll walk around like mom and dad in no time.
• I drop stuff a lot, and I know how to say “uh oooh”.
• I got my hair cut twice before my first birthday. Mommy sayz I have daddy’s hair… which makes no sense to me, cuz if that was true then daddy wouldn’t have any hair, you know?!?!!
• I like to pretend to sneeze when anyone else sneezes. Heck, I even do it after I sneeze!
• I love waving at people when mommy and daddy take me places.
• I give kisses when mommy asks for one… sometimes, if I feel like it.
• I like to go swimming in the pool with mom and dad. I get to take swimming classes with mommy now. But I’m not sure why mommy needs the classes, since I think she already knows how. She’s funny.

Talk to you soon. Bye-bye for now!

I’ve been practicing a lot lately, going forward to grab some toys or slobber on dads leg. Sometimes it’s wierd, mom will come running quick if I get too close to certain things… I think she thinks it’s some kind of game. Whatever – it’s funny to see her hurry and keep me from getting stuff.

So, my dad says you can watch me doing this thing, he calls it an army crawl or something like that (I don’t even know who this army guy is). Here is the video. Check out my skills! That stupid wheel keeps moving farther away from me everytime I got close to it, man I wanted to just smack it so bad!