The Berghorn's Blog

Winter Wonderland

2012-01-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

Payette River - frozen and beautiful

Christmas was different for us this year! We drove to McCall, Idaho to have a white Christmas. Rob's sister and family had a timeshare there and invited us to join them for Christmas! I have soooo many pictures to share, but I thought that I would start with the pictures that showed the winter wonderland!

View out the living room sliding glass door...sledding and snow

The condo

It snowed only one day...unusual for them.

LOVE my camera!

Me in the snow...

Payette Lake - We hear there is great fishing here in summer

Rob and I

Getting ready for night sledding...

my girls

action shot...

Does Rob look cold...he should... -2 degrees at about 8:30 am

Gold Fork Hot Springs...in the snow and ice...

Christmas Eve ice skating...check syd's outfit, tank top and giant gloves. She said she was hot, but her hands were cold when she fell!

The whole group...Christmas Day

Sledding Cousins...Christmas Day!

A Holiday Tune...

2011-12-09T09:58:00.001-08:00

Here is a little bit of Savannah's Holiday Choir Performance. Sorry about the camera work...I am a little shaky! My girl is in the back with a green bow!

November Happenings...

2011-11-26T22:48:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving Break goes so fast! I can't believe it! We hosted some family at our house again this year. The girls and I made "Grandma's Noodles" all by ourselves and they actually turned out okay. The girls had fun spending time with cousins.

Cousins! The boys were playing elsewhere!

Making noodles...

The girls and I went to see the Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn with our friends the Young's.

Liz and I

Mission Inn decorations

My girls and I, can you figure out Syd's phase right now?

Wait...Syd didn't make a face...

Rose Parade Float

2011-11-20T14:08:00.001-08:00

This year the Girl Scouts are celebrating their 100th birthday. One of the ways that they are celebrating is by having a float in the Rose Parade! Our troop was able to go and work on prepping the float for the flowers. I can't believe all of the work that goes into getting a float ready! I hope I can finally go and see the parade this year!

Troop 1114 in front of the the Girl Scout Float

Other floats getting ready for the parade.

Another float being prepped.

Rob trimming Status flower.

These were the flowers that we were trimming - Status flowers

Fall Events

2011-11-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is almost here, and I have not been good about blogging the latest events in our lives...

Savannah had her first choir performance:

Next we went to the pumpkin patch with great friends:

We carved our pumpkins:

We trick or treated in our neighborhood:

And...
since it is a month of being grateful....I am grateful to be able to share these memories with my friends and family!

Girl Scout Camp Out!

2011-10-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

Savannah and Sydney on the hike.

All four of us drove up near Lake Arrowhead for the girl scout camping trip. We camped at Dogwood Campground and it was a beautiful place. There were 19 girls and 10 adults at our three campsites. The campground was full of girl scouts, though! I think the girl scout leaders in charge of the event said their were 400 people? Crazy. We set up our tents in the dark by flashlight, went on a short hike, participated in a creative scavenger hunt, made SMORES with girl scout cookies, sang songs and actually got some sleep.
We even managed to win the scavenger hunt!

Setting up tents in the dark

Full moon...

Camp Troop 1114

Making pancakes...

Getting ready for the hike...

Leaves are changing...

Rob and I on the hike...

Campfire Time!

SMORES with Thanks a Lots!

First place in the Scavenger Hunt!

The Blue Angels

2011-10-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

Rob loves the Blue Angels. REALLY loves the Blue Angels. He hasn't seen them the whole time that we have been together (20 years). We have been wanting to go to an airshow with the girls for awhile, but the weekends never worked out. So this year it did. We were actually able to plan a trip to Miramar for the big airshow. Our nephews Joey and Aiden met us there.

Rob and the girls with a TOP GUN plane

Rob, the girls, Joey and Aiden with an F5 Tiger.

Aiden and his Blue Angel plane

Blue Angels

The boys looking for the planes...too bad I didn't get the picture of them when the Blue Angel flew right over us....low....and they all ducked down like it was flying at them!

Temecula Wine Country

2011-09-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

Rob and I celebrated our anniversary in Temecula Wine Country last weekend. South Coast Winery has beautiful Villas and we enjoyed the wine tasting, too.

The picture above and below were taken from the little patio outside our villa.

The End of Summer

2011-08-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

So it is my last couple days of summer. Kind of. I have already been to my classroom to get some work done. I decided to post a few pics from our last weeks of summer...

The girls had one last sleepover... which included a night swim...

...and a really cool owl sighting!

Rob and I had our had our 16th Anniversary which we will celebrate in September!

I sang my heart out to "Jessie's Girl"...

...and traveled back to Sea World for another visit, this time we saw the sharks...

...made friends with the Sea Lions...

...and saw incredible turtles at Turtle Reef!

We celebrated the impending arrival of a new cousin...(and niece)

Syd and Rob went back to school!

And finally, our last hurrah was a trip to Huntington Beach with great friends.

All in all it has been a great summer!

Yosemite Part 3 - Glacier Point

2011-08-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

So on our last day, we ventured up to Glacier Point. The views were incredible.

Although this is not Glacier Point, I really liked the picture. It is a view I saw as we were leaving the valley.

Okay one more from the valley. I like this picture of our family with Half Dome and Bridalveil Falls in the background.

Near Glacier Point: Half dome, Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls

The girls and Half Dome

Rob and I and the view...

Looking down on the Yosemite Valley: Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls

The Yosemite Valley: the falls, the Merced River...

Rob and Savannah with Half Dome

The girls

Yosemite Part 2 - Waterfalls

2011-08-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

Oh the Waterfalls! Waterfalls that were misting, flowing, and crashing! We heard that the waterfalls would be incredible because of the increased snow fall, and they were!

Savannah at Bridalveil Falls

The base of Bridalveil Falls. It was very hard to get pictures here because the mist was very heavy! It was hard to keep the camera from getting wet!

Rob and the girls at Bridalveil Falls.

The girls in front of Upper Yosemite Falls.

Upper Yosemite Falls

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls

Close up of Upper Falls

The base of Lower Yosemite Falls

We climbed on rocks to get a little closer to the falls. There were a lot of crazy people climbing on slippery rocks beyond us!

Vernal Falls Footbridge
At the time we were there, three people had been missing for a week after climbing through barriers to get better pictures of the waterfalls.

The top of Vernal Falls, this is where the three people were when they went over the falls.

Yosemite Part 1- Mariposa Grove

2011-07-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

The Berghorn's visited another National Park this year. Yosemite was beautiful! The waterfalls, rock formations, and big trees were all amazing and did not disappoint!

The entrance to the Mariposa Grove

Savannah and Sydney at the root base of a fallen sequoia

Not a bug's eye view, but my view!

The Grizzily Giant Sequioa, one branch is seven feet in diameter!

The California Tunnel Tree

Another Amy's eye view

Rob and I at the base of beautiful sequoia!

Me and my girls!

After our hikes through the trees, we stopped at a great bbq place in Oakhurst! Can you tell Syd loved her Ribs?

Carpinteria 2011

2011-07-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

The beautiful beach...

The Harmon Family (Family Name) had another great year at Carpinteria State Beach!

My nephew George, Syd and my brother Mike

Syd and George in their favorite place...the sand

Boogie boarding anyone?

Cold water...

Heads on the beach...

Me, my brother and sister

Campfire time...

Sydney, George and Savannah

Rob gets a lesson in being a super hero

Me and George

Three ladies in hats: my mom, my aunt Kathy and aunt Diana

More campfire fun...this year we made Reese's Cup SMORES and
Mounds SMORES!

Rob and Savannah

Another great year!

40 and Fabulous!

2011-07-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

Rob and the girls surprised me with a party for my 40th birthday. They set up a party in our back yard and invited lots of friends. I didn't get pictures of everyone, but here are a few.

I had a great time and appreciated everyone who came to help me celebrate.

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

Yummy food!

Good friends!

The 4th of July was a great day with good friends and great food!

Fun on the water silde!

Rob playing around...

Rob and I

Beautiful sunset in Riverside!

More water fun...

Firework time!

One of my favorite shots (it was taken with my new camera...which I love)

It is hard for me to believe that these sparklers are actually illegal in Riverside. I grew up lighting them every 4th of July in the DESERT!

At the end of the night we made SMORES...because, you know, we just hadn't had enough junk food!

Las Vegas

2011-06-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

We took a short trip to Las Vegas last week. The girls loved the waterfalls and lazy river at the MGM grand. Savannah got to ride the New York, New York roller coaster...Syd was not happy that she is still too short. On the way home, we stopped at Buffalo Bills, and Syd was able to ride the roller coaster there.

My view from the chairs...in the shade!

Rob and the girls in the lazy river.

Rob getting a water massage in the waterfall.

We are in the waterfall cove of the lazy river.

The girls with a view of the Vegas strip.

Summer so far...

2011-06-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

Our summer adventures began with a concert. We went to see Time McGraw in San Diego. Savannah was probably the most excited for this event!

Tim McGraw

All of us at the concert.

Cousins came to visit.

Can you see the resemblance?

Cousins

We went to watch the Lake Elsinore Storm on Father's Day. We also found out that the interim manager is a guy that played in the majors and Rob knew him growing up in Poway.

Rob and Phil Plantier

Our view from our seats. I won a contest on Facebook and got these tickets!

Sydney took this picture of us!

The kids got to run the bases at the end of the game...by the way...the game went to 12 innings and we stayed so that they could run the bases.

The Birthday Party!

2011-06-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

We had the big June birthday this weekend. Rob planned some fun games !

The beginning of the frozen t-shirt race.

Trying to get the frozen t shirt undone.

After the frozen t-shirt was unfolded, the groups of three had to put the shirt on and run the bases.

Cookie face race!

Ping Pong ball race

Catch a marshmallow in a cup

Birthday Girls

The party animals!

2011-06-01T12:51:00.001-07:00

June the 1st

Sea World

2011-05-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our Girl Scout troop and Sea World's teacher appreciation Fun Cards, we spent a beautiful day at Sea World today!

Our troop leaders arranged a "behind the scenes" tour and we were able to visit with the dolphins and help "train " them!

The girls told the dolphins the jump and do flips!

They fed some sea turtles lettuce.

Visited some warm weather penguins.

Fed Sea Lions

Watched the whales play.

Ate with Shamu!

Ate really...really close to Shamu....too close for Savannah's comfort. Right after the picture was taken below, Shamu came up out of the water on the slide deck and a tidal wave of water came up after him. The wave ended up in Savannah and Sydney's lunch and completely freaked Savannah out!

Troop 1114

Atlantis ride!

More of the troop!

2011-05-20T07:53:00.001-07:00

Ancient Day
Today the 6th graders are dressing up for their study on Ancient Civilizations.

Camp Highland

2011-05-14T22:48:00.000-07:00

Savannah just got back from a week away at 6th grade science camp! She had loads of fun and took her camera so her scrapbooking mom could record her trip!

She was looking forward to trying archery!

One day they went on a three mile hike!

Wall climbing was also on the agenda!

A little bit of science each day too!

I am glad she had fun! We missed her, but we are so happy that she got the opportunity to experience Camp Highland!

2011-05-08T11:42:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! Sydney gave me this today!

My Camino Kids have Talent!

2011-04-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

The girls performed at the school talent show on Friday~ They were awesome (if I do say so myself)! Savannah was incredibly brave and sang a Carrie Underwood song A Capella.

Sydney did a Hula Hoop routine to a Justin Beiber song. She kept the hoop up most of the time, until her pants started falling off.

Then Syd's class did a song from their Seussical the Musical Show!

The girls with their proud parents.

Grandma Pinney

2011-04-16T12:38:00.001-07:00

Today is my grandma's birthday! She loved roses and flowers and would have loved my roses! I picked these in her memory today! I even kept them in wet paper towels and tin foil just like we used to when we left their house in Isabella! Love you grandma and miss you!

2011-04-13T20:41:00.001-07:00

Syd left this note for the tooth fairy! Think the tooth fairy will believe her?

2011-04-10T22:04:00.001-07:00

Today we celebrated my mom's birthday by taking her and my Aunt Diana to brunch! Happy Birthday mom!

2011-04-09T17:27:00.001-07:00

More patches for the girls. Savannah needs to earn the sewing patch!

2011-04-06T12:05:00.001-07:00

A walk in the rain...until I started getting poured on!

A Quick Getaway...

2011-03-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

Rob and the girls are on Spring break this week. I am not. We decided to take a quick trip with the girls. But Rob changed the plans and surprised me by having the girls stay with friends. We escaped for the night and had spa treatments and rode up the Palm Springs Tramway. It was a much needed, relaxing getaway! Thank You, Rob!

Legoland

2011-03-06T17:38:00.001-08:00

The Legg, Bailey and Berghorn families ventured to Legoland this past weekend. We had a great time getting together with good friends!

Amy, Savannah, Sydney and Regan Legg on a ride!

Rob, Mike and Tom

Regan and Evan Legg with Savannah and Sydney

Legg, Berghorn and Bailey kiddos

Tracy and Katey

Fun on the boats!

Katey!

More boat fun!

Regan and Evan with Savannah in the back.

Regan and Sydney

Seussical

2011-03-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

Sydney performed in a short production of Seussical the Musical at school tonight. It was a very cute performance! Syd was a "Bird Girl" and sang and danced to the Dr. Seuss music! I tried to include a video below...hopefully it works!

Me and my bird girl!

Soccer Tournament!

2011-02-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

Savannah had a soccer tournament in Bullhead City, AZ this weekend. We knew ahead of time that there would be rain...but we were a little surprised by the crazy hail (twice!) and the amount of mud. Sure, there is mud when it rains...but these fields were a mess. The tournament destroyed the fields. The girls did not make it to to the championship game, but did well. They won 2, lost 1 and tied 1. They scored 6 goals in their last game! Some of the team after a win. This was before the mud bowls!
Savannah playing in the mud.
Splish, splash, soccer...
Cold fans...
Is Rob the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow?

Check out the fields!
Go Savannah, Go!

Mud Bowl!
Syd wanted to play in the mud...but found cool shades instead!
Menifee Dynamite: after the mud bowls

Happy Birthday Rob and Liz!

2011-02-13T19:47:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, we celebrated Rob and our friend Liz's birthdays. We went to an Ontario Reign hockey game. We had a lot of fun! Our friends were able to get box seats, so the 17 of us enjoyed the game in great seats.

Happy Birthday Rob and Liz!
View from our seats

All the kids enjoying the game! They got on the big screen twice!
The girls....Minus Patti....she must have been studying #6 on the other team....

Some of the group!

Elise, Chip and Rob

Nana is 80!

2011-01-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

Rob's mom turned 80 last week! We had a great family lunch to celebrate! Nana and her grandchildren and great grandchild (one more great grandchild on the way)

Rob and his mom!

Nana and her birthday cupcake!

Christmas Celebrations 2010

2010-12-29T22:06:00.000-08:00

We have had a great Christmas Vacation and Christmas this year! We have been on the go to Ridgecrest and back and have visited with friends and family. Rob and the girls and our nephew George ice skating in Temecula on Christmas Eve.
Savannah, Sydney and George
Savannah and Sydney on their new bikes!
The Great Grandchildren of Grant and Gertrude Pinney. According to my count, there are 6 more great grandchild and one great great grandson that are not in the picture.

7 of the 11 grandchildren!

Fun Festivities

2010-12-20T18:46:00.000-08:00

We have had some fun celebrating the Christmas season! Rob's family came up and stayed the night and, although we had rain, we had a lot of fun!
Audrey (in front), Sydney, Abi, Ella, Savannah and Owen
Building a gingerbread house with the cousins!

We also had a Pajama Brunch party with our great friends! Here are the kids anticipating the gift exchange!

Christmas Dog

2010-12-11T22:51:00.001-08:00

Santa brought Holly to us 6 years ago. I don't know if she is always happy that he did that. We mess with her all of the time. This year, Rob put lights on her and I added the antlers! Merry Christmas from Holly Jolly Christmas, our miniature Schnauzer!

Christmas Activities have begun...

2010-12-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

Buddy our Elf has made his appearance. Syd was not so happy about it, but has realized Buddy will probably not go in her room.

Our clubhouse had its annual Christmas party and we waited in line to see Santa.

More to come...

Thanksgiving and other things we have been up to...

2010-11-29T21:10:00.000-08:00

Wow! Where has the time gone? Soccer is sort of over (Savannah still has practice), and the holiday season has started! We just had a week off and of course stayed quite busy. I had some girlfriends from work over to scrapbook and visit. Three of them have new additions to their families and it was great to get to see them. We didn't really get a lot of crafting done, but it was a nice visit. Janeta, Santiago and Kylie
The girls and I made "grandma's noodles" for Thanksgiving. I have never attempted them myself, but decided it was time to jump in. We made the dough, rolled them out, cut them up and then let them dry.
I finally finished my nephews stocking for Christmas. We all have matching

stockings now!
Continuing the "noodling".

Rob, my dad and my brother getting the turkey ready to eat.
Thanksgiving at our house!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T22:09:00.001-07:00

We have had a great Halloween weekend! We spent a fun Saturday night carving pumpkins and playing games with cousins. Then, for Halloween we went to Cathy's to celebrate Colin's 4th birthday and Trick or Treating! Amy, the tacky tourist!
The tacky tourist and Rob the Roman Emperor
Cousins with their carved pumpkins!
Carving pumpkins!
The vampire and the butterfly!
Buzz Lightyear (Colin), the vampire and the butterfly on

Halloween!
Scary Syd!

Girls Scout Hike and Campfire

2010-10-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Our Girl Scout troop came over today for a little hike and a campfire. We "hiked" around our lake and had the fire in our fire pit. While on our nature hike, we actually saw a hawk, ducks, and rabbits. After our trip around the lake, we came back to our house and roasted hot dogs, and marshmallows for SMORES. The girls all seemed to have fun and some had never roasted hot dogs or marshmallows over a fire before. Taking a Break to take Notes
Walking the Path...(Notice the Hawk on the top of the tree)

Weenie Roast
Marshmallows and SMORES

Oak Glen

2010-10-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

Autumn has been hiding from us. Sure, we had a couple of cool, rainy days, but the other days have been in the high 90's or higher. We usually go to the pumpkin patches around this time of year. But this year (like a lot of others) it was just too hot. We decided to try and go up the mountain a bit to Oak Glen and the apple orchards. It was a beautiful day, but still a little hot. We spent the afternoon with the Young's and McIntyre's and enjoyed our short apple picking time. We also picked up a fresh baked apple pie and enjoyed some pizza. Savannah is already looking up recipes for making her own apple pie since we picked a lot of Granny Smith apples.

The Red Rome are also delicious.

Girl Scout Cadette

2010-09-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

Savannah bridged to the level of Cadette in Girl Scouts this weekend. She got a new vest and will start working on interest badges for her new level. Syd is still a Brownie for one more year, but earned some more badges this summer.

More Soccer!

2010-09-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

As I said in my last blog...soccer has started. This weekend we started traveling with Savannah's team. We drove to Moreno Valley to play their FLEX team. They were small and fast and ran all over us. It was a good experience for Savannah's team to see what they will be up against in the coming weeks, but gosh, they killed us.

Syd's team played very well. They are getting used to a bigger field, but are doing well. Rob has

been the ref and is NOT liking that at all. Oh the things we do for our kids...

Time for Soccer!

2010-08-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

It is soccer season again! It's time for orange slices, capri-suns, stinky, yucky shin guards, and being busy every Saturday for the next 3 months. But I love it!

Sydney is playing U-10 soccer and is on the Blue Crush. Can you guess her color is blue? She played her second game today. She is all over the field and aggressive to get the ball. (Although, they didn't have to stop the game to tell her to chill out this week.) She wants to play goalie, but we know she is better at forward. She is tiny out on the field compared to a lot of the other girls, but she can hold her own.

Savannah plays U12 this year. She tried out for a special branch of AYSO called FLEX or EXTRA and made the special team! Gone are the days of going to the same fields for both girls games. Now we get to travel with Savannah's team! We won't go too far, in fact our old region in Jurupa is part of this league and we will go to play them. We will also play Corona, other Riverside teams, Hemet, and French Valley. Her colors are maroon and white and they call themselves the Menifee Dynamite! They have not officially started yet. She played three scrimmages last weekend and is getting used to playing at a higher skill level. She likes to play defender and is learning about playing man on man, where she has been assigned a player and has to stick to her like glue. She has always played more of an area defense.

It should be a great year! This is the first year that neither Rob nor I are coaching. But since Savannah's team will travel around, it also means we will be split up, always missing one of the girls' games! Bittersweet! Pictures to come later!

Minute To Win It!

2010-08-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

My friend Elise and I celebrated our birthdays together at another friends house. Our friend Joanna hosted a night of fun games from the show "Minute to Win It". We all had a lot of fun and the kids even got into it! Beware: there are a lot of pictures!

Sunsets

2010-08-01T23:34:00.000-07:00

Recently I posted on facebook that I took about 200 pictures of a sunset. It is true. The sunset was beautiful while we were in Key Largo. I am pretty much convinced that every sunset is magnificent though! I tend to take a lot of pictures of sunsets no matter where we are visiting. I like playing with the lighting and settings on the camera in order to find just the right setting and sometimes I find that 200 pictures later, I finally got it right! Rob and the girls and indulge my craziness for awhile, but will soon go off on their own adventures. Today I present a few (maybe more) sunsets from our recent adventures!

Key Largo and Key West, FL

Carpinteria, CA

Carpinteria 2010

2010-07-28T14:38:00.001-07:00

So we camped another year at Carpinteria! As always we had a great time with family at the beach and at the campfire. We visited our usual hangouts as well as doing something new this year. We went on a little boat ride from the pier through the Santa Barbara Harbor. The girls and my nephew got to steer the boat for a short time. It was a good trip and I am glad my sister, her boyfriend, my brother and his girlfriend got to join us.

Getting candy from Robitaille's candy store. They make their own candy..all kinds of good stuff (they make the inaugural mints for the Presidential Inaugurations). The kids prefer to get the other stuff you can get anywhere though!

Santa Barbara
Enjoying Foster's Ice Cream

Cousins

Playing on the beach
My sister, brother, nephew and my girls
My brother Mike and nephew George!

2010-07-17T12:27:00.001-07:00

This was on our Florida Everglades Airboat ride. Our driver was crazy Paul, he did crazy 360's and spotted turtles and gators for us. It was pretty fun and both girls enjoyed it although they were very skeptical at first. We also watched the gator feeding frenzy.

2010-07-14T16:42:00.001-07:00

Miami Beach...beautiful warm water!

2010-07-12T08:07:00.001-07:00

Road trip the Florida Keys... -Cocoa Beach -Cracker Barrel -Dunkin Donuts -Bass Pro Shop in Ft Lauderdale

2010-07-11T19:27:00.001-07:00

Some highlights from Disney World ...We watched fireworks from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad...Cinderella's castle changed color all of the time ... the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom ...Spaceship Earth at Epcot

Family

2010-06-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

Today we visited with Rob's aunt Viola. She lives in New Jersey and I have never met her. We had fun hearing some family stories and catching up.

Honor Roll

2010-06-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

We are proud parents of two girls that made the Honor Roll this semester. Both girls always do well in school, but getting their recognition made them very proud of themselves.

2010-06-20T10:40:00.001-07:00

Syd wrote this for Rob for Father's Day!

2010-06-20T10:15:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day to the best dad my girls could have!

2010-06-16T12:55:00.001-07:00

My view of summer vacation so far. These are few of the items I have been using so far during my time off. I could have also put in a broom and vacuum because I have been cleaning up too! Happy summer!

Education Can Get Messy...

2010-06-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

...Yes it Can! The 5th graders at Savannah's school competed in the "Education Can get Messy" competition today! First they had to qualify by answering questions in the area of Math, Language Arts, Science and History. They had to take a test on that information and if they did well enough then they were put on teams to compete in the "Messy" part! There were competitions like musical pies where the person holding the pie had to pie themselves in the face. Other competitions were egg baseball, water races, and a chocolate covered marshmallow toss! The kids had loads of fun....and learned!

Savannah ans her BFFs

Whipped cream pie in the face!
Egg Baseball
Yuck!
EEEEWWWWW!
yummy!
Chocolate Marshmallow is on its way...

....to Savannah's mouth!

June Birthday Girls

2010-06-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

There was a Big Birthday Party at the Berghorn's house this past weekend. We celebrated Savannah and Syd's birthdays with friends and family at our house and then we went to a park.

The parachute was a hit!
We played a fun game of kickball with the kids and adults!

We had a great time!

2010-06-03T22:16:00.001-07:00

Here is something I have been working on! It is for a friend and her new son!

For My Little Girl...June 1st

2010-05-31T23:20:00.000-07:00

Savannah was born 11 years ago! She has amazed me every day since the early morning when they told me she was 9 pounds 1 ounce! I am so proud of the yound lady she is becoming. We love you Savannah! Happy Birthday! Savannah (around 4 months)with Daddy

Savannah and Mommy

Savannah - 4 years old

Savannah and her little sis, Sydney

2010-05-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Savannah and Sydney's girl scout troop went to Legoland on Saturday. The troop sold a lot of cookies and they were able to plan a fun trip! Everyone had a lot of fun and some great weather. It stayed nice and cool the whole day. The girls have really enjoyed making friends and doing fun activities with girls scouts!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

So here it is another Mother's Day! I am thinking about all of the special mothers that I know and wishing them a Happy Mother's Day! Even though I can't always be with all of the mothers that are special to me, they should know that I am still thinking of them!

Happy Mother's Day to Mom, Aunt Diana, Joan, Kelly and to all the rest of you moms, too!

My mom and her grandkids!
Rob's mom and her grandkids!
My stepmom with Savannah and Sydney

Why I Love Where I Live...

2010-04-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

Many people ask me how I can live so far away from where I work. On a good day, we have a 40 minute drive to work and school and then another hour back home. There are days when it is longer, in fact those good traffic days are few. I don't usually mind the drive so much, though. The pictures show some reasons why I don't always mind. Our lake is just a few steps away.

Happy 40th Birthday Joanna!

2010-04-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

Aliso Beach was the setting for a great 40th birthday party for our friend Joanna! We started the party with some beach play and then ended the night with Smores! The waves were crazy big, but broke right on the beach and they were not good to play in. The kids did not care though, they had fun playing in the shallow water and on the rocks! The weather was perfect and it was a beautiful day! Happy Birthday Jo!
Birthday Girl!
Kids on the beach!
Kids on the rocks with waves crashing around them!
Ron, Rob and crazy Chip!
Birthday sunset!
Amy, Joanna and Elise!

Easter and Spring Break...

2010-04-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

Savannah and Syd at Doheny State Beach
The girls climbing a rock at our community Easter gathering!
The girls with the Easter Bunny at our community egg hunt!
Amy and Rob at Dana Point
Savannah and Syd at Dana Point

We have had a pretty calm Spring Break this year! We didn't go on any big trips or vacations and decided to keep close to home. We did venture out to Ridgecrest and to the beach for the day, though!

"What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor......"

2010-03-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

The fifth graders at Savannah's school went on an overnight field trip. I decided it might be fun to go with them.? We stayed on a ship called the Spirit of Dana Point, and had to eat, sleep, and drink like sailors on a ship from Boston to Cadiz, Spain in the late 1700's. Okay....we really didn't get to drink like sailors! But the rest is true! The kids were arranged in crews that took care of different parts of the ship and each crew had one of their own as their mate that was able to boss them around. The parents and teachers were actually Safety Officers who just stood back and watched unless one decided to try to do a header overboard. The Captain and his crew were amazing and had all of us afraid to step out of line or out of character. We even had to go out with our crews on night watch. Each crew had a two hour shift, except for the galley crew. They had to go to bed first and then wake up first to make the captain and crew's breakfast .... slop for the morning (oatmeal...sticky, icky oatmeal). My crew had watch from 10pm to 12am, which to me was the best time. We stood on deck, all in strategic places to watch for privateers, pirates or forces of nature (or the occasional drunk who might wander from the bars above us on the cliffs). The last shift was 4am to 6am or whenever the captain was done with them. Most of the students slept the whole time unless they were on watch and watch was definetly the hardest part. The kids had to stand completely still for two hours and not wake the captain. They had to do one more job while on watch. They had to keep a log. They were all asked to write for ten minutes of their shift. They had to write about what they saw during the watch and also what they had learned from the voyage. They couldn't wait to write. They wanted to write longer!.Bunking was interesting. We were all, I mean all, bunked together in a small bunk room. That means 30+ boys and girls and 4 Security Officers all together in bunks....ugh! The heads or bathrooms (2) were down there too. The shift switches were interesting, but the kids handled them well. Even the most "interesting students" were afraid to go against the captain's orders. Most of the students slept the whole unless they were on watch and watch was definitely the hardest part. The kids had to stand completely still and not wake the captain. We were awakened by crews rowing in the long boats singing shanties and then by clanging pans! The crews were knowledgeable and if they were not working on the deck they were getting lessons on the life and times of the sailor and what was happening in the world at that time. By the way my Adams Elementary School family, John Adams was elected President while we were on the boat! Amazing! We found out through letters that were written to us from home. The experience was amazing and I don't think Savannah or her classmates will forget it for a long time!

Sunrise soon after we woke up!
Savannah galley crew working in the galley.
Mouse, the cook, giving orders to her men. We were all men during this

time. No women allowed on ship!

The Spirit of Dana Point at the Ocean Institute

Tooth #4

2010-03-10T22:31:00.001-08:00

Syd lost her fourth tooth the other night. Yes, there was drama again! I finally convinced her to let me pull it, and it almost fell out of her mouth into my hand. I am happy to report that the tooth fairy kept his/her distance and left money in Syd’s room while she slept with her sister.

February 28th...

2010-02-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

Me and my gramps!
The last picture of me and my gramps and gramma

Rob, Amy, Savannah, Grant and Gertrude
Today is February 28th...It may not seem like and important day, but I will always hold this day close to my heart. It is not an anniversary or my birthday. It was my grandpa's birthday. He was one of the greatest men I have known. I don't have words to describe how I feel. It has been almost 10 years that he has been gone but it doesn't seem that way, though. Every so often I can hear him laugh at a dirty joke or sing a song by a campfire. I am sad that he did not get know my girls. I am sad that he did not get to see how much I have grown as a wife, mother and educator. Grant Pinney, you are missed dearly!

Join me in the Fight Against Breast Cancer!

2010-02-21T21:26:00.001-08:00

I know way too many women who have had breast cancer or have relatives or good friends who have breast cancer. My mom is one of these strong women who have survived breast cancer. There are so many opportunities for people to get involved and help raise money for a cure! I have been interested in the Susan G. Komen 3 day walk, but frankly don't think that I can do it. I hope to participate in it someday and maybe I can get in better shape by next year! A good friend of mine, Candy Macias IS going to participate in the 3 day walk in San Diego in November. She is in terrific shape and has run in two marathons! I am hoping to help her out and spread the word about her participation as she is trying to raise $2,300 for the cause! If you would like to check out her website for the event please go to the link below!

Every little bit helps with a super important cause!

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/2010/SanDiegoEvent2010?px=4631526&pg=personal&fr_id=1469&et=rEhxryU22T5Ye9bUrFCr7A..&s_tafId=390600

A busy week...

2010-02-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Capone's and Berghorn's at the snow!
Cathy and Amy
Savannah at Colonial Day
Savannah making butter...
Miniature golfing
Rob and Liz's birthday

A busy week has finally come to an end! We had a holiday weekend where we celebrated Rob's birthday as well as our friend Liz's birthday. The four of us enjoyed another day in the snow with the Capone's to celebrate more birthdays! We went miniature golfing on Rob's birthday. Savannah had Colonial Day at school so I went and volunteered at that also.

Snow Fun!

2010-02-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

The last time the girls went sledding, Syd was just a toddler. Savannah doesn't really remember it either. We have been wanting to take them and it has been great weather for sledding or tubing so we decided to try and find a fun place to go! We have seen all the snow on the mountains all around us and we knew there had to be a great tubing area. I found Snowdrift tubing park,which is just south of the Snow Valley ski area. It was beautiful in the mountains and the weather was outstanding, in fact we even had to take some of our layers off because we got too hot! Sydney was our daredevil of course and was the first to go down the longest hill! Savannah soon followed when she saw how much fun Syd was having. Rob and I took turns tubing and taking pictures and videos. I have uploaded some to Youtube. They are pretty funny. Just look for mom2savsyd and our videos should be on that page! Rob and his girls
All of us!
Me!
Syd's toothless grin!
My girls
Rob and Syd making the trek up the mountain!
Me and my girls
Rob
Savannah's first ride!

All I want for Valentine's Day is my two front teeth...

2010-02-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

Syd lost her third tooth last week. It was another top front tooth! I know that soon the big teeth will come in and she will no longer look like our little Syd Vicious. But for now, she is sooo cute with her front teeth gone and a little lisp! Oh, and there are a couple more loose teeth, too!

Gentlemen (and girls)....Start - Your - Engines!

2010-01-30T23:23:00.000-08:00

Kevin
Savannah and Rob
Sydney and Rob
Sydney and Rob
Rob and Kevin
Savannah and Sydney
We went to Pole Position with our great friends, the Capones. The guys, Savannah and Sydney raced the kart cars. I watched and took pictures (of course) with Cathy, her mom and their son, Colin. I enjoyed watching and not driving this time. Sydney was slow and steady and did a great job staying on the track. Savannah turned into a dare devil and took some crazy turns. Rob and Kevin got competitive and tried to out do each other! We had a great time and we can't wait to try it again. Maybe I will even try racing?!

Dear Tooth Fairy:

2010-01-27T20:01:00.000-08:00

I don't want to be a Hillbilly! That was going to be in Syd's letter to the tooth fairy tonight! Yes, tonight another tooth was pulled! It was ready to be pulled and Syd was not going to let us at it. Rob finally convinced her that it needed to come out. She is still scared of the tooth fairy. I thought that when the fairy brought her money, she would be fine, but that has not been the case. I can't wait until she loses the other top front tooth and I hope the new teeth don't come in before spring pictures!

Scrapbook Retreat

2010-01-18T20:10:00.001-08:00

My friend and I went on a mini scrapbook retreat this weekend. We scrapbooked for one whole day without any interruptions, and then the next day, we went to a Scrapbook Expo. We got a lot of pages done and enjoyed the short time away. We used the Cricut, Gypsy and Design Studio to help with our pages.

This is my favorite layout of the day.

We saw some great ideas and products at the expo. One of the booths showed some tools and materials that help make mosaic pages possible. I did not buy the whole kit, but I did get some of the papers and guides to create the mosaics. Today, I tried out my tools and this is what I came up with so far! I need a few more pictures to fill in the empty spots, but I really like the look so far!

Toothless

2010-01-10T19:44:00.000-08:00

Sydney is 7 and half and has not lost a single tooth. This has really been a big deal. Her friends have lost multiple teeth and in 2nd grade, they don't always have a tooth loss chart like they did in first and kinder. We were very excited when she actually discovered her first loose tooth! Then another one was loose and soon her front top and front bottom teeth were all loose! Then the tooth fairy talks began and she pretty much decided that all of her teeth needed to stay right where they were because she really didn't think she wanted the tooth fairy in her room and getting close to her. We tried to tell her that we could fix it so that she could leave her teeth another place, but she was not having it! She would not wiggle her teeth anymore, nope...they were staying forever. She did not care that she might get a dollar. She did not care that other people were losing teeth. Her teeth were staying put! Well, this morning we woke up and she showed me her tooth and it was as they say..."hanging by a thread"! It would not take much to get the tooth out. We got the cameras ready and Rob started to work on her. She was not happy and was a little scared. We started the video camera several times and stopped it. At one point, Rob got out his fishing pliers. It wasn't that it wouldn't come out...it was Syd closing her mouth when he was about to get it. Finally he had knocked it around and it was falling out. We got the cameras ready again and Whoopee! HE GOT IT OUT!

Rob's Family

2010-01-05T15:54:00.000-08:00

The whole family....almost
Nana and grandkids...
Great game of soccer!

We had Rob's Family over for his mom's birthday. We visited, played wii, ate great sandwiches, and played some soccer. It has been awhile since we have all been together. We were missing three important members of the family: nephew Jared was sick and Rob's sister Cher and brother in law Roger live in South Carolina. We missed them and hopefully we can have a complete portrait with everyone someday soon!

Ice skating

2010-01-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, we went to Old Town Temecula and their ice skating rink. They built a little rink in the center of Old Town. Most of the stores were closed, but we were able to skate and enjoy some laughs as my brother, sister and the girls skated around the rink. It took Savannah and Sydney awhile to get their footing, but once they did, they were pretty good! Syd gave us a couple of good falls and scares because she wanted to take off as fast as she could. My brother got a little cocky and decided to try turns and had a crazy fall because of it. He tried to blame my sister though.
My sister in the black hat, Savannah and Syd and my brother holding Syd's hand...or is she holding him up?
The girls...
Me, my mom, my brother and sister.

Christmas Celebrations

2009-12-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas celebrations have now officially ended. The much needed rest and clean-up will begin soon! It has been a crazy time full of family frenzy! We have been to the airport twice, back and forth to Ridgecrest twice, and had a quick trip to Carlsbad. It was worth it because of all the great family time we had! My pictures with Rob's family blurred a bit, but next weekend we will have them over for his mom's bday and I will get some pics then.

The first picture is of the girls on Christmas morning!

The 2nd pic is my mom, brother with his son George, my sister, me, Rob and the girls.

3rd picture: My dad and all of us! My stepmom had already pooped out!

And last..... but not least are my Christmas toys! Boy was I surprised to get a Gypsy from Rob and a Kindle from my dad and stepmom!

Traditions...more crafty kids

2009-12-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

I have been saving Christmas cards for about 15 years! I have been planning on a craft (place mats) for that long and needed enough cards to make it. It seems that 15 years of Christmas cards would be plenty...but I like to use cards and not the picture cards. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE picture cards! But they are not the best for the craft. I started making these with my grandma Jo when I was very young. She got enough cards every year that we could make the place mats every other year. They are soooo simple! Kids do need some cutting skills, though! So here is what you do: You take Christmas cards and you use a cup or something round to trace circles on the cards. I try and get the girls to get the main pictures and then we also look for phrases to trace. You trace the same size circles for all of them. Then you have to cut all of the circles out. The circles get arranged on colored contact paper (green or red) into a rectangle type shape and then they are layered so that the cards cover the area that you want. Then place clear contact paper over what you have made and then trim around the edges. We only had frosted contact paper for ours, but the girls say it looks cool!

Our pictures show a little of the process and our final products. To make them extra special, we cut out some circles that included our relatives signatures! In one picture you can see my Grandma Jo's signature! I am sure glad that she taught me about crafts and I have these ideas to share with my girls. She would have loved to be a part of this time with us!

Christmas Baking

2009-12-20T11:25:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we made Christmas goodies for gifts. The girls and I baked and cooked all day. We made chocolate covered pretzels that were then covered in crushed peppermint. We also made reindeer cookies from gingerbread dough. I finished with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Savannah is getting good at following recipes. I let her try and bake some cookies all on her own a couple of weeks ago and she had a little problem with tablespoons vs. teaspoons. This mishap included 3 TABLESPOONS of salt instead of teaspoons! She quickly learned the difference and is very careful now! I also found out it is easier for Syd to reach if I put a plastic tablecloth on the floor and then she can decorate and use cookie cutters. I just have to remind her to keep her feet away from the dough!

Happy Baking Season!

Savannah made lunch while we baked!

So it begins…

2009-12-13T19:00:00.001-08:00

One of our Christmas celebrations includes a day spent with some great friends. We call these friends the MNF group (Monday Night Football), because we get together during football season for football, food and friendship. They are more than that though! They are some of our closest friends. Today we celebrated the season with brunch, a gift exchange and a day in pajamas! We even went to the park down the street in our pajamas! The kids thought it was great!

The girls…

The presents

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…

2009-12-05T22:23:00.001-08:00

We braved the cold weather and the threatening skies in order for the girls to march in a little Christmas parade in Murrieta. It was a little push cart parade and their troop walked the route singing Christmas songs and waving to the crowds. At the end of the parade route, the girls were able to see Santa. Our great friends, the Capone’s, met us for the parade and visit with Santa.

The Berghorns and Capones Visiting with Santa The paradeBefore the parade

Let it Snow!

2009-11-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

View from Aunt Diana's house.

Ridgecrest, my hometown, is in the desert and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. Snow falls every couple of years here and it is always an exciting time. While we were visiting for Thanksgiving, snow fell on the Sierras right outside of Ridgecrest and Inyokern in an area called Walker's Pass. Walker's Pass is on the way to Lake Isabella and it is one way to get toBakersfield from Ridgecrest. The snowy mountain views were fabulous and I talked Rob into driving us up to see the snow. He had been complaining about our 80 degree Thanksgiving so this was a great opportunity for him to be in some "weather". We made the short drive and found the snow was melting fast...but the sky was getting very dark again. We climbed around on the snow and took some pictures and then decided we were cold enough to leave. Just as we began to drive away, small flakes began to fall. We stopped to see if it would turn into anything and sure enough a stronger flurry began. The girls had never been in falling snow before! They were very excited. It was a quick little trip that ended up super fun!

I have included a video...WARNING...turn sound down before you watch the video...the radio distorts and makes a horrible sound!

Thanksgiving…

2009-11-29T19:36:00.001-08:00

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house again this year! Rob’s family came up from San Diego area and my mom, brother and nephew were also able to make it. We enjoyed our usual turkey dinner and grandma’s noodles. The girls had lots of fun with their cousins. On Friday we made the trek to Ridgecrest and had another turkey dinner at my dad’s house. We also got to enjoy more time with my brother and nephew. My dad has 3 new pug puppies and that kept the kids occupied a lot of the time.

Sydney, Savannah and spider George Cousins on Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving picture!

Tis the Season to Be Crafty!

2009-11-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

Stocking by Grandma Jo

Rob says it is the season to eat and watch football....I say it is the season to be crafty! I love to find a holiday craft and start working on it as I watch tv or movies snuggled under a blanket. I have been crocheting, but that has started hurting my wrists, so I took a break. Then I started looking at Christmas gifts and started thinking about my Christmas decorations. Some of my favorite
decorations are stockings that my grandma handmade, each sequin hand stitched and the letters cut out of felt and sewn on. I love these stockings and they are so special to me. I put them up every year and remember the times that I did Christmas baking and crafting with her. I realized that my grandma was never able to make a stocking for my nephew George. I decided to try and see if I could copy her beautiful craft"woman"ship and make his stocking. It was a little scary starting out. I wasn't sure if I would be able to cut anything out of felt and make it look like it was supposed to. I wasn't sure how my wrists would take hand sewing all of the sequins. Well I am excited with how it is working out so far. I decided to try a snow man, poinsettia, and a truck. So far they look great! The sequin sewing is a little tedious, but also surprisingly therapeutic. I actually can't wait until work and the daily grind is over, so that I can begin sewing at night! I haven't told my brother that I am making this and I hope to surprise him with it. George won't understand the meaning behind it yet...but I can't wait until he understands and knows how special it is and he is!

My work, with the snowman, next to grandma's work

Guilty Pleasures!

2009-11-07T19:30:00.001-08:00

Okay…here it is…I admit it! I watch soap operas. Well not all, just one! It isn’t my fault, really, it is in my blood. Both of my grandmas watched Days of Our Lives and so did my aunts and mom. I have been following this soap forever. My friend Cathy and I listened to Bo and Hope’s wedding on cassette tape after her dad taped it for us! So I am crazy about this show. NBC had a “Day of Days” event at Universal City Walk today, and my friend Mona and I went to “stalk” (Rob’s word, not mine) the stars of Days.

Doug and Julie Sami and Rafe EJ

The cast….

It’s Slime Time!

2009-11-03T20:03:00.001-08:00

The students at my school have been working hard to increase their scores on the state tests. I am the language arts coach and I get to work with all of the kids and teachers in all grades in this area.! My partner in crime is Alicia and she works with teachers and students in the area of math and English Language Development. Our principal made a deal with the students. He told them that if they made Annual Yearly Progress he would get slimed! Then he brought us into the act. We played along and told the students that we didn’t want to get slimed, but we would do it for them! Well we received our results and the students did it! They made the progress they needed to and so we had to get slimed. The pictures are the results of our slime day! The students loved it and wasn’t so bad for us! I would do it again in a heartbeat if it helps motivate our kids to work hard! Yeah Students!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T15:35:00.001-08:00

We had a great time with the Youngs and the McIntyres in our old neighborhood last night. The gets got way too much candy and they only went down two streets! Rob and I got into the spirit and dressed up too! Rob was a nail (yes, I know he is strange) and I was a blind ref! Our girls dresses as a vampire fairy and a witch! It was a great night!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-18T18:24:00.001-07:00

Today we made a trip out to the Live Oak Pumpkin Patch. Our great friends the Young's and the McIntyre's went with us for a terrific trip! It was a hot day, but the kids had fun picking their pumpkins, riding the ATV ride, getting lost in the corn maze, and shaking hands with a little monkey (oh…that was me :)).

GOOOOAAAALLL!!!!!

2009-10-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

Savannah and Sydney had a great day of soccer today! They played at the same time, so I only got to see about 10 minutes of Savannah's game before going over to Syd's. Syd's team has been struggling with getting the ball in the net. Finally, today, we scored three goals! And Syd scored one of the goals! She was so excited. We put the names of the girls who score on our team ball, so she was excited to put another tally by her name. The rest of the team did great too! After the game Savannah couldn't wait to tell us how she had scored also! Of course we missed it...but were still excited for her! She says she does best when we are not there to watch! My soccer stars! They have the same uniforms this year!

Take it to the goal Sydney!

Go Savannah!