Countdown….

We are 58 days from the family reunion!!  Here is the list of all who have paid or have submitted a deposit:

• Eddy $300
• Evelyne, Daphne & Austin  $500
• Robert (Canada) $500
• Natasha, Patrick & Chloe $100
• Chelsea  $193.70(?pending)
• Carline, Weston, Garrett & Ethan $500
• Enchild $100
• Kettelye, Makeda, Nneka, Shaana $150
• Carlo, Marisol, Sophia & Myah $50

I received intent to attend from:

• Richard & Nedge
• Roland (Chiquita)
• Fredi
• Charles & Susan

I have about 30 of us who plan to attend the reunion.  The original home that I placed the deposit on is on hold because at this point it is too big and too expensive to accommodate our group.  Please submit your payment as soon as possible. I cannot finalize the home until all moneys are in.  Your payment can be sent to me via PayPal using email address “augustmoon26@aol.com” or my name, “Carline Louis-Jacques” or my cell # “310-567-8007”.

The T-shirt contest is closed and I thank Patrick for submitting the winning bid.  I will look into finding a company to produce the T-shirts.  If anyone wants to take on this job, I would appreciate it.

Carline

Reunion 2016!

Hello everyone,

It is that time of year that I ask if we are on for a reunion.  I have found an excellent location with great prices that may make you ooh and aah with anticipation.  How about Las Vegas??!!!  The west coast people have always expressed a desire to host the family and I think this deal that I will propose may make it possible.  I have found a home with 6 bedrooms that can sleep 25, and with 4 family members with homes in the area, the Las Vegas strip may never be the same.  I hope you can feel my excitement.  Las Vegas. Louis-Jacques. Las Vegas, oh my…..

I have priced flights from the east coast and I have found flights from La Guardia to Vegas for $274. Sounds too good to be true?  Not if you jump on it and book on Kayak.com.

The cost for the reunion- It is always the deal breaker…… price may be all inclusive- meaning if enough people attend, the following breakdown MAY include all meals (spirits not included).

• $500 per bedroom with fee to the reunion included  – cost saving for large families.
• $150 reunion fee/person for all others.
• Tentative dates: July 20-24

Please send feedback ASAP.  I can only secure the venue if we can commit.

Yours Truly,

Carline

 

Silence?

Hi everyone,

I thank Evelyn & Dani for sending their contributions toward the family reunion. Unfortunately, I am receiving mostly silence and need your help and support.  I know that many of us are busy and have other things to do.  I can say the cliche about life being short blah blah blah.  Reality reminds us of that daily.

Our family is an untapped treasure. We  have so much to contribute individually that if we were to unite and unify the family, the sky is the limit as far as what we can leave as our legacy on this earth.  Come on! Let’s make this happen.

-Carline

Are we on?

Hello family,

I am thankful to Fredi for being the first family member to submit her money> GO FEFE!  That’s actually close to jefe, which is chief I think in Spanish.  I thank Kettelye and her girls for gathering her family’s contribution.  I thank Enchild for coming up with the brilliant pricing – not perfect- but should work if we all contribute. The silence is deafening so please respond.  I am grateful that Ethan, who’s birthday is July 29 and Weston, who’s birthday is August 2nd, didn’t throw a fit when they realized that their birthdays were like the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies for the proposed family reunion.  Big sacrifice!

We have some good news to share. Babo is doing better and is excited to join us at the reunion.  The boys (Charles, Antoine & Enchild) just got back from their “what happens in Panama stays in Panama” fishing excursion & Robert & Irene are heading to one of my favorite destination- Paris- to celebrate their golden 25th! Time does fly.  Please share your good news. Anyone who wants to write a blog can send me their document and I will be happy to post,

Look at the home with that big inviting pool. Don’t you see yourself swimming at 2pm Friday afternoon without a care in the world,or just laying around laughing and talking and carrying on?  Let’s make it happen folks. We are running out of time.

-Carline

Are You In?

Hi Everyone,

It is late but not too late to plan the family reunion.  There has been distractions that have kept my focus away from planning the reunion.

Last year’s reunion was an overwhelming success. We had over 50 people at the reunion.

From last year’s family reunion, there were lessons learned. Instead of the 2 homes, the focus is on one home. We can rent the yellow house that we stayed in and had the amazing bonfires or rent a new home in Hunter, NY. The homes vary in price and amenities.  The other lesson learnt was to not schedule the weekend around the holiday (4th of July) because that kept a few family members away.

The cost of the weekend was a big problem last year.   Between the cost of the rental and cost for food, some of us carried the responsibility more than others.  Tony was generous to cover the rental costs last year in order to stimulate interest in the family reunion and the cost was not fully recovered.  The seed has been planted, the responsibility of moving this forward is up to all of us.

The dates to consider for the reunion are July 22-26 or July 29-Aug 2.  Please vote a weekend. The cost for rental and food is $300 per person.  This cost will cover cost for food, rental, reunion gifts and cleaning fee. The fee is subjective to change based on total number of people who plan to attend. It could be more or less. The deadline to pay is June 1st. If there is not enough interest, I will have no choice but to cancel the reunion.

RSVP can be made on this blog. Payments can be sent to my paypal account by going to http://www.paypal.com and use my email: augustmoon26@aol.com. Paypal does charge a small percentage for this convenience. You would need to create a free account using your email. Other options would be sending a check via USPS (no fee)  or via Chase.com if you have a Chase account (no fee). Contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

The homes that are available are:

The yellow home in Monticello is available the weekend of July 29 and has 8BR, 4 Bathrooms.  Has a lake about 1/2 mile away:

The Hunter, NY home is a B&B,  has 13 BR, 12 bathrooms and can sleep more than 36 people,  has a pool, volleyball court, and is very private:

                               

 

 

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Help Needed

By now, some of you have heard the news that our dear brother Babo is ill and was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.  It is with his permission that I am posting this news.   As you all can imagine, this is very overwhelming for Babo, and his children Jenny and Christopher.  We need family members and friends to help him through the difficult days ahead as he undergo further testing and treatments.  The most important help that is needed is for Babo to have someone with him at all times if possible, but most importantly is for him to have someone with him at night.  Any time is appreciated.  A schedule is being set up so please contact me,  Kettelye or Enchild  if you have any time to spare. If transportation to NJ is a problem, please let us know and we will do our best to problem-solve.  Food is also appreciated but please contact Kettelye to coordinate this because refrigerator space is limited. A rotation schedule for food drop off would work best.  For guidance: please keep the spices to a minimum; organic is best; and minimize processed food and sugar.  keep in mind that help can be in the form of a kind phone call to check in on him, a visit to his home, or a text message.

 

 

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Feedback?

Wow! The reunion starts in 3 days and there has been so little feedback.  Thank you Alex, Enchild and Evelyn who responded and submitted a list of the items they are bringing.  That’s all the members that I have heard from.  No one has responded to the excursions so am I to assume that there is not interest?  Even if you don’t plan to participate in any of the excursions, what I would expect is a “thanks but not thanks, & by the way, I still appreciated the time and effort you put into organizing this”.  Write something, say something.  The reunion is for all of us.  I took it upon myself to organize it as best as I can, but do you want me to tell you how busy my life is and how little time I really have to take on this thankless job?

I will keep on writing for the few who do get involved.

Helpful hints for packing:

• Sunscreen
• Hat
• perimeter bug spray
• DO NOT BRING SCENTED ANYTHING; IF YOU DO, DON’T FORGET THE BULLSEYE THAT  YOU WILL BECOME TO ALL THE BUGS!
• Flashlight: comes in handy for late night walks.
• Nights will be cool so bring long pants, jacket, sweater
• Games: card games, board games,  & put your name on everything you want to go back home with
• Balls: for volleyball, football, dodge ball
• bicycle, scooters, anything fun on wheels
• personal water bottle

Need outdoor extension cords & BoomBox

• sleeping bags.
• Tenting is allowed at Sackett Lake, so if you have one please bring it.
• any water sport activities, even balloons for water balloon fights.
• Bring cash- it will make it easier to pass around a collection can since there’s is  so few response for the food list.
• alcohol of your choice
• Wal-Mart is 13.6 miles from Hurd house: Coming from NY/NJ, take Exit105B off of the Hwy 17:
                              Wal-Mart Supercenter
                             41 Anawana Lake Rd, Monticello, NY 12701
                             (845) 796-7202
• Don’t forget chargers: for phones, camera, etc

 

See you soon!

Excursion Sign-in List

 

Please  fill out the appropriate contact form for the excursion you would like to participate in:

1.  Apple Pond Farm   www.applepondfarm.com

An educational farm that provides various programs that include farming with kids, wool spinning, goat cheese making, milking the cows and insight into farm life. Private family tours can be arranged.  There are daily activities for children that start at 10 a.m.

 

   

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2. Horseback Riding  www.bridlehillfarm.com

Trail riding is offered with instruction to trail riding demonstrated in an indoor ring.  Group rate is $40/pp and you learn to groom a horse and tack up the western saddle.

 

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3. White River Rafting  http://www.kittatinny.com

Kittatinny Canoes offer something for everyone, from kayaking, rafting, canoeing, & tubing.  The water is classified as mild and manageable for kids as young as 5.  Located about an hour from the homes, the excursion is expected to last 5-6 hours.  The midweek rate is $39/pp and the weekend rate is $45/pp.

 

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4. Zipline at Kittatinny  Canoes  over the Delaware River  www.kittatinny.com

Need I say more?

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5.  Museum @ Bethel Woods Center For The Arts  www.bethelwooodscenter.org

The museum is located on the historic site of the famed 1969 Woodstock Music & Fair Festival.  Hours are 10a-7p.  General admissions is $15 for adults, $13 for adults >65, $6 for children >3, & children ❤ are free.

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6.  Holiday Mountain Fun Park  www.holidaymtn.com

Summer activities include Go Karts, miniature golf, bumper boats, potato sack slide and many more.  Prices vary so please go to the website for  rates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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7.  Activities on White Lake  available  www.payneswatersports.com

 

         

Banana boat seats 6 people @ $80/half hour (there is no age limit)

Water skiing and wake boarding: boat and water skis and wake boards $80/half hour (instructions available for both sports)

Row boats $35/hour

Kayaks for 2 @ $35/hour; for 1 @ $25/hour  –(free at the house)

Pedal boats for 2 $35/hour;  for 4 @ $45/hour

 

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Plus endless fun at the homes!!!

 

 

 

 

Feeding the masses……………………….

 

We all have to eat &  drink, otherwise there will be problems….

I am looking for a coordinator, one for each of the homes to help manage the food and keep up with supplies.  The list of attendees is still not finalized but I am anticipating about 30 family members (and friends).  I comprised a list of suggested food & items to bring to the reunion.  Feel free to add other items to the list.  If you bring any personal items from home that you would like returned, please put your name on it (somewhere).  The reunion carries no insurance so please keep that in mind 🙂

I recommend that whatever item you choose to bring, that you bring enough for 20-30 people, or whatever amount that fits your budget.  This is very important: whatever you are going to bring, please leave a comment as to the item you are bringing so that we all can see who is bringing what.  We don’t want too much of one thing and none of another if we can avoid it.   Since we are arriving on different days, please also mention when you will be arriving to the reunion so that we are not counting on your contribution before you are scheduled to arrive.

 

Ο  need at least 4 coolers for ice and as back up to the freezer to keep food cold

Ο  large pots & pans

Ο  large pitchers

 

Click food list to see the list in word document or scroll below:  Reunion food list

 

• Breakfast Items:
  Bisquick (or other pancake mix)
  eggs
  Bread/bagels/muffins
  oatmeal
  cereal
  coffee
  creamer
  bacon (turkey/pork)

 

• Fruits
  watermelon
  apples
  melons
  mangoes
  grapes
  berries
  oranges
  lemons

 

• Vegetables
  lettuce
  tomatoes
  kale
  cucumber
  kale
  potatoes
  onions
  avocado

 

• Miscellaneous Items
  beans
  peas
  cooking oils
  rice
  butter
  carnation milk
  hot sauce
  syrup
  sugar
  salt & pepper
  other spices
  ketchup
  mustard
  relish
  BBQ sauce
  honey
  quinoa

 

• Lunch/Dinner
  Hamburgers & buns
  Hot Dogs & buns
  Chicken
  Meats
  Patties

 

• Appetizer Items 
  Assorted cheeses
  fruits
  nuts
  chips & dips

 

• Pasta
  spaghetti
  rigatoni
  noodles
  sauces ( red, pesto, Alfredo)

 

• Paper/Plastic/Utensils
  dinner plates
  dessert plates
  bowls
  cups (for hot/cold beverages)
  napkins
  forks
  spoons
  knives
  serving utensils

 

Please put in your Name & contribution in the comment section.

 

Directions to Sullivan County

Get Directions to Family Friendly Catskills LakeHouse We are staying in two homes. The 1st one will be referred to as the “Bethel House”. It is located not too far from where I lived when I 1st moved there. It is also the place where the infamous Woodstock festival was held in 1969. If you listen carefully, you may hear Jimmy Hendrix playing…… Maybe after so many drinks.

The Bethel house will be available July 2nd. I will be arriving early to get the keys and meet the owner.

The address:  363 Hurd Road, Bethel NY, 12783

Directions:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/363+Hurd+Rd/@41.7111734,-74.8811393,18z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89dca6044cfe4481:0x3482c843d4bf4e73

 

The 2nd home is the “Sackett Lake” home.  The home will be available Wednesday July 3rd.  Check in time is 12 pm.

The Address:  11 Robin St Sackett Lake,  Monticello NY 12701

Directions.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Sackett+Lake+Estates,+27+Old+Congress+Ln,+Monticello,+NY+12701/@41.6256214,-74.747049,18z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x89dcb197db76056b:0x79b84353b8e2bdfa!2m2!1d-74.747306!2d41.626316
See you soon…..