Hi! If this all works the way I want it to, we'll be able to have an ongoing conversation about what we want to do this summer to honor mom and dad to recognize and remember what they meant to us.
To start with, I'd like to explain why I've been pushing for getting together for a couple nights at a place that is big enough to hold all of us brothers, sisters, and in-laws. Then I'll summarize what I've heard others say about the idea and tell what I've heard others say about alternatives. Then I'll open it up to an ongoing conversation that will hopefully lead to a great celebration of them and us.
No I meant I’d let them know I cant babysit that weekend. Sorry you thought otherwise. I didn’t see this until now.
I like this website. My thoughts about the house. If we go that route we should get a big enough one that fits all of us but cost is a factor. I’m ok with Donna’s suggestions too. I’m ok with a weekend I’ll just let D&S know ahead of time.
Love
Deb
Hi everyone. I like the page and the pictures! I am open to whatever get together ideas work for people. Weekends work for me. Week days, except Wednesday, would also work.
We have been visiting about the siblings getting together this summer. It would be very nice to get to spend a little more time together to visit and reminisce, maybe even play a little Texas Hold'em. We are OK with getting together 1 or 2 nights somewhere, if others would like to do that. Mid to late August would work best for us. We try to spend a little time with Andy's family the end of July and 1st part of August.
We also think that meeting together for a day for lunch and supper around LPC or CR would work OK for us and others too. It might also be more economical for everyone. We could rent an indoor facility and do a potluck or cook something there. Someplace like the senior center where there is a tv and comfortable chairs, etc. Brothers and sisters could share memories and recipes and we could all enjoy sharing stories.
Just our thoughts.
Doug and Donna
I will talk to Doug and get back to you. We can do a couple nights most any time.
What do we want to do?
I'd like everyone's thoughts even if they're totally different from what I've proposed. Use "Reply" to get in on the conversation.
Keep in mind this is just a starting place. We haven't decided anything yet. I just wanted to test how to link to a website (in this case to a specific property) that came up in my search. I used a site called Airbnb. If you click on this link, you can search for all kinds of places to stay. The link below is to a home in Wisconsin, east of Prairie du Chien. I'm only including it because it fits what we're looking for at a very reasonable price. The price per night goes up to $235 in July/August. Just for the sake of somewhere to begin, take a look at this property. It has five bedrooms!
House in Wisconsin
For practice, please use the reply button to comment on what you think about the property only. If you want to talk about our plans at a more general level, post a reply to the post that begins, "What do we want to do?"
Love the idea of an annual family weekend. I do prefer that it be a weekend, so that I don't have to use as much PTO. I like the type of facility (as I understand it) that Joes family uses. But, this year, we may just have to take what we can find. Then we can discuss future locations and reserve for next year. Just my thoughts.
Every fall, Joe's family gets together for three nights at a converted grainery near Cherokee. It has been converted into a facility with multiple bedrooms, kitchen, living room, a couple dining areas, rec/TV room, wrap-around porch, walking trails, ponds, apple trees, and fire pit. His mom, sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews spend some or all of the extended weekend talking, playing games, eating, taking walks, and reminiscing. Some people get up early and sit out on the porch drinking coffee. Others get up later and stay up later. Being in the same location allows for many kinds of interactions over the weekend.
My original thoughts for our gathering came from all the good times I've had with his family for the past six years. I think it would be wonderful to do something along these lines to be a family, tell stories about mom, dad, and us growing up together. I've also thought it would be cool to use this forum to remember some of the recipes we grew up with (cherry bars, hamburger upside down pie, chipped beef on toast, caramel rolls, brown bread, …) and plan to replicate them while we're together. Plus we could throw some Texas Hold Em in too!
I am going to try to post some options for places to stay if I can figure out how to best show them.
I know not everyone would be able to stay the whole time (I'm thinking two nights - and we can talk here about best nights of the week), so here is where we can hash out options and details. I also know others may want to do something besides one big house. We could find a couple smaller houses in the same area and make that work. Another option proposed would be hotel rooms and use a conference room for gatherings.
Anyway, let's talk by adding comments to this post. Anything added to a post is called a thread. If you want to talk about something completely different, start a new post and everyone will be able to add to that one. Starting a new post will help us keep our conversations separate.
Right now, we've talked about weekends in July or early August. I can't wait to see what we can come up with!