Final Vote/Decision 2011

Hi Family!

My heart is heavy! I wish for the perfect situation in the perfect location at the perfect time that costs little to nothing for us to spend time together as a family. Unfortunately, until someone in our family wins the lottery (and they better build us a big lodge to use) we have to compromise.

I have seen how everyone voted and I have also read all the emails that were sent to me. I want to be very transparent in the decision process. It breaks my heart to think of someone not being able to attend if they want to and THAT is my consideration. The way it stands right now their are families that WANT to come and CANT because of:
1. location (there is a family that will not be able to go to roman nose)
2. date (there is a family that will not be able to come in August)
3. money (there is family that will not be able to pay unless under $100)
then that makes me very sad and I want to fix it. Unfortunately choosing one option over another cancels someone being able to come.

Let me answer some questions that have been asked of me first:
Why are we considering Roman Nose again since we weren't able to stay together and be near our kids when they were napping? I included Roman Nose because the majority of the family enjoyed it there and yes, the separate cabins were a negative but the kitchen and the pool were a big plus.

Why are we considering Falls Creek since the cabin was so "unfortunate" last time? I included Falls Creek because we can stay in a different cabin and we will all be under the same roof so that we can be near our napping kids and everyone really enjoyed the lake and the big kitchen.

Why are we having the reunion on a weekend other than Labor Day? I asked for a vote on this because in our meeting last year it was mentioned that we should look into other dates for several reasons, school being in session, more options @ reserving, previous commitments, job concerns. The vote taken a couple of weeks ago was almost evenly split with a slim majority for August.

How did you vote? I don't mind sharing this because I said I wanted to be transparent. I voted for Roman Nose because I really liked the environment and the sentimentality. I also voted for August because my kids aren't in school yet so Jeff wont have to leave Lubbock at 11 pm after a football game and drive 7 hours and I also won't have to negotiate (likely in court) for the boys to attend since they are always scheduled to be with their Dad for Labor Day. However, I would have been OK with either decision...I also really like Falls Creek and I have always managed to get the boys that weekend one way or another, it just isn't guaranteed. I voted based on my personal situation but neither of the other situations will prohibit us from attending like they will some family members.

Let me propose something:

August 12-15 @ Roman Nose $30/adult OR
September 2-5 @ Falls Creek $30/adult

We really need to make a decision by the end of this week so we will need everyone to consider this fast.

Roman Nose did win the vote so if you wonder why I am still considering Falls Creek it is because when I found out some family couldn't come in August I called Roman Nose to see if we could revisit the date option and Labor Day has already been booked. Since Falls Creek seemed to be more considered than Camp Egan I wanted to offer it as a 2nd option at the original Labor Day date.

When I originally gave the Falls Creek option, I didn't really have a specific cabin in mind and now I do. I noticed that there were a couple of votes for that location so I checked with several churches that looked like they had a better fit for us than where we were last time. The best one was Clinton FBC. They actually have 5 "cooks quarters" that are more like smaller dorms, they each sleep 6 so we would have more options for those that need special consideration. They also just spent 25k upgrading their kitchen last summer. Unfortunately they only have pictures of the outside but I will include them below. This will still be a gamble on how nice it is since we haven't seen it but it could be great. This is pending their committee approval on Sunday but their youth pastor didn't think it would be a problem.

Please place a final vote on the left!!!