2013 M&M Grabow Family Christmas!!!!!!

I know people are very curious about what is going on since we didn't approve staying at Falls Creek again during last years meeting.

The reason we decided to consider other locations was primarily because they went up on their insurance cost to $10 a day vs. $4 a night which is what we originally paid. This ended up costing us more than double. The year before they had charged $6 a day. I did get a little bit of a price break for 2012 after talking to administration but was told that it was a 1 time deal. Paying per day is obviously more than paying per night and the per night price just seemed like an impossibility.

I have been checking into several different options trying to find something we could use. If anyone has any suggestions now would be the time to send them to me for research because I would like to lockdown a location. I have already contacted a LOT of places so I listed them below, if you have a suggestion not on the list, let me know:

Arrowhead State Park (Camp Harbin)
Black Mesa State Park & Nature Preserve
Boiling Springs State Park (2 camps)
Beavers Bend Resort Park (2 camps)
Camp Egan
Lake Eufaula State Park
Lake Murray State Park (3 camps)
Mount Sequoyah Camp
Osage Hills State Park
Red Rock Canyon State Park
Robbers Cave State Park (2 camps)
Roman Nose Resort Park
Sequoyah State Park
Lake Wister State Park
Western Hills Guest Ranch

First, I reviewed all of our previous locations:
**Mt. Sequoyah no longer has a house for us and nothing else practical for a family.
**Western Hills didn't have anything practical for us as we are too large to fit where we did before, the lodge is pricey and all meals would be catered.
**Roman Nose had no availability and there were still concerns about no AC in the cabins and convenience from lodging to dining hall
**Camp Egen has a new home that would be great for us, we can no longer fit where we stayed before. It is a bit pricey and 1 meal would be catered but even though it is more that we've paid the last few years it is comparable to what Falls Creek would be with the new prices they went up to last year. The appx price chart is below:


With all that being said, David and Kelli suggested checking out Robbers Cave State Park. They have 2 group camps and after visiting with them the layout was very promising and the location seemed like a lot of fun. The problem was that because they are primarily original buildings they are listed in the National Registry of Historic Sites and so they can not put in AC, this includes the kitchen and dining hall having no AC which really would not work for us at all.

This led me to checking other OK State Parks with group camps. I wanted to find out if any of them might be arranged a little more conveniently and what fun amenities there might be. I called every single one and ended up discarding all of them due to either not being available, having no AC or being too rustic with no practical bathroom facilities.

I really had no other ideas at this point and knew I would be asking the rest of you for ideas so I decided to go ahead and put a tentative hold on the Clinton Cabin at Falls Creek so we would at least have a place to go before things booked up.

NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS! I spoke to Falls Creeks office to check into the hotel rooms they have near the office for anyone who doesnt want to stay in the house bunks and found out that they are AVAILABLE! The group who has rented them the last few years isnt coming so at this point those are open for anyone who wants to spend a little more for that comfort/privacy. The most expensive is $32 per night so it is reasonable.

The even BETTER news is that the board of directors met after receiving many complaints from the churches owning the cabins about the exorbitant cost of the insurance and the new rate is $5/NIGHT! That is great for us.

I would suggest that we go here again. We have stayed here 2 years in a row and last year we had trouble with part of the AC but they did come fix it. They have a great kitchen and have 5 private apartments which is VERY rare after calling and checking at what seems like a million different locations. If anyone has another idea, I would be glad to check into other options but I have nothing left up MY sleeve. I've exhausted every option I could find so let me know what y'all want to do! Thanks, Val :)

2012 M & M Grabow Family Reunion

Hi Family!!! I wanted to find out how many people are planning to attend this years reunion so that we can make some meal/cost/schedule plans. After last years reunion location was so successful it was voted on in the meeting to reserve it again for this year and keep it on the same weekend.

There were several things decided in our meeting and I wanted to put them on this site so that they will be public (I started to say official, but I guess they were official when they were voted on last year):

Merry Christmas: The aunts voted and decided that there need to be official rules that are clear and clarify all the confusion that inevitebly pops up. #1the first person to bingo gets to choose from ALL gifts at the end, even the frozen ones. #2Gifts will be frozen after touching 3 hands. (this means 3 owners, 2 steals). #3 If you yell "Bingo" instead of "Merry Christmas" you have to wait until you get another bingo.

Prayer time: This will be on Sunday evening from now on. We did Sun Morning this last time and the Caton's usually will have to miss this, we have done Mon Morning as we left in the past and that was too rushed.

Location/time: Falls Creek, Clinton FBC Cabin, Labor Day weekend, Fri evening through Mon morning (some will choose to arrive Sat morning and some will choose to leave Sunday)We had a ton of space, we didn't use the 2nd floor dorm at all (except for the kids to play in)& we had 5 private apartments. There was a lovely deck outside to relax on and everyone that took time to hike loved it (even my teens who got lost).

Swimming: It was decided to choose just 1 swim time to save cost. They have kayaks now in addition to the inflatables and the long slide...we had a GREAT time. For those who didnt want to swim there was plenty of shade if they came over to watch

Tourney: We will have a cornhole golf tourney again....this was really fun last year.

Grabow's Crazy Bridge: This will continue

Meals: We will just organize 4 meals (Sat & Sun, bfast and dinner) the other meals will be on your own...this last year everyone brought sandwich stuff and we all kind of combined it, sometimes we added in leftovers and it worked very well. The kitchen had plenty of storage/fridges/appliances along with a nice serving bar.

Scavenger Hunt: This was new this last year but was requested to return. It started upon arrival so this is extra incentive to arrive early.

T-shirts: requested to have again

Safety Gate: decided we need this to keep small ones off the stairs

Deposit/Cost: A LOT of discussion was had about the need for a deposit. The per person amount for the weekend is decided after dividing the total cost of the weekend by the amount of people attending. The cost last year was set and then several family members were not able to come and we ended up with a deficit of over $600 if my memory is correct. Aunt Viola would know for sure. (this is not including the auction where we made $191...woohoo us!) Our account which had been steadily building a balance took a major hit. It was decided that each adult coming would need to pay a $25 deposit that would be non-refundable by June 15th. We will not know how much the reunion will cost until we know for sure how many people are coming after deposits are received. Obviously cost will play a part in your decision about coming to the reunion but we can guarantee that it will not be more than $75 per adult for the entire 4 days. It could be as low as $40 as it has been in the past. Remember that teenagers are half price and kids (through age 12) are free. If you are only coming as day use(not staying the night) the cost is cut in half. This is really pretty cheap for 3 nights even at the high end and the building/location was really worth the money.

I am creating an event invitation on the facebook page that you can RSVP to. If you have any questions, please let me know. Deposits can be mailed to me at 11609 Milwaukee Ave, Lubbock TX 79424. If you intend to come and need an extension on the due date, please let me know....I GET IT

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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!!!

Voting Results

Date: We were pretty evenly split on the date vote and the August date just barely beat the Labor Day vote. I understand the plus's of both dates. In August, school hasn't started yet so school events don't interfere and we avoid many other conflicts that arise with Labor Day. In September we get to take advantage of the Labor Day holiday so those that get that day off work don't have to take time off. Since the August date did beat out the Labor Day date I will still plan the weekend based on leaving Monday just like if we had a long weekend and hopefully people will be able to take Monday off work and stay the whole time so we still have the longer weekend. Worst case scenario, if we hate it this year we will know for next year and go back to Labor day!

Location:
Roman Nose was the overwhelming majority but there was a significant vote to at least review the other options so here they are and I won't make a decision until everyone has had a chance to vote based on the other options.

I looked at a LOT of options and they were all extremely expensive or we would be scattered quite a bit and wouldnt have a great meeting location. I am including the cheapest option that I found that would allow us to be in one building but have comfortable places to stay and not cooking all our meals. I am also including a location with similar cost to Roman Nose but that might be questionable on the lodging.

There is a new poll on the left hand side of the page.

I will include the cost and the mileage from the 3 furthest attenders (st. louis, lubbock and CA)

option 1: Roman Nose
Dining Hall/meeting room, seperate cabins, cooks quarters in dining for David & Kelli with my new sweet niece or nephew (also for nap use)
meals: provide your own lunch. Breakfast & Dinner will be divided among families
mileage: St. Louis=567 , Lubbock=356, Moreno Valley=1279
cost: one fee for 3 nights or pay day use (pay the same even if staying less time)
children to age 12 free, teens 1/2 price, adults $30 (overnight), $20 (day use)



option 2: Falls Creek
We didn't like our cabin last time, but we could find a new building. The downside is that we are choosing by pictures and so we won't know if it is great until we see it. Mens/womens bathrooms with cooks quarters that would be David & Kelli's.
meals: provide your own lunch, breakfast and dinner divided among families
mileage: St. Louis=571 , Lubbock=344 , Moreno Valley=1375
Cost: almost identical to Roman Nose, will be dependant on building

option 3: Camp Egan
We stayed in the Creekside Cabins last time, they have a new lodge that is similar to the house we stayed at Mt. Sequoyah, with hotel style rooms upstairs and a large meeting room downstairs. It is not next to the creek where there was concern with the kids. (pictures of the lodge at the bottom of this post.
meals: provide your own breakfast, cookout at the lodge for lunch, dinner in the cafeteria (7.50, kids 2-7 are 1/2 price)
mileage: St. Louis=393 , Lubbock=509 , Moreno Valley=1469
Cost: kids 2-7 are $16/night, all others are $32/night



Here are the pictures of Holliman Lodge at Camp Egan:

Grabow Christmas 2011

I looked over the notes from last years meeting and the information I see indicates that most of the family prefers to go back to Roman Nose. I know that there were some concerns, these were what was listed:

spiders in the cabins
comfort of the cabins
having to cook
no carpet

My question is, if these are your concerns will they prevent you from attending? Are there other concerns that weren't listed here?
Can I get some general feedback on how everyone feels?

I have checked into alternate locations as requested and I can include this information if Roman Nose isn't desired but I havent done that yet because the price seems prohibitive. Let me know what you are all thinking!

Most of the feedback was in regards to meals. Some LOVED to cook, some HATED to cook. I have several really good ideas but give me your feedback.

There are a couple of polls on the left, PLEASE give us your feedback.

Roman Nose has it!

The vote was overwhelming for Roman Nose. Kelli and I will be working out the details and will get them to you but we still need to get your feedback on one more thing.

The food.

Do you want them to prepare our meals or do you want to take turns.

We have worked a schedule where each person will have one meal that they are responsible for (along with their team). This means shopping, purchasing, cooking, cleaning up. If we decide to do this we would divide everyone up and it should work to where we have 3-5 adults in each meal group. You and your group would be responsible for ONE meal during the reunion.

The other option is to have the meals provided by Roman Nose. In order to keep costs down we would choose one entree selection for each meal along with sides.

In either option, we will publish the menu early so that you will know if there is a meal that you don't like and need to bring PB&J along.

Please comment with your feedback and vote in the poll on the left.

Thanks!