Whew!

OMG! The Reunion was so much fun. The lodge was picturesque - and we had a picture perfect day! The games were competitive - thanks Clarica and Lexi! The food was great - it smelled like a wedding I went to when I was 10! The band was great - I got to polka with my son! And, of course, the company was fabulous - I got to meet several "cousins" and find out what they're up to. Thanks to everyone who brought food and travelled out to Forest Hills for a simply spectacular day.

Party Entertainment

News flash! I just hired a live polka band for the Reunion. They'll play from 1-4 pm so don't get there too late! Dick and my dad went to high school together, so it's almost like he's related.

http://www.dicktadyorchestra.com/

Where in the World is.....?

Unfortunately some relatives cannot come to the reunion because they will be out of the country or simply live too far away to make the trip on such short notice. I hope you'll post your whereabouts along this post for everyone to see.

T-shirts for Sale

Alexis is planning to order t-shirts with the logo on them. Please contact her at lifelexi@yahoo.com to place an order. We estimate the price will be $12 per adult shirt, $10 per child shirt.

The Pierogi & Beyond

This weekend at the Giant Eagle Market District stores in South Hills and Shadyside... Celebrate Poland's rich culture of food and music. Jack Tady Polka Quartet performs on Saturday from 1-4 pm at the Shadyside location!

Check your mailbox

The official invitations are in the mail courtesy of Monica. Thanks, Monica, they look great!

Planning Meeting Update

Tonight five of us (Aunt Fran, Debbie, Monica, Bethaney and me) met to keep the balls up in the air. Monica will work on the invitation and get it in the mail this week. We also got kielbasa & sauerkraut, stuffed cabbages (halupki to some of us), and stuginina (hopefully) covered. Combining this with the halushki from my mom and Frank, we have the makings of a very mid-European feast. All I want to know is who's bringing the chow chow?

Planning Meeting

Just a reminder - there's a planning meeting on Tuesday, August 7 at 7 pm at the RIDC Park Max & Erma's.

Husar Family Tree

Ok - I "think" I did this blog thing right?? (This is new to me.) My mom and I worked on the Husar Family tree on Saturday. I will make a nice tree to bring to the reunion and will also make sure I keep it electronically in case anyone would want a copy. Hope to see everyone Tuesday!

DJ and other questions

Since I haven't been in regular contact with anyone, regarding specific arrangements for the reunion, I have a couple questions. Do we have the Polka DJ for the day? Let me know so that I can arrange additional music, if necessary. What is the plan for kids' drinks? Should I bring some Capri Sun's and soda? Lexi mentioned that we might be offering t-shirts with the reunion Logo, for a very reasonable price. Is this a go? How many of the "kids" know how to play LaX (I count at least 5)? If there is a lot of grassy space, they may enjoy tossing the ball around. Will rain have a significant affect on any aspect of our day, and do we need some "plan B's?"

Husar Kopec Tree

Here's a tree created by my Aunt Vernie.....

Family Trees

If you print out these two pages and put them together you have the start of the Stopa family tree. Their daughter, Maria (aka great grandma Prucnal), married Jan Prucnal and gave birth to Anna Prucnal Stanish on 9/8/14... my grandmother (and fellow Virgo).

Visit to the Lodge

Pat, Lexi, Sam, Maya and I took a trip out to the Westinghouse Lodge today. It's such a great place for a party. I just wanted to let everyone know there is a volleyball pit, bocci ball area and horseshoe pit in addition to a baseball field and lots of green grass. If anyone's interested in organizing a tournament, please let everyone know.

Stories/Memories

Got any good stories/memories to share??

Arlene and Stan

As promised, here's a pic of my mom and dad. Thanks, Martha!

Blogging Central

Well, things are really happening. Check out the cool logo created by Alexis for the Reunion. If you need a copy of the graphic for anything you're working on for the reunion, please contact her to get the right type of file.

I've invited lots of people to view the blog. If you forward the link to someone and they say they can't access the blog, that's because I have it set up to only be seen by those invited to see it. So, please send me names and email addresses of anyone you want me to add as a blog reader.

Contingent from GA

Big news - I just read an email from my cousin in Georgia, Susie (Husar) Renstrom, that she was already planning a trip to the Pittsburgh area over Labor Day Weekend so she will be able to work the schedule to be at the big reunion. She was a flower girl in my parent's wedding back in 1961.

We're blogging

My first created blog. Everytime I say I'm going to let this (fill in new technology) fad pass me by, I find a reason to at least try it.

I started this blog for my family to plan our extended family reunion on Labor Day this year. Our first ever reunion, an idea I've kicked around since my dad's mother passed away and I missed the frequent extended family gatherings. In October, my brothers and I had a small brunch in honor of my parents 45th wedding anniversary with some members of their wedding party and a few relatives. It was just so nice to be with all of these people who have known me for my entire life. I still didn't want to take that step to plan the big party until a sage cousin-in-law said someone needs to make sure the next generation knows their family.

So, I made a move and booked a date and place for the party and invited a committee of my cousins and in-laws to plan a reunion. I've started with all MY relatives and hope the guest list will grow. I have very fond childhood memories of spending time with my relative's relatives and friends and would love to see everyone again.

We had our kick-off planning meeting last night at the RIDC Max & Erma's. I naively thought it would take 15 minutes but the ideas were flying. Here are pictures of my family - I'll add a one of my Mom & Dad as soon as I find one. I thought we could try it for a while and see if it's at all interesting to the larger family. There's probably a good way to use this to start tracking the family trees....