Garza Family Reunion

2009-07-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

we have about 2 weeks for the reunion!! yay!! I am anticipating an awesome turn-out!! everything seems to be falling in to place and I can not wait to see everyone and take lots of pictures!!

Another hotel option...cheaper

2009-05-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

I checked the rate at the Quality inn in Kingsburg. The hotel has been completely renovated so it should be decent and as Yvonne said, "not poochie. I got a rate at 73.99 plus tax. They too will offer a hot breakfast. I blocked out 10 rooms for Friday the 17th thru Sunday the 19th. Call 1-559-897-1022 and ask for Garza reunion rate. I wasnt sure how many rooms to block out. Should I block out more? I dont know how many families plan on getting a hotel but if you plan to you need to do it soon because remember the rooms will come off hold two weeks prior to the event.

2009-05-20T23:11:00.001-07:00

Do you need a Hotel?

I havent put any rooms on hold as of yet. I hope no one has tried to call and make reservations. Sorry time has just flew by. I cant believe the reunion is only months away. And that my son will be 2 years old on July 16th. Wow how time flies. Anyways, I am going to put about 15 rooms on hold at the Holiday Inn, in Selma by Friday the 22nd. If you need a room call the hotel directly (phone number is posted on the left hand side of the blog page) and ask for the Garza rate and book it. Two weeks before the event so after July 3rd the rooms will come off hold and I cannot guarantee the same rate at $95.00. There is also a new Quality Inn right in Kingsburg that I noticed the last time I was there. It looked pretty decent. I will call and check their rates and ask if they can put any rooms on hold for me without a credit card. All hotels work differently so I will let you know. Please blog any questions you may have. I cant wait to see everyone there. Oh yeah and we are planning to have a cake and pinanta at the pool event for my boy, Damien who will have just turned 2 so come ready to party!!!!

2009-05-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

So have you thought about a t-shirt...

There are so many websites that provide custom prints and I wanted to share with you the one Yvonne and I chose this weekend.

We ordered some samples on Sunday morning and I got them in the mail on Tuesday... I could not believe the fast turn around.

Here is the website we went with: they have "hanes tagless t-shirts"

zazzle.com

I also wanted to share the image that we are using.

We choose a light blue t-shirt and decided to put this on the back with our names...

If you would like to use this image, just let me know and I will provide it for you.

Any color, any names...

We will also be buying button pins with Grandma and Grandpa's picture on it to wear in front.

email Beckie

rharper@union.sjsu.edu

85 days and counting.......

2009-04-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks alex and shawna for letting us come over and have a family meeting at your home! the meeting went very well. We discussed the menu, the budget, housing and hotel accomidations, and everything is looking really good. We should be able to do everything we were hoping to do.

Nancy and I will go to rent the Kingsburg High School Pool on 05/01/09, for Sunday 07/19/2009 for the hours of 1130-400, hopfully... when I tried to go on 04/01/09 they changed the date to start the bookings of the pool, SO that is going to be super fun!!

For the Big Day event Saturday 07/18/2009

The Mens Breakfast is still happening please call alex if you planning on attending 559-974-0503
Debbie is doing the slide show. Are you needing anything debbie for this? more pictures of the family members?
Mandi (tio evelio's daughter)and Beckie are working on some activities, but if you have games or ideas please post them.
Family T-shirts have been brought up by many of the family members. if your family is wanting to wear t-shirts for sat, 07/18/2009, like the last reunion then go for it!! my dad's family will be wearing a reunion t-shirt. Beckie is creating a design for us, you can design whatever your family likes.
Another topic of interest is that we are hoping we can house as many families who are having to travel as possible. The hotel rates in Selma are pretty reasonable, but can add up for families, so Kique, Mandi, D'andra, Alex will let me know who from their siblings and parents can host a family or two here. Lisette, Amy Crandell, Lolito/Nora, Karina if you can call me and let me know who from your families would like to stay at someones home or hotel. # 559-238-5538.
Tia Nena and Tio Ramiro will be staying with grandma. There have also been talks about fixing up the casita in the back for another family? we need to meet on that to see what needs to be done, from what I understand just a little TLC.
Lisette does need an estimate to hold rooms at the hotel to get the discounted price so the sooner we know the better!
There are still a few families who haven't responded back wether they will be coming or not. I will be calling just to find out soon if they will be able to make it. There is a rough estimate of 175 people coming!!!

Please post anything or comment on any questions you may have..you can also call me at 559-238-5535...

Family Meeting

2009-02-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

There will be a reunion meeting on
04/04/09 @ 6:00PM, Alex and Shawna's house.

BBQ potluck: bring meat and side dish.

call Alex @974-0503 or Yvonne 238-5535

2009-02-21T22:11:00.000-08:00

Is someone already assigned to working on the slide show? If that person needs some help, I'd be happy to oblige. -Debbi

Here's the Latest..................

2009-02-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

The Budget has been set for $2500.00

Kingsburg Gun Club House rental: 150.00
Food/Drink set-up (decoration) estimated at $850.00
Invitations/postage: $150.00
Kingsburg High School Pool Rental: estimate $100.-150.00 per hour plus lifeguards.

Just a note on the KHS pool:
Depending how many people go to this event, I am pretty much expecting everyone,that is the way "they" charge per hour, also I CAN only reserve this date of 07/19/09 after April 1st, On that date I reserve the pool I MUST have the payment and an estimated head count.

Invitaions and Reply cards have been sent out. Please send in your reply card by the date requested, let your family members who are not on the blog know. We will need at least $30.00 per invitation, if you can send more to contribute to this 2 day event that would be awesome!

If we receive more contributions and have well enough to pay for everything that is budgeted there has been other suggestions that can be done for our reunion, such as..................
Mariachi 's playing at the Gun Club ( Alex were you going to get a quote?)
Photographer for "Our Family" group picture ( can someone get some estimates and post)
Copies for each family of the Slideshow that will be shown
Game stuff for saturday event
BBQ food/Drink for Pool Party

If anyone else has any other suggestions, Questions or comments Please do not hesitate..........

LOOK OUT ....

2009-02-11T13:21:00.000-08:00

Here they come... invitations are in the mail.

2009-02-10T16:32:00.000-08:00

YAY!!! I think we have a least a member from each family on the blog, Finally! Thanks everyone for getting excited about this reunion just as much as Beckie and I are!

Hotel room rates

2009-02-05T22:07:00.000-08:00

Ok so heres the 411 on the hotel for the reunion. I was able to get a group rate at the Holiday inn in Selma it’s a three diamond property (diamonds are AAA ratings) and its about a 20 minute drive from the Kingsburg gun club where the reunion will be held.

I was able to get a rate of 95.00 plus tax per night. Now that rate does include a full breakfast at their restaurant onsite. That’s a really good rate, it normally goes for about 149.00. I checked another hotel the Colonial inn Selma that property is a 2 diamond and does not include breakfast and they gave me the same rate at 95.00. So I think the holiday inn would be a better choice. There is also a Super 8 that I can check if 95 dollars seems to high for anyone but that one is rated a 1 diamond. I usually book my customers including myself in at least a 3 diamond property maybe a 2 but definately not a one diamond. Ok ok you can call me a hotel snob but I dont mind paying just a little bit more for something a little nicer and cleaner. You can always get one room with two beds and split the cost up 2 ways even 3 or 4 ways depending on whome you room with. I will go ahead and check to see what rate I can get for the super 8 tomorrow. Then maybe we can block some rooms out there then some at the Holiday inn. That way everyone can choose based on price and quality where they would like to stay.

How it would work is I would be able to block out a certain amount of rooms out and as people decide if they want to stay there will need to call them direct and ask for the Garza reunion rate and book it or let me know and I can call for you. You would have to give a cc to guarantee the room so actually it may be best that you call directly then you would pay when you get there upon check in. Then 2 Weeks prior to to the date of the reunion the rooms will be released back into the inventory. So everyone who wants to book a room would have to call by July 3rd. Cause im thinking people will most likely need the room for 2 nights July 17-19, Friday thru Sunday. Correct?

Now I know that Amy has connections too so Amy you may want to check that same hotel to see what rate you are able to get. It’s the Holiday inn Selma Swan Court in Selma. In the meantime I think I should go ahead and block out some rooms since it won’t cost us anything, the only question is how many rooms should I block out?

Now I only checked rooms in Selma is there another city I should check? I think that Selma would be the closest to Kingsburg Right? What about Visalia how far is that from Kingsburg? Should I check Visalia? I dont know please advise Kingsburg folks.

2009-01-11T22:46:00.000-08:00

Found this photo after cleaning out my closet. This is grandma blowing out her birthday cake on her 90th B-day...April 2002. Did she really have 90 candles? This picture reminded me that she enjoys the time when her loved ones are together and will blow out 90 candles or even hit a pinata.

Yvonne mentioned something about celebrating grandma's b-day when we get together. I think it is a great idea. She will be 97.

Name Game continues..........

2009-01-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

Lets keep this game moving.....
To the left of the screen under "Name Game" Grandpa Pablo and Grandma Casimira's kids are named with their spouse and their children. It is time to extend that,Lets get Grandma Casimira's great grandchildren and or great-great grandchildren named, but first there are a couple of Grandma Casimira's grandkids missing.........

TAG Alice and Tonia your it.....
Can you name tio Char's oldest daughter and youngest son?

Also, name tia Nena's baby boy and spouse.

Official Date

2009-01-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

The majority vote was for the weekend of July 25th however, Adam was told that there is another party reserved on that date so Adam will reserve the Gun Club Hall on July 18th. It is possible that other events for that Friday 07/17/09 and Sunday 07/19/09 will be planned but more details to come.

Let's get this Party started!!

2008-12-29T21:27:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share with everyone some details for the Reunion.
Adam is still waiting on the Gun Club Lady to see if we can get 07/25/09 reserved.
Beckie is working on the invites and reply cards, so we will need everyones address, if she does not have it either myself or Beckie will be calling to get it.
Adam will be taking care of the food/menu for the event. He will be contacting people he needs for help.
Nancy has opened up a bank accout for the donations that are needed to help pay for this event. The invitations will state more details and the $ can be sent with the reply cards.
We will need several volunteers to help for this party to set-up and clean-up, also if anyone has ideas for entertainment during the lunch/dinner, please let us know.
Lisette and Amy any hotel rates?
Who can Host a family or two?

Can we make this date official?

2008-12-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

It would be nice to set the official date for the reunion.

JULY 26th, 2009

Adam: Can you check with the Gun Club about July 26th& 27th. This weekend seems to be the popular vote.

It also looks like the Gun club reservation will be a one day event and any other BBQ's or get togethers can be determined later.

Once the prices on catering are determined then we can work on the invite/flyer to send out ASAP.

Lissette: Did you check on the local hotels for discount prices?

Yvonne, Nancy & Esther: How are the catering quotes coming along?

Yvonne: Can you scan the "La Garza" card in Loteria?

If you haven't checked out the Shutterfly Photo Gallery, you have to check it out...Esther and Kique just posted some pictures of the reunion 16 years ago... Keep loading photos, they will be so much fun to look at on a slideshow... if you need access just leave your email and Debbi or I can get you started.

What are you thankful for?

2008-11-27T08:21:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Off the reunion subject for just a little bit I though it would be cool for us to say what we are thankful for this Thanksgiving day.

The Next Question.

2008-11-26T09:48:00.000-08:00

So there has been discussion about catering for the reunion, either with an outside agency or with local resources...it all needs to be paid for.

So the poll on the side is...

1. Do we require everyone to pay that wants to attend?

This could be anywhere from $15-20 per person (kids at a lower rate)

2. Do we ask for a Donation?

This would be an option for those who cannot afford a per person plate.

We can also state a "Suggested Donation" of the amount per person it would cost.

Everyone's input is needed ;)

Adam's Post

2008-11-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a post from Adam. You can find the original comment here, he just needed a little help posting a new post.

Hi everyone it's Adam. First off I love the whole idea of a reuninon so I am willing to do what ever is needed to get this done. The friends that cooked at my wedding are the frends I had in mind. They didn't charge for their labor only the materials, but I wouldn't ask them to do that for this. Keep in mind that I had all the turkey meat donated from another friend and my wedding was over three years ago and the price of food has gone up. After saying that I fed over 500 people for less that 500 dollars. For those of you in washington thats a dollar a person :) Now that is just the cost of the rice, green beans, rolls, salad, and fruit salad. I have helped these same friends with other weddings and catering jobs. The trick is to have the food done before the party starts. The way that this is accomplished is a simple menu and preperation. For instance Alex and I have talked about deep pitting a pig. Not a bad idea. I bought a hog for a friends family today. The price was $1.00 a pound. 200 pound pig, $200.00. A friend has a special bbq to rotiserie a whole pig and a technique to cook chicken inside it at the same time. A pig that size would feed about 200 people and take 3 hours to cook. The up side is that to prep it would only take half an hour, after that it would be just adding charcoal. What I am getting at is I have access to all of my friends equipment and the gun clubs equipment, it would just be replacing them with us. I will still ask what thier cost would be and let you guys know. When I was shopping for my wedding caterers I found a Mexican outfit that was $5.00 for a plate of rice, beans, chile verde and tortillas. I like the idea of Deya handling the money. If I were to cook I would buy all the stuff before and then send my receipts to Daya to be reviewed and payed back. In closing I don't want to sound like I want to take charge of anything, just want to help out. I feel kind of guilty that I haven't been to washington since Oscar's wedding and am willing to go the extra mile to make that up. Also e-mails can sound kind of cold sometimes and if any body wants to call me they can 559-908-9838 thanks
November 25, 2008 3:43 PM

What about Adam?

2008-11-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

Let's not forget to check with Adam... he just signed on the blog we us. He has lots of resources and before there are any definite plans about catering and food, we should hear from him.

He actually might be a good resource to hold the donations for the food & place because of his membership to the Gunclub.

Name Game Updates

This is the official move to use Great and Great-Great Grandchildren in the game. Don't forget the spouses!

Tags still not answered:

Alice & Tonia tagged Paul & Norma: Name Tia Ninfa's kids and spouses.

Mandy McDonlad tagged Vicki Bentley: Name Tio Hector's Grandkids

Mandy Rivera tagged Washington People: Name souses of Annie, Alice, Danny & Mandy

Use this post for tagging and comments!

Step taken so far for the reunion.....

2008-11-23T22:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend me, Nancy, Beckie, Greece and her husband Shawn, Alicia, and Yvonee got to sit down after all the fun and messy games and discuss and throw around some ideas on where we should start and what steps should be taken next for this reunion to become a reality. Cause time flies and before you know it July will be here. So with that being said it looks like the majority of everyone so far wants the reunion catered which was my vote as well. I think this is a great idea so we dont have to worry about the food, set up and clean up. So where we stand right now is Nancy will be calling some local caterers within the next few weeks and getting an estimate of how much per person for a plate, 13 years old and up. Younger children were thinking may only have to pay a couple of dollars not full price. But how much all depends on the price though so thats not set in stone yet. We are thinking Mexican food which is inexpensive and tastey. Everyone agree? Also, we talked about how we would go about collecting the money and how that would work. I didnt mention it there cause I wanted to talk to Deya, my sister before I offered her up to the resposibilty (she missed out on all the fun had the yucky cold thats going around and stayed home) Anyway she is great at managing money, very trust worthy and really organized and has agreed to it. So what we would do if everyone is ok with it she will open up a subaccount under her account but name it Garza Family reunion but any checks for payments for the food and any other expenses we think everyone should contibute to would have to be made out to her so she can deposit into that account. She would have record of it and can even send out a reciept once your payment has been recieved if you would like. Does anyone have a problem with her doing this?

Also, once we set the date a flyer will be sent to everyones home were hoping by mid or end of December. Very important we will need everyone to rsvp by email or phone to myself or Yvonne. Phone numbers and emails I will post later. Then once the rsvp's start rolling in and we have an idea of whos coming and whos not we will set a deadline as to when your money has to be paid by. All that will follow later so keep on checking the blog for important news.

Any other ideas and input is welcome. It did really help though being together and talking about it. So consider us The Garza reunion committe if you guys have any questionsor would like to be part of the committe let one of us know. Lets make this happen. When I talked to Grandma this weekend I felt that she feels like its a big big challange and hopes we can pull it of. I told her she just needs to stay healthy and that it is going to happen. So lets all pray for her and keep her strong and healthy for the Reunion and many more years to come. Alright until next time its past my bed time.

Thanksgiving Celebration

2008-11-23T14:13:00.000-08:00

We got together at grandma's to celebrate Thanksgiving this past saturaday,11/22/08. This was a nice day and it was great to get together again!! Everyone seemed to have a good time!! There are more photos on the family site at Shutterfly so check them out!!
Alex came up with some games. Here are some clips of the them, I hope you like them.

This was the CHUBBY BUNNY game! They had to stuff big marshmello's in their mouths a say

"chubby bunny" It's not that easy!!

For this game there was a pie pan full of flour and a piece of bubble gum hidden in there. The players could only use there mouths!! At the end of this game Esther does make a bubble and wins! Watch Cindy next to Esther she puts her whole face in the pan!!

This was Musical Oatmeal! You can either pie yourself to stay in the game or pie some one else and your out!! Poor Kique got pied twice by Karissa and then Larry!! Joey was pied my Mandy his mom! This is just a clip of the game when it was already the end.

2008-11-20T16:50:00.001-08:00

Ok people, Mandy has arrived. Tio Paul's twin sister is Tia Emma and her husband is Tio Joe and their kids are Nancy and Alex - Tio Charin's twin ;).

I am tagging Mrs.Victoria Bentley and she needs to tell us all the names of Tio Hector and Tia Celia's grandkids.

GARZAFAMILYREUNION

2008-11-20T10:09:00.001-08:00

Abuelita Casimira

2008-11-19T20:59:00.000-08:00

Grandma really would like all her family here for this reunion, so we thought we could send out kinda an invite to everyone so that the family could get excited and wanna come to see her! All she kept saying when we were doing this was that it was going to be "BIG" She knows how big her family is!!

Family Photos

2008-11-16T19:25:00.000-08:00

These are some of my favorite family photos! I hope you all like them.

Let's Play the Name Game.

2008-11-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would start some action on this blog spot with a fun name game. There are so many people in this family, we need to know everyone's name. Also, we need more contributors from the family.

Name Game Tag... if someone "tags" you, you are it.
For the first round, we will start with Children & Grandchildren.
Once everyone has been named, we will move on to Great and Great-Great Grandchildren.

Here are the Rules:
1. You can ask someone to name anyone in the family (max 5).
Example: " Name family members who live in Parlier" or " Name three of Tio Paul's children.
2. So, yes, this might be easier at first... until we get down to the great and great-great...
3. I will be placing a list off to the side once the name has been used. Once a Name is listed either in a question or anwer, it is out of play
4. Once a Name is listed in either a question or anwer, it is out of play
5. Make sure the person you are 'tagging" knows...if they are a member or you have their email... or even if you have direct contact with them, I think it will be fun!!!

Let's Start ...

TO: NANCY
FROM: BECKIE

Name Five Children of Tio Char and Tia Aurora

2008-11-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

We have two spare bedrooms and a travel trailer that will sleeps 6.

2008-11-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

It's time to plan a Reunion!

Grandma Casamira is now 96 years old and has a family of 208 (anyone know exactly?) It is time to celebrate.

Join us on this site to get info and share with others.

So What has been talked about?

1. July 2009 looks like the best time to plan, vote for the best weekend possible on the left hand side.

2. Adam has access to the Gun Club in Kingsburg, which will be a large enough place to hold us all. The cost of this is $150.00 a day... does this sound like a possibility?

3. BBQ, Potluck or Catered? Vote for this one too!

4. Traveling plans: Since this will mostly affect the family in Washington and Texas/Mexico we need to know who is willing to open up your home for people to stay.

So far: Alex, Yvonne, D'andra have offered their house for anyone to stay.

Let us know what you think.

All Family Members are welcome to post comments, information and pictures. Join us!

Yvonne and Beckie

Email addresses

2008-11-06T23:09:00.001-08:00

If you would like to contribute to this blog, just leave your email and I'll add you to the site.

-Beckie

Time to pick a date

2008-11-05T21:26:00.000-08:00

On the left hand side vote for the weekend that works best for you.