Handing Over The Reins


Hi all. Sorry to be a party pooper over the reunion. Due to my move not going so well, I handed over the reins for the reunion to Bryan, Betty Lou and Marilyn. They are having a breakfast together this morning and will discuss what they will or will not do. So, once I hear, I will try to post it on the blog.

As for the blog, I am moving to the boonies and so none of the usual Internet options are available. Gregg and I are looking into options and I will tell you right now Explornet will not be one of them. I along with a zillion other people are having trouble with both google and blogger so may have to make a new family blog. If that happens I will put the data on face book. 

That's the update for now. If you are so inclined to help B, BL and M please contact them and offer your assistance. Would be nice to see the reunion still be on. If all else fails, then please attend the larger Fleming one that is to be held in Stettler. For info please go on Facebook to Fleming Fun Fest 100 and the info is there. Or contact Jennifer Scott who is listed on there for details. I have the details just can't save them to my computer for whatever reason. Below will take you to the web page.

http://flemingfamilyfunfest.ca 

Enjoy

Jean

Thanks to Michelle for taking on the challenge of doing games for the kids. Also, I put the challenge out to Justin to see if he could come up with a tent for the day  - messaged him on Facebook, but not sure if he has even read it. So, if someone else has time, please investigate a tent for the day. I think because of my move the activities may have to be scaled back somewhat, but please feel free to bring pictures of your family through the years or older pictures your parents may have had and are now in your possession. Food I will take care of so be prepared to eat. I don't have time to complete the cook book, so am going to send the recipes I have collected on to the Jennifer Scott for inclusion in the larger Fleming cookbook. My children will not be able to attend. Geoff and Nicole are way behind on their house build, so Nicole needs to be here, Gregg is doing a one-man-show at his place of employment so will not be able to get away and it looks like Gabie may not be able to get away from work - the operational demands right now dictate that she is needed at work. So, you are stuck with me representing my family. Are any of you going to attend the larger Fleming Fun Fest 100 on August 2,3,4, and 5th? I am considering it. Just depends on how many days off I need to take for this move. Moving to the country is a wee bit different than a move within the city. All sorts of things come up. So, take care and I will try to up date later. I am not sure how getting a new Internet service provider is going to work with my blogs, so if you don't see anything here, it means I couldn't get in and will probably have to start a new one. If there are any changes I will post on Face book.

Take care - enjoy whatever summer you are having - rainy, hot, snowy, etc.

Cheers
Jean

UPDATES

The Vince and Ruth Fleming family reunion is still on July 13th at Bow Valley Provincial Park the east campground (Willow). I need a couple of volunteers to camp out there on the Friday night and the get us a nice big spot early - very early Saturday morning. I will need to get the final food prep. done and probably pick some items up on my way out, so I need volunteers. Gabie and Nicole were going to do it, but Gabie can't leave Manitoba until the 12th and I can't see them setting up the trailer in the dark. If no one wants to camp on the Friday night, then I would need a volunteer to be out there very early the next morning to grab the tables and hopefully a shelter. I haven't been there in a few years, they use to have three shelters and I think the one closest to the entrance would be great. I need some one to look into a tent (large) rental for that day. I had a lead but got no response as yet. Since I sold my house and have to be out by the 27th of June, and haven't found anything yet, I will probably need more help on from the Alberta side. I would also like to have a tentative head count by the end of May. I have been stock piling items and need to know when to stop. Michelle has offered (or so Nan told me) to do the kids games. So Michelle you are "it". In my world I would like to see some old fashioned races so we will need some gunny sacks (potato sacks), does some one have access to any? We will also need some men's ties for three legged races. Other than that I though a relay race would be cool. Does anyone have 3 or 4 pairs of diving/snorkeling flippers we could use? The rest of the relay race is a surprise! I would like someone to get some Bristol board to pin up all the family pictures you will be bringing. Please think of stories there will be a tape recorder floating around. Also, I would like to do a baby-now picture game. So, could you please let me know if you have a picture of yourself as a baby and one now that I could borrow for the day. That is all on that account for today.

The Fred and Hannah Fleming reunion is on the August long weekend in Stettler. That is the big wild one. I understand that we rowdy Flemings have been asked not to return to a couple of places, so think one big long party. There is a weekend charge for that one that will cover one large communal meal and to keep the hot dog pit going. I think my Gregg ate about 4 dozen one year and he was only about 9. They also usually have baseball, golf, sometimes skits or singing and a whole lot of visiting going on. I have called my contacts for info and should have that in a few days. I will post it here. In Stettler there will be hotels/motels available for the non-campers and I will assume there will be a campground involved as we always do those reunions at a campground. So those are the updates thus far.

Enjoy your weekend.

Jean

SOON

I will get back to the reunion. My house sold, I have to be out by June 28th so I really need a week or so to find a place.

Take care

Jean

GET BUSY - JEAN

Guess now that the birthdays are over, I better get back to the family reunion preparations. Not too much left to do, but if you are reading this, please let me know how many from your family - extended family etc. are going to be attending. Just need it for arranging the games and for how much food to bring.  For those who are traveling just remember to get comfortable - instructions below

And to get you in the mood for some good food

Yes, you will be smiling at the assortment of goodies available to enhance your reunion experience.

So, let me know how many, and go enjoy this beautiful week we have been blessed with.

Jean

PS Congratulations to Jennifer Tryon and Jamie ?? on their wedding this past Saturday. Another wonderful thing to celebrate in the merry month of May.

NOTHING NEW....
 on the Reunion front. I need to get through the end of next week and all our Birthday celebrations and then I will buckle down. Have been doing some behind the scenes stuff, but nothing earth shattering.

Jean

JUST A QUICK NOTE

As many of you know, Mary Langman and John Fleming are working on the other side of the family - the Smail and the Anderson info. To that end she would like you all to bring pertinent data to the reunion for her. She is looking for the following:

1. Full names of everyone in your family
2. Birth dates of everyone in your family
3. Marriage dates
4. Dates of any deaths
5. Places of deaths
6. Places of internment and I believe if you have the actual site data, she would like that - so i.e. mom and dad are in Queens Park Cemetery in Calgary in section J and lot number ?? Sorry I have to look it up every time. I only go there about once a year.  She says that she only needs it from 1971 onwards, but I suspect it would help if you went back before that as I know not all dates and info are correct.

I am busy with year end this week as well as computer issues at work, so will add more Reunion fodder next week.

Have a great rest of the week. Get out and enjoy the warmth (if you have some), and the sunshine (ditto).

Jean

G'DAY

I was not able to book a group camping site, so.... we will be holding the reunion at Bow Valley Provincial Park - Willow Rock side. Take #1 west to the 1X turnoff, go north and it is on the right hand side. I will have FLEMING signs out or maybe even cheerleaders to get your attention. There is flush toilets, showers, electricity and shelters there. We are also looking at getting a large tent just in case. There are campsites available, but on a first come first serve basis. We have designated the Kehler ladies and man (Gregg) as well as Christine to camp Friday night and to then in turn get up at the crack of dawn to claim one of the shelters. I am sooooo excited. Don't need a second cup of coffee today for sure!

I have decided the cookbooks that I am doing up, will be for sale with the proceeds going to a charity. Also if anyone of you crafty people out there would like to put some of your jewelery, sewing, quilting, woodworking, soapstone carving etc. up for sale we will set up an area for you. If you would like to put some of your proceeds (10% maybe) towards charity that would be great - if not that will be fine also. With that being decided, I would like to know what type of charity you would like the proceeds to go to. The options are: something medical i.e. Heart and Stroke, a hospital charity, autism; something social i.e. a food bank, homeless shelter; or something such as sponsoring a child to go to camp. I am open to other suggestions. Please let me know. Thank you to all that have sent over recipes. For those of you who haven't, I would like them by the end of May. Please send two or three if possible - family favourites, healthy choice, of course being Flemings we all do well at desserts. I will take any and all.

DETAILS
We have a place, we have a sale, we have people - let the fun begin. Now it is time to get buried in the details.

CRAFTS
I am looking for someone to come up with a craft for the kids. The crafty age kids will be 2 to about 12. Breakdown is roughly Babies - 4, One to Twos - 1, Three & Fours - 4, Five & Six - 2, Seven & Eight - 2, 9 & up - 3. We also will probably have 1 extra 6 year old as Cobi's brother has told us in no uncertain terms we will not be leaving him home this year!

RACES
1. Relay race - three legged, sack, flipper run, wheelbarrow.

2. Water balloon toss - Icy Cold Bow River or Icy Cold Kananaskis River - your choice.

3. For the smalls - Telephone (aka pass the secret).

4. Capture the Flag - again the Tryons cannot be on one team!

5. Scavenger Hunt

6. Interview where we will secretly interview each other and at the end of the day we will guess who the person is by the questions asked.

7. Minute to Win It - no explanation needed

7. Crib Tourney

We won't probably play all these games, just ideas to put out there. Any other ideas? Not sure we can play baseball exactly where we are, but can set it up on the other side of the highway. Sonny is on my team hahahaha!

PICTURES
Pamela Retzer is a fantastic photographer and I am hoping to persuade her to do a bit of behind the scenes pictures. John also enjoys photography and am hoping he will bring his camera also. On the fun side, we did this at a wedding a couple of years back and I am going to get a few disposable cameras and let the kids go at it. You will be surprised what comes out of the mouths (pictures) of babes.

There will be a couple of photo games as well. One is the baby-now picture match up as well I would like people to bring pictures of family, places (where you may have lived) or other significant pictures where people can look at the picture and guess where it is and who it belongs to.

FOOD
I have most of the food organized already. There will be a small "hit list" of people who I will get to pick up things on their way out. However, the majority of it is already either boxed up or in my nice freezer awaiting the day. Menu is a surprise, but having said that we do have ALLERGIES in the family, so if you choose to bring some additional treats please do not include: Peanuts and oranges. If there are others who have food allergies, please let me know as for some people it is a life and death event and I want to send everyone home healthy and happy.

I will be either facebook, calling or emailing those who I am asking for a bit of help, so stay tuned. If you have questions, let me know.


Jean

HELLOOOO

I haven't still heard only from two people as to where to have the reunion. If I don't get some action soon, I will call it off for lack of interest.

Jean

DATE CHANGE

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, please note that the Reunion date has been changed back to the 13th of July. Sorry if you all ran out today and booked the time off. I really hope this weekend works better and that you will all still attend.I will not send out a newsletter about this change, so please let everyone in your family know about the change

Thanks

Jean

YOUR HOT LITTLE HANDS........

should have the newsletter in them as I write. I have had two responses, both for the Calgary area, but no concrete ideas. I need concrete ideas please. I have not lived in Alberta for 34 years. Please don't count on me to know all the good "Hot Spots". Reminder the date is July 20th. If you really need it moved back to the 13th. Please let me know. There seems to be more objection to the 20th than the 13th.

Let's get the ideas flowing!

You all enjoy the weather this week.


Jean

IF YOU ARE LUCKY!

You will receive a newsletter in the mail this week. My computer won't do a "save" or a "save as" and I got it onto a flash drive, but hey I work on 2010 at home and my computer at work is only on 2003. And it looked so nice. I will see if I can get it printed today and into the mail tomorrow. There is always a way to get around computer problems - thank goodness for that.

The date for the reunion has been changed till July 20th. I know that the 13th was a no-go for some and it became a no-go for me also. Book your time off and mark it on your calendar.

Congratulations to David and Heather Maloney. After much hard work, they will become US citizens on April 5th. If you have some time off - you are welcome to head to Abingdon Virginia and pack the court room where they will pledge their allegiance to everything American.

That is all I have for now - if you have anything you want to share publicly, please let me know and I will include it either in the blog or in the next newsletter.


On to the Pics.

 Visiting with Veronica on one of her many trips to Alberta

 Not sure what this occasion was but looks like we were having fun!

 Big I Dos for Cheryl and Ludwik

More I Dos for David and Heather.

If you have a chance to visit David's page on Face Book, he has a cute story on there about he and Heather having to "Get Married Again" in the US. He is a good comic writer. 

Enjoy the upcoming week and don't work too hard.

Jean

AVOIDANCE.......

Is a bad thing and that is what I have been doing to both blogs. Sometimes life gets in the way. In my case, I have a new puppy, so time slips away.

I will be sending out a newsletter this week regarding the upcoming reunion. I still have not figured out a place as yet, but the date is July 13th. Some have expressed concern over the date. The reason for the date is that it hits the end of the Stampede and has given the kids a couple of weeks of being out of school. By then they are bored and in need a bit of excitement. As for August, well, most of the family go away during August. So July it is. On our end Nicole is the only one I need to contact regarding the date if we change it. She is really booked solid for weddings this year. She does though have the weekend following the 13th off. If it is a must for the majority to change the date, I will see about moving the date forward.I want all date submissions in, no later that March 17th.

Places - I have been looking on line for places. I have an idea that it should be in or near one of the places our parents lived. Since I am the tail end, well I only got Ozada and Calgary, but the rest of my siblings had wonderful opportunities to live in some really nice areas of Alberta. I am sure I don't know every place, if I have forgotten any please let me know. As of now the options are: Mundare, Cornation, Drumheller, Nordegg, or the Seebe area. I also know mom and some of the kids lived in Edmonton for a bit and Calgary. So as you can see we have a wide area to choose from. As I see it, the majority of the family is in the Calgary area, so somewhere close to Calgary will probably get many votes. But how about Nordegg? I have only been there once and only to drive by as they were using the area as a jail at the time. I don't know if there are any free parks up there, but there is a kind of dude ranchy thing that will give us a day use area. They could also give us a map of hikes in the area, and can also set up a tour of the mine. That could be interesting. Drumheller has lots of things to do and many areas where we could have the day, but if it is a typical Drumheller day, well as mentioned before, it can be rather hot. But it is still an option. When I went to see Tookie, I took a stop in Mundare. A pretty little town, but am not sure what all is around there. Sonny and Aryele may want to take a looky see into that, but I am certain there may be a bit of opposition as it is a fair distance to go. Cornation - ditto the distance and we have had a few of the larger Fleming reunions at the campground by Brownfield. There are no services at the campground at all. While I am mentioning that fact, that dude ranchy thing in Nordegg doesn't have services either. So outhouses all the way my friends. As for The Ozada area, there is the park up at the mine, there is Bow Valley Provincial Park, Rick Guinn has said we could use his place and would be willing to throw in a trail ride. There are so many parks out that way, there is a lot of choices. So now, please weigh in on what you and your family want. Doug and Marilyn Tryon graciously offered to bring their larger trailer back for the weekend. We will bring the little pop-up with us and I think Christopher and Maren would be willing to bring their pop-up also, so lots of places for snoozes and time-outs. Anyway, that is just a sampling of what is being planned.

On to some more pictures. The first one I believe is from uncle Chunk's (Doug) funeral. The next two are from Doo's 65th birthday.

Sisters

Brother and Sisters

Birthdays

Have a wonderful week all.

Jean