Cohen family yearly recap, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy Holidays! It seems like just yesterday I wrote the yearly letter. Another busy year has flown by. Our 2013 was a busy one with lots of adventures and laughter.

Snowtubing and skiing (for some of us). Amanda, Rebecca, Debbie, and Brian

 We started off 2013 with our Gray family February trip, which was to Trinidad and Tobago. In Trinidad we stayed in a beautiful hotel in the city. However, there was not a lot to do and the city was very industrial. That all changed when we went to Tobago, where we stayed in a lovely villa with a gigantic pool. 

The villa and pool that we had to ourselves in Tobago - thanks Mom and Dad!

There were beaches and sight-seeing to be done. Additionally, it was a thriving country where the tourist industry wasn’t its main focus. The people were educated and very nice. We all had a great time as usual.

We are quite the group as you can see...hence, the need for the large villa!

              Our next adventure was a surprise for Mom and Dad as they celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary. We only told them to pack and meet at our house. We then all got into the Golden Nugget (my mini-van) and started driving. They asked lots of questions and it wasn’t until we reached Vermont and rendezvoused with the Farmers’ and Dassattis’ did they learn were we all going to Quebec City. It was like a mini European vacation. They seemed to speak more French and have far less signs in English compared to Paris. It was during their music festival, with live music all around and with lots of activities for all. It was a fun filled vacation and most importantly, Mom and Dad really enjoyed themselves, and we got to be the ones to treat them to a nice vacation.

            When we returned from vacation, another adventure was about to begin. Brian joined his long-time friend and colleague from Charles Schwab and Fidelity, Chris Congema, who had just started his own wealth management firm, and had been after Brian to partner up with him. He decided to take the plunge! It is called Core-X Wealth Management, and their office is in Melville, NY and they are off to a good start. More importantly, Brian really likes working directly with clients again which is why he got into the business in the first place, enjoys the challenges of his new job, and working with Chris. They are able to give much more personalized attention to clients, while helping clients get better results with lower costs than they would pay elsewhere. To those that have joined already, we appreciate it. To those others, not to worry, there's still time to get in on the "friends and family" rate. Feel free to check out their website at www.core-xwealth.com, and his work # is: 631-923-2487 - referrals are also welcome!!
Selfishly, I love the move, because not only is Brian really happy in doing this, his hours are flexible, and is more available when I need a little extra help shuffling the girls from place to place.

            Mom and Dad weren’t the only couple to have a milestone anniversary this year. We celebrated our 20^th anniversary with a surprise to me. Brian informed me that he was taking me away for a couple of days, after we dropped the kids off at camp on Shelter Island.  Since we were on the east end of the island, I was thinking the Hamptons, Montauk, etc. So naturally, I packed the car with casual clothes, beach equipment, and bathing suits. It was much to my surprise when we ended up coming home to spend the night. I was not happy and now very agitated; I asked where we were going, and if I could at least have a hint. He just said “N” “O”. I figured that was no, and left it at that. He said the same thing each time I asked him. He then proceeded to tell me that we needed to get up by 5:30am and we would be there by 10am. Now my head was geography challenged: Newport, Cape May, where within a 4-5 hour trip?  So the next morning up we were up and on the Southern State Parkway, I think we are headed to the Jersey shore.  No, we ended up at JFK with a flight headed to…. “N” “O”…..New Orleans! What a wonderful surprise! We stayed in a boutique hotel right off of Bourbon Street and spent the next days exploring the area, just the two of us.  It was an outstanding way to spend our 20^th anniversary.   

             This summer we had nice visits seeing friends and family, as well as hosting here, and had a great time as usual. Rebecca was lucky enough to be invited along with her friend Chloe to stay with their friend Kiri and her family for a week in Cape Cod, and had a terrific time.

            Amanda is a senior in High School and has applied to colleges. She just received her first acceptance letters, from Eastern Connecticut State University, and Southern Connecticut State University. It was nice that her first two responses from a college were a “yes”. Amanda has been working/volunteering at Carillon Nursing Home since the beginning of the summer, and loves helping out there. She also completed her Girl Scout Gold Award and it was a huge success.

           

Rebecca is a freshman in High School. She is a cheerleader at school and continues to play the flute and piano. She is also taking some very challenging classes at school, and she is very busy.

            I just try to keep everything all together, like all working Moms. I still love my job as a speech therapist in Hauppauge School District and life is really wonderful.

Buddy, Rebecca, and Amanda

We hope all is well with all of you, and we would love to hear back from you to hear how you're doing. Wishing you Happiness and Health for 2014.

Love,

Debbie, Brian, Amanda, and Rebecca