Cohen family yearly recap, 2015

Dear family and friends,

Happy New Year!  I hope this email finds you all happy and healthy.  

The year 2015 was had a lot of ups and downs here in the Cohen household.

We’ll start with the biggest down. Brian’s mom “Grandma Sue” had some circulation issues with her legs and had been in the hospital a couple of times starting around early March. Long story short, when she went back in the hospital in late September, there was a complication, and she passed away suddenly October 5^th. It was a tough loss for all. On the positive side, she did not suffer, and all of us as well as Ben were able to be by her bedside. In addition,  she had about half of her lung removed due to cancer 15 years ago, and it was in her lymph nodes. We focus on the fact that we were fortunate to get so many extra years with her.

Around the same time Brian’s mom first went into the hospital in March, my Dad had an infection in his knee (this was about two weeks after we all had gotten together to celebrate his 75th birthday at a restaurant in Connecticut). He was on the operating table about to go under to replace his knee, when he had a MAJOR heart attack. Luckily, he was not under anesthesia at that time because he would not have made it.  From there it was one thing after another; most things that could go wrong did.  He was in the hospital from March until May.  Luckily for me he was here in Huntington Hospital which is down the street.  We were able to see him every day.  Then he was off to rehab for a couple of weeks recovering. 

Just before Dad was in the hospital, I celebrated my 50th birthday in Manhattan with my mom and sisters for a long weekend.  We had so much fun and laughter.  It was a great getaway for all of us.  I also had another weekend of celebration in Manhattan with Brian and the girls, doing some NYC type of events such as a walking tour of Central Park, tea at the Plaza, and other fun things. 

Spring came and went and the school year ended.  Now it was time for the family trip to Italy.  My parents were taking the entire family to Italy in July. By this time my dad was out of rehab and had a slew of nurses and other professionals coming to the house to help in the recovery process.  It was decided by my parents that we should go without them as Dad was unable to travel.  We were all sad that they were unable to experience this adventure with us. So off we went. Europe here we come!

The Cohen's started their adventure in Rome with amazing tours of the city, and we loved our time there. 

We then headed off to Umbria for a couple of days, which was beautiful.  Then we rendezvoused with the rest of the Gray family in Florence.  From there we all went to Mestrino where we stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast.  Venice was lots of fun, and the kids took gondaliering lessons. 

We saw Aida in Verona in an open coliseum at night, and had private cooking lessons for ourselves and separate lessons for the kids.  My parents were involved in helping to arrange all of those adventures.  We tasted 100 year old Balsamic vinegar in Modena.  

Sampled grappa in Bassano del Grappa.  Went to a huge amusement park by Lake Garda named appropriately enough, Gardaland. All of our time with the entire family was great fun, and we saw great sights. Then we headed off through the Italian lake region and the Dolomites to get to Austria. We were with the Farmer's at this point, the Dassatti's went south to Rome and Capri.  In Austria we went to a salt mine. 

We then headed to Salzburg where we went bike riding on the Sound of Music tour. From there we headed to Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.  It is the castle which Walt Disney modeled his castle after.  

We said goodbye to the Farmers and we continued our adventure to the Rhine region of Germany. There we stayed in a real castle on the Rhine and toured the area.  Then to the Black Forest of Germany where we stayed at Titisee, it is known for their coo-coo clocks.  We also went to spas in the area.  Now off to our final destination, Switzerland, to spend some time with our friends the Hoares at their home in Bern.  We did so much in Switzerland: eating and visiting a chocolate factory, Gruyere cheese making, visiting Lake Luzern, up the Swiss Alps of Murren, to the top of the Schilthorn, and hiking.  All so much fun and beautiful.  

After a month of sightseeing and traveling it was time for all of us to come home. The entire trip was great and amazing! If curious/bored, we have a day by day blog of our trip that you can see by clicking on the following url. For most of the sights, pictures can't quite capture it or do it justice. But we tried anyway. Note; by clicking on the link below, the thumbnail photos will give you a sense of our adventure: https://bdarcohen.wordpress.com/   

August was fine until my Dad went to see if his heart could sustain the knee surgery.  I met my parents at Huntington Hospital where Dr. Patcha (the heart surgeon) checked his heart.  Based on what he saw he sent Dad to Manhasset hospital to have bypass heart surgery. We weren't expecting that.  After 6 hours of surgery the surgeon came out and told us he was unable to do the bypass because of the damage done from the heart attack in March. Again another shock and setback. The next day (less than 12 hours later) back to have stents put in.  My dad had 5 stents put in his heart. He made it home again in late August, where unfortunately he fell in his bathroom because he was hemorrhaging.  Now off to Stony Brook Hospital.  He was in really bad shape as a result of the fall, he suffered a broken neck and collar bone, and punctured his lung.  It was not good.  They were unable to control the internal bleeding so he had part of his colon removed. He now has a ileostomy bag.  He made it back home in September after rehab again.  He is on the mend now and is walking with a walker. He lost a lot of weight and looks great.

Rebecca is a junior in High School.  She is taking some challenging classes, cheerleading (which is two seasons long) and hanging out with her friends. She got her learner's permit for driving shortly after her birthday and is now taking lessons. Speaking of her birthday, we celebrated her Sweet 16 this past February in Manhattan. She and a dozen friends went shopping, went on a scavenger hunt, had dinner at Carmine's, and dessert at Sardi's. 

Amanda got a new car. Well, at least it is new for her. It is a candy apple red 2004 Jeep Cherokee, that she has nicknamed "the Red Robin". She did not go back to SUNY Farmingdale in September.  Instead, she is going to school to be a CNA (certified nursing assistant), which she really enjoys.  She is busy with school, volunteering at a local retirement home, and working at Old Navy.  

I continue to love my job as a speech therapist and Brian is happy and busy with his business (Landmark Wealth Management, LLC) helping people manage their finances as a financial planner and advisor. Buddy just turned 5 recently, and he continues to be the perfect dog for our family.

Upon reflection, this year has been very challenging. I miss Grandma Sue very much; her sudden departure leaves me sad. I feel blessed that we had so many wonderful memories with her. I have also spent a lot of time with my parents and I am fortunate to be able to do that.  I have taken away from this experience to love the people in my life, to spend time with them and not take them for granted.  In the end, it is the most important part of life.  Things and situations are constantly changing. However, if you have great friends and family, take the opportunity to enjoy them. That is LIFE and the key to HAPPINESS.  So to all of you, HAPPINESS and LOVE for 2016.  ENJOY LIFE!!

Cohen family yearly recap, 2014

Dear family and friends,

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a wonderful 2014 and are planning to have even an even better 2015.  So as usual our year was a good one with lots of laughter and fun.  We started off with the Gray family trip and we went to Curacao.  We stayed in a huge villa with lots of room for the seventeen of us.  The weather was beautiful and the beaches were gorgeous.  We had lots of fun and adventures.

Brian turned the BIG 5-0 this year.  So he allowed me to plan a big blowout birthday party for him.  We had so much fun I converted the garage into a blue disco room with flashing lights and a karaoke DJ.  The music was so loud you could hear it from the street.  Lots of families and friends came to celebrate the big event.  To continue the “50” celebration Brian with his two good friends from his elementary-high school days, Bob and Dave went to Atlantic City this summer which was followed by us going to Long Beach Island to spend a couple of days at Bob and his wife Christine’s beautiful beach house on LBI.

We also had a trip to Saratoga Spring in upstate NY with the Farmer’s.  We planned it so we would be there during the races.  We had so much fun dressing up (all the ladies wore fancy hats) and betting on the horses.  If you haven’t been there it is a lovely town with stuff to do, it is also close to Lake George.  Saratoga is old charm and lots of history to explore.  FYI did you know it is where Broadway in NYC starts (or ends, depends which way you look at it)?  It is also known as Route 9 in upstate NY until you get into NYC and the name changes to Broadway.  OMG, I am becoming my Mom with useless information.  To continue…

Amanda graduated from High School and decided to attend SUNY Farmingdale as a commuter student.  She continues to work at Carillon nursing home and Value Drugs in Greenlawn to earn some money.  The exciting news is she is planning to live on campus next semester.  Whether she continues working we will see, for now we are waiting to see who her roommate is and start shopping (good thing January is known for its White Sales). Rebecca is already planning to knock down the wall between their bedrooms.  Not happening!

Rebecca is in 10^th grade and working hard in school.  She is now a co-captain of both the competition as well as the side-line cheerleading squad. She continues to play the flute and piano.  She is as I put it “sassy” and believes she knows everything.  She makes me laugh, she is a typical 15 year old teenager.

September it was back to school for me, nothing has changed there.  I still work with a wonderful co-worker Beth and we laugh the entire day.  My students are so funny and it makes my work lots of fun.  After all these years, I am enjoying work more and more.

Brian continues to grow Core X Wealth Management with his partner Chris. The good news is they are expanding by adding another partner, Joe Favorito. All three of them worked at Fidelity together and excited to be joining forces, They will be changing the name of the company to Landmark Wealth Management (http://landmarkwealthmgmt.com/). They just finalized the papers with the lawyer last week and are starting the combination of the two firms, which should be completed in the next few weeks. Joe will be joining them at their office in Melville.  Brian is super excited and he enjoys going to work every day.  As you know, I consider it boring, I would much rather be in glue and glitter watching my students make steady progress.  I guess that what makes our relationship work so well.  Go figure!

Brian is even more involved with the church (Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington) than he was before. In addition to continuing as the Finance Chair, he also is on the Investment Committee, and just started a three year term on the Board of Trustees.

Even though a lot of what he does revolves around finance and investments, he does find time for all of us, and he has managed to get back into playing racquetball.  

Brian's mom turned 70 this October, and we had most of the local relatives join us for dinner in the city to celebrate.

For Christmas it was spent at my parents’ house.  They just returned from a trip to Fiji, Australia and New Zealand.  They spent Thanksgiving with my cousin Jackie and husband Lachlan and their two daughters in Australia.  They were gone a month so we were all very excited to see them at Christmas and listen to their adventures.  They had a wonderful time.  Some of you may not know that we have a “theme” often on Christmas.  This year’s theme was “A Christmas Story.”  As we walked into the house in the foyer was the famous “leg” lamp from the movie.  To top that when we didn't smell dinner cooking we were all a little concerned to say the least.  When dinner time approached we were all handed Chinese food menus and told to order what we wanted (just like in the movie). Well, we howled with laughter, and the dinner was absolutely delicious, with a ton of leftovers.  We are not a conventional family!!

We hope you had a wonderful 2014 and we wish you all a happy 2015. We look forward to seeing or hearing from you in the coming year.

With lots of love and laughter,

Debbie, Brian, Amanda, and Rebecca

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

Cohen family yearly recap, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy New Year!  I hope this letter finds you all happy and well.  The Cohen’s had a fun and exciting 2012. 

We started our year off by going to Costa Rica on the Gray family trip.  We had a ball, as we zip lined through the rainforest, rafted down through a river with monkeys, alligators and beautiful toucan birds.  We then headed to the coast for some relaxation by the beach and pool.  It was not a vacation, but an adventure like always. 

We had Easter at our house this past year.  With the entire family present, I was not up to par.  I thought I just had a bad case of ingestion. This was not the case.  I ended up in the hospital for a week with pancreatitis and then had my gall bladder removed.  Thanks to good friends and family I made a speedy recovery.

Summer came as we traveled through upstate NY and into Canada for a family trip. We were joined with our good friends the Lapidus’s in Cooperstown.  Marty and Brian had a great time at the baseball Hall of Fame.  The Lapidus’s then headed home after Cooperstown and we continued through Skaneateles, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Jamestown, and Corning.  It was a nice trip, though not as exciting or exotic as going cross-country or traveling through Europe. Those trips will be hard to match or surpass.

Fall brought us back to school, where Amanda is now a junior and Rebecca is an eighth grader.  Amanda is still involved with Girl Scouts and is in the process of beginning her Gold Award.  She continues to play tennis and enjoys hanging out with friends.  Rebecca is a cheerleader, plays flute and piano and continues to enjoy her dance classes.  Brian was at HSBC until a couple of months ago when, after two rounds of earlier downsizing, the company then was able to have a third downsizing consolidating managers.  I love having him home I didn’t have to rush home from work to shuffle the kids and he took care of many of the household items.  This is now coming to an end.  He is starting at Wells Fargo as a Private Banker on January 9^th. How much stuff can I squeeze in until he goes back to work?  He is very excited, me not so much.  Knowing that Amanda is going to college soon, then followed by Rebecca, I guess he needs to work.  I would rather him home personally.

Amanda also turned 16 on September 30^th.  To mark this special birthday she decided that she didn’t want a party, she wanted something different.  This turned out to be Hot Air Ballooning with a few of her closest friends.  We left home at 3am and drove to upstate NY so they could make a sunrise balloon ride.  It was an adventure for all of them. A few were a little scared, however they all went up and had an amazing time, and were thrilled that they did it.

We also celebrated three milestone birthdays in our extended family. Lauren turned 40, and we celebrated that during Easter. My brother-in-law Tony turned 50.  My sister Susan threw a huge Cowboy theme birthday for him with a mechanical bull to ride on too. Brian Dassatti, my other brother-in-law, turned 40. This celebration was marked by a family and friend party with an Italian theme.  All the events were great.

 Fall also brought us Hurricane Sandy.  We were very lucky, as we lost power for just a few hours and had no damage. Our home became a hotel for many friends.  It was fun for us, but not as much for our friends without power.

We look forward to 2013, and wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Love,

Debbie, Brian, Amanda, and Rebecca

Cohen family yearly recap, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a great 2011. We have been crazy busy like all of you this past year. Here is the run down on the Cohens’ 2011 year.

We left off the year with our adding a new and surprise addition to the family.....our pet Poosh (Poodle and Shitzu combination), Buddy. We love having him as part of the family, and it has been terrific. He has more than quadrupled in size since we got him, but considering he was only 2 pounds then, that's not saying much!

Then it was off to the Gray family trip to the Caribbean islands via a cruise. Lots of fun and laughter as we entertained 7 kids and 8 adults, there was always something to do and someone to do it with. This February, we are off to Costa Rica. Stay tuned for that adventure next year.

The rest of the spring we spent going to work and school. Brian started a new job in May at HSBC as the branch manager in Huntington. It’s been wonderful having him back on Long Island and working so close to home. It helps a lot with driving the kids to school and the extra activities they do.

We hosted our friends the Hoares’ from Switzerland for Easter along with the rest of the Gray clan. We had other adventures this spring as well. Camping with the Lapidus’ family in Connecticut. Then I was off to Montauk for a long weekend with my friends.

As summer arrived, our friends the Hoares’ came back to visit. They stayed at the house while we went to go (mostly) cross-country. We called this adventure the "American Trip" because that’s what we did. I have such wonderful memories of my first trip out west with my troop leader (and family friend) Connie Drew, I wanted Amanda and Rebecca to see and do things and appreciate the wonderfulness of this country. I hope in years to come that they will remember this trip as fondly as I do. Our trip began as we left NY and headed to Washington, DC for an amazing tour of our country and capital. Then Brian flew home and the girls and I headed out west on our own. Our destination was Wyoming, as we had to drop off Amanda for a week at the Teton Science School. She won a scholarship through Girl Scouts to attend the camp for a week. From Washington, DC we went to West Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah just to name a few states. While on our adventure some of the highlights included: The Arches, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Salt Lake City, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Chicago. While on this trip we went white water rafting in Colorado and Wyoming, in addition to horse back riding and trying other new adventures. Brian flew out to Utah to help us drive home. We also visited with cousins, aunts, uncles and friends along the way. It was so wonderful to see everyone and I got a different feel for the area because we were with people who live there. As Brian puts it four weeks later and over 6,000 miles on my minivan, it was "quite the American Trip". It’s a beautiful country and vastly diverse, and I am so glad the girls were able to experience this adventure.

Amanda had a wonderful time at camp and is still in touch with the girls she met there.

Following our adventure, in August the girls were off to sleep-away camp on Shelter Island. My cousin Jackie and her husband Lachlan with their new beautiful baby Ella flew in from Australia. At the end of the month we were hit by Hurricane Irene, which wasn’t bad at all, although we did lose electricity for a week. After the first couple of days it got old. However, we definitely reconnected with our neighbors as we shared Colony Court evenings at each other homes to use up all our food, that part was really fun. We were glad when the lights went back on as I could finally blow dry my hair again!

September started with me back to work as a speech therapist in Hauppauge. Amanda is now in 10^th grade and remains busy with tennis and Girl Scouts. Rebecca is in 7^th grade and played softball this fall, in addition to dance and music lessons (flute and piano). Brian continues to learn the ropes at HSBC.

In October, much to our surprise and dismay, my Uncle Wesley passed away (my mom’s brother). Mom, Dad, myself, and both of my sisters flew to Florida for the services. It was a sad occasion, though I was happy to see all my cousins again so soon after the summer. It was also fun just being with my sisters, mom and dad. I can’t remember the last time it was just the five of us.

Now, to the present. New Years Eve we went into NYC to see a show and made the girls walk to Times Square to see where the ball was going to drop in a few hours. They closed many streets surrounding it. It gave us the opportunity to stroll down the middle of 7^th Ave, where we made a pyramid with our friends the Lapidus’, and started the trend of jumping in the air, and taking pictures of it. Before long, we noticed many other groups of people doing the same thing! To say the least we laughed and laughed as did many tourists and New Yorkers. So we wish you all lots of laughter and fun in the New Year and many new adventures!!

Love,

Debbie, Brian, Amanda, and Rebecca

Cohen family yearly recap, 2010

December 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow! Another year has gone by. We had an exciting and fun filled year. Many adventures and surprises were abound.

One surprise took place on the “Gray” family trip to Mexico. As many of you know, I often travel without the clan because I work in school. Brian, Amanda and Rebecca leave before me and I then follow the next day meeting them wherever they are. This year Mexico was the planned site. As usual I was traveling alone and was waiting for the Farmers at the airport in Mexico when what should my ears hear but someone calling “Debbie”. I turn around and it’s my best friend Valerie Blanchenay from Minnesota, at the Mexican airport. All confused I couldn’t grasp why she was there, until she explained she was joining the “Gray” vacation and only my dad and sister Susan knew. Unbelievable!! One whole week with Valerie. It was the best surprise and so special. The trip was a lot of fun and never a dull moment. I had to share Valerie with everyone else, but that’s ok, as she is often considered my parents fourth daughter.

Spring was marked by many milestones. My dad celebrated his 70^th Birthday. In the usual Gray style an ordinary gift would not do. So we (Cohens, Farmers, and Dassattis) sent Dad to become a lighthouse keeper on Rose Island in Newport, Rhode Island for a week. Dad was in his glory. They had chores and many activities to keep them busy. One family at a time went to visit them on the Island. Added to their adventure was a big surprise. The TV show “Ghost Hunters” needed to film on the island to find the ghost of Rose Island. Mom and Dad had to leave for two whole nights while they were filming. Of course they didn’t mind that they were placed in a B&B in Newport, one of my parent’s favorite vacation spots. It was exciting to see the Ghost Hunters show this past fall. It was silly, but still fun to have actually been there.

In late spring, Amanda had her Coming of Age ceremony at Fellowship, and graduated from middle school, and Rebecca graduated from elementary school.

Then the true adventure began. The girls and I left for a month in Europe. Brian was able to join us for two weeks in the middle. Our adventure started in Switzerland with Amanda, Rebecca and I staying with Amanda's friend Rachel and her family. Rachel was in Amanda's school, and her dad got a promotion to work there for his company. While we were there we went to Basel, Bern and Zurich. We saw how they make Swiss chocolate and cheese (both of which are delicious). Brian then joined us for the last night in Zurich. Then, we went to Colmar, France on our way to Strasbourg. We also went to the Caracalla Therme Baths in Baden-Baden Germany, and went through the Black Forest. I know that we all enjoyed swimming in those Roman Baths. If you have the opportunity I would highly recommend it. It was great for the kids too. From Strasbourg we drove to Paris. NEVER again will I drive in Paris. They are crazy drivers!! We stayed in a little one room apartment in Paris. It was centrally located so we were able to get to everything we wanted. Some of the highlights were Notre Dame, Versailles, Eiffel Tower, a river boat ride on the Seine, and the Louvre.

Then off to London. We were able to stay at Brian's cousin Ellen and Ray's house, which was great. We had the whole house to ourselves, as they spend the summers over here in Sag Harbor. They are centrally located by the St. John's Wood tube station near Regents Park, literally around the corner from Abbey Road, and the same crosswalk, of Beatles fame. There was plenty of room for all of us including Grandma Sue (my mother-in-law) who met us there. We did and saw so much. We went to Bath, Oxford, The Cotswolds, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, The London Eye, Greenwich, The Beatles Walking Tour; saw Wicked and Mousetrap on the London stage. We also went to Hampton Court and the Tower of London (including the Ceremony of the Keys). We were invited to have lunch with the Cripps family. I have remained in contact with them since I was an exchange student in high school. It was wonderful to see them.

However, the highlight for the girls ended up as we had lunch our last day Rebecca looked over to the other table and said "I think that is Nick Jonas". To make a long story short, it was! They went over and asked and got his autograph. That one minute interchange made Rebecca's vacation. No, it didn't matter that she had been to Switzerland, Germany, France and England this past summer. No, it didn't matter that she saw the Eiffel Tower, saw how they make cheese and chocolate in Switzerland, and the Mona Lisa and went swimming in Roman baths twice (we also went to the Roman baths in Bath). NO, SHE MET NICK JONAS!!! It was a great way to end our trip of a lifetime. I honesty believe we could had not planned or had a better trip.

In August, the girls left for Shelter Island for a week at camp. At which time Brian had some thoughts about work. As you may remember he was transferred in October of ‘09 from the Huntington Fidelity office to the Flat Iron office in Manhattan. He really felt he was missing a lot of the girls’ life. Anyone who lives on the Island and commutes into NYC understands. So an opportunity arose at another firm in Huntington. Brian spoke with Fidelity and expressed his thoughts. As a result, they were wonderful and arranged for Brian to leave with a very nice severance package. Unfortunately, the position at the other company did not come to pass much to our surprise and dismay. So now Brian is looking for a position on Long Island. On a personal note, it has been wonderful having him at home. Gone are the days when I have to rush home from work to take the girls to their various activities, make dinner and everything else. Now Brian does all that (not dinner though). I have been much calmer and things at home are running very smoothly. You know how Brian likes organization.

September began with Amanda as a freshman in high school and Rebecca in 6^th grade at middle school. Both have adjusted to their new school environments. Rebecca continues to enjoy dancing, and plays both the flute and piano. I continue to enjoy being a speech therapist in Hauppauge school district.

As I conclude this letter, there is one last surprise to share. On Christmas day we added a new addition to our family. A puppy, named Buddy. He is a Poosh. That’s a poodle and a Shih- Tzu. The girls were screaming and jumping up and down. It was a great surprise!! The girls are thrilled as are we.

We wish you all Season Greetings and Happy New Year.

Love,

Debbie, Brian, Amanda, and Rebecca

Cohen family yearly recap, 2009

Holiday Letter 2009




Dear Family and Friends,

Well, the year has again flown by. We at the Cohen household have had a great year.

Our Gray family trip in February took all of us to Florida. We went to Disney and other attractions while trying to keep up with all the kids. There are a total of seven children ranging from 3 to 13 years of age. Amazingly, they all get along very well.






(Deb with Rebecca and Amanda; Grandma and Grandpa with all 7 "Gray" grandkids this summer)


In April, Brian and I headed to Las Vegas without Amanda and Rebecca. We were joined by our good friends Matt and Allyson. We had a blast, Brian and Matt loved the Pinball Hall of Fame (basically a collection of old pinball machines that they played for hours………or so they lead us to believe…), while Allyson and I enjoyed the spa at Canyon Ranch at the Venetian hotel.

In July, after Rebecca fractured her arm and had a cast for a month, we headed up to Boston with my sister Lauren and her family. All the girls saw the Jonas Brothers in concert. Thank goodness for Lauren who took all the kids to the concert. We loved Boston and hope to visit there again soon.




(Amanda now towers over Grandma Sue, and Rebecca is not far behind)



The summer was filled with camp for the girls and a restful summer for me. In August, Susan (my other sister) invited us to join her by the Jersey shore for a couple of days. Brian was unable to go, however, that didn’t stop the girls and myself from going. We had a great time, and much to my surprise I really liked it and would go back again. On a sad note, Amanda’s dear friend Rachel moved to Switzerland for five years. Amanda and a few of her friends sent Rachel off with a surprise party, and we just had a chance to see her with Rachel’s family coming back recently for a quick visit back to the US.

Then school started… It meant no more lounging around for me but back to work. Rebecca started 5th grade while Amanda started 8th. Rebecca still takes piano at home, flute in school, and is in two dance classes. Amanda continues to take tennis on Saturday's, and was an Oompa Loompa in the school play of Willie Wonka last year.

One big change in our lives was that Brian was transferred out of the Huntington Fidelity office to the Flatiron District office in NYC. Luckily, Brian is really a city boy at heart. However, it has changed my life. He was so helpful when he was in Huntington, picking and dropping off the kids, and rearranging his schedule at times to adjust to my work schedule demands. That’s all changed now. He is gone now in the morning as he gives the kids a quick "good morning" before the kids officially get up and usually gets home around 7pm. I know that a lot of people deal with situation everyday. However, I liked having Brian around, so I guess I just miss him. WOW, I can’t believe I just wrote that, but it is true…even after 16 years of marriage!









Thanksgiving was spent in Connecticut at Susan and Tony’s new house, which is beautiful and lots of fun. She not only built the house but has plenty of property including an old chicken coop and a barn. There is always something to do. Christmas was spent at Lauren and Brian’s house in Connecticut, and a great time had by all, including a visit by the police...let's just say that when you have phones for little kids that look like play phones, 911 is not too difficult for someone to call by accident.

We wish everyone a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season and Wonderful New Year.

Love,
Debbie (plus Brian, Amanda and Rebecca)