Cohen family yearly recap, 2020

Happy New Year 2021!

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, 2020 is finally behind us, thank goodness.  We hope everyone who is reading this is healthy and safe.  We are all fine in the Cohen household and had a quiet year like everyone else. 2020 started off with Rebecca going to spend the semester abroad at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.  For those who don’t know Rebecca is a very organized person (like her dad) and is prepared with all her lists of things and activities to do, and was packed days ahead of time. Brian and I drove her to JFK on a cold and wintery evening in January of 2020. We got there early so we could have dinner at the airport before she goes.  She goes to check in and they ask for her passport. She opened up her new passport holder to….NOTHING!  

Yes, that is right there is no passport inside her passport holder. Frantically, she realizes she left it in the computer making a copy at home. OMG, what to do?!?! Brian being Brian calmly thinks, while I am in a state of panic - not yelling but just walking around the airport, pacing. Brian comes up with a solution and calls our good friends and neighbors Phyllis and Ron. Ron jumps into action, goes into the house, gets the passport and drives it all the way to JFK airport in the rain/sleet during NY rush hour.  We only had a limited amount of time because of the long flight they wouldn't allow Rebecca to check in after a certain time, and the next flight isn’t until the next day. She then would miss the orientation, which was especially crucial in starting to build relationships as she didn’t know anyone there. The pressure is on!! Will Ron make it?? It was a very tense time but finally, Ron made it with about 10 minutes to spare.  Picture the scene: Brian running holding the passport in his hand, yelling I got it, running as fast as his little legs could carry him. It was like something out of a movie.  We can laugh and chuckle about it now, though it wasn’t so funny then. Off she went to Scotland.

In February Brian, my Mom, and I headed over to Edinburgh to visit Rebecca.  We had a fun filled adventure as always.  We did lots of walking tours in Edinburgh, visited Glasgow and a wonderful road trip up into the Highlands.  The weather was windy, cold, damp and rainy, however, we still had a good time.  After a week's visit we left Rebecca. During this time the COVID virus was making its way through Italy and Spain, but frankly it was something that was not on our radar screen then.  Rebecca was planning to continue her travels throughout Europe.  Needless to say within three weeks we had to get her home. She was about to head to Brussels and told us “If I get stuck in Brussels I will just stay in a hotel and eat Belgian chocolate.”  As news alerted to the seriousness of the pandemic, she came to her senses, and within three days she was home, it was not easy to get her flights, but she managed it, and she stayed with us until she returned to UConn in September. Luckily for Rebecca, she got to see lots of places in Europe every weekend, and she made great friends and really enjoyed her time there. She also had great plans to travel during the rest of the semester and after, but as we all know thanks to the pandemic, that all changed.

In March, as we all shut down, we had a full house. I was doing remote speech therapy from the basement, and Brian worked from home and went back to the office May 1 (more for peace of mind then necessity!), in May, Amanda changed her hours at Stony Brook to the day shift 7am to 3pm, and in June, Rebecca had a paid internship with CVS and worked remotely from the middle room. Back to the topic of cancelled travel plans, we were days away from leaving for Florida last March among other trips that were in the works. Amanda had a great week-long Mediterranean cruise planned with her friends Bridget and Christine, and she was then going to spend time with her friend Rachel in London. Alas, not to be.

The only truly exciting thing that happened this past year was our new backyard. Back in November 2019 we hired a landscape designer to redo our small backyard.  His plans were amazing and in March we started with putting in an additional patio, then in May and June came the plants and the electrical work.  I am so glad we did this, as the timing could not have been more perfect.  We were able to entertain outside while keeping socially distant and have friends and family over during the summer and into the late fall.

In August, Brian and I were able to get away for a few days and went to Princeton, NJ to go to an outdoor sculpture garden. It was nice to get away for a few days, even though not much was going on anywhere.

In September, I went back to work, and am seeing children in person every day. I do have some remote students who I work with on-line.  It is a very different way of doing therapy.  However, I would much rather work with them in person any day of the week.  Brian continues to go into the office every day, so our lives are back to normal.  Rebecca went back to school and lives in an apartment with three other women at UConn, is graduating this May, and is still seeing her boyfriend Aaron. Amanda moved out of our house and is renting Grandpa Malcolm and Grandma Susan’s condo in Manorville (further out on the island).  She and her boyfriend Justin are in their beautiful two-bedroom condo that is right next to a golf course.  Not too shabby for your first time living on their own.  Brian and I are loving being empty nesters.  We don’t know how long this will last, so we enjoy every minute we can get.  Life is calmer and it is nice not to get attitude from our kids...😀

P.S. - Last year Brian started to lose weight because of his wake-up call with his stent in November 2019.  As a proud wife/friend I need to share.  To date he has lost over 75 pounds. He looks terrific and I am so proud of him!

P.P.S. (from the editor) – Deb has lost some weight as well (not nearly as much as I did, but then she did not have much to lose), and as for looking terrific, well, she always has!  

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year, be safe and healthy!!

All our love,

Debbie, Brian, Amanda, Rebecca, and Buddy

Cohen family yearly recap, 2019

Happy (belated) New Year 2020!

St. Michael's Cave in Gibraltar

We hope this email finds you all well and happy.  This past year was filled with calmness and some traveling.  To catch you all up, we just returned from Spain about two weeks ago.  My Mom took everyone to the Costa del Sol for Christmas 2019.  We started in Granada then drove through miles of olives trees to get to Malaga, and we hiked an amazing gorge where we were right on the edge of steep mountains.  We then went to Marbella, which like Malaga is right on the Mediterranean. Then it was on to explore Gibraltar on the way to a night in Jerez, then off to Seville for two nights, and then for New Year’s Eve partying in Toledo in the town square with live music, dancing, fireworks and everyone eating and swallowing (or trying to at least) 12 grapes very quickly followed by Cava (Spanish Champagne).  We were there for a week with the entire family.  Everyone flew back on New Year’s Day except Brian, Amanda, and I we went to Madrid and then to Barcelona for a few extra days.  Side note Rebecca had been to Barcelona the previous year and didn’t want to go again, so she went home with everyone else plus she needed to get ready as she left for study abroad just a few days later.  We enjoyed our trip seeing the sights, spending time with the family, and having our fill of paella and tapas. The trip to Spain was a really nice way to end 2019.

Ringing in the New Year with Mom in Toledo, Spain

Brian and I did a little bit of traveling last year. It started with Mom, Susan, Lauren and I heading to Montreal to see my nephew Adam at McGill University.  He was on the McGill lumberjack team so we went to see him literally “cut wood.”  It was a lot of fun, however very cold.  We also met our friend Rachel for dinner while in Montreal.  Her sister Elaine and I were exchange students when I was 16 years old. They lived in England and we have remained friends throughout all these years. Rachel is hysterical and is a blast to be with.

Gray girls in Montreal 2019

Brian went on “spring break” in Florida in March (he called it seeing friends, family, and clients in Florida and going to two spring training games – I just call it spring break!).  Even still, I joined him for a long weekend in the Boca/West Palm area.  It was lovely to get away even for a short break.

In April we went to see my dear friend Valerie.  We went to Colorado Spring, Denver, Estes Park and Boulder.  It was great to see Val’s new home in Denver and spend time with her.  I thought Denver was beautiful and flat, and I wasn’t expecting that.  From Val’s home we could see the snowcapped mountains in the distance, just stunning!

In May, we headed for a different type of vacation Nashville with our friends Debbie and Marty.  Well, those southerners know how to party, as Nashville was out of control!  We had a blast and danced and drank our way through the weekend. It was so much fun. Brian also went on a work-related trip to Washington DC for a couple of days, and the good news is he got to thoroughly enjoy going to an economic conference and spending time doing things that I would have absolutely no interest in, such as going to the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court.

With Debbie and Marty in Nashville

In July, I had hernia surgery. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go swimming or exercise for the summer break, so I spent it quietly at home recovering.  At the end of July, I did go with Mom, Susan, and Lauren up to Maine.  My nephew Lucas was on a sailing adventure from Connecticut to Maine (where we had to pick him up), so we all went to get him.  On our way there all we did was “drive, shop, eat and repeat.”  We had a lot of laughter.  When we picked up Lucas he almost had to run alongside the car because it was filled with “stuff”.  Don’t worry, we managed to squeeze him in.  In August, Brian and I went upstate NY to be counselors at a UU camp.  It was the same structure of the camp which the girls went to on Shelter Island for many years, they just changed the location.  It was Brian’s first time and we both had an enjoyable experience and plan to return next summer (if travel plans don’t get in the way of course!). 

In October all of us went out to LA for a Cohen family reunion with the “excuse” being Brian’s Uncle Ron’s 80^th birthday celebration.  It was fantastic, as the Cohen clan on the west coast did an amazing job planning and executing the weekend.  It was especially great for Amanda and Rebecca to meet Brian’s Aunts, Uncles and cousins.  It was a really special weekend and we are so glad we all went.

Yes, this is the actual Brady Bunch house!

Now for the update on the family. Right before Thanksgiving Brian and I were discussing our week ahead.  It was a Sunday night and he shares that on Wednesday of that week he is going to the hospital.  Me being me says “are you having a baby?” Unfortunately, that was not it.  He was going in for an angioplasty because a test came back indicating there may be a blockage.  Needless to say I was shocked and of course took the day to be with him.  It was like going to the mechanic for an oil change at the hospital, the patients went in and out all day, it was amazing.  The end result is that there was an 80% blockage and they put a stent in. He was home the same day.  This was a wakeup call for him and as result he has lost 25lbs to date.  I am so proud of him; it was certainly a rude awakening how life can change very quickly. 

Rebecca is a junior at UConn and switched her major back to accounting.  In May, she went to Portugal on a school trip, and on the way home stopped by London for a couple of days to see some friends. Over the summer she worked at the Teddy Roosevelt Sanctuary in Oyster Bay.  She loved the program and enjoyed working as a camp counselor.  In December she moved all her stuff out of her dorm because she is spending the spring semester abroad in Scotland.  She left January 7^th and is having a great time so far, and we are looking forward to visiting her next month. Rebecca will be working in West Hartford most of this coming summer, as she secured an internship with Aetna that she is very excited about.

Amanda continues to work at Stony Brook Hospital. She continues to be active with the UUFH and helps out some Sundays in the religious education program and participates in our local young adult youth group here. She also bought a brand new car a few months ago, a beautiful red Mazda SUV that she picked out. 

Brian and I are at our respected jobs and we both continue to enjoy our careers.  We still laugh and enjoy each other company.  We wish you all a Healthy and Happy (even though belated) New Year!

Hugs to all,

Debbie, her editor Brian, Amanda, Rebecca, and Buddy

Cohen family yearly recap, 2018

Dear Family and Friends,  

Happy 2019! We hope you all had a happy and adventurous 2018.  We made it through, it was a difficult one especially during the winter months.  We still miss my dad very much still, however with each passing day it does get a little easier.  My mom is doing as well as she could under the circumstances, and moved into a great condo that she bought in Stony Brook this summer, that is perfect for her, and that she is very happy with. Dad would be pleased.

Here is a quick recap of our year.

Rebecca still is enjoying UConn and spent last spring break in Colorado building a house through "Habitat for Humanity."  She then spent the summer volunteering at the Teddy Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center and as an intern at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation after traveling with her business learning community to Ireland at the end of May.  She is back at UConn as a finance major and is involved in many activities including her business fraternity, social sorority and is also being a mentor to freshman business students.

Amanda continues to work at SUNY Stony Brook Hospital as a desk clerk in the ER department and she is happy there and still enjoys working the graveyard shift. She continues to be involved with the Unitarian Universal faith and in June attended a retreat in Texas.  Amanda and her friend Alana are flying out this Friday to attend the retreat again and then plans to stay there a few extra days for vacation. She also went to Boston in July to spend time with her good friend Rachel.

I still work, and continue to enjoy it.  The highlight of my year was our trip to the Amalfi Coast with Brian.  We celebrated 25 years of marriage and it was an amazing trip! We spent two weeks going through the towns of the coast.  We started in Salerno and ended in Sorrento.  I hiked the "Path of the Gods", stayed in beautiful places, ate delicious food and still love Brian (editor’s note: “whew” and ditto!).  If you would like to see a recap and pictures from our trip, click on the following link: 25 years wedded bliss, celebrated a bit early, Italian style!

We also took a little" Gray" trip to the Outer Banks this summer. We were joined there with our friends the Drews’ from Setauket. It was a mini "Slime Bucket" reunion from my childhood. They introduced me to sailing and we went on many sailing trips with our families during the summer, and it was great to see them. Unfortunately, Dr. Drew passed away a few weeks ago and all I can say it was wonderful that we got to spend time with him and reminisce about old times. 

In addition, with our great friends Debbie and Marty, we did a surprise weekend adventure, where we went to the Hudson Valley. We went to a sculpture garden, hung out at a cider house, toured the Rockefeller estate Kikuit, and in general just had fun, all to celebrate Debbie's 50th birthday. We had a fantastic time with them, as always.

Marty and Debbie, Debbie and Brian

Brian also still works and his company continues to do well.  Of course, the past few months with the stock market hasn’t exactly been fun, but as he keeps saying, we need to keep focused on the long term. He’s been right so far on this stuff in all the time I’ve known him, so no reason to doubt him now!

Our "Gray" trip this winter was a cruise during the Christmas week to the Canary Islands (part of Spain, but off the coast of Africa), Madeira (which is an island of Portugal), and Morocco.  All 15 of us had fun, lots of laughter and many shared memories.  We went on a camel ride, saw banana plantations, walked on lava flats and relaxed.  

Mon, Deb, Susan, and Lauren

Mom and "Pinky" (Brian Dassatti's mom)

Thanks, Mom for taking us!

The cousins on a cruise 2008

The cousins on a cruise in 2018 (a little bit bigger)

I hope you all have a Happy New Year and enjoy the upcoming year!

Love,

Debbie, her editor Brian, and Amanda, Rebecca, and Buddy

One of the volcanoes on one of the Canary Islands

Buddy - still adogable!

Cohen family yearly recap, 2017

Happy 2018 Everyone,

As I write the annual update on the Cohen family, it fills me with great sadness.  Many of you know that my father passed away on December 12.  We were so fortunate to have him in our lives, and he will be (and already is) greatly missed. So for us, it wasn’t a happy holiday season…

The entire Gray family headed to Grenada to spend Christmas.  My parents had planned this trip over the summer, so we went.  In a way, it was good that the family was able to spend the week together. The trip was good and lots of laughs were had by all.  My high school friend Valerie from Minnesota was able to join us.  It was wonderful to have her come and spend time with her.

The 2017 year went by quickly.  Rebecca was quite busy. She worked at the local supermarket up until right before she left for college. She did that in addition to being on the cheer team, and they made it to “Nationals”, which was in Orlando. It was an ordeal for them to get there as it was the same time we had a blizzard on the east coast in early February. Later on that month, we drove to Pittsburgh, to check out University of Pittsburgh, and then flew (with her friend Shea and Shea’s mom) to see the College of Charleston, where our close friend of the family Emily Lapidus attends. Emily was a terrific tour guide, and we enjoyed the time there. However, after much deliberation, Rebecca ended up deciding on the University of Connecticut. 

As soon as Rebecca left, we felt her absence. I missed her very much in the beginning of her first semester, and cried a bit the first few days when she left (as well as crying at the thought of her leaving prior as well). Now, not so much… ;).  It was an adjustment for her too.  Luckily, she is happy and had a great first semester.  For her spring break she is going to Colorado with UConn to build a house for Habitat for Humanity.

Speaking of graduations, Brian flew out to Texas with his brother Ben, to be there for our nephew Andrew's High School graduation. Brian and Ben had a good time, and had more than their fill of barbecue! Andrew enlisted in the Air Force, and recently completed basic training.

We got a chance to see him when he came to New York in October with his girlfriend Kloey. Ben is now a homeowner, and has a lovely house in Hazlet, NJ, which is not far from Red Bank..

Amanda still enjoys Stony Brook Hospital and continues to work the night shift as a desk clerk in the E.R. department.  She also began taking classes at Suffolk Community College, and is continuing this spring semester.

The summer was a quiet one.  We spent a week at Treasure Island on the west coast of Florida.  It was a beautiful place and we spent the time relaxing.  Rebecca’s friend Kiri was able to join us too.  Before heading to UConn, Rebecca's "summer of fun" included going off to Montauk and Cape Cod.

I continue to work as a speech pathologist and enjoy every day I am there.  Brian still absolutely loves his job and continues to be extremely devoted and passionate about helping people with their finances, along with his partners at their company Landmark Wealth Management.  Personally, I still find it completely boring, but I’m glad he enjoys it.  Give me my language challenged students any day of the week, that’s so much more fun and exciting (at least to me)!

We wish you all a Happy 2018!

Love,

Debbie, as well as her editor Brian, and Amanda, Rebecca, and Buddy (not pictured, but still as cute as ever)

Cohen family yearly recap, 2016

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy New Year!  We hope you all had a wonderful 2016.  My year started off great with a trip in January to Grenada with my sister Susan and her friends.  My friend Debbie Lapidus joined us too.  It was wonderful to get away while the northeast was having their first snow storm.  A lot of laughs and swimming occurred (Editor’s note: not as many laughs at home, especially with lots of snow-blowing and shoveling!).

During the February break, my parents took the entire Gray clan to Woodloch Pines. It was the first time for us, and we had lots of fun, and of course a great time being with the entire family. Brian and I also did a couple of mini road trips with Rebecca to look at colleges.

This summer we went to London for about two weeks, and then headed off to Rome to visit the Vatican for a few days.  We love Europe, and London was lots of fun. We were very fortunate to stay at Brian’s cousin’s home in St. John’s Wood while we were there.  They were in Sag Harbor for the summer so we had their home to ourselves (we got to see them during our annual “Sag Harbor visit” which we look forward to catching up with Brian’s cousins at that time).  In London, we did quite a few walking tours, visited Stonehenge, Oxford, and Cambridge (while in Cambridge we met Amanda’s friend Rachel who was working there for the summer), We saw and did a lot while we were there.

Amanda and Rebecca with the London Eye in the background

  

Selfie of the 4 of us at Stonehenge

Off to Rome to see the Vatican, which is unbelievable!  Then luck would have it again my flight home was cancelled, so Rebecca and I had to stay another day.  Back to the Vatican we went again to climb the copula and then did a tour of the crypts and catacombs of Rome, which while it was fun, was also kind of creepy.

By the Trevi Fountain in Rome

During the year, there were a couple of milestone birthdays that we celebrated. The most recent was of Brian's brother Ben in December. He turned 40, and we celebrated with him and a few of his friends to a steakhouse in NYC (Spark's). The other was my mom, who turned 75 this past May. She continues to work her way through retirement, still at the library. She does it because she still loves doing it, and she also keeps busy socially as well. Getting back to her birthday, we surprised her one day at her house where the entire clan was doing a work day to help around the house and outside. The surprise was when "Chef Lance" came ringing the doorbell, loaded with appetizers, and a full gourmet dinner and dessert to prepare for all of us in her house. It was a great time, as well as delicious!

Lauren, Mom, Susan, Chef Lance, Amanda, Ali, and Sami in the background

Earlier in the year, Amanda took a course and became licensed as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), and worked part-time at Old Navy and Macy’s. Before we headed to England, Amanda was offered a full-time job at Stony Brook University hospital as a desk clerk in the ER department.  She truly enjoys her job and is excited to go to work every day, and has some interesting stories already from her experiences there.  She works the night shift 11pm to 7:30 am, and then she comes home, sees us on our way out, and sleeps. We then will wake her for dinner, and as we get ready for bed, she is off to work. Rebecca also got a job this summer working in the local grocery store.  She started in the spring and continues to work there during school.  It is also handy that we gave her Grandma Sue’s car to drive, so we rarely drive the kids anywhere any longer.

In August, my family came down to visit because dad had knee replacement surgery (he is doing great). While he was in the hospital we went to the ocean before visiting him.  While jumping in the waves, I turned around to look for my nephew Lucas, and then hit by surprise by another wave.  No worry, until I couldn’t stand up, my ankle was a flop (ends up broken in three places).  Thank goodness my sister Susan was on shore to help me out of the water with another gentleman.  Lifeguards, EMT’s and a lot of action took place.  I insisted that Susan drive me up to Huntington Hospital because Dad’s orthopedic surgeon was on call that weekend.  As we call him in the Gray clan “Dr. McHottie”: just ask my sisters.  In my wet, sand filled bathing suit off to hospital I went to have pins and plates put in for emergency surgery.  Yes, Dr. McHottie did do my surgery.  Dad and I were on the same floor recovering, which made it super easy for everyone.  The nurse would roll me down the hallway to see dad, and we even had dinner together one night.  I kid you not, we had a lot of laughs, though a broken ankle is not fun.  I had a hard cast, soft cast, walking boot, walker, crutches, and a knee scooter.  The scooter was lots of fun.  Brian let me deck out the one for school with a bell and streamers.  It even had a basket, goes super fast and my principal once gave me a speeding ticket.  Oh and PT 3x a week.  

So even though I had fun with it, I wouldn’t recommend breaking an ankle to anyone.  I am all done with PT now, though it is still swollen and I can only wear my sneakers, since I can’t fit into my shoes still.  In some ways I feel like Cinderella when she didn’t fit into the glass slipper, however, I still have my prince charming Brian! He was wonderful during the entire process (no Editor’s note needed J)

Fall came and Rebecca applied to a few schools.  She has heard some quite a few with acceptances.  Right now her top picks are the University of Delaware and the University of Pittsburgh.  She wants a medium-semi big school and is interested in entrepreneurship and business/accounting. On an exciting note, her cheerleading team made it to the national competition in Disney World for this February.  It is the first time in Harborfields history that the cheerleading team has been invited to go.  Needless to say we are all very excited for them. 

Brian still enjoys Landmark Wealth Management, which is a good thing because he is a part owner.   I continue to enjoy being a speech therapist.  The children are so much fun and we laugh and laugh.  Amanda is happy and working hard.  She has a boyfriend named Rob, they enjoy hanging out and doing things such as going to ghost tours.  Rebecca is still waiting to hear from more schools, then we will go and do more visits, and then a final decision will be made of where she wants to go.

We wish everyone a Happy New Year and a healthy 2017 filled with adventures and laughter.

Cheers,

Debbie, Brian, Amanda, and Rebecca (and Buddy too)

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