Tuesday, October 30, 2007

We are doing the best we can!

Those of us planning this awesome weekend have been asked why we are closing registration so early. I will explain the best I can and please do not be offended, we are trying to do something nice and have a fun family weekend. All four of us planning this event have families and very busy lives but we all love Kazakhstan and adoption and are very excited about Kazapalooza. The two of us who live in the Chicago area also work outside the home.

We have never planned something like this before and are learning very quickly that the type of event we want to have takes a lot of planning. Our hotel that I was able to get an awesome rate on wants my personal credit card to hold the block of rooms. If we do not fill 85% of the rooms we block off, I will be charged. This is scary to me but I am willing to do it because that is the only way to hold a block of rooms at a discounted rate in Chicago and trust me in Chicago $169 is a total steal especially for a hotel that all the rooms will be completely updated before we arrive. I want to block 20 rooms. We have so far 19 families coming and I know there may be a few additions and subtractions as the event draws closer. I am confident that we will fill all the rooms but I have to sign the contract with the hotel by November 6th. I feel that if people register then I know they are serious and completely plan on coming.

Additionally, we are planning a lot of fun little surprises that take time and money and we need to start some of the projects soon. As mentioned above, we all have families and some have jobs and we want to have plenty of time to complete our projects. The Holidays are fast approaching and before you know it, Kazapalooza will be here. We are also trying to arrange tickets to the Shedd Aquarium which we have to make reservations for and we get a better rate if we have a group. I am actually trying to get us qualified as a class field trip to get us a better rate. Again, this takes time, deposits and I need a rough estimate of people coming to see if we qualify for a discount. We would also like to have an entertainer at our program and this requires a deposit.

I do not want to go over everything that needs to be done because it is a very long list. We are not asking you to pay for your hotel now, we are asking you to pay $65 for your entire family so we can do everything mentioned above. Please remember that any additional funds will be donated to a charity that helps Kazakh orphans and we are open to any suggestions for a charity. Also please understand that we are not planning a picnic or a dinner, this is an entire weekend and it takes a lot of planning.

Thank you for your understanding and we hope to see you there.

7 comments:

ckeilin2000 said...

You guys are doing a WONDERFUL job of planning. :) We've done this for several years now and we typically don't get a lot of responses until the date draws near - which does make planning more difficult - so we've have always kept it "simple".

It sounds like a really fun weekend! :)

The McLellands said...

We just signed up! Nothing like waiting until the last minute! Our blog is wescesturner.blogspot.com. We are in the waiting process!!
Francesca, Wesley, and Turner McLelland

Karen said...

I feel bad/sad that we can't commit to this event for a number of reasons (which I won't go into right now).
Hopefully there will be a second annual Kazapalooza in '09 and we're in a better place to join you.

You're all doing a great job—thank you for making it possible for us to connect beyond cyberspace.

Kathy said...

Hi, I just signed up-I think. I clicked pay but did not get a receipt. Did it go through? We are the Cronauer family from PA. Blog www.thecronauerstory.blogspot.com

Let me know if I need to register again. We are excited to come- hopefully we are family #20.
Kathy, Johnny, Ben (Adopted Russia 2003) and Delaney (adopted Kaz 2005)
Thanks, Kathy
jkcronauer@comcast.net

Maegan and Tony Van Sant said...

We just registered! We are so excited! Our blog is babygirl_kaz.blogspot.com. We just returned home with our daughter! We cant wait to meet all of you!

Alaina said...

We registered last night - did you get it? Our Kaz blog is falkjourney.blogspot.com Looking forward to it!

Stacy said...

On our link to our blog on the side column it only says Haven. Can you add Addison's name too please!! Thanks, Stacy