Soooo excited!

Well, the four of us who are planning this event just met in Chicago this past weekend to get everything nailed down and organized! We are so excited and can't wait until June! We all stayed at the Essex Inn and the renovated rooms were very nice!!!!! Below is the final schedule of events. Just a reminder: PLEASE BUY LUNCHEON TICKETS BY MARCH 30TH. PLEASE SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO MICHELLE FOR THE SLIDE SHOW ASAP.

FRIDAY:
Pizza Party 5:30-8:00pm
Sherwood Conservatory
1312 South Michigan Ave. (this is aprox. 5 blocks from the hotel)
Pizza will be served at 6:30
You can drop in anytime but please note we can't guarantee that pizza will be left at 7:45 :) The children are encouraged to wear their Kazakh outfits if they have them to this event! Be sure to bring your cameras! Also please bring your donations for the Saturday raffle to this event and give them to one of us.

SATURDAY:
11:30-1:00luncheon at Grace O'Malley's Irish Pub
1416 South Michigan Ave.
This is our big event. There will be entertainment for the kids. We will have a few small presentations and a raffle to benefit our charity which also will be announced! There will be a buffet. Everyone who attends must have purchased tickets in advance. See previous posts about prices. Everyone is encouraged to wear the Kazapalooza tees to this event. Information on the tees will be posted shortly.

2:45
Meet in the lobby of the Essex Inn
800 South Michigan Ave.
THERE ARE TWO OPTIONS:
1. A group will be heading off to the Shedd Aqarium. (you may take a cab or walk the 3/4 mile) Tickets will be purchased at the door. We did not get a group rate as the tickets would have to be purchased in advance and many people wanted to see how their kids were doing at that point in the day. :)

2. Another group will be walking over to Millenium Park (aprox 7 block walk)
This park is free and has a really cool interactive water feature for the kids to run through and play in.

We made two separate options so you can choose on that day what is best for your family. Of course there is always the option of going back to your hotel and napping :)

YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN FOR DINNER. FEEL FREE TO BREAK INTO GROUPS AND ENJOY THE CITY! WE WILL BE PROVIDING YOU WITH SOME KID FRIENDLY SUGGESTIONS WHICH ARE IN WALKING DISTANCE TO THE HOTEL.

7:30-POOL PARTY!!!!You must be staying at the Essex Inn to attend as they check room keys. Please note individual flotation devices such as water wings and life jackets are fine. You may not bring large rafts or other large inflatable toys.

SUNDAY:
10:00- head out the front doors of the hotel and walk across the street to the park. If you can stick a ball or frisbee in your suitcase bring it with you. We will have some balls and toys for the kids as well.

AGAIN WE ARE VERY EXCITED FOR AND PROUD OF THIS EVENT!!!!! WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING ALL OF YOU.

I WANT TO REMIND YOU TO BOOK YOUR HOTEL. THEY ARE ONLY HOLDING A CERTAIN NUMBER OF ROOMS FOR US AT THE DISCOUNTED RATE. AFTER THAT THE RATE WILL BE MORE!

Slideshow

I've received pictures for the slideshow from the following families:

Sapp
Taylor
Glaser
Van Sant
Hochstetler
Bilbro
Struck
Elrod
DuBose
Falk
Morley
Guida
Holland
Prudhomme
Sandlin
Segebarth
Cech
Morey
Burd
Kitzman
Cronauer
Groh
Lloyd
Kubal
Reed
McLelland
Meyer
Sharify

If you'd rather me pull pictures from your blog, just give me permission in the comments section of this post or send me an e-mail at SpEduc8er@aol.com

If you are attending, but won't have a baby Kaz yet, just send me a comment or an e-mail letting me know, and I'll still include your name in the slideshow.

Remember to include family name, the name of your child who was adopted, what region, and what month and year you traveled.

We believe the slideshow will really add to our lunch, so please send your pictures in!

***PLEASE READ POST BELOW!!!****

Sign up for the lunch! It's the biggest event of our weekend!