Every month my family gets together....outside of the typical Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays and my summer get together's for bocce ball and shuffleboard.
Angie and I organize 2 months ~ same for my brother, sister and my ex-wife. My son and daughter organize 1 each with their spouses and my 2 oldest nieces do 1 each ~ which gives us 12. As some of the other kids get older we will reach the point where the adults only have to host 1 a year.
The rules ~ If it is your month you have to host the event on the 3rd Saturday of the month...if it works out...doesn't always. If you cannot host that month you may trade with someone. You can have the dinner at your place providing all the food, arrange to meet at a restaraunt (we all pay our own way) or call for a potluck.
If everyone comes we have 20 people...of course there are times when someone can't make it.
Tonight my ex-wife and her S.O. is hosting...I think we will all be there...it will probably be BBQ...my ex-wife's S.O.'s BBQ ribs are awesome!
How about you....do you get together on a regular basis as a family?
I think that what you guys have going on is just great!
Unfortunately our family is spread accross the globe and we do not have the opportunity for regular get togethers like you guys do. We do, however, always try to get "accross the pond" once a year to reconnect with loved ones. When we do meet up, don't worry, it is 2 weeks of continual get togethers. In fact, it can be too much......
EZ, do you wanna adopt me and my daughter? Your family is so loving. I wish I had a big family. I have less family than I have fingers on one hand. I see them as often as I can, they are precious to me.
Spread apart too -- however almost every summer my mom's family has a family reunion at the family beach -- my grandmother had 14 siblings so there are tons of people -- my kids get to see their cousins and new babies/spouses are cool to meet too!! I grew up with a big extended family and feel bad my boys don't have the same opportunity.
By the way, EZ, how did your family get to be so cool? You guys are always putting family first -- I love that!!!
Nope, we are too spread out. We have dh's family out here for a ski week every spring which is nice to have separate from the holiday hoohah. We keep trying to get someone to move here, but so far no luck.
My family...well....hey I heard from my brother last week for the first time in almost a decade
We on this small rock get together every weekend for a BBQ...usually 5 out of my 6 sisters will show w/their husbands or boyfriends and kids and sometimes even pets. We have a full house almost every weekend and sometimes I just wish they would go home Nah, like most families we have our little squabbles but I wouldn't trade them for the world... well, maybe I have this one sister that i would consider....
Most of my immediate family is pretty close to my mom's house. Every month or so we get together for a couple of hours on a Sunday for a lunch and just to hang out. It's only about 8 of us. (More are invited, but choose not to come.) But I like being able to see my family fairly regularly aside from typical holidays. So yeah. We "Family Together"
Our family is all over, including one member in HI currently. So we all try to at least get together once a year at a big bash family reunion in OH. Our HI cousin can't make it, but we have em in from FL, IL, MI, TN, NC, OH, WV, KY, etc.
My family on both sides used to be like that while I was growing up and I LOVED it. I was also fortunate that my whole family lived less than 45 minutes away. I really miss it now and my hubby only has a sister nearby in this state but they aren't close and we might see each other every couple of months. Now my family doesn't do get together's so much any more due to things like people doing things like stealing money from other family members in business and moving further away and side taking in divorces-happened with my parent's divorce and I saw some ugly sides to some of my family members that I have yet to forget about and am now uncomfortable around them myself. Just situations like that unfortunately that have changed my family and the dynamics drastically in the last 5 to 7 years. But I cherish the memories I have of all the family get togethers.
We did when I was younger when my grandma and my step dad was alive but not anymore. Infact most of my family doesn't even know what state I live in! lol.
Anywho, I applaud those who do get together often, that is great.
We try to get together for holidays and other occasions, but usually it will be we do something with all of my moms side and then we do something with all of my dad's side. My brother is unfortunately 5 hours away currently so it makes it harder for him to come in on a whim, but he does. What's kind of fun for me now too is I go to my bf's family's get togethers too. So I get to have celebrations on my family's side and then on his too! I think honestly one of the biggest get togethers that is held is 4th of July. Everyone comes out! I think because it is good weather and a fun event. Being in WV Christmas and Thanksgiving can get downright awful weather sometimes. For 4th of July at my house its usually a huge bbq with all the fixin's and everyone from my dad's side usually, we have games set up like volleyball and horseshoes, and then the fireworks. WV is a state that does not allow anything to go up in the air, but since all of us live back in it always seems that we *find* fireworks that do It's good fun.
I think that what you are doing sounds like a good time. It's great that you can all get together like that and have something established.
We're all too spread out, so family stuff is usually only on holidays or vacations. My in-laws winter down here, so they're with us every weekend and that's nice. The kids are always home in the evening and we ALWAYS have a sit down dinner--every night. I wonder what it will be like when DD goes off to school.
We have family in Orange County and we get together at Thanksgiving at least twice that weekend. Those cousins do get together amongst themselves quite often. I know one of their requirements is that the host family HAS to serve something with avocado (otherwise everyone thinks they're poor and they buck up and give the host a few dollars for avocados the next visit!).
My Mom & Dad and brother live in SLC, Utah, so if they come for Thanksgiving we see them. Otherwise we can go a year or more without seeing them.
My sister lives in Texas and it is the same thing.
Vacations are limited and we don't always use that time to visit family. I do wish we were closer so we could do more together.
We did when I was younger when my grandma and my step dad was alive but not anymore. Infact most of my family doesn't even know what state I live in! lol.
I worry over this. My grandmother passed away last year and my grandfather just passed away last month. They kept this family coming here for visits. With us all spread out, we're starting to wonder what would be the reason those far off come here anymore. A lot of the family wouldn't get together if it hadn't been for our grandparents, and now they're gone.
Do You "FAMILY TOGETHER?"
Your family is so loving. I wish I had a big family. I have less family than I have fingers on one hand. I see them as often as I can, they are precious to me.
-- however almost every summer my mom's family has a family reunion at the family beach -- my grandmother had 14 siblings so there are tons of people -- my kids get to see their cousins and new babies/spouses are cool to meet too!! I grew up with a big extended family and feel bad my boys don't have the same opportunity. 
...we are like most families I think...we I have issues...well....I don't...but some of the others do...
Nah, like most families we have our little squabbles but I wouldn't trade them for the world... well, maybe I have this one sister that i would consider.... 
