Today an interesting thing happened at work. I had a patient named Alexis Ginn. Her dad comes from a line of Ginn's living in South Carolina. More unusual she has an older brother named Parker. Small world.
I'm off to Del Mar tonight. mom has to work tomorrow morning so the Holst will bring her down with them around noon. Hope everyone has a great and safe Labor day weekend. Take lots of pictures and we will get to enjoy your activities next week.
Love dad

hi daddy!!

Sara was nice enough to let me send some pictures she has in the computer here at work. You won´t see all the store, but at least you´ll have an idea of where I spend most of my time!

The picture of just the watch is the same watch I sold that was my first "big sale" (15.000€). I thought you´d like to see it.

The three people are, Sergio, Sara and Fatima. There wasn´t a photo of everyone. Sara is the one I get along with really well. She is the same age as me...her birthday is the same year on Bobbys day (11/16/1978). She has two little boys. Anyway, she´s very nice.

Hope you like the photos. Love you lots.
keep smiling
me

I thought everyone might like to know where Cindi is working these days. She is happy working here and last Monday she sold 67,000.00 euros worth of jewelry. It will be nicer when she has been there 3 months and gets credit for her sales. Until then she is just a greeny sales person. She will get some commission i'm not sure how they calculate it so I will have to let her explain it later along with the name of the store. It is on the same level of exclusivity as Tiffanie's (I think). She will have to enlighten us about that also.

Love everyones posts
Ed

HI ALL!!

Well, I’ve ridden my bike for two weeks of M-W-F, just barely!! Last week, I experienced a number of ‘FIRSTS’ while riding. On Monday, I started the week off with my FIRST – FLAT TIRE! Fortunately for me, Heavenly Father had his arm around me, and it was a slow leak that happened during work, so when I went to get on the bike at 5:30pm, it was flat like a pancake. Called a couple of ‘friends’ but it was my ‘friend’ Nancy McKeegan who came to my rescue. The young guy in my office, Matt was able to get the tire off the bike (something I don’t know how to do yet – heehee!), I put it in Nancy’s trunk and we were off to BUY MY BIKES!! Bought a new tube and when they put it on the wheel, they ‘SLIMED’ the tube. They put this -neon lime-green slime-stuff in it that helps with small, slow leak-type punctures. I was surprised to find it was just a tiny thorn, smaller than one on a rose stem that had put a hole in the tube and let it go flat. The guy who fixed the tire said he would never go out riding without having his tires ‘SLIMED’ first.

On Wednesday, I experienced my FIRST – RIDING AT NIGHT! I rode the bike and joined Ed and Shan at the SJC Heritage Park for the Summer Concert Series (listened to the ‘Doo-Wah Riders’ Country Band). Sorry to say, Marie and Ron were both under the weather, but they promised to be among the throng next month. The concert went from 6 – 8, by the time we got packed up, I got my bike ready, used the ‘port-a-potty,’ it was 8:30pm before I got on my way and it was ‘DARK.’ I got to use the light on the front and a new red blinking-LED light on the back. It was kind of ‘spooky’ riding along the bike path at night, but the light really helped! I was surprised to find how many others were riding the path at that hour, but without any lights – geez!! I nearly ran into a couple who didn’t have lights on! Got home safe and sound, of course, the walk up my hill is a killer – day time or night time!!

I ended the week in a BIG WAY!! – On Friday, another FIRST – I FORGOT TO WEAR MY HELMET!! I overslept, got going late, so was speeding down Del Avion when I realized I could feel the wind in my hair – and why was that? Because I didn’t have the helmet on my head, but had left it on the kitchen table!! For just a split second I thought about going back and getting it, but the idea of walking up Dana Mesa to the house was an immediate turn off. Of course, had I been in the car, would have done a quick U-turn, zoomed up the hill and retrieved the helmet, but thinking better of it, I continued on my way – all the time praying the trip would be ‘uneventful’ and the missing helmet would not be needed. When I got to work, safely mind you, I called my neighbor, Tina and she was so kind to drop of the helmet on one of her errands – THANK YOU TINA!!

At the end of the day Friday, I made arrangements with Ed and Marie to stop at A’s Burgers for dinner. When trying to decide where to eat, Marie was so kind to make sure it was some place on my way home – THANKS MARIE!! A’s Burger’s is not too far from the office, so I pushed off from the office around 5:15pm. As I get close to the street corner on Forbes Rd by the car wash, I usually get up on the sidewalk and ride to the corner so I can push the button for the crosswalk. There’s a large groove where the road meets the driveway of the car wash. Everyday when I get close to that spot, I remind myself to take care because that would be a ‘dangerous’ place to get my wheel caught! As usual, I had that thought as I approached the driveway and sidewalk but for some reason I didn’t heed the ‘still small voice’ about taking care. I think I was ‘hot dogging’ – trying to show off a bit, because there were lots of cars and people around – when WHAM-BAM – THANK YOU MAAM!! – YOU WONDER WHAT HAPPENED?? WELL, THE WHEEL GOT CAUGHT IN THE GROOVE!! I thought I could muscle the bike out of the groove and onto the sidewalk, but that didn’t work. Within a couple of seconds, I had fallen to the ground, slid across the sidewalk on my hands, and my legs had been scraped over the gears and chain. There were little Hispanic guys and ladies in their cars waiting for the light to turn green, yelling at me, and asking me if I was okay? Did I need help?

When something like that happens, the first thing most of us feel is just plain EMBARRASSED and I was no exception. I was so humiliated!! Then, I sort of rolled over and sat on the sidewalk for a minute as the cars were driving by – starting to take stock of my body, how I felt, what hurt, was there anything broken, could I walk. All of those thoughts go through your mind in a split second. I was able to get myself up, checked the bike, checked myself – yes, there was some blood dripping, and a couple of bad scrapes but nothing seemed to be broken. One of the only benefits of being ‘CHUBBY’ is you sort of ‘BOUNCE’ and bones don’t seem to get broken, like they might if I were on the thin side! But very quickly, I realized I’d put a couple of deep gashes in the back of my ankle, just above the tendon and there was blood dripping down onto my sock and it was really painful and difficult to walk. Also the chain was off the gears (another little item I don’t know how to fix), but I did remember what Matt did to put my wheel back on the bike, I did the same thing and was able to get the chain on – YEAH!! I got over to the signal light on the corner, but wondered how I was going to ride even the short distance to A’s Burgers. When the light changed I pushed off across the intersection, and to my amazement was glad to feel it didn’t really hurt to ride the bike, only walking really hurt. It was tough getting the bike down and up at the AMTRAK Station, but I made it, then the short distance to A’s Burgers. Ed and Marie had just gotten there – great timing!! I told them the story, showed them my ‘injuries’ – Marie helped wash me up in the bathroom. By then, the adrenalin had kicked in and I wasn’t hurting too bad, but by the time we finished our dinner, I was starting to hurt bad. I was so thankful Ed and Marie were with me – They were so kind and offered to give me a ride home – THANK YOU-THANK YOU-THANK YOU!! I’m sure it would have been a ROUGH AND HURTING ride home – but they just muscled the bike into the trunk and off we went. All the way home, Marie was giving great ‘BOY SCOUT FIRST AID TIPS’ – what to do when I got home!! I did all the things she said to do, and was feeling a little better. AND THAT WAS MY FIRST ‘BICYCLING ACCIDENT.’

I spent most of Saturday with my leg up, going from putting ice on it, to heat and hobbling around. I made it to Church on Sunday, but everyone knew something wasn’t right when I hobbled up on the stage to sing with the Choir. I got lots of pats on the back from the Brothers, hugs and kind words from the Sisters (with a touch of amazement too that I was riding to work)!! I was going to leave right after Sacrament, but my friend, Christy said I had to be in RS because she was giving the lesson and needed to see my ‘HAPPY’ face in the crowd, so I stayed.

When I got home there was a message from Ed and Marie with an invite for dinner. They wanted to see how I was doing, what color were the injuries, so I drove over (doesn’t hurt to drive) and enjoyed a great meal (bbq chicken and corn muffins!) and fun company. They’re kind to listen to my stories, and share a few laughs with me. And there were brownies and ice cream for dessert – YUMMMMY!!

So, needless to say, I’m taking this week off from riding my bike to recover from all the ‘FIRSTS’ from last week!!

I’ll let you all know when I’m 'BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN.'!!

Love you all,
Cassy

Stacia and Landon had their first day of school yesterday. Landon was a little bit nervous to start kindergarten, but he did great. His teacher told me he earned 2 green cards for good behavior, and that he was the only one to do so. Landon told me that school was "awesome" they got to read two stories and he made a new friend named Landon Christiansen. He also told his aunt Amanda that he was the "goodest" in his class.
Stacia also had a great day, She was very excited to tell me that she gets three recesses! She gets to eat lunch at school this year which she thinks is so cool. She told me she made a million new friends! She was so cute with Landon, When she got home she went right up to him and asked how his first day went. It was one of those proud mommy moments. I think think it was a great start to the new school year.

Hi All! Last week, on one of the days I drove to work, the traffic was backed up more than usual, so I was glad to be exiting off on Crown Valley Parkway. When I turned right onto Forbes Road and drove a ways, I looked straight ahead and saw this really beautiful geyser!! It looked like it was just down Cabot Road, maybe past the storage units, probably a broken fire hydrant. It was gushing so high up in the air; it reminded me of ‘Old Faithful’ geyser in Yellow National Park. Of course, the surroundings weren’t so beautiful and natural, but the site of the water spraying was really pretty. Maybe if I’d been closer, there would have been a rainbow.

When I got to work, I told my boss, Dale and he rushed out to take this pic of it. As we stood watching it, we could hear the sirens of the police and fire trucks rushing to its location, to get it shut off – we live in a drought area, so that was a lot of water to waste even with its beauty. Also, made me realize why the traffic was so slow on the freeway, all those ‘lookee-loos’ trying to get a glimpse of it too!! Hey, Ed did you see it too??

Love you all,
Cassy

WAY TO GO CASS!

WHAT AN INSPIRATION YOU ARE!

That of course does not mean I am going to be trying your feat of wonder any time soon, but I can at least live vicariously through you.

Love you,
Marion

HI ALL!!

For those of you who might be wondering whether I crashed and burned somewhere along Camino Capistrano this past Monday, I’m here to tell you – I MADE IT!!! It took me 1 hour 10 minutes to bike from my house to work at the end of Forbes Rd, all 7 miles. Have to say, it was kind of tough for the first 30 minutes. I was really huffing and puffing, wondering if I was ever going to catch my breath or maybe just keel over. Next thing I knew something wonderful happened – BAM!! – I WAS IN THE ZONE and it felt like I could ride all day (well, maybe not all day – heehee!). Glad to report, there were no accidents and no glitches with either me or the bike. Of course, when it came time to carry the bike down the stairs, through the tunnel under the Amtrak Station, and up the stairs on the other side, it was with pretty WOBBLY legs and a POUNDING heart, but I MADE THAT TOO!! From there, it was an easy ride to the office. I felt very PROUD of myself as I wheeled up to the office front door – YEAH !! I MADE IT and didn’t have a heart attack in the process, but I must admit my BUTT and other places were KILLING ME!! Places I didn’t even remember were hurting – HeeHee!!

All through the day, I kept thinking how was I going to get back on that back and ride all the way home with my bottom was still hurting!! But surprisingly, after I got going it didn’t hurt as much (actually I think it all just went numb!!). Took me just an hour to ride home, even with the walk up Dana Mesa (which is a killer, and probably where I will get most of my cardio work out). Most of the ride home is slightly downhill, but when you get onto the bike trail there in SJC you have the head wind off the ocean blowing right at you, so it’s a little slow going –downhill but heavy wind - I think it’s really a trade off, so the slight downhill didn’t seem to be that much of an advantage. Anyway, when I stepped off the bike it was with shaky legs and a really sore bottom. Lots of places were chafing and burning – geez!! I hope that part gets easier!!

The close up pics are of me after the ride to work in the morning. Red face and sweating like a ‘steer.’ My boss laughed after I took my helmet off. He said, ‘You just have to see your new hairdo.’ He called it my ‘Sweaty Ridge Head’ hairdo!! As you can see, I really need a hair cut, maybe it won’t be like that when the hair is shorter!! The pic of me outside is after work as I get ready to push off towards home. You can really see why I need to get out and get some exercise - HEEHEE!!

I came to realize after that first ride, I wouldn’t be able to do this everyday – that I needed to start slower, so I’m doing it 3 days a week M-W-F. On Tuesday, it was nice to sleep in that extra half hour and drive leisurely to work. To ease my sore BUTT, Andy suggested I look into getting a ‘gel’ seat cover, so on the way home, I stopped at BUY MY BIKES (want to keep that business local – heehee – that comes from Grandpa Ginn) and picked up a ‘gel’ seat cover and a better pair of riding gloves – WOW – I was good to go on Wednesday. While I was at the bike shop, I ran into a lady from my Ward, a new single sister convert. Her name is Lauren. She doesn’t have a reliable car, so she bikes everywhere except for picking up groceries. We talked a while, shared ‘biking’ stories (mostly hers, of course) and she offered to ride with me to work the next morning. I can’t imagine getting up that early just to ride with someone I hardly know, but she was so insistent about needing a ‘friend’ to ride with, I said sure. We met at 7am at the Kinoshita Farms and were off down the bike path. Par for those first few minutes, I’m huffing and puffing, sweating, wiping my brow, blowing my nose – she’s not even winded or breaking a sweat!! Maybe that will be me soon!! Because she was along for the ride, and I didn’t want to keep her back, I worked harder, biked faster and really made an effort to keep up. She rode all the way to my work front door, we said our ‘goodbyes’ and she was off to make the trip back home - while I was so glad to be at work where I could recuperate and sit a while in front of my computer.

Some of the things I notice as I ride along are: in the morning, other riders say HI or GOOD MORNING but as I’m riding home, everyone is tired, glum and I don’t get many smiley, happy faces when I say HI! I notice the smells and dust from the road and cars whizzing by, and I can hear the scurry of the lizards and little animals in the bushes along the road. Then there was the open door to a semi truck parked across from In-N-Out with the driver standing in his doorway pulling up and buckling his pants – and me wondering what that was all about!! Of course, I’ll remember the little Hispanic child, maybe 3 or 4 running towards me with a tree branch, wanting to poke me and his mom holding him back with dear life and him screaming all the time!! Then there was the little Hispanic guy pushing a baby stroller. As I go by, I'm thinking I'll see a cute little baby in the stroller, but instead there are 3 cute little Chihuahuas - I guess they were his babies - really cute!!

Also, maybe this is just me, but as I've driven my car, I’ve never wondered how busy is the bike path? Well, let me tell you it’s really a busy 'road' with not only bikers but joggers, walkers, dog walkers, stroller walkers with babies – lots and lots of people getting out and being active. Makes me realize how much I’ve missed by being a slug and couch potato plopped in front of my TV!!

So for now, think of me on M-W-F – I’ll be on my bike and on the road!!

Love you all,
Cassy

HI ALL!! Last Saturday, Andy and the kids were able to enjoy a ‘Company Party’ from his Dad’s work – it was a day at ‘King’s Dominion’ theme park located 20 miles north of Richmond, VA. Tickets included entrance, all the rides, free drinks and a lunch – wow! – can’t beat that! Sorry to say Ninha wasn’t able to go because she had special training for her manager’s job at the daycare.

Andy thought it was only about an hour’s drive but ended up being more like 2, so everyone was really anxious to get out of the car and onto those rides. Most of the pics are self-explanatory. Those fun pics of the kids with cartoon characters, riding the carousel, flying in the Red Baron, swinging in the Viking boat and driving those little cars!!
It was kind of tough for little Drew because many of the rides he couldn’t go on, and it wasn’t too much fun watching Shawnna ride all the time. Finally they found some just his size and can I tell you, the day improved ten fold!!

There’s the pic driving the cars around with the track but check out the other cars. I was really surprised with those little cars – look at all that room they got to drive around in and no track to have to follow. There’s Shawnna leading the pack and Drew is zooooming by so fast he’s a blur!! There’s the kids enjoying lunch and then, it’s off to the Eiffel Tower – not in Paris but in VA! They were way up high and they both thought it was kind of scary up there but enjoyed the elevator ride up and down! Along with the rides in the park, there is a water park too. You can see Shawnna and Drew in their suits getting wet in the sprinklers! And look at that funny, wet hairdo Drew has – HAHA!!

Andy said he really liked the ‘FREE’ drink thing the best - just being able to walk up and get a drink any time was great considering how hot and humid it was!! I’m sure a fun time was had by all, but everyong was glad to be back home and fast asleep!!

Love you all,
Grandma TaTa

Great report dad! You did your homework well!! It looks like the two of you had a lovely time scaring the people at the beach!!

WOW Cassy, you´re awesome! My husband wishes I would get on a bike!! Thanks for sharing your experience and helping me decide to never get on a bike again!!! Hope things went well Monday...that is if you had the guts to go to work on your bike...trust me I won´t blame you if you didn´t!!!

Nathan you sure do look good...you´ve lost more weight, haven´t you?!?!

To fill you in on Spain life....we both work a lot, David is a GREAT primary teacher (yes he is still elders quorm pres. as well), and I´m dreading and loving planning girls camp again!

love you all!

Alexa and Brinley took turns with the camera. See I can smile! Had a very nice visit with Nathan and Brandi and the whole family.
Love from,
far away grand-ma and - pa

Always looking for new ways to survive in this fast changing economy Nathan has a part interest in and is the business manager at the Campus clinic at the University of Northern Colorado. The last picture he is at the sink at home helping out on Sunday.

This is Nathan age 39 at the office he has been working at for the last few years. He runs this clinic. Does physical therapy, chiropractic and acupuncture about three days a week.

I think these pictures of Natalie age 3 (4 in Oct.) demonstrate ATTITUDE and she has an abundance of attitude. She is so happy and fun most of the time but when she gets upset she digs in her heels and takes her stand and the operative word is NO. If you just go away for awhile most of the time you come back and there is a smile and a delightful giggle and life has righted itself again.