August 8, 1999

Dear Family & Friends,

I looked up my last newsletter and it was dated almost a year ago. (OK...OK... enough of the cheering.) A lot has happened and I still have a tiger by the tail with the Internet company I started a couple of years ago. (www.epit.com) We now have 20 employees and are moving to new offices in September. If you want on this newsletter list, let me know.

Also, I have been slowed down by home computer changes, hard disk failures, and not being home much etc. But slowly getting it back together again. I lost the distribution list of those who eagerly await my epistles, so it is a guess who really wants to get this and who doesn't. (Hope springs eternal) So.. If you want the newsletter, you must let me know, otherwise, I will assume the worst and take you off the list. Please update email addresses, phones etc.

The family web site is back up again after a hiatus, and I will post the newsletters and any pics of interest, but the changes are likely to be minimal with my schedule. Eric is still working on the web site, but for now you can go to www.friesen.org or http://rich.friesen.org (NO www) It is password protected …. the user name is "friesen" and the password is "dogs". I needed to password protect our personal site to stop the search engines. The media was researching ePIT Inc., and finding my personal rants and raves. For those who joined us on the Grand Canyon trip and still want to share the photos.. feel free to do so.

I will see if I can find time to post some pictures of our Banff/Glacier Nat' Park trip in June. It rained and rained and rained every day and most nights. The spring was very late this year and we hiked in rain and snow.. but the good news is that the snow melt was late, and along with the rains, we saw so many spectacular water falls we had to stop counting. The kids were great sports and encouraged us to hike no matter what the weather was like..so we managed to do almost all of the hikes we had hoped to.

Marty is back in Akron this week checking in on her parents along with her sister Evelyn. Her mom has advanced Alzheimers and needs more structured care than Marty's dad is able to give. She is looking at alternatives.

Marty has a busy upcoming music season, singing with the SF Symphony. Her schedule includes Ives, Verdi, Beethoven and Bach.

My dad went through quadruple bypass heart surgery in July and is doing OK. That certainly was a wake-up call for all of us……… Sister Wendi has completed a book "Hypnotize you Lover" and can be ordered.. expensive.. but worth it. (Marty isn't sure she wants me to hypnotize her.. but hey.. I am still working on it) You can order it from Wendi..send her an email.. wendi@wendi.com ……… Tim is selling and developing home putting greens, and Jeanette is still teaching piano. Wes is developing web pages in Florida.

The kids are all home this summer. Jeremy is working for the same software developer. He is building 3-D engines for game development. Eric is interning at the same company developing web-based credit card processing software. This year he will be deciding on colleges. Lorien is working at the ePIT office for the summer until she returns to UCLA.

We managed to pave the driveway this summer. The 30 year old asphalt was getting harder and harder to find. Marty's projects have been building new fences and gates. We still have some sidewalk and patio brick work to finish. It never ends.

We are all busy with work and well. Hope to be able to slow down and start a social life again in the near future. Hope you are well. Let us know.

Rich and Marty.