Navin Family / Financial Designs Updates 7/08

Navin’s “Gossip” Notes

The Navin Family is doing well, energized by the pig roast, and happy to have all members back in the United States.

Lets begin with the worldwide travelers—Tracy and Julia. They had a great time traveling Italy, Greece and Paris. Their favorite had to be parts of Italy and Greece. The history and sights were just phenomenal. Enjoying the city of Rome (they actually were there and saw the Pope and President Bush), lots of laughs, good pictures, but also lots of garbage. Tracy (being a bit of a “germ-a-phobe”) said there was one stop where she would not get off the bus, too much trash piled high in the street. I guess the mafia controls the trash pick up and there was some issue between them and the government. Anyhow, it was all good besides that.

They really enjoyed the outskirts of Rome and Greece. Great people, enjoying life and their food. Tracy and Julia even jumped off a cliff into the Mediterranean Sea (that’s her to the left)! Paris was good, but after being gone 14 days they found it busy, noisy and missed the United States. We are definitely glad to have them home!

WHILE they were out, Kailey and I enjoyed some great time together. The first week Kailey was involved in a camp in Leipers Fork called Kids On Stage. A great week in which they interact with musicians, song writers, artists, computer graphics, etc. They actually wrote songs with song writers who produced some extremely popular songs. At the end of the week they (all the kids in the camp, 200) put on a concert. They run the lights, sound, set up, music, and the performance. They actually sang the songs they worked on all week. Amazing the talent of these kids, their hard work and dedication produced a great evening!

The second week Kailey and I spent 4-5 days in Sanibel Island, FL. Great for both of us to get away. We rented bikes, walked the beach, rented a scooter, ate lots of ice cream and laid on the beach. It was some great Dad and Daughter time. I am thankful to be a part of her life!

THE PIG ROAST……What an enjoyable afternoon! We feel truly blessed and are certainly grateful for so many wonderful clients!! The event contained fun events—many played miniature golf in which the competition was fierce. Where I didn’t think there would much competition, but definitely was, was in the bib decorating contest. We had some really creative and artistic entries in the event!! Some of the winners were The Neuman family…from Estelle down to the grandkids, all have tremendous artistic talent! Then there is the infamous (famous to those who know and love him) Bob Howicz who decorated a great bib with Green Dollar Signs all over it, had to recognize that talent!


The kids also joined in with coloring, decorating, and water gun fights. The pig arrived, what a sight to see - 130 lbs. roasting in a long spit. The taste was truly amazing. Thank you also to the wonderful chefs we have in our presence…many compliments on all the great food!! Once again thank you to you! WE appreciate you, and the opportunity to help you reach your dreams. We are looking forward to our Fall/Winter event.
Please let us know if we can help in any way! WE appreciate you, your referrals, and your energy!
Bob Howicz to the left



Bib Contest to the right


P.S. If you have a moment this week drop Gina a note, email, phone call. Her 30th birthday is July 27! I appreciate all she does and I’m sure you do too!!

Gina’s Notes

Well, I was given specific instructions not to change the P.S. listed above so the “cat’s out of the bag!” At the end of the month I turn 30 and to celebrate appropriately, I will be headed to Vegas! So many of you have told me that 30 was your best year so I should embrace it – this sounds great but are you telling me that it’s all downhill from here – hah! Hopefully I’ll have some funny stories and pictures for the next newsletter when I return – I’m not looking for any “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” stories! I will be out of the office July 24th through the 28th (and although I may be in the office on the 29th, I may be a little slow)!

On a triathlon note, I decided against my July race. After talking with a tri veteran, I learned that the race director of this month’s race isn’t so great and I wouldn’t be missing anything! Chicago’s tri is right around the corner and continues to give me GREAT motivation (which I apparently need right now). For those of you that missed the information on the air date for the Vegas race I did, it is July 26th on NBC from 2:30 to 3:30 CST. Between now and my birthday, I have a 45 mile bike ride planned with my mom in Dekalb on the 20th. She is NOT a competitive rider and I’m looking forward to just enjoying the ride and the afternoon with her. It could take us a long time to get finished but sometimes it’s the journey – not the destination – that really counts.

On a Financial Designs note, I absolutely LOVED the pig roast and the afternoon with all of you! Although the weather was predicted to be nasty, it held off beautifully and the sun actually came out at the very end. As John said above, we were thrilled with the participation in the bib contest and the mini-golf. So many of you got good golf scores (sorry Shirley about the mishap of me adding 10 points to your score)! We are looking forward to our next event and will let you know what we’re thinking as soon as we figure it out!

Have a great summer and enjoy the weather – it appears to have finally arrived in Chicagoland! As always, if you need anything, you know where to find us!