There's a bird in your mailbox

Some people might write about their grandparents on mother's day, father's day or even grandparent's day. Not me, I prefer April fools day. :)



Ever since I could remember, I've called my grandma on April 1 to tell her there was a bird in her mailbox. When I was little, from what I hear, she'd actually play along and go check the mailbox while I giggled. Now - & perhaps this is because I've been doing it 25 years - she's doesn't have to check. ;) But I still call to tell her about the bird, every April 1, mostly to hear her laugh.

My grandparents are super cool. I can remember how excited I'd be to go to their house, as a little kid. It was always special.

Grandma was once in a biker gang and tells us stories of prison....oh, wait...that may not be true.... What is true is she takes merciless teasing and laughs right along with us. And she's passed on her sayings, looks and mannerisms to my mom, aunts, me, my sisters and cousins. We're kind of gramma-clones. And it's not a bad thing! :) When I was little, she and mom would take me shopping all over town. And she'd take me to their office and let me photocopy my hands. This is an activity I still enjoy to this day. A few years ago, I needed to illustrate a hands-on treatment called OMM, for a poster. So I photocopied my hands.

My grandpa is a brilliant engineer that understands things I can't even begin to comprehend. Plus, I will never forget the multiplication table for 9s, thanks to him. He always puts up with the silly technical questions I call and expect him to fix over the phone. My grandpa is like a computer genius and he's probably why I like to dink around on the computer, even tho I've now jumped ship to the Mac. He also instilled in me a love of flannel shirts.

Really, truly, they are cool. Super smart and super sweet. They raised four awesome kids and have a whole mess of grandkids that love them. I'm pretty sure they should live closer to me, like say in Ankeny, *hint hint* but I understand why they love their home in beautiful Utah.

shut yer trap

I HATE, hate, HATE, hate mouth noises.
mouth noises included smacking your gum, slurping, loudly chewing, jaw popping, chewing with your mouth open or any other disgusting noises that come from the mouth region.
ick.

Partially live-able!!!!

That's right, folks.... we can add another room to the list of almost-completed, live-able spaces in our house!!! The living room has been painted and tiled!! It only needs quarter round trim put down to be fully complete. We moved the couch in - a beautiful piece that had yet to be used - as well as the polka dot chairs & black table that will eventually move to the family room. We threw down a rug in the dining room and moved the table to the middle of the room. AND, get this, there's no remodeling equipment on the table! We'll need to get a nice, funky sideboard for that room, a few more chairs and lamps for the living room eventually. But for now, the rooms make me SMILE!!!!! see below:








and this photo does a better job of showing how flippin awesome the tile is:



and, of course, a token photo of 2 of my adorable boys - completely worn out by remodeling!

Proud to be the big sister

Growing up I chafed under the term "one of the Glenn kids," reveling instead in my own individuality. Now that I'm older (notice I did not say grown up!) I realize I can be both. Not only am I both but I'm exceedingly proud to be one of the Glenn kids!

My brother Brandon will join the Navy in September. Not only is he an awesome cook, he's smart enough to be accepted for a top military program where he'll learn to interpret code and protect our country.

Bri is an amazing writer. Her skill turns me green with envy. She can whip out a delightful fictional read in no time flat. I'm limited to "just the facts, ma'am!" Plus, she's nice to everyone.

Tyler is a devilish charmer and superb athlete. We're excited for his tryouts to be on the U.S. Ultimate Frisbee Team and compete at Worlds. Yeah. WORLDS!

Tate is wickedly witty and keeps me on my toes. Once a chubby toddler on my hip, she's now an awesome friend at my side.

Richard is, oh my gosh, all of a sudden not a little kid anymore. He's smart and super helpful. And as much as he pretends not to, he likes being my doggies' uncle. :)

Riley is, well, no words can explain the phenomenon that is Riley. She's a creative, chatty whirlwind that inspires me with her energy!

Stevie is hilarious. His quick comebacks keep us on our toes but he's hard pressed to hold back the grin that comes with his one-liners.

Sammy is a tender-hearted beagle daddy, eager to please.

JJ is super smart and always ready to offer a hug. He also likes to bounce around and make everyone smile.

So it's pretty clear why I'm proud to be considered one of them. And I'm not proud just because of their achievements. I'm proud to be related to such cool people.

The Final Season

This weekend we had a chance to see 'The Final Season' with Bri, Tate & friends. What a good movie!!!
Made me proud to be from Iowa. Of course, we got a few chuckles when they referred to Des Moines as the big city. I'm sure movie-goers in other cities will get QUITE a laugh out of that. But then, those are probably the people that think we all live in towns of 500 people and let cows roam our streets. (we don't.)
Anyway, other than some inconsistencies between corn height, it's a good movie! Check it out! http://www.finalseason.com

The right but hard decision

We had to make a hard decision in order to do the right thing. Mr. Sylvia and Lucky went to the ARL today. If you know of anyone looking for good pets, send them there. We tried to find new homes on our own and had no luck. We'll miss them terribly but I hope they get homes where they're happy. I can't talk anymore about it right now.

Better house pics!

Not everyone could place where the railing was in the house so here's a few more photos to explain!

Here's a photo that shows the small step down from hallway to sunroom:



Here you are viewing, from the back door, thru the hallway, past the stairs to the front door:



The rail replaces the long wall that had like 5 or 6 tall octagon-shaped cutouts. It seperates the hallway from the sunroom. We're quite pleased!

Progress at the house!

Hey all,

You've been listening to us whine since this house project started (which was what, like 16 years ago? it feels that way!) but GOOD NEWS! It's almost done! Finally!!! The rail is fully installed! They are finishing the caulking, installing the ceiling fan in that room and finishing the electrical outlets & floor vents today. This one-week project has only taken two months. yay! And hopefully soon the rail guy will bring the metal pieces we need to put lights up in the kitchen & bathroom (what? no more peeing or cooking in the dark!? weird.)

Check out the mid-destruction state our house has been in for the last few weeks.




Here's the rail and a close up of the AWESOME tile under the I-beams. The photos don't do it justice cuz it looks amazing, (we think anyway).





Oh yeah and here's a photo of me and the boys as well. We were beached on the only piece of furniture that's been useable the last few weeks.



Now, bring on the paint and tile-layers!!
Courtney