Glenn Family Vacation 2010

Once again, the Glenn family vacation was in Oregon, but this time we were closer to Lincoln City on the coast. The beach house was amazing. Dan and I drove down again this year, and I didn't do as bad as I thought I would. Dan was pretty worried about how the driving would make me miserable, but we pretty much made the same amount of stops as last year. We divided the trip up into 2 days again. We spent Sunday night in Spokane then arrived to the beach house on Monday. We would have made it there two hours earlier, but we got stopped by construction. So we ate dinner late then relaxed until we went to bed.

Our view from the living room & dining area.

Tuesday we all woke up and had breakfast, then headed down to the beach wearing our best. We got family pictures done on the beach, and I think they all turned out great! Other than having the sun in our eyes in some, we all looked pretty good.

Pam and Chris Severson with Blake, Megan, Abby, Josh, and Kate.


Will and Heather Glenn with Grace, Eva, and Brianna.


Spencer and Laurie Glenn with Ethan, Will, and Cullen.


Jackie and David Gipson with one on the way!


Dan and me with the big bump.


Richard and Sue Glenn

After the pictures, some went out shopping and some stayed by the coast and went crab hunting. Dan and I stayed to experience the crab hunting, even though we didn't catch much. We caught one crab, but he was too small to keep so we had to let him back into the ocean. Not having much luck with the crabs, we decided to try again at a different spot the next day.

On Wednesday a few of us went to a different beach with some big rocks to try and catch some crabs there. Pretty much the same story there too. The kids were pretty excited to catch something though. As we were waiting, the kids were finding all sorts of things! They found a bunch of hermit crabs, tiny fish, and Uncle Dan found them a dead starfish. They also found a little black crab. After having that experience, I think they were ok with the fact that we still didn't catch any crabs in the trap.

We all went back to the beach house, and Dan and I decided to hit up some of the shopping before dinner. We didn't really get much for us, mostly just for the baby. Our little boy has the biggest and cutest wardrobe ever! We got home and showed off our purchases and hot-tubbed the night away (which is pretty much what we did every night).

Thursday was a pretty relaxed day again. The main event for us was the Whale Watching Tour! It was so fun to be out on the ocean and to see a gray whale! It was pretty hard to get a good picture because it was pretty foggy, and we always missed the part where he sprayed out of the water.

Can you see the whale's back?

That was the fun part of the tour, but on the way back I got sea-sick. As did Jackie and little Abby. I never used to have a problem with being on a boat, and on the way out to the ocean I felt just fine, but it was when my feet started to hurt from standing that I had to sit at the back of the boat and that's when it all of a sudden hit. It was like my first trimester all over again. It's a good thing we didn't get a chance to eat before the tour. So when we got back to the beach house, I napped for a bit before dinner.

Friday was a fun/sad day because that morning we were all packing up and getting ready for the long trip home. Our plan was to spend the night at Jackie's house just outside Portland then head to our hotel in Spokane the next day. On our way to Jackie's house we stopped by the Aquarium that everyone else went to on the Monday before Dan and I arrived. It was super cool! I've never seen anything like it. They had everything there from sharks to jelly fish to sea lions to snakes! If we ever make it back to that area, I would really like to go back there.

We stopped at a few more shops and picked up the stroller that we had our eye on (it was $100 cheaper in the States!). Then we headed to downtown Portland because we had never been there out of all the times we've been to Portland. Jackie and David told us about this really yummy desert place there so we decided to try it out. I'm so glad they told us because it was so delicious! And this is where our night went from the greatest to the worst.

After desert we walked back to where we parked and our car was gone! Both of us panicked. Our car was full of our things that we had just bought. Was it stolen? Then Dan found a sign at a different entrance to the parking lot from where we came in and to our knowledge it was a tow-away zone that had no signs posted to let us know that before hand! So Dan found a pay phone and called the number on the sign, and they had our car. I just want to mention here that there was another car parked there beside two towing signs and that car was still parked there. The towing people have no sympathy towards anyone, so we ended up having to finally find a cab and go get our car. $219 later we were back in our car, tired, and furious. We arrived to Jackie's house late so we had to sleep on the couches where we got next to no sleep. We were in no condition to drive all the way to Spokane. So we stayed there a little later as we slept in her spare bedroom. We then drove to Spokane, still furious, but thought, how could this get any worse? It's just really too bad this happened on our awesome vacation.

We arrived at our hotel to find that our room only had two double beds. So I was sad that we had to sleep on separate beds that night too (there's no way we could sleep in one with my big belly between us, and we really needed our sleep). The next morning we started home and we finally get to the boarder only to find that they need to search our car because we had mentioned that we bought a car seat and a stroller. Turns out, even though it said on the outside of the box that it passed both Canadian and American safety standards, we weren't allowed to bring it into Canada because it didn't have French labeling attached to it. Their reasoning for it? If by chance we decide to sell it, and if by chance we sell it to someone who only speaks French (which I don't know how we would do that because neither of us know any french), and if by chance they install the carseat wrong, and if by chance they get in a car accident, then it might be a problem. At this point I think I was just in shock with how things were turning out that I didn't know what to say or do. I watched them take away the stroller that we had been planning on getting for months and all we could do was drive away. They told us that they would hold it for us for 40 days at the boarder and then if we do come back through, we could pick it up and return it to get our money back. Yeah, I'm sure we would be driving all the way back there while I'm about to give birth. How could things get any worse? That's how. I figured we had wasted more money during that week than we had actually spent or "saved".

We arrived at Dan's parents house late Sunday night to drop a few things off and pick up our other car. We told them the whole story and they were in shock. I think everytime we tell people what happened, they are more upset about it than we are! I just felt so helpless the whole way home.

Luckily, there is a somewhat of a happy ending. It turned out the Laurie and her family were planning on spending some time out at their cabin in B.C. and then they were going to drive down to Spokane to do some shopping. So Laurie told us that she could pick up the stroller and return it for us! And that she did! Our money was put back onto our credit card and we didn't lose anything from it. Except now, we still don't have a stroller, and I really don't want to spend $100 more on the same one up here. We have to start all over again looking for a decent stroller at a decent price. Wish us luck because this baby will be here before we know it!

I don't know if we'll get any of the towing money back, but at least we're home now safe and sound. Thanks to Sue and Richard for the awesome time out at the beach house! I just love spending time with the Glenn Family.

July Current Events

I know I haven't been the best at updating the blog. However, I have still been reading everyone else's!

Today I am 29 weeks along, and I'm really starting to think about how much mine and Dan's life is going to change. Every time we are just hanging out, watching TV or just chatting, I think that times like this are going to be minimal in just a couple more months. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time! I just hope everything goes smoothly to ease the stress of everything else. So far, everything looks great with my pregnancy. The septum that they thought they saw in my uterus either doesn't exists, or it has actually stretched with my uterus and they can't see it. I also had another scare with the gestational diabetes test too. I had to go in for a second test because my blood sugar level was high, and also my iron was too low. So now I'm on iron supplements and according to the second test, the baby is just fine. He's just big that's all.

Canada Day came and we got a special visit from Dan's sister Jackie and her husband David who live down in Portland. I got suspicious of their visit and guessed that they had some special news for us, and it turns out, they are pregnant! She is due January 1! I'm so happy to have someone in the family to be pregnant with again! Too bad they live so far away. I was only pregnant with Jodie for a couple months before she had her boy. Congrats Jackie and David! We are super excited for you! To celebrate Canada Day, we went to the Raymond parade with Dan's family and met up with my family for a little bit. We then went to Waterton to have a picnic BBQ, but once we arrived, it was pouring out. However in the end, we decided to have one anyways and I think everyone had a pretty good time.

The weekend after was a special one. My niece Amber Mason was baptized on Saturday July 10. She is the first grandchild to be baptized on the Olsen side. It was really something to remember. Dan was asked to give a talk on baptism and it was great. Then the next day, Dan's nephew Ethan got baptized! It was a pretty spiritual weekend and it was so great to see them make this decision to be baptized into the church.

The Calgary Stampede was in town for the past 10 days. We told ourselves last year that we wouldn't go this year, but we did...twice. Last year we spent so much money on just admission and food alone, we came home with nothing to show for it. However, this year we saw a few more things and got pretty good deals with parking, admission, and food. So we weren't too upset about it. Good job Calgary Stampede for redeeming yourself. This year they had a new Ice Skating Rock Band show, and it was so amazing! It was just like seeing a show in Vegas! It brought back memories of our honeymoon in Vegas. I hope they continue having this show every year because it was definitely worth seeing. We went to the Marianas Trench concert at the Coke Stage that same night too (Monday). It was a pretty cold night. We went to the Stampede again on Friday and met up with Kristie and Iain and Kimberly and her friend Virginia. We walked around to the places we didn't see last time and went to the Superdogs show. That night One Republic was playing and they sounded so good live! It was a pretty fun time this year. It's hard to believe that this time next year we'll be hauling a little boy around.

This past weekend was the Carstairs Beef and Barley Days! Or as I like to call it, the Barf and Beely Days! We went out to Carstairs Saturday morning, had a pancake breakfast at my parents' place, then watched the famous parade. After that we walked around town, watched the kids run their races and also ride in the train that my dad happened to be driving this year, walked around town to visit the pet store, then finally went to Burger Baron for lunch! I love this tradition. My family normally all gets together for this special event and I look forward to it every year.

We are finally moving! Not into a new house, or area of the city. We are moving 3 floors up onto the 5th floor of our building. Not quite the move we were hoping for, but this will definitely be fine to live in through the hot summer months. Anything is better than our old place during the summer! Dan has been so great with the whole move too. He has done so much work himself because I can't do very much with this belly. Our first night sleeping in the new place was Saturday night. We got the cats upstairs and all of the important things we would need. I have to admit that the first sleep there was hell. Chester was howling all night long. Izzie was trying to get some shut-eye but couldn't because Chester was keeping everyone up. I thought this was quite strange because we have moved so many times with Chester and it has never been a problem, but this was Izzie's first move with us so we didn't really know what to expect from her. She warmed up to the place pretty fast, but it was Chester who wasn't sure about it all. And the funny thing is, is that this place looks pretty identical to our last, just backwards with a few minor differences. So why was he like this? We were up every hour to every half hour until about 5:30am trying to get him to be quiet. I tell ya, it was worse than sleeping with a newborn. Thanks for the training Chester, but that was a bit much. The next night turned out a lot better. Not a peep from either kitty. Dan thought that if he gave Chester some love before going to bed that he might feel better, and it worked! We are still slowly getting all of our things brought up to the new place. I hate living in two different places, but at least it's in the same building. We got a new bedroom set that we finally got to set up, and it's great! We also got a new sectional from Costco that we both just love. It's nice to see our home being made into more of our home. I'm hoping this move will help us get more organized, especially with the baby items. So far it's great, but I haven't got into the many bins of my old things yet.

Dan has been getting quite a few interview lately! We are hoping that something turns up from it all. I think he's pretty tired of applying for jobs everyday for the past couple years. So with him not having a steady job right now and with me about to go on maternity leave, our house-hunting is on hold. I don't think we'll ever stop watching the market or looking at places, but as for actually purchasing something, it might not happen for awhile still. Unless of course we win the lottery somehow. I know that everything will come together at the right time, even if I think that the right time is right now.

It's almost that time of year again! The Glenn Family vacation! We are going to be on the Oregon coast for the first week of August and I'm super stoked! It was such a fun time last year, I just know it will be just as fun if not better this year. We rented a different beach house at a different location so we will still be surprised when we get there. Dan and I are driving down again, but this time we left a little more extra time to make a few more pit stops along the way to stretch. It seems like there's still awhile before we go, but there's less than 2 weeks! Then after we get back, I only have 3 more weeks until I start my maternity leave! Wow, time sure is flying by this year! It's a good thing I'm occupied with different things so the tail end of my pregnancy hopefully won't drag on as much. And another good thing about going to Oregon is that there's no sales tax there! We are planning on doing some shopping there before going home, especially for needed baby items are are way cheaper in the States.

I think that brings you all up to date about what has been going on with us lately. I'm sorry for not updating as often. Hopefully I will get better!

25 Weeks

I finally got another pregnancy picture of myself! Here I am 25 weeks and 1 day.

I know I'm big, it runs in my family. And before you ask, yes, there is only one baby in there and yes, my due date (October 4) is correct.

Another Update

I can't believe how close I am to the end of my pregnancy! It still feels like it's awhile away, but I know (and hope) it's going to zoom by. I have just over 15 weeks left! I can't wait to be a mom. I'm so ready to meet our little bundle, but then I think of all the things we still need to do and buy before he gets here. I'm sure he'll come at the right time.

Life has been keeping us busy for the most part. Dan has a summer job spraying lawns for Green Drop. He is still looking for some kind of Marketing job to get the right experience, so if anyone knows of anything available, we'd love to hear about it! My job has been really slow, painfully slow. They say in the news that the housing market is doing really well, but it's definitely not reflecting that fact with our company! I started working for Sterling Homes a year ago yesterday, and at that time, everyone was super busy with house deals flying in the doors everyday. Now we're lucky to see one deal a week! Sometimes it scares me because there's really no point in them keeping me there because everything is caught up and there's no work for me to do. Hopefully they wait until I go on maternity leave! However, going to work everyday just to sit bored at my desk is no motivation to go at all. Plus it's getting more and more difficult to actually get a good night's sleep so I'm usually exhausted every day. Needless to say, I'm counting down the time I have left there! The feeling of being useless is starting to come back like how I felt at my last job, but at least the end is in sight this time.

Dan has been busy DJing lately. It's nearing the end of the 2010 Grad season and his new company did really well. They've had a lot of shows that have had really good feedback, so maybe next year will be that much better! To be honest though, I really don't like this time of year because Dan is so busy almost every weekend, but it sure pays off in the end.

I now have a new calling in our ward! I've wanted this calling right from the beginning and I finally got it! I am the one who creates the bulletin for sacrament meeting every Sunday! I think I got the calling because I'm pregnant. All of the other people who have had this calling have been pregnant or just started a family. So that's what you need to do to get this dream calling! Last Sunday was my first time doing it, and it went really well. I'm just excited to have a calling that I can do in my own time, and it will still be decent to manage once the baby comes (if we are still in this ward). I think I forgot to mention this in my last post, but Dan got a new calling a couple months ago too! He is the second councilor in the Young Men's. There's not a a lot of YM in our ward, one or two at best, but it's been keeping him busy and he seems to really enjoy it. His cousin Jesse is the president, so I think they have a lot of fun together in their callings.

Our goal of moving before the baby gets here is starting to diminish. With Dan only having a summer job and me going on maternity leave soon, it's not looking too good. I would love to be closer to family when we have the baby, but I guess this place will have to do for now. Maybe there's still something out there for us, but we have not found it yet.

I know I haven't posted a picture in awhile, so here is one of Izzie. She turned 1 year old on June 13th! I can't believe how big she is now from when we first got her as a tiny kitten.

The Glenn's Lately

I'm coming to the realization that we are going to be broke by the time this baby comes. We knew that extra money would be spent each month, but there's so much stuff you don't think about. It doesn't really make things better when even the maternity clothes are expensive! I'm used to buying $10 t-shirts and $25 pants. Not in the maternity world though! Expectant mothers already have enough to worry about, don't make buying clothing one of those things! Thanks a lot who's ever idea that was.

With all worries aside though, I am super excited to meet our little boy. Last night was the first time that Dan felt him kick, and it was so cool! The baby is just starting to move around a lot more, and I'm still trying to get used to it. At the last ultrasound his little feet were almost 3.5cm! Picturing his little feet up against my belly just brings a smile to my face. I feel pretty lucky because I get another ultrasound next month! They are just checking up on a possible septum in my uterus (a dividing wall or a heart shaped uterus), but I don't mind if it means I get to see our little boy again! I really hope it's nothing serious. I was told that I shouldn't stress about it because they couldn't really see anything in my last ultrasound. If it was some concern, I would be at a higher risk for a premature birth, but by the size that I am now, I think this baby is going to be a pretty healthy weight. Compared to other pregnant ladies, I look like I should be due in a couple of months, but no, I'm only half way there! The first part of my pregnancy went by super fast, and I only hope the next half does the same thing, however, I've heard that it's the slowest.

Another update is that Dan is no longer working at Best Buy. Long story short, his position (nation-wide) was being dissolved so they offered him a lower position with way lower pay, even though he was promised a promotion at his 3 month mark. So we decided it would be best to take the severance pay and look for something better. This happened a couple weeks ago, and we haven't had any luck since. So if anyone knows of any Marketing type jobs out there, please let us know! Dan deserves a job that he enjoys doing, and that's actually in his field, but for some reason that just hasn't happened yet. He's such a hard worker and everyone loves working with him. I know that once he gets hired, they'll never want to let him go! This all happened at the worst time. A time where we are expecting our first child and looking for a house to buy! Of course things like this happen to us right when we start to feel comfortable. Help! Seems like we can't quite make it ahead.

I almost forgot! Our little Izzie got fixed on May 1st! We were looking forward to that day for a loooong time, and now that it's over and done with, and she's fully recovered, life in the Glenn home is a lot better. No more annoying noises and meowing all day and all night from our one kitty. I almost kicked her out of the house it was getting so bad! I'm just so thrilled that the surgery was a success and she's back to her normal kitty self. We love you once again Izzie. And Chester was such a good big brother throughout the whole thing. He layed beside her and was so gentle with her when she came home from the vet. I was nervous that he would want to rough-house with her like they always do, but for that time, he was so great. I wish my cameras were working so that I could get a picture of them both, but they're not... another thing to add to our expensive list!

So that is what's happening with us lately. Not a whole lot of new and exciting things, probably because we are so focused on our baby! I will do my best to update more often.

We're having....

A BOY!

This is me one day shy of 19 weeks (on Mother's Day).

The ultrasound pictures are 19 weeks and 1 day. This was Dan's first "baby" appointment! We were both so excited to see our little bundle.

You can see more pictures on my Facebook page!

Baby Update

These are ultrasound pictures that were taken when I was 9 weeks and 5 days along. I am now 16 weeks and 3 days, so the baby looks a lot different from these pictures, but I thought I would share them anyways.

I still haven't taken any belly pictures. I really wish we had already because time seems to be flying by and my tummy is growing SO FAST! Everyday at work I hear people commenting on how fast I'm growing, and then they try and tell me that I'm not that big. Ummm, I'm only 16.5 weeks. Other people only start showing at this stage, and I've been showing for a couple months now. But I know it runs in my family to start showing early and get really big.. Oh the things I have to look forward to! I know it's all worth it though.

May 11th is the day that we find out what gender this baby is! We are super excited and would like to know what you think we will be having? Please comment or vote!

Silence is Broken

I know I haven't posted in awhile. I guess we've been a little preoccupied. Plus, there's not much to talk/blog about when you only have one thing on your mind that you want to announce to the world, but just can't. Yes, it's true, Dan and I are having a baby! I know a lot of you have been waiting for this announcement for a long time now, but I am very excited for this big change in our lives.

We found out the big news on January 31, 2010. Dan was about to leave for his early morning Sunday meetings and I had to get up and pee so I thought I would take a test (I wasn't expecting anything from it). From being disappointed by negative tests in the past, I just couldn't look at this one. I asked Dan to go in and read it, and he went in a rush because he was running late, saw it, but didn't know what anything meant. So before he left I went in to look and it was positive! I had to double check a few times, and I was jumping up and down following Dan down the hall then he eventually left. I couldn't believe it! And neither could Dan because when he came home to pick me up for church, he came through the door and said, "Do you really think you're pregnant?" I had to take two more tests for Dan to believe me, and even then I think he was still in shock. So that week I went to the doctors and they sent me in for blood tests...I don't like needles. Then the clinic called me back and said they had to re-do the tests because they used my maiden name instead and it didn't match my Alberta Health Care Card. Which didn't make sense to me and I was pretty upset about it, especially when my family doctor said that I really didn't have to re-do anything. Grrrr! But I survived.

The next weekend was my birthday weekend and we decided we should tell our families because I couldn't keep it a secret for that long. I had to tell someone. So that Saturday was my niece's 4th Birthday party. We thought it would be fun to announce it in the card so that when the card was read out loud, everyone would hear. My nephew was the one reading the cards and when it came to mine, no one was listening except Keegan who was reading it, and his dad. Keep in mind, I was filming this, so I told Keegan to read it again and everyone heard "Happy Birthday Clare! Love, Aunty Kelly, Uncle Dan, and your future cousin!!" Everyone was so excited, but not as excited as my sister Tammy was! She was screaming and jumping and she charged right for me to give me a hug and spin me around. She started crying, then I started crying. It was so much fun.

The next day was my birthday, and it was also Dan's nephew's 1st birthday party. So we went over to Spencer and Laurie's house to celebrate with Dan's parents. We figured we could do the same thing with the birthday card, so this time Dan's mom read the card out loud and everyone was so excited! I think Laurie has been waiting for this announcement ever since we got married haha! And at this time, the doctor had told me that I was due August 16. That meant that we couldn't go to the Glenn Family vacation this year. We were pretty sad about it, but I just knew I wasn't already 3 months along. I told the doctor that I had been very irregular for more than a year, but they had to go by my dates at that time. So they booked me for an ultra sound and I found out that I was really due October 4! The doctor was so far off! I was happy that we could go on the vacation, but kind of sad that I was put back a couple months. Also at this time, I wasn't feeling sick at all, but about a week after we made the announcement to our families, I started getting really sick. I thought that part was over already. Now I'm on medication for it and it's been helping quite a bit. We still don't know if we're having a boy or a girl, but we plan on finding out sometime in May.

On Facebook I announced that I was pregnant on April 1, to see who would believe me, but it turned out that most people did believe me! Too bad it wasn't a trick because you all would have been fooled! Oh well, I'm happy it wasn't because now we get to see our family grow and we'll get to experience new things.

I wanted to post my ultrasound pictures, but I can't find the disk at the moment. I will post later maybe with some belly shots that I still haven't taken!

Thanks for all the congrats everyone!

Good-Bye Gunther

I am sad to announce that our pet family has lost a member. On Friday February 26, 2010, we gave up Gunther, my bunny, so that he could be with a better family. We found that we didn't have enough time to pay extra attention to him that he really wanted and needed. Gunther was my first pet away from home, and always will be. I think about him a lot and hope that he's doing well. I know that Izzie misses him a lot too. Especially now that she's maturing and still not fixed. Gunther loved playing with Izzie and always welcomed her into his cage. At least we won't have to worry about any surprise half bunny half cat babies!

I'll admit that Gunther can be a grump, but he always knew who I was and loved it when I came home and gave him love and attention. I'll never forget the little kisses he would give me over the top of his cage as I was passing by. For being a grumpy bunny he sure was a sweetheart at times.

Birthdays Galore

There are so many birthdays this time of year! I'll make a list of them all so I don't miss anyone.

January 23rd, 2010 - Clare Mason turned 4
January 28th, 2010 - Pam (Glenn) Severson celebrated a birthday
January 29th, 2010 - Dan turned 28
February 5th, 2010 - Cullen Glenn turned 1
February 7th, 2010 - I turned 24
February 10th, 2010 - Laurie (Miller) Glenn celebrates a birthday today
February 12th, 2010 - Ashley Bourne turns 2
February 27th, 2010 - Sue Glenn (Dan's mom) celebrates a birthday

Happy birthday to everyone!