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Heather and I live in the Wrigleyville area of Chicago, IL, and as the name implies we are only a few blocks from Wrigley Field, but not close enough to interfere with any foul balls. We bought our condo in June of last 2002 in a newly rehabbed 80-year-old building with a huge front yard (by Chicago standards), which has turned out to be a huge blessing that neither of us foresaw when we moved in there. If you didn�t know about Jack, and there can�t be many left in this world that don�t, he is our yellow lab puppy who joined the family in March of 2003 when we bought him from the Dog Patch in Naperville (click on the picture below). Jack is spoiled rotten and has the run of the house, but Heather and I love him more than anything. Heather and I began dating during our internship at KPMG in the summer of 1999 in Chicago. Heather was about to go into her senior year at Indiana University, while I was going to do the same at Notre Dame. We met during one of the first social outings the first week of our internship, and kept talking/flirting during the next week, while we were in Washington, D.C. for training. It was on our second to last day in our nations capital that we had our first kiss. As many of you know nothing brings out the feelings of romance like the sound of fingers on calculators. We have been together ever since, over four and half years of boyfriend and girlfriend, which ended abruptly on October 17, 2003, the day I asked Heather to spend the rest of her life with me. The ProposalBy this time, everybody thought the proposal itself was anti-climatic, as we had lived together for over a year, and even had a dog together (which of course prevented us from ever breaking up because there would be no way to split Jack up). I thought about this for a while and knew I had to make it a surprise. I did not order the ring, which was based on some pretty specific directions, until late September, hoping it would get here in time for Heather�s 25th birthday on October 3rd. However, it wasn�t going to be ready then, so I hinted to her that something was coming soon but not the weekend of her birthday, so she wouldn�t be disappointed. However, while she wasn�t disappointed that weekend, this backfired in that it resulted in her constantly asking me if it was in yet, which was making it harder for me to come up with a plan to surprise her, because if I asked her to go anywhere special after that, she would automatically know. Her grandparents and her brother and his girlfriend were coming in town the weekend of the 17th of October. As Heather does not get to see them very often, I wanted to make sure I had it so I could do it before that that weekend. Luckily, it came in on the Tuesday before, and that is when I had to come up with a plan. I decided the best way was to tell her that the ring wouldn�t be in this week, which would disappoint her, as she really wanted to share this time with her family that was in town. This way I could build her back up when I actually did pop the question. So I took a half-day that Friday, and picked up candles, flowers, and champagne on the way home. I even went to the extent of emailing her from home to tell her that I would be home late. Then I set our family room up with candles all around, put the stargazers in a nice vase on the coffee table, next to the champagne which was chilling on ice with two glasses nearby. Then I sat and waited in the living room where I could her approaching. I never thought I would get nervous when the time came, after all it was going to anti-climatic as some people said. But the butterflies were fluttering around, as I thought about how lucky I was to have found a beautiful girl that has the same love for me as I do for her. Soon she was entering the courtyard, at which time I turned on some romantic music and waited for her to come in. As soon as she came in, I told her how much I love her, and how I want to keep on loving her for the rest of my life, as I dropped down on one knee, with Jack right next to me, and asked her to marry me.
Our FamiliesHeather is a C.P.A and currently works for Barton, Inc., which is an importer of Corona, St. Pauli�s Girl and various other beers and spirits, as an accounting analyst in their spirits division. Heather�s mom, Mary Thompson, lives with Heather�s stepdad, Larry Thompson, close to downtown Naperville, along with their four dogs (Tyler, Mabel, Lucy, and Betsy) and a parrot (Chi-Chi). Heather�s dad, Brian Watts, lives with Heather�s stepmom, Noel Watts, along with their yellow lab Lilly, in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, which is an incredible oceanside town just south of Los Angeles. Heather�s older brother, Alan Watts, lives with his girlfriend, Cynthia, in the surfing town of San Clemente, CA, between Los Angeles and San Diego, with their turtle of course. Heather�s step-brother Sean DeLair, lives in Sacramento where he is finishing up his doctor�s residency in Urology, at UC-Davis, while his wife, Leigh, finishes up her doctor�s residency in Family Practice, at the Medical College of Virginia, where two Labrador retrievers (Callie and Annie), and a horse are kept as well. I am also a C.P.A and currently work for KPMG (still), and am a supervising senior associate in the Banking audit practice, with my primary client being Household International. My mom and dad, Ellen and Jim Glynn, live in Leawood, KS, a beautiful suburb of Kansas City, but unfortunately they have no pets. My older brother, Jimmy, lives with his wife, Alison, in Austin, TX, where I hear they are very close to getting a Bichon. My younger sister Bridget is graduating from Tulane University in New Orleans this Spring where she was a political science major, and will have plenty of strange animals to deal with if she goes into politics some day.Photos:
Here are a few pictures we would like to share, click on them to view larger images. Click on Jack!
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