Site Content

---

The August 2024 Yard of the Month winners are Denny and Joleen Farrell of 3341 Park Side Drive!

Denny and Joleen have lived in Brook Run for 5 years. They chose our neighborhood because it is clean and kept up and noted that they love their neighbors and how everyone is willing to pitch in and help when needed. Denny does most of the yard work and shared that they've had to work hard to get it in shape and keep it green, even replacing the sod a couple of years ago. 

Denny retired from Des Moines Water Works 14 years ago and Joleen is the City of Des Moines Sanitation Administrator. Denny is a former competitive fisherman and still enjoys participating in the occasional tournament. 

The Farrells were given a $25 Lowe's gift card along with the privilege of having the Yard of the Month sign in their yard. Congratulations!

The July 2024 Yard Of The Month recipients are Lisa Crabbs and Mike Kobylinski at 5320 Brook Landing Circle.

Lisa, Mike, their son Calvin, daughter Chloe, and dog Willa have lived in Brook Landing since November 2019. They love how nice everyone in our neighborhood is and love that there are lots of other kids for theirs to play with. 

Lisa is the Federal Funds Administrator in Neighborhood Services for the City of Des Moines and Mike is the Head Women’s Soccer Coach for Central College. 

The landscaping near the driveway was a Father’s Day gift from the family to Mike. The rain garden in the backyard was made possible with stormwater management funding from the city and is often host to butterflies throughout the day. (Learn
more about the Stormwater Management Best Practices Program here:  https://www.dsm.city/departments/public_works-division/stormwater_management.php)

The family was given a $25 Lowe’s gift card along with the privilege of having the Yard of the Month sign in their yard. Congratulations!

The June 2024 Yard Of The Month recipients are Amanda and Nate Goodwin at 3211 E 52nd Street.

Amanda, Nate and their son Gavin have lived in the neighborhood since July 2020. They love how kid-friendly our neighborhood is with many neighbors with young kids like theirs. Nate is a proud union construction laborer and Amanda is a medical device sales rep. 

Amanda shared a touching note that many of the plants in their yard were brought from their grandparents' home in Chicago. Nate takes care of the mowing, but the landscaping is Amanda's labor of love. 

This family was given a $25.00 Lowe’s Gift Card along with the privilege of having the Yard Of The Month sign in their yard. 

Congratulations!! 

The September 2023 Yard Of The Month recipients are Ivana Djukic and her husband Gustavo Lopez of 5427 Brookview Ave. 

They have lived in the neighborhood for almost 3 years. Gustavo  does the mowing, but Ivana takes care of the flowers! Ivana is originally from Croatia,  where she grew up gardening with family.

This family was given a $25.00 Lowe’s Gift Card along with the privilege of having the Yard Of The Month sign in their yard! 

Congratulations!! 

The August 2023 Yard Of The Month recipients are Scott and Christine Sanders at 3501 Park Side Drive!

They enjoy working on their yard and are always making improvements to add to the beauty.

This family was given a $25.00 Lowe’s Gift Card along with the privilege of having the Yard Of The Month sign in their yard! 

Congratulations!! 

 The July 2023 Yard Of The Month recipients are Greg and Teri Paulline at 3212 Village Run Drive! 

Greg and Teri Paulline moved to Brook Run in January 2020. They moved from Davenport to be closer to their daughters family, Kate and Brandon Fairfax and our twin granddaughters Audrey and Maddie.

Teri continues to work as a therapist at Mind and Body Counseling Center in Urbandale. Greg is mostly retired but works as a Veteran Service Officer for the Vietnam Veterans of America.
Helping with their granddaughters is their priority as they moved to Des Moines. 

They enjoy watching their dog Frida and working on their yard and home. Their lawn is always green and the neighbors enjoy looking at their beautiful hanging roses in the backyard every spring/summer and all holiday decorations throughout the year!

This family was given a $25.00 Lowe’s Gift Card along with the privilege of having the Yard Of The Month sign in their yard! 

Congratulations!! 

 The June 2023 Yard Of The Month recipients are Sergio and Alexandra Garcia, their three sons, and Chico (their pet dog) at 5109 Springwood Lane. The Garcia family moved to our neighborhood from Grimes, IA about two years ago. 

The whole family always takes care of their lawn and gardening all around the house from early spring together. 

Especially their second eldest son, Alex who is talented in landscaping enjoys helping and providing ideas. He is helping neighbors with their yards as well! 

This family was given a $25.00 Lowe’s Gift Card along with the privilege of having the Yard Of The Month sign in their yard!

Congratulations!!

June is bustin’ out all over the Brook Run Neighborhood so it is time to start our 2022 Yard of the Month program. During 2013, the Brook Run Neighborhood Association Board of Directors initiated a new recognition program for neighbors who demonstrated pride of ownership in their property by awarding a Yard of the Month Award. Each winner was selected by a BRNA Board member and they received a $25 gift card to Lowe's along with a mention on our facebook page and brookrun.fun website. They had the privilege of hosting a yard sign signifying the honor.

Brandon and Kate Fairfax have been chosen as the June, 2022 winners and live at 3417 Park Side Drive.  Brandon hails from Norwalk and currently works for Athene in West Des Moines. Kate grew up in Davenport and is a Speech Language Pathologist. The two met in Des Moines through friends, were married in 2015 and moved into the neighborhood just before their identical twin girls were born in 2017.  Audrey and Madeline, active four-year-olds, keep their stay-at-home mother busy with their antics--like dress up parades down the street. They will attend preschool at Delaware Elementary this fall.  The Fairfax family enjoys having both sets of grandparents close by with Kate's parents living in the neighborhood.

There are plans for continued landscaping around the perimeter of the home during the next year. Currently, the front areas have a profusion of plants: Lupines, ornamental grass, a pink Rose bush, purple hued Irises, Zinnias, three colorful bushes and an American flag. Decorative lawn ornaments grace the flower bed which include a mental bicycle that holds pots of flowers, a large white goat, a pig and a dancing butterfly. Brandon and Kate spend many hours in the yard especially on the weekends. They are making an accessible ramp for one of the girls.  

A large yellow pineapple sign symbolizing “Welcome” hangs on the front door with a colorful “HELLO” sign on the front porch.

Congratulations to Brandon and Kate as the YOTM recipients. Head on over to Park Side to see their lovely yard!  

JULY 2022 YARD OF THE MONTH

During 2013 the Brook Run Neighborhood Association Board of Directors initiated a new recognition program for neighbors who demonstrated pride of ownership in their property by awarding a Brook Run Yard of the Month (YOTM) Award. The recipients of the July Yard of the Month are Dan and Angela Gruver who reside at 3416 E. 53rd Court. They received a $25 Lowe’s gift card and the privilege of hosting the Yard of the Month sign signifying the honor.

The Gruvers are both Iowans, Angela from Ottumwa and Dan from Fort Dodge. He attended Iowa State University in Ames. They met at the Iowa Clinic in West Des Moines where they both work. Angela is in billing while Dan is the IT guru. They were able to work through the COVID pandemic. Their one son lives near the Iowa Fairground.

They moved into Brook Run Village in 2005 when the area was just being built so have watched it grow from a few homes to a large neighborhood. They now watch the Brook Landing neighborhood being built. 

Dan takes responsibility for the yard which is ablaze with colorful flowers in pots, on the ground and in hanging baskets. Red Roses, green Hostas, Hibiscus, colorful Petunias, Sun Coleus, and Black Eyed Susans dot their landscape. They have an antique mailbox from Angela’s father, a metal tractor, a birdhouse, chimes, concrete bench from Branson, Mo, a pelican, and a large duck near the sidewalk.  A large green metal prickly pear cactus is located near the garage with red flowers on the arms.  They have built a ramp to the front porch to help family access their home. 

The Gruvers like to walk in the neighborhood. Their work schedules do not allow them much free time for neighborhood activities.  Congratulations to them on being recipients of the July Yard of the Month. Drive by to see their interesting and colorful yard!  

The August 2022 Yard of the Month (YOTM) recipients are Niki and Thomas Guerrero of 3226 Village Run Drive. This program was started in 2013 to honor those persons who spend a little more time with their landscaping to beautify Brook Run Neighborhood.  The Guerrero’s were given a $20 Lowe’s Gift Card along with the privilege to have the YOTM sign in their yard. 

The Guerreros are both Iowa natives, Niki from Cherokee and Thomas from Des Moines and a graduate of Roosevelt High School. He served in the Navy and was on three deployments: two at sea in the Persian Gulf and Iraq. He was called for a 13-month stint at Norfolk Navy Base but now is in the Navy Reserves. Thomas is employed at the V.A. Hospital in Des Moines as the lead boiler plant operator. 

Niki attended Briar Cliff University in Sioux City and now works from home with Fiserv, an American multinational company that provides financial technology services to clients across the financial services sector.

The Guerreros met on an online dating app, “Plenty of Fish.com” and were married in 2018. After living in an Ankeny townhouse, they wanted a house so found housing prices more reasonable in Brook Run Village and moved here in 2019.  

Niki mows and Thomas blows the yard and snow. Their yard is ablaze with a profusion of colors, pink, yellow, red, white, purple on Petunias, Peonies, Coral Bells, Impatiens, Begonias, Tiger Lilies

and multiple Hostas. There are two 5 foot trees with an Oak Tree in the yard. Their Welcome sign is a ceramic black bear.  American flags and a large VETERAN banner graces the front of the house. Like many lawns now, plants and flowers have bloomed, and yards are drying up.  

Congratulations to Niki and Thomas Guerrero for your lovely yard. Drive by and check out the August YOTM.  

In 2013, the Brook Run Neighborhood Association Board of Directors initiated a new recognition program for neighbors who demonstrated pride of ownership in their property by awarding a Yard of the Month Award. Each winner was selected by a BRNA Board member and received a $25 gift card to Lowe's along with a mention on our Facebook page and brookrun.fun website. They had the privilege of hosting a yard sign signifying the honor.

In February 2022, Doreen Riordan moved into 5005 Stream Side Circle with her 115-pound black Rottweiler, Zeus!  She left her home in Portland, Maine to come to Des Moines after her realtor took her to visit homes via Facetime.  She enjoys her new home in the Brook Run neighborhood but misses the ocean desperately!  Hired in November 2021 by Principal Life Insurance Company, she has flex days and work hours. 

The former owner had a green thumb so Doreen was excited to see what plants/bushes would come up this spring. She is planting annuals and shrubs to add color to the lawn.  With shade in the front of the house two blue chairs allow for sitting and listening to the birds. Large boxes of  New Guinea Impatiens and Astilbes, along with variegated green coleus, grace the porch.

A large hydrangea bush is at the corner of the house.  Flowers and bushes wrap around the house to the back porch where bird feeders hang and included a Cardinal’s nest. A Butterfly Bush attracted multiple butterflies through the summer. Colorful Clematis covered a storage box with French Lilacs adding color to the house. Doreen has a small garden with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.   

Two neighbor kids mow her yard and help her with some of the upkeep. She intends to get a snow blower to be ready for the upcoming Iowa winter! 

So welcome to the neighborhood Doreen and enjoy the honor as a BRNA Lawn of the Month recipient. On the back way to Easton Ave., she has lots of traffic so give her lawn a good look as you pass by.  All the best with your fall plantings, Doreen!  Congrats!