happy birthday greg!

once upon a time there was a girl named jen. jen was blessed with three coveted brothers of which two were older than her. they were older brothers all little girls dreamed about having. thoughtful and kind and teasing and fun. jen thought all older brothers were as charming and perfect as they, but after living in the world for a while she realized she had rare finds indeed. lucky duck was her middle name.

every year on the second of november the eldest (aka greg) celebrates his birthday. and so without further adieu, here a few favorite things jen loves about her oldest brother greg.

like i said before, greg was the perfect older brother. i'm pretty sure i've idolized him since i was a babe. how could i not? in high school he was that guy that a lot of people probably loved to hate: seminary prez, football player, captain of the baseball team, senior athlete of the year, cheerleader girlfriend, and brains and smart as einstein. and while all of these things were pretty cool, there was something about him that was even more awesome: he always took time to make me, his obnoxious, 6 year younger sibling feel special. how many high school boys do you know take time to take their little sister on ice cream dates through arctic circle drive throughs? or patiently throw the football back and forth, back and forth across the street trying to give her an arm that'll later impress her future dates? and he was one busy dude. rare find indeed.

i knew he really loved ice cream shakes, so after baseball games/practices i loved to whip one up for him. he was always kind enough to eat them even if they were a little less than stellar.

of all my siblings, my personality is a closest match to greg. we just get each other. i can always talk to him and know he understands where i'm coming from. even as an adult, he still has a way of making me feel special and funny and awesome.

over the last few years we could bond over our mutual "sunday night dreads" before heading back to work the next day.

in college whenever i was needing a place to go to feel like a real home while living in provo, he and his wife katie always welcomed me with open arms into theirs. whether it was 10:00pm and i needed a home cooked meal or it was a snowy saturday fall afternoon and i didn't want to sit in the football stadium any longer they always let me barge in, eat their hard earned food, and lend me a quilt to cuddle up in.

he taught me to really love watching espn sports center. seriously.

greg has always been an astute gospel scholar. he honestly just loves learning about the gospel. and he's not afraid to compromise any standards or concepts he knows to be true. this has always set such an example for me - when i get big, i want to be just like him.

he still loves me even though i threw a ceramic figurine right at his head when i was little. he ducked just in time to hear it shatter against the wall right where his head just was. i just always had an awesome aim like that. and nights when he babysat were just exciting like that.

even though he doesn't necessarily love his job right now, he still gives it his all and excels in something he wouldn't choose to do for the rest of his life. and then at the end of the day, he can leave it all at the office and be the best husband and father you've ever seen.

he is a people person in all sense of the phrase. he thrives on talking to people - learning about them and how they tick. he takes a genuine interest in their lives and their concerns. he is genuine in his love and interest in the people he meets and knows.

he is so the king of the forest.

i could seriously go on and on and on about things i love about greg. he's just one of those people who is pretty much awesome. i count my lucky stars to have him as my older brother - i know lots of people haven't had the same experience or relationship with their older brothers. greg rocks my socks.

happy birthday greg! i love you!