James...40...'nuff said

Update: Here is a pic or two from his party!

Well, not really. In fact, there is a whole lot to say about my brother who is turned 40 today.

1. He is really, really, really funny. It is just a natural storyteller.

2. He is the one who calmed me down on my wedding day and kept me from crying by blowing in my eyes.

3. He gave me my nickname: munumana

4. He gave my sister her nickname: face

5. and Lane: Lane Zaney

6. and Aidan: Mister

7. and my cat: the pan-faced cat

8. He once blew a fire-cracker up in a pvc pipe and convinced me to put my ear up to it. He also convinced me to put my tongue on the inside rack in the freezer. Don't judge me, I looked up to my big brother. Don't judge him either, you probably would have done it too if you had a little sister like me.

9. He has a beautiful and just-as-funny daughter, that I nicknamed: M&M.

10. He has a very handsome and playful son, who my mom says is just like him.

11. He use to listen to the stereo, on full blast, with his head between the speakers. He made all kinds of music cool.

12. He convinced me it would be cool to make his lunch every day while he worked at the grain elevator and convinced me to build a bigger and better sandwich everyday.

13. Two words: Christmas Donuts (made with a car, not in the kitchen)

14. He sat up with Aidan all night the night Nadia was born, enduring puke and all.

15. He is a Coug, through and through.

16. Pizza Pipeline, baby!

17. He once set up a giant teeter-totter with Andria and I taking turns on the low end and him jumping off a ladder onto the high end.

18. He taught us to build Alfalfa Forts

19. He would pick me up from school so I didn't have to wait for my parents to commute from Pasco to Dayton.

20. He would let me practice driving.

21. He convinced Andria and I to jump on the bed and then took pictures as evidence.

22. He gently encouraged me not to sing in the school play after listening to me 'try', saving me some serious embarrassment.

23. He always asks PHS students if they know me.

24. He always follows a yes response from them with, "She's really mean right?"

25. He would drive my Grandma around to get her out of the house.

26. He took me on my one and only hunting trip.

27. He is a really good cook, everything from dutch oven apple crisp to curry (minus the raisins) to tater-tot casserole to Cornish game hen. He has been cooking since I can remember.

28. He was willingly going to put his dead deer in the back of his Passat.

29. He too has nicknames: Uncky Monkey, Tio Mono, and my favorite, "the Rooster"

30. He has traveled to Europe where he sailed a ship and taught at-risk kids.

31. He is a wonderful provider for his family.

32. He likes to play the didgeridoo (ya, I don't really know how to spell it, but it impresses the heck out of my kids)

33. He is traditional. He 'courted" his wife. He brought her flowers, made her dinner, sent her packages...Too Cuuuuuutte.

34. He use to make up characters, like 'jeffery'.

35. He won a baby contest and had his picture displayed in the 'Crescent' in Spokane for a year. Again... Too Cuuuuute.

36. He knows everyone, and if he doesn't know someone he soon will. He is extremely outgoing. Women love to talk to him, maybe it is that whole cute thing.

37. I once got a job simply because he was my brother. The owner called me out of the blue. I didn't know him, or the line of work (he was a crop duster), but he offered me the job because his girlfriend said James was a great guy.

38. I love going on drives with him (even though it seems like it is always to funerals) because he is great at making conversation and telling stories.

39. He is a good sport, he didn't kill Andria and I for wearing all of his clothes. In fact, he once sacrificed his football pants to make my sister a Halloween costume. He even wrote 'defense' on the rear in a protective-big-brother kind of way.

40. I wouldn't trade him for the world. He is an AWESOME older (way, way, way older) big brother. I meant that, he is AWESOME. I mean if there was ever a brother that was AWESOME, it would totally be him. Next to AWESOME in the dictionary is his AWESOME picture. Honestly, I could have gone to 50, or 60, there is just that much to say about you (and your AWESOME-ness)

I love you! Happy 40th Birthday James!!!!