Happy Birthday J.J.!

Our marathon birthday month ends with J.J.'s birthday on the 28th.

JJ has always been extremely laid back, even as a baby. Mom said JJ was her easiest delivery, and beyond that she doesn't remember much, so he must have been really good. (The picture below is from the "butterball" days).

J.J. and Roo were the best of friends growing up, they loved pound puppies, Star Wars, and throwing toys off the balcony. They played volleyball in high school together too.

JJ is notorious in our family for being the most easy-going. In fact, some of our favorite JJ stories stem from his ability to achieve these extreme levels of relaxation. For example, when JJ was very young, he used to play by himself and kind of "zone out". When the older brothers would ask him what he was doing, he would say that he was "in the X-dimension".

Another good story is from when JJ was a teenager. He was working on his homework very intently. I was playing office with Mom, and we both walked into the kitchen together. We freaked out because there was a huge fire about 200 yards away in our backyard that had been going for awhile, and JJ hadn't even noticed!

JJ is more than just an easy going brother. He is known for being one of the funniest brothers as well. JJ is like Dad because he will be quiet and then just at the right moment he'll throw out the funniest comment, movie quote, or observation. This makes JJ dang fun to hang out with because you just never know what he's going to say, but you can be sure it will be hilarious.

JJ is a HUGE sports fan. He has always wanted to work for a sports team, and he still hopes that he might be able to do some kind of accounting for a sports team in the future. JJ has spent every morning since he learned how to read with his nose buried in the sports page. He knows all the players, history and statistics from every team for every sport... except baseball.

JJ loves sports, and the only thing he loves more is his family. When he found out Jennifer was pregnant, he announced it on his facebook wall by saying:

"Come this spring, it looks like only one of my top two life goals (watching the Jazz win the championship & becoming a Dad) will be fulfilled. I think it’s pretty obvious which one."

JJ is a wonderful husband and father. He is very hands-on with Nolan, and I think Jennifer is glad for that. He is so excited to be a Daddy!

He is patient, gentle and sweet. He also takes great care of the kitty cats!

We had so much fun visiting JJ a few weeks ago for Nolan's blessing. He gave his son a beautiful blessing and then he bore his testimony, which was nice to hear.

We love you JJ! We are glad that you are a part of your family and we miss you! We hope you have an awesome birthday!