Happy Birthday, Jason!

Yesterday we celebrated Jason's 29th birthday. It's crazy to think that the very first time Jason and I met was over ten years ago! In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd share 29 lesser-known facts about my darling hubby.

1.

Yes, I robbed the cradle. Jason is eighteen months younger than I am. Fortunately for me, Jason was dating someone seven years older when we met, so his family thought I was a spring chicken. :)

2.

Jason may be able to solve a rubik's cube, but he can't roll his tongue.

3.

Jason secretly dreams of escaping the responsibilities of civilized life and becoming a pirate. He thinks it would be great to wear an eyepatch and bandana and say "argh" all day.

4.

At night, Jason lets me use his shoulder as a pillow. Not only does he tolerate it, after nearly six years of marriage, I think he kind of likes it.

5.

Having never really grown up, Jason still loves legos. Yesterday his eyes lit up completely as he told me about a new lego combine that he saw in the store window. Were I independently wealthy, he would have gotten both the combine and the pirate ship for his birthday.

6.

Jason hates to change diapers. He has a very sensitive sniffer that make poopy diapers positively boorish. The really sweet thing is that even though he hates it, he changes them anyway--without being asked. It's his way of saying "I love you."

7.

Jason drives a manual stick shift very well--at least now. Humorously enough, he learned on our honeymoon after we rented a car. Before leaving, I asked "You've driven a stick before, haven't you?"--assuming that his Cache Valley upbringing had provided plenty of opportunities. Not wanting to injure his manly pride, Jason responded "Yeah," but omitted the "once." It wasn't until he stalled the car three times driving out of Munich that I realized Jason hadn't had much practice. :)

8.

Jason loves to ski. According to his brother Lance, Jason is possibly even more wild and crazy on the slopes than his other brother, Justin--a fact which positively terrifies me and causes me to constantly remind him of his responsibilities as a husband and father.

9.

Jason is a marathon runner. Several months before we got engaged, I watched him finish the Top of Utah marathon with a huge smile on his face. Amazingly enough, he actually sweat in the form of a heart across his chest. We've got the pictures to prove it!

10.

Many years ago, before Jason had fully decided on his undergraduate degree, he told me how he felt torn about what to do with his life--he loved to build and work with his hands, he loved to draw and design, and he loved to teach. So far he's done a pretty remarkable job of combining all three! With an undergraduate degree in construction management, a graduate degree in architecture, and lots of experience as a teaching assistant and Spanish instructor at the MTC, he often finds himself in all three roles.

11.

Jason is the hair stylist in our family. Ever since my first experience cutting his hair ended in tears (mine, not his), he has cut his own hair, and even trims the girls' locks.

12.

Jason is also the true chef in the family, famous his for specialty dishes of cheesecake, rice pudding, and chicken parmesan.

13.

With Jason around, you never need a radio. He recently sang his way all the way from Lyon to Poitiers—a 6-12 hour drive, depending on the route you pick. A warning, however: the Jason Station is almost exclusively dedicated to country hits.

14.

Jason has totally deformed pinky toes, yet extremely artistic hands.

15.

Jason covers up his pinky toes by regularly wearing two pairs of socks.

16.

Those artistic hands create amazing artwork when he has the time (which is almost never.) Here's a picture of the girls that he's currently working on:

17.

Jason talks rampantly in his sleep when he is overtired. I wish that I had pulled out a tape recorder during the sleepless stage of our life otherwise known as Solar Decathlon--his monologues were quite entertaining!

18.

Jason is rather particular about his deodorant. When his favorite brand ran out here in France, he borrowed mine for a week and a half until he had checked all of the major stores to make sure nobody sold Old Spice before finally purchasing a more manly replacement.

19.

Up until the time we got married, Jason was very diligent about wearing his retainer. Ever since tying the knot, however, he has given it up. He says that it makes it too awkward to kiss. (Blush, blush.)

20.

If Jason could be anywhere in the world at any moment, he would probably be backpacking in the Windrivers. Jason is spiritually filled and renewed by the beauty of nature, particularly the mountains.

21.

A budding thespian from his elementary school days when he starred in “The Elephant Child,” Jason continues his acting career nightly by telling the girls original bedtime stories about Bearlemicus.

22.

Jason has a strange habit of picking fights and wrestling those many times his size--a habit that began when sharing close quarters with his 315-pound companion on his mission in New York.

23.

While you don't notice it often on this blog since I usually beat him to the posting punch, Jason is actually a very witty writer. I confess that I first fell in love with him through his e-mails as we corresponded back and forth one summer. Ironically enough, even though I was living in Peru at the time, Jason was the one dodging llamas as he worked testing sprinkler systems at BYU's llama farm!

24.

Jason is a fabulous photographer--a joy which is shared periodically through this blog. One of his biggest regrets, however, is that we lost our camera on the way home from our European honeymoon years ago. In a way, this year abroad is allowing us to recreate those memories--and we have the pictures to prove it!

25.

After 6 1/2 months in France, Jason has come to the unbending conclusion that he prefers Spanish over French. While he used to greatly romanticize the French language (probably because he originally learned it to impress a girl he liked), he has decided that he prefers a language where you actually pronounce the letters that you see.

26.

Jason is extremely generous and lets me borrow almost anything--even his toothbrush in case of dire emergency. However, he wisely draws the line at lending his favorite pen, as I have an uncanny talent for destroying writing utensils.

27.

The extrovert of our partnership, Jason is the social butterfly who enjoys organizing dinners, get-togethers, and other social gatherings.

28.

Even though Jason occasionally complains about being outnumbered in the family, he really likes his little girls. I don't think either of us will know what to do if this next little one turns out to be a boy.

29.

Jason proposed twice to me. (I was kind of caught off guard and needed a bit more time to reflect the first time.) If I'd known ahead of time how much fun married life with him would be, I would have caught him off guard by proposing first instead!

Bon anniversaire, mon amour!