Happy Birthday Joel!

Joel recently celebrated his 29th birthday.  He and his coworkers had a good laugh because he has been telling them for the past six months that he is 27.  The really funny part?  Joel wasn't making that up!  He really believed it.  Too bad it isn't true.  The day I reminded him that he is a year behind in his guess, he laughed and commented that now it's like he has lost a year of his life all at once.

So, obviously the adults in our house don't take our own birthdays too seriously.  "It's just another day," we always comment to each other.  It took Joel a long time to figure out what he even wanted.

We decided to get him a grill.  It's been fun!  We've used it twice since Saturday and it is fun for me to know I can cook on it without heating up the kitchen or scrubbing a pan.  Joel and I spent several hours putting it together and I think he was satisfied with it.

We didn't do a whole lot on his actual birthday (in fact, we attended a wedding shower which couples were invited to) but I hope we got enough celebration in over the weekend to make it count.

It is fun to take a day to celebrate this wonderful man.  I love him more the longer I know him, and best of all, I respect him more than just about anyone else.  He is intelligent, funny, fun to be around, and practical.  One thing I admire most about his intellect is his ability to remember scripture.  He can always remember who said what at General Conference, even several years later!  And don't get me started on scripture references.  He is practically a dictionary on any topic.  I also don't get tired of him--Joel and I spent hours and hours talking to each other on our recent trip home from Utah because we still haven't run out of things to say to each other.  I need all of these things in my life and so do our children.

Happy Birthday to a fantastic father and a loving husband.  Knowing we are stuck together for eternity makes this deal a whole lot sweeter!