Happy Birthday Brett!

Unfortunately Brett is on a river trip for his birthday this year. He is not here to have the cake which I will inevitably bake and devour for him in his absence, so I thought that I'd post some love for him on my blog, should he happen to look at it upon his return. (And, should he live past the tumultuous rapids and ferocious bears that I in my paranoia have imagined to be summing up his existence even as I type!)

Brett, here are 31 things I love about you Babe...

1. You have the sexiest smile. I remember how you looked at me when we first met and mmm...that smile... You also took great pride in your fabulous teeth and even carried a toothbrush with you in the cargo pocket of your pants. You might actually be a little vain about your beautiful smile after all huh!?!

2. I love that you will always do the dishes. I have them waiting in the kitchen for you right now. Okay, maybe for your birthday I'll give you a vacation from the kids AND I'll do the dishes!

3. You are the world's best Daddy. You are so sweet with our children and much more patient than I am. You take the time to listen to them, to wrestle with them, to snuggle them, and, of course, to read Moo Who? and I Will Never, Ever Eat a Tomato over and over and over...

4. I love that you encourage me to do things just for me and you're proud of my accomplishments. I love that you are proud of me for going to Jazzercise (we both know that I need major validation here!). I love that you take the time to look at each scrapbook page I make, and that you are always willing to take over when I need to get away from the kids, even if it means that you're stuck with three little grumps while I'm relaxing in a hot bubble bath. You validate my needs as a wife and it makes me proud that I was smart enough to land a guy like you!

5. You are a jack of all trades-you can do ANYTHING and you're never afraid to try something new. Have you given gourmet cooking any thought???

6. I love that you always have to have a project. Sure, this can be expensive, but you are always going, always thinking, always creating...if the rapids and bears don't get you, and of course, if you can escape heart disease, then you will live forever with full mental capacity like your Grandfather who still skiis and designs webpages at 93!

7. You have a very easygoing, easy to like personality. You like pretty much everybody and can get along with anybody regardless of how different they are from you.

8. You are optimistic. You think positively and you ground me when I start getting down on something.

9. You share in my affinity for a good movie, a greasy pizza, and a Big Gulp. There may be a discrepancy on the definition of "good movie" but we both know that the Super Big Gulp is an essential part of any balanced weekend.

10. I love it when you build me things. Not cakes, which I do like, but whenever I see shelves or a table in a Pottery Barn catalog you're happy to make it for me for far less, and I'm happy to brag about what a handy man I've married.

11. I love your two gray hairs. I'm only in my twenties so I don't know what it's like going gray, but I love how well you've aged Brett, you look distinquished. You make the thirties look good!

12. I love what a history buff you are. If we chose teams for Trivial Pursuit (you know, if we had friends to play board games with) then I'd definately chose you on my team because you know all the presidents, when all the wars were, what the battles were called, who lived when and where and what they all did...you know a lot of history. And you know that if we were playing Cranium, well then, I'm your girl-as long as I don't have to do the humming questions.

13. I love that you love to take drives, especially in the fall. I love that you'll stop every ten feet on drives through the canyons so I can grab leaves to press too.

14. I love you in a sweater, mustard yellow or any other color.

15. I love that you can make a joke and lighten up tense situations. This usually works, unless I'm angry with you, in which case your jokes all of a sudden aren't so much funny as they are a feable attempt to dig yourself out of the hole you've created.

16. I love that when the jokes aren't working, you finally come around and say your sorry-it works everytime.

17. I love your Swan Dance

18. I love that I'm the english minor, and yet anytime I challenge a word you've used it's always in the dictionary. Lucky. I challenge you to a game of Scrabble anyway.

19. I love what a geek you are. You are always looking at things from an engineer's perspective, thinking about how a structure is made or how different mechanisms work. Me, I'm just glad there are people like you who understand it and make it all possible!

20. I love it when your foot reaches over and rubs mine in the night. It's an "I love you" without words.

21. I love that you'll play The Newlywed Game over and over with any group of people even though we usually always lose. But I know your toothbrush is blue and you know mine is green, everything else just doesn't even matter!

22. I love that you let me be myself and you don't have an agenda of what you expect of me. I'd love it if you came up with a "to do" list for me though...that'd be pretty funny!

23. I love that you support my staying at home to raise our children. Even when money is tight, you know that I'd rather be here to hear all the cute little things our kiddos say and to witness them rolling over and starting to walk and talk-that those things are more important than having a nice boat, designer clothes or furniture that isn't second hand. I appreciate the opportunity you afford me to stay home. Plus, the Brown Trout is a killer boat and you know it! It's vintage Baby!

24. I love that you love nuts. Because when someone makes the mistake of buying us an assorted box of See's candies, I know that half of them don't have to go to waste, you actually prefer those nutty guys!

25. I love that you love bacon and cheese and all things fried. Were we made for each other or what!?!

26. I love that we know each other well enough that we can interpret one another's thoughts from what is said. Like when we're on a dirt road on a mountain and there is an alternate route, when you say "I wonder where that road goes?" I know it really means, "I don't know where that road goes, do you mind if we drive it for the next two hours?" Or when you ask where something is and I say, "I don't know," you know that what I'm really saying is, "I might know, but we both know I'm too lazy to go get it."

27. I think Jemaine said it best: "Brett, you've got it go-in' o-o-on!"

28. I love that you're a hard worker. Anything you do you put your all into it and you don't stop until it's finished.

29. I love that you're assertive, you get your point across and get your way but you're polite about it.

30. I love that you are the best man I know, AND that you're mine. Unless you think the thing you and Reid have is worth a shot. He he he.

31. I love that you're in your thirties and I'm in my twenties. You're an old man Brett!!!

I love you Babe! I hope you know that, even if I'm a crappy gift giver and the best idea I've ever come up with on my own was a Dwight Schrute bobblehead doll! I hope you have/had a great birthday. Now I'm off to make your cake for me to eat later...