Happy Birthday Jillian!

This is the last one for awhile, I swear! My little sister Jillian's 20th birthday was on Monday...congratulations Jill, on not being a teenager anymore! Although, to me, it seems like you have been 20 since you got to BYU, I guess you just seem so mature!

Jillian is the 4th daughter of 6 and the 5th child of 7. She has always been "the smart one" in the family. I believe her current career aspiration is to be a coroner, although that was only second to being a brain surgeon, but she didn't want to have to go to medical school. Actually, I don't know if she really wanted to be a brain surgeon, but she was thinking of medical school for quite a while. Jillian's most recent proudest moment, was when she put on her math lab employee vest for the first time, and was able to help students of all kinds with their math woes. I know what you're thinking, my sister is a nerd, and while that may be true, she is a cool nerd!:) Actually, while Jill may be the nerdiest of us all, she is also the coolest of us all! From a young age, she has been a fan of rock music, you know, the seriously hard-core rock music that annoys the crap out of you? Yeah, that kind of music! She has toned it down a bit, but is still a fan, and I must admit that I have never heard of about 99% of the bands that she likes. Granted, I am the music geek of the family, you know, with my bluegrass and easy listening preferences and all. Music from musicals is about the only genre that we agree on. She is actually currently dating a drummer from a local band, how fitting! He is a really nice, normal guy though, so no worries!

Jillian has always had a very strong testimony of the gospel, even from a very young age. I think it stems from the the fact that she was blessed with a lot more discipline than the rest of us. Just as she completed assignments on time and never procrastinated big projects, she started reading her scriptures and saying her prayers from a very young age. She grew up with a good knowledge and understanding of the gospel, which I think helped her to be firmly grounded in the gospel throughout her HS years. She reminds me a lot of our brother Joel. For those of you who knew him, you know how incredibly smart he was and how he had an amazingly mature testimony for a young man of only 16. Even now, as I am 25, it seems like he was older than I am now. That's a lot how Jill is. Wise beyond her years, smart and witty, and so loveable!

I can't say that I knew Jill all that well growing up, as she is 5 years younger, than me, she was merely my bratty little sister. But I have LOVED having her here in Provo, and being able to get to know her as an adult, and have a real relationship with her. I miss her when she is not around...this last summer was brutal for me. I love you Jill, and hope you're birthday was a fabulous one!!

Fun Facts about Jill:
1. she got a 31 (or something ridiculously high like that) on her ACTs
2. she did a paper route for many, many years
3. she was the only one of us to quit Galena due to her lack of love for dancing
4. she is a terrible driver, I literally fear for my life! (ok, maybe she has gotten better!)
5. when she was little, my mom would have to tell her it was time to STOP eating veggies, she would just eat and eat and eat. What I remember most from when she was little, was her pot-belly!
6. she has a beautiful singing voice
7. she loves fun and crazy eyeshadow colors
8. she has a red beach cruiser bike with a basket on the handle bars...I love it!
9. when we were training for the marathon, she was a speed demon, she would start running ahead of us without even realizing it, and then once she was about 20 feet ahead, she would turn around and notice we were way behind (well, I was, Whit just stayed with me to be nice) she would get in the "running zone"!
10. she loves comedy central shows, especially Conan. She also is a huge fan of Arrested Development.

So, I kind of like this new "Fun Facts" feature of the birthday tributes. Sorry to those who I have done before without the fun facts, maybe next year!