Happy Birthday, Troy!

Today is my brother Troy's birthday. I have the hardest time finding good e-greetings, and I'm always too late to send a card via paper mail (did you know people are still doing that??) so I thought a glorified "Ode to Troy" on my blog would suffice. Plus, this would allow me to find out if he is actually reading his little sister's blog....hmmmm?

This is Troy:
He's turning the big 3-0! Although Troy and I are 6 1/2 years apart, he was always a very good brother to me. For example....

1) He taught me how to surf (kinda) and wakeboard.
2) He would let me paint his toe nails... and then he would leave them painted. (Jordan will NOT let me do this to him, no matter how many times I say, "but TROY let meeee")
3) He let me hang out with him and his wife Nancee alot when they lived in Provo.
4) He helped me to come visit him and his family in Tuscan.
5) He was the first person to explain to me "tr" sounds like "ch" (I still remember this conversation).
6) He took a major part in reproducing an adorable niece for me.

Troy also had a huge impact on my beliefs as a child. When I was little, I stopped believing in Santa and the Tooth Fairy at normal ages....but I really struggle letting go of the Easter Bunny. Although the Easter Bunny is obviously the most unlikely to be real of the three, I believed in him the most. Why? Because Troy convinced ME that I saw the Easter Bunny! He made up an elaborate story that I woke up early one morning and saw him right when he was leaving. I just didn't remember it really well because I was little. I held onto that story like gold. I was so proud that I saw the Easter Bunny. I bragged to friends about it. I believed it so much that I began picturing it with perfect clarity. Imagine my utter confusion when I found out that he was in fact not real and that my memory was completely nonexistent. "But....I SAW him...right Troy?"

Troy also impacted my paranoia on my own genetics. When I was learning about shaving my legs, I noticed that Troy's legs were exceptionally hairy. Here's what went down.

Me: Troy, do you shave your legs?
Troy: Oh, yeah. I shave them everyday.
Me: You DO?
Troy: Yeah and the next day they look like this. In fact, I can feel the hair growing when I am in bad at night.

That totally freaked me out for a while. I was petrified that whatever weird gene Troy was carrying was bound to effect my legs. Thank goodness it was just older brother sarcasm!

So here is to you, Troy! You are super smart, crazy talented at every board sport imaginable, you can build pretty much anything you want, and you are really funny! Thanks for being such a great brother!