Happy Birthday Jilly

My sister turns 39 today (for the first time)! It is hard to believe that she's that old. Lucky for me, I will ALWAYS be younger. Having a big sister had it's ups and downs, but I can't imagine it any other way. Jill and I were oil & vinegar growing up. She was an outside kid. She rode horses. She worked cattle. She ran with my dad. I was the inside kid. I baked. I sewed. I cried if they made me go work outside.

Jill rode a bike first. Jill got her car and her license first. Jill got grounded first. Jill got to go away to college first. I spent my days always trying to 'catch up' to my sister. Little did I know at the time that there were things about me that my sister longed for. Who knew...

Jill went to So. Oregon State College. I went to So. Oregon State College. Jill transfered to OSU. I transfered to OSU. Jill took some tumbles along the way and I took notes. I got the benefit of learning from her mistakes.

Jill and I don't get to see each other as often as I'd like...but we talk on the phone often. Now days, we compare notes...we seek each other out as sounding boards...we trade recipes...we enjoy each other as friends. If I need my sister I know where to find her.

Did you know? Jill...

1. was born February 10, 1969...she was a big baby!
2. was a Henley Honeybee Baton Twirler.
3. had a surprise party...and I kept it a secret.
4. and I used to jump on the haystacks together.
5. and I used to 'spy' on boys...we called ourselves "Valley Vice."
6. and I both kissed the same boy only twice that I know of.
7. talked me into sticking my tongue on the frozen mailbox.
   
8. was a better teacher than mom on how to drive a stick shift.
9. runs in marathons...she's training for #5 right now.
10. is a great cook, now...hasn't always been.
11. can knit a lot of really cute things. (Not that she's ever knit anything for me...hint...hint.)
12. and I made up code words for embarrassing things...PRU...SBD...OTC.
13. made me shoot milk out of my nose at the dinner table...with a BANG.
14. hid under my bunk bed and scared the daylights out of me.
15. suckered me into...the last peep. "Girls, if I hear one more peep out of you..."
16. used to chew her nails to the quick.
17. could do amazing tricks that I couldn't with pencils and cans of mousse.
18. had to call and ask me how to boil eggs in college.
19. had to wear braces on her bowed legs as a small child.
20. 'got' to wear braces on her teeth in high school.
21. fought fires as a summer job.
22. got stung by a scorpion while fighting fires.
23. has traveled to 11 States.
24. has traveled to 7 countries.
25. drove a green Horizon Meizer. We had to climb in the hatchback...the doors didn't work.
26. rear-ended my best friend on the way to school...got me out of a history test. :-)
27. stuttered as a child.
28. has beautiful brown eyes and an olive complection.
29. weighed 55 pounds in 4th grade and led her 1500 pound 4-H steer.
30. flipped me off the back of the 3 wheeler more than once.
31. was scared of my long fingernails...I used them as defense! (See #32)
32. used to pin me down and drip spit on me. She pretended to try and suck it back up, never did though.
33. would eat cold cereal for dinner on any given night if she didn't need to cook for the kids.
34. listens to talk radio A LOT.
35. is an avid reader and loves to buy books.
36. has a degree in Forestry.
37. took me to the infirmary when I had kidney stones in college.
38. is a great mom.
39. is the best sister ever!
40. NEXT YEAR DEAR SISTER.

A penny thought: Sisters are different flowers from the same garden. ~Author Unknown