Happy birthday to James!

James turned 30 yesterday so I thought I would join the blogging world band wagon and share 30 things about James to celebrate.

30 things you might not know about Jamesy-cakes:

1-James's one birthday wish is to kayak from Ventura California to Anacapa Island. Our brother-in-law, Rob, is nice enough to offer to ride along beside him in his boat if James ever actually gets the chance to follow through with his dream. I think he is crazy but I have no doubt that he could do it if he wanted to.

2-James took me to Anacapa Island on our first date. It was a double date with our friends Craig and Kira and we kayaked around the coast with sea lions and scrambled around sharp rocks. Good fun. But my favorite part was watching James climb out of the water and up the 8 foot latter to the dock with our heavy and water-logged kayaks on his back. It almost made up for the fact that I could tell that he wasn't all that interested in dating me at that point. :)

3- James's best friend is Craig Dittman.

4-James loves candy. He has an overall sweet-tooth, but See's chocolate and anything sour and fruity takes the cake for him.

5-Ever since he was little, he has opted for Strawberry Shortcake as his birthday cake choice.

6-James is very athletic. He loves all things active and outdoorsy, but he isn't really into watching any organized sports. I wondered if this type of man was out there.

7-When James and I were newlyweds, James had a little Boston Whaler boat that he loved to pieces. However, a few months before Mason was born he sold it so that he could pay for daipers and other baby expenses. As much as he loved his boat, he loved his son even more. James has always put his family first.

8-James honestly thinks that he has green eyes even though they are as blue as they come.

9-James over-packs for nearly every outing or vacation. Without fail we ended up driving away with our truck full of kayaks, life jackets, camping chairs, five extra pairs of underwear, you name it! Most of the time we don't end up using it all but at least we have all of our bases covered. I on the other hand pride myself on being a light packer until I realize that I have forgotten half of my essentials. Woops!

10-James hates ordering pizza and really doesn't appreciate it when I take my time figuring out what we all want in a drive-thru. But worst of all is the self check-out kiosk at grocery stores. When we were on our honeymoon he tried to buy bagels at a self check-out and got so stressed out when he realized he didn't have a bar code that I laughed so hard. In that funny moment I knew that I the rest of my life would be full of laughter.

11-James served his mission in the Colorado Denver South Mission and loved it. He served as an Assistant to the President and ended up extending at his president's request. Interestingly enough, Colorado and West Virginia  are the only two states in the Union where it is okay to eat roadkill. We obviously were meant to be.

12-James is a blue/red personality and because of that is tremendously driven but also has more integrity than anyone I know.

13-James has ALWAYS wanted to be a vet. James spent most of his childhood taking care of animals and searching for owl pellets. He even saved up his money and bought an owl pellet kit at Natural Wonders in the mall and was devastated when he dissected it and didn't find any rare mole bones like he was expecting. As a result of all of this time and study, he can tell you almost anything about any bird and can name almost any animal (or breed) by sight. Nearly every day he tells me how grateful he is that he gets to make the dream of becoming a vet a reality.

14- When James turned 14 he wanted a great dane for his birthday. Instead he got a standard poodle named Rose. She was his best friend and went everywhere with him. They even did agility training with where they won all sorts of blue ribbons. He was a really cool teenager.

15- James's favorite color is green.

16- James's favorite movies are the Indiana Jones shows. In fact, the only double date that we have ever been on was with our friends, the Van Ordens, where we went and saw the newest Indiana Jones when it came out just after Mason was born. James also loves the Lord of the Rings trilogy and can't resist Nacho Libre. However, truth be told, he has been known to laugh right along with me while we watch my two favorites: Legally blonde and While you were sleeping.

17- James loves fishing, especially in the ocean. Out of all of the Californians that I know, he took advantage of living by the ocean the most.

18-When James was three, he accidently got hit by a baseball bat and had his head crushed in.Thankfully, with a Priesthood blessing, surgery, and a helmet, he was able to mend just fine and hasn't had any side-effects from the accident since....besides that he got accustomed to being pampered with a nightly head and back tickle. He still loves that. Half the time, just when I am drifting off to dreamland, James will ask, "Can you tickle my back/head?"

19- When James's is sick he wants to be snuggled up on the couch in a "couch taco" just like his mom would do for him when he was a little boy.

20-James loves 80's music and has an amazing amount of memorized lyrics under his belt. Actually, he knows the lyrics to all sorts of songs which makes it tricky to sing a song around him with out him heckling me about making up the words.

21-James talks to his family almost every single day.

22- James isn't so into watching tv or movies. However, recently we have taken to watching shows on Hulu at the end of the day to unwind from our boys. He still isn't a huge fan, but at least he gets a foot rub out of it. However, when Wipeout comes on he ROARS with laughter. Slapstick never gets old.

23-When I was still working, James would get up at five to warm up our car so that I could drive to work in comfort.

24- James LOVES finding camping gear at DI. It is a sport that he has perfected over the last couple of years. We probably have ten tents in our garage if anyone ever wants to come camping with us.

25-James loves to read. Up until several years ago his favorite books were the James Herriot books about the country vet. Sadly, he has since read a biography on the author and found out that most of his stories were either not even remotely real or extremely exaggerated. Poor Jamesy.

26-James hates to plan things in advance. This is especially true when he is on vacation. It makes him feel trapped.

27-James just finished all of his coursework for his masters program! Not only did he earn straight A's but he also learned to love biochemestry. He worked so hard and we are so proud of our favorite nutritionist!

28-James is a great public speaker. When I first met him he was teaching a class on member missionaries in our singles branch and I was so impressed with his abilities. Of course, it helped that I thought he was good looking!

29-James would give the shirt off his back to anyone and loves to serve others. I have watched him quietly help countless people over this relatively short time that we have been together. In fact, what sold my dad on James was when my dad heard from the people he home teaches that James stopped to help someone with car trouble on the side of the road.

30-James makes me laugh almost effortlessly. Though he is incredibly sharp and witty, James claims that I laugh hardest when I am laughing at him and I suppose he might be right. Thankfully he gives me opportunity to do this every now and then doesn't mind when I nearly pee my pants at his expense.