30 Years and 30 Things about Jenilee

A post written for Jenilee (and all of you!) from our family. I am not going to specify who wrote what but I am sure some will be decipherable between our mom, dad, her twin brother, Tim (Her husband, our Grandma and I. I hope you enjoy learning some fun tidbits about this beautiful birthday gal! You’ll notice a few similar ones because I gave no direction, but she is who she is and has some very well known traits that we love her for!

As a big sister Jenilee is always quick and willing to bend to put me first. I am not sure if it’s an instinctual trait that comes with being a big sister but she is constantly selfless and protecting as a big sister.

You may hear(have heard) Jenilee referred to as any of the following: Jenilee, Jena, Jena-pie, Jelly, Jadger, Jelly-boo, Wife, Sister, T, BFFFL, etc. But NEVER EVER EVER call her Jen, Jenny, Jennylee, Janell-eeeee. And as a fun extra for anyone who may be wondering the correct pronunciation it is Jen-ih-lee.

Jenilee loves hugs! Whether it’s in greeting or saying goodbye, her family and loved ones always share a good hug. She always leaves a hug with a big smile on her face.

Huge popcorn fan. Sometimes she goes to a lame movie just for the popcorn…

Doggy lover. Silly little doggies make her heart melt. And medium sized doggies… and big sized doggies.

Sushi fan! Maybe not the most graceful eater of sushi, but she loves to keep using chopsticks and eat all her favorite rolls.

Jenilee can be an extremely easy-going person sometime to her own detriment!  She can chill like no other~ wish I had some of that in myself.

Although I am the runner in our family- there have been many races where my little girl has trained and out did her old mom – Her determination for being fit and competing in anything is appreciated and respected.  Even if she thinks I did the swing move to beat her in a “Tough Mudder”

Jelly was a force to be reckoned with against the Wisconsin badgers.

Jelly read Harry Potter in one day.

Senior high school classmates thought it would be funny if we were crowned Winter Ball (King/Queen) and ended up #twinning and having to dance together.

10-year-old Jelly could put 30-year-old men to shame by putting away 2 Kopp’s cheeseburgers with a smile on her face (for reference this is a local burger/custard shop and the burgers are BIG!)

When entering the house, Jelly talks to the dogs like humans greeting them with “Bill, hello” and “Gypsy, hello”

Jelly can eat two full kopps burgers with fries (sequentially).

She is so quick to forgive. I think this primarily stems from your relationship with Christ but no matter the situation with family, friends, etc she is so understanding and willing to forgive and move forward-I genuinely strive to be like her in this way.

Her interests in life are contagious. She is a concert going, travel thirsty, food fanatic who is always looking for the next thing to go do, see, listen to and she spreads that to everyone in her life.

Speaking of movies, one of her favorite date nights is a movie night! Not sure if it’s because of the company… or maybe the popcorn?

I have never met anyone in my life who can eat as much popcorn as this lady. She even received a popcorn machine and SAM’s club size bag of popcorn for her birthday one year!

As a little girl, Jenilee had to have eaten giggle pills at meal time…the giggles that came from a little girl at our kitchen table were contagious and silly.  It was hard be mad at the interruption caused during meal time which typically caused her siblings to get into trouble.

Thirty years of names: Punkin, punkin pie, pie, pie pie, Jena pie, jelly, jellybadger, jadger

Jelly is all-time kanjam champ when teamed with her dad.  She can hit the can from anywhere on the course.

Jelly invented the wobble-bomb technique of throwing a frisbee quickly followed by “dad, no” or “dad, sorry”

When Jenilee and I used to play AAU Basketball together we would scrounge up any and all change on our way home so we would split a burger from McDonalds, we still laugh about it to this day!

This 30-year-old daughter has to be one of the most loyal people I have ever known.  Once she loves you~ you can be assured that she will always be there for you. I admire this trait and am honored to be loved by her.

When it comes to eating a meal, she is different than the rest of our family in that she cannot let any of the food on her plate touch and will only eat one thing at a time before moving on to the side dishes, she has been this way since she was little! etc.

Being a person who could get lost in the bottom of a paper bag, I could not be prouder of Jenilee’s confident navigation skills.  I can say I never worry of getting lost while traveling anywhere with Jenilee 🙂

Jenilee LOVES to read. And I mean loves. she may even live for it. Her husband and her have started a library in their house and she is constantly checking out/requesting new books from the library. You will always see a book nearby; in her purse, on a table, in her car, etc. So, if you are ever looking for a recommendation, she is your girl!

I’m most proud of Jenilee for following her heart and dream to create a blog with her sister; standing up (no pun intended) for tall women. Being a tall woman is not always the easiest as many, many people feel it their right to comment on height. They not only show the world that they are beautiful inside and out while keeping it ‘REAL’, but they are reaching other tall people and helping them feel good about themselves!   

Jelly is the queen of facial expressions (with a knack for throwing daggers if a call on the basketball court doesn’t go her way)

I will never forget a one year old grabbing for my 59 year old hand…and walking the halls of Children’s Hospital-doing lap after lap nearing the time for visitation…stopping at the elevators-waiting for mom and dad to come-when they did, her face would light up!

Hopefully y’all enjoyed learning some new random facts about her, now don’t forget to send her some birthday love on her actual birthday-tomorrow, November 22!