Hi there!

Today is my brother Neil’s 29th birthday. He’s the one in the middle, between me and our brother Jon. I am very much looking forward to him joining me on this side of 30 next year.

Can you tell we like to have fun together? Jon’s my travel buddy, but Neil is my UFC fight night, my pizza and wing night, and of course, the dad to my #1 favorite nephew. I don’t think anybody pushes my buttons faster than him, and he’s had 29 years to perfect that. He makes fun of my driving, makes fun of me in the car, and pretty much makes fun of me whenever he can. But, at least I can pronounce “Burger King”, “Valentine’s Day” and “envelope” correctly. He can’t. Don’t you just love sibling rivalry? But honestly, I love both of my brothers with my whole heart! They are my best friends forever.

Before I end this post, I will tell a funny story about my brother. When we were all little, Neil was the only one with blonde hair and brown eyes. Both Jon and I have dark hair and blue / green eyes. Jon and I are also “bigger” than Neil – he was always a bean pole! Thankfully he’s thickened up over 29 years. We used to tease him nonstop and tell him he was adopted. One night at dinner, he wouldn’t eat something that the rest of us love, and of course, in true brother – sister fashion, Jon and I had to remind him that he was adopted. He got angry and yelled, “No I am not! I found my birth certificate!!! I am not adopted!” Poor guy felt so bad about our constant teasing that he went through my mom’s dresser and found his birth certificate! I think I felt really bad for about 2.5 seconds, and haven’t looked back. Poor kid! Looking back at pictures of us and of our parents, I’m now 100% sure that he is related to me. I guess I’ll claim him.

Join me in wishing Neil a very Happy Birthday! I love you! Enjoy the year, brother. Once you hit 30, there’s no looking back! But don’t worry… I’ll be reminding you of that for the next 12 months. I wouldn’t want you to forget about it!