MELISSA

ANNOUNCING NEW BLOG!!!!

2009-08-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's finally done!!! Everyone has been complaining that I haven't blogged in FOREVER! I was trying to come up the best blog name for my new blog with Brian. I finally did and I have back blogged so go see it and make sure you scroll all the way down... Wedding pictures are on there! I hope you all enjoy and love the new one. I am saying goodbye to melissa linder and saying Hello to yearswiththemears.blogspot.com

UPDATE!!!

2009-05-27T08:46:00.001-07:00

So it has been a little while since I updated my blog!!! People are complaining but HEY I have been a little busy!!! :-D

So here are the highlights.....

Amy Brown set up a "Bachelorette Party" where we went and got our toes done and some got their nails done. It's always nice to get a little pampered!!! It was fun to hang with everyone 2 days before the Big Day!!! I am just sad that their shoes will cover up their pretty toes!

Diane, Cindy, Mel, Kim, Amy, and Alisha!!!

Rocking the Toes!!!

Kim;s first time getting a manicure and pedicure!!!

Diane and Cindy enjoying themselves!!

Thanks Girls for supporting me!!! Love you all!!!

BRIAN TURNS 33!!!!!

I know that Brian doesn't care about Birthdays but I do!!!!

He turned 33 one May 15th!!!!

We hung out, did lunch, got our Marriage License, then had dinner with Friends!!!

Then Brian did what he LOVES!!! Golf!!!

I got him a Tee time on Saturday at Eaglewood so that he wouldn't be tempted to go on our wedding day!! JK

Honey!!! I hope that you had a wonderful day!!! Love You!!!!

He was still able to blow out all those candles!!!

Happy Birthday BRIAN!!!!!

The Man of my DREAMS!!!

2009-05-04T01:58:00.001-07:00

I am marrying this man in 24 DAYS and I can't wait!!!

He makes me laugh, smile, and I feel like the luckiest girl on earth when I am with him!!!!

24 Days!!!! but who's counting, right?

Bridal Showers!!!

2009-05-03T00:24:00.000-07:00

Bridal Shower, Bridal Shower, Bridal Shower, Bridal Shower!!!

So I have had all my beloved Bridal Showers. It is so fun being the bride and getting all these cool things. I was fortunate to have four different bridal showers. The first was put on my my roommates Nancy and Sug. We had it at Trio. It was a great time, visiting and sharing good food. I had a blast and am grateful for all the hard work that they put into it!

Sug and Stephanie

Janette, the BRIDE, and Amy

The second one I had was a family bridal shower that was hosted by my dear older sister Amy. Our family has a tradition of making a quilt for the bride at the shower and i LOVE quilts. Now Amy, doesn't like this tradition so much but I wanted mine and didn't want to stop before me!!! But Amy did an amazing job of finding and putting the material together... We had a lot of fun just sitting and chatting and quilting. I got lots of gifts and am so grateful for them all. I am lucky to have such a supportive family. Side note... so we didn't get the quilt completely tied before everyone left so Amy, her husband, and I finished it... I don't think that we will be doing this again... Least I got MINE!!!!!

I am filling out an answer sheet on "How Well Do You Know the Bride?"

Surprising.... they got a lot of the answers wrong :(

Quilting.....

Suzanne doing some more Quilting!!!!

Presents!!!!

My third party was hosted by Amy Brown, Dawn Sorensen, and Robyn Stelter (my friends from WJ)

This party was so much fun because I got to see people that I hadn't seen in forever... It was great catching up and laughing like good old times...

Dawn, The BRIDE, Robyn

Amy Brown putting bowes in my hair

Amy really wanted to play the Bow Game! This is were you put a bow in the bride's hair for each present you open and then the groom comes and kisses them out... I didn't want to do this so much... but mention kissing to Brian and he is there! :)

Brian taking the bowes out... it kind of hurt a little.

My fourth and final Bridal Shower was hosted by Melinda Vranes.... I owe Melinda so much! She is a great friend. She put a shower together for when and she had so much going on in her personal life. It was an amazing party and I had a lot of fun! Thanks you so much for all that you did. I am the luckiest girl!

Melinda and the BRIDE

I want to thank everyone that came and had fun with me. Thank you for all your love and support. You all mean so much to me!

Dancing MACHINE!!!!

2009-04-26T03:53:00.000-07:00

Brian and I are still going strong on the dancing front! I am really enjoying it and having fun! Brian's parent's came once and took a lesson and now Brian and his mom are practicing for the Groom/Mother dance! Brent says that he is going to "pay me back" for this... I don't know if I should be concerned or not! But Dancing MUST go ON! :-D

UPDATE!!!

2009-04-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been anything that new to blog about.... sorry... So I thought that I would just given an update. I am working on the loose ends for the wedding plans. Nancy came up with center pieces and I love them. My sexy hot green shoes came in! I know!!! YOu all want one!!! Soul Envy in Provo Mall is where I got them! Then I spent Easter with Brian and my family. My Dad and Brother came down for the weekend. So I showed them my house, hung out, and had fun. Then on Easter Sunday I went to Brian's and had an easter egg hunt of sorts.. It was fun!!

42 Days and Counting!!!

Alisha, Dad, Jasmine and Aaron!!!

Engagements!

2009-04-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

It's getting close!!! I am getting married in 51 days!!! I can't believe it! So Yesterday Brian and I went and got our engagements done. My amazing and very talented BFF Nancy took our pictures and did a great job! We had fun... it was entertaining. It was great practice for the wedding. If I was smiling then Brian wasn't and vise versa. Then I was doing cheesie fake smiles and I don't know why... but they turned out great and Nancy did a great job! Now we just have to pick one for the announcement. Any suggestions?

Deal or No Deal!!!

2009-03-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

Stressful times!!!

So I don't know if you all have heard but Brian and I aren't getting our cute little town house. When we got back from Hawaii there was nothing done on it so we started investigating. Come to find out they built it on collapsable soil which is Not good. So we said No Deal!

So we went back to the drawing board and started looking again. We have the greatest Realtor ever, Melanie Bowers. She found us some houses in Traverse Mountain (Lehi). After some heartache and not getting my first pick we put in an offer and they accepted. It is actually really nice and I love it. It's Huge and I don't know what we are going to do with it but I am excited. We are having it inspected on Monday and are suppose to close by the end of April. Keep your fingers crossed that nothing else goes wrong!

Chesnie Taylor Vranes

2009-03-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

Ty and Melinda Vranes had their little baby today on March 26, 2009. Mom and the baby are doing great! I waited in anticitpation all day long... I didn't want to bug them but I wanted here. They went into the hospital (LDS) at 0800. I called about 4 pm and Ty said that things were going well. That she was dialated to a 4 and that things were going to pick up real fast. I was glad that Ty was being so positive! Well, little Chesnie arrived around 730 pm. Brian and I were at dance class so we came up as soon as we were done. I was so excited that I started shooting pictures. Mel said that I probably had more of her than she did. She called me the paparatzi. What can I say, she is too dang cute. Then I had the opportunity to go take pictures of Ty giving her her first bath. I might have taken a few (over 100) and Brian of course made fun of me. That's alright. Better to have too many than not enough. I am so glad that she is here and healthy and that Melinda is doing great!

Dancing?

2009-03-17T02:01:00.000-07:00

4EVER DANCING!!!

Who likes to dance? Brian? Melissa? It's got to be Brian ...... ok it's ME!!! I love to dance... I have never said that I am good.. I just like to do it. Well, when Brian and I were talking about our wedding I said that we were dancing. I didn't really give him a choice. He said that he doesn't dance and his sister has told me several times that she can't see Brian doing that at ALL. Well, he has you all fooled! I signed us up for a dance class and he "impressed" the instructored. I do have to admit that Brian was ready to be done by the end of the class but he did great! He says that I owe him BIG but I know that he secretly enjoyed it just a little bit. I am truley marrying the best man! Love you!

We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb

BABY CHESNIE!!!!

2009-03-17T01:40:00.000-07:00

It's a Baby Girl!!!

Melinda's due date is fast approching and we all can't wait. Liz aka Lizard and I through Mel a Baby Shower on March 7. Poor Melinda had been throwing up that morning but she still looked great! We can't wait to have little Chesnie here!!! It's going to be too much fun!

ALOHA!!!!!

2009-03-15T03:59:00.001-07:00

Aloha!!!!

So as many of you know.... I went to Hawaii on February 26-March 5. My family and I went to see my little brother, Wes. He just got done surviving a tour in Iraq and is stationed in Oahu, Hawaii. We wanted to go welcome him home and see where he was been living. It was great seeing Wes. He has done so much for my family and this country and I am PROUD of him!

So on our little trip we took a few pictures (1800) and I could not decide which ones to post... This is always hard for me. So instead of putting five million single pictures my dear friend Shannon taught me how to do a collage (thanks Shannon). So enjoy! We had a ton of fun and we all want to go back.....

North Shore!!! Best Beaches!!!

Going Hiking and see the temple!!!

Brian and I like to do everything twice!!!
We dated twice and now he has Proposed Twice!!!
Brian said that he wanted to originally propose in Hawaii and new he couldn't wait... So he did it agian.... He even wore the same shirt!
Our hotel had a gazebo and he took me out there late at night (he said we were going on a "walk") and their were tortes light. It was really romantic!
He is the greatest!

Paradise Cove! Lauai

Kualoa Ranch... Great Great time!!! Everyone should go here!!!
This is where a lot of movies and Lost is filmed.
We had fun with the ATV's and Sarah loved the horses!

Pearl Harbor!!!!

Misc Pictures!!! We didn't want to come home!

FEBRUARY!!!!

2009-02-22T01:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a little busy this month and a lot has gone on and I haven't kept up on the blogging... So sorry. So this is a very very long post. I am also going backwards cause that's how I downloaded the pictures ( I wasn't thinking and was too dang tired) So have fun reading and I hope it all makes sense!

So Brian and I have been looking and looking and looking for a house to move into after we get married. We have the best real estate agent but man it's not a easy process! So we have gone back and forth but finally made a decision to get a Townhouse. I know, some people don't think that this is a great idea but we feel good about it and that's all that matters. Now the location was another thing. We finally decided that we would go with Thanksgiving Meadows down by Thanksgiving Point. It was a hard decision again but we think that it is going to be good. We are building a McArthur Townhouse- Ashby that is 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath and a big kitchen. It is suppose to be done in April... Just in time to move in before the wedding. We will keep you all updated...

Brian and I in front of our new house

It's a 2 door garage!

The laundry room/ half bath

Living Room

Master Bedroom -

Brian imagining where the bed will be

Brian demonstrating where the toilet will be!

So if anyone knows Brian, you know that he LOVES basketball and loves the Jazz. Well, I won't lie, I really like basketball too but I really don't have a TEAM anymore. I haven't followed it very closely for years but I did really like the Celtics and cheered them on last year. Well, Boston came and played on 2/19/09 and Brian got us tickets since I hadn't been to a Jazz game that I could remember and since I liked the celtics he thought it was perfect. (He's so sweet) Well, he got us seats on row 17... SWEET!!! They were awesome and it was a lot of fun.. I wore my boston outfit and was set for the night to have fun! Now I have to explain one more thing. Brian is a betting man, so I bet him that the Celtics would beat the Jazz by 5 points. So we made a bet and I was pretty happy. The Jazz were doing horrible and couldn't hit anything the majority of the night. Brian wasn't happy and I might have rubbed it in a bit.. Well, the Celtics were winning until the last 3 minutes of the game and then the Jazz won by 5 points! I was not happy! Dang Brian... :-D I had a great time though!

It was a small struggle but Brian did sit by me

even though I wore the "wrong" colors!

Ray Allen!!! He's Awesome!

Brian not happy that his team is loosing!

I Love the drums!

I lost!!! :( I was heart broken!

The Brown's!

It was Kade's Birthday... I can't believe that he is six. Where does the time go? Well, I took my little man and the little sister (Kambree) out to lunch. It's always fun hanging with them... They are the cutest and have a cute mom!

Kambree!!! She's my little lady!

Amy, Kam, Kade

Could they be any Cuter?

Dancing!!!!

So I LOVE to dance! I don't know what it is but it's just fun! I never said that I was good but it's fun to just DANCE! Well, Brian claims that he DOESN'T DANCE at all. Well, I told him that we were going to dance at our wedding anyways- he didn't say NO so that is good! Well, for Valentines Day Brian was so cute and set up a little private dance for me... his intent was to show me that he isn't good at it so he wouldn't have to do it at the wedding but it didn't work. He isn't that bad. So When we were at my mom's for her birthday I of course just decided to have some fun and dance and made everyone join in. So we traveled back in time and danced to: the hokey pokey, twist and shout, YMCA, and a couple more... It was fun! I know you all wish you were there!

BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES!!!!

2009-02-10T00:17:00.001-08:00

SO I don't think that I have turned into Bridezilla but I think I was tempted.

Picking out Bridesmaid dresses has been such a headache.

I didn't know what I wanted!

What I wanted was:

1. Have everyone like what they were wearing!

2. Have everyone look elegant and beautiful!

3. Have everyone somewhat match!

So I had found some dresses online and they said that they didn't have all of them and they didn't know if they could get them in. The dresses were at a store in Provo. Then when I was in Idaho, Kathy and I happened to stop by a Bridal Store that had the same dresses. We stopped and I had the sales person there actually try the dresses on so that I could see them on a real person. She was so sweet and actually did it. Then I had Alisha and Ashley meet me in Provo to try them on. I have gone back and forth and back and forth on which ones to pick for whom. I think everyone was ready to strangle me! Don't you worry though! The dresses have been ordered. The store in Idaho can get all of them for me by May 1st which is awesome!! One thing down 5 million things to go!

Alsiha in my favorite dress

(I didn't get this one)

Ashley in dress # 1 that half the girls will be wearing

This was Ash's favorite!

How they would look side by side

Let's switch!!!

Leesha agreed with Ash

They both are going to wear dress # 1

Dress #2

The top will be Chocolate Brown with a Mocha shirt!

Thanks Alisha and Ashley!!! You two are sweethearts.. Thanks for going with me and trying them on and on for me.. I am so lucky to have you!!!

Trip to Idaho/Oregon!

2009-02-09T23:50:00.000-08:00

So on January 30th Brian took the Brave drive to Idaho to spend the weekend at my Dad's house! It went well. No worries here. He still likes me after a 5 hour drive in the car and leaving him with my Dad for 2 hours. I know I am mean! We went to visit for my Step-Mom's Birthday and my brother, Aaron, plays for TVCC, so we went to some of his games! It was fun!

Aaron and Jasmine right before his game....

He injured his ankle but was able to play the second game we went to.

I love to watch Aaron play!!!

3 Points!!!!

The dedicated parents!!!

During a time out... Brian got the chance to go down and win a dinner

He had to make 3 lay ups, 3 free throws, and 3 3 pointers in 25 secs

He was nervous... it was really cute!!!

We have it on video if anyone wants to see it.

Me and my cute Dad!!!

Love you Padre!!!!

Happy Birthday!!! I hope it was a great one!!

I mean Basketball and MEL in one weekend

What more would you want....

Oh Leesha, I knew it :-D !!!!

Cody and Jordan's Visit!

2009-02-09T23:33:00.000-08:00

On January 25th Cody came down to the SLC with Jordan for the weekend!

I love it when they come!!!

It is always good to see them!!

Cody... you can always make me smile just by looking at you...

and...

Jordan, you are a sweetheart! I wouldn't trade you in!

Cody looking styling going to church!

(I do believe this was right before Cody did something BAD)

Love you!

Jordan (Cody's BF) doing his thing!

Look how cute they all look!!!

Colton, Amy, and Cody!

This is how we say "LOVE YOU" in our family.

Amy LOVES it......

The Girls!!!

Sarah, Melissa, Amy

A Date to Remember!

2009-01-25T23:48:00.000-08:00

Brian and I decided that we would have a "special" date night!

Here were the rules:

1- No cell phones (apparently I talk a lot :-D )

2- Can't talk about the wedding

3- We would split the date. I got the beginning and he got the end.

I came up with what to do the first part and then he did the second half!

Sounds like fun- Right? It was!

So I had decided to go miniature golfing, a picnic, and then a movie! Brian chose: Driving range, The aquarium, dinner, and then bowling! Well, everything doesn't go as planned. So miniature golfing was out cause they were closed until 4pm (lame) along with the aquarium and then bowling had a wait that was forever long.

So, here was the date! We went on a little picnic at the Jordan River Temple! Since of course it was raining we just sat in the back of my car which turned out to be fun until I got really cold. Then we went and saw Forever Strong. AWESOME MOVIE! Everyone should go see that! Then we went to the driving range which I showed Brian my awesome super skills (OK not so super but Oh, well). Then we went to dinner at TGI Fridays which was the place that we went to on our very FIRST date. Then back to the MEARS for a movie! It was a great night and I survived without my phone!

Picnic-I was trying to get Brian to eat his vegetables...

He wasn't having it!

Our View!

Brian demonstrating how it should be done!

Cute couple, don't you think?

I'm not that bad... or am I?

Brian trying to play baseball too....

Isn't he adorable?

Dress Hunting!

2009-01-21T08:16:00.000-08:00

Who said that Dress Shopping was FUN?

Well we are on the hunt for the perfect dress.
Don't worry none of the dresses on here are in the running :-D
These days to get the dress that you want you have to start looking 6 months ahead so for all you ladies out there go look and then have it in your mind so you are prepared before the big event happens!

Amy and Ashley helping to pick out dresses to try on.

Amy and my mom insist on me having a veil.

HAPPINESS!!!!

2009-01-18T03:23:00.001-08:00

So it has finally happened!

I AM ENGAGED!!!!

As you can see, I am very excited!!!!!

I am engaged to an amazing man named Brian Mears

and we are getting hitched in May!

How did it all happen??????

Brian and I have a funny story. We were set up on a blind date about 4 years ago. As you can tell it didn't go so well and we didn't go out again. Then my dear friend Amy Brown really wanted us to go out again. She was very persistent and got us to go for round two. So in October we started dating and it all has unfolded from there!

The Engagement!!!!

I think his "plan" went out the door when he arrived to my house at 1 pm to find me asleep. It took him a good 5-10 minutes to get me to the door. I have to say, I worked the night before and was slightly tired. He brought me my favorite flowers- gerber daisies which was so sweet! So then he had to wait for me to get ready and then I was trying to get us out the door. I had even opened the front door and he started talking and saying some really sweet things... so I then I started to pay attention. He got down on one knee..... it was very tender!!!

THE RING!!!!!

Kaden's Birthday!

2009-01-12T07:25:00.001-08:00

Brian's nephew, Kaden had a birthday so it was a

P-A-R-T-Y at the

MEARS!

You know me, I Love an excuse to celebrate and not just celebrate but

CELEBRATE a BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday Kaden I hope that you had a great day!

Ashley and B-Day Boy - KADEN

Brian and I holding his nephews, Corbin and Ryder

who are 10 days apart

Mel and Ryder

JOEY!

Proper form for the Wii - BOWLING!

Go Stephanie!

Amy and Kade!

Notice that none of the "kids" are playing...

The cutest GIRLS ever:

Hailey and Kambree

Kali

Brandon!

The cute young married couple:

Diane and Brent

Alisha and Corbin

Kaylee and Chris

SLEDDING!!!!

2008-12-31T15:36:00.001-08:00

Winter FUN!!!

My friend Amy invited me to join her family sledding at Murray park and we had a BlasT!

It did remind me that I am not quite the young chicken that I once thought I was!

I did enjoy playing with the kids and watching them.

Everyone needs to embrace their youth again at some point!

Kambree and Mel ready to go!

Trent with the kids!

Trent, Amy and Kambree !

Kade!!! He's so dang Cute!

Stephanie and Kali

Ky loving it!

Amy catching some AIR!

Ky and Kaylee all smiles... they didn't want to leave!

Kolby doing his model look!

Amy and Stephanie

Kade and Trent what a cute Father/Son pair they are!

P.S.--- I want to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope that this year brings joy and happiness to you all! Love you Bunches!

ONE MORE TIME!!!!

2008-12-29T00:44:00.000-08:00

So, we went to Temple Square for the lights one more time... Hurray!

It was so much warmer tonight than the night before.. let me tell you.

Brian and I met his family down at Temple Square and then he took me over to the Conference Center to take a tour. I had never done this before and have heard how amazing it is. It truly was, plus it gave me an opportunity to warm up. It was a peasant evening!

Brian and Ashley... look at those smiles :-D

Look at that amazing shot....

who taught you how to take amazing pictures?

The Mears family minus 2

Diane keeping her "lion" warm and content!

Brian and I in the Conference Center

Temple Square!!!

2008-12-28T09:43:00.001-08:00

One last thing for Christmas!!!

My Dad came down from Idaho and one of their traditions is going to Temple Square! It was a lot of fun to spend some time with them.

Plus, temple square, family, cold - doesn't that equal FUN?!!!

Alisha- she had a lot of energy after being in the car all day!

Say Cheese!

We weren't cold at all.....

Cute parents.. Dad and Kathy

Love the sister!

Brian LOVES taking pictures!

Leesha is so dang cute!

Merry Christmas!!! and Happy New Years!!!!!

SNOW DAYS!

2008-12-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

So I have lived in Utah for 13 years and I have never made a snowman! I know, SAD! So my cute boyfriend said that he was going to teach me. Well with all the snow you would think that this would be easy.... NOT. The snow was too powdery but we still had fun playing!

Mel making a snow angel

Where did he go?

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

I was at my Mom's for Christmas and we were all home except for my dear brother Wes, who is in Iraq. We all miss him... Love you Man!

We had our traditional sleepover on Christmas Eve and then Presents in the Morning!

Cody and I went to wake Sarah and my Mom up by jumping on the bed but Cody chickened out but I got the deed done :-D

Christmas was great being with the ones I love!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and Happy New Years!

The Family

My little brother- cody came home... miss him

Amy and Cody... when are they not goofing off?

Christmas Morning!!!!

Brian came over for lunch/dinner!

A View from the SKY!

2008-12-16T20:22:00.000-08:00

Every year I try and think of something fun to do for my Birthday! I like to choose something that I haven't done before to try new things. So this year I picked helicopters. Doesn't everyone want to try it once? I waited after my birthday to do this so that I could see Christmas Lights. Well, it was schedule for Tuesday Dec 16th (happy birthday Kira) and then what happens.... it SNOWS! So for those who don't know several years ago I tried to go on a hot air balloon ride for my birthday and it got cancelled several times due to weather conditions! ( I still haven't gone yet either!) So I was panicked that it was going to get cancelled... just my luck! But, NOPE it stopped snowing and it was a beautiful ride. It was WICKED AWESOME! One of the top 10 things that I have done!

Melissa Cox came with-- she's getting strapped in

Yes, we got to wear the cool headphones!!!!

Temple Square was breathe taking!

Loving the Ride!

I had a blast and want to go again!

Sushi anyone?????

2008-12-15T21:07:00.000-08:00

So if you KNOW me, you know that I am what some people would call a picky eater. I have lots of friends that love to eat sushi and I have always said "Heck No.... Nasty!" Well, I caved! My Blue Kru5H group had me try it. I liked the Vegas and Mars. I wouldn't go seeking it out but I now know that there is something that I can eat if I go out :-D

The Sushi!!!

Soy Beans that were actually good!

Stephanie, Monira, and Melissa C.

I didn't like this one!

Happy Birthday AMY!!!

2008-12-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday AMY!

It was Amy's birthday on December 8th and we all got together to celebrate!

It's always a fun filled night! Great food, Games and Cheese Cake!

Mom and Mel Sarah and Mel

Colton won't take a picture by himself so I helped him out

Amy didn't like the card but LOVED the present!

FLASH UNO! it's fun!

SURVIVING!

2008-12-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

I survived the DOGS!!!!

I house/dog sat for the Vranes for 1 week and I survived.

Hunter and Daisy didn't kill me. I am actually very proud of myself!

Now don't get excited... I don't love dogs or want one... ever!

But, I am ok with Mel's dogs. Daisy still scares me at times and I still scream but it is definitely less than before.

Melinda Vranes BFF

Melinda is 24 weeks pregnant and so DANG CUTE!!!

She just started showing and I am so excited!

Little Baby Girl is growing and growing!

Melinda and Ty were in Hawaii (I know I am jealous too) with her family for Thanksgiving.

They were heart broken to have to miss my birthday but they called!!

So when they got back Mel came over and she had blossomed over seas. She looks great!

I love these two and they mean the world to me. Thanks for all that you do for me!

Party at Melissa's!!!

2008-12-02T13:35:00.001-08:00

Party? Did someone say Party? Well, my roommates, Nancy and Sugar, threw me a B-Day party that was the greatest. We had great food and tons of people. Nancy and Sug are amazing cooks and you can guarantee a good time when they are around. Thanks for making my Golden Birthday the BEST!!!

Janette and Amy setting up

Rocky getting some FOOD!

My amazing Home Teachers!

Sug getting the cake ready!

Amy got a little wild!

Braxton my MAN!

The Sailors!

Jacob, Monira, and Mel --- Say Cheese!

Mel and Grant

Stephanie and Mel

Brian and Mel

Trent and Amy

TVCC games in WY

2008-12-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

My not so little Brother, Aaron plays for TVCC in Oregon. He got a basketball scholarship and I got to see him play like I have already said. It was good to see him play again. He played all through High School. Love you Aaron.... You ROCK!!!

Aaron is #24

Starting Line UP!

Warm ups!

Aaron's cute wife, Jasmine

While I was in Rock Springs I saw Cody

Isn't he cute!

Alisha, Mel, and Jasmine

Go TVCC... Chukars!

NOVEMBER 28TH!!!

2008-12-02T12:47:00.003-08:00

The 28th of November is my favorite day of the year! No surprise to anyone. :) This year it was on Black Friday which is AWESOME. What girl wouldn't want to have their birthday on the biggest shopping day of the year? Well, I drove to Boise on Thanksgiving Day to spend it with my Dad (BJ). Alisha and I drove together. She got a little sick on the say so I ended up driving all the way on no sleep but hey we made it in one piece and that is all that counts. So at midnight we celebrated my birthday (the reason I look like crap) because we took a little road trip to WY on Friday to see my Brother Aaron play basketball. He plays for TVCC. It was a lot of fun and I really did enjoy my Birthday!!!

If you don't know what a Golden Birthday is you

should be ashamed!!!

Alisha Snooks

Jasmine Snooks

Dad giving me my presents!!! He loves my B-Day!

I look amazing for no sleep!!! But hey it's my Golden Birthday!!

B-Day Party at Work!

2008-12-02T12:31:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to me!!! On November 26th my co-workers through me a party! I tried to act surprised but they said that I did a bad job! We had fun as always and ate the best cheesecake. I couldn't ask for better friends! Love you guys!

Stephanie drew signs and put them all around....

they were awesome

Don't I look Surprised?

The sign says it all

They were actually singing Happy Birthday!

The RTU crew!

Blue Kru5H!!!!

2008-11-25T00:34:00.001-08:00

I Joined a BAND!!!

I KNOW!

FUN!!!

We had band practice tonight before I came to work (hence the cool outfit)!

I definitely do the best on the drums..who knew?

Thanks to Cox for letting us practice in her "garage".

And welcome Nira! She passed tonight and did AWESOME!!!

Linder, Cox, Straley, and Evans!!!

Blue Kru5H!

(PS: 3 Days and Counting!)

Happy 20th LEESHA!!!

2008-11-23T18:03:00.001-08:00

Well if you know the Snooks family you know that there is 4 birthdays in November!!

Yep, Crazy I know!! Well, my little sister Alisha turned 20 on Nov 22 and is very

excited to be out of her "teenage" years. :) I took her to lunch and had

fun catching up on life. Leesha you are a babe!! Love you girl!!

Alisha Rachelle

Did I mention that I dyed my hair? Hope you all LOVE it!

NO Worries!!! THE BIRTHDAY is in 5 DAYS!!!!!

TWILIGHT

2008-11-23T17:58:00.000-08:00

Well, everyone should know that I am a HUGE Twilight Fan! So there was no question that I was going to the Premiere of the movie! I even bought tickets in June through TwilightMOMs.com It was a huge event. Cindy and Amy came along and I think that they had fun on the girl's night out. Now for the movie... well lets just say the book is 10 times better!!

Cindy, Mel, and Amy

Some things are Just FUNNY at 3 AM

2008-11-23T17:16:00.001-08:00

So on 21st of November I was at work and not feeling the greatest. Surprising I look fantastic in the pictures :) Well there is something about 3AM that makes us all a little giddy and everything is 10 times funnier. Melissa Cox took my camera and had a little photo shoot on the unit. I promise we do work. This is like 10 minutes of laughter in between cares.. Thanks for making my night 10 times better! You all ROCK!! If you can't have fun at work it's not worth working :)

Cox, Straley, Linder Masked!

Kristy was jealous she wasn't a hot brunette.

Lance OH Lance!

I will eat you!

Captain Amazing!!!

Captain Awesome!!

Straley and Linder Rockin Out!

TAG.... YOU'RE IT!!

2008-11-15T23:48:00.000-08:00

So my friend Jamie tagged me .... with a picture tag. So here it is......

My fourth picture from my fourth file.... It's a picture of Amy and I taking the boys to MOAB for a sibling trip. It goes, Me, Wes, Cody, and Amy is driving. It's a rare moment to see all of us smiling at the same time. It was a really fun trip of river rafting and Hummer rides! (This was in July of '05... look how young they were)

Here are the rules:

1. Go to your pictures

2.Upload the fourth picture from the fourth file... (it doesn't matter what it is)

3. Post the picture

4. Tag your Friends

TAG YOU'RE IT!!!!

Memory Lane!

2008-11-14T23:22:00.000-08:00

My friend Brianne had this on her blog and it was fun to read... So have fun reading how lame I was but I want to hear about You!

HIGH SCHOOL DAYS
1. Did you date someone from your school? No one seriously
2. What kind of car did you drive? A Wicked Awesome Subaru that I had until last year
3. What was the most embarrassing moment of high school? Too many to count, and some that I purposely forgot about!!
4. Were you a party animal? No I was too afraid of my parents
5. Were you considered a flirt? Nope.. Still not... guess that's why I'm still single. I might need a few lessons
6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Band all the WAY!!! It ROCKS!!
7. Were you a nerd? I would say NO but others would say yes
8. Were you on any varsity teams? Does Band count?
9. Did you get suspended/ expelled? Yeah right! No I was a good little girl! Now if I would have stayed in Phoenix Amy is pretty sure I would have gotten into trouble. I think her exact words were that I was going to get my butt kicked if I didn't learn to shut my mouth. I learned quickly.
10. Can you still sing the fight song? Heck yes!
11. Who were your favorite teachers? HS I don't know Mrs. Leyva
12. Where did you sit during lunch? Lunch room
13. What was your school's full name? I claim West Jordan High School but i went to four (North Canyon HS (Phx), Stanley Lake High (Colorado), Bountiful High School and then West Jordan
14. School mascot? Gooooo JAGUARS!
15. Did you go to Homecoming and who with? Garrett Ward Senior Year and we had a blast..
16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? NO WAY once was enough why would I torture myself again?
17. What do you remember most about graduation? My friends and family drama
18. Where did you go senior skip day? I didn't skip.. I was a loser
19. Were you in a club? NHS
20. Have you gained some weight since then? Ummm...yes! The freshman 15...ok and maybe a little more :)
21. Who was your prom date? Loser.. didn't go
22. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Nope
23. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? Don't worry so much about the future and live a little. It only happens once and you have the rest of your life to work and worry.

Ok...all you bloggers...let's hear about your HS experience!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

2008-11-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

I am going to be an AUNT! I am so excited!!!

Ty and Melinda found out that they are having a girl tonight. It's a little new and they are trying to adjust but it is going to be so much fun. Ty and Melinda decided to not find out by themselves and wanted the whole family there. So they went to the ultrasound and had the guy write it down and put it in an envelope and then they gave it to me. My job was to get a cake and have what the sex was written on it and bring it to the party. It was a lot of fun. Mel called me three times today trying to get hints even though she and Ty kind of already guessed by looking at the ultrasound. No luck here I wasn't saying a thing and guarded the cake until everyone arrived. I am very excited can't wait for her to arrive!

The NOTE! Don't be fouled by the color of the paper :-D !

The family gathering and anticipating the announcement!

Everyone guessing what it is first.

I wasn't "allowed" to participate.

Ty writing his guess!

Melinda and Ty reading the verdicts!

The revealing of the Cake! And it is.....

A GIRL!! Natalie and Kurt were very excited...

Kurt got $20 out of it all..He bet his mom and won

The Cake!

Melinda and Ty!

I had to get them excited so I brought gifts!

I had to buy her, her first pair of boot!

I think that they are getting a little more excited now that she has an outfit, boots, and toys! They are going to be great parents and I am very excited for them!

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-11-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

So this year i had to work for Halloween and I think it was the most fun that I have had! I work with the best people. We all decided to dress up (even Monira) I was so proud of her. Everyone's costumes were amazing and then there was mine. I was a hula girl.. I know I couldn't come up with anything better than that. (See picture below) Jessica was Hannah Montana, Melissa C was a christmas tree, Me, Monira was a tootsie roll, Stacie was Tinker Bell, Dr. Lavender was a fairy, Stephanie was Dora the Explorer and then Nicole was a princess but she wasn't in the picture. We partied and had a ton of fun and then it was back to work. Great memories were made and I can't wait until next year!

Monira made her costume all from home..

I loved the toostie roll bracelet and necklace

Dora the Explorer!! Stephanie even talked like her all night... So dang funny!

She is truly amazing

Steph made everything.. the back pack and even the MAP

Truly Melissa is so dang funny and I loved this costume!! I loved the shoes and she even had lights that were battery powered and she would turn them on. She was the hit of the night.. I think that she should find a turkey costume for my b-day!!!

(PS 27 days and counting :-D)

THRILLER

2008-10-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

I HAVE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT FOR THRILLER! PRESENTED BY ODYSSEY DANCE THEATRE AT KINGSBURY HALL!!!!

My roommates and friends went to Thriller last night and I love it. It was great entertainment.. It had me laughing, screaming, and dancing! Who would have thought? I can't believe that I haven't gone before. I am going to make a tradition from now on and go every year if it is playing. There are still tickets this week so I highly suggest that you go. Have fun and Dem Bones was my favorite along with the Thriller Dance of course!! Happy Halloween!

(P.S. Only One month to my favorite day of the year :-D !!!!!)

Let's Party for NANCY!!!

2008-10-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

You know I love birthdays and my favorite roommate had hers!!!

The BIG 29!!!

Nancy entertains me and is such a good friend..We partied and had a great time!

I hope you had a great day!!

Nancy and Melissa

Nance

Janette and Steph came to celebrate!

Roommate Emily---we love her!!

The house: Nancy, Sugar, Emily, and Melissa!!

REBA and KELLY

2008-10-11T22:07:00.001-07:00

My dear friend Jamie invited me to the Reba & Kelly Concert and it was WICKED FUN!!

I am a country girl through and through and REBA is a legend and MISS AMERICAN IDOL Kelly was really good. I was pleasantly surprised. We had a great time, I might be deaf for a week but it was worth it :-D

Jamie and Melissa

Melissa Peterman opened the show with a comedy show and it was HILARIOUS! You might know her as Barbara Jean on the Reba Show. She had me rolling!

Reba McEntire

Kelly Clarkson

Rexburg Temple

2008-10-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

If I had to pick two things out of my top five most important things to me would be my family and the gospel. I was able to spend a day with my Dad and Step-Mom at the Rexburg Temple today. It is a beautiful temple and we had a great time. It was WICKED cold though. What happened to Fall? Why did winter come first?

So you might be wondering why I would choose to drive all the way to Rexburg for a day and come back.. I know the first thing that comes to your mind is that I am CRAZY! Well, we all know that already. Well, it's kind of a funny story. I decided a while back that I wanted to go to all the Temples in the US and I was talking to my Dad about it. Well, he has always gone to a new temple if he was in the area but never made a trip specially for that... until NOW. Well, If you know me I am competitive and I get it from my dad and so the game begins. I was doing fairly well and then my dad went and sneaked ahead. He has been to 45 temples and I am close behind at 41. So, when dad said that he was going to Montana and was stopping at the Rexburg Temple I couldn't let him go without me :) Plus I hadn't seen them in a month and its always a good time when we get together. :-D Well, wish me luck... I KNOW I will WIN!!!

Rexburg Temple

Dad and Mel

Dad and Mom-Kathy

LIZARD's B-DAY!!!

2008-10-05T00:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday LIZ!!!

"Friends are the Bacon Bits in the salad bowl of life"

Mel and I took Liz out for her big B-Day and had a great time. It is so nice to get together. Life gets busy and we forget the good stuff sometimes. It's nice to take a break and celebrate our friends.. I hope you had a great birthday Lizard! I know I had a great time!!!!

The BIRTHDAY GIRL! Mel and Mel

Leslie's Wedding

2008-09-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

My beautiful friend Leslie got married to her sweetheart Jaelan on Sept 26th. She looked radiant and I am so excited for her. I have only a few single friends to marry off now. : )

Leslie and Jaelan

Ty and Melinda staring dreamy into each other's eyes!

Their first dance....

The girls from work: Stacey, Melinda, Leslie, and some random girl

GO LEOPARDS!!!!

2008-09-23T01:03:00.000-07:00

I got to spend the evening with two of my favorite Brown kids. Kade is my "first" "unofficial" nephew and so dang cute. He plays soccer and is really good....(I'm not just saying that)! He played a great game and I had fun hanging with his little sister Kambree.... Love you guys!

Look at him go..he scored 4 goals this game!!

Kade and Kambree

Look at him go for the BALL!

Look Closely...I think Michael Jordan is on the Field!

My sweet Friend Amy and their Mother!

Kambree deciding to entertain herself and roll down the hill

Aaron and Jasmine Snooks!! They got Hitched!!

2008-09-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

Aaron and Jasmine got married on September 12, 2008. We are all excited for them. We wish them the best of luck. Please enjoy the slide show of the wedding and reception.

Aaron's Wedding Dinner!!

2008-09-11T13:14:00.000-07:00

My Brother Aaron is getting married!!! I know it is crazy. We thought that he would take forever to get married because he always found something wrong with whom ever he was seeing. Well, he found someone great, Jasmine Burns. I am so excited for them. We had a wedding dinner the night before in Meridian, ID. I forgot to take a few people's pics but here are a few!!!

The set up for the Dinner.

DJ and Alisha

DJ and Aaron acting like themselves!!

Family: Hunter, Aunt Jackie, Carlie, Kenny, Jamie, Carlie with Uncle Travis, and then Aunt Darla and

Uncle Teri- stay away from him he's trouble!! JK Love you Teri

US Army Soldier!!!

2008-09-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

On this day of remembrance of September 11th I think of my brother, Wes. This world is made of good and evil forces. It was such a tragedy that we remember today but we have heros among us. My brother Wesley M. Linder is in the US Army. He is in Iraq today fighting for our country. For our freedom, protection, and liberty. I dedicate this post to any family that has had loved ones that have fought or are fighting. Wes is my hero. He is sacrificing so much so that I can have more. Today Brother, I stand proudly and say that I love you and I am proud of you! I stand beside you and I will always remember!

8 Things

2008-09-07T01:50:00.000-07:00

8 Things that I am Passionate About....

1. Being a Friend

2. My Beliefs

3. Family

4. Pictures

5. Reading

6. My Birthday

7. Being a Nurse

8. Our Country

8 Words or Phrases that I Say Often...

1. Oh My Gosh!!!

2. Love you More!!

3. It's ___ Days until my BIRTHDAY!!!

4. Shut Up!

5. On a scale from 1 to 10.....

6. Seriously!!!

7. That's True

8. For the LOVE.....!!!

8 Thing that I want to DO Before I Die...

1. Hopefully get married

2. Hopefully have kids

3. Become debt free

4. Go on a hot air balloon ride

5. Go to all seven continents except for Antarctica - it's cold there

6. Possibly scuba dive or surf

7. Go to all the temples in the US

8. Go para-sailing

8 Things I Pray for....

1. Safety and happiness for my loved ones

2. Protection of the soldiers

3. For Patience

4. Guidance to make the right decisions

5. To have the spirt with me

6. To have the strength and knowledge to help those that are placed in my care

7. Understanding

8. For strength to do His will

8 Things I have Learned....

1. To Just be yourself is the most important thing

2. Everyone has problems.. No worse nor better

3. You can only change yourself and your attitude towards others

4. Life isn't fair but you make the most of it

5. You can't run faster than you can walk

6. Credit cards are of the devil

7. That styrofoam doesn't go in the toaster over and crock pot cooking takes longer than 2 hours

8. What goes up must come down even on stairs or close to the ground.

Cindy tagged me and now I am tagging anyone that reads this....... :o)

What Makes a Person Memorable ???????

2008-09-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Monkey Business!

2008-09-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Tricia!

We celebrated the big day at work like we always do-having fun! Tricia loves monkey's and got a few more things for her collection!

Tricia and I have been friends for a while now and I love her to death! She makes me laugh and keeps me on my toes at work.I don't know what I would do without her. Thanks for being such a good friend and Happy Birthday!

50 Years and Still Going!

2008-08-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Larry and Kaleen Higgins celebrated their 50th Anniversary! We had a lunch in Logan with family and friends. I don't know what I would do without these two! They are my inspiration. They have taught me so much in life. I couldn't ask for better grandparents.

Larry and Kaleen Higgins

My Favorite Cousin Kira and her cute hubby Dan

Colton and Cody

My adopted brother Jordan

Brinley and Bud

Kira and Jessi

My dear sister Amy and her Husband Colton

(They are working on 50 yrs :) )

Brooklyn and Krista

Grandma, Aunt Melanie, Cindy

Natalie and Sarah

Some random girl

Dave and Nate

The Higgins started with just the two of them and then they had three kids. Now they have 15 grandkids and 1 great grandchild. "It doesn't matter where you go in life, or what you do... It's who you have beside you!" Family means everything! I love you all!

Flavor Challenge!!!!

2008-08-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had to take a medication that tasted really gross? Well, on our unit we have different flavors that we try and use to mask those bad tastes for the little ones. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Well, my dear friend Monira had never tried any of the flavors and I strongly believe that you need to try them out so you know what you are giving and you can tell the kids it's "good"! So I created a challenge between Stephanie (she's always a good sport) and Monira to see if they could guess what all the flavors were! Fun I know!

The Flavors!!!

Stephanie and Monira....GO..

They don't know what they are getting themselves into :-)

I don't think that was a good one...

They decided to add sprite and do shots.

Cheers!!

I think this one is orange... no tangerine...

No Orange...

We had fun. They got all of them except one and decided that root-beer was a no go..

Lets go for a HIKE!

2008-08-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

Amy and Marianne getting ready to have some fun!

Aimee, Marianne, and Amy

(I know we don't like to expand on names, we just find friends with our own names :) )

The View!

Our dear friend, Marianne came home to visit from D.C and we decided to go for a little hike in Mill Creek Canyon. It was so good to hang with old friends with a new view.

The date with a Sailor!

2008-08-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I got to go on a date with my favorite Sailor! Braxton!! He is just so cute and man is he smart. I have been a little busy this summer and have neglected some friends. They are so good to me that they don't care and still love me. So I went to dinner with Jody and Brad Sailor and their little guy Braxton. I had just come from an interview for Charge Nurse ( I know- scary) and had a great time. I think I have Braxton memorized :)

IDAHO SNAKE RIVER STAMPEDE!

2008-07-19T12:58:00.001-07:00

I went to Idaho to visit the Dad for his birthday. While we were deciding what we were going to do, Dad learned that I had never been to a rodeo. I know, Crazy!! I have watched them on tv but have never been to one. I always have wanted to (it's the cowgirl in me). So Dad decided we would go for his birthday. So yesterday I experienced the Idaho Snake River Stampede! It was really fun. I even wore my cowgirl boots!!

This was amazing. They had all these horses out while they sang the National Anthem and then they said a prayer for the nation and our soldiers!

This was one of my favorite events. Little Kids (5-7 years old) riding Sheep! It was so funny. The kids had a great time. The little sheep dogs were so cute keeping the sheep in line. I know I actually liked a dog. I promise the world won't stop :)

Horse Buck Riding Bare Back!

Bull Wresting!!

Barrel Racing!! This is truly my favorite. I always dreamed of doing this. She is a true CowGirl!!

Bull Riding....Now this is what we were waiting for!!

Happy Birthday DAD!!!!

Kathy and ME at the RODEO!!

IT'S A PARTY!

2008-07-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

We decided to give grandma hard

labor for her birthday.

We went up and weeded,

and weeded, and weeded some more.

It was fun though!!!

The BESTPANCAKES EVER!!! Grandpa makes the best pancakes and it is a must have every time we go up. He's so good to make them!! I can taste them now. :}

Grandpa showed off his skills and made dutch oven dinner with his assistant Colton. It was really, really good. It was a great weekend!

Happy 4th of July!!

2008-07-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

So for the 4th I decided to be a little Worldly and wanted to get a tan to be like all my georgous dark friends. So I laid out for 4 hours without sunscreen. It wasn't the brightest thing that I have ever done. As you can see I got redder as the night went on. Amy had fun laughing at me.

The Chef!! Colton grilled us some Steaks!! MMM they were good...

It was a small group this year....Sarah was with her dad, Cody was workin, and Wes is fighting for our country. Love you Brother!! Thanks for all that you do for us!!!

First Postin!

2008-07-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

I'm such a nice person that I surprised my good friend COX at work with the nicest bday cake ever. I forgot coconut bras and grass skirts, but they would have violated dress code anyway, I did have leis.