Loved Ones

"Loved Ones", that can be a very specific term or a general one. Many people when hearing "Loved Ones" will think of family past and present and that is true, but when I think of that term or hear it, I start to think of other people who feel like family but they aren't. I know I am not the only one who has "Extended" family that aren't really family by blood. But I know that my life has been extraordinary because of these people. They have helped raise me, they have given me strength, they have given me love, they have made me feel like I belong. One of those people passed away this week and it broke my heart. It made me think of all the people who are not family that has treated me like I am that are still alive and who have passed away. I would like to remember some and to recognize some as well. * And just as a side note: I love all of my real family members as well and they have always treated me wonderfully too. I just wanted to give a shout out to those who are not my blood family, but yet they are still family.

Mary & Tom Mcafee
Mary worked with my mom and volunteered to help in my Kindergarten class since she had no children. Since then she has gone on field trips, class activities, plays, and trips. Tom her husband is wonderful as well. He didn't go to all the things Mary did but they both were at my Graduations and parties. They are like my Aunt and Uncle. I love seeing them when I am home. They make me feel loved and important all the time.

Grandpa & Grandma Angel & Crazy Tia Sallie
Really I should do two separate things for this family but I will combine them.  Sallie has been a part of my life since I was born. We have spent birthdays, holidays, religious events, and all sorts of stuff together. She always has a listening ear and lots of love. I love her spunk and her brightness. Her parents were always welcoming and we only knew them as Grandpa and Grandma. We loved swimming there. I still love going over there to swim and do Christmas Eve with Grandma.

The Cayassos & Ga-Ga
Now this is a fun family. Seal was always called my Dad's Work Wife, even though they were just friends. But her husband Kai is great too. Seal is so much fun. She is outgoing and she loves parties. Her daughter Tralena has always felt like a kid sister to me. Now Ga-Ga is one of my favorites. She was my black Grandma. She would actually go to Grandparents day with me and that me so happy. Once I got older I didn't see her very much anymore and I regret that but she will always hold a special place in my heart.

Jill & Doug & their Children
They are my parents friends but they feel like mine. Their kids babysat me and my brother and then I babysat some of their kids. We spend a lot of time with them. Doug taught me the basics of swing and the waltz and Jill is my travel buddy. Their family has always felt like our family.

Jim & Carolyn Elliott
Sister Elliott was one of my favorite people when I was a little girl. I insisted on her playing the piano for my baptism. I just thought she was awesome. Her husband is just as amazing as she. I always liked him when I was little but didn't have much to do with him, but he came more important in my life right when I needed it. I had a hard time going away to school. I lost people who I thought were my best friends but it ended up they were talking behind my back, I lost the person who I thought was the love of my life. I was miserable visiting home and going to church but all of a sudden I had a group of older gentleman who I referred to as my boyfriends. All were married but still they were mine. I would always give them hugs because they were just so sweet. Well from then on every time Jim saw me he would say "Hi Beautiful" or "There's my girl" or  "You keep getting prettier and prettier". I don't think he ever realized how much that meant to me. He gave me something to look forward to when I went home.

Some other people who I won't go into detail but they also were people I consider my loved ones: Aunt Betty and Uncle Bob Courtney, The Loveless/Longstreth family, The Turners, The Gordons & their Grandparents, the Logans, so many others from church, teachers. I have been blessed to have so many people in my life that have helped shape the person I am today. I love them all with all my heart even if its been years since I have seen them. I hope I too can be a "Loved One" in someone else's life like so many people have done for me. If anyone reads this and thinks oh no Melissa forgot me, I'm sorry. There are just so many of you and sometimes I am forgetful. But I love you all!

On my way to 27 Dresses

So I have always had a lot of friends. I love people, I love making friends, and I love all of my friends. With that being said, I have been asked to be in many a wedding. Sometimes the dresses have been less than stellar and some have been actually kind of pretty. I won't list which ones I didn't love and on another post I will post a picture of each one, but we will save that for later.
I know that being a flower girl doesn't count but I am going to count them anyways because I looked so stinking adorable at both of those weddings. :)
1. So the first wedding I was ever in was my old babysitter Char's wedding. I wore a dark green dress.
2. The next wedding was my cousin Shannon's wedding. The dress was an off white lace dress and it was one of my favorites. It also had a red rose on it.
3. Now this is my first bridesmaid experience. My friend Renning got married and we wore white blouses and canary yellow skirts.
4. Then came my friend Sarah's wedding and she just requested us to wear pink dresses, so my mom made mine.
5. Then it was Jessica Dawn's wedding and we wore brown dresses with brown tulle underneath.
6. My cousin Ashley was the next one married and we wore mint green dresses with pink ribbon sashes.
7. My old roommate Pam was next on the chopping block and we wore mint green dresses and white sweaters.
8. My friend Christine asked me to be a bridesmaid and we wore red dresses.
9. My friend Andrea asked me to be a bridesmaid too and we wore pink dresses from patterns she picked out.
10. My buddy May Chee is getting married in May and we are wearing either gray or navy blue dresses.
11. My Court bourt is getting married in October and we are wearing plum/purple dresses.

So two of them of haven't happened yet but they are coming up soon so I decided to add them and plus I already have one of the dresses.

I was talking with a friend about wearing these dresses and how some of them I haven't loved but its not really about how I feel about the dresses, its how I feel about these girls that I have been a part of their special days. These girls are/were some of my closest friends. I have loved being there for them. I am not planning on having official bridesmaids, which May Chee isn't either, but I think I might ask a few people to wear my wedding colors, that is if I ever do get married. Hopefully I didn't forget any one that has asked me to be a part of their special day but I think I got everyone. I will work on getting copies of pictures of all of these dresses to post. But it's always good to remember that it's not about how pretty or ugly your bridesmaid dress is, its about the memories you make with your friends on their special day.

Christmas at Disneyland

So this has been the year of Disneyland.  We had such a good time in October we decided to start off Christmas break at Disneyland. It was just me and Moema this time though. Christmas at Disneyland is truly magical. I love all the decorations and the songs and the fake snow. We took the holiday tour and it was awesome! They pointed out all the different ways they incorporate different cultures into their park. Our tour guide was awesome. She was a lot of fun. At the end of the tour we got front row seats to the parade and hot cocoa and a gingerbread Mickey. I had a great time with my Moema. Here are some pictures.

 Me in front of my favorite ride!

 This cute old lady held onto my leg the whole ride. :)

 Posing in the tea cup.

 Waiting for the parade with our goodies.

 Moema and me

 Met the Marano sisters.

 The goodies up close.

 So sad to leave.

Splash Mountain

My Super Birthday!

This past birthday I turned 29 on the 29th. So that means it was my super birthday or golden birthday as others call it. Well since you only get one of those once, I figured I was going to do something big. I told my mom that I wanted to go to Disneyland and be in Disneyland actually on my birthday. She was all for it. My cousin Kylie and my Aunt Kelley decided they wanted to come too. So it was a fun girls trip. We all got there Saturday early afternoon. Then we headed into the park. This was Kylie's first time ever at Disneyland. She was so excited. I was just excited to spend time with my family. I haven't celebrated my birthday with my family since I turned 18. 
We rode a ton of rides. We also went and met characters which I haven't done in years. Our favorite rides were the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, and of course Tower of Terror. Kylie and I rode Tower of Terror every single day we were there. We rode it 10 times on my birthday. In fact we made some friends on the ride. One guy was named Terry and the other was named Scott. Terry was such a great cast member. He was an older guy but he did such a good job at acting creepy for the ride. We loved having him be our ride operator. Then because of Terry we became friends with Scott. He was so funny. He would tap us on the shoulder and walk away or stand right behind us and we had no idea. I am not sure if it was because we were super friendly to everyone or not but he decided he liked us. We told him it was our favorite ride and after one of the times we rode it he was going to put us right back on but the last two spots were filled so we said no big deal will come back and ride it again because we were having so much fun. Well we get back to the ride and we get to the part where they put you in front of an elevator and our buddy Terry put us in front of an elevator and then started to direct people to other elevators. We were super confused. Then it dawned on us, we were going to get to ride it all by ourselves!!!!!!!!!!! Scott came out and we were so happy and excited. He made my birthday amazing! It is my favorite ride and Kylie and I got to ride it all by ourselves.  Overall, it was a great trip, from the great rides, to the great cast members at Disneyland and my wonderful family, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.
Here are some pictures:
                                                             Our Birthday Buttons

                                                     Being silly waiting for Tower of Terror

                                                              Looking for a Boyfriend

                                                                    I found him!!!!!

                                                      Mom and Aunt Kelley approve

                                                            Tower of Terror

                                                              Splash Mountain

                                                               Kylie, Scott, and Me

                                          Riding by ourselves. Obviously I was so happy, I
                                      was smiling so big my eyes are practically closed. lol

                                                          We sometimes do funny poses.

                                                        One of my most favorite photos.