Happy Big 50th Birthday, Michael!

We wanted to share with you our Top 50 Reasons to Love this ANCIENT 50-year-old Guy!

Happy Birthday, Michael!

1. Here are some random pictures, most with Michael in them. One though is Bret Wittke, Mary, and me in front of the old rusty Travelall. I thought a picture of the car Michael had to drive around in as a teenager might be a good touch. -Cameron

2. Michael building the most intricate, even realistic models of WWII era tanks and planes. –James

3. Grandmother Baird came to Madison for Jannene's birth; on that day, I asked her to stay in the apartment because I wanted to take Michael alone as I knew after Jannene's birth I would probably never be with you alone again. We took a short nature walk around Eagle Heights; I well remember finding a fuzzy caterpillar which we both looked at and discussed life as an insect -Mom

4. In high school, Michael let his hair grow into a real 'fro and even had a pik. He didn't stick the pik in the back of his hair and wear it, but he could if he wanted to! He had a corduroy jacket and wide tie. . . I thought he was almost cool. . . Look at some old pictures and you will see that Napoleon Dynamite was channeling Michael Sneddon. -Jannene

5. Stories of the Bairds running outside screaming and yelling “Hallelujah” upon hearing the news of Michael’s engagement. –Mary

6. His "SNED" license plate -Jenny

7. TV was a “no-no” in the Sneddon household of the sixties. If you did all your work, kept your room clean, and were well behaved, you were allowed to watch thirty minutes on Friday afternoon with a 12 inch black/white set. You usually chose Yogy Bear or a bear that lived in Yellowstone -- can't remember for certain. -Mom

8. Okay, I remember the day Michael bought his new white Toyota Celica. I thought he was cool and that he had a cool car. Boy was I wrong!!! I also remember the day he left in that car for Houston. Kate and I helped him either wash it or clean it or something before he left. -Cameron

9. Michael and his Swedish crystal. He brought back so much from his mission (12 virgin goblets). -Kate

10. Your favorite toy was a sock-monkey which you called a “Volksmonkey”. Something to do with the VW car, but the reason has now escaped me. -Mom

11. Michael while serving in Sweden was transferred and sent to open a new area around Malmo, Sweden located on the Baltic Sea on the southernmost tip of Sweden. The transfer came in the summer at a time when Malmo was the place to be for Swedes on vacation. As a result his expenses for food, rent, and the move itself were more money than he was then receiving from us. Michael did not tell us of the problem when it occurred. During this period, as we found out later, Michael ate only apples, cabbage, and an occasional sausage. He knew we were sending as much money as we possibly could. -Dad

12. Many a fun backpacking trip, especially this last summer when our families camped together at Green River with Mom and Dad. –Cameron

13. His Jaredite barge. -Kate

14. I don't have that many definitive memories of Michael. I do remember my mom telling lots of stories about him though. One of my favorites was that he bought her a sweater and told her it was her birthday and Christmas present, but that she also had to give him ten dollars (or some other monetary amount). -Anneli

15. Michael and his Acura Legend, the want-to-be babe magnet. He was kind enough to allow me to borrow it once in a while. –James

16. He likes to remind his workers that he is captain of the ship a la Michael Scott from The Office. (Tee-hee.) –Cameron

17. A neighborhood bully often teased you while walking home from school; one day you had had enough, so you took your metal lunch box and smashed it in his face. End of bully. -Mom

18. The Christmas his bride, Jennifer, played Risk against Michael for the first time and BEAT him on his favorite game! -Mary

19. Michael used to build balsa wood planes and hung them from his ceiling in appropriate "fighting positions" and I remember sitting on the top of the bunk bed in the old boy's room one day when we didn't have much to do, and Michael trying to teach me one of his war strategy games with the octagon pieces just so he could play. . . . He must have been desperate for someone to play with!! -Jannene

20. Running a marathon at a Boston-qualifying time -Jenny

21. Do you remember your first really close friend, Lee? He lived in the next apartment complex of Eagle Heights and you two were inseparable. Much to the chagrin of his parent's philosophy, Lee liked to play with guns with you. -Mom

22. Letting me live with him for only $100/month (meals included) when I student taught at Timpview, and then for free when I was engaged. –Mary

23. Michael coming downstairs to check on us when we were engaged. –Luke

24. We were always tight on funds during those years; one Christmas you wanted a radio so you purchased it yourself, wrapped it up and hid it for a Sneddon-style Christmas Treasure Hunt. –Mom

25. Going to Southern Utah and hiking, doing a fun run. -Kate

26. Michael gifting the infamous Sony clock radio to himself, complete with treasure hunt, at Christmas. –James

27. August 2001, Michael, David and I went backpacking in the Winds. We came in over Bears Ears camping at Valentine Lake. We hiked out Valentine the next morning passing a pack of horses going uphill. To this day we're still proud of that accomplishment and love to brag about it. We then hiked up and over Lizard Head and down into Lizard Head Meadows, spending our last night there. We came out crossing the Popo Agie. After coming out, we did the usual hamburger dinner at the Burger Barn watching an early season football game of Oklahoma playing someone else. It was a short trip - only 3 days, and a small group - just Michael, David and myself. We tried in vain to do some fishing - I think one small brookie was all we got. But I will never forget the spectacular views, the cold nights and spending time with some of my favorite brothers. It was perhaps my most favorite trip to the Wind Rivers. -Nathan

28. Having me over for Sunday dinners when I was a lonely freshman at BYU -Jenny

29. Sharing a home with him and Kate. It was one of the more fun periods of my student life. -James

30. Glad I lived with him to get to know him better. -Cameron

31. I often reflect that perhaps little or no TV in your developing years allowed (or caused) you to be more creative. You became a "self-starter", one who set goals and finished them. A prime example of this is earning your Eagle Scout Award. You did it all by yourself, even selecting merit badge counselors that were close enough for you to bike to their home. I am still impressed with that accomplishment. -Mom

32. However, you were not perfect. When in high school, you often counseled your younger siblings to find projects or activities after school because if they came directly home "Mom will put you to work!" And when we wanted to do a family project such as all clean the basement together, you insisted I give you a set assignment and be allowed to leave when your part was finished. Hm..... -Mom

33. The more and more he's becoming a Roy Jr. -Jenny

34. Plaid and patterned shirts. Hairplugs (dubbed “Toothbrush” by one of Kate’s friends). Sorry Michael. The same leaky faucet nose that Dad has, especially when backpacking. Also, the Michael head-nod-bobble. You know what I mean. –Mary

35. Michael's completion of the first Sneddon Marathon. Don't recall what or which, but I think he was the first. –James

36. Also great memories living in Germany with them, serving in the YM presidency, and traveling to Berchtesgaden by train to spend a Saturday afternoon. –Cameron

37. The boys were out shopping, in usual late Sneddon fashion, for Christmas. It was Christmas Eve I believe. It was me, Michael, James, and I'm pretty sure Cam was with us. This was years ago--I was probably a young teenager. Michael and James were home for the holidays so it was always fun to be out with the brothers. We were over by Hy-Vee on O Street. I think we were going to the old music store behind Hy-Vee. Anyway, it was late at night, it was dark and the streets and parking lot were slick with ice and snow. We were crossing from one side of the parking lot to another and apparently I had walked "out of line" so to speak. Honestly, I don't remember well what I did or didn't do. What I do remember was Michael grabbing me - HARD - by the back of my arm and scolding me about walking out in front of a car (a car that to this day I still don't remember seeing or remember even being there). It was something that dad would have done - grabbing me and correcting me for doing something wrong. At the time it made me really angry at Michael - and obviously to this day I have not forgotten it. But as the years go by, I now realize that Michael loves his siblings and that this incident was not an act of anger but an act of love. He was looking out for my safety. It made me recall a conversation with David one time while he and I were at BYU together. We were talking about hanging out with Michael - probably while planning the backpacking trip noted above. David said something I'll never forget. He said, in response to something I said about Michael, and why he didn't feel especially close to Michael, "I don't know, Michael always just seemed like a second dad to me." I think that was true for many of us - especially those of us in the younger half of the family. I think of how Michael shared his bedroom with David when David was a baby and how David's statement makes perfect sense from his vantage point. However, for me, Michael has morphed from a definite 2nd father figure to a close friend and brother. –Nathan

38. Michael kept a spotless room and would know if anyone had touched anything. . .I found out where he kept his thin mint girl scout cookies in his drawer (we would buy our own box and hoard them) and occasionally I would borrow one. . . -Jannene

39. Still not terribly coordinated when we play football on thanksgiving… He shocked everyone with his catch for a touchdown a few years back. –Cameron

40. Another favorite memory was the summer of 2000. Cam and "left me" getting married and moving out of the "Log Cabin." So I moved in with Michael for the summer hoping to save some money. Michael and I had signed up for the Top of Utah Marathon, Michael having successfully talked me into trying to run a marathon. We would go running every morning—either up and around the Provo Temple to see Utah Valley and its beauty in the early morning hours, or up Provo Canyon for our long runs. It was with Michael that I became intimately knowledgeable with every step on that trail that goes up the Canyon to Vivian Park. Later that summer, Michael introduced me to his famous training run up Aspen Grove, up the backside of Timpanogos and ultimately to the top. There are few things more enthralling than literally running up and down a mountain. At the end of the summer, we ran the Top of Utah Marathon together. It snowed for most of the first 20 miles. It was so wet and so cold. I tried to hang with Michael as long as I could but by miles 18 or earlier he slowly but surely pulled away. He ended up beating me and winning his age group. I won my age group as well but was still well behind him. I remember mom and dad being there, of Kate and I think Mary being there, Jen Sneddon and the kids were of course there. It is one of my favorite family memories and one of my favorite memories of Michael. To this day, whenever I run around the Provo Temple, up Rock Canyon or Provo Canyon, or hike up Timpanogos, I think of Michael. -Nathan

41. Your clothing in elementary and junior high consisted of Sears' Tough Skins and plain white T- shirts. And your lunch was always bread and cheese, so the kids at school called you Mouse. -Mom

42. His kindness and generous nature lend me money for school books, let me use his lovely car when I needed to grocery shop, living at his house rent free. It was fun living with him as an adult. –Kate

43. Searching for David with Michael and Dad. As many ideas as we could muster for his whereabouts and such, we were always left in wonderment as we simply had no answers, but went forward in calm faith. -James

44. Letting Nigel and me stay there when we visited Europe -Jenny

45. Sitting with you, Mom and Dad at the Winter Quarters Temple Dedication, and of course, being in the same room as President Hinckley, as he conducted and spoke. -Mary

46. Michael worked harder than almost anyone I know to help save for his mission. He used to work downtown at the old Kings Drive Inn. . . I think he even biked there or took a bus and then he worked a second job too. My memory was that he worked at Sears or Wards but that could be wrong. He was dedicated, hardworking and driven to do the things that were good and right even in high school. I used to think of him as the perfect child. He always did was he was supposed to do and never made a mess doing it! Love you Michael –Jannene

47. Probably one of the more generous people I know. –Cameron

48. That fall we received a letter from the mission president telling us that the mission would cost $50 more each month. (Jannene, Robert, James, Katherine, Cameron, Nathan, Mary Alice were living at home and John was about to be born.) We did not know where we would get the money. On a Saturday morning at Thanksgiving time Kathleen and I were talking about how we could find the money, but we could come up with no solution. Kathleen went to the mail box that morning and found a letter containing $50 dollars with a note that this would continue until Michael's mission was complete. –Dad

49. His fabulous taste in clothes. I love you Michael Happy Birthday, 50 year old dude. You are a wonderful brother. –Kate

50. You are our brother, our uncle, our son, and that’s the best reason to love you! Happy 50th Birthday. -Your Family