the Brown Family Blog

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2009-04-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

So, last night was a big night for Jack...he saw Star Wars for the first time. Eth and I were laying down in the living room--both pooped from a long day--and Jack was kinda wired. So we left Star Wars on for him and we fell asleep while he intensely watched. The last few things I remember him saying to me before I knocked out was, "Mommy, that a robot!" and "what is that...a yellow robot?" So he obviously was loving C3PO. Lately, Jack kinda has had this thing for robots. Not sure why or where it originated, but it's really funny. We were at the Bake Shop a few weeks ago, and Johnny was sitting on the couch with Jack. When a couple walked in, Jack leaned over to Johnny and whispered "are they bad robots?" At any rate, he does have slight fascination with them.

So today, we went to church and after our classes, we picked him up from the Nursery. The teachers were walking out of the Nursery room, leaving with the poster they used for their lesson which was on Temples. The poster had several pictures of Temples from all around the world, as well as some up close shots of the Angel Moroni. The teachers explained to us that they taught the kids about Temples, and that after each Temple they'd talk about, Jack would say, "temple have robot on top."

Thank you, Star Wars.

Bailey + Cake Bites = a mess

2009-03-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

Our 15seconds of fame on the Rachael Ray Show and Studio 5

2009-01-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas....to the Sweet Tooth Fairy!

2008-12-28T22:01:00.001-08:00

So...we just barely rolled into Utah....Eth wanted to stop at the shop and I wanted to take the kids home and get them out of their nasty road-trip clothes. He was pretty convinced we needed to stop by just to check it out, so we did. And OH MY GOSH! What a surprise!!! He had downplayed the work that had been going on while we were gone. Wes worked his tail off and it looks amazing. Cabinets built, granite fabricated, molding/base up, kitchen painted, front walls primed. I mean, it looks incredible!!! Wes is so rad. We are soooooooooo close..........thanks Wes, and thanks Eth for the best surprise, ever.

yay!!!

2008-12-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

Rachael Ray...here we come.

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. they liked us and want us to be featured on their show as a Snack of the Day.

We'll keep yo posted as we get more details. woohoo!

The Sweet Tooth Fairy on Rachael Ray...????

2008-12-17T14:26:00.000-08:00

http://thesweettoothfairy.blogspot.com/2008/12/and-theyre-offto-rachael-ray.html

so it's been awhile....

2008-12-13T01:29:00.000-08:00

Not much has changed....just busy trying to get the Sweet Tooth Fairy Bake Shop open .....and the kids are cute as ever....

Jack's body looks like Gollum's in this picture...heehee

2008-12-13T01:26:00.000-08:00

the Sweet Tooth Fairy on KSL's Studio 5

2008-11-07T15:14:00.001-08:00

Sweet Tooth Fairy makes the front page of local paper

2008-09-01T09:20:00.001-07:00

Check this out!

This One is For my Homie....

2008-08-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

So, four years ago today, my best buddy, mentor, friend-who also happened to be my dad, got "promoted" to the other side. I miss him so much. I can't wait to see him again. Our brother-by-choice, Perry Smith, wrote a song about Skeet...it's so beautiful. It's called "Answer Me from Heaven." You can listen to it here ...or read the lyrics below. I can't ever listen to it without balling but I love to listen to it. :) Anyway, just thought I'd give a shout out to my Pops.

Answer Me from Heaven
Not sure if God let’s you look down and see what’s going on
But things they haven’t been easy here, since you’ve been gone
You always had the answers when it seemed nothing made sense
You loved without condition anyone who needed a friend

I, I think about you gone and I cry, missin’ you
If you can answer me from heaven I’ll be here, listening

Rachel's baby girl came early, I met her the other day
She’s got her daddy’s goofy grin, her name's Olivia James
As I looked at her I wondered what this life’s all about
I used to see so clearly, but lately all I see is clouds

I, I think about you gone and I cry, missin’ you
If you can answer me from heaven I’ll be here, listening

Don’t get me wrong now, things here will be just fine
But it’s 2 am on this quiet night and I can’t get you out of my mind

I, I think about you gone and I cry, missin’ you
If you can answer me from heaven I’ll be here, listening

If you can answer me from heaven I’ll be here

A fun week....

2008-08-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

So I pretty much figure I will be playing catch up for the rest of my life. So here is just another run at it....this is what was going on the latter half of last week....

August 21st--I met the nicest woman, Ashley Franscell--she is a photo journalist from the Provo Daily Herald. She came over and visited and snapped some photos for a story she is going to run it after Labor Day about the Sweet Tooth Fairy. Reagan and Bryan were over watching the kiddies so I could have some sanity while Ashley was there. And sweet Linds and DarbyLoo came over to snap some shots of Ashley snapping shots of me.

August 22nd - After Eth got home from work, he made a pit stop at home and went and had a BNO (Boys Night Out) heehee. They went golfing and hit up a lil' Korean restaurant next to Honk's in Provo. (I just like any excuse I can get to refer to Honk's---who names a store that?) Anyway, when he got home, we made a cake for lil Tav's third birthday party. He is obsessed with flags so this is what we came up with.

August 23rd-- Happy Birthday Lynie! It was my mom's birthday and for her birthday, I took Mimi to get a pedicure. It makes sense in some circle-of-life type way. Look how cute Mimi is.
And look who happened to be getting a 'pedi' the same time we were there....cousin Jeremy! :)
We also went to Tav's Birthday party. It was way fun---there were bounce houses, slip n' slides, pools, water balloon fights, etc. Speaking of which, it's pretty hilarious to me what happens to a grown man when he has 'access' to water balloons. Just try it...you'll know what I mean.

At one point, we found Jack just chillin' "on guard" with Bailey...it was really sweet. He gave us thet 'everything is ok' wave.
Jack experienced a Slip'n'Slide for the first time. Ready....set...gooooooo!

And then Eth and Jack had to get in a lil' Father/Son ride down the slide...

Reportedly, Tavish really liked his flag cake. Knowing that makes my job as the "Sweet Tooth Fairy" all worth it.

August 24th--Churchy times. Uncle "Sleepy Time" came down for a few hours. Tay and OJ are back home in California so he just rolled down to chill. We love it when Jeffy is here.

Interview with Cupcakes Take the Cake

2008-08-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

Click here to read an interview I did with the famous ladies of Cupcakes Take the Cake.
Fun times!

Seriously, SO BLESSED

2008-08-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

When you have some free time and need a good laugh fest, do yourself a favor and read this blog:

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

A MUST read for you fellow Mormos out there. It is HYSTERICAL and the author is a complete and utter genius.

She and I are now eBFFS. We've exchanged several, several emails trying to figure out a way for her identity to remain anonymous but for me to get some Sweet Tooth Fairy treats to her. Keep your eyes peeled for our banner on her site too--we're gonna buy some advertising space on it. She gets over 1000 hits a day!

For background on the blog, read this article.
http://www.mormontimes.com/MITN_newsmakers.php?id=1563

la pièce de résistance

2008-08-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

So here is the Cupcake Wedding Cake we made for EJ and Danny. We were granted full artistic liberty which was AWESOME. Their colors were obviously black and white. And EJ's bouquet/flowers were just all different shades of pink, so we chose to accent the black/white with pink. It held about 150 cupcakes all together. Eth did an amazing job of engineering the thing. And they LOVED it--which is the most important thing. It was really flattering to hear the comments the guests made about it(the table we sat at was literally right next to it)

The 4th Happiest Day of My Life...or something like that...

2008-08-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

So, with the exception of the day I married my best friend/sexiest man alive, the day I bore our son, JAck, and the day I bore our daughter, Bailey....Saturday, August 2nd was one of the happiest days of my life! Why? You ask. Because my best friend EJ got married!!!!!! Woohoo! In February, Ethan orchestrated a blind date w/ EJ and one of his coworkers, Danny. All four of us went to Carabas Italian restaurant in Orem so the 'blind date' would be as comfortable as possible. Dinner was a blast, and well...the rest is history. I am so incredibly stoked for EJ--she has been such an amazing friend to me and to my family over the past 8 years. We've been through life's ups and downs together....college, divorce, joblessness, deaths, marriages, break-ups, new jobs, etc. You name it, we've been through it. Her husband Danny is so awesome and we just couldn't be more happy for them. Here are some fun pictures ...

above: the happy bride shaking her groove thang!

above: Danny and EJ cutting the cake (we made it for them...I'm dedicating an entire post to the Cupcake Tower we built for them)

above: BFF's. Whoda thunk such an amazing friendship could blossom from a conversation sparked almost 8 years ago in a Family Life and Home Ecomonics class?

above: 3 generations of Faulkner girls (and Castleton and Brown too)

above: my two favorite boys EVER

above: the cutest lil' thang

above: 2 of the prettiest girls in the world

above: Jack and Uncle "Nonny"

above: Me and Jack trying to get at least one good shot

above: a family shot....hard to get these ones these days

Strawberry Resevoir

2008-08-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

I just realized I never published this post. Last weekend, we went to Strawberry Resevoir with our good friends, the Cords. This was the closest thing I've had to a vacation since our honeymoon.

We had a blast .The boys shot guns and went fishing most of the time while Linds, DarbyLoo, Bailey and I just sat around and chatted and ate like we were pregnant again. It was so relaxing and we were barely gone for 24 hours. Here are some pics---I stole these off Linds' blog. heehee.

Shopping Spree

2008-07-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

So this is what happens after you take a 2 year old to Roberts, then to Sportsman's Warehouse, then to Sam's Club, then finally to......Walmart. I promise we're good parents.

Our dear friend, Cyndi

2008-07-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, July 10 our dear friend Cyndi Richards Kuffel passed away.

I have known Cyndi all my life...we grew up together. I have never known anyone to have more energy or zest for life. Her spirit was infectious. Cyn was like my older sister and I can't even begin to express how much I love and appreciate her. I know that she is with her sweet mom, Gayle-who also passed away from cancer several years ago. I also choose to believe that she has kicked it with Skeet already.

My heart aches for her son and daughter, Cole and Kali. It kills me to think that they will never get the chance to get to know their mom who was such an amazing woman who touched so many people's lives. But it's comforting to know that at some point, they will be reunited again.

The below picture was taken at my house in California, August 2006. That was the last time I got to see her.

I can't wait to see my beautiful friend again...and I know I will.

more pics....

2008-07-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

Michele Reyes Photography

2008-07-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

My friend Jess recommended a photographer to me. Her name is Michele Reyes and she is awesome! Here are a few pictures she took of the kiddies. I get to pick more up in a couple days! Can't wait!!!

Jack's 2nd Birthday Party

2008-07-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

Come one...come all!!!

Playin' catchup...the story of my life

2008-06-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so wow. Saying that time just flies is an understatement. We've been busy busy busy! We're so blessed. Everything is going well. Chris' election is in less than 10 days. Gulp. Hopefully, June 25th will be a good day. :) My bestest goodest buddy/cousin Bryan- who has been coming over and tending the kids while I work- is leaving for Europe for like a month! Ahhhh...not sure how I'm going to do it without her. Eth's work is going well...he's just pluggin right along. The Sweet Tooth Fairy keeps me busy during the 'off hours'. We're actually toying around with the idea of opening up a shop... it's been a dream of mine for some time now. Anyway, on to the kiddies. Jack is a riot. He finally started saying more words than "ball" and "nah". He says, keys, elbow(random, right?), please, hot dog, Mama, Dada, Mimi, Nohn (what he calls his Uncle Johnny), dog, hat, me. I'm sure there are more, but those are the only ones that I can recall right now. He makes animal noises and they're hilarious...especially when he 'quacks' like a duck. Bailey is growing like a weed. We took her into her 2 month check up and she had gained 4 pounds. I just love those lil' buggers so much. It's such a blessing to be able to be with them all day. So here is a recent picture of Bailey. Darling, right? And here is quite possibly the sweetest video you'll ever see in your life. Jack really is such a sweet boy. We went to the Smokehouse for lunch and he was in the cutest mood. Notice him running down the bench and giving Eth hugs. He was doing that like 10 times in a row. Then he points out his elbow...hugs Eth again....and kisses him. So funny. So cute. I'm so lucky to have these boys in my life.

What we've been up to lately....

2008-04-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

other than adjusting to having Bailey around, we've been busy campaigning for Chris and making lots of cakes! Here are pictures of just a few we've done the past couple weeks...

cute pics

2008-04-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

So there are a bagillion reasons why I love Ethan. One of which is the fact that he's super dreamy and makes super cute babies. ha ha. I think we have a pretty decent recipe...here are few fun pics.

So today was supposed to be Bailey's birthday....

2008-04-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

Just some more pictures....so fun!
I guess I never really explained why she came early, huh? Well, Jack's entrance into this world was pretty traumatic. After he was delivered by an emergency c-section almost a full month early, he spent some time in the NICU. So, this time around, my Doc wanted to monitor the pregnancy very closely. Since week 30 of my pregnancy, she had me going to the hospital for non-stress tests...basically, they'd just hook me up to a bunch of machines to monitor a bunch of stuff like amniotic fluid, heart rate, contractions, blood pressure, etc. Up until Friday, April 4th, all the tests were going fine and nothing appeared that gave the perinatologists anything to worry about. Well, about an hour into my non-stress test, after reviewing Bailey's heart rate which had been dropping down to the low 90s- high 80s, the perinatologist called my Doc. And about a minute later, I was being escorted down to check in to Labor and Delivery. Jack's heart was dropping and peaking way more dramatically than Bailey's was- but my Doc just wanted to err on the side of being too safe than sorry. I called Eth and asked him if he was ready to have a baby that day? :) I knew I wasn't--the house was a disaster, the guest bathroom is still under construction, the laundry was piled a mile high on our bed in 'to be folded' status, I had some work to do for the campaign, etc. But, we really had no other choice. By 3:30pm, my epidural kicked in. By4:00pm I was in the operating room. And Bailey was born at 4:27pm. The first thing I said when I saw her was, wow--she looks like Jack. She really did...and does. She is so sweet and all three of us are just fascinated by this precious lil' spirit that has joined our family. Jack has mastered "little kisses"--he gives them to his lil' sister very frequently. He also points to her head nose, and ears, and tickles her feet--and probably doesn't understand why she doesn't laugh like we do when he does it to us. We are so blessed and so excited and are really feeling grateful to be alive and to be having this experience in our lives.

More pictures....

2008-04-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

So I'm still in the hospital and will be until at least Monday. It is nice to have some time to relax and hang out with lil Bailey but I miss Jack like crazy. I haven't been away from him this long....EVER! Thus far, granted it's only been a lil' over 24 hours, Johnny has brought him to come visit twice. Mostly, he just wants to push all the buttons on the cool hospital bed and play with my IV, but regardless, I am so happy to see him.He is darling and I think he and Bailey are going to be bestest lil' buddies.

Here are a few pictures of Jack trying to share his vanilla Snackwell cookie with Bailey... ha ha. He's too cute.

Bailey Betty Brown

2008-04-05T00:53:00.001-07:00

She is here...a lil' earlier than expected, but all is well. She was delivered on April 4th at 4:27pm. 7lbs 2oz. 19". Full head of black hair. Sweet as can be.

Bye bye bafroom....

2008-03-10T13:11:00.001-07:00

So we've obviously been bitten by the 'let's fix the house up" bug. This blasted bathroom is so hideous. Well, it was. Now it is completely demo'ed. (I don't think that's a word) Here is what we started over the weekend...Jack was a big help as you can see :)

How I know I'm getting older....

2008-03-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Wow. The thought occurred to me today that I will be 28 in three months. Now, by no stretch of the imagination is that "old", but it's definitely not 18. In fact, it's ten years older than 18. And most of the time, I still think I am 18 as is evidenced by me frequenting Claire's Accessories and Charlotte Russe at the mall. :) But alas, I am rapidly approaching the sunset of my twenties. Here are just a few things that remind me of my stage in life--oddly enough, several of them are music-related:

1. The songs I download on my ipod are like "Voices that Care" and "Lost in Your Eyes"

2. Now when I play on my city league soccer team, I'm one of "those" moms playing out their high school glory days...who still thinks she is good and knows what she is doing. But who gets taken by all the 18 year-old recently graduated highschool girls. Crap. I so am one of them.

3. Ethan's darling college-aged cousins who help me out with Sweet Tooth Fairy stuff--who I also consider to be my peers-- don't even know who Debbie Gibson is. OMG. My real "peers" certainly do.

4. I have a kid. WTF? How did that happen? Don't answer that. I know how it happened...but it still seems pretty surreal. And to be having another one in a month? Yikes.

5. I remember when no one knew who Celine Dion was...back when she sang the Beauty and the Beast with Peabo Bryson.

6. Crazy changes to my body--I won't go much further into that one and will spare the picture. :)

7. I remember the lyrics to that tragic yet creepy 80s song "Dear Mr. Jesus"

8. Probably the only person at Estancia who even knows who the Faulkners are is Mr. Perry. Speaking of which, my 10 year high school reunion is this fall. Holy shiz.

10. I remember how Micheal Jackson's "Black and White" video was the greatest, neatest, flashiest video around. Not just because McCauly Culkin was in it, but because of the way the bare-shouldered people "morphed" into another person at the end. You know what I'm talking about. Now, those were some serious special effects.

11. I now know and appreciate the difference between a hand towel and a rag. Sorry Lyn, for all those years I used decorative towels to wipe off the counter.

Sooooo close

2008-03-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

So we are so almost there. We've been working really hard over the weekend to get our house back in order and everything "ready" before this lil' baby arrives. I am in LOVE with our kitchen. I mostly just want to go and sit in there all day. The transformation is remarkable. Not that I don't love red, white, and blue, Lyn :), but I am just so happy to be able to have this space transformed. Other than our super ghetto, super 70s guest bathroom upstairs, our redesigning/remodeling days are nearing an end. ha ha. Wishful thinking, I know. But it feels good to at least pretend like there won't always be something we want to change or update.

What a difference stainless appliances make!

2008-02-26T22:18:00.000-08:00

So we got our new appliances today. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! So awesome. Here are some pics thus far. My husband is amazing for innumerable reasons--one of which is his ability to do everything he attempts with precision and determination. How cheesy did that sound, right? Anyway, he got the stove and the dishwasher in. The biggest challenge is going to be getting our 'space saving' microwave oven installed above the range---he took out some cabinets above the range so it will fit. And he also has to run a water line to the fridge to our water/ice machine will work. He spent time tonight plotting it out and of course, it's going to all work out and work out well. I am super duper lucky to have him...he's so Skeeter...it's the awesomest. Here are some pics of the progress...

Bailey's Room....

2008-02-24T18:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, since we only have a lil' over 6 weeks until the arrival of our lil' girl--who we've decided to name Bailey Betty Brown, we figured we better get our rears in gear! We've been working on getting the house in order-thus the new counter tops and floors, as well as transitioning Jack into his own room. Eth and I quickly realized we had reached a new level of parenting because Jack is no longer 'caged' in by his crib. He is in a big boy bed! Woohoo! I'm not gonna lie, it is kinda sweet and hilarious when he wakes up at 5am and comes wondering into our room on his own.

At any rate, we are almost done getting his room together--so we'll get pictures of that up soon. But in the meantime, I wanted to post the progress in Bailey's room thus far. It is REALLY cute. We've decided to go with a cupcake/sweets theme. Perhaps this is just a way of my obsession with cupcakes to manifest itself...but it also makes for a really cute nursery! And yes, that is a mobile with dangling ice cream cones....am I cruel?

So Eth's mom, Grandma Sharon, is an amazing seamstress. She helped out a lot with Jack's nursery and as agreed to do so with Bailey's. The fabric on the bed is what we are going to accent with. Couldn't be any cuter if you asked me. Ok, so if you see anything anywhere, like Target, KMart, TJ Maxx, etc, that you think would go well in this room--let me know! I'm always down for an excuse to shop.

We're gettin' there....

2008-02-09T14:47:00.001-08:00

Ok, so this isn't a picture of the floors. But Lynnie Grandma (see Momma, you DO spell your name with 2 n's heeheehee) sent Jack a Valentine and he lolololoves it. It's that lil' white fuzzy bear he's cuddling with on the couch as he not only reads the Curious George DVD insert...but also has the movie on playing. If I had a dollar for every time I've seen/heard that movie, I'd be a bagillionaire.

More progress on the floors...

2008-02-08T08:03:00.000-08:00

Just a few more shots of the progress on the floors. To date, all tile is laid. You can see in these photos how amazing it looks after they put the tile enhancing sealer on. In the last picture, you can really see the contrast of the non-sealed tile. That sealer works wonders. So, all they have left to do is seal our hallway and bathroom, then grout and that's it. It should be done today....keeping my fingers crossed!

FINALLY.....

2008-02-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

I know that linoleum has it's place in this universe...but that place is NO longer my home. YAY! Goodbye 1970, hello 21st century. Here are some pictures of the new "California Gold" tile that is going in our kitchen, entry way, laundry room, and master bathroom. woohoo. As we make more progress, we'll post more pictures. Eth and I are super excited!!!! And Jack probably would be too...but he's too distracted trying to get used to the fridge being in the living room. :)

2007-12-16T15:12:00.001-08:00

i kinda like this guy....

2007-12-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

Jack and cookie dough...two of my favorite things!

Has it already been a month?

2007-12-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

Wow....talk about time flying by. In the past month, we've had some notable events take place

-Eth got a promotion at work....Mr. Manager....it's just manger.
-Found out we were having a girl....oh yah, did I mention I am 22 weeks pregnant? Good stuff.
-Had several Sweet Tooth Fairy cake/gift basket orders. Its interesting working for "the man" when "the man" is yourself.
-Had the Brown Family in town for Thanksgiving. Kari and I cooked enough food to feed an army...literally. Papa Ron deserves a reward for sending that de-boned turkey up with Kari.
-Decided I wanted to start a new business...I know I'm crazy. Stay tuned.
-Eth quazi-wrecked the truck. At least he was having fun doing it. THANKS MIKE!
-Grampsy died...which sucks big time.
-Took Jack on a plane for the first time. He did so well. We went home to CA for Grampy's funeral
-All the Faulkner clan came to Utah for more funeral festivities in Centerville...which didn't suck. It was great to be with them.
- Learned that boys are way to easily addicted to video games. Ghost Recon, what?

I think that's about. More to come....

We have arrived!

2007-11-06T20:49:00.000-08:00

Watch out Lesofskis and move over Barber-Castletons! The Brown-Faulkners (only Ethan will think that is funny) have arrived into the Blogsphere...in style.

We decided that since we didn't have enough going on in our lives that we'd just add one more thing to our plate. We've committed- and by we I mean, I -Megan, to be more timely in updating the Blog than we have been in updating our family website www.brownpeeps.com Although, I did recently give it a much needed makeover so you'll have to check it out.

I have to admit, I'm kinda excited and geeked out about blogging. I'm hoping by doing so, some of my Mormon-induced-guilt for not keeping a daily journal--will subside. Doesn't blogging count for journals? (Just like how it counts if we hold our own Sunday School lesson with Grandpa Brown at his house occasionally?) At any rate, we are excited to be here--wherever here is. I would have thought this would have happened a long time ago...seeing that I count myself among the few....the proud...and the nerdy.

So, if you're in our universe--and I don't mean physically, welcome to our Blog. It should be good times. Especially as soon as Ethan starts to chime in. I'm not nearly as poetic or well-versed as my sisterpants, Emy, but I will try my darndest to keep this interesting...and more importantly, witty.

Oh, to be a blogger....who would have known it would be this much fun!!!!