Happy Birthday Michael

~1995~

Michael Ryan Brown was born March 7, 1995. He weighed 7lbs 15 ozs at birth.

When I was about 4 month pregnant, we found out we were going to have a BOY! We were so excited. Finally, a boy after 3 beautiful girls. We elected not to tell ANYONE that we were having a boy until the day he was born. I warned everyone in advance not to believe anything Steve said concerning the sex of the baby during the pregnancy. He loves to tease. Grandma must not of heard my pleas. She made him a lovely PINK silky blanket and brought it to the hospital. When she realized she had been spoofed, she was kind enough to save the PINK one for another grand-baby and make Michael a beautiful BLUE one. It became his favorite blanket.

Binky Boys.

Cutest Ute fan.

Three "Brown" babies born in the same year.
Michael, Jacob, and Elizabeth.

Brown brothers with their boy's.
Steve and Jeff

Dad, Mom, and Michael.

First Year

~2010~

Mike and siblings.

Sweet Sixteen basketball tickets!

Happy 15th!

To start Michael's birthday off we went to Texas Road House Saturday night for dinner. Steak is one of his favorite foods. When the song "Our Song", by Taylor Swift came on, our entire table serenaded everyone at the restaurant. Fortunately, there was lots of noise and distractions that night. Even the little kids knew every word. Not sure that's a good thing.

Sunday was his actual birthday. I made his favorite meal, Sweet and Sour Chicken, and invited the Grandparents over. The kids decorated his room, and he opened lots of great gifts. He got some lovely plaid shorts (Steve used to refer to them as party pants) from his sisters.

Mike is an amazing young man. He is fun, charming, a great brother, and wonderful son. We love you Michael, Happy 15th.

More Pets?

Katelyn got answered to the Senate dance with a fish bowl containing two fish. In the bowl was a sign that said, "YES". The fish bowl was dropped off on the doorstep. Luckily, Sarah got the door just as the cat was ready to put his pretty little paw in the water. Whew.....saved! The nice young man even left fish food for us, to make sure both fish were well taken care of. Sarah decided one fish was hers since she answered the door. She named it Toby. The other fish.....well it didn't make it long enough to be given a name.

That night someone (we won't name who), dropped a couple kernels of canned corn in the fish bowl. This person thought fish liked corn. REALLY? Maybe this person should have given the fish a hot bath with soap and water too. Anyway, sad day, no more fish. Up two pets, down to pets, all in a days time.

Baseball Season Opener

Bountiful High School Sophomore Baseball Game

Bountiful verses Viewmont

Final Score 2-2

Slurpee or Hot Chocolate?

Molly and me.

Number 18 (Mike Brown)

Molly and I had a good laugh when the lead batter (number 18)

got up to bat and I asked her who he was.
In defense of myself refer to "Eyes On Fire" blog post.

Ricky Madrono - Pitcher, Mike Brown - Short Stop

Number One Fan

In the past year and a half, I have been to MANY basketball and baseball games for Mike. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him play sports. When he excels, I find myself wishing Steve were there watching him, cheering him on. He would be so proud of him. Steve LOVED a good ball game, especially when Mike was involved. He was a doting father, making sure Mike was on the right team, obtaining the right skills, practicing, and monitoring his schedule. His dad was his number one fan.

I also find when the game doesn't particularly go as well as you had wished, missing Steve. He always knew the right thing to say, at the right time. He knew what could be changed, and how to change it. He knew all the rules, and made sure everyone else knew them too.

Mike was so lucky to have his dad so involved with the sports he played.

Ben was only 6 when Steve passed away. In fact, it was two days after his 6th birthday that Steve died. We have great memories of Steve teaching Ben about baseball....how to swing a bat, and catch a ball. It was the summer of '08 that Steve coached his little league team. It is a very distinct memory for Ben, one that he will hopefully remember forever.

When Ben is playing basketball and I notice a very advanced move, I ask him where he learned it, and he always says, his Dad.

It makes me sad to think that Ben won't have the same experience as Mike. He will still have opportunities, but his number one fan will be missing.

Instructional Basketball League

Ben LOVES basketball!
He is still too young to play in a rec league, but enjoyed

playing in the Instructional Basketball League through South Davis

Recreational Center. The winter Instructional League ran for 6 weeks. It was

6 weeks of bliss for Ben.

Ben informed me that every basketball player absolutely must have basketball shoes. That is.... shoes that are exclusively worn for basketball. You carry them on your back in a shoe bag to change into before you enter the basketball court.

Michael and I decided to take him to Target and convince him that the boy's tennis shoes were basketball shoes. He was not easily convinced, rather his eyes overflowed with tears. These were not basketball shoes.

He begged me to take him to Big 5, I acquiesced. We looked on only the sales table and these are the shoes we found. Shaq and a basketball on them....true basketball shoes. The smile on his face as I purchased these inexpensive basketball shoes was priceless.

End of the shoe story? Nope! Ben only wore them a couple times when he found his brother's old basketball shoes. He switched between his Shaq shoes and Mike's old shoes that he wore in 6th or 7th grade. As you can see they were a few sizes too big, but that didn't bother Ben.

Basketball Highlights

Germs

Last Weekend:
Lizzy had Strep Throat, and
I had that nasty, awful, flu,
that has been floating around our house.

When you are REALLY sick, NOTHING is funny or cute at the time.
However, after days of being germ-free, these are the funny or cute happenings
while we were sick:

* Ben came into my room Sunday morning and asked where the ward directory was. I pointed to the floor. He picked it up and went downstairs. I heard Katelyn tell him that he could not just call random people off the ward directory. Ben came upstairs with the directory in hand, to ask me if he could call Sister S to play the piano for me in church. A 7 year wanting to find me a sub, now how cute is that.

*Sarah at Kids Care with Lizzy getting strange looks and comments from the doctor as she impersonated me. Well, maybe she wasn't really impersonating, she just forgot to mention she was her sister not her mother. What is wrong with a 20 year old having an 11 year old daughter anyway?

*Katelyn coming in my room to decontaminate it, wearing latex gloves and spraying Lysol each step of the way. She removed all the liens and bedding from the chair I was using as my bed (closest to the bathroom), and washed them. She was completely unaware of the cordless phone tucked snuggley inside the liens that went for a nice little swim in the washer. Bye-bye cordless.

*Michael coming to dispose of the barf bucket with goggles, gloves, nose-plugs, and some sort of plastic wrap on.

I am hoping this week to become a germ-free house once and for all.

Eyes On Fire

Today I went to the eye doctor for a routine exam. All was well, except a little excess protein build up on my contact lenses. The doctor informed me I had dry eyes. If your eyes are not moist enough, proteins begin to build up on your lenses. They professionally cleaned my lenses, and packed me a bag of samples including lens cleaners, and lubricating eye drops. I left happily with a bag of expensive samples.

On the way home my eyes started to feel a little dry. I stopped at the first red light and dug into my delightful sample bag to find my lubricating eye drops. I quickly removed them from the box, when the light turned green. I hit every green light until I got to Bountiful. Finally, at the stop light at 2600 South and Highway 89 I was able to relieve my eyes with the soothing lubricating eye drops. I reached in my bag pulled out the drops and inserted a drop or two into the first eye. My, it stung! I quickly put one in the other eye so the pain would cease before the light changed. BIG mistake! My eyes were burning as if someone had poked them with a red-hot poker. Tears were streaming down my face and I could barely see to drive. I quickly picked up my drops to see what the problem was. I had put Extra Strength Cleaning Drops in my eyes.

I drove, as best as I could, the rest of the way home, rubbing my burning, blurry, tear filled eyes, hoping I'd make it home safely. When I got home I read the warning on the bottle, and the Caution: "Do not use directly in eye." I quickly began flushing my eyes with water to dilute the solution. The Opthamologist was a little stunned to find out about my little mishap.

I am beginning to understand why so many quirky things happen at my house....it might have something to do with who is in charge around here.

My kids (or at least some of them) have been hounding me for another dog (no pun intended). I explained to said kids several times, that the only reason we got our dog in the first place is on a pet replacement plan. My words haven't quite penetrated their cute little brains. I have received copious notes from the kids stating the reasons we need another dog, along with the rules that would be followed by having another dog, and colorful print-outs of dogs for sale on ksl.com. I have stayed strong even with their comments such as , "Bella needs a friend," or, "The nice Neighbor G's and L's have two dogs."

I have to say, it tugged at my heart strings just a tad when I saw this:

Bella not only jumps up on top of the fence to watch her fun, furry, friends, Sam, and Lucy, but also jumps over the fence to join in the fun. Sam and Lucy are so lucky to have each other.

Poor Bella, left with Peanut, our official undomesticated pet, to pal around with.

So...which way would you vote for this cute little dog?Remember....my vote trumps all.

Ben's View of the Olympics

AAU Presidents' Day Tournament

Game One: February 13th

Warriors verses Thunder

Final Score: Warriors 100, Thunder 30

Game Two: February 15th

Warriors verses Davis Metro
Final Score: Warriors 53, Davis Metro 50

Game Three: February 15th

Warriors verses South Jordan

Final Score: Warriors 49, South Jordan 30

Championship Game Warriors Verses Metro

Final Score: Warrior 33, Davis Metro 32

No pictures.

Mike was at Insta Care getting an IV with anti-nausia medicine,

and fluids to hydrate him. So dissappointing he couldn't play in the

Championship game.

Mental Health Day

Beautiful day, ski lessons, snow boarding lessons,

smiles, melt-downs, frustrations, happiness

and lots of fun. Some may call it ditching

school, but we fondly refer to it as, a

Mental Health Day.

Sweetheart Dance

Beautiful girl, and beautiful dress!

Katelyn and Landon
Siblings and Landon.....Landon and Ben

Sarah (a little too close)...Meagan helping with the corsage.

Katelyn had a wonderful time at the Sweetheart Dance at Rice Eccles Stadium.

A Suttle Reminder

Today I was driving through the intersection of 2600 South and Highway 89 in Bountiful, when I came upon a very minor fender bender. Those involved were traveling the opposite direction of me. Traffic had slowed as spectators as well as those involved got out of their cars to assess the situation. My heart sunk as I watched a man open the driver's door and realize something was definitely wrong with the driver. I saw the sheer terror in his face, as he was shouting and cars began to stop to help. I knew the situation was not good.

I continued past the accident, and realized I needed gas, or I wasn't going to make it to my appointment in Holladay. I pulled into the Chevron gas station, only to find that I couldn't concentrate. It was crowded, and I felt completely overwhelmed just trying to get gas. I finally decided to go to a less crowded gas station up the road. I had to pass the scene of the accident again. I was the last car they let through, before police and other emergency vehicles blocked it off. As I was stopped at a red light, I saw a police officer administering CPR in the median to the person from the car that was hit.

Tears started streaming down my face as I watched in horror, remembering the night Steve passed away and the gruesome attempts made by the EMT's to save his life. I felt physically sick as I thought of the sadness and heart break this family was feeling or was going to feel. I am hoping their outcome was good, but the accident scene did not look that way.

I got gas and thought about going home and pulling the covers over my head. The appointment was not a necessary one. I decided instead to continue. When I got to my appointment, a sweet young girl in her 30's helped me. I sat down and thought I was going to burst into tears. I couldn't get the scene from earlier out of my mind, that triggered other emotions from the past. Somehow, this young girl and I began talking about what I had seen and how it had affected me. She began to tell me her own story.

Her dad died in a car accident when he was 34. Her mother had 6 children from the ages of one month to 14 years old. She was the oldest child in the family. She shared with me her perspective of loosing a father as a child. She described the challenges, and struggles that she went through personally. She also described the strength and perseverance that she had been blessed with. I began to understand more clearly what my own children must have felt and must be feeling.

Her sister was 3 when her dad passed away. She described the separation anxiety and difficult time she had gone through. Her mom had to go to preschool with her every day to ease her anxieties. She told me how this sister had grown into an amazing adult. I needed to hear that. I needed to feel hope that some of the situations I am currently experiencing will end positively.

She mentioned the gift of priesthood blessings in her life, and how much that had helped her mom and her family. She shared how much the gospel had strengthen them and buoyed them up. She shared their feelings, their grief, their difficulties, their struggles, and their strengths with me. I felt comfort knowing that I don't walk this path alone.

She gave me a big hug when I left. Two strangers, sharing experiences, strengthening, and buoying each other up. I believe it was a tender mercy to meet her today.

Valentines Day

Dinner at Grandma Brown's, lots of sweets and gifts, and plenty of LOVE.

Happy Valentines!

Sleep Deprivation

WARNING! This blog is not for the faint of heart, the weak, the easily grossed out or nauseated.

Week days can be tiring..... early morning music lessons, preparing for school, and other morning routines. It wouldn't be as exhausting if I went to bed early, and could sleep through the night. This week especially, has been one of those weeks were I definitely have been sleep deprived. Week ends are not much better. Lots of fun....but waiting up for kids, early morning games and activities don't leave a lot of time for sleep.

Last night little Ben crawled into bed with me. He said his stomach hurt, but I thought nothing of it. Once the last child I was waiting up for was home and the house was locked up, I quickly fell asleep.

About 1:30 a.m. Lizzy slipped into bed with me. She quietly tapped me on the shoulder and said, "I think there might be a problem." I woke up to find that Ben had been vomiting in my bed. Yes, that's right IN MY BED. Lizzy had snuck into my bed while Ben was in the bathroom throwing up and quietly rolled right into it. She thought she felt something smelling, wet, and chunky. So, she woke me up. I couldn't believe I could sleep through this whole ordeal. I ran around my bed to start changing sheets and cleaning up the mess, only to STEP in a trail of vomit that led to the bathroom. Yuck!... squishy, smelly, vomit between my toes. I hobbled to the tub to wash my feet, and quickly began the clean up process.

Poor Ben! He had to take care of himself until his mother finally woke up to help. Ben had a rough night, throwing up at least once an hour. I made him a comfy bed on my big chair, with a large lined barf bucket. I got up every hour to empty the bucket, spray Lysol around to diminish the odor, and help him in any other way.

Barfing is bad enough, but to make matters worse, Lizzy slept with me, and must have had some terrible dreams. She sat up in the middle of the night and began an intense conversation in gibberish. If she is not talking gibberish than she is a silent genius speaking in another language, well, let's just say I'd never know either way. When she settled down she started flailing her arms around striking me repeatedly. She then grabed me around the wrists as if I'm in hand cuffs, tightening her grip until I shook loose. I don't know what is going through her sweet little head in the middle of the night, and I'm not sure I want to know.

Long story short....still sleep deprived. Welcome to motherhood, and Happy Valentines Day!