It is always fun to interview the Brazens, as you never get just one perspective. Often their three daughters join in, making for some lively conversation! This year was no different, except for the three newborns joining in with occasional cooing and some all-out crying here and there. Yes, the Brazen brood recently expanded from three to six grandchildren, all within an 80-day period. As Joseph explains, “All three girls were pregnant at the same time, delivering in July, August, and September of this year!”

Today Taylor has Tatem (3 ½ years old), Bennett (14 months old), and Miller, who was 10 days old when we spoke. Cody has two boys—Baker (19 months) and Brock (1 ½ months)—and Joey has a little girl named Quincy (2 ½ months). Given that Taylor runs their real estate business, Cody is the General Manager of Central Bar + Restaurant, and Joey is the General Manager of 520 Bar & Grill, one might assume there will be job openings coming, but no. All three are back at work in the family office above 520, which has been completely retrofitted for these working moms and their kids. So while the three older grandchildren are in preschool, the three newborns are bonding with their moms and grandparents, Mimi and Papa, at the office.

This change in workplace dynamics began when Taylor had their first grandchild. “It was the height of the pandemic, so our real estate office was closed, and I was working from my parents’ home office, where I was able to bring my daughter to work with me,” she says. “It worked so well it reshaped how my sisters and I all work today.” Randi adds, “Selfishly, Joseph and I benefit as well because we get to see our girls and our grandbabies every day!”

Make no mistake. All three girls know just how fortunate they are to not have to rely on daycare like so many other working moms. “Our parents have been so flexible, and redoing the office space for us was great,” says Joey. “It also makes it easier for my sisters and I to cover for each other, when necessary.”

As if working together weren’t enough, the girls and their husbands now all live in Bellevue within a mile of one another. Randi and Joseph are close by in Medina where the entire brood gathers for regular Sunday dinners, holidays, and events, as family has come first since they moved to Bellevue 30 years ago with their own three toddlers (ages 4, 3, and 1) and no friends or family nearby. Their solution was to open 520 Bar & Grill on Main Street in Bellevue with the goal of creating a community of families around them. It worked, as the friends they’ve made in the past 30 years combined with their daughters’ friends, who are now starting families of their own, have blossomed into this wonderful, extended family, which also includes their employees, a lot of whom have been with them from the beginning. As Joseph says, “It’s really special.”

Even in the real estate realm, Joseph, Randi, and Taylor welcome clients and their children to their office when meeting. When Taylor is dropping off brochures and doing errands, the kids are there. Where appropriate, such as when showing a home to a young family, she may bring one or more of her kids to help entertain her clients’ kids. When she has an appointment that needs to be more professional, she relies on her sisters to watch her kids, so she doesn’t have to worry.

Perhaps most surprising, however, has been the fact that motherhood, as exhausting as it is, has made each of them better at what they do. Cody says, “While I’ve always been productive, I never realized just how good I am at multitasking until I became a mom.” For Taylor, the lesson was prioritizing what is most important. “Before kids, I worked too much, but having a family has taught me to prioritize the most important things to get done workwise and at home, and to be present in both spaces.” For Joey, motherhood has heightened her compassion for customers and staff members. “As a mom, you might have something scheduled and then your child gets sick, and it changes your whole day. I’ve learned to be flexible and to have empathy for others when life happens to them.”

Heading into 2024, there may be a short break before the family expands further. In the meantime, Joseph and Randi will continue to revel in the fact that, as Randi puts it, “Our kids still love hanging out with us!”