Especially for Nana......

I don't think I need to say anything more! ENJOY!!! Thanks for everything! WE LOVE YOU, NANA!

Free Pizza...The Catch.....

Okay....so, you can call me tacky! But, I am EXTREMELY competitive! I am neck and neck with another first grade teacher at Liberty in our school Box Top Competition! I am calling out for HELP right now! A lot of you do not have children in school yet...so, I don't feel guilty asking you to collect these for me. For those of you that don't know about box tops, they come on a lot of food items you buy, i.e. cereal, fruit snacks, baked goods, etc. By collecting them, you are putting money back into my classroom:) I will do quarterly contests with all of you...the family that contributes the most will get pizza on me:) So I will have a winner in December, March, and May! PLEASE HELP! I realize many of you do not live here in Prescott...that's okay! I will reimburse your shipping if you would like. Please email me and I will send you our home address! Porter's, Winterton's, Aston's (if you don't give them to Dan's school), Holmes, Bjorn's, Walker's, Serr's, Click's, Thompson's, Brigette, Melo's, De Souza'a, Sandberg's....anyone, I so want to win this competition...the teacher I am tied with has won for the past four years! I WANT TO WIN.....more importantly, I want to put money back into my classroom.
P.S. You can even ask your siblings, parents, cousins, neighbors...HECK, total strangers:)
Double P.S. There are currently double points, so every box top ($0.10) is doubled ($0.20) until October 22nd....but, you have to get them to me ASAP because I have to send them off by the 20th!

Happy Birthday, Lucas....

Holy moly....man, I cannot believe our little man is already four years old...then, again I can't believe we have two children younger than him either:) It seems like yesterday it was just David and I! Lucas is such an incredible big brother. He is always looking out for Lexi and Lynds! Lucas is truly an amazing little man who is always trying to please his Heavenly Father! He absolutely loves going to church...he gets so excited every Sunday when he sees the steeple! He loves to say his prayers. It amazes me how much he truly understands about the gospel:) He is such an example to me! He loves to sing songs. Some of his favorites are Book of Mormon stories, I am a Child of God...and a little more intense..Pump It (Turn up the Radio)! It has been so much fun to see him grow up. He loves to learn. Often times, while driving in the car, he will ask me if we can talk about numbers and letters! Lucas loves to go to his preschool cooking class and to play soccer. He loves to help David and I out. Some of his favorite things to do are cook, fold clothes, and do dishes! He loves to help his dad with anything...changing the oil, building things, and playing the flight simulator!

Hepworth Oasis...okay, a little WHITETRASH, too!

This was a blast...so who cares if it was a smidge white trash. It's called making the best of what you have...and it worked AWESOME! The "whole fam damily" had a BLAST with this! Unfortunately, you will not see visual proof of me. I'm not about to air my big booty all over the internet in a swim suit 2 sizes too small:) As you can see in the video, David continuously brought out boiling water to keep us warm:) AWWWWWWWWWW!!!! Our Little Fish
It's this adorable princess that got Daddy to boil water...our own little spa! border=0>
I was in control of the camera...hence, the sideways video! SORRY!!!!

Diamonds, anyone? Uncle J...PLEASE!!!!

David and I have been very blessed throughout our marriage to see eye to eye; however, one thing that we haven't agreed upon is ear piercing. Believe it or not, this was a little surprising to me. I say..heck yeah! He says...heck no! David is a firm believer that our children, hopefully just the girls, should be able to consent to have this "permament scarring" done. There was so many times when Alexis was little that I would beg and plead. I even tried to play the traditional hispanic ancestry card...it didn't work! In all honesty, it was soooo tempting everytime the kids and I would go out of town during his final's week...mind you, he was never there.
Well, almost two weeks ago, Alexis started really noticing my earrings...and no, I didn't bring them to her attention, or coach her on the issue. She would say things like, "Mommy's earrings beety (pretty)...Alexis no earrings." After many of these conversations, I realized the "torturing" procedure was right aroung the corner. "Alexis, too...mommy earrings." Yes....
David and I asked Alexis if she wanted to get her ears pierced and she said, "Yes". So, the scarring is done. Alexis did very well. I was afraid that after they did one ear, she wouldn't let them do the other. Needleess to say, with few tears, both ears are pierced. As we walked throughout the rest of the mall, she would make sure that everyone noticed them. She would say, "ooo..beety...ear...hurt...ouch."
So to make an already long story, shorter...Uncle J told Alexis that if and when she got her ears pierced, he would buy her a pair of diamond earrings! So, this post is for you, Uncle J. Here's the proof!

Just for the record, David looked like he was in more pain than she was!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...Baby Lyndsey's Rollin'

She did it....Lyndsey Loo rolled over this morning. Man, she is growing up way too fast! Luke and Lexi absolutely adore her...and actually, they are starting to grow on her! For a while there, they were a little overbearing, between getting her toes ripped off during "this little piggy" and them grabbing her nose to steal it, and all the lip impressions (dried food) on her head from all of their kisses...YEAH...she truly is the love of their lives! Things aren't as crazy as expected with three children!

Little Miss Blue Eyes


Lynds at work with Daddy...future woman pilot!


Lynds self-soothing...if she's not eating, she is sucking on her fingers!


She VERY much loves her mommy...Lynds is the biggest mommy's girl EVER!!!

Good Times, Mate!

This summer has been rather busy for Lucas...a key to my sanity! We kicked it off with a session of swim lessons and finished it off with "the best soccer camp ever". Surprisingly, Lucas was a little timid the first week of swim lessons. He has always LOVED the water; however, he was a little apprehensive when it came to getting in the water with complete strangers. His teachers with very patient with Lucas. By the second week, he had adjusted quite nicely and was willing to participate with his class, i.e. blowing bubbles, floating, ice cream scoops, kicking, etc. I am very pleased with Luke's accomplishments during swim lessons! Way to go, Lucas! Alexis also had a total blast watching Lucas and playing in the water! She is a little fish! She loves to wear her "pim-puit" (swim suit). She also loved the slide Soccer camp has been the highlight of Lucas' summer! He absolutely loved ever minute of it! The night before camp started, we got Luke in his soccer shoes, shin-guards...the whole bit...and he went crazy kicking the ball around the house! Luke has taken a real liking to soccer. The soccer camp was put on by members of the British team. The first thing Lucas' coach, Steve, said to him was, "Hi, Mate!" Luke totally dug this. He ran over to me and said, "Mom, he called me his mate." For the most part, Luke was totally engaged throughout the whole camp. Some of his highlights were the animal game, looking for treasures, and chasing the tails. I was very impressed with the Challenger camp, and felt like it was worth every penny. The last day of camp, Luke received a poster with a letter personally to him from his coach, a camp shirt, and a nice soccer ball! Alexis is anxiously awaiting next summer to do the camp with her big brother. It was so hard to keep her off the field. She really wanted to be out there playing too! Good times, Mate!

The Battle Between Alexis and the Watercolors

Need I say more....this is what happens when Lexi is left unattended for maybe a minute. Actually, she wasn't totally unattended. Luke was laughing his head off,I should have known something exciting was happening! He's old enough to supervise his two year old sister while watercoloring, right? At least, I remembered to remove her shirt before:) I am learning...SLOWLY, but surely!

Lucas says and does the darndest things.......

*Beware....parts of this post may be a little offensive to some...READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!
1. The kids and I were finishing up our father's day shopping. As we were walking through the store, we were talking about what to get David...Luke thought maybe flowers to plant, since this is what they did for me on Mother's Day (by the way, awesome gift). As we were finishing up, Lucas asked, "Can we get something for me, too?" I explained to him that we were shopping for Daddy for Father's day. He replies, "When's it going to be kid's day?" My thought...isn't every day kid's day!

2. The other day, Luke and Lexi were playing in the backyard, and Lyndsey was sleeping. I was taking the opportunity to pump because Lyndsey had already eaten with her Daddy (I had spent the morning away from her). I am simply pumping away, when all of a sudden I hear, "Wooooooooooow...that's awesome." I look up and there is Lucas. He had somehow made his way back into the house and I didn't even hear him. His expressions were hilarious! He was truly amazed! I was actually quite embarrassed...I am a very modest nurser:) Do memories stay in a 3 year old's long term memory? I hope not!

3. The other night we had our VERY dear friends over (who are trying to conceive their first child), and the husband was kind of rough housing with Luke...and of course, Luke punches his "goods". David tries to tactfully explain to Luke why we are careful in that department...something along the lines of childbearing. Lucas replies with, "But Daddy's don't have babies in their tummies...only mommies". Perfect way to end the conversation...Oh, the innocence of a child!

Luke with his best buddy, Madison! Her expression is priceless..."I don't know him!" In Luke's defense, this picture is old...hence, the Huggies!

All in 2 days......

Now, imagine what the last two months have been like! Sorry I haven't posted in a while...our camera was stolen on Alexis' 2nd Birthday, and we just got it back a couple of days ago...and already, I have these exciting pictures to share!

WHERE'S LUCAS?????



While playing tennis with our good friends...we obviously weren't paying attention to Luke. Please note, the nice clubhouse in the picture behind the trees...the person walking by pretending like they don't know Luke...that's our friend:) Can you blame her?



Leave it to Luke to add a touch of masculinity to dressing up...



What's wrong with this picture (besides that it is sideways)?



Wait...is this better?



When our camera was stolen, they threw away our memory card, so all the pictures that we hadn't backed up yet are gone, i.e. Lyndsey's birth and first two months, the Red Bull Air Races in San Diego, David's 30th B-day, Alexis
2nd B-day...the list goes on:(
These last couple of months have sure been a RIDE...full of so much fun and adventure! I really think I could write a best-selling novel!

Hello, Beautiful Lyndsey!

Seriously, I know I am probably a little biased...but, she is beautiful! We got to preview a couple of Lyndsey's newborn pictures, and we are dying to share them with everyone! I can't wait to see the rest! So here's a shout out to the BEST photographer ever…Megan Holdsworth!

PRICELESS...


Lyndsey and Daddy...what we saw!


What Megan saw...she is magical!



Megan was one of my very, dear childhood friends. We grew up in Yuma together until we graduated from high school. We use to have Miss America pageants, we ran candy stores out of our Caboodles, and we performed as Peter Pan and John in our dance company's production! I will forever cherish these memories! We roomed together for part of our freshman year at NAU...poor Megan...I was a very difficult person to live with...and I believe she still loves me:) We were able to reconnect here in Prescott about 3 years ago! She has the biggest heart of anyone I know! She is always doing things for others! I look up to her very much and appreciate my friendship with her! Thanks, Megan...for being my friend and for capturing some priceless moments in the Hepworth family!
All of our "feeties"....I love little Lynds' bootie:)



To view more of Megan's work, visit www.holdsworthphotography.com

My Miraculous Overnight Weight Loss....

Well, sorry it has taken me so long to post our perfect, beautiful, little angel...labor and delivery kicked my butt this time. Man, I am getting old! Here is our little miracle....

Lyndsey Elizabeth Hepworth
7 lbs. 1 ounce
21 inches long


Lyndsey has been such a joy to have join our family. She has such a calming spirit about her. She was the oldest gestationally (39+) out of all our children, but the smallest...interesting! She already has such a kind-heart...she sleeps through the night:) I wake her up after about 6.5 hours because I am about ready to POP! We feel so blessed to have her in our lives.

We will post more pictures soon...when I can control these two mischievous children. They absolutely adore their little sister. I have to be honest, I have my hands full. Within five minutes of bringing Lyndsey home, Alexis stole her binkie and her seat. Lucas was giving her a hardcore rocking and a speedy joyride. Man, I have to keep my eyes on these two. I am sure I am going to have some good stories to share over the next couple of weeks:)

Oh...happy day....yesterday!

Oh no...two posts in one day...Obessed?

Okay, so Alexis won't ever let me do her hair...in fact, it is quite embarrassing! Often times, when some of my girlfriend's babysit for us...we pick up Alexis with her hair all dolled up and done! She will instantly tell me "beety momma beety"(pretty), as she gestures to her hair. I don't get. She acts as if she is some deprived child whose mother won't do her hair!
Here is the usual, everyday Lexi hairdo:

Well, It is amazing what a little bit of bribery does…all for 2 jelly beans (white might I add...I didn't want them all over her dress). Now, I know we definitely have room for improvement...but I was rather impressed with the final do.
*The facial expression on Lex's face...I am pretty sure she gets it from me:)

And finally, at least we made it through church, right? This is how she woke up from her nap:

I Give Up..."Baby Girl" Hepworth It Is

NO, NO, NO....we have not had the baby yet. For those of you wondering, I am absolutely all right with this! They are much easier to care for inside my belly, rather than outside. With Luke and Lexi, I had to be induced. For some reason, I am set on attempting the whole "natural" thing with this one. We have done everything possible to encourage our labor....no I will not give details...but, I can share we have spent a lot of time 4x4 and walking:) If you have any suggestions, do share. My Dr. is giving me a VERY limited number days before INDUCTION!!! I am convinced that our little one is not ready to make her debut simply because she has no name.
Yesterday, when we got home from church, David was eager to go through some names to try and narrow down or even make a decision...I should have known something was up. After feeding and putting the kids down for a nap, I got our little name papers and a fresh piece of paper. About a quarter of the way through our list...maybe 30 names, I hear "ZZZZZZZZ". I look over and David is totally out. To confirm my observations, I begin reading off various obnoxious names (I will not mention, for fear I might offend someone)....then, boy names....YEP, he was OUT! So, it looks like Lucas will get his way....as of now, his little sister will be called "Baby Girl" Hepworth.
Here is my proof......

So, I guess what I am trying to say is...SUGGGESTIONS are welcomed and appreciated!

The Tale of the Poisonous PB & J

Okay....so I don't normally make my children peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Unfortunately, they are not my sandwich of choice. To be quite honest with you, I cannot stand them. They are, however, one of David's favorites...and I would have to say Luke and Lexi, too! I just got tired of hearing Luke always asking me why I can't make them like Daddy...therefore, I usually leave this for a Daddy dinner...when I am at stamp class, work, etc. Now I know many of you are thinking...come on Nik, how hard could it possibly be to make a PB & J that your children will eat. It's actually quite difficult. When David makes them, he spreads the peanut butter to be about an inch thick. Then he puts about a half inch of jam....this is no lie! David in no way would deem this an exaggeration. In fact, he would probably argue that my measurements are on the whimpy side! You can't even see the crust of the bread because of all of the insides oozing out all over the place. Now, there a couple of reasons this bothers me....

1. PB is already a choking hazard...and I begin to freak when I see my children struggling because it is all caked on the roof of their mouths.
2. PB is not cheap, and we go through it faster than a loaf of bread...by the way, David will grab a BIG spoon out of the drawer and get a HEAPING...and I mean HEAPING spoonful of PB and just eat it like that. I will get up in the morning and there will be spoons in the study from him the night before.
3. I hate PB breath...not to mention, the use of that much PB makes me physically ill!
4. My children will be covered from head to toe with PB and Jelly after eating one of David's infamous sandwiches.

Okay, so back to the title of my post...man, I didn't realize I needed to vent about my feelings toward PB. Last night, I was extremely exhausted and David was doing a late night flight to Phoenix...so, I thought I am going to attempt to make an "edible" (meaning a David-type) PB & J sandwich for Luke and Lexi. Luke loves to help in the kitchen, so I am having him get all the necessary ingredients out...and of course, the PB isn't in its usual spot (I should have known this because I found a plethora of spoons in the study this past week) and there is no jam in the fridge. So, Luke and I look in the pantry and we find that we have a back-up of both items. FYI...we go through jam weekly too. So, you are pretty much guaranteed not to have a "routine" taste each time we have PB&J sandwiches. Well, last night Luke asks me what flavor the new jam is...I tell him boysenberry. He immediately gasps and says, "oh no mommy, we can't eat 'poison' berry jam...it could kill us." I GIVE UP...Done with PB & J sandwiches...and for those dying to know...NO, he would not eat it...and he wouldn't let his sister either!

Time Flies When We're Having Fun...

Just wanted to post a couple of pictures from the past couple of weeks. We have been having too much fun...so much fun that we don't have things ready for our little angel that should be here in the next couple of weeks...GREAT!!!!

The funniest dad in the world...he is such a kid! We love him!
(We can't have a white Christmas, but it will snow the end of February)

The lamest mom in the world...I wasn't about to get down in that stuff...then again, I probably wouldn't have been able to get my big belly up:)

Lucas always has a smile on his face! He was having the time of his life...making snow fall by shaking the trees with daddy, building snow angels, snowball fights...the list goes on!

Alexis was in heaven too! She kepted saying, "BRRRRR..cold." She spent most of the time eating the snow...we spent most of our time trying to get her to keep her gloves on:)

*At this point...I am pretty sure the early stages of hypothermia were setting in!

There are so many cool places to go hiking around Prescott. We usually take our double jogger. This was Lucas' first real hike where he walked. He walked the entire way around Lynx Lake. Mommy and Daddy were quite impressed. We had to "take a break" here and there, but for the most part...he was a real trooper! He was such a big boy...we don't use the word "little" anymore...it tends to often:) We had fun listening to the ice crackle,throwing rocks on the ice, and petting all the dogs along the way!

Lucas loves the hockey games....Alexis, on the other hand, would probably rather be anywhere else. We were given some free tickets a couple of weeks ago. They were awesome seats...almost too close! My anxiety level sky-rocketed when the lady a couple of rows up caught the hockey puck!

Here in Prescott, we have the most adorable zoo. I absolutely love it because you can go through it in an hour and you pay for your annual pass in just a couple of visits. Sorry no pictures of the animals, we came during their naptime...many of them were hiding out...not to mention, it was super busy! Lucas' favorites are the snakes, jaguar, tiger, and bears. Alexis seems to enjoy the wolves, coyotes, and birds...she thinks the wolves and coyotes are "doggies".

The kids are always excited to play on the zoo's playground at the end of our visit. Alexis had a lot of fun...she is getting to be so big! She was so happy following her brother around doing whatever he was doing, i.e. rock wall and the BIG DARK slide.

We can't wait for our new little angel to join in on all the fun!