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!

Did "H-E-double hockey sticks" freeze over?

After reading my previous post...I just wanted to make it clear...we are very excited about baby #3...we are just happily anticipating a rough adjustment for our dear Lex! Alexis has been such a joy and blessing in the Hepworth family. We know she will be such an amazing big sister!

Now, for the moment you have all been waiting for.......Alexis' most recent earth-shattering change...let me give you some picture clues before I explain.





Yes, if you haven't already figured it out...my 35 year old brother is engaged to be married...and we couldn't be happier for him! If you recall from my previous post, J.C. and Alexis have a very special bond! While she is thrilled for him, she also knows that Lauren is (and should be) his top priority! Alexis absolutely adores Lauren!
J.C. and Alexis aren't the only ones who have a special bond around our family....so do Lauren and Lucas! Lucas loves his girlfriend Lauren Jones! We did not tell Lucas about the big engagement plans until the day of! Lucas talks to Lauren often on the phone. We didn't want him to spill the beans! As I was explaining to Luke that Uncle J.C. was going to give Lauren a ring today and ask her to marry him, like mommy and daddy...he quickly replied with, "No, I need to marry Lauren Jones first, she is my girlfriend." David proceeded to give LJ the you're too young talk:)
Now for the details....
Lauren has always wanted to hike up (yes, a ton of stairs) to the top of the U.S. Capitol building...it is something that neither of them had ever done! J.C. has a very good friend who is the Lead Deputy at the Capitol. Man, it pays to have connections. He was able to arrange a private tour for them. It is at the top that J.C. proposed to Lauren on February 29th! I think he did it on this day so that he only has to celebrate the occasion every 4 years!
My family...extended, blended and all...never thought this day would come; hence, the title of this blog (hope I didn't offend). We are all very excited for J.C. and Lauren. Lauren is a beautiful, well-educated, and talented lady...and to top it all off, she doesn't put up with J.C.'s junk:)
The very first time we met Lauren, J.C. wasn't there...I know this might sound strange! We met Lauren almost a year ago. Our family was all meeting up in San Diego for our step-brother, John's wedding. Lauren and J.C. didn't book their flights at the same time and were unable to get on the same flight. It just so happened that Lauren was due in about 3 hours before J.C. This was probably the biggest mistake J.C. made....telling us. He was going to let her just sit at the airport until his plane came in. Yeah right, how rude! We finally got her flight information out of him....and were able to spend some bonding time with Lauren before he got there. J.C. was sooooo nervous for this:) Lauren jumped right in just like she was a member of our family! Rather than holding up a sign at the airport for Lauren Jones, we got t-shirts made for all the kids to wear with her name on them so that she would know who we were.


Congratulations J.C. and Lauren! We love you!