One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fishy, Four Fishy…

Beautifully Eyed Fish. Perfect Fish. Energetic Fish. Flexible Fish. Friendly Fish. Shy Fish. Happy Fish. Silly Fish. Nervous Fish. Swimming Fish. Drowning Fish. Even a Naughty Fish…Meet the HepCat Fish.

Lucas: our oldest Fish (6 years old)…a.k.a Lu-Lu, Lukie Dukie, Lucas Pucas Poo-Poo Face.

Luke Skywalker, as his swim instructors call him, is quite the handsomely hazel-eyed Fish. In his “school,” there are two instructors and one other female fish. They often remind Luke to “use the FORCE”. Galaxy Fish. He is quite the stud and is very aware of his sole competition…he refuses to be defeated by the Lady Fish…even if it requires a couple of seconds of interrupted swimming to jog through the H2O to insure victory. Stud Fish. According to him, his least favorite thing about swim lessons is the frog kick and the butterfly kick. His favorite thing is doing the backstroke, BUT, it is “really hard.” Challenged Fish. He also enjoys treading water (except when his BIG little sister’s class passed by him…he politely says, “Hi, Lex”. She says “Hi, Luke” and puckers her lips at him). “She messed me up, Mom!” Thus, resulting in the Lady Fish treading longer. Embarrassed Fish.

Alexis: our second-oldest Fish (5 years old)…a.k.a. Lexi-Loo, Lexi-Pexi.

Lexi is quite the beautifully brown-eyed Fish. In her “school,” there are three instructors and five fish. She absolutely loves water…always has and pretty sure she always will. Fearless Fish. Lex is developing into a real swimmer…still needing minimal assistance. She loves to ignore the cue to ice cream scoop and kick…she simply plugs her nose, swimming under water with a variance of the frog kick and regular kick. Unique Fish. According to her, her least favorite thing is when they have to get in and out and sit on the edge of the pool. Cold Fish. She really enjoys playing games and when she gets to be a lifeguard and save her teacher with “the red thing”. Baywatch Fish.

Lyndsey: our second-youngest Fishy (3 years old)…a.k.a. Lynds, Lyn-Lyn.

Lynds is quite the uniquely greenish eyed Fishy. In her “school,“ there are three instructors and three fish. Prior to her lessons, Lynds was VERY timid around the H2O, merely tabbing in it here and there….digging her nails into whoever was holding her or stopping their circulation from her grip. Scared Fishy. She most definitely get the most improved award. Bribery (popsicles) weren’t necessary after Day Two…instead, “I love my teacher, Mommy….I had so much fun in swim lessons today.” Accomplished Fishy. According to her, her least favorite part was “Rowan….he throwed (sic) up” :/ (Swim lessons came to an abrupt stop that day). Smart Fishy. Lynds really enjoys sticking her head all the way in the water to get the rings, bobbing, “burping lots”, and kicking big. Content Fishy.

Tucker: our baby Fishy (10 months)…a.k.a. Tuck Tuck, T-Man, The Tank.

Tucker is quite the perfectly blue-eyed Fishy. In his “school,” there are two instructors, three baby fish, and three Mama Fish. He is the only one out of all the sibling fish mentioned to get Mama Fish in a swimsuit for a class. Spoiled-Rotten Fishy. He is on cloud nine when he is in the water. He loves to impress one of the Lady Fishy by multi-tasking with babble, splashing, and smiles. Flirty Fishy. According to Tuck and Mama Fish, he least likes wearing his hat…he says he wants the aforementioned Lady Fishy to see his baby blues. He has her hook line and sinker. He is about half her age, but double her size. Da’ Man Fishy. His favorite part of class has already been mentioned, but also to include: bubbles, splashing, floating, and motorboat. Glowing Fishy.

Two to Zero in 23 days...Until we meet again

Total of 2300 miles driven + Mom, Dad, 4 kids & dogs + 17 days in a hotel= heaven to the children, and possibly Dad…absolute nightmare for Mom. All of this in just 23 days. To some this scenario might seem like an enticing adventure for others, not so much. Let me tell the story…it is almost unbelievable.

Looking back at the last couple of months, it is all kind of a big blur. On March 22, 2011, I lost the best stepdad a girl could only dream of. David lost the perfect father-in-law/friend…and our dear children lost the coolest Papa in the entire world. Stephen Ray Shields lost his fight with an evil disease. Papa was a fighter…he fought to the VERY end for ALL of us. He loved us, and we loved him. In my opinion, there was nothing better in life to him than to be a Papa. He was overly protective for their safety, i.e. foam swords were dangerous. They uttered the faintest of whimpers and he instantly coddled. He loved to tease and taunt with his zombie walk…or a mere blow on their tummy followed with a contagious giggle made his day…and theirs too. We couldn’t even get the car turned off and Papa was out the door to greet us. He loved us, and we loved him. Papa was scared of our dogs…shhhhh! That’s our little secret. Papa loved to tell us stories…the same stories…over and over…every time we would see him…and they were always about his children. We loved to hear them. Until the bitter end, Papa loved to hold his grandchildren…without saying a single word, they knew he loved them. It was that sparkle in his eye and that gentle smile…both, he had until the day he “closed” his eyes. He loved us and we loved him.


On April 14, 2011 (only 23 days later), I lost a father-in law that always made me feel like a million dollar princess…he was a flirt. Honestly, I liked to flirt back. David lost a father that always wanted him to be the best he could be. Our children lost their grandfather they had always prayed would get better. No matter his role, Sherman Randolph Hepworth was a top-notch, cream of the crop kind of guy. He always wanted to know about you. Unlike Papa Steve, he was sick the majority of daddy's life…so we didn’t know Grandpa when he was “healthy,” but he loved us and we loved him. Grandpa was very creative, we are pretty sure he could have been a famous poet or artist, especially with watercolors…who knows, maybe he will be some day. Grandpa couldn’t get a round, but boy did he love to hold his grandchildren. Whenever he looked at them, you knew that he knew they were start from heaven. He loved us and we loved him. Grandpa loved to talk and was always excited about when our next visit would be…so were we. We wish we lived closer to Grandpa…but, we loved him and he loved us.


Grandpa had that same nasty disease as Papa. That evil thing treated their bodies different…but, it was MEAN to both of them. You see, Papa was mobile to the bitter end, and Grandpa never was…but, Papa couldn’t talk toward the end, and Grandpa could. But, that didn’t matter because they loved us and we loved them...that evil disease couldn't change this...or the fact that...Papa loved Nana. Grandpa loved Grandma. Grandpa and Papa loved their country. Grandpa and Papa both loved their Heavenly Father and their Savior, Jesus Christ, and knew that the gospel was true…they lived it. This was their legacy….for this we are blessed and for this, we will be together forever someday….until we meet again.