HappyHeplers

First day of School!

2009-08-11T23:04:00.003-04:00

Is coming up. It is a first for me. The best i can do is a fun "craft" for Lucas...i hope you love it. He told me what to draw. I did my "school girl" best. Have a great school year!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gatorland!!!!

2009-08-09T20:40:00.007-04:00

Where to start...? I haven't been to Gatorland since I was probably 13. I have this wonderful lady that I work with whose Son in Law owns it, and she nicely gave me some tickets. We got there first thing in the morning, thank goodness cause it was 98 degrees when we left. We started off with a show...and who knew that I would be picked. Mind you, I have never been picked for anything like this. So, I ended up with a box in front of me with who knows what in it. Finally, they called me down to the "stage". Made me stand in the "safety circle" and close my eyes. I would have never thought that I would get a TARANTULA..yes a TARANTULA in my hand.

When they finally told me to open my eyes, I told them that I already looked and saw it. The guys were absolutely hilarious. They did that show and another, and we enjoyed every part of it. Rusty's parents went with us and we all had a great, great time.

It is part of Florida that not all see, a real park, with real people that actually loved what they do. I would recommend it to anyone that I talk to. Lucas and Brooke had a great time as well. Lucas had a dream about alligators the other night that scared him, so I was a little afraid that he was scared, but he loved it. When we asked him what the best part of the weekend was, he said Gatorland! Brooke, who is cutting 4 teeth did great as well. She was tired toward the end, but had a great time and enjoyed spending the day with Grandma and Papa. They also have a water park, but my memory card was full so I didn't get any pictures of that. It was a great weekend that none of us will forget soon, especially me..hopefully I won't have dreams of tarantulas!

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-29T23:53:00.021-04:00

First the day started off with fun in the pool. We bought Brooke the same suit that we had for Lucas, and now he swims like a fish, but she is a little more crazy the he is an can't sit still. So that has been a learning experience for us all over again. We hope that with time she will get used to it and love it like Lucas did!

Then it came to this! Who can resist two kids playing in the rain. I had to run to the store on with my good friend Vicki, and when I came home this is what I found...two kids, playing in the mud, covered from head to toe. How can you get mad at such a great picture moment. Mind you, we have had like 25 inches of rain, and my back yard is like a mushy mess...Kristin knows all about that! Love you Kristin!

All and all, after a good bubble bath, it was all better and the kids slept like rocks!

The Blue Crab Festival

2009-05-25T12:58:00.012-04:00

We have been talking about going to the Blue Crab Festival in Palatka for years, and decided since we didn't have plans this Memorial Day Weekend, we would try it out. Rusty's parents followed us on our 2 hour drive. Greg came with us as well. It ended up being so much fun, besides the fact that so many people told me how redneck it was and I shouldn't be surprised if I didn't see many people with teeth, but it wasn't like that at all. It was packed, had a ton of Arts and Crafts, and a bunch of food vendors.

We also say a pig race..that was a little hillybilly, but I guess these people have been on Leno, David Letterman, and The Early show. We had a great time, and both Rusty and Lucas had fun too...it was so so hot, we were all sweating and wanted to go swimming. We had a great day.

With all the rain that we got the docks on the St. John's river are under water.

Yummy Spaghetti O's

2008-12-14T08:05:00.003-05:00

I know for sure with Lucas I never gave him Spaghetti O's at 9 months old, but Brooke was really trying to get to Lucas's the other day and I figured why not...she loved them! It wasn't fun cleaning up after she was done, but nothing a little comet won't fix.

family time is so important...

2008-10-02T12:32:00.006-04:00

We went to Tampa last weekend for a "family weekend". Since we have annual passes to the zoo, for the month of September we got into the MOSI Science Center and Aquarium for free. I booked hotel rooms at the Hyatt,of course, for three nights so we could enjoy all parks. This picture is from the first night at the hotel, we got a casita so we had a pretty good view of the water. The sunset was beautiful and dinner was great. Off to bed early to get up an move to the Hyatt Downtown...more to come.

A day on the lake

2008-08-01T16:35:00.003-04:00

So I am not such a great Mommy, we went on the boat and I didn't take one single picture of the kids...but I got some great ones of Uncle Mike wake boarding. We had fun, he did a great job as you can see in the pictures. Lucas and Brooke had fun too, unfortunately Lucas got a little too much sun, but not too bad. Brooke had a great time playing in the water too.

Silly String

2008-08-01T16:28:00.004-04:00

Last week I had a day off because I woke up with a flat tire and needed to go and get it fixed. Since I was only going to work 1/2 day anyway, I decided to take the whole day off. After Lucas, Brooke and I got the tire fixed we went on a hunt for a wallet for Lucas. I kept telling him and telling him that I would get him one and thought for sure that Walmart would have boy's wallets. Nothing. We searched a few other stores and still, nothing! So we settled for silly string instead, he had fun. It is hard for their little fingers to push down the tops of those, but we had fun, I had him covered at one point!

FOOD, yummy.

2008-07-24T16:23:00.003-04:00

There is a reason that we call Brooke "porkchop". She is a little tank, and loves to eat. She was getting super hungry at the sitter's and eating every 2 hours and wanted more, so I knew it was time for food. I wasn't quite ready yet since Lucas didn't start til he was 6 months, but this just shows that all kids are different. We started with rice cereal and she did great, the girl can eat. I will hopefully do the same that I did with Lucas and make all of her food. She has sweet potatoes and will try avocado next. It is fun and she is doing much better at the sitter and not getting so hungry.

I hope that she isn't a picky eater, it is nice that Lucas will almost eat anything. In the mean time Lucas decided that he would try a banana pepper the we grew in the back yard, he tried them a couple of times, I think he finally learned his lesson.

Elect Kelley

2008-07-15T14:40:00.001-04:00

4th of July

2008-07-13T21:55:00.010-04:00

There was nothing better than spending the 4th with the family and friends. We had a great time in the little town of Astor. We went with our friends Todd and Vicki and Rusty's Brother Michael and girlfriend Nikki. We bought Lucas his first fishing pole, it is a cool one that you don't have to cast, just push a button, a big hit! He was the only one there to catch a fish with a fishing pole, Uncle Mike caught several with a cast net, but Lucas was very special. Granted, it wasn't a keeper by any means, but it was precious.
The house that we rented was great, right on a canal that led to the St. John's River. It was 4 bedrooms and had a great kitched with anything that was needed. Lucas also loved his room which included nothing but a twin bed, closet and built in dresser (where he put away his clothes, so cute) and the highlight was the eletric fish take that lit up. He was so happy
We went to the Silver Glen which is a spring off Lake George. It was COLD, but fun. Lucas like to play in the sand with the other kids and Rusty, Todd and Michael had fun snorkling.

I got lucky and my friend Vicki that went bought all the food and we split it three ways. I did a lot of cooking but that is what I love so I can't complain! We have all agreed to go back and rent the same house by the end of the summer. It was a perfect get away and long weekend. As you can see, Lucas was totally exhausted.

Basketball..mommy's dream come true

2008-06-21T22:16:00.005-04:00

Early last week Rusty and I were talking about finding a sport for Lucas to participate in. Well, yesterday I called the YMCA in Kissimmee and found out that Basketball started Saturday for 3-5 year olds. I was in my heaven. We were there at 8:45 ready to start. Lucas and I went to the store the night before to get shoes, and found some Sketchers that he loved so much he SLEPT with them on. Yes, you heard me right, would not let me take them off. So learning how to dribble, shoot and "share" with the other boys was amazing! He did good for my little guy who I have never even played Basketball with. I have never even tried to teach him to dribble, pass, or shoot for that matter...and it showed! He did good though. I know in the next three months he will learn a lot, so will we as parents. Brooke loved to watch her brother at the beginning, but just wanted to sleep in the end. Oh, and Lucas was on the Dolphin team...thought he was a star, and is an always will be one in my eyes. All he could say was he was ready to get on the "court" like Emmy says in Dragon Tales!

Story Time

2008-06-20T21:42:00.006-04:00

It has been a long time since we have been able to go to story time at the library. We went when Brooke was 2 weeks old and continued throughout the time that I was on maternity leave. I think beside being home with the kids this was my most cherished time with Lucas and I. It was wonderful to see him interact with 5 year olds and sing and dance. He isn't around kids during the day, but he loves to be with them. I will never forget this time that I spent with Lucas, ever in my life. He still talks about it, yesterday his mobile that we made the last day broke and he wondered if the teacher would be upset if we thru it away. I can't believe how sweet and thoughtful of a kids he is!

Spiderman

2008-06-17T21:13:00.003-04:00

I never knew how much boys thrive on superheros until Lucas asked for something Spiderman. He watched Free Willy (might I add I had to buy it but luckily I got the three pack "collectors addition" at Walmart for $14.97) and knew he could snorkel and wanted flippers to try. I remembered seeing some fun fins at BJ's and when we went to look, he fell in love with the Spiderman ones. He feel in love with them. There was another option that was a shark, but who could pass up spiderman? He had to try on the whole get up, including fins, goggles and fun glove type thingys that of course, shot spider webs! He played in the pool forever with the whole get up on, then just decided it was easiest with the mask. So much easier on the eyes since kids love to swim the whole time with their eyes open. I don't allow Lucas to climb on the furniture, a little of my sister in me, but when he came in he was literally crawling on the back of the couch, cause of course, he was spiderman. After that he continued to climb on one of Brooke's diaper boxes that I hadn't put away yet and was standing on it being "spiderman". For the next few days we were riding in the car to the sitters with full spiderman attire and I am sure that all cars passing had a great chuckle to their morning!, if anything Mommy cherished it for the rest my my day!

Denny Jr's 2nd Birthday

2008-05-31T22:28:00.002-04:00

This is a week old, but could be left alone. We had a wonderful time last weekend at Dennis and Adriana's house for their little boy's 2nd birthday. I haven't been out too much at night with Brooke, that is her time and isn't always an angel, but we had a wonderful time. I know that Adriana wants a little girl someday, and we think that Denny has an eye for Brooke already, so she loved to hold my little girl. As most of you know, your home changes with kids. We "had" a dining room which is now a play/computer room, and the Winky's did the same thing. They had a great pool table room, with beer signs and lights, but now that Denny is two, the also have too many toys for the living room and decided it was time for a Play room instead of a Mans room. It just amazes me how much these little people change our lives. Anyway, it is always so much fun to spent time with the Deems. They are such a close knit family and they make us feel like we are family as well. The last time that Denny was over he loved Lucas's lawn mower, so we got him one just like Lucas's. And because of that Lucas had to bring his with. The two of them ran around the back yard mowing the lawn, it was awesome. Dennis and Adriana also got Denny a bounce house that Lucas had a blast with, now the only thing that we hear is that we should buy one too!

the zoo, ready in 45 minutes, with 2 kids...

2008-05-31T21:52:00.003-04:00

when we woke up this morning, we knew we wanted to do something, but driving to Tampa I didn't think would be the first thing on our list, but it was. I was feeding Brooke and Lucas was watching cartoons at about 7:15 when Rusty came out and asked if we wanted to go to the zoo. We both thought it sounded like a good idea, and by 8:15 we were all in the car ready to go. I am still not quite sure how I got myself, and two kids dressed and in the car by then, but it worked, breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds was on the way. We got there about 9:30 and had a great time. Lucas loved to see the monkeys and pet the Llama, but most of all, wanted to play in the water. We say the giraffes and elephants, birds and zebras, but still, wanted to play in the water. We only stayed until about 12:30 because it was then 95degrees, but had a great day. After that came home and played in the pool. I think that Rusty and Lucas had more fun in the pool, they were in there until about 6 o'clock, but Brooke must have been overwhelmed by the fresh air that she got because she slept from about 5-8 and then back down by 9. All the kids (including Rusty) are in bed by 9:15 and I have a little me time. Hopefully the sleep that Brooke got earlier doesn't' get her up at 2, but I am enjoying my time on the computer and watching a movie. Also, we saw the space shuttle go up at 5:02, it was amazing as always, the picture is right across the street above my neighbors house.

a flower for Mommy...

2008-05-23T11:46:00.004-04:00

What a sweet little boy. The sun finally came out and Lucas wanted to ride his 4-wheeler, who could say no after being trapped inside yesterday because it was a yucky day. So as he rode around in circles in my front yard, he said wait a minute Mommy, I have to get you something. He jumped off his 4-wheeler and picked me a flower, what a beautiful start to hopefully a great afternoon.

Rainy Day FUN!

2008-05-22T13:20:00.003-04:00

When we woke up this morning Lucas asked what was wrong with the windows, there was so much condensation on them he couldn't see out. I explained that they house was cold and the outside was warm and that is what caused it, whether it understood or now, I don't know. But after watching the forecast, we realized that it was going to be an inside day. We stayed in our PJ's until after lunch (all three of us) and got out my Rubbermaid container of craft stuff. It was fun, I think I should have started with one project, but I figured why not get the stamps, glitter, glue, markers, hole punches, fun scissors and paper and just dive in. I think I will be finding glitter for the next month, but it was all worth it. We had a great time and some beautiful picture frames that came out of it. I don't know who had more fun, me or Lucas!

making Bread...

2008-05-22T11:17:00.003-04:00

Since I have been on maternity leave I have tried to be a good wife and mother and cook new things. I have been successful at times, so when my Dad was here he showed me how to make homemade french bread. Unfortunately, this time wasn't so successful. Lucas was at the sitters a few weeks back and I decided to try it out. After talking with my Dad I got everything in the bread machine and had and hour and a half to get some cleaning done. I was in Lucas's room going thru some toys and I heard a crash, I thought it was just one of his toys in the playroom since I had just been in there cleaning. After about 10 minutes, I walked into the Kitchen and found my bread machine, a ball of dough and the pan all scattered, yes, on the floor. All I could do is laugh. Apparently, while the dough was kneading, it had rocked the bread machine right off the counter. I put it all back together and turned it back on. Seemed to be working well. After the timer went off, I put it in the oven and the bread actually came out ok, not as good as Dad's bread, but ok. Now comes to a few days ago. Lucas was home and we decided to try it again. We got the machine out, put all the ingredient in it and plugged it in...all we got was beeping and EEE...yikes, I think the fall took it's last toll on my Bread Machine, out to the trash it went. Now I had a new problem, what do I do? I call my Dad right away, he told me to put the ingredients in my Kitchen Aid and mix it that way and just put it in a greased bowl and let it rise like that. Who knew...it was much better than my last loaf, and if pictures can tell, I think that Lucas had fun helping..or at least playing in the flour and eating it!

Bike Riding

2008-05-21T10:44:00.003-04:00

So my last week home with the kids has been fun so far. Lucas started really riding his bike on Sunday night. Rusty and I think back to us being kids and wonder if our parents would let us learn how to ride our bike in the house and realize that Lucas has it pretty good. So as Rusty and I sat playing our Wii, Lucas comes sailing in on his motorcycle bike, turning around and pedaling back into the kitchen and back to the living room again. He was so proud, so were we. I was sure that Monday we would be outside all day, but it rained for the most part. Tuesday we took a little ride and today he made it around two of the road in my neighborhood. Brooke by his side in the stroller, it was a great morning. I promised that we would go out again tonight after it cooled down, 90 degrees is a little warm to ride bikes, so I think we will venture to the pool for the afternoon.

A afternoon with the Winkys and Greg

2008-05-13T15:33:00.004-04:00

What is more fun than being around friends on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. It is a little harder getting together once you and your friends have families of their own, but we cherish every minute that we spend with Dennis, Adriana, Denny, and Greg. We had an afternoon in the pool and a great dinner I might add. Lucas and Denny are at the perfect age to begin a bond that will hopefully grow as strong and us parents have, and I think that I already caught Denny checking out Brooke (smile). They came over in the afternoon and we has some appetizers of BBQed bacon wrapped mushrooms that my sister started me on and I can't pass up on a weekly basis, then headed for the pool. Of course, my little fish Lucas loves the water but it was Denny's first time in a pool and he just loved it! Brooke is getting pretty accustomed to the water herself. The we had some drinks and dinner outside on my new patio dinnerware that I had to purchase when we got a new gazebo and table and chairs and also our fence that we just love! It was a great night and I am sure that there will be many more this summer. I don't remember how "the winkys" got that name, but it has been one that has stuck and will forever.

Playing house

2008-04-29T08:47:00.003-04:00

It just amazes me the simple things in life that makes kids happy. While Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Dave were here Rusty made a Clubhouse out of the box that our new grill came in (it cooks wonderful I might add) and Lucas has had a blast playing with it. It has now reached a whold new level when you play with two little girls. I don't have much experiece with girly things, we know more about fast race tracks and blocks, but Megan and Camryn taught Lucas how to play House. I must say, it was quite a new sound hearing Lucas call Megan "mommy". Of course, her being the oldest of the kids, she ran the family very well. They started in the clubhouse, played in the back yard, and who know that a closet at the condo they were staying at could be such a good house too. (sorry, couldn't get the picture to rotate)

Cousins are wonderful

2008-04-29T08:03:00.006-04:00

The first day that Kim, Aaron, Megan and Camryn were here on vacation, we took the adrenaline junkies out on the boat. The kids had a great time together and Camy kept asking Uncle Russ to go faster. It was a great start to an even better week. The water was cold, but Uncle Aaron decided to test it out. When we were leaving the dock after a good lunch at Crabby Bills and to play on the beach, Aaron decided that he could untie the boat himself and his exact words were "don't worry, I got this" as he did the splits with one leg on the dock and the other on the boat and SPLASH, he was in the water. Once we made sure Uncle Splash was ok, we all got a good laugh, and a fun name for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, he did get a few good rope burns out of the fall, but is OK!

Daddy's Girl

2008-04-17T15:20:00.003-04:00

I must say that Brooke is a Daddy's girl from 8-10 at night. After a few long nights of crying we found that her happy place is in Rusty's arms. It doesn't matter if they are rocking, talking or just plain sitting there, she loves it and you can just see the relaxed feeling that she gets. Even during the day I found that she likes to sit in "his" chair and just chatter away.

a proud night at the Heplers!

2008-04-17T09:03:00.002-04:00

Awake at 3am feeding Brooke, I hear Lucas's door open. The only thing I could think is that we woke him up. To my surprise, he went into the bathroom all by himself, turned on the light and went potty. Before he turned the light off he looked really hard into the living room to see if I was there but luckily didn't see me. He turned off the light and went back to bed closing his door behind him and went back to bed. What a good step this is for him. He does great with the whole potty thing during the day, but still has troubles at night. We will mark this one in his baby book as a happy, happy day!

Fun with Bubbles...

2008-04-16T13:38:00.002-04:00

After if finally warmed up a little, into the upper 60's, Lucas was ready to play with bubbles outside. We just put up a new fence so it is much easier to let him run out there while I am feeding Brooke. I am not sure what he was doing and got a little worried when he said he found a snake, but I quickly went to look and didn't find anything. Lord only knows what he saw. The kid is a story teller, who knows, maybe someday he will be a famous writer!

Sleeping Baby...

2008-04-16T11:30:00.003-04:00

Just like Lucas, Brooke LOVES her swing. She will get a good three hour nap out when she is in there. I am enjoying every minute of being with her and Lucas. She is a little sassy at night and has acquired the nick name DQ, short for drama queen! She is an angel and we are getting used to her likes and dislikes. She especially likes sleeping in my arms at night, needless to say, I spend most of my nights sleeping in my recliner with her falling asleep while nursing. She is on a pretty good routine of going to sleep between 9-10 and sleeping so somewhere around 1. Then up again at 4 and again at 6 or 7. Unfortunately, I am so tired that once I get up with her for the first time at 1, I end up falling asleep and staying there until morning. I am sure that Rusty isn't minding a king size bed to himself, but I am sure that he is missing me lying next to him.

Cake or Frosting?

2008-04-16T11:15:00.003-04:00

I think one of Lucas's favorite things to do since I have been home is to bake a cake. As most of you know I love to cook but am not the best baker! Anyway, I finally found out why he likes it so much, its not the cake itself, its the frosting!

Express Delivery...did you say NO DRUGS?

2008-03-10T15:31:00.004-04:00

Brooke Elizabeth Hepler finally decided to come into the world on her own special day...LEAP YEAR, Friday, February 29, 2008 at 3:23 pm. I wasn't especially happy with the date since it only comes around every 4 years, but since it was right between my original due date and the date that my last ultrasound predicted, I should have known that would be when she decided to come. So here's my story. I went to work on friday just like any other day. I think that most of my co-workers were getting a little paranoid at this point, they were all sure that my water was going to break at work. After talking with my sister about the fact that you don't hear about peoples water's breaking at work or when people are out for that matter, I felt like I was pretty safe...WRONG. I am not sure if it was walking up and down the stairs going to the front desk are if it was just time. It was about 11:30, Faye and I were about to go to Olive Garden and pick up lunch, I was sitting at my desk and felt something. Not sure exactally what it was, I walked to the bathroom as quickly as possible since I felt like I was peeing my pants..well skirt since that is what I had on! I made it with out anyone stoping me which was good and it was a good thing that I got there when I did. From that point I wasn't sure exactally what to do..since my water was just leaking and hadn't totally broke. I peeked my head out of the bathroom and told one of my coworkers to bring my purse, it was time. I went back into the bathroom and by the time I came back out, there were about 15 people standing there. They all decided that someone should drive me, but I had my friend Liliana follow me home instead. I called Rusty and he was on his way to lunch with his co-worker Jack and was shocked that I was calling from my cell phone. So shocked that his exact words were "oh shit Jack turn around, were having a baby." I was laughing, since to all of you that know me that is what I do when I am nervous, and he couldn't tell if I was crying or laughing. The girls at work grabbed a few towels and a few more stops at various bathrooms though the hotel, I was walking out the door. Oh, did I mention that there was a line of people clapping from security staff to Human resourses staff on my way out...I was so scared that my water was going to totally break right in front of them, but it was ok. My nice frined Faye was parked (illegially) right at the employee entrance, and was willing to give me a ride to my car, as long as I sat on all the towels. Once to my car Liliana followed me home. I talked to my parents and sister and Kristin on the way and they were all shocked that it all happened at work. Rusty of course called several times as well, having our friend Greg get the rest of the stuff in my bag. So when I got home they were both waiting. I changed and asked for Rusty to take some pictures, and Rusty kept telling me that it was time to go. On the way to the hospital I started to have contractions, but not too bad yet. Once I got to the hospital I walked in to check in arear and there were two other girls there having contractions, but their waters hadn't broke so I was first in line. Once upstairs to the baby floor, I still had to sit and wait for about 45 minutes before they called me back. Rusty Grandparents got there before I was even called back. The contractions were getting stronger, but still not too bad, the bad things was, by this point, it looked like I had peed my pants because my water was still leaking. Finally my turn. The called me back and in the triage. I got in my gown and into the bed. The on call doctor came in and checked me and I was at 5 centimeters and the contractions were getting stronger and stronger. I asked when I was going to get my epidural, and the told me as soon as I got in my room. That was the bad part...there were no rooms, they were waiting on someone to get discharged in order for me to get a room. So I waited...and waited...and waited. I talked to my sister and she couldn't believe that I was still talking thru the contractions. The nurse came in and game me the IV so when I finally got my room I could get my epidural. Dr. Patel came in and I asked him as well, when was I going to get my epidural, he told me the same thing, as soon as I got a room. I had to pee so I got up and went, when I got back to my bed Rusty was talking to my sister and he told her that I wasn't wanting to talk anymore. At that time I couldn't figure out why she called right back, but later I found out that it was because she didn't think that I was going to get the epidural either. By that point, the contraction was so bad, my body took over and I couldn't stop pushing. The nurse was there and said that she needed to check me now. She checked and yelled, she is having this baby NOW. I have never seen people move so fast, they were wheeling me down the hallway, and I saw us fly past Dr. Patel and he followed quickly. Rusty said that the ladies that were moping the floor were leaving the room as we were entering...however, I don't remember that. All I remember is asking if I was going to get drugs and they said No sweetie, it is too risky at this point and will put the baby to sleep...and I said OK, what was I thinking! Once into the room, I had to move onto the bed and I still couldn't stop pushing...Dr. Patel was telling me to push because her head was already out, and at the same time a nurse was telling me not to push. I just remember looking at Rusty and asking what do I do. Dr. Patel was still getting into his gown and she was almost here, three more pushes and Brooke was born. They put my little angel on my chest and was just beautiful. Of course, since it was so fast, no cone head and her skin was beautiful, 10 fingers, 10 toes and a little button nose. The tears came. The took her to clean her up and I was just releived that I did it with out any drugs. After I have told all of my friends who have had a natural birth that they were insane, and that drugs were there for a reason, now I am one of them. I quickly remembered Kristin telling me that it didn't matter if I got an epidural or not. There was no award for having a "natrual birth" and no balloons were going to come from the ceiling, and she was right, no balloons until family and friends brought them. Would I do it again? If I was assured that it was going to be this quick, I think I would.

Sorry for this being so long, but that is my story.

Lowry Park Zoo

2008-02-04T21:03:00.000-05:00

One of our favorite places to go is the Tampa Zoo. So what a better time to go for the last get away before baby Brooke joins our world. We left first thing after work on Friday picking up Lucas on the way. He was so excited to goto Tampa...I don't think that he knew where we were actually going, but he was excited. After being in the car for an hour and hitting Tampa traffic at 6, he wasn't so excited, but Rusty kept him entertained while I drove. We got there and checked into the hotel and headed to dinner at Oyster Catchers at the Hyatt which was an absoultly amazing dinner. After dinner Rusty and Lucas enjoyed sitting in the Jacuzzi while only my feet did.
Saturday morning we got up and headed to the zoo. Lucas was talking about how he wanted to see the zebras so that is what we did. We had so much fun listening to the Singing Monkeys that were hilarious. Lucas and Rusty laughed and laughed. We also say the birds, giraffes, elephants and many more great animals. Once it was time for my feet to get a break, we brought Lucas to the little water play area that is there so we could relax I had an ice cream and Rusty had a beer and we sat and for a long long time and let Lucas play. By the time that he was done, he was shivering from the cold water. The temp was in the high 70's so I don't think that was the problem. After that we head to the Hyatt downtown for another night.
We all ended up taking a 2 hour nap after a long day and got up and headed to Channelside for dinner. It was a lot of fun, there was a great 2 man band at the restaurant that we went to and dinner was good again.
We got annual passes to the zoo in hopes that while I am on maternity leave I will be up to taking the 2 of them over for the day.
There is nothing better than spending the weekend with your family doing something that everyone loves. I think that we all had smiles most of the weekend and truly enjoyed ourselves. It is such a wonderful feeling to wake up with your little boy wondering what fun will be had that day. He is such a good little boy that is going to love his little sister so much. He is showing signs of a little jealously while I am fininshing getting her clothes washed and room finished, however, he kisses my belly everyday and asks "Mom, how is Brooke doing?" It is the sweetest end to every day.

Lucas's New Bedroom

2008-01-27T10:16:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know that Lucas is three, so it is time for his new "big boy's room" and a real bed! Rusty and I had a great time painting and moving furniture, going with the race car theme...his favorite. However, it didn't go like I thought. We had our friends Greg, Todd and Vicki and thier son Trent over to play cards, and at 9:30, he wanted no part of going to bed. So, the nice Mom that I am let him stay up and watch the Toy Story in Mommy and Daddy's bed. By 11 when he was still awake, Rusty decided it was time to go to his bed. He didn't want to sleep in his new bed, so Rusty put him to bed in the crib. So, before I went to bed later, I brought him into his new bed so at least he would wake up there. At 7:30, he was calling my name and thank God for rubber sheets because he was SOAKED. (it didn't help that I let him have a cup of milk while he was watching the movie....bad Mommy.) After a tubby and a wash of the sheets the room is back to normal again and he is SOOOOOOOOO happy that he has a big bed. Hopefully tonight he will be more excited about going to sleep in it!

Lucas's new Tent

2008-01-06T19:20:00.000-05:00

Lucas found a Christmas present that he hadn't played with yet, his new Simpson's Tent. Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Dave got it for him and he was so excited. I told him after we went to the store we would put it up. For some reason, I thought that it was a play tent but much to my surprise it is an actual tent...a little large than expected. We put it up and he played, ate lunch and took his nap in it. I didn't think that he would fall asleep and couldn't really see because he made me zip it up and there aren't any windows except at the very top and I am too front heavy to be able to see in there, but Rusty was able to look and he was sound asleep. He said that he wanted to sleep in there tonight but we had to explain to him that this was only for special times and camping. I think that he will get a lot of fun out of this in the future.

Date Night

2008-01-06T18:44:00.000-05:00

Rusty and I decided that we needed a date night so we had our friend Greg watch Lucas for the evening. We went to Hemingway's at the Hyatt (luckily for my birthday I get a dinner for 2 free) which is our favorite Seafood restaurant. Unfortunately, Rusty wasn't feeling the best, we had all had the flu and he was just getting over it, but insisted to go. We got a fabulous app. platter with their famous crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, scallops, and awesome calamari. We probably should have just stuck with one appitizer, but how could we resist when the manager offered it to us! I ordered the Lobster encrusted Sea Bass which was to die for, and Rusty ordered the Red Snapper, it was good but I don't think that he would order it again. Of course, but the end of the dinner I was stuffed, and Rusty was sick. We had a great time, but it was a good thing that we ordered dessert to go because we didn't even make it to the car and Rusty was getting sick. He came home and went straight to bed...Greg and I enjoyed the dessert to finish off the night. All and all we had a great time and Lucas and Greg had fun too...however, Lucas had to wait up for us and was so excited to see us when we got home.

Christmas Morning

2007-12-28T14:11:00.000-05:00

This was a big day for Lucas. He was so excited for Santa to come. The only thing that he asked for was a race track and a race car for it. He woke up and looked under the little tree in his room and said "Mommy, I don't think that he came". I told him that of course he did and brought him out of his room to the big Christmas Tree when he was so excited. He was so happy to see that Santa had finally arrived.
We let him open everything in his stocking while Daddy took a shower (Rusty can't do mornings with out it.) And he was thrilled even with the stocking gifts.
He started opening one by one, getting excited with each of them, putting bubble bath in his bathroom where it goes, and just anticipating the race track. Once it came to that present he said the cutest thing "oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about". He was so happy that Santa remebered that is what he wanted. The rest of the day we spent opening and putting together all of the toys and preparing Dinner. It was the best Christmas. And of course...taking pictures, Daddy bought Mommy a great new digital camera, a Nikon SLR..it is awesome!

Pumpkin

2007-10-20T08:48:00.001-04:00

Grandma got a pumpkin for Rusty to carve. We went out and got a carving kit from Pirates of the Caribbean. Lucas and Mommy took out the guts and made pumpking seeds..(we are the only one that likes them too), and Daddy carved it. I think that he did a pretty good job!

Lucas at the park!

2007-10-19T17:53:00.000-04:00

We went to the park with Lucas and let him play on the playground. He finally went down the slide. He was pretty excited! He liked the slide the both, wasn't too sure about the tire swing but had a good time anyway!

Birthday at Grandma's

2007-10-19T17:40:00.000-04:00

When we got to Grandma's, she had made my favorite cake and angel food cake. We celebrated my birthday and Lucas's birthday.

Catching Leaves

2007-10-19T16:50:00.000-04:00

Lucas loved trying to catch the leaves in Grandma and Grandpa's front yard. It was so windy out there was no use in raking them in a pile, so he just picked them up and we had a leaf fight...kinda like a snow ball fight! He had a blast with Grandma, Jessica and her friend Bri. He really wanted Mommy and Alesha to come and play too, Alesha holding Owen so she got lucky.

It's a GIRL!!!

2007-10-19T16:42:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday we had our first ultra sound, we are 20 weeks pregnant and found out that it was a girl. She is absolutely gorgeous! All the measurements were perfect and she was just lounging around with her hand above her head. We were able to take a picture before the gal started the ultrasound and are hoping that Lucas will get more excited. The lady asked Lucas if he wanted a little brother or sister and his only comment was "I don't". We have a lot of work to do on getting him excited before the baby is born! The rest of the night all he wanted to see was a picture of the baby so hopefully he will get more excited as time goes by.

Flight to Michigan...was rough

2007-10-19T16:35:00.000-04:00

You wouldn't know by the picture, but our flights to Michigan were rough. I thought Rusty was going to have a heart attach when he saw the little plane that was going to fly us from Detroit to Muskegon. You wouldn't believe how beautiful the colors were from up there, but I have to admit that it was a rough rough ride. The pilot even questioned the fact that Lucas slept thru it all.

At the park

2007-10-19T16:32:00.000-04:00

Lucas and Daddy went to the park while Mommy went shopping for clothes for the trip to Michigan.

Lucas's 3rd Birthday Party

2007-10-19T09:18:00.000-04:00

Lucas had a great time opening presents and even more, blowing out the candle on his "Lightning McQueen" cake. We had a few close friends and family over to celebrate. He got many clothes, lots of Lightning McQueen and Mater toys as well as a collection of 4 wheeler and monster truck stuff. His got a little jealous with his best friend Denny, he wasn't to keen on Mommy holding and playing with Denny instead of him, boy what we have to look forward to! Here are some pictures to show you the great time.

The Race Track...did you say drive around the cones?

2007-10-13T07:22:00.000-04:00

Daddy decided to put up some cones and see how good Lucas's driving skills were! He only plowed over one and that is because there was a little boy walking by and there was no need to steer at that point. Tell me what you think!

Lucas's 3rd Birthday

2007-10-10T19:18:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that it has already been 3 years since my little guy was born. When he woke up this morning and I told him Happy Birthday and that finally today was his birthday he said "where, where?" He was looking for a Birthday Party which isn't until this weekend. After a day at Grandma's (the sitter Janice), we came home, had dinner and opened presents. He was so much more animated than last year just ripping the paper off with no hesitation. There was so much excitement it just made Rusty and I smile! He even got excited when he opened the clothes..especially the Lightning McQueen PJ's. He also got a Tow Mater remote control car and some building blocks. One of his favorites was this Green Bay Packer shirt from Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Dave, he called them after and said "GO PACKERS". One of the many gifts that his buddy Greg got was a really cool Monster sized Police car that sounds like a siren when you push it. He also got some great shirts and a really cool NIKE hat. After playing with some toys and trying on some clothes, we blew out the #3 candle on his cake that Mom spent hours decorating...joking... and he actually ate some. He isn't a sweet eater so I was very proud! Saturday we are having a Birthday Party with the rest of the family and close friends. He is very excited about having all of our friends over.

Kennedy Space Center

2007-10-08T18:01:00.000-04:00

Check out Todd and Greg playing the game.

Kennedy Space Center

2007-10-07T19:21:00.000-04:00

Our friends, Greg, found some postcards at a yard sale from the 60's of the Kennedy Space Center and was able to get us in for free. Our friends Todd and Vicki have season tickets so they met us there. Lucas was so excited to see the "rockets". I think that he had dreams about going all night long. From the time that we got there until the time that we left he didn't walk once, only ran. He took his first Bus ride to the shuttle viewing area where we could see the shuttle on the launch pad because there is a launch scheduled for October 23rd. He got a little bored in the movies though. We didn't anticipate the Hall of Fame to be as exciting as it was but Lucas for to climb into a capsule and really had fun. Rusty and Todd got the fun of riding the G-Force training simulator which got them super dizzy. They were a little nervouse when there was a barf bag and a emergency stop button in their seat. Everyone except, Lucas and I, were able to ride the Shuttle Exper ence Simulator as well as the Mission to Mars, I was very jealous. By the end of the day we were all exhausted and ready for home.

4-Wheeling

2007-10-07T16:31:00.000-04:00

We had a good time getting ready to go to Holopaw for the day, in our front yard. He was a little show off (as all Hepler boys are) when a car passed or the neighbors came out to see him ride. We put a little piece of wood on the ground for his "jump" and it did buck him a little when he hit it on a turn, needless to say, he avoided it more than he hit it. We didn't end up taking his 4-wheeler to Holopaw, but Lucas, Daddy and even pregnant Mommy went on a slow ride around the property. It was a good thing that we didn't take it because it was a rough ride out there. We all had a great time. The weather was perfect and we only got rained on one time.

A Big Day with Training Wheels

2007-09-23T14:35:00.000-04:00

From diapers to now learning how to ride a bike with Training wheels. He loved the idea when we were at the store buying the training wheels, but when he got on the bike and tried to push the pedals down, that was a different story. I think that he was more excited to have either Mommy or Daddy push him than he was to try to ride it himself. Daddy also bought him a Tampa Bucs shirt and I think that he was more excited to wear it and throw the football than try to ride the bike. We will try again later and before we know it that is all that he will want to do is be outside riding it!

2007-09-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

Our friend "we todd" collecting his prize. Oh look!!! Greg wins too!! If you ask me I think they cheated.

Lucas the Rock Star

2007-09-23T09:18:00.000-04:00

One of our friends is in a band and were opening for Shannon Burk (a local DJ) at the Grand Opening for a new Harley Dealer in Clermont so we went to support him. As you can imagine, Lucas was the youngest and cutest little guy there so he got to draw the names for the raffle. He did really well, got a little scared when the announcer said his name over the microphone, but by the end of the afternoon, he was going up to the stage as soon as they asked him. At the end of the day when Lucas and I were dancing he told me that he wanted to be a rock star...that scared me a little. On the way home he was sleeping with in minutes of being in the car. He is going to be on the bands website in a few days, you will have to check it out http://www.lvlmusic.com/. The bad thing is, one of our friends Todd, who is in a band too, has an extra drum set that he wants to give Lucas. I told him that with the next baby due in 5 months, I didn't need anything loud in the house right now..however...I don't think what I said will make a difference!