MONSTER BUS

We were driving along in Brentwood when we saw a sign that said "Monster Bus Rides" - Zach saw that sign and we had to check it out. It really was a "Monster Bus" - a monster truck with a bus for people to sit in. And they would take you for a ride (for a small fee, of course) - actually it was more like a small ride, filled with donuts - the kind you turn on the street! Mason, Zach and I rode the bus, while Dad and Arie looked on. Okay, seeing a monster truck up close is pretty impressive - but taking a ride in one was AMAZING! We were bouncing all over the place and once the donuts started - well, lets just say the tea cups at Disneyland are tame in comparison! It was a blast - oh, yeah - and the boys had loads of fun too!

8 months!

Arie turned 8 months on April 1st! WOW! Time sure does fly! It seems like only yesterday she was curled up in my lap, content to just lay there and stare at me! Not so much anymore! These days she crawls all over the house (I've realized quite quickly that I need to re-baby-proof my house!), she has two lower teeth, she eats a lot of "big kid" type foods, she can crawl and then sit, and she is beginning to pull herself to standing! It's been so much fun to watch her rate of learning and growth. It seems like everyday, she picks up on something new! She is so happy and so very content to be crawling around, following in mom's wake! She's quick with a smile, and we just love when something tickles her and she starts to laugh. Pretty soon we are all laughing - it's infectious! I still love the mornings - when the boys have left for school, and she and I have time to read and play. That's what we did this morning. So I snapped a few pics. As you can see, she's starting to get a bit more hair, so I took full advantage of this by putting in a clip! Dressing a girl is just so much more fun than it was with the boys. Sorry, but that's the truth!

Easter

So, I've received no less than 6 phone calls about the fact that my blog is way past due! The good news is - someone out there is actually following along! So, I'll try to play catch-up best I can. About a month ago I found the cutest dress at Gymboree for Arie and thought it would be the best dress for Easter. It was purple with a bit of green. When I brought the dress home, Zach was adamant that he match Arie! Mason quickly agreed, although he wasn't too sure he'd be able to wear an all-purple tie. So, I found ties with both purple and green in them. Then Aaron announced that of course, he had to match Arie (by the way, he has matched his tie with Arie's outfits on Sunday since the first day we went to church with her!). Then the Zach told me that unless I was wearing purple, it wouldn't look like I belonged in the family. So, yes! We were all quite matchy-matchy on Easter! We've actually always more-or-less matched on Easter. But I think that since we now have a girl, it's a bit more obvious! It did my heart good to know that the boys wanted to match with Arie - so, yep! She is definitely made a permanent mark on our hearts and home! (ps - the grainy pics were taken by the boys - I'm not a good photog, but I can at least tell when they need to be re-done!)