4 Generations of the Moehring Family

What a special treat for all of us. My Grandparents are visiting for Oregon and they got to meet little Tucker for the first time. It was such a special moment for all of us. 4 generations of the Moehring men all standing together. This is such a special moment, I have to share my pictures with you:

Gpa meeting Tucker for the first time 

Gma meeting Tucker for the first time

Gma, Gpa, Dad, Chris and Tucker

4 Generations of The Moehring Family:  Gpa, Dad, Chris and Tucker

Candid picture of the guys 

Happy Anniversary!!

Happy Anniversary to my parents - Chuck and Linda (celebrating 39 years today!) and my in-laws - Dave and Sharon (celebrating their 40th today!). What a blessing it is for Ben and I to have such godly parents in our lives. We are blessed to have such beautiful role models in our life. God is good all the time!!

Congratulations Mom, Dad, Dave and Sharon on your wedding anniversaries! May God bless you with many, many, many more. We love you so much! Thank you for being a blessing to us every day.

We love you.

Fishing with Uncle Chris

Sometimes, you just have to touch the fish!! :)

Uncle Chris made a homemade pole this weekend and showed the kids how to catch a fish. Of course, we couldn't settle with catching and releasing just one. Nope, we needed to catch and release THREE fish...and touch them too! :)

Here are some pictures of their exciting adventure with Uncle Chris. They are still talking about this even today!!! Thanks Uncle Chris for making such a sweet memory with my little sweet peas. They loved it.

Uncle Chris, Isla, Solomon and Simon (Ruby too!)

Uncle Chris catching a fish

Our first fish - whoa! He's big!!

Special Visitors

We have been blessed this week with several special visitors. First, my grandparents arrived on Wednesday to spend some quality time with us. It has been so much fun. They kids really have enjoyed their special moments with Nani and Papi. My Dad arrived two days later and my brother Chris, his wife Jamie, and son Tucker came to visit on Saturday. Here are some pictures of our fun adventures together. (We certainly missed Heather, Andy, Jonah, Claire, Lily, Scarlett, and Mom)

Me, Isla and Tucker

Me, Simon and Tucker (Simon's giving him a kiss)

Me and my sweet, little guy Tucker

Grandma, Grandpa, Solomon, Tucker, Simon and Isla...oh, Ruby too!

My family with Grandma and Grandpa

The Guys

The Ladies (even Ruby!)

The entire family that was here (missing my sister and her family and my Mom)

Dog Sitting

The best way to have a puppy is to "borrow" one when your neighbor is out of town. ;) Each day we pretend to "own" these adorable little girls. We take them for walks, let them out to go potty, play with them in our fenced in yard, and feed them yummy food and bones. But in the end, they go back to their owners. A perfect way to "own" a dog. :)

Here we are with our precious little girls we borrowed for the week. We love little Bella and Nani.

Me, Isla, Solomon and Simon with Bella and Nani

The kids taking the puppies for a walk

Isla holding onto Bella's leash

Solomon LOVING his turn to hold the leash

Simon deciding that the puppies ARE fun (he was a little nervous at first)

My Heart Sings

Isla squealed with delight and she made my heart sing. 

She saw this flower in our front yard and said, "Mommy! Look! Jesus made us this beautiful flower!"

Yes, He did! Thank you, Jesus! 

Daddy's Shoes

I was trying to get the kiddos ready for the day and we got down to the last item - shoes. I got Isla's shoes on, Solomon's shoes on, and then asked Simon to get his shoes so I could help him. A few minutes later I walked into the family room to see what was taking so long and this is how I found him: 

Um...Those aren't your shoes. Those are Daddy's Shoes.

Simon putting on Daddy's shoes.

As you can imagine, this caused quite a stir and Isla and Solomon's shoes came right off. Who wants to play outside in the beautiful weather when Daddy's shoes were left out. Obviously Daddy meant to leave them out for our entertainment. Right!?! Now, who would I be if I didn't give everyone a turn in Daddy's shoes? ;)

Simon starting the trend....

Solomon making his statement in Daddy's shoes

Isla striking a pose (I see modeling in her future with the way she puts her  hand on her hip.)

Nails

Aline was doing her nails in the kitchen and Isla was fascinated. She watched almost the entire time. She sat there patiently watching as Aline started and completed each fingernail. At the end of Aline's manicure, Aline turned to Isla and said, "Now it's your turn!" Here are some pictures of Isla watching Aline and then Isla waving her hands in the air and she "helps" her nails dry. As you can see, Isla was enjoying every minute!

Isla watching Aline paint her nails

Isla drying her nails after her manicure

Eating while being watched closely...

Have you ever felt like someone was staring at you? Maybe even while you were eating? Oliver gets this a lot. He can't sleep, eat or pee without having someone stare at him. Here's a quick glance of Oliver at dinner time. Fortunately, in this case, Oliver didn't mind the company. He knows Simon gets close (like in-your-face close) but he never touches Oliver while he's eating. He just stares from inches away. By staring, I mean A LOT of staring....

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Growing up, I knew my Mommy was special. From an early age, I knew God gave me a beautiful and precious gift. The gift of a godly Mother. I praise God for that special gift every day. My Mommy is beautiful, intelligent, tenderhearted, and creative. To me, she's perfect.

My Mommy: 

...listened to me,

...prayed for me, 

...encouraged me,

...lifted me up daily, 

...and loved me for being ME.

(My Mom with our children)

This is the Mommy I want to be for my children, too. I want to be a woman of integrity. A godly woman. A sensitive, creative, and beautiful Mommy to my precious gifts from God.

I love you, Mom. 

I love you Isla, Solomon, and Simon.

Three years ago: Pregnant with my precious sweetpeas (35 weeks pregnant - delivery day!): 

Today: Celebrating my beautiful family, a gift from God. 

Awkward Train Rides

Conversation on the train today about the young lady sitting next to us:

Isla: "Mommy, what is THAT on her lip?"
Me: "That's a lip ring."
Isla: "Oh.   No, Mommy, that THING on her lip." 
Me: "Yes, that's a lip ring. It's like an earring but it's for your lip."
Isla: "Oh!" (Isla's still studying the lady's lip ring)

Silence....(Isla is still starring at this young lady)

Isla: "Mommy, look - she has BLACK fingernails."
Me: "Yes, she does."
Isla: "See that other girl, Mommy? (Pointing to another lady) She has pretty white nails."
Me: "Yes, she does."
Isla: "The WHITE ones are pretty."  

Okay...time to distract and change the subject - AWKWARD!!!

Fun with Aline

The kids created a new game with Aline this morning. They were pretending they were frogs and jumping from the ottoman to couch. Of course, they were landing on Aline and pushing her over - aka: attack of the frogs. :) Here are some pictures of their morning playtime with Aline.

Hop. Hop. Hop.

Ribbit. Ribbit. Ribbit.

Attack of the FROGS!!!

Going, Going...Gone!

When you have little ones in the house gates are a MUST! Then your little ones continue to grow up and those gates aren't as important anymore. So....you take them down. You sniff a little, choke back a couple more tears, dab at your eyes (using the excuse something is in your eye again or, "my allergies are acting up") and then "POOF" it's gone. As quickly as the gate went up, it's gone. ALL. GONE.

Going...

 Going...

 Going...

 POOF. GONE!

My babies are growing up. sniff sniff...man, my allergies are acting up again. ;)

BBQ

What happens when you're invited to a friend's house for a Sunday afternoon BBQ?

You have fun!

What happens when that friend's house includes an outdoor water fountain - a perfect size for three toddlers to play in/on/by?

They get soaked!

Yes. They climb in it. They drink from it. They splash each other. They get soaked from head to their littlest piggy toe....

...then you strip them down and borrow three old t-shirts for the ride home.

Do they care? Nope. They're kids. They think it's AWESOME!

In case you're wondering, our friends thought it was pretty cute too (at least that's what they said!)... I have to admit, I thought it was pretty cute too. Let kids be kids - even if it creates a tiny mess. ;)

Zumba!!!

I love Zumba exercise classes - they are a PaRtY!!! I decided to get licensed to teach them myself. So, I did it! It was a blast and hard work at the same time. Here are some pictures of me from that training day. Before, During and After.

Yahoo!! Let's Par-tay!!!

6 AM and already sporting my Zumba bracelet! 

Coffee in hand and ready to walk out of the door for training! Let's DO THIS!

Standing with my trainer, Vanessa, after a long day of dancing!

Receiving my license to teach Zumba 

(sorry for the blurry picture, apparently the person taking the picture had shaky hands. They must have been excited for me too. hahaha) 

Close up - MY Zumba License!! Wahoooo!!!!

You Sleep in a Bed, Right???

Most people get all snuggled up in their bed and enjoy the comfortable mattress, pillows, blankets, etc. My kiddos have decided to skip those comforts and go straight for the tile floor. Yep, you read that right. The. Floor.

Isla and Solomon in their new nap time "beds": 

Isla's picture has strange lighting since it's so dark in there. I didn't want to use the flash for obvious reasons. Trust me, waking Isla up is like poking a bear in the middle of Winter without an offering of any food but yourself. Seriously, it's THAT dangerous. (Look how sweet she is while she's sleeping...even with all those babies on top of her. Such a little Mommy even when she's sleeping!) :)

You're asking, "What about Simon??" He still enjoys the fluffiness of his bed and all of it's glory. :) No floor pictures yet. :)