our week by iPhone - week 71

my mom is visiting from salt lake all of this week & next so we are showing her a really good time.  and by "a good time" i mean dragging her repeatedly to stroller strides, target & the grocery store.  because that's what we do around here.

the first couple days of our week i was a little too busy showing my mom said good time to take too many pictures but don't worry, i made up for it in the end with an extra day o' fun.

here we go!

monday.  lunch at the pita pit after picking mom up from the airport.  face-timing with my dad back in salt lake & being face-time bombed by p-ray who just wants to see their puppy.  he's obsessed.

tuesday.  we braved torrential downpours to go to stroller strides.  which by the way, my mom rocked.  guzzling nesquick in the store parking lot so i can rid the evidence before getting home.  p-ray sleeping in weird positions, per the uge.

wednesday.  snuggles & sesame street in the morning, new bubbles at the grocery store & lunch out with me ma.  weird napper minus a sock & half his shirt.  hide & seek/tag/wrestling with dad after work.  my mom making her world famous potato salad to eat with her also world famous oven-fried chicken.  yummmmmmmmm.

thursday.  a headache & allergies at work alleviated by quiznos & hot chocolate at lunch.  {proven cures.}  a "popped" belly button that can no longer be hidden & maternity clothes shopping for clothes that aren't mumus & tents.  cute little mister in the bathtub & another one-sock sleeping incident at bedtime.

friday.  stories on the nook with grandma before some serious shopping at trader joe's on an unbelievably gorgeous day in the northwest!  win!

saturday.  day-trip into downtown seattle for some of THE best fish n' chips in the whole wide world & a quick jaunt around pike place.  there was produce eating, flower buying & the "original" starbuck's store visiting.  once home it was puppies on youtube & snuggling.

all & all?  perfect week.

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***photos edited via instagram.  do you instagram?  find me @amy_agoodlife & let's picture bond!***
that was our week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=137714" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

steppin' out {sunday} - mother's day edition

happy mother's day ladies!!

i hope everyone has been having a wonderful weekend & enjoying their moms, their motherhood, or their baby's mamas.  i definitely have.  i'm kind of feeling like this is my first real mother's day.  last year parker was like a week or two old & motherhood hadn't quite sunk in.  i felt more like a caretaker than a mother.  now?  i'm legit.  i'm totally & completely entrenched into being someone's mom & i love it.  and i'm loving today.

sam asked me what i wanted for mother's day & i only had a few requests... six to be exact.  to sleep in, an amazing dinner made by him, my favorite dessert, a family after-dinner walk, & a pedicure.  we're five for six.  it's pouring outside & it's not looking like the walk is gonna happen.  boooooo to you seattle.

i got a pedicure yesterday afternoon & it was glorious.  it was only the second one i've had since parker's been alive & i was going through serious pedi withdrawals.  i enjoyed every second of it.

this morning i woke up at 8:30 to the sound of parker & sam playing in the living room.  nothin better than that.  we just finished a freaking delicious meal made by sam of bbq steak, oven-fries, & strawberry-spinach salad.  crazy-good.  i'm saving a big bowl of cookies n' cream ice cream w/ crunched up oreos for dessert until after parker goes to bed, & i'm calling this the best mother's day ever.  EVER.  

and this is what we looked like when we went to church today.  it was even sunny for a few minutes so we could take pictures.  thank you mother's day gods.

{linking up with harper's happenings for steppin' out saturday & really are you serious for mommy & me monday.  you should too.}

and now i want to thank my own mom for being amazing & awesome & for bringing me up right & for always being an amazing example of motherhood to me & being a wonderful grandma to my baby.  and thank you to my mother-in-law for raising me a handsome husband & father to my son.  i have so much love for these two amazing women.  thanks for being awesome.

& i have all kinds of love for all of y'all who click twice to vote for our little blog.

grandparents & great grandparents.

first & foremost, i definitely have to mention the ginormous news we all heard around eight pm pst last night.  because blogging about something besides the osama bin laden story seems a little disconnected... ya know, since it is the only thing being talked about in any sort of media today.

and because years from now, i'm pretty sure it'll be one of those, "where were you when you found out" kinda things.  so for record keeping's sake - i was at home, & found out via twitter.  thank you social media.

and political beliefs aside, it was amazing to watch all the news coverage for hours last night & learn about the combined efforts of our military intelligence, our troops, & our president & how they worked together strategically to bring down one of the world's most horrible terrorists.

i don't know what this means for our future national security, for next year's presidential elections, or for your personal moral beliefs concerning the celebration of someone's death.  what i do know is that last night our country felt unified & we celebrated & we remembered the lives that were lost on one of the worst days in our country's history... 9/11.  and that those who lost loved ones in those attacks felt a little bit of justice.  and that i got serious goosebumps watching crowds gather at the white house & at ground zero & sing & celebrate & recite the pledge of allegiance.

go team usa.

and that's all i'm gonna say about that.

******************************************************

last week p-ray & i got to head over to spokane with my parents {who were visiting from utah} to visit my grandparents.  i was a little bit nervous about taking parker to stay with my grandparents for four days & was worrying about how i would entertain him & pass the time.  but as usual, things went great.  he was totally on good behavior & we found plenty of things to do.  we went on walks, we went to target, we visited other family members, & we took naps.

but mostly, we visited.  and we all enjoyed that too.

{my dad, parker, my mom.}

{parker & my dad.}

{parker & my grandma... his great-grandma.  she is 97 years old.  no big deal.  no wait, that is totally a big deal.}

{parker & my grandpa... his great-grandpa.  this is where parker gets his middle name of "ray" after my grandpa ray bates.  they pretty much bonded on this trip.}

{parker & his great-grandparents.  did i mention my grandma is 97?  she's still walking & lives pretty independently.  but my grandpa, who is 90, has to be credited for taking amazing care of her, too.  they are quite the inspirational pair.}

we had such a blast spending quality time with so much family.  and now that we're back at home i can officially begin my family withdrawals.  whaaaa.

every vote helps me feel just a little bit better.

weekday recap - {in iPhone pics} w.24

another crazy week has come & gone & i'm sitting here wondering how we're already in MAY.  no seriously.... how??  my parents were here all week visiting from utah.  they left this morning & i am already going through withdrawals.  i hate living far away from family!  anywho, we had a fun week of birthday celebrating, traveling, visiting, shopping, & hanging out.

this was our week.

monday.  since we were gonna be out of town later in the week i worked in the office on monday while p-ray stayed home & hung out with my parents.  he played with new birthday toys & then made funny faces that night in his sleep.  i think he was excited for his big day on tuesday & couldn't contain himself.

tuesday.  p-ray's birthday was spent shopping at target {seen above with my mom}, hanging out around the house in his birthday shirt, & getting ready for our trip to eastern washington.

and that night?  my mom taught me how to sew.  i'm hoping this is the beginning of something beautiful.

wednesday.  p-ray hung out in his new car seat {he looks like such a big boy!}, ate pizza with sam at our favorite local spot, & then pushed around his great-grandma's walker when we got to spokane wednesday night.

thursday.  most of thursday was spent hanging out with my parents at my grandparents house catching up & watching parker drink with no hands.  the kid's got skills.  we did manage to sneak out for a while to do some shopping at where else?  target.  i'm pathetic, i know.

friday.  we started the day off right with some antiquing in a small town where i managed to pick up these adorable vintage pyrex bowls.  i don't know what i'm more excited about... how freaking cute they are or the prospect of finding more to complete the set.  

parker played with some old school toys & hung out with his grandparents.  did i mention we miss them?  we do.  lots & lots.

did you take your "week in camera phone" pictures?  link up!

there's only one rule to linking up:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

optional:
grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog .  if you wanna be really cool, post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.  the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=86981" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:



happy may day!  how about a celebratory vote?

flashback friday - {when i was a kid.}

i remember a few things about being a kid...

• picking up snails & snakes but being terrified of slugs.
• crouching down on the bathroom floor wrapped up in a towel after my bath because i didn't want to leave the warm bathroom & get cold.
• sitting in the back of our old station wagon facing backwards looking at cars behind us.
• making up plays & performing them for my stuffed animals.
• freaking out about a new cabbage patch kid.
• wearing stirrup leggings.
• drinking grape juice out of teeny old olive jars & pretending it was fancy like on movies {obviously now i realize those were shots}.
• riding my scooter that was basically a skateboard with handle bars & flipping over frontwards, scratching up my forehead & nose.
• our old miniature poodle "chewie," who growled & snarled at me when i tried to pick him up.
• wearing one pink & one purple converse high top like punky brewster.
• pressing a washcloth up against my eyes in the bath so soap wouldn't get in them when my mom rinsed the shampoo out of my hair.
• "my little pony" was the coolest thing ever.  ever.  ever.
• eating white bread by rolling it into a smooshed up ball.
• calling bread crusts "bones."
• getting sugar cereal on christmas morning from santa.
• cutting my bangs before picture day so they would "look good."
• tucking my sweatshirts into my jeans.  yeah... i dunno.
• thinking spotlights in the sky were ghosts.
• wanting to eat steak every day of the week.
• being terrified of aliens.

ok, i'm still terrified of aliens & i still want to eat steak every day of the week.  and i still look forward to sugar cereal on christmas morning.  but at least i don't tuck my sweatshirts into my jeans anymore, right?

how about a vote to start off your weekend? yay!

flashback friday: {mom&dad}

i am so in love with these two pictures.  my parents.  early twenties, newly married.  my three sisters & i are just a twinkle in their eyes.  seriously?  how cute are they.  and my mom's hair.  i wouldn't even know where to start with a 'do like that.  but i want it.

what a couple of moments captured, right?  no digital cameras, no photoshop... just a couple of young loves with their whole lives ahead of them.

love it.

and?  after fourty-five years of marriage, they're still adorable.  here's my ma & my pops a {few} years later from then, & just a couple months ago from now.

we miss you guys.  skype helps, but christmas just can't come fast enough.  {love} you mom & dad!

ps: my mom is an amazing artist & has recently been testing the waters of the blogging world.  maybe you could give her a warm welcome by visiting her blog & tell her i sent ya.  she's a nice lady.  i promise.



and ya'll know i {love} your votes. but that goes without saying. don't worry though, i'll keep sayin' it.