wordless{ish} wednesday: parker & duncan. best friends.

parker got to hang out with his best little buddy duncan while on vacay last weekend.  they're such good friends that they already coordinate their outfits together.

 and when duncan seemed bored sitting in his carseat waiting to go, parker entertained his little friend with colander-on-the-head jokes.  cause that's what best friends do.

{linking up with wordless wednesday at and then she {snapped},  baby baby lemon, the paper mama, & a little king & i}

november {medium} sponsor love!

here are a few more new blogs & fun shops for you to check out!  and be sure you do.  they're some of my favorites!

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our week by iPhone - week 54

well, we're back.  and just like every other vacay i have mixed emotions about being home.  on one hand we're back in our own beds on our normal routine in the normal swing of things however boring it may be, it's also kinda nice.  but mostly?  boo!  vacation's over.

we had an awesome time.  you may have noticed it was pretty much crickets over here on the ol' blog because on this trip?  vacation meant vacation.  besides some internet surfing & some facebook checking, i spent last week's long weekend pretty much unplugged & it was niiiiccce.  i realized going to bed before 1:00 am & at the same time as sam was kinda awesome.  and that watching a movie without a computer on your lap & a blog post hanging over your head is pretty sweet too.

i needed that time away.  and i also realized that i probably need to start putting less pressure on myself about this here blog.  my sleep & my sanity & my family are pretty much priorities numero uno & that's gonna mean a lot less late nights staying up with the interwebz.  but this is probably info for another post...

anywho, here's our week!

{pilgrim babies.  family picture outfits.  road trip lunch.  

driving over the snowy pass.  hanging out.  mini mozart.  

baby hangout.  thanksgiving feasting.  my grandma & grandpa!  

ryan, christie, parker & duncan.  parker & duncan going for a walk.  driving home.}

i wasn't too great about taking millions of pictures every day.  i managed to get a few snapshots here & there & this is what we ended up with.

we trekked over the mountains to spend thanksgiving with our friends ryan & christie & their cute little five month old, duncan.  we got to see lots of friends & family, meet a new baby & visit with my amazing 98 year old grandma & 92 year old grandpa!  and i am so excited to have these pictures with parker & his great-grandparents.

hope everyone had an awesome holiday & are as excited as i am for christmas!  i am totally a you-don't-celebrate-christmas-until-after-thanksgiving kinda girl so now i'm totally ready to go full swing into christmas mode this week.  bring on the music, the decorations & the shopping.  hooray!

happy monday friends.

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=118444" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

wordless{ish} wednesday: thankful.

well, ya knew it was coming.  a thankful post.  i would be totally lame & ungrateful if i didn't touch on some of the amazing things in my life, so here it is.

i am so in love with this time of year.  and i don't know what it is but for some reason this year's holiday season feels particularly special.  maybe it's because parker is actually more aware of christmas tree lights & santa & i'm super anxious to watch his reaction christmas morning now that he actually gets excited over new toys.  and now he actually dances with me in the living room when i blast christmas music rather than sit in his bouncer watching me like a crazy person {i know right?  why would he look at me like that?} like he did last year.  to get to show these things to a little guy for the first{ish} time is pretty exciting.

and?  i'm just happy.  i'm in a good place.  i don't want anyone to think my life is perfect, that i don't have things i wish were different or that my life is all rainbows & puppies because it's not.  i just don't choose to regularly dwell on the bad things.  because i have too much to be thankful for.  i have an amazing husband who loves our little boy more than words can describe.  i have a healthy, happy little boy who surprises me every day with how much i feel love for him.  i never knew i would feel physical pit-in-the-bottom-of-my-stomach love for this little guy.  and that nearly every day, i would stop & have to choke back tears because of how amazing he is.  seriously, that happens.  i'm totally nerdy that way.

and lastly, i am grateful for all the things i've figured out about myself in this last year.  turns out i like crafts, i can sew {new development this year} & photography has become my main creative outlet.  capturing the emotions of kids & couples & families & then making it into a piece of art for them to have forever is exhilarating to me.  for reals.  i always feel this crazy "high" coming home from a shoot when i know i've gotten some good shots & totally brought my a-game.  it makes me happy.

so there it is.

we are heading out of town for the holiday so i'm not sure when i'll be posting over the weekend.  i'm not really sure when week in iphotos will be up either... i'm not gonna stress about it.  i'm gonna wear stretchy pants, eat lots of turkey & shop at crowded stores.  i'm gonna attempt to have my family's picture taken, watch parker play with babies & visit with friends & family.  i might return ten pounds heavier than when we left but that's ok... it's what new year's resolutions are for.  and who wants to look skinny in family pictures, anyways?

i hope you all have a great holiday spending time with the ones you love.  be grateful for everything you have, even if at times it doesn't feel like much.  you can always find something to be grateful for.

{linking up with wordless wednesday at and then she {snapped},  baby baby lemon, the paper mama, & a little king & i}

love me some {large} sponsors.

it seems like this month everyone is talking about what they're thankful for.  i'm thankful for awesome people who like me & like this here little blog enough to wanna be a part of it.  so here ya go, the folks who are a {large} part of my blog this month!

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"soul singing liv"  {blog}

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scentsy independent consultant - jessica norris {online shop}

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"the shine project"  {blog}

I'm Ashley, and I blog over at The Shine Project.

I created The Shine Project at the beginning of this year to motivate others to go after their goals, and spread their light to others. I believe that service is the best way to feel happiness and love in our lives, and I created SHINE necklaces to help remind us of our daily purpose.

Money from each necklace sold goes into a scholarship fund to help inner city high school students go to college. You can read more about that HERE and HERE. The Shine Project is in the process of becoming a Non-Profit organization so that thousands more students can have a positive future.

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and did you enter our giveaway for a super cute necklace from the shine project?  because here's the winner!

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"photography by amylee"  {website}  {blog}

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now go show these guys some love!!

the weekend of wang.

what would you do if you had the entire weekend to yourself?

drink nothing but chocolate milk?  sew til 2 am?  sleep in til 9:30?  check, check & check.

because this last weekend i did.  sam took parker over to eastern washington to visit his parents & go to a washington state football game while i stayed back to hang out with girlfriends & shoot a family session.

thus: the legendary weekend of wang.
{if you can't remember where i got the nickname of "wang", you may need to revisit this post.}

at first i thought it was crazy.  i told sam i had a girl's night out planned for friday & also had a family shoot on saturday.  "hmmmm, ok." he replied, "i think parker & i will go to my parent's this weekend & i'm gonna go to a wsu game with my dad."

you guys?  it's a six hour drive to sam's parents.  parker has NEVER been that far away from me.  i have never been away from him for longer than a night.  i didn't believe it.  but then?  it sounded amazing.  having the house all to myself for two days & two nights?  for the first time in TWO YEARS?  oh the possibilities!  i could sew.  i could paint.  i could edit.  i could blog!  i could... do laundry?  yes, it was on the list.  while watching a chick flick!  i could do all these things without regard to nap time.

by the time sam & parker had the car loaded up & were driving away it was all i could do to keep the giant smile off my face.  don't get me wrong... i love my husband & my kid more than words but one little weekend to myself?  glorious.

i had pretty big plans.  besides the girls night & the family session, all my plans involved me being locked up inside my house like a hermit with lots of loud music.  i only got about half the things on my list accomplished but it was pretty awesome nonetheless.  to get to be nothing other than me for one weekend.  not a wife, not a mom, just me.  it was needed.

and by the end of those two days?  i needed the boys in my life back.  i missed 'em & they missed me.  distance truly makes the heart grow fonder.  and i'm so grateful for a husband that isn't afraid to take his kid off on his own & give me a little distance every now & then.

i'm a lucky girl.