Lifestyle

Weekend Photo Dump

When I used to actually write on this blog (HA!), I would sometimes post ‘weekend photo dumps’. It was a fun way to share about our weekend in a more personal way than a picture post on Instagram. I love these types of posts as something to look back on over the years. Really, that’s the whole point of why I typically “over share” on the internet. I love looking back on life and reminiscing.

This weekend actually started on Thursday for us. I got a good laugh out of these pictures. I was actually capturing them being sweet with each other, but when big sis found out she was staying here in town and baby sis was coming with us out of town, she was offended. And little sis started laughing at her so hard! HAHA!
We were heading to the valley (Phoenix area – around 3 1/2 hours away from where we live) to film a wedding. This wedding was special because it was one of my dear friends from high school.

Friday was wedding day and it was literally a dream. Such good memoires were made and we were just so happy to have been able to be there for Brea and Vince’s special day! I got to see lots of old high school friends and I got to see one of my oldest bestie girls who currently lives in Colorado. Getting to hug all my favorite people this weekend really filled my bucket.

Saturday we headed back home after breakfast and a trip to Sams Club. A staple before heading back to Small Town USA. 😉

Sadly this weekend our house was hit with some kind of sickness. So by Saturday night, two of the four of us were down for the count.

Sunday we had a Mothers Day brunch with my mother-in-law. They are retired and they are typically never here for Mothers Day, so we wanted to celebrate early with her! It was a fun time getting together with family. Although the rest of the day was spent on the couch due to everyone just feeling….yucky!

The wind is HERE this week! I am hoping after this week it really starts warming up and the wind might die down. I hope you all had a great weekend and your week is a beautiful one!

Disneyland Themed 12th Birthday Party!

We have been LOVING planning this Disneyland themed birthday party for my daughter’s 12th birthday! She wanted to go with the Disneyland/Vintage Theme Park theme and I was SO excited about it. How fun and different! She loved picking things out for the decorations and obviously planning the menu. Girl after my own heart. She was very particular about the menu. LOL! She wanted a “sit down dinner” and afterwards they watched the new Disney movie, ‘Encanto’. Each girl R.S.V.P.’d with their favorite movie snack so they each got a special theatre box of candy to themselves. Plus we had a popcorn/candy bar which was a lot of fun for them! (Minus the fact that I killed my microwave trying to pop 12 bags of popcorn. LOL!)

*AFFILIATE LINKS MAY APPEAR IN THIS POST*

12 years old! I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT! Having a February birthday is kind of hard because we just had Christmas. I always seem to struggle finding gifts that aren’t just….JUNK. Can anyone else relate?! I made an Amazon list of the few presents she got plus a few ideas of other things she would have enjoyed. Like these water bottle stickers* and a cute new Bible*.

We had SUCH a fun party!! 12 year old girls are the coolest. They sang and danced their hearts out at this party and it just made me smile so big. Now…when do we get to go to the REAL Disneyland?! 😉

Why We Love Staying at Great Wolf Lodge – Scottsdale

If you know us in real life or follow me on Instagram, you know we love going to Great Wolf Lodge! We go to the Scottsdale location as we live in Arizona, but they also have locations all over the United States!

FOR REFERNECE ON THIS POST WE HAVE ONE 11-YEAR-OLD AND ONE 8-MONTH-OLD

We love how simple a family getaway weekend is with Great Wolf Lodge. It really is a “one stop shop” for your family needs. This is the type of place where you can check in and not have to leave the hotel again until check out if you didn’t want to.

We obviously love going to the water park. Water park passes are included in the price of staying at Great Wolf Lodge. The water park is SO kid friendly. Your kids will not be bored when it comes to the GWL water parks! From slides to wave pools, they have it all. Also, their lifeguard game is 10/10. Every time we go, I am constantly impressed with their lifeguards. If you’ve been before, you know!

Through the Great Wolf Lodge app, you are able to order food in the water park which I LOVE! You can order food via the app, it will tell you when it’s ready, and you walk up and pick it up. HOW EASY IS THAT?! (Try the pretzel with cheese sauce! It’s our favorite.)

Inside the water park there is a ‘Watering Hole’ with adult beverages for anyone who enjoys that type of thing. (US! WE ARE THOSE PEOPLE!) So if you want a little margarita while you watch your kids endlessly go down water slides, they have you covered!

Great Wolf Lodge – Scottsdale has a Dunkin’ inside for morning donuts, coffee, and breakfast which is maybe my favorite part. They also have restaurants, an ice cream shop, candy shop, tons of kids things to do like ropes course and an arcade, plus more! Guys, they have so much stuff there!!

We love that Great Wolf Lodge has thought of families as a whole. They make it enjoyable for kids AND parents and I really appreciate that! We absolutely love going there. It’s so fun, easy, and every time we go we leave saying “THAT WAS THE BEST!”

Have you ever been to a Great Wolf Lodge?! What is your favorite part about it?

LINKS:
*affiliate links*
MY SWIMSUIT IS HERE – Guys, Im OBSESSED with this suit!
LITTLE ONES SWIMSUIT IS HERE

Going To Disney World During A Pandemic AND Christmas PLUS My ONE MAJOR Tip!

We recently just got back from a trip to Disney World! Although I shared about it briefly on Instagram, and more in detail on my personal Facebook page, I really wanted to type up a post with all things DISNEY! + A MAJOR TIP if you plan on doing Disney World during the Christmas season. (Or really ANY time!)

Guys, this trip was so magical! I mean, I think any trip to Disney is magical, right? But this time we had TWO kids with us and it was just….out of this world. We went with my entire family and it was so special to create these memories with each other. The park was decorated for the holidays AND for the 50th Anniversary! WOW! Disney really goes all out. And if have a chance to see the special 50th Anniversary fireworks show at Magic Kingdom, do anything you have to do to get a good spot for the show! IT IS SPECTACULAR!

We chose to do TWO DAYS at Magic Kingdom and I LOVED that we gave ourselves another day in the park.
Right now with Disney, you must reserve your parks for which day you want. This is IN ADDITION to your ticket purchase. Mostly everyone in my family chose Hollywood Studios for the second day we were doing parks, but we were not quick enough when reserving our spots and the park filled to capacity before we booked. So we did MK a second day. AND LOVED IT.

Here is my [B I G] TIP! If you are on the fence about getting Genie+ added to your ticket for the day, DOOOO IT! We skipped this the first day and decided to add it for our second day. Total game changer! Through Genie+ you can utilize the Lightning Lanes for rides and it helps with those long lines! We weren’t sure it would be worth it, but after experiencing one day without it and one day with it, we totally think it is worth it! Disney has gone away with Fast Passes for rides and replaced it with the paid Genie+ service. I’m usually too cheap to “pay extra” for things, but this one was totally worth the money. Trust me on this one!

The Disney app was amazing with the in-app ordering for food, too. LOVED that feature for things!

We ate our FAIR SHARE of snacks during our two days.
Dole whip.
Mickey ice cream bars.
Popcorn.
Churros.
More popcorn.
Coffee.

What snack is your favorite in the park?!

This trip was the trip of a lifetime, and I am so grateful to my parents for treating us on this adventure.

Gift Guide For Pre-Teen Girls

Every year I ask my friends the same thing…”what are you getting your kids for Christmas?”

I love seeing what other kids are interested in and what parents are actually buying for their kids. Because we all know there is a HUGE difference in “what they ask for” vs. “what they are actually getting”, am I right?! (Does anyone else’s kid ask for some totally ridiculous things?!)

In this post I will be sharing some Affiliate Amazon links for things my daughter (12 years old in February) has asked for as well as some things mama has gotten for her! If you click on these links and purchase something, I do receive a small commission off the link at no added charge to you! This supports my blog and my family and I truly appreciate it if you decide to shop using my links!

WHAT DO YOU MEME: FAMILY EDITION – If you’ve never played this game, it is HILARIOUS! Totally worth grabbing for your family! There are also a ton of different “versions” on the internet, so find one that will best suit you and your group of people!

TORTILLA BLANKET – ….what? I don’t understand this one. But….apparently it’s what she wants. So I am sharing it!

WATER BOTTLE STICKERS – I’m not going to lie, even I have fun with these! We love getting these big packs and going through all of them to see what they include.

HYDRO FLASK – If you need a water bottle to put those cute stickers on, hydro flasks are still all the rage!

LOOM BRACELET KIT – My daughter has LOVED making these bracelets for a few years now. If you have a 10-12 year old, I bet she would love this.

MAKEUP CASE – We are getting into the age of liking make up more, so a cute little travel case like this is a perfect gift idea.

What are your kids asking for this year?! I love always hearing about what other parents are doing or what their traditions are! Do our kids match up on anything they might be asking for? Let me know!

5 Easy Changes In Your Home For Non-Toxic Living

Over the last six months we have really gotten serious about looking at the products we are using in our home and the things we are putting into and onto our bodies. It’s ABSURD how many toxins and chemicals are in our everyday lives. Truly. Just looking at the ingredient labels makes me sick. (Literally and metaphorically speaking)

I didn’t want to waste products that I had already purchased for our home, so I decided once we ran out of something I would restock it with something a little better for us.

Is our home a fully non-toxic home now? HAHA! Not even close. But I do feel good about the small changes we have made so far and the changes we will still make in the future. (Someone please tell me how I’m supposed to cut Oatmeal Cream Pies out of my life?!)

Here are some simple changes we have made over the last few months. *Some affiliate links may appear. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! 🙂 *

– COOKING PANS
We have switched to fully using cast iron in our house and we L. O. V. E it. I wish I could emphasize how much we truly truly love using cast iron. I do have one stainless steel pot for boiling water for pasta and making cookies (the necessities), but other than that we only use cast iron. We have quiet a few sizes and y’all….it’s amazing! If you don’t use cast iron, I highly suggest it! I think THIS COMBO PAN and THIS DUTCH OVEN are my favorites. The secret to the best bread I make is this cast iron dutch oven! We also have a few tools we use to help us clean the pans and they’ve been game changers for us. We use THIS CLEANING BRUSH and we use THIS LODGE SPRAY to season them.

– DRY SHAMPOO
Okay, this one ACTUALLY pains me to say out loud….I ditched dry shampoo about a year ago. I KNOW. I KNOW! WHAAAAT?! I LOVE me some dry shampoo. Like….I could easily use it every day and be happy. HAHA ! Buuuut. Did you know the first ingredient in dry shampoo is BUTANE?! LOL! And we literally just spray this stuff directly on our heads. Pure craziness. So unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess) I had to give it the boot. I haven’t found a great non-toxic version yet, so if you have one you love, PLEASE share with me!

– MENS HAIR PRODUCTS
Same reason as above. The ingredients in hair products are TRASH. M likes to use a hair pomade when we’re going out, so he told me to look for a more natural version. He’s been using Badger Hair Pomade and he likes it so far. It gets the job done and it’s not filled with total junk.

– CLEANING PRODUCTS
Another hard one for me. I might be the only one, but I actually enjoy the smell of Lysol and bleach. HAHA! It makes me feel like things are actually clean. But…I knew I needed to change what I was cleaning with. I asked about Branch Basics and my friend said she was enjoying them so I decided to give it a try. LOVE IT. I use them now for our everyday cleaner, laundry, window cleaner, and bathroom cleaner. It is the simplest to use and I just really have enjoyed the product so far. Guys…their laundry booster gets poop stains out of baby clothes. I REPEAT! POOP STAINS OUT OF BABY CLOTHES! If you want to try out Branch Basics, I have a code you can use! http://branchbasics.refr.cc/kaylinl

– BODY WASH
I quit buying body wash and made my own. We use castile soap, water, coconut oil, and a drop of essential oils.

We’ve also changed up a ton of things we eat but that’s another whole post by itself! Would you be interested in reading that? Let me know!

What are some changes you make in your home? I love hearing about what people are doing to make their lives a little better!

All my love,
Kaylin

Blogging Might Be Dead, But Writing Will Live Forever

It’s no secret that I love to write. Over the years though, I have felt that people just weren’t interested in blogs any more. I saw bloggers talking about how blogging was dead and I just convinced myself that no one wanted to read traditional blogs anymore.

That might be true, but I never set out on this “blogging journey” with the intent for millions of people to read my stuff or to come to my page. I literally just shared things because I loved sharing. I loved writing and letting myself have a creative outlet of some kind.

Over the years I followed bloggers who said that in order to have a successful blog, you had to be doing “X, Y, & Z”. I wasn’t doing those things. So I slowly gave up. Over time, I convinced myself that this was never going to be “good enough” for anyone. But what is “good enough”? Who was I trying to impress? I started this blog for ME. I write for ME. I share things for ME.

I have had a lot of “come to Jesus” moments in the past few weeks/months. Some realizations of life, the bigger picture, what’s important, etc….

Something is telling me to slow down. Something is telling me to pour everything I have into being the best wife, mother, and homemaker I can be right now. I had a lot of really big plans for the next year. And something is telling me….just be. Be in THIS season right now. Pour into THIS season right now. Something is telling me to quit rushing to the next phase. We are HERE for a moment, and this moment right now is beautiful.

Blogging might truly be dead. People don’t read traditional blogs like they used to. But writing? Writing will live forever. And I shall continue to share whatever is on my heart on this page of mine. I am excited for that. I am hopeful that I will continue to share our season of life right now with those of you who want to read along. I am hoping to share more on gardening, share recipes we love, share about our life, etc…

Excited.
Hopeful.
Content.
At peace.
Grateful.
Fulfilled.

All my love,
Kaylin

FIND ME ON IG: @kaylin.lindsey
EMAIL ME: me@kaylinlindsey.com

Gratitude Friday

I won’t sugar coat things right now….life is hard. We are in a HARD season. I keep thinking we are going to turn a corner and then….we don’t. I don’t know how many times we’ve said out loud “when it rains, it pours” lately.

One thing that helps me each and every day is to try and find the blessings surrounding us.

This week I am grateful for our feisty daughter. She has tested me more this past week than in her entire 11 years of living. But I am so grateful for her. I have had more teaching moments with her this week and more self-reflection this week than I have had in a LONG time. To know our little girl is to love her. She is literally the best person I know. She is kind, witty, and just an overall awesome kid. I have had to remind myself each day this week that I will never get these days back with her and to make the best of every day, good or bad. Most days I feel like I am failing her as a mother, but this week, I am grateful for her and her understanding and loving heart.

I am so grateful we got our garden seeds in this week. Last year when the pandemic started, seeds weren’t the easiest to get your hands on. It’s still not easy. A lot of things have been sold out and the shipping times were taking weeks longer than usual. I have dreams of a beautiful garden this year and I am just so grateful that we got our order in the mail! See all of the fun things we are planting in this post HERE!

I wrote about this last time, but I am grateful for my body and all the things it is doing to get this baby here. This pregnancy has been HARD. But each day we show up and my body does what it needs to and I will never take that for granted.

I am thankful for the snow this week! Our area is in DESPERATE need of any type of moisture. It has been a few years without amazing rain or snow and our land desperately needs it. I live in a ranching community where people pray and fast for rain. Moisture is no joke around here!! And I am just so grateful that we got even just a little bit. And tomorrow it’s supposed to be 60 degrees! So I’ll take it!!!

Life can be hard, but blessings are abundant. What are some of yours??

Starting Our Backyard Garden 2021

I think everyone can agree that we are still in a weird time in life. I know we are, at least, so I speak for our family when I say that. Trying to find “joy” in the small/every day things has been a huge goal of mine as of lately. I feel like every corner we turn we are saying “when it rains, it pours”….and that’s just a horrible place to be in.

One thing that brings me massive amounts of joy is gardening. And canning. And all things homesteading! We decided this year we were really going to focus on our small little backyard garden! I think there is this misconception that you have to have a ton of space or a ton of gardening equipment in order to make something great. And the truth is, you just don’t. I know someone who grew veggies on their small balcony of an apartment/condo and it was wonderful!

Last year it was hard to get your hand on seeds so I knew I wanted to be proactive this year and get our order in. We ordered through Johnny’s Selected Seeds, but really any type of seeds that you can find will be great. I suggest if you’re reading this now and thinking you might want to try planting something this year, now is the time to get seeds ordered! Ours took almost a month to get to us, a lot of things were sold out, and this particular company would close down sales to home gardeners every few weeks. So just a heads up…plan ahead!!!

Last year was a good year because I found a lot of things I liked in the garden and things that just weren’t right for us.
Here is what we have decided on this year:
– Crimson Sweet Watermelons
– Sugar Baby Watermelons
– Zucchini
– Pickling Cucumbers
– Hot Peppers
– Corn (we’ve never done corn before. I am very excited to try this!)
– Beans
– Bell Peppers
– Green Cabbage
– Cherry Tomatoes
– Big Beef Tomatoes
– Spaghetti Squash
– Carrots
– Acorn Squash

We are still hoping to get potatoes, canning tomatoes, garlic, and herbs.

Growing your own food gives me such an intense feeling of gratitude. I love that we get to try new things and see what works and doesn’t work. In this crazy season of life (uhm…when is this all ending?!) I love that it allows us to slow down a bit and just disconnect a little bit, while focusing on something exciting.

Have you ever done a backyard garden? What has been your favorite (or not so favorite) thing to plant? True life: I hated growing yellow squash. We just couldn’t eat it fast enough for how much it was producing and it honestly wasn’t my favorite thing to eat.

Gratitude Friday

There is no denying the fact that we are living in a WEIRD time right now. There is also no denying that a heart of gratitude can really lift your spirits.

Some days it might be REALLY hard to look around you and find things to be grateful for. I’ve been there. You are not alone in this season of life if you feel like there is little to be happy about. But let’s try to dig deep and find those happy moments. They are out there. Pinky promise.

I am going to try to make this a “thing” on my blog, but really, I’m the worst at staying true to my word on these things, so don’t hold your breath. HOWEVER! For THIS Friday I am here. I am showing up and I am sharing about things I am GRATEFUL for.

I am grateful for a wiggly baby girl inside of me. The anxiety that comes with pregnancy after loss is INTENSE and each time I feel her move it is a little sense of reassurance. I still can’t believe it. And I still say each and every day “ALL GLORY TO GOD!”

I am grateful for small town living. The world is crazy right now. And scary. And I am just SO grateful to live in a small town with really really good people.

I am thankful for food storage and space to plant gardens. I get such a joy out of knowing we have a food supply for our family if anything were to happen. I love that we get to enjoy planning out a garden for the year and knowing we will have a time to harvest in the fall. It isn’t some glorious garden. But it’s ours and we do it together and we love it! And I love my seed loving husband and all his knowledge. 😉

I am grateful for the gift of photography. I set a goal for myself when it comes to sessions booked and I am excited about that. I know we will be having a baby this year and the business will slow down, but I am still so grateful for this gift. I love being able to capture people in unique and candid ways. It is such a blessing to me.

What are you grateful for this week? Today? This moment? I’d love to hear!

Follow me on Instagram: @kaylin.lindsey

If you know us in real life or follow me on Instagram, you know we love going to Great Wolf Lodge! We go to the Scottsdale location as we live in Arizona, but they also have locations all over the United States! *FOR REFERNECE ON THIS POST WE HAVE ONE 11-YEAR-OLD AND ONE 8-MONTH-OLD*

If you know us in real life or follow me on Instagram, you know we love going to Great Wolf Lodge! We go to the Scottsdale location as we live in Arizona, but they also have locations all over the United States!

FOR REFERNECE ON THIS POST WE HAVE ONE 11-YEAR-OLD AND ONE 8-MONTH-OLD