Another month down! Can you even believe it? I swear this year is just flying by. Today on the blog I’m sharing my August Amazon buys.

AUGUST AMAZON BUYS

earrings + blanket + nipple covers + sweater set + black romper + stanley divider + skirt + cardigan + beard bib + shoe spray + pink sandals

: EARRINGS

I got Hayden this pack of earrings for her birthday coming up! She wanted a few options and I loved these. I also loved the price!!

: BLANKET

I got this cooling blanket for Joe’s birthday. I saw it had great reviews and he’s a hot sleeper!

: NIPPLE COVERS

I’ve used these nipple covers for years. Hunter uses them too. They are so nice to have for swimsuits, gym clothes, or when you can’t wear a bra with your outfit. Definitely recommend!

: SWEATER SET

How adorable is this sweater set? It’s a free people dupe so you know I had to try! Comes in a ton of colors and is under $45!

: BLACK ROMPER

I thought this black romper was so classy and could be styled so many ways for fall! I also got it in the brown color- size small!

: STANLEY DIVIDER

Ok I saw this stanley cup divider and thought it was genius!! You put it in your Stanley cup and you can fill up each side with a different drink!

: BALLOON SKIRT

Everyone needs a skirt for fall! This one is so fun, with the waistband and the balloon style! Comes in lots of colors and so many fun ways to style it!

: CARDIGAN

I love this cardigan because it looks like a long wool trench coat. This Amazon one is lighter in weight, but it’s so so pretty and comes in a bunch of different colors. Definitely a fall staple that everyone needs!

: BEARD BIB

I also got this beard bib for Joe’s birthday- although it’s more of a gift for myself, haha! It makes shaving their beard a much cleaner process and it’s only $5!

: PROTECTIVE SPRAY

This shoe protective spray is AMAZING! I’ve used it on all of our shoes and all the kid’s backpacks! Once the product is applied, it makes the item waterproof and doesn’t change the fabric! This is a must if you have kids and want their school shoes to last all year!

: GIRLS SANDALS

I ordered Harper these sandals since she doesn’t have slides she can wear to dance. Now I don’t have to carry her into dance anymore! She loves them.

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What was your favorite Amazon purchase last month? You can see all my other recent Amazon buys here!

Happy August! Another month gone by, and I’m so excited to share my July Amazon buys! Sharing everything I ordered last month below! I didn’t go crazy.

JULY AMAZON BUYS

vitamins + bread maker + shower steamers + hair cream + beige set + pajama pants + dress + striped pants + ballast bag + LED wakesurf lights + sunglasses

: WOMEN’S VITAMINS

I ordered these vitamins because I’ve seen a few friends use this, so I wanted to test it out! It targets hair growth. I think it would be great for teens who are wanting help with their hair and don’t need collagen yet. It tastes amazing and I’m just finishing up my first bottle and about to order my second.

: BREAD MAKER

A good friend recommended this bread maker and holy crap it is a GAME CHANGER! I’ve been making a ton of cinnamon rolls and this has made my life so much easier. It’s on the pricier side, but so, so worth it. I’ll link our favorite cinnamon roll recipe here.

: SHOWER STEAMERS

These shower steamers are like a bath bomb for your shower! My mom bought Hunter some and so of course I wanted some too! They are amazing, who doesn’t love a little self care?!

: HAIR CREAM

I tried this new air dry cream for my curly hair and I absolutely LOVED it!!!!! I put it in my hair when I got out of the shower and I let my hair air dry and the cream worked so well! It gives me the prettiest curls- and no frizz! Definitely recommend.

: APRICOT SET

I ordered this cute set in the apricot color and I’m excited to wear it the next few months, it’s perfect for transitioning into fall too! Comes in lots of colors!

: PAJAMA PANTS

Hudson wanted these snoopy pajama pants and he’s been wearing them every day, haha!

: DRESS

I thought this t-shirt dress was so cute, so I had to try it! It’s the perfect length, under $20, and comes in over 35 colors!!

my top + pants + bag || rug + couch

: STRIPED PANTS

How fun are these striped pants?! I’m obsessed!! They come in tons of colors and are only $20!!

: WAKE BALLAST BAG

Joe bought this ballast bag for the wake boat. I had no idea you could get boat stuff like that on Amazon, but it’s great quality!

: WAKESURF LED LIGHTS

We saw these LED lights that you can put on your wakeboard and we had to get them!! They look so awesome, especially when you’re boating in the dark.

: SUNGLASSES

I’ve had these aviator glasses for over a year and love them! I had to order another pair because the price is so good and I like to have a few pairs!

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What was your favorite Amazon purchase last month?!

Hunter is back from Bali!! And she had an amazing time. It feels so good to have her home and the kids have loved hearing all about her trip! Today on the blog I wanted her to share her thoughts about her trip to Bali and I’m sharing my thoughts as well. I’ve gotten lots of questions about her trip, so I figured I’d share everything here on the blog because that would’ve been so nice for me to have when I was getting her all signed up and ready.

hunter’s swimsuit + sandals

HUNTER’S TRIP

: ALL ABOUT HXP

HXP is the company Hunter did the trip through! We got on their website around Thanksgiving time last year and saw what weeks they had available for Summer 2024. So we looked at our calendar and chose which dates worked best for our family. When we registered, Hunter got to choose the top 3 places she wanted to go! You can read through all the different places they offer around the world. So Hunter applied for her top three and she was hoping she would get Bali. And not everyone gets one of their top 3 picks, but it’s still so exciting wherever you’re sent. They first assign all the kids that are 18, then 17, then 16, that way the older kids get the top priority. About a month later, they sent us the email that she was assigned to Bali!! It was so exciting. Parents can also go and young adults can be leaders after they turn 18 and are graduated, which Hunter is super interested in. Hudson really wants to go in a couple years too.

All the trips are different prices, you can see pricing on their website. The further out of the country you go, the more the trip will cost. They do have options in the United States too,  because I don’t think they let 14 or 15 year-olds go out of the United States. But, if you’re interested in this, make sure you get on the website around November/December and get signed up. They highly highly recommend you do not go with friends. Like don’t try to match up your friends at the same time. Hunter hardly knew anyone in her group and even though it’s scary, it gets them out of their comfort zone! 

hunter’s joggers + shoes

: HUNTER’S THOUGHTS

Honestly, my trip tp Bali was a great experience for me! It was very eye-opening and I would recommend going on it. It was a total of 18 days which is a lot for teenagers, especially during the summer, but it’s so worth it and it went by fast. I felt like I was only there for a week. But like I said, it was very eye-opening. I got to see what the third-world looks like and how they live their life. It’s just very different from where we live, I don’t think I’m gonna ever complain again. I feel very grateful for I like the places I live, the food I have, etc. The food was hard because it was literally chicken and rice for every meal.  Sometimes we had fish too, and we would have to take out the bones and stuff! I lived off of the G2G protein bars [code: KAILEE] because I didn’t like the meat in Bali but wanted to make sure I was getting my protein in (I love the peanut butter ones). I’m really glad we packed extra snacks for me to have at the worksite. 

hunter’s swimsuit

One thing that I enjoyed was the people! It was so cool to see a group of teenagers all come together and bond so fast! I honestly believe that because we didn’t have our phones, it helped us be very present and bond much more than we would have if we did have our phones. We were able to get to know each other so quickly and be much more vulnerable with each other. I realized how much a distraction my phone is and, not even just the phone, but like worldly influences in general and how much they distract us and take us away from like what we could be missing. Teenagers tend to hide behind their screens but we were forced to become close and it was such a blessing because we were able to see each other’s needs and really develop a connection. I met so many good people and even though we were all so different, we are all such good friends and bonded through this amazing experience!

hunter’s top + belt bag

The kids in Bali were one of my favorite parts too! They are all around the streets, I just loved seeing them and I loved serving them. We were building a school on a beach and the kids would be there every day to talk to us and help us. So you develop a very tight connection with those kids and some of those kids bond to you very fast. The first few days we did some exploring around Bali, but the rest of the trip was service work and it was really good. I felt the spirit there and I would probably do it again. It would be so fun to be a leader on an HXP trip someday. 

: MY THOUGHTS

Okay, here’s my thoughts as the mama! It was really stressful to get her all packed because she was our first kid to go. And the anticipation of sending your daughter to a third-world country for 18 days was a little crazy, but I never felt like she was ever going to be in danger. And she’s just so responsible that I didn’t have a worry about her flying by herself and getting from plane to plane. I totally felt calm and like I trusted her to do that on her own. Once we were all packed, it was fine. I bawled like a baby when we dropped her off at the airport and she left! The travel time was 27 hours plus and at least five plane rides to their final destination. The first 3 days were literally the hardest because her and I have such a close relationship. She’s always busy during the day, but she always comes into my room at night and gives me an update on everything. So the fact that she didn’t have a phone or anything to contact me with was the hardest thing for me the first few days. But there is a parent on every trip that will upkeep the Instagram that you can follow along. We were hooked to Instagram!! My kids would wake up first thing in the morning and want to check it for any updates and pictures of Hunter. She was a whole 25 hours ahead, so when it was morning for us, it was night there for her. So we definitely looked forward to those updates.

hunter’s top + skirt + shoes + belt bag

But honestly, after like the first three days, I could’ve let her stay a month! It would’ve been hard, but just the environment that they’re in is so uplifting. They’re constantly serving and feeling the spirit. They had morning and night devetionals, so it keeps them in a good place mentally and spiritually. She struggled with the food, but other than that she had a great time. We got a letter from her a few days before she came home and her letter was so sweet. She told us she was having a great time, and she was so thankful for her life back home. She also talked about how the kids in her group became her best friends. The letter was so comforting for Joe and I, we could’ve let her stay another few weeks 100%. Joe and I also wrote a letter and Joe emphasized to her that she needed to embrace this trip because it’s the only time she won’t have to think about too much, or check her phone, or worry about who she’s hanging with that day, or worry about cheer or soccer, or whatever it is! She got to disconnect from the everyday crazy of the world and just live in the moment. And I think that is something that money just can’t buy. I would definitely do it again. Hudson repeatedly said he was so jealous, he’s like I wanna go every single year. He was just was so envious of the experience and not having the phone.

: WHAT TO PACK

HXP has a packing list on their site- so we literally packed everything they had on the list. Also, the bathroom situation was less than ideal. There was no toilet paper on the worksite so make sure to pack wipes. And be sure to pack lots of snacks! Also a WATCH! We got this watch and she said it was so nice to have since everything is on a schedule and she didn’t have her phone to check the time. HXP gives you a backpack to use but people told us that she would want a bigger one, so we ordered this one for her and it was so perfect! It holds a ton of stuff, which was so nice to have for the travel days too.

I think the only thing Hunter wishes she would’ve done was pack some nicer clothes. We packed mostly grungy crappy clothes for the work site because we knew everything would get ruined. She only brought two shoes on the trip We got these tennis shoes and these Tevas off Amazon and she literally threw them away when she got home because they were so hammered. We ordered a ton of things on Amazon, like tennis shoes, joggers, a digital camera, and more. Everything we ordered on Amazon is linked here. 

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Thank you to everyone who was so supportive of us while Hunter was in Bali! We love you all!