Backyard Fun: Water Gun Paint Battles

We're deep into summer vacation 2018 at home with the kids, and I was in need of inspiration for some fun (cheap) memory making experiences. 

I stood in my local Michael's craft store reading and contemplating the FUN versus MESS factor of their new product Goblies. Washable paint for water guns. I've always wanted to go to a paint gun range - but the potential welts from high powered guns had always turned me off. I'd never seen a product like this for family fun.

The idea of a water gun paint battle in our backyard sounded like SO much summer fun -  but I've been known to drink the Koolaid when it comes to ideas that SOUND fun but end up being a hot mess. Would everything get stained? Who would get hurt? Would we all look like a bad tie-dye incident for the rest of the summer?

I hesitantly put a few colors into my cart. They were on the best sale that I'd seen (under $5 each) and it seemed like a great way to celebrate my son's summer birthday with the family. We swung by the dollar tree and picked up squirt guns 3 for $1. I also bought a giant syringe to help load the guns with paint.

We set up teams and invited everyone to wear shirts that were ok to be destroyed, in case the washable claims didn't play out. Armed with our paint filled guns, an array of sunglasses to provide some eye protection, music, paper towels, towels and a hose to wash off any collateral damage we headed outside for a battle of fun!

It was an awesome experience. Everyone got covered in colors and luckily everything that the paint touched washed off easily, including my stamped concrete patio, patio chairs, play house and water table. After a soapy shower the color came easily off of our skin as well.

This isn't a sponsored or paid ad, just something my family enjoyed. As always, I only share what I love - and the price point, happy shrieks and smiles from everyone was a win-win for this experience. 

My Brighter, Whiter Summer Smile

Mommy hood has blessed me with many hours of cuddles and laughs - but it hasn't allocated me a whole lot of mommy maintenance time. If we've met, one of the first things you'll probably notice is that I smile a lot - so giving myself a whiter brighter smile has been on my to-do list for months now.

As I investigated my whitening options I was running into roadblocks. The dentist required several hours during the middle of the work week coupled by a hefty price tag. I was barely fitting in work, dinner and quality time with the kids as we shuffled from soccer to t-ball.

Store-bought strips had only offered mild whitening improvement in the past, plus my teeth were so sensitive after use. I needed something to help me combat tooth staining from my lifeblood intake of  coffee and occasional glass of red wine. I needed an at-home, budget friendly, sensitive teeth system. The future of my smile was looking dim (and stained).  

Luckily, I discovered Smile Brilliant. Smile Brilliant provides an at-home whitening system that can address staining and sensitive teeth. Their system is sold in tiers - offering something for everyone including products for light, average and heavy staining. The price point was affordable, ranging from $139-$189 total! 

The box arrived with everything I needed to restore my brighter, whiter summer smile - with easy to use step-by-step instructions. I mixed the base and catalyst clays together to make my impressions, and waited 5 minutes for the mold to harden! The entire process from opening, reading instructions and impressions took about 20-30 minutes. 

It was an easy process, and I was able to email Smile Brilliant a picture of my molds to ensure they were done correctly before shipping them back in the pre-paid envelope. 

I received an email that my top impression needed to be re-done and the next day I did the top impression again, confirmed it was correct and popped them in the mail. 

About a week and a half later my whitening trays arrived and I was ready to whiten! I did 3 treatments in 2 weeks for 75 minutes each as I watched TV with my husband. 

I noticed a remarkable difference and only used a tiny bit of the whitening and desensitizing gel that was included. My pearly whites were significantly whiter and I didn't experience the tooth sensitivity like I have in the past. Honestly I feel like the pictures don't really do the difference justice. I'm very pleased with my results and have more gels to continue touching up throughout the year. 

After reaching out to Smile Brilliant I was asked to participate in a review, so I received the system at no cost. As always with my blog, I only share what I love - and I feel that you will be just as happy with your whitening results as I am. Plus - if you're not - they offer a 100% money back guarantee. I love a company that stands behind the quality of their products.

Send me any questions you have and check out Smile Brilliant's systems and reviews online!

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