We are Okies on a life adventure. We share everything we get into here and on our Youtube channel. Our main gigs right now are pipeline welding for Austin, blogging/vlogging/creating for Kayla, naps (always) for Paisley, and Gingham is hell on four legs.
We are so excited to have this space as an extension of our Youtube channel, but if video isn't your thing, then we are sure that after some time the blog will take on a life of its own. After Kayla started her blog a couple of years ago, we fell in love with the internet. We think we have finally found "our people" and we couldn't be more excited to see where this community goes and who decides to join. If you want the inside scoop, don't forget to make it official and join the crew. We love it when you make us your friends for real.
We first met in 8th grade Ag class. Kayla was dating someone and was super into showing cattle at the time. Austin wore Wranglers (original fit) with skater shoes. His primary form of transportation and source of fun was his BMX bike. Our hair was similar in length, and we had little in common (or so we thought), but this is where it all started. From here on we keep a very similar friend circle. We were the "ag kids" and if you found one of us you typically found more. If you ask Austin, he will tell you that Kayla wouldn't give him the time of day, but he was hooked then.
Kayla is focused on being the FFA chapter president, her grades in preparation for college, and showing cattle and sheep. Austin has fallen' in love with welding and graduates early from high school to start working at a local fabrication shop. We both officially graduate in May and move away from home. We drift apart that summer because of being out of school and Austin being in a relationship. In August, Kayla started classes at Oklahoma State University and officially entered the party season of her life. Austin was already there, and our paths cross one evening when a mutual friend (Austin's roommate) invited Kayla out to a party. We didn't know then if it was fate, God, or the alcohol, but it became unofficially official late in 2008 that for the first time - we were a "thing."
We were a couple who were doing a lot of different things. Personally, we were busy, but what we were busy with was also very different from one another. Oh, and did we mention that back then - we liked to party (we are still telling these stories). Austin was working at a local steel shop during the day and hustling side work after hours. Kayla was working 30-40 hours a week at her job and taking a full course load at OSU.
At the end of 2010, Austin quit the steel shop and started working for himself all while trying over and over to get on at a local drilling rig outfit by the house. Of course, he eventually did. We think it was sometime in 2011 that Kayla quit the job she had been working at since 16 to finish school and started taking pictures for "profit." Heavy on the "" because turns out Kayla didn't know what she was doing when it came to business and specifically sales.
'12 was a big year for us. The year that everything changed. At the beginning of the year, Austin was working more hours than ever, and Kayla was drowning in school. Then May came, Kayla graduated and decided her first job out of school would be that photography business we were telling you above. In July, Austin got a call to go on his first pipeline job. We don't remember all of the details correctly, but he had 48 hours to pack, hardly enough money to get there and also took Kayla's brother who was suppose to be our roommate. Before Kayla knew it, her fiancé and brother were over a thousand miles away, and she was alone (or at least it felt that way). To live, to plan a wedding, and to setup a photography studio in a building she had just signed a year long lease on.
Just two weeks after they left, Kayla and Colt's girlfriend flew up to see Austin and Colt in PA and took a short weekend trip to New York City. When Kayla got back, she dove into wedding planning and taking pictures. Austin drug up on his first pipeline job to make it home for the wedding. Right after getting married we retreated to Big Cedar Lodge for a three-day honeymoon. On our honeymoon, Austin was looking for his next job. To make a long story short, in two weeks we saw each other for the first time in two months, got married, went on a honeymoon, bought a new camper, moved out of our old camper, moved into the new camper, and drove to Colorado for a job without a test date.
Late 2012, was interesting. Austin was in Greely, Colorado. Kayla traveled back and forth either by truck or plane. We quickly learned that we didn't like being apart, we didn't love the layout of our new to us camper, and living with a roommate being newly married and in less than 400 sq. ft. wasn't the smartest idea we ever had.
In early 2013, we bought the camper we still live in today. She was brand new and will always be what we look at as our first home together as a married couple. Soon after we darted off to Ohio, but we didn't make it far. Only 6 hours into a 15-hour trip to be exact. You can find the whole story here, but basically, we were a week late to Ohio. The rest of 2013 was about deciding what really mattered to us. Kayla stayed on the road instead of juggling home and travel, and we began to discover what pipeline life would look like for us.
We look back at this season and can define it by the phrase "figuring it out." Yes, it took us three years to kinda figure it out, because if we are real with you, we know "figuring it out" is an ongoing part of life. Amen.
Kayla here, I was so lost between the years of 2013-2015. I truly didn't know who I was, who I wanted to be, what my purpose was, or how I got so lost. I spiraled into a deep depression and nearly lost my passion for living. Thankfully I remembered God and how good my heart felt when I invited him to be my Lord and savior as a teen after church camp one summer. I went back to the Lord and through him have truly been given another chance at this life. This (among other things) is why our faith is woven into our story because without the Lord I would have never uploaded our first video to Youtube or be able to continue to have the courage to share our story.
2016 was a huge year for our marriage. We faced the hardest battle we have ever fought against the devil. We always say to "fight for your marriage, " and in 2016 we got to put our money where our mouth was. We hunkered down and went back to the basics. Our marriage wasn't fixed in a day and will always be as imperfect as we are, but '16 shook things up enough to scare us. We were reminded who needed to be at the center of our marriage and as we work through the peaks and valleys of life together, we continue to learn what marriage is all about. Growth. Understanding. Respect. Trust. Comfort. And so much more we can't put into words.
2013-2016 was a true season of lessons, patience, faith, dedication, forgiveness, and trust. What we learned back then is still very much with us today. In this time we also faced the oil bust. Austin was without work many more months than planned multiple years in a row. We leaned into God and began titheing. Making the least amount of money and having the smallest saving since Austin started pipelining we learned what it it to tithe and how to do it right. We uncomfortably confronted our financial mistakes and learned so much about ourselves, money, and faith in the process.
This year has already proven to be a year that can best be described as a year of faith and Austin's personal favorite "leaps of faith." We have continued to grow individually, harness our passions and work on our marriage. We have had so many of our prayers answered and feel overwhelmingly blessed in this life. We honestly feel like a strong part of our testimony is being written this year, and we are so excited to share it.
Austin has stayed consistently busy with work. In fact, it gives us chills when we look back at the timeline and see how things have fallen into place. Kayla has found her passion for life again and can finally see a clearer vision of what she is meant to do. Together we are keeping our heart and plans open for what the future holds and can see so many big changes coming our way.
The year has been filled with gratitude, hard work, and a whole lota faith. And love. Lots and lots of love.
We are working hard behind the scenes on a brand we are so excited to share with you. It is a total passion project for both of us, and we can't wait to spill the beans.
Also, we got a puppy. What were we thinking?
