Whew, November 2024… What a rollercoaster. I’m starting to realize, though, that life is just a rollercoaster, despite my best efforts. We started off slow, a little staycation, Bub turned 2, we started planning some 2025 trips, I started working more, and then I got double pneumonia. So, it’s just been a bit of a ride! But I did manage to get a lot of reading done during my week of forced rest, so at least there’s that.
Travel Planning This Month
This month jumped from not too much travel planning to putting the pedal to the metal on trip planning for 2025. In the space of about 2 hours, we finalized the dates for a 3-week trip to Colorado and I booked my accommodation for a week+ solo trip to Moab, Utah. I found a steal on AirBNB and I just couldn’t pass it up. I’m so stoked a solo trip even though I’ll miss my family back home.
Now, we’re working on finalizing a plan for how to spend our 3 weeks in or around Colorado. We will be taking our camper and looking to setup for about a week in 3 different locations, so we cannot wait to really work these out! So far, Ouray is topping the list and it’s insanely exciting to be planning this adventure! We’d love to hear if you guys have any Colorado destinations that you’d love for an entire week – we’re open to day trips, we just have to be able to accommodate our camper. (Current options we’ve tossed around have been Grand Junction, Moab, Sedona, or Breckenridge.)
We have also been dreaming a bit about where to spend Thanksgiving next year… there’s a potential that Utah becomes the place we spend our “family off year” of Thanksgiving or leave Thanksgiving day. We’re in the dreaming/planning stage and feeling pretty inspired and hopeful about this. Here’s a hint, too. It’s not going to be Moab this time – shocking, I know, but it is an area we’ve all been to, except Liam.
Travel This Month
Matt and I went ziplining in Branson for a day. We had so much fun and I loved that they had swinging bridges too. I will say, though, it was far more structured and less go-wild-and-free, which is the style of adventure I much prefer. They have a hand break system which means you have to be much more mindful of that while zipping and they were very serious about us staying forward facing so we knew when to break. I love that when we zipline at the Buffalo Outdoor Center in Ponca, they encourage you to go fast, to jump off platforms, to do dance moves on zips. That’s definitely more my style.
We took a day trip up to the Kansas City area to go to IKEA. This trip was to make Charleigh’s room transform into a big girl’s room instead of a baby room. While we were up there, we had Swedish meatballs, of course, which Charleigh was a huge fan of. We even used the opportunity to teach Charleigh some Swedish words that I remember from my month spent in Sweden a decade ago.
Travel Laughs and Mishaps this Month
We traveled so little that we didn’t really have the time to make any mishaps!
Blog Posts From November
Monthly Recap: October 2024 – This is a monthly recap, just like this one, from last month. October kept us pretty close to home, but we still had some fun adventures.
What I Learned from Not Finishing the Buffalo River Trail in One Weekend – I had a lofty goal of finishing this backpacking trail in a few days, but I really messed my feet up and was honestly not as prepared as I thought. Looking back, I know a lot of it was mental too, but I wasn’t in the headspace for this adventure, but I sure did learn a lot from it.
Things to Know Before Driving Shafer Trail in Canyonlands National Park, Utah – Shafer Trail is an epic AWD road that takes you from Potash Road in Moab into the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park. This road is an adventure in itself and so much fun to take on. But, I have to admit it was much different than anticipated, so these are things we think anyone should know before driving Shafer Trail.
Nine Ways Hiking Has Changed My Life – November 17th is National “Take a Hike” Day. So, it felt like it was the perfect day to share nine ways hiking has changed my life. Check it out, and I’d love to hear how your life has been changed by travel.
Surprising Stops in Illinois – Over the last 5 years or so, we’ve started exploring our neighboring state of Illinois a bit more. From national forests and state parks to arboretums and historic sites. I’ve really come to enjoy and love the surprising (to me) beauty of the state of Illinois. I can’t wait to discover more!
Things to Know Before Visiting Sequoia National Park – This giant tree-filled national park is a place that is just so beautiful and absolutely full of different and amazing natural beauty. Giant sequoias, ferns, wildflowers, wildlife, granite bald mountains and the high Sierras all come together to create one of the most beautiful parks out there.
Local Adventures in November
We went to Wonders of Wildlife, which is pretty much a monthly staple in our household. But I love that it’s a space where the kids can roam pretty freely because it’s a contained space where I can keep an eye on them with ease. I also love that there are so many educational opportunities here that are all led by curiosity.
We took another local adventure that felt really sentimental. There’s a pizza night north of Springfield on a piece of land called Millsap Farm. What made having pizza in the woods so sentimental is that the farm is on the land where I lived when I first moved to Missouri – my grandparents’ land. So, I was eating pizza in what was my backyard for the first chunk of my childhood, next to my grandparents’ house and greenhouses that they had built. I walked by a privacy fence my dad built, a home that I spent all my Christmases in until the end of high school and even saw my childhood kitchenette in the play fort that my dad and uncles built in my grandparents’ backyard for us kids. It was really moving. The Millsaps welcomed us so sweetly and kindly and gifted us the pizza night as a family and sent flowers home for my grandparents. I can’t wait to go back out there. It was pretty special to see my kids run wild and free in a place that I ran wild and free. That land formed so many nature connections for me that shaped my life in so many ways.
Best Thing I Ate in November
Hands-down, the best thing I ate this month was chicken pakora, butter chicken and garlic naan from Zayka in Springfield. It was so tasty! Of course, I forgot to take a picture of it. But it was soooo good.
What I Read in November
I finished Iron Flame in about 2 days. I am so in love with this series, and I’m eagerly awaiting the third book in the series to release in January! I also jumped back into the Crescent City series by Sarah J. Maas. I read the first book early this year and didn’t love it. I liked it by the time I got to the end, but I wasn’t hooked. However, now I have no new audiobooks on the audible account I shamelessly bum from my mom, so I decided to jump back into this series. I just finished book three and wow. The first book definitely setup to the second, a lot of backbone for nonstop action in House of Flame and Shadow.
On my physical book journey, I finally finished How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature by Scott D. Sampson. This book has been a game-changer for me. I have so many goals for building nature connections with my kids going forward and simple changes in how I interact with nature around them. I am going to do a whole post on this book and getting outside with the kids soon. If you’re a nature-loving-parent hoping to raise kids who grow into nature loving adults, I can’t recommend this book enough.
Not much else has changed because I still have just as little time as I have all year long. But I have made progress on the books I’ve been reading for months now: Braiding Sweetgrass, and Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver. I have requested a lot of books for Christmas, and I’m finally getting back in my reading groove, so I’m hoping to have both of those finished by the end of the year.
Most Popular Instagram Post This Month
This was a horrendous month for me on social media… Again. But, you know what? I’m going to try again next month! But my most popular post this month was from my announcement that I officially have my first solo trip in the books in about a decade! I’m. So. Excited.
Life Updates in November
Like I mentioned above, Charleigh’s room was transformed into a big girl room this month complete with a twin sized bed with a trundle, big girl wall art and a total rearrangement. Honestly, it’s become my favorite spot in the house. I love her new bed. It’s so cozy and I love that she has a space to truly grow into.
We have a two-year-old! Our sweet baby boy is officially two and he’s just growing like crazy. This boy is the definition of fearless. Nothing is too tall, no gap is too wide, and nothing is too messy to play in. He’s a big old mess, but has the sweetest little demeanor. He’s truly the best of Matt and me.
We’ve gone insane on Christmas decor this year – especially outdoor Christmas decor. I have always loved to decorate for Christmas, we have lots of trees, lots of little decor and Matt went a little crazy on the outdoor decor this year and it’s really magnificent!
Thanksgiving was absolutely delightful this year. Having kids back-to-back meant that the holidays have felt so hectic since. This was the first year that it felt a little like we could kick back and enjoy and relax since 2021. It will obviously only get easier, but it felt like such a success, a win and just a joy.
What’s Coming in December?
In December, we have a lot of family time on the books since it’s the Christmas-season for us. But, Matt and I are both working on tattoo projects down in Arkansas, so we’ll each have a day of getting tattooed down there this month. I’ve got to decide whether or not to finish up my current sleeve project or start another project. Matt is working on his second sleeve that I’m really excited to see how it turns out! What I’m most excited for is the fact that I have my first overnight girls trip with my mama since Iceland in 2017. I can’t wait to explore a new town to us: Herman, Missouri to enjoy some Christmas festivities in what’s supposed to be a quaint German town.
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