Oh October. What a sweet month. It was a great month of both settling in and small adventures. We didn’t travel far, but had really rich experiences – some of which that are such core memories. We’re really settling in and starting the season of festivities and traditions.
Travel Planning This Month
At the end of the month we started looking at our travel calendar in 2026. We have a spring break trip booked to Palo Duro Canyon State Park and Amarillo. I’ve been dying to visit that state park and we are finally making it happen. We also booked my birthday weekend at our favorite campground in Arkansas for a long weekend. The last thing we started loosely looking at is a potential fall trip to Nova Scotia with my parents next fall.
Travel This Month
We did a handful of small overnight or day trips this month – in fact, we did far more than I was expecting!
Our first adventure was up to Kansas City with Matt, Shea and Charleigh to see Chappell Roan. This was Charleigh’s very first concert and we were so excited for CJ to get to see Pink Pony Club (and all the others) live! CJ sat on my shoulders, we danced, we sang and we laughed with my little Chappell Roan fan! We also ate a couple of fun places, met up with our friend Keira for brekkie and I finally stopped at Osceola Cheese Company after passing it on road trips for almost three decades now. It was a solid trip.
We took our annual day trip to Exeter Corn Maze with my brother’s family. This is the third year we’ve been together and I think we’ll do this every year until the kids party-poop out on us. The kids love the corn pit, the rides, climbing on hay bails, swinging and so much more! This year, we went late to see the lights there too and it was so fun!
One Sunday, my in-laws kept the kids and we took Shea and her boyfriend down to hike Hawksbill Crag for the first time! This is one of Matt’s and my favorite trails in the Ozarks, and we love taking people for their first time!
My parents watched out kids overnight for Matt and me to take a whole day down in NW Arkansas. We went to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which was largely closed to switch out exhibits. It was a quick trip through, but we did one of the outdoor trails for the first time which was a lot of fun. We went to Coler Bike Park and walked in to Airship Coler – it was packed, so we didn’t get coffee but we went to Fossil Cove Brewing Company and each had a beer. The big reason we were down there, though, was to see TWENTY-ONE PILOTS! We said after seeing them last year in the nosebleeds, that if they were close by us again, we’d splurge and get pit passes. We bought the tickets right before they announced they’re stepping back from touring for a while, and now we’re even happier that we did. This show was such an experience and the most fun I’ve ever had at a show. I think Matt and I will get pit passes anytime they’re near us. Wow. What a show.
Lastly, Shea, Kate and I did one of our monthly girls’ day adventures and it was so much fun! We went up to my favorite Missouri state park (so far), Ha Ha Tonka. We stopped at an adorable little coffeeshop in Fair Grove, Missouri and saw an old mill – which I love. Then we had lunch in Camdenton after hiking. We spent the whole rest of the afternoon and evening together, but they were much cozier activities back at my house and less adventurous.
Blog Posts from October
September 2025: A Monthly Roundup – This is a monthly roundup, just like this one, but from last month!
Notes on My First Solo Road Trip in 12.5 Years – Last month, I went to Moab, Utah all by myself. It was my first completely solo trip in over a decade and I did a lot, saw a lot and felt a lot. Read more here.
Guide to Mills Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park – Over the summer, we did the Mills Lake Trail in RMNP, and I fell so hard for this trail. This is our trail guide!
I have so much content from 2025 that I haven’t gotten to yet, and I cannot wait to take advantage of the cozy season to really sit and get my posts written. I have so much from Colorado, Utah, Arkansas, South Dakota, Wyoming and more!
Local Adventures in October
I hit up the local greenways a lot in October. We had really good weather and I enjoyed taking as long of walks as possible with my schedule – including two Women’s Hiking Club meetups! I love leading this group! My mama even came to one for the first time, which is always fun and feels like such an honor when my people show up to support me. We got the kids out for some fall time moody drives and went to our local nature center for a family hike as well. Besides nothing combats seasonal depression of the lack of sunlight like touching grass.
Quote of the Month
“It is a serious thing
Just to be alive
On this fresh morning
In this broken world”
– Mary Oliver
Best Thing I Ate in October
The best thing I ate in October was absolutely the sage-butter soaked filet I had at Avanzare Italian Restaurant, where we celebrated my father-in-law’s 70th birthday! It was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the butter sage sauce was just… mmm. I cannot wait to get this steak again.
What I Read in October
I’m still working on The Nature Fix. My reading has been a lot more slow-going, but I am trying to make reading more of a priority for the rest of the year; I want to at least be hitting my daily page goal.
On Audiobook, I’ve enjoyed a handful of Audible’s free titles: The Return of Ruby Darling, Becoming Meg Dashwood, Minister of Loneliness, Hex Around and Find Out, The Room Next Door, and Bound By Fire.
Most Popular Blog Post in October
My most popular blog post in October was our Best Hikes in Northwest Arkansas post! It was peak leaf season down there, so I love that people were getting down there and our post helps people with that.
Most Popular Instagram Post and Reel This Month
Wild Motherhood Update
I wish I had been better about getting outside and talking about the changing seasons with our kids this month, but I didn’t. However, when we were outside, I was really encouraging of asking questions about what was around us: walnuts that had dropped on the trail, squirrels storing up nuts, seed pods opening up for the season and other stuff like that. I’m trying to take the advice of How to Raise a Wild Child and ask the kids – especially CJ since she’s older – what she thinks the answer to the question is before we talk about it. And when I didn’t know the answer, we researched it together.
I already know that we’re going to fail the 1000 hours outside challenge. While I don’t agree with the many of the health ideals of Ginny – we’re team vaccinations over here – I 100% agree with the studies on how unstructured time outside shapes children’s brains and affects them as a whole. However, I have started to come up with some plans for next year and ideas about getting the kids outside more and more, which every year gets easier as the kids get older. Liam is so much easier to wrangle and listens better about staying close. So, I can’t wait to hit 1000 hours next year!
Home and Life in October
We round-robin’ed two different illnesses for the first half of the month, which was exhausting. But hopefully we’ll have built up all the immunities and make it through the holidays unscathed. We did our fall family activities, including our annual Halloween gathering at our house! We added to our decor this year and invited even more friends this year! It’s just so much fun to build these traditions! We had the happiest of Halloweens with our little Flamingo and Spiderman! It was so much to get friends and family together to celebrate.
What’s Happening in November
Our sweet, sweet Liam turns three in November, which is all at once so incredible and sweet and also sad to watch these milestones go by knowing it’s the last time we’ll have them since we’re done having kids.
My mom, Charleigh and I are taking a girls trip to Asheville for our first trip of just us three girls. I am a little nervous, but also really excited. This is a really big “big girl” trip for CJ and I can’t wait to see how she does. Our main point of interest is to see the Thomas Dambo troll exhibit at The North Carolina Arboretum, but I’m excited to see what all we get ourselves into.
I often have a hard time when the seasons change in this direction – light to dark. When the days get so much shorter and I don’t get to be outside in the sunshine or even feel motivated to be outside, it can absolutely be really hard. But this year I want to lean into the coziness and the projects at home I’ve put off in lieu of adventure. I want to spend more intentional cozy time with my family. Phones down. I also want to use the time to get blog posts written and scheduled out. I crave coffee shop time in the fall and winter, so I want to make the most of the time that I’m not aching to be out in the freezing temps with high winds. So, here’s to that.
I hope you guys had a wonderful October. That you’re adjusting to the changing seasons and that November brings you nothing but the most beautiful moments and you feel filled with gratitude.
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1 Comment
PAM MCKINNIS
November 6, 2025 at 11:42 am….and spend some time with GiGi