👋 Hey there, friend! —

This week’s issue is all about recharging, whether that means a quiet neighborhood park, a plate of wood-fired pizza, or a rare weekend away that reminds you who you are beyond “Mom” or “Dad.”

Here’s what’s in store

• One Place to Play — Kentaboo Park!

• 3 Events to Check Out — Spooktacular, Costume Workshop, and Fall Fest!

• One Place to Eat — Camporosso!

• One at Home Activity — Boo-tiful Halloween Decorations!

• One thoughtful moment — Finding Balance: A Weekend Away!

🌲 Kentaboo Park: Small but Mighty Playtime

📍 Kentaboo Ave, Florence, KY

After eight hours in the van, Little E and I made a beeline for Kentaboo Park — and honestly, it was exactly what we needed. Clean, well-kept, and full of open space to run, this little neighborhood park is proof that you don’t need acres of equipment to help a toddler reset after a long ride.

✨ Why Families Love It
– Fresh & Friendly – Opened in 2020, Kentaboo is one of Florence’s newest parks, and it shows. Everything feels tidy and well-maintained.
– West Coast Vibes – The bright play structure gives the park a fun, Californian energy, even if the only waves nearby are your toddler’s arms flapping in excitement.
– Big Kid Fun – The main play equipment is geared more toward ages 4 and up — plenty of climbing, balancing, and sliding challenges to burn energy fast.
– Toddler Freedom – While my 16-month-old wasn’t quite ready for the tall slides, he made his own adventure — mostly by collecting approximately 47 rocks and running victorious laps around the open green space.
– Extras for Grown-Ups – A covered picnic shelter (with a grill and six tables), clean restrooms, and a small sports court for basketball or four-square.

👶 Parent Tip: There are no fences around the playground or green space, so it’s one of those “stay alert” parks if you’ve got a runner. The single basketball hoop also means sharing might get tricky when it’s busy — but if you catch it on a quiet afternoon, it’s a perfect pit stop.

🧡 Our Take: Kentaboo Park is small, simple, and exactly what we needed after a day cooped up in the car. Sometimes you don’t need fancy — just a clean space, fresh air, and enough rocks to make your pockets jingle all the way home.

🔥Events to Check Out:

🎃 Spooktacular Trunk-or-Treat at Pediatric Care of Kentucky
📅 Tuesday, Oct 21 | ⏰ 6pm
📍 5495 N Bend Rd, Burlington, KY
💸 Free | Family-Friendly

Grab your little ghouls, goblins, and superheroes—it’s time for a Spooktacular evening of treats and giggles hosted by Pediatric Care of Kentucky!

✨ What’s Happening:
– 🚗 Decorated Trunks Galore – Stroll through a lineup of creatively decked-out cars handing out candy and goodies.
– 👻 Spooky but Sweet Fun – Think festive—not frightening. Perfect for even the littlest trick-or-treaters.
– 🦇 Costumes Encouraged! – Whether your kid’s rocking a handmade masterpiece or a last-minute cape, everyone’s welcome to join the fun.

☔ Rain or Shine: If the weather turns tricky, the fun moves indoors—because not even a storm can stop this Halloween spirit.

🧡 Parent Tip: Bring an extra candy bag (trust us), and maybe a backup costume accessory or two—because nothing derails a night faster than a fallen superhero mask.

🎃 Friendly, festive, and full of sugar highs—just the way October should be.

🎭 DIY Costume Workshop at the Covington Library
📅 Oct 23rd | ⏰ 1.5 hours
📍 Kenton County Public Library, 502 Scott Blvd, Covington, KY
💸 Free | All Ages Welcome

Got a kid with costume indecision syndrome? (“I wanna be a ghost! No, a dinosaur! Wait—a ghost dinosaur!”) The Covington Library has you covered. Join them for a DIY Costume Workshop where kids can let their creativity (and glitter glue) run wild while crafting their very own Halloween getup.

✨ What to Expect
– Tables full of crafty supplies—think fabric scraps, paper, and all the tape you could ever need.
– A no-pressure space where kids can dream up, design, and decorate their one-of-a-kind costume.
– Helpful librarians on standby for extra scissors or pep talks when the glue doesn’t stick quite right.

🧡 Parent Tip: Bring a few odds and ends from home—an old T-shirt, a cardboard box, or that random piece of tulle you swore you’d use someday. You never know what might become part of your little one’s masterpiece.

🎃 Because sometimes the best costumes aren’t store-bought—they’re made with imagination, a glue stick, and a whole lot of heart.

🍂 Ockerman Middle School Fall Fest 🍂
📅 Saturday, October 25 | ⏰ 10 AM–3 PM
📍 8300 US-42, Florence, KY
💸 $3 per person | $8 per family of 4 (Inflatables + games sold separately)

Grab your sweaters, your crew, and your best pumpkin spice attitude—because the Ockerman Middle School Fall Fest is back and bigger than ever! 🎉

✨ What You’ll Find:
– 🍔 Food Trucks Galore – From funnel cakes to fries, there’s something to satisfy every craving.
– 🛍 Local Vendors – Shop small and snag a few early holiday gifts (or just treat yourself—you deserve it).
– 🎶 Live Music – The perfect soundtrack for your fall weekend.
– 🎨 Kids’ Activities – Crafts, games, and plenty of giggles.
– 🎈 Bounce Houses & Inflatables – Because no festival is complete without a little airborne fun (tickets sold separately).

🧡 Parent Tip: Bring cash for extra tickets, snacks, and those irresistible local goodies. And maybe a spare change of clothes—because between the bounce houses and the snacks, someone’s bound to need it.

🍁 Good food, good tunes, and good times—it’s everything we love about fall, packed into one family-friendly day.

 🍕 Camporosso: Pizza, Pasta & Play-Dough

📍 2475 Dixie Hwy, Fort Mitchell, KY

If Kentaboo Park is where kids run wild, Camporosso is where they refuel in style. Tucked inside a renovated gas station, this cozy spot has become a Northern Kentucky favorite for wood-fired pizzas, fresh pastas, and that irresistible “everyone’s happy here” feeling.

✨ Why Families Love It
– Pizzas Worth the Wait – The crusts come out perfectly crisp from the wood-fired oven, the ingredients are top-notch, and the hot honey pizza is basically parent fuel in edible form.
– A Kid-Approved Show – Little ones get front-row seats to the dough-tossing action. Some even get a ball of dough to play with while waiting—instant entertainment, no screens required.
– Warm & Welcoming – The staff has that “we actually like kids here” energy, complete with high chairs, simple kid-sized meals, and servers who don’t flinch at dropped noodles.
– Cozy with Character – The old gas station building gives it a fun, unique vibe, and the covered patio out back is perfect if you prefer a little more breathing room (or need to contain a wiggly toddler).

👶 Parent Tip: This place fills up fast on weekends, so go early or swing by for a late lunch to skip the crowds. The outdoor seating is a little quieter, and bonus—it’s less echoey if your kid likes to narrate their meal at full volume.

Check out the Menu Here!

🎃 Craft Spotlight: Boo-tiful Halloween Decorations 👻
(for little monsters ages 0–8)

Halloween doesn’t have to be spooky—it can be silly, sensory, and full of giggles! This week, we’re turning your living room into a haunted (but adorable) art studio. From mummies to jack-o’-lanterns, these quick, low-mess crafts let kids decorate the house their way. Bonus: everything uses supplies you probably already have.

✨ Choose Your Boo!

🧻 Masking Tape Mummies
Wrap strips of masking tape (or gauze) around a toilet paper roll or paper plate until it looks like a cozy little mummy. Stick on some googly eyes and—voilà—a friendly undead pal ready for the windowsill.

🎃 Paper Plate Jack-O-Lanterns
Paint a paper plate orange or grab a pre-colored one. Then cut black paper shapes for eyes, a nose, and a goofy grin. Let kids mix and match faces—scary, silly, or surprised!

🍂 Torn Paper Pumpkin Wreath
Perfect for toddlers who love tearing stuff (you know who they are). Cut the middle out of a paper plate, then let them glue orange paper scraps all around to make a textured pumpkin wreath.

🕷 Paper Plate Spiders
Paint a plate black and glue on googly eyes. Punch holes around the edges and thread yarn for legs—or twist up some pipe cleaners. Hang them from doorways or windows for instant creepy-cute vibes.

👀 Googly-Eye Spiderlings (Toddler-Easy)
Glue pipe cleaner legs onto pom-poms or circles of black paper, then go wild adding googly eyes. The more eyes, the funnier!

🦇 Toilet Paper Roll Bats
Paint your empty TP rolls black. Add paper wings, triangle ears, and eyes. Tape them to the wall or hang them from a string to make a “bat cave” above your table.

✋ Friendly Ghost Handprints
Dip tiny hands in white, washable paint and press them on black paper. Once dry, draw on big eyes and a goofy mouth. Frame them or string them together for a ghostly garland that shows how your little one’s grown each Halloween!

🧡 Parent Tip:
Set up a “Monster Craft Zone” with old towels or newspaper under the table, and keep wet wipes handy for quick cleanup. For extra fun, play a Halloween playlist and let the kids help choose where to display their creations—because every haunted house needs its junior decorators.

Finding Balance: A Weekend Away

At the front of this week, my wife and I decided to take a trip to Pigeon Forge and Knoxville, it was our first time away from Little E since he was born. Three days. Just the two of us. A chance to reconnect as a couple and prepare ourselves for the next stage of our family journey.

My parents were thrilled to take him for the weekend, and according to the steady stream of photos and updates, Little E was having the time of his life. Parks with his boy cousins, chasing kitty cats around my folks' property, and probably being spoiled with extra snacks and attention.

Meanwhile, my wife and I were rediscovering what it felt like to be just us. We spent an afternoon at MagiQuest, laughing and slinging spells like kids ourselves. We got my wife a massage that melted away the tension she was carrying. We slept in. We had uninterrupted conversations over leisurely meals.

It was wonderful. Truly.

But here's what surprised me – even in those moments of relaxation and fun, our thoughts kept drifting back home. "I wonder what Little E is doing right now?" "He would love this!" We asked for pictures at regular intervals, and on the second day, we video-called just to see his little face light up when he recognized us on the screen.

The trip reminded me that taking care of our relationship isn't selfish – it's essential. Little E needs parents who are connected and not just running on fumes. But it also confirmed something I already suspected: our little family of three has become our new normal, our new home base.

Nothing we experienced that weekend – not the massages, not the adventures, not the peaceful mornings – compared to the moment we walked through the door and saw Little E's face break into that enormous smile of recognition and joy.

Home had never felt sweeter.

Have you ever had a moment like mine? I am sure it would be encouraging to your fellow parenting community to share in these moments of life. Click the “Have an Experience to Share?” button at the bottom to get your story in a future issue!

~ Otto

Until Next Week…
So here’s to small parks with big energy, pizzas that double as peace offerings, and fall weekends that remind us how much we love the little chaos-makers who call us home.

Pass this along to a fellow parent or playground pro—and we’ll be back next Friday with more of the good stuff.

Recharged, re-caffeinated, and ready for round two,
Otto Neff
Creator of Hopscotch Highlights and Keeper of the Rock Collection