pumpkin

Leave a comment Posted on October 15, 2015 Nostalgia, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Our First Time to Carve Pumpkins Together

4 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

At the age of 34, I have finally carved a pumpkin for the first time. It’s just something I had never gotten around to until now. Of course, I needed your help.

I had you draw on the faces of the pumpkins with a marker (practicing on a sheet of paper first), then I carved them with a knife, after gutting the pumpkin. These are of course the pumpkins you picked at Gentry’s Farm last weekend.

You and I set up shop in the driveway, sitting at your Thomas the Train table.

I think we did a pretty good job for our first time carving pumpkins.

It brought so much more meaning to the act of going to pick out own pumpkins when we ourselves were the ones to “make them come to life.”

Now that I know how to carve pumpkins, I’m almost eager to do more of them. Since it’s just a once a year event, it’s not something we’ll have a lot of constant experience doing.

But maybe we should. Maybe we should regularly carve pumpkins together. I think we make a great team.

After all, you are a very crafty boy.

When I was doing the dishes on Sunday, I grabbed a Fiji bottle of water that was next to all the other dirty dishes. As I grabbed it to remove the lid to wash it, I realized there were several google eyes floating around, looking back at me.

The funny thing is, I didn’t even question it. I just set it aside; assuming it was just some random project you came up with when you were hanging out with me.

I know that often while Mommy is cooking, you set up your work station at the kitchen table and throw stuff together in a sort of artistic science experiment.

So whether you’re designing pumpkin faces, or making eyeball-filled water bottles, you’re using your talents and having fun in the process.

Love,

Daddy

1 Comment Posted on October 12, 2015 parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Our Family’s Visit to Gentry’s Farm in Franklin, TN

4 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Last week at school your teacher apparently had read your class a book that talked about a corn maze. So Friday morning as I was helping you brush your teeth, you requested we go to one as a family.

The closest “pumpkin patch” that had a corn maze was Gentry’s Farm in Franklin, TN. So Saturday morning we headed that way.

At Gentry’s Farm, the pumpkin patch is basically right across from the parking lot, so as soon as we arrived, you found the very best pair of pumpkins out there.

Amazingly, they were only $3 each. We also let you pick out an all-white “ghost” pumpkin as well, from the $1 bin.

From there, we hopped on the hay ride and checked out the farm. We got to see some very young calves with their mommies.

Afterwards, you played on some of the playground a little bit before we finally visited the main attraction, in your mind at least.

Before entering the corn maze, we studied the map first. We saw there were two openings into the maze; both serving as either an entrance or an exit, depending on which one you started with.

We were about halfway through the maze when I figured out the trick:

“Jack, just follow the line of people coming towards us; as they should go where we just came from as well.”

You enjoyed your first corn maze. Plus, we saw a lot of people we knew there.

I’m glad you decided you wanted to go. Lots of good memories were created there for our family.

It’s the happening place to be right now in the Nashville area, for families looking to participate in the token American traditions for the fall season:

Picking pumpkins, going on a hayride, and walking through a corn maze.

We also had a lot of fun actually carving the pumpkins, too. But I’ll save that for another letter to you.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on October 31, 2014October 31, 2014 infographic, Nostalgia, parenting, Uncategorized

Trick Or Treating 2014: Halloween As Batman

3 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

I don’t know who as enjoyed this Halloween more… you or me.

This is the most excited about “trick or treating” I’ve been since I can remember. I have been telling my coworkers all week how excited I have been for this day.

You were Batman, of course; dressed in $8 WalMart pajamas and a $4 Kroger mask.

I want to compliment you on the fact you actually said “trick or treat” before accepting candy from the dozen or so random households we accepted candy from tonight.

Mommy and I threw on random costume hats we had lying around the house so that our whole family could technically be dressed in costume for the night.

Going “trick or treating” really is so much fun… and so random.

I really like your choice of Batman. Your costume was very well respected among the houses we visited; as well as among other trick or treaters.

Today was also special in that I came to visit you at your school during your lunch. I enjoyed hanging out with you and seeing your friends dressed up. I truly appreciated the fact that your (girl) friend Eiley was dressed as a Power Ranger.

You even drew a special “Batman SUV monster truck” today for the occasion; which you insisted I cut out for you, to serve as a form of a toy.

Not to mention, you also have been making Play-Doh pumpkins, which you’ve been moving around with Lego bulldozers.

I was telling Mommy how much I enjoyed tonight and look forward to the Halloweens to come in the next several years. We had such a fun time together as a family.

Most of all, I loved seeing how excited you were to “be Batman.”

Love,

Daddy

P.S. Below is an inforgraph on the history of pumpkins; as I see relevant on Halloween.

Courtesy of: SpareFoot Storage Finder

1 Comment Posted on October 27, 2014October 27, 2014 parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Walden Farm (Pumpkin Patch): Family Friendly Review

This past weekend my family visited Walden Farm in Smyrna/Nolensville, Tennessee. (It’s a 30 minute drive from downtown Nashville, TN.)

I have a feeling I could pretty much type anything I wanted to and no one would notice, because obviously, the pictures really tell the story here.

In the process of seeing these 14 picture collages below, you’ll get a good idea of why your family would have a great time if you were to visit Walden Farm.

But in the event there’s actually anyone actually reading the words to this story, not just checking out the fun pictures, I’ll do a quick narrative.

Parking is free and so is admission, but you do pay a couple of bucks per activity. We spent a total of $18 on all you see below, including the pumpkins.

I think my son Jack’s favorite activity at Walden Farm is the hayride.

It’s sort of like a mobile scavenger hunt, as your family tries to find all the semi-hidden spooky objects; like an eyeball, Frankenstein, a spider, etc.

There is also Toddler Town, a place that I am convinced Jack could hang out at all day and never even think about food.

It’s basically like a backyard, equipped with a gravel-filled toy table. Jack enjoyed scooping up the rocks in bulldozers, alongside dinosaurs.

There is also a dirt hill that he enjoyed rolling the bulldozers up and down.

Like any good pumpkin patch/farm, there are animals to see and feed.

And a tractor pull…

And those cut-outs where your family can transform into farm-themed characters.

Don’t forget the hay maze!

Jack wanted some pumpkins, so we paid just $1 and he was able to choose 2 really strange-looking ones; which he used as “lasers” the whole ride home.

As we were loading up back into the car, I pointed out to Jack a hedgeapple tree.

In case you’re unfamiliar, hedge apples (also known as Osage oranges) are basically a prehistoric fruit that no longer serve as food for animals today.

Hope you enjoyed learning about Walden Farm. Maybe your family can check it out in person!

1 Comment Posted on October 19, 2014October 19, 2014 Nostalgia, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Sky Top Orchard In Asheville, NC: Family Friendly Review

As part of the itinerary for our fall road trip from Nashville to Asheville, while we reviewed the 4G capabilities of the 2015 Buick LaCrosse, we felt would it be a shame if we didn’t make an effort to drive to the top of the mountain where Sky Top Orchard is located.

The extremely foggy driving conditions provided not only a cool mysterious vibe, but also an opportunity to really take advantage of the LaCrosse’s back-up camera after we accidentally turn down the wrong road; which turned out to be a dead end, with little room to turn around.

Not only does Sky Top Orchard let you pick your own apples from the orchard, but they also have pumpkins. We bought one, which is currently sitting on our kitchen table as an appropriate decoration for our house as random people are coming in to see it, since it is currently on the market.

Admission is free to Sky Top Orchard, but we ended up buying a bag of their apples. I must say, my wife made an apple pie from those apples, and it was one of the best apple pies I’ve ever eaten (too much of)!

They have a really cool play area there for kids. My son and I loved the giant pumpkins; they reminded me of Smurf houses.

And of course, what fall-themed family activity place would be complete without those great stand-up cut-outs where you get to take your pictures as a scarecrow, pumpkin, or flower?

If you don’t mind walking and getting your shoes a bit wet with dew, there is also a place to see some farm birds up close and personal; the Animal Barn.

Our family had a great time at Sky Top Orchards in Asheville, North Carolina. If you get the chance to take your family there, I am confident you will not be disappointed.

Thanks for reading Family Friendly Daddy Blog today!

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