Papa's October

Hello Everyone. It's almost the middle of November so I figure it might be time to put the finishing touches on telling you about my very busy October. I promise I'll be doing that in these next two posts. 

I know I've already shared with you some great memory making moments with my grand children during our time in the Smokies. 

But I got to spend even more time with them throughout the entire month. 


Early on the morning of Friday the 18th, I found myself at Jackson's Orchard, the area's most popular fruit growers. 

I was there to meet my grand daughter and accompany her during a school field trip. 

Her Richardsville Elementary School 2nd grade class was there to take the fall harvest tour, have an outdoor lunch, and play in the playground. 

The first thing we did was get on a wagon for a hay ride to the corn maze. 

The children's excitement and enthusiasm was expressed in cheers and laughter as we crossed the orchard. We got off at the cornfield and started walking through the maze. 

I brought up the rear of the group as they walked along the path. 

Aria was so sweet in that she chose to stay with me instead of running ahead with her classmates. 

By the time we got halfway into the maze, we saw her teacher, Ms. Mohon, leading the class back the other way. 

Next on our tour was a stroll through the apple orchard. Each student was allowed to pick their own apple. They were told to get it off the tree and not from the ground. 

Because quite a few kids from other schools had been through the orchard, all the lower branches were pretty bare. So the kids had to do their best to reach the upper limbs. 

I did my best to help them, using the curved handle of my cane to knock down the fruit that was out of reach. I did get some pretty nice sized apples to come down but they fell to the ground. 

Finally, I helped Aria get hers and I picked mine. 

Upon exiting the rows of the apple trees we found ourselves in a pumpkin patch. 

Once again the kids got to wander around and choose a small pumpkin to take home. This was her choice.

After all that walking and choosing it was time to take a seat on a nearby bench and enjoy our new produce treasures. 

Soon we were on our way to the educational part of the tour. 

The class was led through the farm to the building where the cider production equipment was housed. 

We watched a short film that showed the process of making apple cider. Then we went to the picnic pavilion next to the playground. A delicious cup of frozen apple cider was served for a snack. 

Once snack time was over the kids were given free time to go play in the playground for about 45 minutes. 

Soon they were called back to the pavilion for lunch. A bagged lunch and a container of milk was given to each student. But they had to wait until everyone was served to start eating. 

Here's Aria patiently waiting to feast on the Smucker's crustable, Yogurt coated cranberries and raw baby carrots.  

The only thing she liked was the sandwich. Following the midday meal, there was more playground time. 

My granddaughter played in the sandbox and climbed on the pirate ship. 

All too soon it was time for the class to board their bus and head back to the school. 

Aria was sad that we had to say "good-bye". I told her that I would see her later that night at the school's Fall Festival.  

The very next day, the 19th was my grandson, Gabriel's birthday. That afternoon we went to his 3rd birthday party at a new place in town called "Oh What Fun".  

This is a wonderful place to have a kid's party. It is a large open space that is filled with several themed play areas with plenty of interactive toys. 

There's a barn, medical office, produce stand, a firetruck, a house with a slide, and a police station. Also there's a special area for toddler's 2 and under. It's a kid's play time paradise. 

The kids can play as much as they want, wherever they want. The adults can play with them as well.

Gabriel and Aria played together in the diner area. 

I joined them and played "customer". It was a lot of fun. 

The kids were occupied and busy throughout the entire party. Nobody got hurt and there was no random running around, chasing or screaming. Just a relatively calm and quiet playtime together. 

The party's theme was "tractors". 

The cupcakes were grouped together to fit right in with the party's theme. And our little guy loved it. 

He also had a lot of fun opening his gift, which was a real family affair. 

Paula and I had gotten him a gift that needed to be assembled and he wouldn't have been able to play with at his party. So the next day I took it over to his house. 

James assembled it and in about 15 minutes Gabriel was riding around on his new Spiderman motorcycle. 

The fun from these special days in the middle of the month, along with our Smoky Mountain adventures gave me more time with my grandchildren in October than I thought I would. But the month was not over. 

On Sunday the 28th, the grand kids came to our house for a visit. I gave them their new helmets to wear while riding their scooters up and down our driveway on the cool fall afternoon. 

Aria didn't want her picture taken with her new helmet but Gabriel was proud to show off his helmet. 

They also sat on the couch in our living room watching Toy Story 4 and eating microwave popcorn. It was a fun visit. 

Early the next morning, I got a call from my daughter in law asking if I could watch Gabriel during the day. I like to help whenever I can, so I said "yes". 

This would be my first time ever taking care of my grandson by myself. I picked him up...

...and by 9 o'clock he was back at our house playing with his favorite Legos. 

We had a lot of fun together and by the next day he was back at his regular daycare. 

The last time we got to see the kids in October was Halloween night. 
As she is every year, Aria was  dressed in a really creative home-made costume. Gabriel, of course, was dressed as Spiderman. 

So there you have a whole bunch of pictures and stories from time Paula and I got to spend with our grandchildren in October. 

I know this post was slightly self indulgent. But hey, I'm "Papa" and if I can't write about my grandkids, who can? 

Next post, I'm going to wrap up the last of the October events I want share with you.

Thanks for reading the Yankee Near Nashville blog, I'll see you next time.