kansas city

Louisburg Apple Cider and Lost Trail Root Beer Doughnut Cookies

- Mama 3 Comments

While at the Cider Mill in Louisburg, I couldn’t help but pick up their famous Lost Trail Rootbeer and Louisburg Apple Cider. But really, there are some amazing things you can do with those two drinks. Other than, you know, drinking them.

And that’s where doughnut cookies come in. They’re not doughnuts. But they’re also not totally cookies. They’re like… if doughnuts and cookies had a baby. A sweet, sweet, delicious baby.

The best part is the two different varieties, meaning there is a little something for everyone.

For the Apple Cider Doughnut Cookies….

For a richer taste, you may want to sub in the Maple flavor of Pillsbury Funfetti Lil Doughnuts, but I had the vanilla on hand. They’d both fit perfectly with apple, so it just depends on the flavor you’re looking for.

When you open the boxed mix, set aside the funfetti sprinkles and the glaze mix. You won’t need them for this recipe, so save them for another treat or discard them. The reserved glaze mix and sprinkles are PERFECT on pancakes or waffles!

Prepare the doughnut mix according to package directions, but instead of using water, substitute an equal amount of Louisburg Apple Cider! Basically, ditch the water, add the cider.

Dice up 1-2 small apples, then fold them into your doughnut dough.

Also prepare some cinnamon sugar. Most people have a specific preference for their cinnamon sugar ratio, so just prepare it however you like best. You’ll need enough to roll about 24 doughnuts.

Roll your doughnuts into balls. If you find that the dough is a little sticky, you can spray your hands with a slight mist of cooking spray, and they’ll be fine.

Then, roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Place them on a greased baking sheet an inch or two apart. Bake according to package directions, but check them about 2 minutes before the package says they’re done. As oven temps and times may vary, these could finish a minute or two early, or they could finish right on time.

These are best served warm, fresh out of the oven, with a large glass of hot Louisburg Apple Cider!

The Lost Trail Root Beer Chocolate Cherry Doughnut Cookies are also easy!

Start with your Lost Trail Root Beer and Pillsbury Funfetti Chocolate Lil Doughnut Mix! You’ll also need 1 can of your favorite cherry pie filling.

Set the sprinkles aside– you won’t need them for this recipe, but can use them for a different project or discard them.

Start by preparing the mix according to package directions. However, instead of  the listed amount of water, use 4 Tablespoons Lost Trail Root Beer and 2 Tablespoons water.

Shape your dough into balls. Then, using a spoon or your thumb, press a slight dent into each doughnut cookie.

Fill each little dent with a cherry, then bake the doughnut cookies according to package directions. Check on them a few minutes before the end just to make sure you don’t overbake them.

While your doughnut cookies bake, prepare your glaze. For the listed milk content, substitute with half milk, half Lost Trail Root Beer. Once mixed, add a teaspoon full of the cherry pie filling (trying not to get any cherries in the glaze!)

When the doughnut cookies are done, allow them to cool for two minutes, then spoon glaze on each doughnut cookie.

Serve the doughnut cookies with ice cold Lost Trail Root Beer straight out of the bottle (or in a frosty mug!)

If you’re in the Kansas City area and can’t make it out to the mill, you should be able to find Louisburg Apple Cider and Lost Trail Root Beer at many local retailers. However, if you’re outside of the Kansas City Area, you can order online at www.louisburgcidermill.com or request a catalog. You can also substitute your favorite apple cider or root beer, but I prefer the taste of Louisburg Cider and Lost Trail Root Beer for my doughnut cookies!

Let me know what you think in the comments below! Which doughnut cookie do YOU think looks best?

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Kansas City!

- Mama 3 Comments

Picture this. You’re driving south on I-35 near Gardner, and suddenly, just past a bridge, you see a giant Jack-O-Lantern come into view.

It’s huge. Massive, even.

No, it’s not the Great Pumpkin here to give you Halloween goodies, Charlie Brown. It IS a great pumpkin that will lead you to lots of family fun, however.

This giant pumpkin, attached to a slide, is one of the first signs that you’ve reached the Kansas City Pumpkin Patch, one of the larger, more exciting patches in the Kansas City area. Just outside of Gardner, it’s pretty local to most of the city, and provides for a ton of activities that you can do with your family, including the big pumpkin slide.

We started off on the tricycle race track. Complete with plenty of tricycles, both vintage and new, the little ones in the family can race around the track and have fun beating each other’s speed, or just enjoy a leisurely ride with the help of a loved one. Zach had a blast going around with Jeffrey giving him a push!

Near the tricycle track are a fun Gyro Ball, which is new this year, a pumpkin launcher, and a kid-friendly zip line. Unfortunately, these attractions appeared to be closed during our weekday visit. It’s one trade-off that you have to decide what is best for your family. For Zach, there was plenty to do without having the additional attractions open– slides, trikes, and dino digs! In that situation, going on a weekday is perfect because the patch isn’t as crowded, and you’re able to do the perfect kid-friendly activities. However, if you’ve got older kids interested in the Gyro Ball and launching pumpkins, a weekend visit may suit you better. Even though it will be more crowded, these activities are most likely open and running, so you can get the full effect of the patch. We’ll likely keep checking out the less crowded weekdays, because there was still a TON to do.

I couldn’t resist getting Zach’s photo in one of the cutouts on the farm. He was dying to be a kitty cat! With several of these stationed around the farm, from 1 person to multi-people, you’ll have no problem snapping a cute souvenir photo with your camera or to share on Instagram (#kcpumpkinpatch, for those curious) to share with your loved ones easily. Even Jeffrey was a good sport and let me snap his photo in the Kitty Cat cutout!

It was also fun seeing how much both boys had grown this year. Zach is almost up to 3 feet tall!

Jeffrey is thrilled to have passed mom and finally made it over the 5 feet mark.

We ventured into the barn, which is set up with some smaller, kid-friendly slides, a fun area to play in some corn, and a big sandbox with diggers!

The boys even worked together to fill up some toys.

Zach’s favorite part was easily the wooden train, which he had a blast running the length of, climbing through the tunnels, and sitting on the seats. It was so much fun, and gave him an opportunity to use some imaginary play. There were also a bunch of cars set up with steering wheels so kids could pretend to go for a drive!

Inside the barn near the big Mining Sluice is a great batch of educational opportunities like wood puzzles, trivia, a dino dig, and signs like this pumpkin life cycle. This would be perfect for a scavenger hunt or worksheet to turn a fun field trip to the pumpkin patch into a perfect educational opportunity. You can also have a good discussion about how pumpkins work, then use your newfound knowledge to try to grow your own pumpkin at home, or lead to a discussion about how much work it takes to make the pumpkin you’re getting ready to carve into! As you carve your pumpkins, you can go over how the seeds inside become vines and flowers that create green pumpkins that turn orange!

You can also quiz yourself on some Bee Facts while you’re in the barn!

Outside of the barn, the boys loved this big spider web! It was nearly impossible to walk on, forcing you to crawl it like giant spooky spiders! After a lot of playing, not even getting to see every single thing they offered (like a jump pillow and other kid attractions), it was time for the main event.

We hopped on the tractor-pulled wagon to a drive out to the patch! The corn maze is also accessed by this ride, with 10 acres in a military-themed design this year.

Zach and Jeffrey grabbed a big cart for us to load up our pumpkins!

This is just one of many sections of pumpkins, with more pumpkins closer to the slides and stuff (for those who would rather walk to the patch than ride the wagon), and even more pumpkins and gourds right at the front gate (in case you decide to swap out your patch pumpkins for other pumpkins, or realized you forgot a pumpkin, or you just don’t want to go out to the patches).

Zach was a fan of the small white gourds.

And Jeffrey was seeking out the biggest pumpkins in the patch!

Both boys searched and scoured for the perfect pumpkins to paint and carve, and wandered the patch for the pumpkins they wanted to buy.

After loading them all up in the wagon, it was time to pay and go home for a long nap.

The patch is really a great place for all ages, with tons of activities, so many that we didn’t even get to do them all (including life-sized Lincoln Logs, games, and more slides!) To me, it’s worth the admission cost. If you go on a weekday, not all areas are open, but the admission is $8.00. Weekends are $9.00 online,$10.00 at the gate, with all of the areas open. Anyone 2 and under is free, and military with valid ID get in for $5.00. (Tax isn’t included, nor are some of the activities like the mining sluice, which cost a little extra. Pumpkins are $0.60/lb, with varying prices for giant pumpkins, gourds, and other decor). They’re open through October 31!

It’s a really great family-friendly location for all ages, and the kids will get a kick out of trying the different slides, visiting the barns for more activities, and picking their own pumpkins from the patch.

Check out their website at kcpumpkinpatch.com.

If you have older kids (tweens and teens), you might also want to check out the Kansas City Fear Farm, at the same location as the KC Pumpkin Patch, which operates on weekends, and is a great haunted event with 5 spooky attractions, plus the Zombie Apocalypse Paintball adventure.

One last thing… if you’re hoping to visit the KC Pumpkin Patch, be sure to do it quick, because this is their very last year at this location! They’re currently looking for a new home to move to after this year, but for now, you can find them in Gardener, address on their website.

You can also check out my Facebook page for more photos of our fun trip! The link is over to the right in the sidebar.

Is going to a pumpkin patch a tradition in your family? Tell me all about it in the comments below!

 

Disclosure: I received tickets to the KCPP in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and not altered by this compensation in any way.

A Haunted Night at KC Fear Farm

- Mama 6 Comments

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a pretty big fan of the KC Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze in Gardner, Kansas. What many people don’t know, however, is how frightening things can truly get there. While the Patch and Corn Maze are totally kid-friendly, there’s a spooky not-so-secret life of the KC Pumpkin Patch… it’s on-site sister, the KC Fear Farm.

Loaded with 5 extreme haunts and a bonus optional add-on, the brand new Zombie Apocalypse, you’re in for an evening of fun as soon as you get there.

I decided the best way to make my way through the KC Fear Farm for the first time would be to bring a gaggle of teens, because, well, they’re easy to scare, but have that tough “I’m not scared” exterior. It’s the perfect fit for a haunted, spooky attraction.

We arrived at 6:30, and I’ll be honest, we may have been getting there a bit early. The KC Fear Farm doesn’t open until dark, for good reason– it’s just better in the dark. However, the perk of getting there early is being first in line for every attraction, so you have literally no wait once you’re inside. It’s a good idea to weigh the pros and cons and decide if you want to wait in line BEFORE you get there, or wait in line once you’re inside the gates… a fast pass, of course, can get you through so you don’t wait either time.

Since they don’t allow a camera inside, I’m going to give you a run-down of each haunt and tell you all about the KC Fear Farm, sans photos, and try not to give too many frights away. With that said, there may be a few spoilers about some of the haunts below, so if you DON’T want to know about specific things you might encounter in the KC Fear Farm, then you will definitely want to skip to the very end.

Insane Reaction

This was the first attraction we went into, and, since it’s been years since I entered a haunted house, I didn’t know what to expect. With blaring music, fog, and flashing lights, the chain link fence maze doesn’t seem like much at first… until you realize you can’t see. Literally, 3 inches in front of my face, I couldn’t see. Not only does it make it nearly impossible to wind through the chain link maze, you find yourself at dead end after dead end, with creatures like werewolves lurking around every corner. While not scary in the darkened haunted house sense, this was pretty scream-inducing because you simply didn’t know where to turn next. I didn’t expect it to make me as scared as it did. Easily the scariest part was coming to a dead-end, turning, and being face to face with a monster you didn’t know was there. That whole not seeing further than 3 inches can really throw you off. I give it a 5/5 for being unexpectedly creepy.

Kansas Twister

By far the shortest attraction that KC Fear Farm has, I was surprised at how there wasn’t much to it. On the bright side, it was really one to throw off my equilibrium, and I honestly nearly fell down from being so disoriented inside. I’d give this one a 3/5… it was so short, but so enjoyable, that it left me wanting more!

Circus Asylum

We all had ourselves really psyched out for this one before we went in, to the point that one of the girls was almost to the point of panic attack, it seemed. Once we got in, it was just… confusion and chaos. There were curtains everywhere, You’d turn to go to the next space and… just a wall behind a curtain! We started to get turned around, didn’t know which way to go. It was a little confusing, and then you’d pull back a curtain and… BAM! Clown. Horn right in your face. It almost felt like we were going out ways we came in because we got really turned around inside. This will definitely freak out anyone who is terrified of clowns, just sayin’. Since I’m not scared of clowns, I give it a 4/5. Once again, being disoriented was what really led to the freakouts… it felt a little never-ending, and that added to the creep factor.

Buried Alive

This one started out pretty mild… tombstones, bugs, and body parts that weren’t too terribly frightening. However, as you go on, the smells, sounds, and sensory experiences start to get scarier, and scarier, and before you know it, your heart is racing. The pinnacle of this attraction is the part that freaked me out the most, to the point that I was overcome with claustrophobia. I honestly wasn’t sure if I could go any further forward, but I knew if I turned back, I’d be in the same situation… it was continue on, or just stay inside forever. With the walls totally closing in near the end of this haunt, you truly get the sensation of being buried alive. It was arguably the most panic-inducing moment of the entire experience at KC Fear Farm. I wanted to go in a corner and cry. But don’t take that as a bad review at all– I went hoping to be totally scared. And trust me, scared I was. Since it’s technically against the rating system rules to give Buried Alive a 6/5, I’ll give it a 5/5 because it was easily my favorite (and also least favorite because of the scare factor!) attraction of the entire experience.

Field Of Screams

The highlight, the centerpiece, the focal attraction of the night, is obviously the field of screams. It’s the longest of the attractions, and also a good note to end on. You start out at the beginning of the maze and wrap your way through the corn maze, winding along. Being alone, in a field, at night, surrounded by corn, you start to get a bit nervous. If it’s been awhile since something jumped out at you, you start to get paranoid. Literally, to the point that one of the members of our group jumped and screamed, then said “Oh. That was corn.” Yeah, the paranoia adds to the scare. As you weave your way through, there are some people hidden in the corn, and then there a few walk-throughs where you enter buildings for short little freakouts– like a psych ward where the doctor just might be crazier than the patients, a bus that clearly has some messed-up passengers, and a hall of snakes. At times, you’ll end up on springy surfaces, shaking bridges, and inside of things where you worry you won’t quite make out. Prepare to duck, twist, and wind through the corn for this extended-length haunt. We even hit a dead end at one point and struggled to find our route in the dark. The field of screams was an easy 5/5 because it just truly was a highlight of the entire evening, and the perfect note to end the frightening terrors on.

Zombie Apocalypse

The Zombie Apocalypse was the final activity of the night, and requires a separate entrance fee from the haunted portions. You start out in a bunker watching some military training videos to get you prepped for the adventure. They’re campy and hilarious, truly getting you in the mood for the experience. After two training videos, you’re finally issued your rounds and safety goggles, which are required for everyone to use. You then enter your reinforced bunker, load your ammo (paintballs) into the weapon, which is attached to the board in front of you. Once you’re given the allowance to fire at will, the wall raises and you start shooting at the zombies who are trying to attack. It’s fun, fast paced, and an enjoyable way to end the evening on a fun, interactive note. I’ll give it a 4/5 because it was short, but it was so much fun. I easily would have loved to buy a second ticket and go back through this experience again.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChAjrWp9siw]

Video Credit: Bruce McRoberts and the Blue Valley CAPS

So, to wrap up…

KC Fear Farm is a must on your fall bucket list, especially if you have teens in the family.

You can buy tickets JUST for the haunted portion, JUST for the Zombie Apocalypse, or, online, purchase a combo ticket for both experiences. The haunted portion does get a little scary, so I advise it for tweens and older, but definitely teen-safe. As for the paintball, it’s definitely kid-friendly, so I’d recommend it as a good attraction for families with younger kids who aren’t quite ready for the haunted attractions. Obviously, the haunted attractions take considerably longer than the paintball-only portion, but if you split up and decide to have part of your party do the Zombie Apocalypse and part do the haunted attractions, there are some concessions (nachos and kettle corn) and picnic tables where you can wait and meet up later.

I find that the KC Fear Farm is comparable in fright factor to the major KC haunted houses, but has a major advantage that the others don’t– it’s outside, and the atmosphere with the fog, the chill in the air, and the moon above is just perfect to set the mood for a fright.

Your best purchase would be the combo ticket sold online, because it gives you access to all 6 attractions at a discount versus buying Zombie Apocalypse separately at the opening.

I’d say the Fear Factor is kind of on par with seeing a PG-13 movie, so if you’d let your child view a PG-13 horror film, they’d be alright going through KC Fear Farm. The KC Fear Farm will be open Fridays and Saturdays through October 26th, so get there quickly! You can purchase tickets on the website at www.kcfearfarm.com. Also be sure to connect with them on facebook and twitter, searching for KC Fear Farm. You REALLY don’t want to miss it.

 

 

 

Disclosure: I received tickets from KC Fear Farm in order to do a blog post about them. However, all opinions above are my own and are 100% honest.

A Trip to Louisburg Cider Mill

- Mama 3 Comments

Growing up in Kansas, the fall gets a bit chilly, with winter following after, and during those seasons, hot apple cider is a necessity. However, I just so happened to win hometown jackpot in that I grew up only about 15 minutes away from the absolute best cider mill, Louisburg Cider Mill. Family owned since 1977, it’s been a part of my entire life, and I was able to get a personal tour of the mill recently. I was shocked to see exactly how much had been added since I was last able to make a trip out there, making it a perfect field trip for Zach, and even Jeffrey.

Greeted by a simple sign proclaiming “Fresh Apple Cider” as I turned off of 68 Highway, I honestly felt flashbacks to childhood. I didn’t realize, though, that a lot had changed at this family-run business, and a lot of that was thanks to Clea, my tour guide for the day. Before I got to the Apple Cider Mill I knew and loved, I was directed to the other half of the Louisburg Cider Mill– the pumpkin patch and corn maze.

Just past the metal sign welcoming you to the patch is a family-friendly fall wonderland, made of pumpkins and bonfires and really fun homemade playsets, which were designed with the intention that families could borrow a lot of the playset ideas for home.

For $8 (or nothing, if you’re under the age of 3), you get access to all of this, and then some. Tires, a hay fort, the corn maze, pallet maze, wagon ride…. all of it.

I think Zach’s favorite part was the pallet maze, which was bright and exciting. Inside of the maze are some super secret letters. Find all of them, unscramble them on an entry form, and you could win a $25 gift card to the country store! Fun, AND educational. The giant corn maze (10 acres!) also has a word puzzle hidden inside.

Speaking of the corn maze… it’s a scarecrow this year. Isn’t he cute?

While there, we got greeted by some friendly little guys, but this one was a bit rude– he stuck his tongue out at us!

The funny thing about a pumpkin patch in Kansas is that, many times, you have to kind of search for a pumpkin at the beginning of the season. Even though there are 10 acres of patch, and there are gobs of pumpkins, large and small, to be picked, we haven’t had a frost yet, which means all of those green vines are intact. Once the frost hits, the vines die out, and the pumpkins gather at the base of the fallen vines, becoming a sea of orange.

I never realized how many things that the Cider Mill had to offer on the patch side. The wagon ride takes about 15 minutes and brings you all around the property, including past the witches’ house (which, I’ll let you in on a little secret, isn’t a witches house at all, but the home that the owners of the Cider Mill used to occupy). New this year is a huge jump pillow, which looks like an absolute blast (for an additional $2). The admission fee gives you access to everything so you can take your time exploring and playing, and with it being open until 10pm, there’s plenty of playtime to be had. You’re even able to bring a flashlight and go through the corn maze at night, until close– spooky! Many weekends, they light up the big bonfires and play live music on the stage, so it’s a perfect way to get the family out for a great night under the stars, next to a cozy fire. It even makes a really romantic date night. You can check out all of the live music dates on the Louisburg Cider Mill website.

Of course, pumpkins and mazes aren’t all the Cider Mill has to offer. They also, obviously, have cider. And, the pumpkins you see there are the pumpkins you can purchase if you don’t feel like taking a trip over to the patch to pick one yourself. Believe it or not, this barn was once just a neglected hay barn that was over 120 years old. In 1977, it was restored, and that fall, they bottled a jug of cider for the first time in that barn. It didn’t take much time after that for the cider to become hugely popular in the area, which led to a second barn being purchased from a neighbor, then assembled right near the old one to make the country store.

An operation that first started out of the barn in small batches has become a huge operation for the owners of the Cider Mill, with apples coming in by the truckload getting washed and turned into fresh cider. All of the apples come from orchards in Kansas and Missouri, a blend of Jonathan, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious apples in 1,000lb bins.

The clean apples move up a conveyor belt into the barn for processing.

The conveyor belt leads them into the blademill, cutting the apples into pomace, which is a raw apple sauce.

From there, pomace is pushed through a cider press, squeezing the juice out of it for cider.

The cider is pushed through a rotating filter screen which finishes making sure all of the apple bits are out and it’s just cider. It’s then cooled in a cooling tank to 38 degrees. Once it gets cold enough, it goes to a bottling room to be filled into jugs.

Like these! Which can be found in the Country Store and also in grocery stores all across the metro, and even beyond that.

So what happens to the apple pomace and the rest of the apple-y goodness? Well, it’s turned into apple butter! And anything leftover from that goes to compost or cattle feed, meaning the entire apple is used, with little waste.

After exploring everything, I knew we couldn’t leave without stopping in the Country Store near the barn.

We each ate an apple cider doughnut, fresh made (they stopped making them for the morning literally minutes before we bought ours, so they were extra fresh!), and of course, a cup of fresh apple cider.

Needless to say, we’re all big fans of the cider doughnuts.

Nearly everything that isn’t made on-site at the Cider Mill is purchased locally, including the apples, and many of the preserves found in the Country Store. However, a good chunk of the products are made right there on the site, like the pumpkin and apple butters.

The cider isn’t the only claim to fame that Louisburg Cider Mill has, either. They’re also known for Lost Trail Root Beer, which I remember being the only root beer that our local BBQ joint, K&M, would serve. It was always so special to sip root beer out of a glass bottle; it’s something I still enjoy to this day. It’s microbrewed and made from an original formula that the great-great grandfather of one of the owners of the mill encountered while on the trail; an excerpt of his journal entry about the root beer is printed on the bottles still.

Honestly, you can’t beat a trip to the Louisburg if you’re looking for a fun thing to do with your family. It’s not that far from the Kansas City Metro, less than half an hour, and it’s worth every minute.

Looking for a reason to head out that way? The annual CiderFest is this weekend, September 30-October 1, and the following weekend, October 5-6. CiderFest is a free event and craft fair with plenty of exciting booths to explore. They also always have fresh, hot apple cider doughnuts and their famous cider for sale the entire weekend.

If you don’t live near the KC area and want to find out more about Louisburg Cider Mill or buy things like their Cider Doughnut mix so you can make your own Cider Doughnuts at home, you can order online at louisburgcidermill.com.

They do offer school tours and tours for homeschooling groups if you contact them in advance to schedule a trip out there. It’s an amazing educational opportunity for fall, and fits perfectly with an apple-themed unit study.

Want to see more photos of my trip to the Louisburg Cider Mill? Be sure to LIKE my Facebook page, over in the sidebar!

Don’t Let Them Go Dark…

- Mama 1 Comment

I know this isn’t the first summer that I’ve shared with you how much I love Drive-In movies.

Drive-In movies are part of a family tradition for us. I can’t remember how old I was when we went to our first Drive-In, but I know for sure it’s a fun tradition I want to keep alive for my son’s sake. It’s one of the most important traditions we have.

You see, we don’t just go for the movie.

It’s tradition to get there early and play on the playground in front of the screen.

At the beginning of the summer, Zach was unable to make it up the slide without help. Last time we visited, however, he was able to make it up and down the slide all by himself! I love seeing him grow up on this equipment.

We always take a ball in case we decide to play a pick-up game of soccer. This photo shows Javier, a student from Brazil, heading the ball during one of these games.

Drive-In movies are about FAMILY.  The picture above shows family and friends we love attending the Drive-In with, as well as exchange students. We love introducing students to Drive-In movies, because they’re really not as common outside of the U.S.

There’s just something about the Marquee, the Playground, waiting for it to get dark outside, watching the movie…

Most recently, we went to the Drive-In during the Meteor Shower. It meant that, as we watched the movie, above the screen we could see massive amounts of shooting stars.

On one of these stars, I wished that our Drive-In would be saved. You see, Drive-Ins are suffering right now. Most of them cannot afford to survive the shift to digital, and Hollywood keeps raising the cost of keeping a drive-in open. I mean, where else can you see a double feature for only $7? Drive-In movies just aren’t making enough to survive or make the shift.

So, each summer, fewer and fewer drive ins survive. Each summer, there are casualties. And it’s sad.

The thought of our Drive-In closing before my son can be old enough to keep those memories of the drive in devastates me.

I just want these memories to last. I want him to grow old enough to remember the Drive-In. In wishful thinking, I want Drive-In movies to still be a thing when my son is grown. Can you imagine how great it would be for him to take HIS kids to the drive-in?

That’s why I’m desperate to Save the Midway Drive-In that we go to every summer.

If you want to help save my Drive-In, or a Drive-In near you, please head over to Project Drive-In and VOTE. Vote to keep this family tradition alive. Vote to give everyone a chance to visit a Drive-In movie. Vote to give hope to this amazing movie culture that is dwindling.

Please. Don’t let the drive-ins go dark. Save them. The best way to support your local drive in? Spread the word about it. Visit it often. Support the concession stand. If you’re going to the Midway, you always have the option of tipping the Concession Stand– all money goes to the Save the Midway fund.

Speaking of, if you’re in the area, Planes and Smurfs 2 are the movies airing at the final weekend of the season this weekend, August 30, 31, and September 1. I hope to see you there!

We Live For It

- Mama 4 Comments
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWmzNKugwHs]

My family takes that video pretty seriously. Whenever a Sporting Kansas City game is on television, we’re glued to the screen. If I were able to be at every single home game, or better, every single game, I would be. That’s why, when my family was given the opportunity to tour Livestrong Sporting Park, home of the team I love the most, we jumped on the opportunity.

Livestrong Sporting Park is the first, and right now, the only, major league stadium in the state of Kansas. All of Kansas City’s other major league stadiums fall on the Missouri side. But that’s not the only thing that makes Livestrong Sporting Park special. When LSP was built, it was made in partnership with Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong foundation, and over the course of the next six years, over $7.5 million dollars will be donated. You see, every time you purchase anything there, from merchandise to food, you’ll be helping support cancer research in association with Livestrong.

One of my favorite places in the stadium is the Member’s Club. After a win, hundreds of fans flood the Member’s Club for an all-out party, cheering, hooping, and hollering about our win, and singing the chants that express our love for the team. It’s in this club where you feel less like fans and more like a family.

One of my favorite features of the Member’s Club is the scarf wall. If you’re not familiar with soccer, you’ll need to know that instead of baseball caps for baseball, or jerseys for hockey, Stadium Scarves are the item to have at a soccer game. After the game, it’s traditional that fans will trade stadium scarves. For example, if we play Chicago, then after the game, I could chat up a Chicago fan, and we could trade scarves. The teams also trade scarves, which is where they got such an extensive display of scarves not only from the MLS teams, but from around the world.

From the Member’s Club, you can enter the Cauldron, which is arguably one of the loudest, rowdiest fan supporters in Major League Soccer. On many occasions, it’s been said that they are the 12th man of the team, intimidating the other team and supporting our own players so much. When the stadium first opened, the Cauldron was the only one who knew the chants and cheers of the stadium, but surely after a few games, the chants spread like wildfire, and now the entire stadium lights up with song at the games, starting with the legendary “I believe that we will win” chant, and not stopping until full time.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sl4qTSwjh4]

Even the players recognize I Believe That We Will Win as the chant that really exemplifies the fan spirit, but each and every cheer for the team gets the players and the fans even more pumped up.

The Cauldron has a great view of the field, as well, overlooking the entire stadium. They are right there behind our goalkeeper for half of the game.

When the stadium was first built, there were 400 season ticket holders. The stadium was built to accommodate 18,467 seats, with additional space for standing room, and when I first got into soccer, there was a little bit of question as to whether or not it would really ever get filled. Kansas City had a very small, but very loyal fan base. In the second season at Livestrong Sporting Park this year, there are 12,000 season ticketholders, and almost every game ends up being standing room only.

On one wall of the stadium, you can see some of the championships that the team has won. In addition to the team being award-winning, though, the stadium is also an award winner.

Just this year, Sporting Club received four awards for Livestrong Sporting Park. First, the Venue of the Year award, which they beat out many other incredible stadiums to win, including the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in China. The CEO of Sporting KC, Robb Heineman, was awarded the Executive of the Year award. It won the Community Award, beating out Miller Park in Milwaukee. And, most importantly, in my opinion, they won the Product Innovation Award for something called Fan360.

Fan360 is an incredible fan experience, starting with a very technologically advanced park. Because of the multiple wifi routers, they have made it so that every fan in the stadium, all 20,000 of them, can actively be using their cell phones at once, for calling, checking in to the stadium with things like 4square, Tweeting, updating their facebook statuses, or whatever else they would do, and not a single call would be dropped or connection lost. In addition, the stadium is state of the art, allowing fans to easily interact with the stadium and with each other.

While we were at the stadium, we had a chance to sit in the very seats that the players sit in on game day. These seats are the same seats you would find in a Ferrari. I loved that my shirt matched the seats perfectly!

Right after sitting in the seats, we headed through the doors to the Field Club. It is a beautiful room off right off of the field, and it’s open to anyone who is sitting in a specific set of seats in the stadium (the average cost of those seats? $3,000 per game, and they’re sold out for the rest of the season and next season… popular place!)

This is also where the team prepares to head on the field before the game, with their young soccer buddies. Each player from the teams, home and away, walks onto the field with a child, and before the game they give the children words of encouragement, ask them about school and about sports, and really talk to that child one-on-one.

Right off of the field club is the interview room, where the coach and a few players talk to the media after the game. This air conditioned room stays very cold, but then again, if you had just finished playing a soccer game in 115 degree weather, wouldn’t you want a very cold room?

Our next stop on our tour of Livestrong Sporting Park was the locker room. I was so excited to get to take a peek inside the room, because I really feel like this is where players get amped up for the game. Each player has their own chair and locker space. The table in the middle is where they put their laundry (SKC has a kit man who takes care of the laundry, and he has a pretty funny twitter account). Like the chairs outside, these are also very expensive chairs from a sports car, and each chair has it’s own power source so players can plug in their iPod before the game and chill out, getting in the zone for the game. So who has the best and worst taste in music in the locker room? The players talked about that very subject on the Sporting KC Youtube channel.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On7JVQCU8ZY]

While the jersey for the great Jimmy “Puma” Nielsen and many of the other starting players’ jerseys were not there, there was one very special jersey I was excited to see…

Michael Thomas is one of my favorite players at the moment, and one of several hometown heroes on our team. There are five players from the Kansas City area on the team, and I love each and every one of them. He’s also one of the newest players on the team, and he went to school literally 15 minutes away from me. Too cool!

Before the game the players are only allowed to drink water or Gatorade. At half time, they have access to a smoothie station where they can get a smoothie tailored to their specific needs. If they feel a cramp coming on, they can have a smoothie with extra potassium. Are they needing to re-hydrate? There’s a specific recipe they can get for that, too!

The training room is another place that is crucial to the team, considering it’s where the players go when they need healing or relief. There are massage tables lined up so after a game the guys can get a massage and relieve the tense muscles. Ice baths and whirlpools are available to the team, and there’s even an on-site pharmacy in case anything happens. Players have to be kept at peak physical performance, and the training room is the best location for them to work on that.

From the Field Club level, we were able to go up to the Signature, Executive, and Shield club areas. Each of them has it’s own specific type of accommodations. In the signature level, there are suites available to rent out. Each suite in the Signature Level is controlled by it’s own iPad, and each has it’s own refrigerator. On nice evenings, the entire suite walls can be opened so you can enjoy the fresh air as you watch the game. The refrigerators are fully stocked with adult beverages, sodas, and water, and if you start to run low, all you have to do is order more via the iPad; it will be restocked, on average, within three minutes. If you have a Signature Level suite, not only can you use that on game day (they’re rented by the season rather than by the game), but you also have access to it any time for business meetings and more… you just have to give a little bit of advanced notice and you can head right into your own suite.

The Executive Level is very similar to the Signature Level, but there is one very important, special difference on that level.

Lance Armstrong, the founder of Livestrong, has a special reserved seat that he is welcome to use whenever he’d like. It’s the same sort of chair that the players sit in, but this time, his own seat is in Livestrong’s signature yellow color. The seat is the seventh seat from the end in it’s row, one seat over for each Tour de France Lance Armstrong has won. While Lance has not made it out to the park yet this season, there is talk that he will be coming in the fall. When the seat isn’t in use by Lance Armstrong himself, a special person is honored at each game with a chance to watch the game from Lance Armstrong’s seat.

Also on this level is the owners’ personal wine collection, including a very special gift. The bottle with the red leather around it was a gift from the German Bundesliga as a congratulations gift on the opening of the new stadium.

As the tour continued, we left the Executive Level and went to the Shield Club.

 

I feel like the ceiling is one of the coolest features of this part of the stadium. I seriously just love it.

Also in the Shield Club, there is a very unique painting. Last year, the MLS Super Draft was held in Kansas City. Each new player who was drafted was asked to go to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art to collaborate on this piece. Each of them dipped their toes into paint and touched them on the canvas. It is a very interesting piece of art, and you’d never know that it was done with their toes until you’re told.

The stadium is simply incredible. It’s beautiful, and fully-equipped. There are 370 televisions in the stadium, and the Members’ Club has 30 of them. Need to use the restroom? If you’re in the Executive or Signature areas, even the restrooms have televisions!

Every television, light, camera, wifi connection, or anything else is controlled entirely from an iPad. Essentially, if you were sitting over in the Cauldron cheering, if you were using that iPad, you could be turning the lights on and off in the Executive Level bathroom. You could literally be anywhere in that stadium and controlling everything.

Another unique thing about Sporting Kansas City? All of the owners, the builders of the stadium, and the designers who designed it are all from Kansas City. It’s the only entirely locally-owned team in Kansas City.

And, each of the five areas I told you about today (Member’s Club, Field Club, Executive Club, Signature Club, and Shield Club) can be rented out for wedding receptions and private parties.

Honestly, if you haven’t been out for a Sporting Kansas City game yet, I don’t know what’s stopping you. There are many great chances to check out Livestrong Sporting Park, whether you’re experiencing the roar of the fans at a Sporting Kansas City game, or headed to a concert, it is definitely the new hottest venue in Kansas City.

Want to see for yourself? Check out tickets to the Journey and Pat Benatar Concert here, find out about booking space for your upcoming event here, or, my favorite option, support your Kansas City team by getting tickets, single game or season, here.

And, there’s one very, VERY important event coming up for Sporting Kansas City.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frFYUyDFKXc]

This video from earlier in the season talks about how Sporting KC was on their path to the US Open Cup Final Game… and it’s here. We’ve made it, and there’s only two teams left vying for the cup.

August 8, the Cup comes to Kansas City for a final game. I only have one thing to say about it…

I believe that we will win.

Keeping Cool with Watersports

- Mama 4 Comments

It has been a very wet month around here. In general, of course, we’re in a pretty bad drought, but that doesn’t stop my younger brother and our sister from Germany from participating in some very fun water sports!

Sometimes, I get so caught up in traveling other places that I forget that some of the coolest things are right here in our backyard. The Kansas City area has some really great ways to participate in water sports, from the comfort of your own metropolitan area.

While my sister, Carolin, was here visiting from Germany, Jeffrey insisted he show her one of his favorite places… KC Watersports! KC Watersports is a cable lake near Paola that allows you to learn some of their watersports from the very beginning if you’ve never tried them out before, or to compete at much higher levels! Wakeboarding, wakeskating, waterskiing, and kneeboarding are all options you can try out at KC Watersports.

Jeffrey is a natural when it comes to the kneeboarding and other watersports there. As soon as he gets suited up, he’s ready to hit the water!

Sometimes, though, he hits it a little too hard. The first few runs, the cable can move a little unexpectedly, but soon after that, it’s easier to get the hang of it and make it around the lake.

Carolin was able to take one of the beginner classes, called the LTR or Learn to Ride program. It’s perfect because she could learn step-by-step how to hop on the board and go! Of course, in the beginning, it takes a few attempts to learn how to stay on the board.

By the end of their time there, though, both Carolin and Jeffrey had an easier time staying on the board!

My brother could stay at KC Watersports forever, and in the summer, it’s a fun way to cool off that shakes things up from the usual “let’s go swimming” sort of thing.

You do need fair warning, though… you will be sore the next day. From head to toe, you get a workout on these boards.

Honestly, KC Watersports is a pretty affordable place to spend the afternoon. An hourly pass is $19, or you can go all day for $39, plus there are several packages in between. You can even rent gear there, so if you’re just wanting to try it out, you don’t have to commit to purchasing equipment. If you do decide you’re a total addict, you can purchase gear and season passes there, to save a little money on your frequent visits.

You can keep up to date on their events, including Trifecta Tuesdays, day camps, ladies nights, and more on their website at www.kcwatersports.com. You can also like their facebook page here or find them as @kcwatersports on Twitter.

In addition to hitting the wakeboard a few times during Carolin’s trip, they were able to try another new and exciting experience… Kayaking!

When Jeffrey and Carolin first decided they wanted to do some kayaking, we worked hard to find a place that they could actually try it out, but we kept finding places that were far away, or not really an option for kayaking in general. Enter Clifton Bencke, who teaches sailing classes at Olathe Lake, and also offers affordable kayak and canoe rentals at the lake!

When we first encountered Clifton at the lake, he was joined by a feathery friend, named after a character in Treasure Isle.

Jeffrey and Carolin were able to grab the kayaks and head to the water. They were ready!

I couldn’t resist snapping a pretty picture of a lone canoe on the shore.

Clifton ran through some basic lessons for them, and taught them exactly how to paddle and get going in the kayak. He even told them the best places to see in the lake (like a bridge they could cross under to see a waterfall and some wildlife!)

The lessons weren’t even necessary—both of them were naturals! They both knew exactly how to cut the paddles through the water.

They had a blast on their two hours on the lake!

There is so much to see on that lake, from natural features like the waterfall to the wildlife that makes the lake it’s home.

Kayaking is another great, affordable water sport that you can do to keep cool in the hot Kansas City summers, and honestly, they had a blast with it. You can rent the kayak or canoe for $15 per hour ($10/hour for Olathe residents!) If you’re not renting during a sailing class, there is a two hour minimum, but that’s really not bad—there’s a good amount of lake to explore. In fact, you can even fish from the canoe (I don’t know about fishing permits at that lake, but I am sure you can find out more about it).

As I mentioned, Clifton also teaches sailing classes in the evenings, for ages nine and up. It would make a fun parent-child bonding activity, or sibling activity, or just fun to go solo. You can find more information about canoe and kayak rentals, as well as sailing classes, on the Olathe Parks and Rec website, here or find them on facebook.

The summer is filled with great opportunities to try water activities out, and both of these were a hit with my brother (age 11) and sister (age 24), which makes them great fun for all ages. I promise you, you will not be disappointed if you decide to head out to KC Watersports or check out Clifton’s kayaking on Olathe Lake.

What are you doing to stay cool this summer?

A Gooey Trip to Chip’s Chocolate Factory

- Mama 4 Comments

As most people following my blog know by now, Jeffrey is in the middle of a homeschooling unit all about chocolate. We’ve been working it into his math, science, writing, reading, and social studies, and trust me, it’s a sweet topic! When we first started gearing up to do this study, it was important for us to schedule a few field trips to really reinforce what we’ve been learning. One of those great field trips was a chance to head to Chip’s Chocolate Factory and watch the demonstration.

When we first emailed Chip’s about setting up an appointment, the owner, Mike, was very accommodating. He helped us plan our visit, and gave us an idea of what to expect. We decided that to get a nice-sized group, we would open the field trip up to other homeschooled students in our area. We found 12 other students that were interested in attending our sweet day!

Some people may be aware of Chip’s if they live in the Kansas City area. After all, it’s the home of Kansas City Fudge, and has been a part of crown center’s second level since 1983.

   

If you aren’t from the area, or don’t spend a lot of time up at Crown Center, you may also know Chip’s Chocolate Factory from an episode of Food Network’s “Kid in a Candy Store.”

I couldn’t find a clip from the episode, but I did find this great Crown Center video from youtube, all about Chip’s!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJKsrOQhT4I]

Chip’s is committed to making all of their fudge by hand, and it isn’t introduced to machine processing at all, start-to-finish. On the tour, we started out learning some facts about chocolate. For Jeffrey, a lot of it reinforced what he had learned over the first half of his unit, but some of it was new information to us, like the cost of certain items using chocolate!

During the demonstration, our host, Cliff, showed us examples of a cacao pod, as well as the seeds, nibs, chocolate liquor (which has no alcohol- it’s just puuuuuure chocolate), cocoa butter (used not only in chocolate, but also in suntan lotion and hand cream!), cocoa cake (which is not actually a cake, but really just the word for chocolate that has had all of the cocoa butter pressed out, so it becomes a thick cake- kind of like a large hockey puck, and gets dropped so it turns to powder), and semi-sweet chocolate.

 

 

While he was introducing these parts to us, molten chocolate was cooling on marble slabs. Why marble? Because it’s naturally cool, which helps cool the chocolate during fudge production!

Before our presentation started, they poured the chocolate onto the marble table out of a big copper kettle.

Finally, after the presentation, it was time to see if the chocolate cooled enough. Cliff pulled a small hand paddle through the fudge and checked the doneness by seeing how long it took for those holes to close in.

And, it’s finally ready! So he cut the bars off of the chocolate…

Time to paddle! Cliff was a great paddler, tossing the chocolate high into the air. Using this method whips all sorts of air into the chocolate, to make it creamy and fluffy, the perfect fudge!

The chocolate soared higher and higher, and he nearly missed the lights hanging from the ceiling. He quipped “Sometimes the chocolate hits the light. That’s how we make light chocolate…” It quickly preceded another joke, “We have fat free fudge here… you buy the fudge, and you get the fat FREE!” The humor was very engaging, and the kids were really interested in the fudge process.

Cliff tossed the chocolate even higher, doing fun tricks like catching it in his mouth. When it neared the ceiling, he said, “Look! Our quality is through the roof!”

He added “Don’t try this at home. Try this at your neighbor’s home. All the fun, none of the mess.”

A lot of people have been to the St. Louis Arch, but not many have seen the Kansas City Chocolate Arch. “They did a taste test between the two… ours won.”

As the fudge began to come together after more tossing, it was time for Cliff to show us all some things we could make at home, that would be far less messy than throwing fudge!

One easy recipe involved taking melted chocolate, and making chocolate “puddles” on a sheet of waxed paper, then sprinkling on some brightly colored sprinkles, or some M&Ms minis!

He also made several delicious recipes using graham crackers (Take a graham cracker, put a little melted chocolate on, then put a marshmallow on it, drizzle it with melted chocolate, and crumble up some more graham cracker on top), and something called “S’moreos.” This was a similar recipe requiring you to take an Oreo, twist it apart (I know, that could be painful for my readers who happen to be dunkers instead of twisters), and laying the half with the cream on the waxed paper (cream up). Drizzle that with chocolate, add half of a large marshmallow, drizzle it with more chocolate, and crumble the other half of the Oreo on top! Yum!

See those marshmallows in the center, with the chocolate and sprinkles? Those also include a very special ingredient, for brave souls only. I’ll be posting the recipe later this week, but here’s a hint as to what’s beneath that yummy chocolate…

Yes. Those are REAL food-grade crickets. Salt and Vinegar flavor. (The candy store in the lower level of Crown Center also sells Bacon and Cheese flavor, as well as Sour Cream and Onion. You know, if you like your crickets like you like your potato chips). One soul was brave enough to try the chocolate cricket goodness…

Mmm… crunchy!

The other kids stuck to less crunchy bug-related samples, by snacking on the other recipes he showed. With the extra melted chocolate, he drizzled it over the audiences tongues- no spoons required! Yum.

We also all got to sample plenty of fudge, at different stages of the fudge process… and I NEVER pass up free fudge!

Zach didn’t pass it up, either!

After that, nuts were added to the fudge, and it was almost ready to be put into a loaf! Cliff comes from a long line of “loafers.” Did you know when the fudge hits your shoe, it’s what’s called “Sole food?” Yeah, me neither… these jokes just keep getting better and better! Haha.

 

The trip to Chips was incredible. I think it really reinforced the principles that we had been learning about in the past month, and it also really helped show us some of the things we had seen photos or videos of, in an actual, physical item (like the pod). Our guide was nice, and incredibly funny, helping drive home the educational points in a fun way.

If you’re in Kansas City, I strongly encourage you to stop by Chip’s Chocolate Factory for a group tour (contact them in advance on their website at www.chipschocolatefactory.com) or visit them to buy some fudge! You can also find them on Facebook by looking for Chip’s Chocolate Factory, or on Twitter, @ChipsChcltFctry.

After our tour at Chip’s, we decided to head to Fritz’s for lunch.

If you’ve never been to Fritz’s, it’s a really unique restaurant that delivers food by train!

After Fritz’s, we enjoyed looking around. If you haven’t heard, Crown Center is expecting some new arrivals this spring… the Sea Life Aquarium and a LegoLand! For LegoLand, they have a statue of Legos in Crown Center’s main entrance, and Jeffrey decided to take a guess of how many Legos might be in the statue. The winner gets a family pack of tickets!

  

Then, the boys had some impromptu learning time, by throwing their Fritz’s hats over the air vents in the front entry of Crown Center. I really enjoyed watching them play and learn themselves. They experimented with placing the hats closer to the vents, and then just tossing them higher into the air stream. They also experimented with putting the hats upside down, right side up, or flattened out, to see if it would cause different flight patterns.

Zach mostly just sat there during the experiments…

  

We finished the day off with some smoothies, but Zach opted for some chocolate custard!

Special thanks to Chip’s Chocolate Factory for letting us bring our group for a visit! Don’t forget to check out their Facebook, Twitter, and Website!