Star Wars goes to Legoland Discovery

It was Star Wars Weekend at Legoland Discovery last week. The 501st Legion was going to make an appearance, so the kids were eager to check it out. Being the Star Wars nerd family that we are, we got there extra early. We were first in line.

We did our normal tour of Legoland, hitting the Kingdom Quest Laser Ride first. The kids love this ride so much, so we went on it back to back. After that, we did the short Star Wars land tour.

I love  peaking around to look at the details. The scene below is easy to miss, unless you peer into a tiny window.

Star Wars Episode II, battle of  Geonosis

We moved over to the miniland area, and were pleasantly surprised to find it transformed into a Star Wars theme. Well, they left the original miniland in place, but dropped in some pretty cool Star Wars scenes. Except Wizard of Oz. That is sacred, and left untouched.

At-At in the house!

Around the Kansas City Speedway, they set up Endor, complete with speeder race. The kids got to race against each other.

Stormtroopers patrolling from Union Station roof.

The dark side takes over Liberty Memorial.

Lord Vader fly over.

Yeah, Star Wars characters are Chiefs fans!

I love this scene. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's house. RIP.

After that, we spotted some of the 501st. They were so great with the fans.

Until next time, 501st!

Today's menu- Serving up some special needs truth. Help yourselves to seconds.

I have been pouring over recipes to use for some of the apples that I picked last wee. I ended up making something called healthy apple crisp one day. Half of us liked it, and half did not.I suspect that the word "healthy" had something to do with that.  Oh well. You lose some, you win some.

So today's recipe is for some special needs truth. This is a bit of a spin off over a conversation that I had recently. I can't remember if it was on facebook, or someplace else. But the discussion was about some of the hurtful things that are said to a special needs parent. Sometimes they are meant to hurt (thankfully, that rarely happens), and other times, it is masked with the intention that they are simply trying to offer advice. So I thought I would lay down some truth. This is my truth. It applies to my children. There are many of lists of things you should know about being a special needs parent. But this one is mine.

1. Being a special needs parent does not make me awesome. I have heard it from many people that I'm a great mom because ____. Fill in the blank. Know that I struggle. It's hard work. I don't always do things right. I make parenting mistakes. 

I am awesome, but not because I'm a special needs parent. I'm just awesome in general.

2. I'm worried. I worry about what will happen to my children. Yes, I know that you worry too. Every parent worries about their child. But here is the difference. A typically developed child has options that a special needs child may not have. I worry about the type of job my children will have. I worry if they will be independent enough to live on their own. I worry that they will live in poverty as adults, dependent on public assistance for the rest of their lives. I worry what will happen to them when Alex and I are gone. Will they have people in their lives that love and care about them?

3. I do not have a magic wand to cure them. Yes, I know that you have a friend of a friend of a friend, whose neighbor has a son with autism. And that kid went to college and now runs the most super awesome company known to mankind. But not every person with autism can do that. Some can go to college. Some can't. Some may never be able to tie their own shoes. This isn't a contest. The fact that  Temple Grandin could accomplish so much, does not mean that her mom was more awesome than any other parent of a child with autism. So please stop comparing us.

4. I have high hopes for my kids, but prepare for the worst case scenario. I have visions of my boys going to a trade school, and getting jobs as plumbers, electricians, home appliance repairmen. Those are solid jobs that cannot be outsourced. They would be able to make enough money to live on their own, have medical insurance, and could even afford to travel. That is my dream for them. But I also recognize that I don't know what will happen. So I must prepare for the what if. 

5. And while I'm at it, the fact that I recognize my sons limitations, does not mean that I have given up on them. It simply means that I recognize their strengths and weakness. We all have them. Just like you know that your child is better at art than math, I know that my child has an amazing memory, but not so good at navigating a class without support?

6.Sometimes, I am angry. Not at my life. I love my life. I couldn't ask for a better husband or children. But I am angry over some of the painful things that have been said in the past. And this probably makes me defensive at some of your well meaning comments. Know that special needs parents are given unwanted advice more times than we care to mention.  Just understand that we know what is best for our children. 

7. This is the awesome house. Not a day goes by, where I don't thank God for my sons. We laugh more than we cry. We are happy more than we are sad. We are hopeful for a bright future, more than mourning for what could have been. We are awesome. 

Now does anyone have a good apple cake recipe?

Fall blessings

Ok, so it isn't quite Autumn. It's in the 80's today, and fall does not officially start for another couple of weeks. But this weekend, we celebrated fall and all of the blessings that come with it. You should know that my kids are apple fanatics. Not the type of apple that has an expensive price tag. They just can't get enough of a nice, crisp apple. I buy about 12 pounds a week. Yes, I really do mean 12 pounds. I did say that were apple fanatics, didn't I?

Since we moved here, I have wanted to pick fresh apples from one of the farms in our area. Normally, it's still quite hot this time of year. But this weekend was glorious. It was only in the low 70's, and seemed like a perfect day to pick apples. We headed out to a local farm, about 30 minutes away.

It was a gorgeous day. And the trees were overflowing with apples. We received some brief instructions at the entrance, and were shown the type of apples that were ready for picking (Hilltop, School Boys, Jonathan's, and Wolf). We then selected our bag size. There were 4 choices; 1/2 a peck, a peck, 1/2 a bushel, and a bushel. We went wit the 1/2 bushel, which is about 24 apples.

Our first stop was to pick from the Hilltop trees. We had to take a short hayride to those trees.

Hilltops are small, sweet apples, perfect for snacking. As you can see, Noah did not waste a minute and immediately took a bite out of one. One of the employees said it was ok to do that. They stop spraying the apples 3 weeks before picking, and we had a nice rain storm the night before.

We filled half of the bag, then took another hayride over to the rest of the orchard. We decided to skip the Wolf apples. They are only made for baking. I preferred to stick to apples that could be used either for baking or eating.

Oh look who munched on another apple!

We headed over the the Jonathan trees next. 

The best way to tell which apples are best for cooking, is to find apples that are more green than red.

Beekeeping.

Apple Heaven!

After we filled out bag with apples, we headed back to the farm to pay for our purchase. 1/2 a bushel was only $15. We also bought some kettle corn for the evening, cider donuts and a cider slushie to share before we headed home. They were all delicious!

Snack time.

It was such a nice afternoon. The apples are so good, and the price was great. We will be back! It was one of those days where you give thanks for your blessings. Life is not always easy. There will be difficult times. Why not just enjoy the simple things? Things don't have to be awesome. I am content with life. I recognize that there are so many blessings in my life.  Because there is always something to be thankful for. Look around you. A family, a place to stay, food to eat, friends, a job. Be thankful for all that you have. You are blessed.