Prairie Village Turns 75 in 2026 and Celebrates Big!

 

Flat Stanley's Adventures in Kansas City

Flat Stanley came to me in Peculiar, Missouri, in the mail from Maineville, Ohio. 

I took him about half an hour away (everything fun is at least half an hour away from Peculiar) to Crown Center, where the headquarters for Hallmark Cards is located (you know, like the Hallmark Channel!). He wanted a couple of photos in the main entryway, and also a couple at the restaurant where I went to work while my son was ice skating. 

The restaurant is called Fritz's Railroad Restaurant, and you order your food by using a telephone at your table. Then the food is delivered by a train that goes around the entire restaurant!

It was too late to go to SeaLife Aquarium and Legoland Discovery Center, though.

How to Successfully Go Back to School As An Adult

 

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One of the beautiful things about life is that we get to do things in our own way. As much as it may feel like we have to fit in with society and do what’s expected of us, the pressure to keep up with what everyone else is doing is slowly dying out. Thankfully, we live in a society where we get to do and be anything we want. Our own individual tastes, wants, and needs are now celebrated. So, if you ever find that you’re on the wrong path or you’re not happy with where you are in life, and you want to be able to change it, you can.

Maybe at some point, you thought you were building the right career and life for what you want. But something changed along the line. And that’s okay! This might be why you’ve found yourself in a situation where you’re thinking of going back to school to study as an adult. Regardless of what age you are, if this is something you can’t stop thinking about, it might be time for you to take it seriously and follow the steps to make it happen. So, in this blog post, we’re going to take a look at how you can go back to school as an adult and make it work for you.

Kerrie's Favorite Affordable Beauty Products

These are products I swear by, and I hope you give some of them a try and fall in love with them too! 

Also, I'd love it if you'd follow me on my Facebook fan page for more updates! I'm also on Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram! And if you're a writer, blogger, proofreader, or just love words, follow me over at The Published Parent! Here we go with 13 of my most favorite beauty products:

Garnier SkinActive Moisture Rescue Face Moisturizer, Normal/Combo, 1.7 oz. was only $6.43 at WalMart (doing the grocery pickup*, of course). It's lightweight and perfect for summer or when you just want something NOT thick. My 15-year-old daughter loves it too and kept using mine so much I got her one for herself. We've probably bought this about 5 times so far. It's great for a quick moisture touch-up when your skin feels dry, during travel, first thing in the morning, last thing at night, etc.

Update as of 12/13/24, my youngest child, my son, just stole this from me! Teens love it because it isn't too thick and definitely isn't greasy. It doesn't contribute to the pimple problem, is what I'm saying! The price has gone up quite a bit from when we were first buying it but it's still worth it.

33 Things to Do Indoors with Kids in Kansas City

Okay, so my visions of snuggling up by a fire and homeschooling every day last winter were blown to bits by the fact that my kids are getting older and bounce off the walls when stuck inside on freezing days. So here are some indoor ideas I have come up with so far ... some are free and some are so expensive they should not even be on the list. Enjoy!

Please use this list and enjoy it and have fun NOT sitting around the house with your kids when it is 10 degrees outside this winter. Maybe I'll see you out there and please, I beg of you, don't judge me when you see me out with my 5 kids and I am feeding them Kit Kats for lunch with a Capri Sun chaser. Assume we got all our homeschooling done that morning and that they'd had apples and broccoli. Definitely let's chat and share in this parenting thing.

Also, I do mention homeschool programs quite a bit in this post. If your kids are not yet going-to-school age, these are great events to take your own kids to even if you don't plan to homeschool. Getting the kids some activity and social time while sometimes you also get some social time in is the name of the game!

Feel free to leave me more ideas in the comments section. Thanks, and see you around!

*This post is being updated as of April 4, 2025.*

You could take your kid on the $5 Roasterie tour and get to wear a nifty cap like this one! Reminds me of Laverne and Shirley a little bit!

1. Aaron's Family Fun Center in Belton (my new neighborhood, close to Peculiar). Aron and the kids went bowling there one night and had a blast. Check out this post about Kids Bowl Free all Summer! If you homeschool or have little ones, go during the day in the winter, and for just a few bucks you get a game, shoes, and a soda!
   
   
2. Bass Pro Olathe or Bass Pro in Independence just to mess around, especially at Christmastime.
   
   
3. Blue Valley Recreation Center and Activity Center. Indoor pool. Massage chairs. Enough said.
   
   
4. 
   
   
5. Centerfire shooting range if your kids are a little bit older and you are cool with teaching your kids how to safely handle a gun.
   
   
6. Christian Youth Theatre. $5 shows on Fridays during certain times of the year. They also have classes and plays that your child can audition for!
   
   
7. The Coterie at Crown Center, where you can go with a group to get the $5 tickets. 
   
   
8. Great Wolf Lodge for indoor water fun!
   
   
9. Ibis Bakery in Lenexa field trip.
   
   
10. IKEA in Merriam ... If you sign up for the family card we are talking about free kid meals on Tuesdays, free coffee for you and lots of roaming space. Here is my post about that.
    
    
11. Indigo Wild factory, where they make amazing soaps (ZUM bar!) and other great-smelling things.
    
    
12. Jump City indoor bouncy houses.
    
    
13. Kaleidoscope and Hallmark Visitors Center (both free!).
    
    
14. Kaw Prairie Church and play area.
    
    
15. Kidscape in Shawnee moved to the Heritage and Arts Center 87th and Metcalf!
    
    
16. Lakeside Nature Center near the Kansas City Zoo. Look for the Nolan Connors brick near the front door. He's my friend Jill's son who died in his sleep on December 31, 2012 at age of 13; he used to volunteer here.
    
    
17. Matt Ross gym and pool For $170 for 3 months you can get a family pass to  ... definitely worth it for big families if you can scrape the funds together. Check out the game room and explorer room for playing.
    
    
18. McDonald's Playlands! 87th Street in Overland Park by the Central Resource Library; 95th Street in Overland Park by Oak Park Mall; Belton by the Cass County Library; Lenexa near 435.
    
    
19. Let's Go Putt Indoor Mini Golf (Prehistoric Putt) in Independence, Mo replaces Paradise Park.
    
    
20. The Roasterie field trip (*updated* $5 for the tour)
    
    
21. Science City at Union Station and buy the planetarium tickets! Boom -- homeschool science for the week for the win!
    
    
22. Scheel's is a fun place to hang out and they have a Ferris wheel!
    
    
23. SkyZone (kinda expensive for my crew for only an hour of play even with the homeschool discount ... you have to buy their sky socks and good luck washing them and finding them ever again, hence the buying of the sky socks again and again). Get the monthly pass with friend option (a sibling counts as a friend) and go often!
    
    
24. Steamboat Arabia Museum in the City Market area takes care of history for the day.
    
    
25. The completely new and updated Wonderscope Children's Museum in the Red Bridge Area.
    
    
26. Go Kart place in Lee's Summit.
    
    
27. Library events reading time and craft times.
    
    
28. Paint, Glaze and Fire or some other ceramics painting spot (you can take the older kids).
    
    
29. The ballet and KC Symphony.
    
    
30. Check out Stone Lion Puppets' free shows.
    
    
31. 
    
    
32. Impact Gymnastics has a homeschool open play on Mondays and Thursdays from 2-3 p.m. ages 4 and up ... only $5 for an hour of open play (half the price of SkyZone and no Sock Police and a great staff!).
    
    
33. The Foundry Coffeehouse at Foundry Church in Lenexa. Friday afternoons you'll find bunches of homeschoolers there, and other times they have the gym open for open play (call for times), as well as a fantastic toddler play room that's open all the time (glass walls so you can have some coffee and watch your kids at the same time).

I've got a massive list of field trip ideas come soon!

When you get home from having a ton of fun with your kids, make one of these tater tot casserole recipes for dinner!