Ozark Float Trip

Last weekend we went to the Elk River in the Ozarks with my sisters, Derek, Erik and a bunch of Lilli's friends. It was so much fun!!!! The river was really low and slow but was perfect for relaxing on a huge raft with friends. We got to jump off of some huge cliffs (not really that huge but I was still freaked out) but I did it! Joe almost had to push me to make me jump :)


It was a great weekend and we had perfect weather. Actually, the whole summer we have had perfect weather, not too hot at all. I guess it has been a strangely cool summer in KS/MO. We got lucky, usually it's 100 with 100% humidity (like our wedding day!) The thunderstorms have been so awesome too, I love the rumble rumble, so nice!!

Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze

The pumpkin patch & corn maze is coming right along! Our website is not 100% complete but it is up, visit it here or link from the Cider Mill home page.
www.cidermillpumpkinpatchandcornmaze.com (long address, I know, but it helps our google ranking)

Be sure to click on the website as much as you would like--(that also helps our google ranking ;)

We are having fun getting ready for the maze. Farmer Joe spends a lot of time in the field mowing, he is getting a good farmer's tan.

Our Enchanted Cottage

We just moved into our little cottage in Paola. It's maybe 400 square feet (or less! ha ha)

It's cozy though. Plus, you can't beat the rent. Let's just say less than a quarter of what we paid in CA! wow! That will really help us save up for a down payment on a home someday!

Here's a pic of our little home.......

Manager of Fun!

My new title at the Cider Mill is "Manager of Fun" and it sure is! One of my first jobs was to get an aerial photo of the Vampire of the Corn Maze. It was a blast, I went up with Gene Linder in his tiny plane. He took me on a roller coaster ride. He almost did a complete loop de loop! We saw some deer in the field below and he swooped down only about a couple hundred feet over their heads, they were a little stunned. He took the door off of the plane which added to the thrill. It was so fun!

Gene is an awesome guy, he has 3 planes, 2 from World War II! Amazing. One of his planes is a medical rescue plane from WWII. It is 1 of only 4 like it that are still around. He rebuilt it from parts and pieces he found all of the country.

Looking down on the Cider Mill, Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch--you can see how huge it is! About 8 acres.

After some touching up this is the image we'll use for the corn maze website

The WWII rescue plane that Gene rebuilt
This is where the patient would be strapped down

Gene's other WWII plane, such a cool piece of history

We've been having some nice early morning thunderstorms, I love it. The corn is getting tall! Keep the rain coming!