Developers, however, had their sights set on the area for the same reason: Platte County’s landscape is breathtakingly dynamic and lush.

“I thought it was unfair that all of these county developments were happening and weren’t setting aside any parkland whatsoever, but the county commission simply did not want to raise taxes,” Quitmeier says.

“One of the most egregious errors in developing Platte County has been that the topography of the land isn’t taken into consideration, so when zoning and building, they are essentially flattening our land,” he says, “and I think one of the most beautiful facets of Platte County is its hilliness.”

On the suggestion of Michael Short, county commissioner at the time, Quitmeier began looking into the concept of a land trust. In 1998, he joined forces with three other movers and shakers of Platte County to form

The Platte Land Trust, a 501(c)3 dedicated to conserving and protecting natural lands and open spaces.

Former Weatherby Lake Mayor and Platte Land Trust Co-founder Pauli Kend- rick says the four studied intently the myriad ways natural lands could be protected under a land trust.

“We learned different areas that we could address as a land trust, whether a park, building that was already there and of either personalor familial importance or of historic value, for farming,” Kendrick says.

Soon after forming, The Platte Land Trust received a call from Charlotte Sawyer, who had been trying to donate 20 acres on Union Chapel Road to the Missouri Department of Conservation to no avail, as the area was not large enough to meet its pre-qualifications.

Sawyer said she and her late husband, Alvin, disagreed about what to do with their property—conserve or sell for development—and teased that whoever lived the longest would get to decide.

Sawyer, the victor in longevity, donated her home and small farm to Platte Land Trust in July 1998.

“This process has made quilting more accurate, fast and enjoyable for the busy quilter,” she says. “The machine has taken the lead over creating a quilt by hand. Unbelievably creative and beautiful quilts are created using machines. Once the husband of a quilter told me what a shame everything was done by machine. His mother did everything by hand. I asked him if he had a lawn mower. ‘Yes,’ was the answer. I asked him if it had a motor? ‘Yes,’ was the answer. I said, ‘what a shame.’ Lawn mowing used to done by pushing a hand mower without a motor. Hand quilting is a beautiful art and I admire anyone that continues to make quilts by hand. But most people don’t have the time to create by hand. Everything evolves, including quilting.”

It seems that everywhere you turn these days you hear about the benefits of a good night’s sleep, but getting that rest is not always easy. Many people struggle with occasional or chronic insomnia.

Just ask Prairie Village couple Gregory and Adrienne Doring. After the birth of their second child, they were both having trouble sleeping, or getting back to sleep in the middle of the night. A search for an all-natural, healthy sleep aid turned up empty.

Never ones to give up, Adrienne and Gregory spent nearly a year researching and developing their own product and recently launched Berry Sleepy. The sleep aid is being sold via the website Berrysleepy.com.

The entrepreneurial adventure began when a friend told the Dorings about several fruits that could aid in sleep.

“We were skeptical fruits could do the job, but we gave them a try and were pleasantly surprised,” says Greg. “They worked fast, helped us relax and sleep and we woke up refreshed with no grogginess.”

After seeing the benefits of the fruit extracts, the Dorings realized they could create a unique product and take it to market. Berry Sleepy was starting to take shape.

Of course, they started with lots of research.

“We found over 50 studies outlining the health and sleep benefits of the three fruits in Berry Sleepy: passion fruit, tart cherry and goji berries,” explains Adrienne. “Passion fruit has calming and relaxing properties, tart cherry helps regulate sleep patterns and goji berries help you wake refreshed.”

“We worked with pharmacists and nutrition experts and had test capsules made,” Gregory says. “It was trial and error to find the right mix but our biggest concern was combining the fruits in a safe and effective manner,” adds Gregory.

The test capsules were tested on friends and friends of friends, and the results were very positive.

Once they’d perfected the product, the Dorings found a manufacturer to produce it on a large scale.

“It was important to us to find a company with strict quality standards,” says Greg. “We selected a company in California that is one of the best in the business.”

In late January, they launched Berry Sleepy to the public via the website and their initial production run sold out quickly. Luckily more was on the way.

The Dorings say they are proud of the fact that the product is 100% fruit and, because of that, Berry Sleepy capsules are also packed with antioxidants and are rich in Vitamins A and C.

“It’s a win-win: you receive both peaceful sleep and healthy nourishment for your body,” says Adrienne.

For more information, go to Berrysleepy.com. Our readers can get a $5 discount by entering coupon code lifestyle.

“To be able to compete with the AMC’s and Dickinson’s, you have to be completely different in every aspect,” Roberts says. “You have to present a different type of movie-going experience. It’s not just about the 95 craft beers, or the cool food specials or trivia. It’s the entire package.”

However, with only five employees (including Roberts and Miller), the projected $100,000 price tag of a digital conversion seemed a tall order. Studios made deals with major theater circuits to aid in the cost of the upgrade, not offering any assistance to smaller theaters until recently.

“Now they are trying to offer people in our position that type of funding,” Roberts says. “But either we’ve explored other options, like reached out to the community, or took the loan out, or failed. A lot of people, unfortunately, closed their doors.”

Rigby offered to take out a loan covering the cost for Roberts and Miller, on the condition that they would try to raise a chunk of the money. The operators got the idea for a Kickstarter campaign after finding out small theaters around the country had seen success from the creative fundraising website.

“So again I did the rational thing and hid it inside an end table. This way my wife got a living room she was comfortable entertaining in, and I kept a bit of my man cave.”

His clever thinking resonated with Stein’s friends, who told him they loved the blend of design and deception of his aptly named “Man Table.” Intrigued by the interest, he started making more of the tables, which seamlessly hid a mini fridge in the attractive confines of a wooden end table. The move got Stein back into woodworking after a six- year hiatus. (He’d worked with wood for years as a boy and teen, but stopped when he cut the pads off two of his fingers.)

“The Man Table is made using rock maple and old-world craftsmanship and is great for living rooms as well as offices,” Stein says. “We can hide them in plain sight because the cooling technology we use is thermo electric. This runs whisper quiet, so if you want to hide your good beer when friends come over, they’ll not find where you’ve stashed it.”

When Beer Advocate, a beer rating website, ran an article on Man Tables (ManTables.com), sales increased beyond Stein’s ability to meet demand. So he turned to the trusted and skilled labor of the Amish.

All parents struggle with vacation planning. How do you balance fun and learning opportunities? And even more than that, how do you make it fun for yourself as well?

Luckily, there’s a world of opportunities for learning without ever sitting the kids in a classroom or cracking a book. Central America offers some fantastic examples of how you can make science and history come to life.

While the idea of foreign travel with children can be daunting, Belize and Guatemala offer some of the easiest travel options available. A trip like this is best suited to kids above the age of 8, as some skills are required to take full advantage of the possibilities.

Let’s start in Belize. This former British colony offers an easy transition into Central American life. The official spoken language is English and the currency, the Belize dollar, is tied to ours at 2 to 1. American dollars are accepted everywhere and in the most touristed parts, such as Ambergris Caye, American style pricing is prevalent.

Ambergris Caye, a 90-minute boat ride or 20-minute small airplane ride away from the main airport in Belize City, is the highlight of the country. This long spit of land extending from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula boasts shallow waters teeming with life from the nearby Belize Barrier Reef.

Sea life is the primary reason to come to Ambergris Caye. All manner of water sports are available, from parasailing to water skis to ocean kayaking. For divers, there are 15 dive shops on the island, with seven of them boasting 5 Star PADI status. Most of these do trips to the Blue Hole, one of Belize’s most famous dive spots, but that trip is for experienced divers only.

For kids, and especially ones that are curious about sea life, there is plenty to explore in the shallow waters close to land. The Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley are great places to introduce youngsters to snorkeling, SCUBA, if old enough, and the wide diversity of the sea.

Hol Chan is Belize’s oldest marine reserve and is centered on the cut, or natural break, in the barrier reef that skirts the island. Broken into four zones, waters can be as shallow as 10 feet or as deep as 30 feet.

If there’s a flurry of activity at 8002 north Oak Trafficway between 6:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., it’s justified. The constant stream of cars in and out of the parking lot is a great indication of what you’ll find inside of Kate’s Kitchen: a pleasantly bustling atmosphere filled with quality people.

Kate’s Kitchen opened four years ago as the labor of love of David and Kelly Hendrix. Their daughter, Kate, loved playing in her pretend kitchen and David grew up in the restaurant industry. In fact, if a few of the details look familiar at the breakfast/brunch/ lunch spot, it’s because David’s father owned a First Watch when he was growing up.

While there are obvious similarities to the First Watch concept, Kate’s Kitchen is independently owned and operated. Their menu, which focuses on a variety of breakfast favorites, mixed in with some newer ideas, has something for everyone, no matter how picky the eater.