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Ways to Enjoy Easter This Year in Cleveland, Ohio

4/10/2020

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Ways to Enjoy Easter This Year in Cleveland, Ohio
Easter is a holiday full of hope and springtime and sunshine and togetherness. Earlier this year,  not being able to travel and visit relatives for Easter would have been the last thing we expected, but here we are.  As disappointing as it can be to have to cancel travel plans, there are many festive activities you can do at home in Cleveland - activities that foster good memories and bonding, even from a distance.

Since we’re all practicing social distancing, it can be a struggle to keep our Easter traditions in place this year. However, there is no reason to not celebrate Easter just because this season looks a little different. There are many ways to enjoy the time we've been given despite the social distancing that's in place, and you and your household can make the best of this year's offerings with a little imagination and creativity.

Activities You Can Do to Celebrate Easter At Home
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  • Since there won't be any big family get-togethers, why not have a video chat with extended family members? It's not the same as being there in the flesh, but it is a way to connect as an entire family.  You can even play games like charades or Pictionary on a video call, which can be a welcome diversion. And for older relatives who may not be up for a Zoom call, you can still have a good, old-fashioned phone call to talk about old times and current events. Plans may have to be altered this year, but that doesn't mean that quality bonding time cannot still be a part of this Easter season.

  • Make a special Easter dish you wouldn't normally make.  This could be a recipe you saved from a magazine years ago and just never got around to making, an old family favorite that you just haven't made for a while, or maybe it's a pie that your mom always makes so you have never gotten around to making it yourself. Whatever the case may be, this could be the best time to try something new.  Getting creative with food is a satisfying way to expand your horizons, so give it a try! This dish might become an annual favorite - and even if it doesn't, you will have explored something new.

  • If you have a garden or enough space in your yard, plant some perennials to perk up your yard. Easter lilies are the classic Easter flower, but there are many beautiful options, including irises and peonies. You can plant annuals as well, of course, but when you plant perennials, you can enjoy the plants for many years versus just one season. While Cleveland can have varied weather in April, it's typically safe to plant perennials once the last frost is over, so plant away and enjoy the fruits (well, flowers) of your labor for years to come. 

  • Bird watch with your household!  The Cleveland area has many beautiful birds, and with a bird feeder and a pair binoculars, you can likely bird watch from the comfort of your home.  Finches, cardinals, woodpeckers - there are so many beautiful and cheerful birds to observe in Northeast Ohio. Not only does bird watching lift the spirits, it can be quite an educational activity. You can research the birds that frequent your area and learn some fun facts about them - this is a fun activity to do with the kids in your household. 

  • Do some fun activities especially for the kids in your home. Whether it's an egg hunt or blowing bubbles right outside the door or a game especially for them, they will remember that you made sure they had a fun Easter season. In fact, they may remember this year more vividly than past years since it is such a unique period, so ensuring that they feel loved and special is important. Don't let the time go to waste; make it an adventure (albeit a home-bound adventure) for them. Sometimes, it's the littlest things that make the biggest difference. 

Enjoying This Easter to the Fullest

Here at Cobos Insurance, we know that while we can't always do everything we want, we can make the most of every situation and make it brighter for those close to us. Let's make the most of this Easter in Cleveland this year - after all, there's no time like the present, and it would be a shame to waste one minute of this Easter season. Make some memories, have some good food, and enjoy getting to spend time in your home. We wish you a wonderful, hope-filled Easter in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Five Fun St. Patrick’s Day Activities to Do With Your Kids in Cleveland, Ohio

3/12/2020

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Five Fun St. Patrick’s Day Activities to Do With Your Kids in Cleveland, Ohio
St. Patrick’s Day is next week, and it is a great opportunity to spend some quality time with your kids. While St. Patrick’s Day isn’t Christmas or Easter, you can still spend intentional time with your kids and do a fun craft or take a walk together. These activities can be a way to create lasting memories with the kids you love.

There’s no time like the present; we say that all the time, but it is true. Celebrating the little things is important, and it leaves a lasting impression on children. Appreciating the world around us is an invaluable facet of enjoying every day, and it’s something that’s best learned at a young age. 

Fun Activities to Try With Your Kids This St. Patrick’s Day

Here are five fun ideas to try with your children. Be forewarned: you and your kids might have so much fun that you could end up creating some annual traditions. 

  • Go to the Cleveland Public Library and research the history of St. Patrick’s Day. The origin of the holiday is fascinating, and what better time to teach your kids how to do some quality (but fun) research? This is a good activity if you have kids of varying ages because you can tailor the research to each child’s level. Learning can be a joy, and there’s no one better than you to show your kids the fun in discovering new things. 

  • Buy some chocolate coins and have a St. Patrick’s Day treasure hunt. There’s nothing like reaching the end of the rainbow and finding a pot of gold, right? We wouldn’t actually know. However, with a St. Paddy’s Day treasure hunt, your kids can experience the thrill of finding chocolate coins at the end of their search. You can make the search as easy or as difficult as you wish, and there are many examples online if you need a little inspiration, but you can also create a treasure hunt of your own design. However you set it up, your kids will love it!

  • Go to a Cleveland park and search for clovers! While the odds of finding a four-leaf clover probably aren’t high, it’s a fun activity that your kids will enjoy. There are so many lovely parks in the Cleveland area, and while it isn’t yet what we can call warm, bundling up and enjoying the outdoors is a memorable experience for the kids in your life. Voinovich Bicentennial Park or Edgewater Park are excellent options if you need park ideas. Or skip the park altogether and step into your backyard - searching for four-leaf clovers in your own yard can be just as fun. 

  • Can’t find any clover? Make your own four-leaf shamrocks with your kids. All you need is green construction paper and some scissors and a dose of imagination and you’re set! You can look for a pattern online - there are many - or you can trace your own. Either way, you will end up with an abundance of adorable clovers that are perfect for decorating the house with. You can even add some green glitter if you are feeling particularly adventurous. Your kids will love creating the bright green shamrocks, and fortunately, these clovers are not weather dependent!

  • Decorate the house in St. Paddy’s Day style. Put those construction paper shamrocks to good use and hang them around the house. Your kids will enjoy getting to decorate, and it is a fun activity to do as a family. You can get some green and white streamers to add a little pizazz to the decor as well, if you wish. The possibilities are endless, and it’s a great way to get your kids’ creative juices flowing.

Here at Cobos Insurance, we know that time flies when you’re having fun and kids can grow up in the blink of an eye. That’s why it is so important that we take the time to invest in the children in our lives. Whether you end up doing all of these activities or just one or two with your kids, the important thing is that you show them you value spending time with them. It’s the little things that add up in the end, and something as simple as celebrating St. Patrick’s Day at home in Cleveland with the kids in your life that can make the best memories.
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Five Fun Valentine’s Day Activities You Can Do With Your Kids in Cleveland

2/6/2020

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Valentines Day in Cleveland
Valentine’s Day is next week! Doesn’t it feel like this year is just flying by? If you have kids, you might be struggling to pick some interesting Valentine’s Day crafts and activities that your kids will enjoy this year. There are always fun things to do with your youngsters, but the vast number of options can be overwhelming rather than encouraging. The good news is, we have compiled some ideas so that you can spend less time racking your brain for fresh ideas and more time making memories. 

Valentine’s Day is about love, and while we typically associate it with romantic love, the love between family and friends is also something to be celebrated on this special day. Your kids will have a wonderful time preparing for Valentine’s Day with you - and chances are, they will carry these memories with them for years to come. After all, sometimes it is the little things that matter the most. 

Valentine’s Day  Fun For the Whole Family

  • Go on a Mommy-and-Me (or Daddy-and-Me) outing. Socializing is good for both parents and children. There are many fun places you can go to meet with other parents and their kids, but if you’re stumped on where to start, Cleveland’s Brewnuts is hosting a Valentine’s Day family event on February 13th with snacks and crafts for your youngsters. Going to a Valentine’s Day-themed story time at a local library is a wonderful way to spend a morning together as well. 
 
  • Take your kids to a candy shop. The kids in your life will thoroughly enjoy browsing through luscious chocolates and other candies - and picking out candies for their friends and family members can be a fun lesson in gift giving. Cleveland’s Malley's Chocolates is a great choice if you are looking for a charming candy shop to spend some time with your children. Mitchell’s Fine Chocolates in Cleveland is a scrumptious choice as well if you are looking for a variety of yummy treats. 
 
  • If you want to try your hand at creating Valentine’s Day goodies, making treats together at home is a lot of fun. Whether you’re an avid baker or not, you can make delicious cookies or brownies when you have a good  recipe. Taste of Home has a wonderful recipe for cookie lollipops that are a sure kid-pleaser (an anyone-pleaser, actually!), and you might find yourself making them throughout the year!
 
  • This Valentine’s Day, give festive treats to your neighbors. This goes hand-in-hand with making delicious treats! Who said you can only go door-to-door to deliver cookies and candies to your neighbors at Christmastime? No one ever, we presume. If your neighbors enjoy getting Christmas cookies, they will be so excited to receive Valentine’s Day goodies from your kids. If you don’t know your neighbors well, you can always skip the neighborhood rounds and instead hand deliver your tasty treats to your friends and family who live in the Cleveland area.
 
  • Make Valentine’s Day cards with your kids! This may seem like a simple activity, but this may be one of the most special and personalized. Your Valentine’s Day cards can be as simple or as fancy as you desire. Dress the cards up with lace and glitter (if your children are old enough to handle that), or keep it simple with construction paper and crayons. It really is up to you and your kids, so let the creativity blossom!

Making Valentine’s Day Memories With Your Kids 

So there you have it: five fun ideas that you can make your own. We wouldn’t be surprised if you and your kids make some of these yearly traditions! Here at Cobos Insurance, we believe that spending time with family is priceless and that one of the greatest gifts you can give your children is intentional time spent with them. There are so many fun activities that you can do with your kids this Valentine’s Day, but the most important thing is spending quality time with them. The time that you spend with them will create memories they will cherish forever - and when you get at the heart of it, that’s what Valentine’s Day is all about.

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Protecting Your Car This Winter in Cleveland, Ohio

11/28/2019

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Protecting Your Car This Winter in Cleveland, Ohio
Northeast Ohio is truly a great place to live. It’s beautiful, it has vibrant cities, and - perhaps most wonderful of all - it has Lake Erie. That being said, we have some pretty unpredictable and cold winters here and if we’re not careful, our vehicles can suffer for it. Freezing temperatures, hazardous road conditions, and weather that offers us low visibility are all things we have to prepare to deal with as chillier weather heads our way. The good news is, there are steps we can take to protect our cars during the winter that can give us an edge.

Of course, having the right Cleveland car insurance policy is the first step when it comes to protecting your vehicle from the unexpected. Everyone’s situation is different, so be sure to talk with your insurance agent about how to best insure your vehicle. In addition to having the right coverage to safeguard your car, there are things you can do to help prevent unnecessary seasonal issues from coming up.

Giving Your Car the Care It Deserves

Refreshing your winter routine can save you a lot of trouble down the road (pun intended!). Sometimes nasty weather creeps up on us out of nowhere, so keeping everything in good order is an important part of taking care of our cars in Cleveland. Of course, there will always be things that are out of our control, but since safety comes first, making sure that we have prepared for the ice and snow ahead is invaluable.

  • Having winter wiper blades is important. Winter conditions can be extremely harsh and you don’t want to find yourself driving in those unpredictable conditions without good winter windshield wipers. It's hard to come up with something more important than excellent visibility, so make sure that you have wiper blades that help you with that this winter season.
 
  • Make sure to check your car’s battery as well. Cold temperatures in Cleveland can be a disaster for a battery that’s on its last leg, so make sure that everything is as it should be. The last thing you want on a dark, chilly winter evening is to have a dead car battery on your hands. 
 
  • Be sure to check your windshield wiper fluid - you don’t want that to run low and freeze. Depending on your car, you may need to use a winter-specific formula to ensure you don’t find it frozen one morning. A little bit of care for your vehicle can go a long way, so be sure to check the fluid.
 
  •  Check your tire pressure - low tire pressure can be a very dangerous thing on slick or icy roads. There is no need to risk a devastating accident due to low tire pressure when it is something that can easily be taken care of. Better safe than sorry!
 
  • Since your car's well being is so important, another thing you can do is invest in a quality car cover for your Cleveland vehicle. If your car is going to spend much time sitting outside of a garage, investing in a quality car cover is something to seriously consider. You want your car to be well protected and shielded from the elements - and covering it can be very beneficial on that front. 

Going the extra mile to safeguard your car can be one of the best things you do for your vehicle this winter! Don’t wait for issues to show up before taking the steps to give your car the care it needs. It can save you a lot of trouble in the future and it’s always good to be ready to handle whatever comes your way. 

Setting Yourself Up For a Wonderful Winter

No matter what this Northeast Ohio winter brings, you can be prepared to handle it! Here at Cobos Insurance, we know how important your car is to you and how crucial it is to your daily activities - and we want to set you up for success. Call us at our Avon Lake office at 440-933-5223 or at our Elyria office at 440-324-3732; contact us today so we can help you get the coverage you need for your car and your situation. None of us should have to face Cleveland winters alone!
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Five Ways to Get Into the Cleveland Christmas Spirit With Your Friends and Family This Holiday Season

11/22/2019

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Cleveland Christmas
It may still be November, but with a late Thanksgiving this year, Christmas will be here before we know it! Now is the time to start thinking about holiday preparations and spending time with your loved ones. After all, Christmastime only comes around once a year - we should enjoy it thoroughly along with our friends and family.

We all have our own favorite ways of celebrating the season, but it is always fun to try a new activity or outing to celebrate the holidays. Since you are lucky enough to live in the Cleveland area, you get to reap the rewards that come with living in such a unique and vibrant city. There's so much to see and do in Cleveland, and what better time to explore the beautiful place we live in than this holiday season? Once you try out some of these Christmas-themed activities, you'll want to add them to your list of favorite holiday traditions! 

Top Five Ways to Enjoy Christmas Cheer in Cleveland 

  • Host a cookie swap party for your friends and family! You could even invite your neighbors to join in the fun! There’s just something about sharing beloved recipes that brings everyone together - and getting to sample those recipes is a bonus. It is always so interesting to see what everyone's favorites are. Have some salty snacks to balance out the sugar and you have a recipe for a great cookie swap!
 
  • Attend Winterfest in Cleveland’s Public Square. This is a wonderful experience for you to share with your friends and family. Winterfest is held the weekend after Thanksgiving, so it is the perfect way to start the season’s festivities! There’s music, dancing, carriage rides, and breathtakingly beautiful lights. What’s not to love? Plus, it’s free! You don’t want to miss it - it may become a tradition!
 
  • Visit the Cleveland Botanical Garden - they have the most stunning Christmas displays that include gorgeous decorated trees and gingerbread houses. Over the holiday season, they have exhibits that are transformed into a winter wonderland - and if you need a head start on your Christmas shopping, the Garden gift shop is the perfect place to kick off your holiday shopping. 
 
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Winter Lights Lantern Festival is definitely something to explore if you love the thought of gorgeous Christmas lights that reflect cross-cultural traditions. There’s so much to see and do, and there are even workshops for making lanterns if you would enjoy trying your hand at creating your own lantern!
 
  • Put up your Christmas tree! What better way to enjoy the season than to make putting up your tree a family event? Crank up the Christmas tunes and whip up some hot chocolate, and you are ready to make some memories! Sometimes it’s the simplest things that make the biggest impact on us, and this is an extra special activity to share with the children in your life. 

Bonus: we know that we said "five," but if you have never been Christmas caroling at a nursing home or even for some friends or neighbors who need a little extra cheer this year, this is the year to try it. You don’t have to be a great singer to spread Christmas joy through Christmas carols, and there’s no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to bring life and cheer to others. 

Celebrate This Season With the Ones You Love Most

However you choose to get into the Cleveland Christmas spirit, be sure to take the time to let your loved ones know how much you treasure them! It can be easy to lose sight of what’s really important in all the hustle and bustle that comes with this time of the year, so make sure that you show your friends and family how much they mean to you.

At Cobos Insurance, we believe that the holiday season is one of the most wonderful times of the year and we encourage you to go spend quality time with those you love. The Cleveland area has so much to explore and enjoy, and the Christmas season is the best time to start making memories that will last a lifetime.
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The Best Haunted Houses in Cleveland!

10/26/2019

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Cleveland area Haunted Houses 
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The cool autumn weather is upon us and the leaves are just beginning to change colors, of course that means the haunted houses in Cleveland are officially open for business! We're sure many of you can remember the first time you were allowed to stay up late and watch a scary movie or maybe your parents took you out to a haunted house or corn maze and you experienced that frightened feeling for the first time. Some of you never wanted to experience that scare again and some of you were probably hooked on that scared feeling, either way most people want their kids to experience these things as a family, and what better way than one of the Cleveland area haunted houses! The Cobos Insurance Center blog is your go to destination for seasonal attractions and reviews, so naturally we have compiled a list of the best haunted houses in the Cleveland area, but before we get to the list, lets take a look at how the typical fall haunted house in America came to be. 

There are over 1,200 haunted houses across the United States, so our list of haunted houses in Cleveland is just a small sampling of the haunted attractions around our country. Believe it or not, haunted houses are not a recently developed tourist attraction, but we can actually date the spooky scare tactics all the way back to the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians used scare tactics like moving walls, trap doors, hidden compartments, mazes, and even snakes and spiders to ward off would be tomb raiders. Although they didn't charge admission to the pyramids, many of these scare tactics are still used today in the haunted houses we frequent. 

Of course no haunted house would be complete without a few jack-o-lanterns or carved pumpkins around. The carved pumpkin itself was actually a custom brought over from Celtic people who were surprised to see a lack of turnips to harvest during fall in America. The Celtic people used to carve faces in turnips and hang them above their doors to ward off evil spirits around All Hollows Eve. When they got to America and found the lack of turnips, they began to use pumpkins to keep their ritual going. We're guessing that they quickly found out that pumpkins were much easier to carve, since they never went back to the turnips of yesteryear. 

Looking for a kid friendly alternative?

Be sure to check out the Carlisle Reservation, a part of the Lorain County Metro Parks, Halloween Fair.  This destination is a Cobos Insurance favorite since we have children and grandchildren that aren't yet ready to brave the full on scary haunted houses that Cleveland has to offer. The Carlisle Reservation offers a spooky trail that is also available to tour during daylight hours when it is much more visible and easy to navigate with young children. They also offer little green choo choo and wagon pulled tractor rides, free entertainment, costume contests, Midway games (Squirt the Duck, Ring around the Pumpkin, Monster Toss, Match the Duck, Ladder Ball, Let’s Fish, Witches Basketball, Ring Toss, Pick a Sucker, Bean Bag Toss), Night owl corn maze, spider egg hunts, a splash-o-ween event, spooky nature hunt, and a trick or treat scavenger hunt. If you're looking for more kid friendly options for fall destinations, be sure to check out our article on Fall Destinations in the Cleveland area! When the kids are ready to brave a haunted house, check out our list below...

The Best Haunted Houses in Cleveland

Ok, here it is, the list you have been waiting for! We have to give credit to OhioHauntedHouses.com which is a great resource to find any haunted house in Ohio, as well as in depth reviews and ratings. 

Carnival of Horrors at Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls
Rockin R Ranch's Old West Pumpkin Fest, Columbia Station
Fortress of Fear Screampark, Garrettsville
The Ohio Gorematory, Mesopotamia
Nightmare in the Wilderness, Lodi
Spooky Ranch, Columbia Station
Hauntville, Elyria

Let us know what your favorites are, comment below!
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Apple Picking in Cleveland Ohio

10/15/2019

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One of our favorite fall festivities is packing up the kids on a cool autumn morning and heading out to one of our favorite apple orchards in the Cleveland Ohio area. (If you need some tips on how to keep your kids entertained in the car on the way to the orchard, click here to check out our article!) We are a family run insurance agency that loves to pass along little tips and tricks to help make your family life a little more adventurous than just watching a Saturday night movie with the family. If you’ve ever been in our office you know we like to have fun, and if you haven’t had the chance to stop by, you should!  
Our Favorite Spot
We have definitely done some apple picking in the Cleveland area ourselves, and we’ve had the chance to check out some of these orchards that we’re about to share with you. Having said that, one of our favorites is Miller’s Apple Hill. (www.millerapplehill.com) Miller’s is an affordable place to take your family apple picking in the Cleveland area, and they also have several great fall theme photo taking opportunities.   If you get a chance to stop by, tell them Cobos Insurance sent you and be sure to check out their unique gift shop!
“Apple Hill is a quaint farmers market located in Amherst, Ohio which became part of the Miller family tradition in 1986 to expand the retail opportunities for Miller Orchards. Since that time, Apple Hill has become much more than a farm market where fruit and vegetables are sold. The first expansion was completed in 1994.  Garage doors were replaced with permanent walls, windows, and doors. Out with the pot-belly stove and in with an actual furnace which meant Apple Hill could remain open year round and begin carrying bulk food. The business grew and in 1996, Apple Hill expanded again, adding on storage and retail space allowing an expanded inventory.” 
Apple Orchards in Cleveland
·         Brant’s Apple Orchard, Ashtabula
·         Kiray’s Orchard, Ashtabula
·         Smith’s Fruit Farm, Geneva
·         Heavenly Hill Farm, North Royalton
·         Royalton Farms, North Royalton
·         Eddy Fruit Farm, Chesterland
·         Patterson Fruit Farm, Chesterland
·         Sage’s Apples, Chardon
·         Dodd’s Hillcrest Orchards, Amherst
·         Grobe Fruit Farm, Elyria
·         McDowell Orchards, Amherst
·         Miller Orchards, Amherst
·         Spiegelberg Orchard, Lorain
·         Geig’s Orchard, Seville
·         Mapleside Farms, Brunswick
·         The Apple Cabin, Lodi
Why Apples?
Of course apples are fun to pick off of a tree and also come in handy when your child has a loose tooth, but what are some other reasons to reach for an apple? Apples are fat free, sodium and salt free, a great source of fiber, and also cholesterol free. Apples are also a great source of antioxidants and the mineral boron which can help strengthen bones. They can also help you maintain healthy blood sugar levels due to the combination of fiber and fructose. In addition to being good for you, apples also contain natural sugar so they can even give you a quick energy boost. So when you're apple picking in Cleveland, remember you're picking delicious and nutritious fruit! 

Make your own Caramel Apple Cider!
We love taking our kids out to local apple orchards, but we really love to make our own hot apple cider when we get home! So, what does it take to make your very own home made caramel apple cider? Lets start with the ingredients you will need to get started, you'll need to go down to your favorite local Cleveland farmers market or super market and pick up; 5-10 apples (either red or green, your choice), 1/3 cup of caramel sauce, 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 8 cups of water, 1/4 teaspoon of allspice, 1 whole clove, 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 2 cinnamon sticks, and 1 whole orange. Next you will need to get your slow cooker out and start prepping your apples and orange. You will need to cut your apples into quarters and you can actually just throw the entire orange in the slow cooker with the apples. You will want to add the 8 cups of water right after you put the apples and orange in. Next, take all of the other ingredients that we listed (except for the brown sugar and caramel sauce) and throw them in the slow cooker with the apples and orange! You should stir everything up to make sure it is spread throughout the mixture. Set your timer for 6-8 hours and find something else to do, otherwise you will be sitting there watching your slow cooker for way too long! 

Once you have let your cider cook for 6-8 hours (and hopefully have gotten something else done in that time), you will want to use a strainer to strain the cider into heat proof pitcher. Now to get that sweet taste, stir in the brown sugar and caramel sauce until it all dissolves. Of course the best way to serve your home made Cleveland caramel apple cider is warm with whipped cream on top! You can even throw in a cinnamon stick to jazz it up a bit. Now that you are an expert at making home made apple cider, you may be thinking to yourself that you could do this full time, and why not? If you think that you could or would want to start your own home based business, be sure to click this sentence and check out our article on insuring your home based business. 

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Cobos Fall Favorites, Enjoy NE Ohio With Us…

10/7/2019

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 Fall is upon us here in the Cleveland area, the smell of apple cider is in the air; will you be throwing on your favorite sweatshirt and joining us at one of the many great fall destinations in the Cleveland, Ohio area? Being located in Elyria, we like to frequent the pumpkin patches and farmers markets, especially when sweet corn is in season! It seems like we spend a lot of time hunting around the Internet and local publications to find some of these activities and destinations to visit during the fall, so in order to make it easier for everyone, we have put together a list of local Pumpkin patches and Farmers' markets in the Cleveland area. 

One of our favorite places to visit is a farmer's market not far from our Elyria office, located in Avon, called Pickering Hill Farms. Did you know that Pickering Hill Farms has been around since the 1800's when Jack Pickering came over from England to start a ranch? The Pickering family runs the farm to this day! The wonderful history and heritage associated with this place makes it a must see fall destination for us. If you stop by to see the Pickering family farm, tell them Cobos Insurance sent you! 
 
Fall Destinations in Northeast Ohio
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  • Pickering Hill Farms (Avon, OH)
  • Penton’s Farm Market(Amherst)
  • Red Wagon Farm (Columbia Station)
  • Brasee’s Corn Maze(Wellington)
  • All Ohio Produce (Elyria)
  • Hillcrest Orchard (Amherst)
  • Beriswell Farms (Valley City)
  • Luther Farm Market (Richfield)
  • Aufdenkampe Family Farm (Vermillion)
 
We love visiting these places in the fall, as the leaves are showing their true colors and the cool air begins to blow in from the lake. It truly is one of our favorite times of year! We also notice that we are asked more frequently about home based business insurance, which makes sense due to the increase in their sales during this time of year when you own fruit stands, vegetable stands, honey stands, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, or one of the many other home based businesses. If you own and/or operate a home based business, there are a few things you should ask yourself to ensure that you have the proper insurance coverage in place. Be sure to check out our article on home based business insurance from last week, that will answer many of your questions regarding your unique needs, Simply click here to read that article! If you'd prefer to call us and chat over the phone, we'd love to hear from you, you can reach us at 440.233.6199 today! 

The Journey is the Destination...
 
If you're like many parents (including us), you might be wondering how to best keep your children entertained while driving to some of these destinations in the Cleveland area. We understand just how frustrating it can be to plan an entire day trip around a kid friendly activity, only to have it derailed on the drive there because the kids get tired and restless! Cobos Insurance is a family run business, so believe us when we say, we can relate! We have compiled a list of activities that might help make the ride more enjoyable for the entire family that we will be sharing with you next week, so stay tuned and be sure to frequent CobosInsurance.net so you don’t miss any of our weekly articles. (If you're planning on checking out any of these wonderful fall destinations in the Cleveland area, be sure to tag us in your picture via Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!) 

Do YOU know of any good fall destinations in Cleveland?

We would LOVE to hear from you! It’s very easy to interact with us and let us know some destinations that you have found in your travels. You can follow us through the following channels… 

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Simply click the links above to connect with us and give us some feedback on what places we should check out around the Cleveland area!

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Cleveland Metroparks Zoo:  Cleveland’s Hidden Gem

9/19/2019

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Cleveland Metroparks Zoo: Cleveland’s Hidden Gem
When you live in or near the Cleveland area, you are never at a loss for things to do, and one of the city’s finest offerings is the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. What is your favorite thing about the zoo? Your favorite part might be getting to see the animals, expanding your knowledge, or spending time with friends and family. If you haven’t been to the zoo in a while, now is the time to rediscover it. Visiting a zoo is always a fun experience, especially when you have children in your life. There’s just something about getting to see amazing animals up close, both familiar and unique - and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has so much to offer the avid animal lover and the budding enthusiast alike. 

Strolling through a zoo and enjoying the sights is a timeless enjoyment, but the Cleveland Metropark Zoo has so much more than that! The zoo offers more beyond just getting to see the animals; it has amazing events for everyone in your circle and enriching opportunities to learn more about the amazing creatures featured at the zoo. If you do have kids in your life, bring them along - they will be awed by the animals and they will find the programs geared towards their age range engaging and exciting. You might even find you have a little zoologist on your hands!

There’s Something For Everyone at the Zoo

This hidden gem has so much for you and your friends and family to explore! From amazing trails like the Australian Adventure and the African Savanna loop trails to exhibits like the Wolf Lodge, you won’t be at a loss to find enjoyable walks and diverse exhibits. They have animals from all over the world; you can find everything from wolves to elephants, so you will not be disappointed.

There are educational programs, which are not only for children and teens - they’re for adults, too! Check out Cleveland Metropark Zoo’s lineup of amazing programs and educational events. There are so many to choose from, ranging from Career Days for grade schoolers and high schoolers to “Inside Tracks,” a special inside look at certain exhibits. They even have a Keeper for a Day Program that allows you to explore what a career with animals would entail! And it’s not just for middle school, high school, and college students - working adults can participate in this program, too. Don’t miss out on these amazing opportunities.

Another thing you simply won’t want to miss: their Christmas lights. Christmas is closer than some of us may realize, and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has a stunning array of Christmas lights during the holiday season. It’s a wonderful excursion and it is a great group activity if you are looking for ways to spend some quality time this winter with friends and loved ones. The Zoo offers ticket discounts on groups of 25 or more if you make advanced reservations, so take advantage of that offer and make some cherished memories together. 

Making Memories at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Sometimes we forget how enriching spending time around animals can be. There’s just something special about watching monkeys playing with each other or elephants having fun with a toy ball in their habitat. Healthy animals are happy animals, and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo keeps their animals at their best, making sure that their minds are engaged and their bodies fit. You might even be inspired to use some of the techniques on your dog at home!  

The sad fact is, we often do not explore the sights in our own little corner of the world the way we ought to. Cleveland is an amazing city, teeming with life and unique places to explore, and it is time that we explore the wonderful, close-to-home attractions we have nearby. You are truly lucky to live in the Cleveland area, and you should embrace the local color and enjoy it for what it is; a treasure.

Here at Cobos Insurance, we encourage you to not let another day go by without exploring the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo! It truly is a  hidden gem. There is so much to enjoy there, and what better time to expand your horizons than right now? You will be glad you took the time to explore - and so will your friends and family!

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How to Safeguard Your Children From Too Much Social Media Use

7/4/2019

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How to Safeguard Your Children From Too Much Social Media Use
Chances are if you’ve gone to the mall, a basketball game, or even just been around children in general, you’ve probably noticed how attached kids are to electronic devices these days. Whether it’s a laptop, tablet, or phone, you usually don’t see a child go anywhere without one. With this being the case, it means that children are more attached to phones, and more detached from society. This can be a scary thing, knowing that they are interacting less with you, and more with random people on the internet. Many parents express worry, because children sometimes will fall away from hanging out with friends and having real human interaction, and instead choose to chat with people online.

If you are one of those parents that is looking to find some ways to get your kids off of Instagram and into the real world, the following tips are for you. Here at Cobos Insurance, we believe in families, and families are only successful when they spend time together. These tips will not only help your kids become closer with people in real-life, but they will also help your family be closer and have that strong bond!

If you resonate with any of these things, read on to find out how to safeguard your children from too much social media.

Set up Limits for Your Kids

Your kids can’t follow guidelines that they do not know about, so why would they limit their own social media use if you’ve never been upfront about how much they can actually use it?

A huge part of getting your kids to follow rules and guidelines is to give them rules and guidelines. This might seem obvious, but some families have never really even talked with their kids about this issue. Your kids are kids, and they need to be told what to do in order to become the adults you want to see them become. By setting specific limits and making sure to communicate these to your children ahead of time, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches and fights. This is the first and, quite frankly, most important step when learning how to safeguard your children from too much social media use.


Set Up Screen Time Limitations 

Something many people don’t realize is that you can set actual limits on your child’s phone, and you can even lock the limits with a passcode. There’s also a special feature called “set up screen time for family” that allows you to control your family’s devices. This is Apple product specific, but it is definitely worth searching and looking into for other brands of phones.

There are two great ways to take advantage of Apple’s limits. One way is by using the “downtime” option. This is where you can set a schedule for when your kids can use their apps, and you can even choose certain apps to still be usable during “downtime,” like phone calls or alarm apps, for example. 

The other option is to use the “app limits” feature. This feature lets you add time limits for specific apps. Have the kids hit their 1 hour social media limit for the day? Their phone will let them know, and disable the app until the next day. 

Apple was really thinking of parents and was definitely trying to be aware of how to safeguard your children from too much social media use when they made these settings! App limits and setting downtime for your kids is a major way that you can prevent your child from spending what may seem like every minute of every day on social media.

Knowing What They’re Looking At

Many parents fear less about how much time their children are spending on social media, and more about what they’re doing or looking at on social media. The world can be a scary place, and social media gives children access to all of that. If your children are younger, you have a lot more control over what they do and see, but if they’re older, it gets a little more difficult to interfere and control. 

For younger kids, a great tip is to monitor what you follow, and to lead by example. Most kids just want to be like mommy and daddy. They want to be grown up like you and do the things you do. If you start them off seeing positive and appropriate media when they’re young, this teaches them what to look at and follow once they’re older. By making social media something that your family talks about and maybe even uses together, you’re doing one of the most important steps in safeguarding your children from too much social media, specifically too much of the wrong kind of social media. 

One thing that you could do for children who are just starting to use social media, is to find some appropriate and positive accounts, and have them follow those accounts. You could even set up a rule where your children have to get permission before following someone new, and monitor who they follow. This may seem overbearing, but in the end, it greatly helps your kids to become the best person that they can be, and it keeps them away from inappropriate things.

To Sum It All Up…

To wrap up the topic of how to safeguard your children from too much social media use, it really comes down to having honest and open discussions with them. Instead of expecting them to know how much time they can spend on social media, or who they are allowed to follow on their accounts, discuss these things with them. 

Instead of yelling or getting angry when they spend too much time on their phone, explain why you would like them to not do that, and allow them to be a part of the discussion. By talking with your children and not at them, you don’t make them want to sneak around and do something they shouldn’t, but you create an open dialogue that simply explains why it’s important for them to not live on social media.

Click here to check out our other great family and insurance blogs → 

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