Austin. Mom. Blog. » Family

Vacation

Dianna — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:36:51 +0000

We have been on vacation and still are on vacation. I have been so exhausted that I usually just fall asleep instead of making time to write. My eyes are closing as I write this. As soon as I recuperate, I can’t wait to share all of our adventures.

Marmaduke

Dianna — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:46:30 +0000

Today was the opening day of “Marmaduke.” My two sons and I went to go see it. Both boys stayed in their seats the whole movie, but they both had popcorn, candy, and a drink. In other words, I’m not sure if it was the movie holding their attention. In my opinion, the best parts of the movie were the ones shown in the trailer promoting Marmaduke. If my youngest son Collin (age 4) did not have all the snacks, our movie time would have been over in 15 minutes. Depending on how well your child does at movies, I believe Marmaduke is aimed for ages 6 and up. Overall, the movie was o.k. and it was something for us to do.

Free Family Summer Movies

Dianna — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:07:03 +0000

Last year I was informed of free family movies during the summer. Fortunately, Regal Entertainment Group is providing the same this summer. On specific dates Lakeline Cinemas, Westgate 11, and Arbor @ Great Hills are offering families to attend free movies at 10 a.m. It’s a great way to fill in the calendar with things to do. The movies are not new releases, but it’s a great way to try out the theater experience with the kids. That was my thought last year. I wanted to see if my boys would sit still through a movie. Collin (which was 3 at the time) had a hard time. I had to bring reinforcements. I brought a lollipop. We only went once last summer, but plan to try out more this year. So, if you’re like me and want to get out of the Texas heat every once in awhile, this whole “free movie” is worth it.

Shrek Forever After

Dianna — Sun, 30 May 2010 19:41:58 +0000

Thursday afternoon the boys and I went to see “Shrek Forever After.” I was hoping the last movie would be as good as the first. I was wrong. Andrew, which is six, sat through the whole movie. Collin, which is four, did not. The movie did not hold Collin’s attention. It was an o.k. movie, but not a great one. With tickets and movie meals, it ended up costing $35.00 total. I wish we would have waited to see it at the discount cinema. I’m hoping Toy Story 3 doesn’t disappoint me. I’m really looking forward to taking the boys to see that. In all fairness, Andrew and Collin liked Shrek Forever After, but we all didn’t love it.

Movies in the Park

Dianna — Sat, 29 May 2010 14:24:25 +0000

We have never got to experience a movie in the park yet, but plan to on Friday, June 4th. In Round Rock at Old Settlers Park there will be a showing of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” Activities start at 7:30, but the movie will start at dark. According to the Round Rock website there will be a concession stand. The movie and parking are free. I do not know how much the snacks at the stand will be. I will definitely write about how our experience was.

Deutschen Pfest in Pflugerville

Dianna — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:11:57 +0000

There’s an annual festival in Pflugerville called the Deutschen Pfest this weekend. We plan to go if the weather permits. We went last year and the boys had a lot of fun. My youngest son Collin loved the train ride and Andrew (my oldest) liked the face painting the most. The petting zoo (which I hope they’re having) is always a big hit. For the first time we will participate in the Children’s Parade. We will walk with other families on Main Street in our wagon. I’m really hoping the weather will clear out overnight. Rain or shine, the festival will still go on. I’m just not sure if I want to take the boys in rain. We will just have to wait and see how this Texas weather pans out.

Mother’s Day

Dianna — Wed, 12 May 2010 03:12:47 +0000

I’m hoping every mom had a great Mother’s Day. I certainly did. My two sons covered me with cards, hugs, and kisses throughout the whole day. With the boys getting older they have a better understanding of what holidays are about and it is truly special to see it through their eyes. We relaxed for the first part of the day, but from 2 to 4 my oldest son (Andrew) and I got to enjoy a Mother’s Day Workshop at Young Chef’s Academy in Round Rock. My youngest son Collin is very active and I didn’t foresee him sitting through a two hour class. Once the workshop was over my predictions were absolutely true. Fortunately Collin had a great time with his uncle and aunt while Andrew and I cooked sweet potato bread, truffles, and strawberries dipped in white chocolate. Young Chef’s Academy went out of their way to make us moms feel special. When we first arrived they made each mom a large construction paper hat with a flower to attach. Afterwards we went into their cooking class rooms and made delicious sweets. Not only was it fun, but we got to eat everything we made. To my surprise the academy had a small plant pot to decorate for our dipped strawberries. It was a unique keepsake. I’m hoping to do the workshop again next year with the whole family. After the workshop we celebrated with my mom’s family and we always have a great time with them, so the day ended in pure bliss. I’m truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and treasure being a mom.

Austin’s Park and Pizza

Dianna — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:30:19 +0000

Recently we visited Austin’s Park and Pizza. I know it as Austin’s Park and Pizza, but its website states Austin’s Park. Either way we had a blast. To celebrate with just our immediate family (the four of us) Andrew decided to go to Austin’s Park. We only visit once a year due to the price. Overall I believe the price isn’t horrible, but when you pay for four it adds up. It’s $22.95 per person and doesn’t include tax. They have specials during the week to get it cheaper, but we always try to look for the coupons with buy one admission, get one free. It makes it a lot more reasonable. Our visit this past week was perfect. We went on a Tuesday from 3 to 8. There were no crowds or lines. We basically shared the whole facility with 20 people. Since we last visited, there were changes. The admission price used to include golf and unlimited video games. This isn’t the case anymore. It did have two good changes. The admission price included a soft drink now. Also, in the gameroom they added a moonwalk jump and a moonwalk double slide. My two sons definitely got use of the moonwalks. Being there five hours, we definitely got to participate in everything. First we ate. The buffet includes pizza, pasta, a salad bar, apples, bananas, and pudding. We definitley do not go to Austin’s Park for the food. This is strictly my opinion, but I believe the food is not good. Next we went on the go-carts. My youngest son Collin finally got to ride in one. On this visit, he was finally tall enough. The smile on both my sons faces were priceless. Both boys aren’t tall enough to ride on their own so their dad and I drove. After the go-carts we went to the bumper boats. My now six year old son was tall enough to drive his own boat and loved squirting water on Collin and I. I think the main goal of the boats are to soak your opponents. We were all smiling afterwards. Video games came next. With all the different games they had to offer, we stayed in this area for at least two hours. We tried laser tag next. We put on all of the gear, but when we went inside the area to start the game the boys were frightened. It was too dark and loud for them. So, the game lasted a total of five minutes. There was still the train to ride on, a rock wall to climb, a playscape to play on, and a ride called Little Shot to go on. So, even though we didn’t play laser tag there was still so much to do. Unfortunately Collin was too short and too light to do the rock wall climbing, but Andrew loved it. The train ride made Collin happy. Collin has been into trains (especially Thomas) for two years now. Finally it was inching 8:00 and I could feel the tiresome in all of us. We absoulutely had a great time and it was a perfect way to celebrate Andrew’s birthday.

The entrance to Austin's Park

The Moonwalk Jump

The Moonwalk Double Slide

Ready to ride the go-carts

Bumper Boats

Laser Tag

Little Shot Ride

Andrew Rock Wall Climbing

Andrew Turns Six

Dianna — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:33:05 +0000

I haven’t had the opportunity to write in a while. Andrew turned six and with three different families wanting to celebrate, it has been hectic. First I had to get over the fact that my first born son was turning six. I still have a lump in my throat talking about it. It’s hard to believe six years has passed since I held my tiny son in my arms. Actually, he really wasn’t so tiny. He was an almost nine pound baby. Now he’s my six year old baby weighing 40 pounds. Time goes by so fast. To celebrate his birthday he had three different parties with his families. Two included each pair of his grandparents and the other one was with just us four. We had an entire week of celebrations. Parties can be fun, but three is a little much. Every year we try to do something different, but it seems like the easiest thing to do is to have seperate parties. I’m still treasuring every party because soon enough Andrew or Collin will start telling me “Just give me money for my birthday.” I have to say again, TIME GOES BY SO FAST.

How to Train Your Dragon

Dianna — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:53:10 +0000

With the boys both in t-ball we haven’t had the chance to run around town. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to watch “How to Train Your Dragon” on Saturday. For the first time I tackled taking both boys to the movies by myself. Before the show we had a long talk on how we have to stay seated and whisper. I stressed that mommy was by herself and if we have a great outcome, we could do it again in the future. The boys did great. It helped that the movie was very entertaining with a lot of action. I believe with Collin being four it was a little too much violence, but he handled it well. During the movie he sat on my lap the whole time and I explained the scenes. After the movie they were very thankful for me taking them and of course that made my day. They wanted to see the movie again. Luckily, we had dragon McDonald toys in the car they could play with. I would definitely recommend “How to Train Your Dragon” to everyone (even if you don’t have kids).

Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas

Dianna — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:11:46 +0000

Our family loves Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas. We have been there a total of four times now. Our last visit was this past Thursday and Friday before Easter. The lodge was 75% full. We have been when it’s 100% full and 20% full. We absolutely loved it when it only was 20% full, but even when it’s full capacity the lodge can handle it. We don’t have to wait two hours to ride something. It’s the perfect vacation for our two boys. Andrew is five and Collin is four. Great Wolf Lodge’s main attraction is an indoor waterpark with tube rides, waterslides, a wave pool, and a huge treehouse with water overflowing each way you look. Since I’m a huge water fan myself, I also love it. There are several places you can dine at when you visit. They include Pizza Hut Express, Bear Paw Sweets and Eats (where we enjoyed ice cream), Starbucks, and Loose Moose Cottage (a restaurant). Inside the waterpark is a snack bar where you can buy small pizzas, hamburgers, fries, and miscellaneous snacks. We purchased a hot dog, a chicken burger, and fries. It was actually pretty good. The prices were typical. A hot dog cost us three dollars, the chicken burger was six dollars, and the fries were two dollars. I believe Six Flags prices are much higher. The lodge has so many activities for kids including a cub club with painting, coloring, or decorating items. Some items may have to be purchased. There’s also an arcade, a kids’ spa, and a game called MagiQuest where you have a wand and go through the hotel to conquer challenges. The game can last hours so this last time we didn’t purchase the game, but we will next time. Our boys were disappointed, but since we only stayed one night, time wasn’t in our favor. Our next visit we will stay two nights. When you visit Great Wolf Lodge, you are able to start enjoying the park as early as one o’clock and can stay until it closes the next day at nine. You have to check out of your room by eleven, but can still stay to enjoy the lodge. We always take advantage of staying. We all were truly exhausted after visiting Great Wolf, but we can’t wait to go back. It is truly a kid friendly, family friendly hotel.

Andrew and Collin Loving Great Wolf Lodge

Indoor Waterpark

Nana’s Treat House in Pflugerville

Dianna — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:42:35 +0000

Our family has been to Nana’s Treat House in Pflugerville twice now. With it being 70 to 80 degrees outside, we are trying to do as much as possible outdoors. Nana’s Treat House has picnic tables outside where you can enjoy your dessert. We always sit outside so the boys won’t make a mess in the car. The facility is shaped like a giant cupcake. From the road 1825, it’s hard to miss. They sell ice cream, floats, italian ice, and cupcakes. We have tried the italian ice and strawberry shortcake cupcakes. All of it has been declicious. We always purchase the small cup of italian ice because it is plenty. Our boys never finish it, but insist on having their own cup. Honestly, one cup could be shared between two people. We look forward to going back, but there’s a such thing as too many sweets. We’ll take it slow.

Andrew Catches a Fish

Dianna — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:06:07 +0000

Well, my son finally caught a fish at San Gabriel Park in Georgetown, Texas. We have been fishing a lot with the weather being so nice. My son, Andrew gets pretty disappointed that he doesn’t catch anything. We finally had some luck at San Gabriel Park. We pulled in two fish. They weren’t keepers, but the excitement on the kids’ faces were priceless. We fished for two hours and in the last thirty minutes we caught two. We also went to the spillway of Lake Georgetown. We didn’t have any luck there, but my brother went last year and caught a lot. I’m just happy Andrew finally caught something.

Reeling in a fish at San Gabriel Park

Fish on a Hook at San Gabriel Park

Spring Break Continues

Dianna — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:06:35 +0000

I am finally getting the chance to finish our spring break vacation details. The last time I wrote, we had finished up with the zoo. We still had a lot of time on our hands for the rest of the day, so we decided to go to Six Flags. Our plan was to go the next day, but we decided to go both days. We arrived at 5:30. It was perfect. There were not any lines for the season pass processing center or hardly any lines for the kids’ rides. We left at 8:30 since we were going to come back the next day. We didn’t want to drag it out too long and have the kids exhausted. Wednesday arrives and we head out to Six Flags again. The time is 11:30 a.m. and we are in stop and go traffic to proceed through the gates of Six Flags. It took us one hour to go through the gates and park our vehicle. During the wait, my husband decided to go in and check out how long the lines were for the rides. It was ridiculous. The rides we rode the day before would now take us an hour to get on. It just wasn’t worth it. We decided not to park and head home. Luckily, we have season passes and could easily come again another time. I am happy we went the night before and got to enjoy the park for a little while. I’m not sure why it wasn’t busy that night, but I honestly believe we will not attempt to go to any theme parks another spring break. The boys were pretty disappointed we didn’t go, so we decided to visit Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. By far, this is our favorite zoo. It’s the perfect size for Andrew and Collin. Andrew is five and Collin is four. It’s not so big where it’s overwhelming. The zoo has a new area that is called Asian Forest. It includes orangutans, tigers, and komodo dragons. It included a play area for the children to climb on or hang from ropes like an orangutan. We have been to the Cameron Park Zoo before, but the Asian Forest hadn’t been opened yet. We finished touring the zoo in two hours and finally headed for home. I love being on vacation, but there’s no place like home.

Cameron Park Zoo

Spring Break is Over

Dianna — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:12:46 +0000

I know it’s been awhile since I have posted anything, but spring break was here and now it’s over. I’m sad to say it’s over. It was so nice to have the boys home all week. We had such a great time. Now I’m looking forward to summer. We had a fun filled packed week. We arrived at Fossil Rim in Glen Rose, Texas at ten a.m. Monday morning. It was starting to get busy, but it wasn’t too bad yet. We enjoyed feeding the animals, but our best part were the giraffes. Out of our sunroof, my husband fed two giraffes out of his hands. Our two sons were smiling ear to ear. It truly was an awesome experience. We toured the property within three hours. The weather outside was windy and cold so being in our vehicle was perfect. Unfortunately the weather kept us from going to our next adventure. We were going to visit Dinosaur Valley State Park, but the weather prevented us from doing so. We proceeded to the hotel and relaxed for the rest of the day. We stayed at Embassy Suites and loved it. We went with another family and had conjoining rooms. Andrew and Collin (our two sons) loved it. All the kids ran back and forth and we felt like one big family. The hotel also had an indoor pool, full breakfast, and complimentary drinks from 5:30 to 7:30. We couldn’t ask for anything more. We stayed two nights. Both Andrew and Collin continue to ask when are we going back to the hotel. Fortunately summer is not too far away. Well, Tuesday arrived and we went to the Dallas Zoo. Out of all the zoos we have visited, in my opinion, Dallas Zoo has the best kids area. The boys got to ride a horse for $2 each, pet a pig, pet a rabbit, crawled in a mongoose tunnel, fed birds, and so much more. We could have stayed at least two hours in the kids area. Everyone was getting hungry so we had to cut it short. Our favorite animals to see were the gorillas. They were some fascinating creatures. The zoo had a monorail you were able to ride for $3 each to observe the animals and get information from a tour guide. My youngest son, Collin loved riding the monorail because he thought of it as a train ride. I still have a lot of information to share about our spring break, but for now I will end this post.

Fossil Rim

Children's Zoo at Dallas Zoo

Walter E. Long Park (Decker Lake)

Dianna — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:56:43 +0000

We have been searching for good places to fish at and haven’t found one. We went to Decker Lake on Wednesday and had no luck with fishing. However, it was a nice little place to visit. We took our sons’ jeep with us and they had a good time riding it throughout the park. There was a lot of open area for them to ride through. We did a little research on the park before we went and knew they didn’t have a playground. We had to come prepared. They did have picnic tables and barbecue pits. Our main goal was for Andrew (our oldest son) to catch a fish. We have been fishing four times in the past week and he hasn’t got a nibble. We end up leaving with him disappointed. He would fish all day if we let him. I’ve been told that in order to catch some fish at Decker Lake, we need a boat. We are looking into paddle boats so maybe we will have better luck next time. Maybe wherever we go, we will have some kind of luck.

Six Flags Season Pass

Dianna — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:24:54 +0000

Well, we finally decided what we are doing for spring break. We are heading to Dallas, Texas. On our way we will visit Fossil Rim and Dinosaur Valley in Glen Rose, Texas. We have been to Fossil Rim before and we were fascinated by it. The boys were a little young when we went, so I’m hoping this time they will really enjoy it. Dinosaur Valley will be new territory for us. We will then stay in Dallas for two nights and visit Six Flags Over Texas and the Dallas Zoo. For the rest of the week we will take it easy and we might go to the rodeo. Well, I really wanted to inform everyone about the Six Flags season pass we purchased. Usually we purchase it from H-E-B, but when I called guest relations at Six Flags they informed me of an “outer market season pass.” It’s a discounted season pass for people who have to travel more than 100 miles to visit their location. Since we do live more than 100 miles, we got our season pass for $49.99 instead of the rate of $59.99. So, if there is anyone who is looking to purchase a season pass at Six Flags I would first try online at sixflags.com to see if you get a discount. When you choose the option to purchase season passes it will ask for your zip code. If your zip code qualifies for the discount the “outer market season pass” will show up as an option to buy. If it doesn’t show up, you do not qualify. I really thought this was some useful information for anyone wanting to visit Six Flags. For the past two years, we weren’t aware of this discounted season pass and paid normal prices. I’m just glad we know now.

Lake Pflugerville

Dianna — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:06:09 +0000

Sixty five degrees was the temperature today and it was awesome. After Andrew (my kindergartener) got out of school, we decided to visit Lake Pflugerville to go fishing. We haven’t been there in over a year so it was pretty impressive on how much it has grown. There was an area we parked at that wasn’t there before. It included a parking lot, restrooms, and a section for swimming with sand gravel. Collin (my four year old) enjoyed the sand gravel the most. We brought fishing poles, a minnow bucket, and bait. We didn’t catch one fish, one minnow, and threw away the bait. Our luck with fishing wasn’t the best, but with the rocks, ducks, and sand gravel we had a great time. Andrew (the patient child) stayed with his dad fishing on the pier while Collin (the not patient child) and I built castles in the sand gravel. After about an hour we decided to throw bread to the ducks and find crawfish under the rocks. We ended up finding two crawfish. Andrew was intrigued. Collin and I wouldn’t go near them. It’s funny how different my sons are. They have totally opposite personalities. It keeps life interesting to say the least. I’m looking forward to spring and hope to have many more days like this. We will definitely visit Lake Pflugerville again and hopefully next time catch some fish.

Creative Playscape in Georgetown, Texas

Dianna — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:42:57 +0000

Way cool! Those are the words that come to my mind when I start to explain where we went on Sunday. My friend and I brought our kids to San Gabriel Park in Georgetown and planned on staying, but she remembered years ago there was a play area she brought her family to. She couldn’t quite remember where it was so she called someone for directions. It actually was only five minutes from where we were. It was called Creative Playscape. It is a huge wooden playscape with swings, slides, a sand area, and so much more. In our group there were eight kids. They had the best time playing hide and seek. There were so many places you could hide throughout the playscape. We didn’t have time to explore the other areas around the playcape, but there were soccer fields, hike and bike trails, and a skate park. This playscape is number 1 on my list to take the boys to. It’s a drive, but totally worth it. I forgot to mention it’s on the same street as our favorite bowling alley, Mel’s Lone Star Lanes. I’m looking forward to planning a day of bowling and taking the boys back to the playscape. I know this sounds cheesy, but I get joy out of seeing my boys happy and I try my best to do so. I’m sure that’s not always the case, but I’m trying.

Fun Snow Day

Dianna — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:38:47 +0000

What a day! I must say I love Texas and I especially love Austin. It’s crazy how we can go from 72 to 35 in two days. We are really enjoying it. The boys were so happy to see the snow and play in it. My husband and I enjoyed it as much as they did. We spent several hours making snowmen. It was a fun snow day.