Austin. Mom. Blog. » Parks

Fall Fun Festival at Old Settlers Park

Dianna — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:39:30 +0000

October is filled with fun events. I love this time of year. It’s the beginning of all the holidays and nice cool weather. The one event I will definitely take my four year old to is the Fall Fun Festival in Old Settlers Park located in Round Rock, Texas. It’s on Thursday, October 28th from 9 a.m. to 11:30. We have attended this event for three years in a row. My six year old has outgrown the event since it’s geared toward preschoolers and toddlers. Fortunately Andrew (my six year old) will be in school and won’t realize he’s missing out. It’s a free event that includes treat bags, games, a hay ride, a chance to see a fire truck up close, and refreshments. They encourage the children to come in costume. It’s also encouraged to bring a canned item to donate to the Round Rock Serving Center. I’m a little sad that this will be my last year of getting to participate in the event. My little boy is growing up. I will just have to treasure it.

Hairy Man Festival

Dianna — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 01:28:18 +0000

What a crazy name for a festival! The Hairy Man Festival is held every year in Round Rock rain or shine. I know that first hand since last year we went while it was raining. It was still fun, but I would have rather been without the rain. I’m hoping this year it’s not a muggy, rainy, and very muddy experience. The festival included performances by local schools, food booths, and a lot of games. The entry fee is two perishable items or $2 each person. The festival also includes a contest for the hairiest man. Fortunately, we never stick around for that. But hey, maybe that’s fun for some people. We can’t wait to go this Saturday, September 25th from 11 to 6. We like to go right when it opens at 11 so we aren’t fighting too many lines or crowds. My oldest son, Andrew enjoys the cake walk the most. Collin, my youngest enjoys the train ride. I hope they are both there this year. Either way, we will be there.

My Boys on the Train Ride Last Year

A Game Finding Toys in a Haystack

Russell Park in Georgetown, Texas

Dianna — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:08:06 +0000

We have the perfect lake to swim at. Russell Park in Georgetown, Texas is the lake to go to. We have been a total of three times this summer. Russell Park has a large section carved out for swimming. My two sons love it. My husband and oldest son attempted to catch fish, but had no luck. Each time they did not receive one nibble. The swimming was great, but it wasn’t a place to go fishing. Another setback is that there aren’t grills/pits near the beach. In order to do any cooking you must walk or drive to a grill/pit in another section of the park. It isn’t too far, but inconvenient. Fortunately, we had family members with us to handle the cooking. There are restrooms available on site, but not clean. Something to keep in mind, is that there is a fee to enter the park. It must be cash. We usually do not carry cash so I thought that might be useful information. The fee is $4.00 per vehicle up to four adults, kids under 12 are free, and it’s an additional $1.00 for any adult after the four. I totally think it’s worth it, but only if you like to swim in lakes. If you are a pool person, this isn’t the place for you.

The Beach Area

My Boys with Aunt and Uncle

Fiesta Texas in San Antonio

Dianna — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:19:34 +0000

We finally made our first trip of the summer to Fiesta Texas. By this time last year, we would have been three times already. Time is really getting away from us this summer. Our trip was made on a Wednesday. It was not crowded. We didn’t arrive until twelve so we went directly to the waterpark. That was the best decision to make since we were already sweating at that point. The water really helped keeping us cool. The areas throughout the waterpark included a wave pool, tube rides, a lazy river, slides, and two areas designed especially for kids. The kids’ areas were shallow and had multiple fun objects to play on. It included a small whale to slide through, a huge cowboy hat to stand under and get soaked, a boat to climb, and so much more.

It took hours to finally get the boys to want to go ride roller coasters. We timed it just right. When it was time to ride, it wasn’t so hot. There honestly are a lot of rides the boys can go on. It kept us busy for the rest of the day. There were bumper cars, roller coasters, a Scooby Doo ride to shoot ghosts and goblins, airplanes, diesel trucks, a train that travels the whole park, and swings. At the end of the night there is a firework show, but our family gets way too tired to make it. There is plenty of entertainment at Fiesta Texas and as soon as time allows, we will return.

Wiggles Roller Coaster

Andrew on the Swings

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

Dianna — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:20:02 +0000

On Saturday we went to the Deutschen Pfest in Pflugerville Texas. The boys and I had a great time. The only reason we left after a few hours is because I ran out of cash. I will keep in mind to bring more next year. We started Saturday morning by joining the Children’s Parade on Main Street in Pflugerville. We only walked four blocks with other children, but it was totally worth it. The boys thought it was pretty cool to be waving to onlookers. I pulled them in our red wagon and we all wore our t-ball Dodgers shirts. I wasn’t aware that the kids get ribbons. Every participant got a green ribbon. They also judged the parade and to my surprise we placed second and also got a ribbon for that. Way cool! After the Children’s Parade we stayed on the side of the road and watched the Main Parade come through. The boys got tons of candy and even received a popsicle. The popsicle was a huge hit since it was hot and humid. We headed to the festival afterwards. I thought it would be a good idea to check out the booths for something to eat so we ate in the festival. The boys ate hot dogs. Each one was two dollars and they were so overwhelmed with everything around them, they only ate half of it. So, for next year I will try to feed them lunch before we go into the festival. We went directly to the children’s activities after lunch. There were inflatables (free), a petting zoo that cost $2.00 for ten minutes per person, a train ride that cost $3.00, horses to ride for $3.00, face painting (free), and a clown making balloons (free). My boys still had the same interests as last year. Andrew’s favorite was the petting zoo and Collin’s favorite was the train ride. Since I only had a few dollars after all the activities, I allowed for each boy to pick one game to play. They both chose the paintball game. For five paintball shots it cost $1.00 and then they got to choose a prize. There was still so much we could have done, but my cash flow ran out. There were plenty of food booths that had ice cream, funnel cakes, kettle corn, cotton candy, fajitas, hamburgers, barbecue, and so much more. A funnel cake kept crossing my mind. The Deutschen Pfest also had carnival rides and games. I didn’t even walk that way with the boys since the cash was out. I definitely know for next year to bring a lot more cash and to make sure my husband is off of work to enjoy the festival with us. We had such an entertaining time and can’t wait to go back next year.

Andrew Holding a Rabbit at the Petting Zoo

Collin on the Train Ride

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.

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

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.

Katherine Fleischer Park (In Wells Branch)

Dianna — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:49:42 +0000

Our family has been to the Katherine Fleischer Park several times, but we went again for a party last weekend and loved it. Out of all the parks we have been to, I personally believe it is the best park to have a party at. It was a little cold the day we went, but with my boys high energy it didn’t phase them. This park has many areas of interest. It includes soccer fields, a baseball field, a swimming pool, a volleyball court, tennis courts, a playscape area that includes a large wooden house the kids can climb up, swings, a sand area, a trail for either walking or biking, and a creek my boys love to jump over or throw rocks into. There is a lot of open space throughout the park to run your legs. It’s perfect for my energetic boys. The party we were invited to had a pavillion they rented. My friend told me she only paid twenty dollars to have it for the whole day. It included picnic tables and a large grill to barbecue on. I’m considering having my oldest son’s birthday there in April. My sons already want to visit the park again so if the weather is nice over the weekend I will take them. It’s a really nice park and I know why they want to visit again. I highly recommend Katherine Fleischer Park to anyone with or without kids.

San Gabriel Park

Dianna — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:24:00 +0000

We had the opportunity to enjoy San Gabriel Park twice this week. We went once and enjoyed it so much that we went again. San Gabriel Park is located in Georgetown. I believe the best part of the park was the exploring my boys got to do. There was a huge trail with natural springs, playscapes, a place to feed the ducks, restrooms, and even vending machines. For a park I didn’t think the restrooms were in bad condition. It was clean and actually stocked with toilet paper. On a more pleasant note; the boys loved picking up acorns, going around formations of rock, and throwing rocks and sticks in the river. Time passed so quickly that we didn’t realize we stayed two hours. Our appetites made us leave. We will definitely make the trip again.

Champion Park in Cedar Park, Texas

Dianna — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:50:47 +0000

We have been to Champion Park several times, but I have finally decided to share it with everyone. This is one of my favorite parks. The key area for my boys is the huge sand pit. Toys are left for others to play with and it’s shaded. In the summer time there is a small area where water spouts will spray. This area is shaped as a whale. Huge boulders are available to climb on with a set of swings near by. Trails go through the park to walk, jog, or run on. The park also includes two grills to barbecue on. Fortunately, restrooms are near. For the majority of the time my boys stay in the sand pit, but when we visited over the weekend they utilized all the amenities. If you’re in the Cedar Park area, I would definitely recommend Champion Park!

Old Settlers Park

Dianna — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:39:10 +0000

The boys and I went to Old Settlers Park today for a few hours. We met up with two friends of mine. They each have a boy that play with my oldest and one has a daughter that plays with my youngest. The boys are the same age and the young ones are also. It works out really well. Every time we go to Old Settlers Park, I tell myself we should go more often. It’s a fairly large park with several playscapes, soccer fields, baseball fields, a pond where you can feed the ducks or go fishing at, and plenty more. We tend to go for the playscapes. It keeps the boys entertained for a little while. The weather kept us from staying longer. It was drizzling off and on. We left after two hours and on the way home the rain really started to come down. We left at the perfect time. I hope we can go again sometime soon.