Austin. Mom. Blog. » adults

Dave & Buster’s

Dianna — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:51:49 +0000

Today we asked our oldest son Andrew what he wanted to do for his last day of vacation since he goes back to school tomorrow. He told us he wanted to go to Dave & Buster’s. We enjoy going there as a family, so off we went. We arrived at 12:00 and stayed until 3:00. During that time we not only played a lot of games, we also ate lunch. In my opinion, the food is pretty good. I usually order the grilled chicken quesadillas and I haven’t been disappointed yet. I enjoy eating there because if my youngest son starts to get restless I take him over to a few games before the food arrives. I used to think Dave & Buster’s was focused more for adults, but now I see a lot more famililes there. They have a ton of games for my boys to play. I believe the selection is better than Chuck-e-Cheese. I guess I say that because my boys are getting bigger and have outgrown a lot of games at Chuck-e-Cheese. The only downfall is Dave & Buster’s games are a whole lot more expensive than Chuck-e-Cheese. Dave & Buster’s games aren’t one token games. The games are fun, the prizes are cool and different, and the food is good. My son, Andrew had the right idea.

Ski Time

Dianna — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:48:20 +0000

I am about to start looking into ski vacations. I am looking for a ski resort that has the ability to ski in and out the front door of your room. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. It will definitely help with my search. The criteria I am looking for is that it needs to be kid-friendly, not a long drive from Austin or long plane ride, and it can accomodate my entire family. This will include 8 adults, 2 teenagers, and 2 boys. I will be searching for the dates during spring break. It is from March 13th through March 21st. We all went to Ruidoso, New Mexico one year and had a great time. We drove and the drive itself was exhausting. It was worth it, but this time I am leaning towards a short plane ride. Any tips? Any great locations? Anything will help.

Fiesta Texas Fright Fest

Dianna — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:14:21 +0000

Our family went to the fright fest at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio on Friday, October 30th. Since our boys were only 3 and 5 the rides they had for them weren’t too long of a wait. Throughout the summer we went to Fiesta Texas several times and that seems to be the case each time. For kids under six, the lines aren’t bad. We have season passes so we go each chance we get. I really wouldn’t recommend the fright fest for our ages of boys. It was too scary for them. Luckily, they didn’t have any nightmares or screams through the night, but some of the props and costumes were a little much for them. If you have kids that aren’t too spooked from these kind of things, then it’s a place I would recommend to check out. The rides kept us busy for almost four hours. For the most part, we focused on riding the rides and avoiding the spooky stuff.

We really enjoyed a room set up for cookie decorating and pumpkin painting. You had the option to buy, keep, and paint a pumpkin or buy a large round cookie to decorate and eat. The price was five dollars to do both. We ended up buying both. I thought that was reasonable. The boys really enjoyed it and in the end that’s all that matters.

Also, they had Scooby and Shaggy passing out treat bags. We waited in line to go on a large stage to meet them, take pictures, and receive a treat bag. It was the perfect experience for the whole “trick or treating” concept. My youngest son was a little freaked out being near them so I held him the whole time. We saved this experience to the end so it would be a final ending to our day. It worked out perfect.

The theme park had a haunted house for an additional five dollars a person that looked pretty scary. I didn’t go in, but there was a huge line for it. For older children and adults who enjoy the whole Halloween experience and in the middle of it getting to ride roller coasters, I would recommend the fright fest for them. For our family and the ages of our boys, I would not. We had fun, but next time we will wait until our boys are a little older.