Austin. Mom. Blog. » Family

Alpha and Omega

Dianna — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:14:23 +0000

We haven’t been to a movie in a while so I jumped on the chance to take the boys to see “Alpha and Omega” when it got released. We went to a ”new to us” theatre in Georgetown called City Lights Theatres. We were very impressed with the theatre. It was clean, comfortable, and enjoyable. I say enjoyable because my two boys were in awe of how cool the theatre was. The entrance to the theatre was overwhelming with pictures of movie posters, a man who greeted you with a suit and top hat, and a very large selection of menu items. Unfortunately we only bought a kids movie meal that included popcorn, a drink, and a fruit snack. We ate lunch before we went. I can’t wait to go on an empty stomach to order a hamburger or fried mushrooms. The reason we chose this theatre was because it was the only one showing “Alpha and Omega” in 2D. My boys do not enjoy 3D movies since they will not keep the glasses on during the entire movie. The movie was really good. It wasn’t awesome, but it captured my two sons’ attention. The storyline consisted of two wolves who loved eachother, but couldn’t be together due to family obligations of uniting other wolf packs. I believe it was a little too mature for my 4 and 6 year old, but it was animated and they seemed to really enjoy it.

City Lights Theatre in Georgetown

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

Toy Story 3

Dianna — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 15:38:54 +0000

Finally, I was not disappointed in a movie. Toy Story 3 was incredible. From beginning to end, Toy Story 3 is definitely a movie worth seeing. There was even a part in the movie that I cried on. My two boys also loved it. There were a few scary parts for my four year old. He’s still talking about the scary monkey from the movie. Luckily, he hasn’t had any bad dreams, but the movie is a little intense on some parts. Overall, the movie was very entertaining. To be honest, if they wanted to go see it again, I would take them. Toy Story 3 was that good of a movie!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Spring Break Vacation

Dianna — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:24:24 +0000

Well, it’s only four weeks until Spring Break vacation and we still have no plans. Time is going by fast and we need to make some. Believe it or not, I actually had the nerve to call my travel agent to see if we could get on a Disney cruise during spring break. Everything, and I mean everything was booked. I guess when the time is right, we will go on the Disney cruise. We’re looking into going to Houston and purchasing the city pass. It’s a discounted pass that allows you to go to six different attractions. It’s $39 for adults and $29 for kids. The main attractions that interest me are the NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Children’s Museum. I thought it might be fun and not so far to travel. I would also like to stay one night in Galveston since it’s so close to Houston. These are just some ideas and I will post soon what we have decided and then comment later on our experience. Wish me luck!

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.

Mel’s Lone Star Lanes

Dianna — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:12:10 +0000

We wanted to try something different today so we went to Mel’s Lone Star Lanes in Georgetown. From friends, I heard it was a nice family bowling alley. They were right. Usually my boys have to wear socks in order to bowl, but Mel’s had shoes for them. Also, the bumpers can be put up for each bowler. Every lane was full, but fortunately we got there at the right time and a lane opened up. They had a package that was called “mom and tot” or “dad and tot” that cost $13 which included one game for two to bowl, shoe rental for two and 10 tokens to play in their arcade. Mel’s let us buy this package for both boys to bowl. I thought the price was right. The whole time I was worried my youngest wouldn’t bowl, but he did great. Both boys did. They bowled the whole game and loved it. Afterwards, the 10 tokens we received were perfect to end the outing. They played 5 games each and got some prizes to take home. Fortunately, they actually had 1 game token machines. That’s pretty rare. The only place I know that has 1 game token machines is Chuck-e-Cheese. Mel’s had food to purchase, but we ate lunch before we got there. The menu looked inviting. We will definitely drive the miles again to enjoy Mel’s. Our family had a great time.

Gingerbread Houses

Dianna — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:40:58 +0000

I thought it would be fun to make gingerbread items with the boys. I picked out a house for my five year old and a train for my three year old. The first part was pretty easy. We just iced the sides together and let it dry. The next part was the tricky part. We had to decorate our creations with candy. It was easy for my five year old to resist the candy, but not my three year old. From every angle he was popping a candy in his mouth. It was fun, but beware on the candy.

Lights of Love 5K benefiting Ronald McDonald House

Dianna — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:46:50 +0000

I got informed of an event on December 4th. It’s a free family event. The event is called McDonald’s Lights of Love 5K.

It’s at Mueller Hangar at 5:00 p.m. The event is a 5K run, walk, or jog benefiting Ronald McDonald House. You do not have to participate in the run to enjoy the event. First, it’s for a good cause. Second, we won’t be cooped up inside. Third, why not? We will definitely be there.

December 4, at the open-air Mueller Hangar. It is a totally family friendly event.

Zilker Botanical Garden

Dianna — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:50:17 +0000

It was a great family day. The boys were great, the weather was great, and the view was great. When I say the view, I mean the Zilker Botanical Garden. We originally hadn’t planned on going there, but on a whirlwind ended up there. We wanted to take advantage of the outdoors. The boys both were off school due to the holiday. They are at the perfect age to appreciate the beautiful gardens and scenery. It was like an adventure for them. In each corner was either a plant, flower, rock, or some sort of nature. It’s free to visit. If you haven’t already seen the Garden, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who lives in Austin or is visiting.

Free Kids Workshop at Home Depot

Dianna — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:23:49 +0000

It was a great Saturday. I felt like a productive mom today. I took the boys to the kids workshop at Home Depot (in which I will go into detail later), we went and ate at Chick-fil-a, went to the park, visited my mom, and ended the day playing with the neighborhood kids. It was a filled day.

The first Saturday of each month Home Depot has a free kids’ workshop at their locations from 9 to 12. My oldest son has ten pins on his home depot apron so I believe we have been participating for ten months now. It is a totally free workshop for the recommended ages of 5 to 12. Each month is a different project. Today we made a trivet. I usually only bring my oldest son, but decided to bring my youngest also. My youngest son doesn’t like to stay still for long. However; he did very well today. I believe it was because the project didn’t take as long. It was a simple project, but I still did not get it correct. The project consisted of four wooden pieces and I didn’t line them up right. The boys didn’t notice, but I did. When I got home, my husband noticed also. Oh well… The boys worked together on it, had smiles on their faces, and we got an end result. That’s all that truly matters. Home Depot’s goal on these projects is for families to have family time. I believe they have been successful. My oldest son looks forward to these projects and treasures the pin and certificate he receives after the completion of the project. Today my youngest son also seemed happy about the completion. My husband works weekends so he isn’t able to participate, but I really wish he could. I think it would be easier for him to follow the written instructions. I seem to end up having extra pieces at the end. I’m told that’s not supposed to happen. Fortunately, my brother is able to take my son sometimes. Before the event, home depot has a posting on what the project will be and I thought it looked easy enough for me to get. I guess not. The next project looks even harder, so I’m hoping my brother will be able to step in. I really think this is a cool event that home depot has for the kids and totally recommend it.

Family Dinner

Dianna — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:43:39 +0000

My husband attempted to make barbecue chicken for the first time. It was delicious. At the last minute I decided to invite my family over. I have two brothers and a sister. Both brothers are married and my little sister is only 16. My mom, sister, brothers, and one sister-in-law came. My dad had to work and the other sister-in-law had to attend a college class. I was happy that we had a good turn out. Usually everyone is too busy to come over. If possible, I believe it is so important to surround yourself with loved ones. My two boys loved having them over. I honestly can say I didn’t hear one whine or cry out of the boys while they were over. Don’t you just love those times? Overall, it was fun and I can’t wait until the next family dinner.

No Room For Pets

Dianna — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:22:31 +0000

Anyone who has children and pets I give my full support to them. I honestly can’t do it. My boys really want a dog, but I know I can’t handle another task. It took me a whole hour to clean out a betta fish bowl and that was more than enough for me. Sad, right? It’s one little fish and I thought it would be easier to take care of. It just proves that we do not need a dog or any other animal right now in our lives. We also are the “get up and go” kind of family. We wouldn’t be able to do that with another family member that is a pet. I really want the boys to be happy, but I’m not ready. Does anyone have any advice on how to let them down gently?