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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

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.

Build-a-Bear Workshop

Dianna — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:38:14 +0000

It is only a week away from Christmas and my boys keep insisting they want a puppy for Christmas. My husband came up with the idea of going to build-a-bear workshop for them to build their own puppy. I thought it was a great and cute idea. So, we headed over to Lakeline Mall today for them to pick out a puppy. They each picked out something that was not a puppy. As long as they were happy, it was fine with me. My oldest son picked out a longhorn. He put a Texas Longhorns shirt on it and named it Longy. My youngest son picked out Alvin the Chipmunk. Alvin was already dressed so we didn’t need to pick out any clothes for him. At Build-a-Bear workshop the concept behind the experience is to get your own little pet stuffed animal. First you pick out which animal you want. Next you pick out a heart to put in the animal while it’s being stuffed. I’m not sure if every employee does it the same way, but the lady who helped us told each of my sons to tap the heart on his head to make him smart, to tap the heart to his stomach to make sure he doesn’t go hungry, to close his eyes and make a wish, and finally give the heart a kiss. The heart then goes into the animal. I thought it was all so adorable. After this process you take your animal to the washing station to get it clean. There’s a scrub provided and the kids pretend to wash him or her. Then you pick out any clothes you might want. There are items that include shirts, shorts, pants, outfits, hats, shoes, and accessories. Finally you go over to a computer to name your animal and a birth certificate is printed. At the register you receive the birth certificate and it goes in a large box that holds your animal which is supposed to represent the animal’s home. I really think the whole process is fun for the kids. We might be able to do this build-a-bear workshop once or twice a year, but not much more than that. The price can really add up. For each animal it was $22 and then we only added the one shirt. Our total ended up being $55. So, it was pricey, but for once a year I would do it again. Also, maybe, just maybe, this whole “puppy” thing might go away.

Amazon.com

Dianna — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:52:07 +0000

I won’t be able to say enough about amazon.com. I absolutely love this site. I was able to do almost all my Christmas shopping on amazon.com. I didn’t have to leave the house. I didn’t have to fight the crowds. I didn’t have to wait in the lines. I didn’t have to pay tax on the items I bought. I simply love the convenience of amazon.com. On this site there are numerous items for sale. I only purchase the items that are sold by amazon to get the free shipping. There are outside parties that are able to sell through amazon, but I haven’t went that route yet. I like the free shipping that you are able to get with a $25 purchase. So far the best deals have been on amazon. I always do the comparison shopping through pricegrabber.com and look to make sure I am getting the best price. So far I have. I totally recommend amazon.com for anyone who likes convenience, best prices, and the items being shipped directly to your door.

Found the Almost Perfect Christmas Tree

Dianna — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:24:02 +0000

I searched and searched for the perfect Christmas tree. I found one, but it wasn’t perfect. We looked at Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart, H-E-B, Garden Ridge, Lowe’s, and finally Home Depot. Our choice ended up being at Home Depot. The price ended up being our final factor. There were other trees that were just as nice at Lowe’s and Hobby Lobby. I put up the tree yesterday and with the new technology in trees, I thought it would be easier this year. That wasn’t the case. It’s pre-lit and only has three pieces to hook together. Well, the time consuming part was spreading all the branches. It took me over two hours. Our old tree took just as long. It was the old fashioned kind where you put each branch on at a time. On the old one, I would spread the branch before I put it on the tree. So, I was looking for an easier and less time consuming set up of a tree, but the easy part just ended up not having to put the lights on it. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a beautiful tree and I’m happy we got a new one, but my expectations weren’t met on the time. Maybe we will get a fresh live tree next year. Then again, I wonder what my husband will say on that.