Austin. Mom. Blog. » sons

MegaMind

Dianna — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:52:34 +0000

We went to our favorite theatre (City Lights Theatre in Georgetown) to watch Megamind. My boys are still terrified to watch movies in 3D so we watched it in 2D. It’s been a few years since we had the opportunity to watch a movie in 4D or 3D. My two sons experienced 4D at SeaWorld and ever since then they associate 3D glasses with the 4D experience. The 4D experience has special effects during the movie. It consists of wind blowing, water being sprayed on you, shaking, and awesome sound effects. My boys did NOT like the 4D experience. Megamind was a good movie. It wasn’t great, but worth watching. The movie is about a villian defeating the hero and being bored afterwards. He tries to invent a new hero, but that goes terribly wrong. Megamind (the villian) ends up having to defeat the new hero to have peace restored within the city. My four year old and six year old stayed entertained the whole time. I had hoped for more comedy. I would recommend to watch Megamind, but only at matinee prices.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Jungle Java

Dianna — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:58:17 +0000

Today both my boys were invited to a party at Jungle Java in Round Rock, Texas. I need to start off with saying that my sons had a great time. However, if we weren’t invited to the party, there would be no way I would take my kids there on a Saturday. It was pure craziness. I’m the kind of parent that likes to be able to see my kids while they are playing. There were certain points I couldn’t even tell who my kid was. Overcrowded would be the best word to describe the place. In my opinion, Jungle Java is a huge playscape with different obstacles to overcome. They have several slides, a zip line, a small basketball area, and different levels to go up and explore. Jungle Java also has a menu with a variety of items. It’s not your typical chips and a coke. They have items from a muffin to coffee. We have been there before this party and had a much better experience. We went when it wasn’t crowded. I would recommend going there at least once to get your feel for it. I would just try to go during the week on an unbusy day.