Fun at the Austin Zoo

Ready to see the zoo!

Another fun thing that I did with my "Littles" when A, B and C were at Burn Camp was to take them to the Austin Zoo.  We spent the morning and afternoon there and it was so much fun.  On the way home, I had all 4 kids asleep!  It had been a long time since I have had a car full of sleepers.  Enjoy our photos.  I think the peacocks were my favorite animal of the day.

This beauty was the first animal we saw as we walked into the zoo.  The peacocks are roaming free and they are currently in mating season so they really preformed for us later in the day.

This peacock was showing off in the tree.

We purchased a bag of animal feed when we arrived so we headed over to the petting zoo to feed the sheep, goats, deer, and llamas.

D feeding a goat.

D, E and F posing with the animals.

The goats were super friendly and not shy about asking for food.

Baby G wasn't sure what to make of the llamas.

After the petting zoo, we decided to head to see the "bigger" animals as they would most likely be napping in the afternoon.  We visited the bears and bigger cats.

Watching the bears

My Bears

F absolutely loved the tortoises.

On the move

Up close

We brought in our own picnic lunch but I let the kids each have a snow cone for a special treat.  All three of them chose 1/2 cherry and 1/2 blue raspberry snow cones!

A girl and her peacock

While eating their snow cones, the peacocks loved being around the kids.  It turns out they eat practically anything and anytime the kids would drop a bit of their snow cones, the peacocks were right there to enjoy it.  E kept asking me when the peacocks would display their feathers as she wanted to see them.  And the peacocks did not disappoint, they gave us quite a show.

I loved their feathers!

A peacock displaying his feathers.

And another one...

Side view

The Zoo is full of great photo opportunities including this amazing mural.

My E duckling.

And my monkeys...

Baby G was exhausted!

I would not recommend having this kind of umbrella stroller at the zoo.  I thought I had brought my other one that has a shade and basket underneath but when I arrived I realized I had not brought it and I made this one work.  Luckily, we were able to find quite a bit of shade and we had our hats so that really helped.  You can bring in your own food and drinks which is a huge plus.  They also have a snack cart available at certain times of the day.  We did not ride the train but that is also an option for a small fee.  All-in-all we had a super fun day and we would definitely go back again.

Austin Trail of Lights & Giveaway

If you live in Austin you are most likely familiar with The Austin Trail of Lights at Zilker Park.  Whether you are strolling down memory lane, spinning under the Zilker Tree, or enjoying the 2 million lights illuminating 50+ displays The Austin Trail of Lights offers unique holiday experiences for all!  This year The Austin Trails of Lights is scheduled December 10-23, 2016.

 
Here are some logistics that are good to know.  The Trail of Lights is a 1.25 mile walking trail only.  Vehicles are not allowed to drive through.  And while it is a walking trail, pets are not permitted onto the trail except for service animals with the proper credentials.  You can park nearby in Zilker Park.  Parking permits are only valid for the day of purchase; no overnight parking.  Trail of Lights parking opens at 5:30 pm daily.  Parking passes are only available for purchase on-line and will not be sold on-site.  Parking Passes are $15.

And I have a surprise for you!  I am giving away 2 Zip fast passes.  Zip Fast Passes allow access to The Trial of Lights starting at 6 pm, one hour before the Trail opens to the general public.  Zip guests also receive access to the Lounge in Zilker Village where you'll find restrooms, cookies, cocos and seating.  Zip purchase is required for children ages 6 and older; whereas, children under 6 are free with a ticketed Zip adult.  Zip Fast Passes are valued at $15-20/ea.

Just enter the giveaway below and good luck!!  This is a super fast giveaway as I need to get the passes to you asap.  Winner will have 24 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Austin's Park N Pizza - New Bar and Grill and Bowling Available

The kids and I had a great time last week at Austin's Park N Pizza!  We were able to do so much - games, rockwall, bumper boats, go-karts, mini-golf, rides and more!  Many priceless memories were made indeed.

 A, B and C on the bumper boats - you will get wet!

The train coaster - E rode this ride over and over and over.

 My coaster selfie with E.

 The kids after we played a round of mini-golf.

 A, B, C and D all had loads of fun on the indoor rockwall.

 We had a few winners at the games.

Bowling is now available at Austin's Park N Pizza!

Did you know that Austin's Park N Pizza now has bowling?  I watched them as they finished up installing bowling lanes and putting on some of the final touches, looks awesome!  I am really looking forward to going back and trying out the bowling lanes first hand.

 Austin's Park N Pizza Bar and Grill

 Friendly Staff

And if you have been to Austin's Park N Pizza before you know about their buffet, but did you know that they have opened up a new Bar and Grill.  Their chef-inspired grill menu and full-service bar provides an upscale atmosphere for everyone - family, friends, colleagues, you name it. 

Disclosure:  I am so blessed to be a part of the Austin Blogger community.  Austin's Park N Pizza graciously offered our family a day of fun at their business.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Austin's Park n' Pizza Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Have you heard of Austin's Park n' Pizza?  If you live in or around Austin, you probably have but I want to tell you that they have been seriously upgrading their facility this last year and they aren't done yet!  Our family recently attended a local blogger event there to check out all the changes and I wanted to share a few of them with you as well.  We had unlimited wrist bands and ended up really making a day out of it!

So what's new?

Inside Changes Include
 - New Laser Tag System
 - All new prize and video games
 - Two new party options (XTreme Glo Parties and Tie-Dye Shirt Parties)
 - New Audio Visual Equipment
 - Swings in the park for younger guests
 - Food: Fresh, made from scratch pizza buffet, pasta stations, salad/dessert bars (90% of their food is made in house, this is so impressive)

What's New Outside?
 - The Fiesta Roller Coaster
 - The Crazy Fire Chief Bus Ride
 - The Samba Balloons Ride
 - New Slick-Track Go-Karts

 Some of the games and rides inside the facility

 Super clean environment for food and fun.

Look Who's Tall Enough for the swings!

That face says it all!

Family Skee Ball

 Want a Glo Party?  They can do it!

 Two Go-Kart tracks - family friendly and the all new slick-track

 Some fun rides for the littler ones.

A well deserved award - 2013 Top Family Entertainment Center in the World

In short, Austin's Park n' Pizza has been upgrading everything.  Their food was tasty and we were really impressed with all the rides and games that our kids (ages 2-9) could participate in!  I love the layout and the way that various rides were staggered inside the facility.  For example, the swings (D on up could ride these) were next to the rock wall (A, B and C did this) and then a bouncy house for littler ones (D and E loved this - spent hours here) was on the other side.  This layout made it that much easier to watch your kiddos of various ages participate on different things while maintaining on eye on them and watching out for safety.  I hugely appreciate this!  The day we were there it was rather cold but the older kids made sure to get a turn on the bumper boats and go-karts.  If you are looking for something to do with the whole family I would highly recommend checking out Austin's Park n' Pizza.  They have something for everyone!