Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose...

So yesterday I decided to take the boys to the movie theater to see Rio. It was one of their $1 specials so what did I have to lose? Ayson had never seen a movie before.  He barely watches tv at home so I didn't know what to expect at the theater.  The theater was packed with kids, and the boys had their snacks in hand and they didn't have to wait long at all for the movie to begin. About a half hour in to the movie, Ayson began to complain that he wanted to go home.  I tried to persuade him otherwise, even offered up my phone for him to play games which he immediately turned down.  After about 20 more minutes Alex leans over to me and says he'd like to go home too because something in the movie was scaring him.  I was disappointed and reluctantly threw in the towel.  My first effort of the day at entertainment for the boys was a total fail.

Later in the afternoon we met some friends at the new Pirates Cove water park.  This turned out much better.  We arrived at 4:00 so we wouldn't have to pay $12.99, and stayed for three hours. The kids all had a blast.  Hurray! A win! So do you want my personal review of the place? It's a fun place for the kids.  It had five or slides of varying sizes, and lots of playground style equipment pouring, spraying and dumping water - all of it in about one and a half feet of water.  Then there was a small pool type area that was 3 feet in the shallow side and 4 feet in the deeper side - it was too small to swim in and was mostly for kids to throw around balls or cross some floating squares.  They did have plenty of shady seating for parents to park if they needed a break. Overall I found it very overpriced.  You aren't allowed to bring in food or drinks which is fine, but food was outrageously priced.  One medium Icee was $4.75, and the prices didn't improve for any of the other goodies.  There is very little for parents to do other than just walk around trying to keep track of their kids (which is not an easy feat) - no lazy river, no plain swimming pool.  And the life guards were super inconsistent with the rules.  Kids were told they couldn't do certain things, but then you'd see other lifeguards letting kids do anything and everything.  Really, I'd rather pay to go to Splash Station in Cleburne.  It's not as big but it has something for everyone, and it doesn't break the bank to buy snacks for the kiddos! I would go back to Pirates Cove, but it would not be my first choice.  There.  That's my official review of the place.