Glubble

My husband and I have been concerned over the safety of letting our children play on the internet. They love to play, but we were worried what they could accidentally find. We were even considering buying one of those programs that would block things we didn't want our kids to see. Then, my little brother told me about Glubble.

In many ways, Glubble is kind of like a family-friendly Facebook. Each family member can create a profile page with their picture on it. There is a family wall where individuals can type messages to each other. You can upload photos. There is also a family calendar if you choose to use it.

On the safety side, parents can control what sites their children visit. When my kids click on the internet, it immediately opens the Glubble home page. The kids cannot get out of it without a password - which means they cannot surf the internet. On the kids homepage, it has a ton of different game sites that the kids can play - although not all of them are immediately allowed. There were several sites - like lego.com - that I had to enter the password for my kids to play. You also have the option to add other sites to the kids personalized pages.

And, best of all, it's totally free! Go to the Glubble Website for more information and to sign up!

Cowtown Cattlepen Maze

In the Stockyards in Fort Worth, they have a great maze that my kids love! Billed as a Texas Size Human Maze, it has over 5400 square feet of fun. They change the maze frequently, so it is fun to do over and over.

There is also a 2nd story observation deck where you can view the maze before you go in, or watch family members try to race through and find all the checkpoints.

Cost: $5 for ages 5 and over (4 and under FREE when accompanied by a paying adult)

Website: Cowtown Cattlepen Maze for directions and other info.

Cool Stuff: You can see the Longhorn cattle drive in front of the maze every day at 11:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Cabela's

One of our favorite family things to do is to visit the Cabela's Outdoor Store in North Fort Worth. We don't typically buy anything, but it is a fun place for kids to wander and look. (And my husband always enjoys looking at the 4-wheelers and boats!) Here are a few of the things they have there to look at:

*Room of African Safari animals (stuffed, of course) on display.

*Fish pond - They also have fish pellets available for purchase to feed the fish.

*Large mountain with waterfall.

*Displays of types of large game in different areas in the store.

*Large aquarium - they have several scheduled fish feeding times that you can watch.

Mondays & Fridays
Join us for the interactive aquarium dive feeding show. Meet our keeper's and have all your questions answered before the show!
1:00 p.m.
Location: Spotted Bass Aquarium

Tuesdays & Saturdays
Join us for the interactive aquarium dive feeding show. Meet our keeper's and have all your questions answered before the show!
1:00 p.m.
Location:: Crappie Aquarium

Thursdays & Sundays
Join us for the interactive aquarium feeding show. Meet our keeper's and have all your questions answered before the show!
1:00 p.m.
Location: Large Aquarium

Here is the link to Cabela's Fort Worth for a map, hours of operation and a slideshow of some of their displays.

Toobin' on the Comal River

My husband and I recently traveled to Austin for a long weekend - without the kids! While there, we made the hour drive down to New Braunfels (also home to Schlitterbahn Water Park) to float the Comal River. It was great fun! We would love to take our kids back and do it again.

You can rent a tube at several places. Most of the rentals come with one free shuttle back to where you parked your car. We went with Texas Tubes, as we could park right at the river, rent a tube and jump in!

There is also the Rockin' R River Rides. They are not directly on the river, so you will have to actually get to the river to tube. The plus to them is they offer unlimited shuttles and trips down the river. So, if you want to do it more than once, this might be your best bet. They also rent rafts and larger tubes if you are interested.

Price: Between $11-$15 depending on if you want a tube with a bottom or not. There are several places where the river is very low, so you may want a tube with a bottom for those areas, or for your kids.

Time: The river is about 3 miles long. It took us 2 to 2 1/2 hours to float.

The River: Be aware the river is pretty cold - about 70 degrees - as it is spring fed. It is also relatively shallow, and there were many places that I could walk.

Supplies: Shoes of some kind - the river is very rocky. Sunscreen - you will get burned if you don't (ask my husband). You can also bring small coolers and rent a tube with a bottom to carry it.

Age Limits: Most places that I read had a minimum age of 3. There is also one Tube Chute (kind of a mini waterslide) which might be difficult for very young children to do. (See picture)

Word of Warning: We went in the early afternoon, just as the college kids were getting there. Hence, we saw a lot of beer (which is allowed on the river) and heard a lot of swearing. If this is not something you want your kids exposed to, we were told that the mornings were better as the college kids were not up yet!

Six Flags Over Texas

We visited Six Flags last week, which the kids adored. Most everyone knows what Six Flags is, and has probably been. So, here are just a few cost-saving tips that we've discovered.

1. Tickets are expensive. But, there are normally discounts if you look for them. I think this year you can get a ticket for kids price ($31.00) if you buy them online or at McDonalds. Many employers throughout the area also offer discounts, so if you have an employee club or anything of the sort, you may want to check with them.

2. Parking is expensive. Plan on at least $15 to park.

3. Leave the park to eat lunch and dinner (there are in and out privileges with parking), unless you want to spend upwards of $8 for each person. We just picked up fast food and spent less than $30 on both meals for 6 people. Six Flags also has a park area outside the gates where you can take a picnic lunch. They don't allow any outside food or beverage into the park.

4. Buy the refillable drink cups. They are pricey - about $12, but worth it. This year, they gave us a bracelet and all refills were free throughout the day. It's the best way to keep the kids hydrated in the sun. If you go back again, all refills are only $0.99, and water is free.

5. Weekdays are always better than weekends. We went on a Monday and hardly had any wait on any of the rides. Spring Break is never a good time to visit.

6. If possible, take a break in the middle of the day. We went to my Mom's house (who lives in Arlington) during the heat of the day. It was a good way to cool off, refresh the kids and get our 2-year old a nap.

7. My kids always beg to play games and for souvenirs, but that gets expensive with 4 kids. There are several places throughout the park where there are kids games. The good thing about these is that the kids are guaranteed to win. For $5, my kids got to play a game (mostly the strong man games where you pound a mallet to hit the bell) and got Batman or Supergirl cape.

There are other tips on the Six Flags website for families that might be useful. Good luck!

Concerts in the Garden

One of our favorite family things to do in the Summer is Concerts in the Garden. That is exactly what it sounds like. Every weekend for the month of June, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra puts on different concerts at the Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth.

The doors open at 6:30 and the concerts start at 8:00.

COST: Adults are $15 in advance, $18 at the door for lawn space. Tables are available for a higher price. Kids 10 and under are FREE on the lawn!

PARKING: $5 - $20 depending on where you want to park. The $5 parking requires that you take a shuttle to the Botanical Gardens, and there will be a lengthy wait after the concert to get back unless you walk.

WHAT TO BRING: Camping chairs, picnic blankets, picnic lunch, snacks, drinks. I like to buy cheap glow sticks from the Dollar Store and bring those. They do have food, drinks and light up toys for sale if you prefer. You can also rent a chair.

FAVORITES: My favorite concerts are the Laser Show. They play all music from popular movies such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, ET, etc. The 4th of July program is also fabulous. I believe that all concerts have a fireworks show at the end.

HERE is the link for Frequently Asked Questions. Have fun!

Reading With Ringling Bros.

Here's another great reading program for free circus tickets. This one is offered through our local library here in Fort Worth.

It's pretty simple. Get a card at the information desk.

The kids (ages 2-12) read (or have read to them) 5 books. Each time you go to the library, you tell the librarian what you read, and she stamps the card.

When your child finishes 5 books, you can trade in the card at the box office of American Airlines Center in Dallas or the Fort Worth Convention Center for a free ticket to the circus.

I am not marking this as a free activity as you will have to buy a ticket for any accompanying parent and have to pay to park in Dallas or Fort Worth. The tickets are good for any seat other than Circus Celebrity, Front Row and VIP seats, so if you want to spend the money on the other tickets, you can get pretty good seats. If you are flexible on when you go, you can find tickets as cheap as $7.

I checked the website HERE, and it looks like they run the program throughout Texas, but you can check with your local library in other places to see if they run it also. Enjoy!

Half Price Books Summer Reading Program

Today I was at Half Price Books, and they have a FANTASTIC summer reading program. Here's how it works:



They give you this nifty log:

The kids read at least 15 minutes a day. (And you can read to kids who are not old enough to read)

They read for at least 5 days of the week.

They get a $3 shopping card for Half Price Books for each week they complete. At Half Price Books, there are tons of books for under $3, so the kids should be able to get a new book every week.

The programs goes through July 31st.

Check out their website at Half Price Books for participating locations!