Ha! This is nothin'! I been waaaaaaaay poorer and worse off than this and back then we had two small kids at home to boot! Not that I wanna go through that again, though...

Tell me about it!  (rhetorical!)  I hear!

That whole buying food at the location really annoys me.  I can see how they want to protect their cash cow, but honestly.  If they're going to sell food and prevent me from bringing mine, make sure that it's tastey (hardly ever is) and suitable for whatever diet I'm on.

I especially hate the whole movie thing.  I don't want popcorn and a soda.  Maybe I want a nice sandwich.  Don't get me started on the coffee at the theater.  I never get food at a theater anymore.  Part of it is the price.  Most of it is the selection.

The simpler pleasures of life. I grew up poor, yet my childhood was not a constant whine of "I want" as I knew we could not afford the things that others had (we never had "vacations", instead just some trips to see relatives once every other year). Yet my memories of my childhood are filled with playing with friends, "building forts" (once out of Tumble weeds - that was a sticky wicket. ), and generally making do with what we had and having fun. I am sure my parents stressed a lot about paying the bills, but we had food on the table (casseroles mostly - I hate them to this day!), a roof over our heads, and clean clothes (usually bought at the thrift store).

Fun is in the mind. If you want to waste time wishing for things you dont have, of course you are not going to have fun. If you spend time having fun, you wont have time to worry about things you do not have.

I know!  I was surprised though that I could order a grilled chicken salad at the park (it was Wet and Wild). It came cold, straight out of the fridge which was horrible for me because I prefer when the chicken is warmed up.  By the time I was done ordering drinks and food for me and my daughter, her a taco salad and drink me the grilled chicken salad and drink that was $19.68!  My son was still on a ride and didn't eat yet. My hubby was at the bar and didn't eat yet!  So basically, what a rip off! The cost of entry though was fair because we made out like bandits with a $70 discount on what would have been about $200 or more, for four of us and only paid $123!

We went to Disney three years ago and at that time we carried snacks and lunch, chicken fried and sandwiches in a cooler, left in the trunk of our car, had fun, when we were all hungry, went to the parking lot and ate our tummies full and hopped back into the park!  The parking was right there so no crossing the street or going outside somewhere else like this other place! Hence we made do with eating there.

 

Our cost for the movies have been not so much for the entrance, that in itself varies depends on the time we go (or day, weird but thats how they do) but the cost of the food, good grief, popcorn and sodas are way too costly!

 

Oh yes, those simpler pleasures, I love them! My parents took us on several outings and we also spent time with our grandparents. Those were the best memories of our lives!

I don't worry about where I take them so much as to when I will take them.  Now we plan and just do it.  This week we're taking off (my hubby and I) two days to get some appointment errands done and hopefully will fit some activities in there!

We have never been able to afford extravagant vacations (although I suppose if that were our priority, we could feasibly save and do something like that), so that hasn't changed, LOL.

I am concerned about the pace at which prices are growing, but since we never had vacations costing several thousand dollars, we're not missing anything, I guess!

I would LOVE to take the kids to Disney World, and we hope to do that when the one on the way is old enough to enjoy it, but before our boys are out of the house. Something like 3-5 years from now. That gives us time to save and plan for it.

We haven't gone a lot this summer, but we do try to have fun at home or nearby. We haven't been to the lake near here or to Austin yet, and that's party a money thing.

A few years ago we had free tickets to Sea World (San Antonio) and we were living there briefly, so we took advantage of that. We had a lot of fun, but still spent like $80 on food, stuff not included in the entrance fee, and souveniers (I can never spell that right). We can take advantage of the same offer now (free entrance for up to 4, I think), but with gas and all that, it's still going to be a couple hundred dollars. It's probably worth it, but sometimes you just don't have $200 to spare!

Sorry to ramble. Glad you guys had fun at the water park!

We took our boys to the lake yesterday.  We did spend money on inflatable floaties and food.  We packed a cooler with sandwiches and snacks.  So we had a fun day out for reasonably little money.  I would love to go to six flags but I'm not sure it's going to happen this summer.  I had another interview today so here's hoping that things will improve. 

 

They have these vacation deals that would be a great thing to get when you do.  Or if you don't mind, we live on the East side, but by highway it's 25-30 mins away, let me know and you won't have to worry about lodging. 

 

Exactly, by the time you pay for entrance fees, the food does cost a lot!  I think we spent about $184 at the end of the day, which wasn't as bad as it would have been!  We won't be doing that until probably next year again.  I have to take them on anothere trip we planned for my son's birthday, Universal Studios IOA so that will be planned again and budgeted for in advance - for next month.  The good thing is I can get discounted tickets which makes a lot of difference!  

No ramble, ths for the good wishes, we did have fun!

 

 

Great!   I just realised, from searching the net, that there are times when some of our local spots have free entrance for an hour or so, I think this might be for most everywhere,? I remember when that was the case in NY as well.  The zoo had a free afternoon or a day between certain hours, the museums the same.  It is good to know that is the same here too. I"m going to take them to the museaum at some point before school starts in three weeks.

 

Good luck with the interview Amy!