Articles

Jun 15, 2013

Kia Sorento Review!

Jun

2013

Saturday

Kia Sorento Review
Never in a million years would I have thought that I would absolutely love a Kia. My impression of Kia (admittedly from years ago) hasn’t been the greatest, but if we only had 3 kids instead of 4 then we would have seriously considered the Kia Sorento when we were looking for a new (to us) vehicle.

It actually fits up to 7 people, so we were all able to drive around in it, but when all of the seats are up there is absolutely no trunk space so it wouldn’t work for us on a trip.

(For those of you who are new to STS and are wondering what in the world a car review is doing here, you can read the details in my first review here. We don’t get paid at all for these reviews, but thought it would be fun to test drive cars out every so often and let y’all know which ones we thought were good ones and worth the price! Plus, since most car reviews online are completely over my head with car-talk, I thought it might be fun to do some reviews from a mom’s perspective.)

The things I loved:

The steering wheel! Those of you who have read some of my previous car reviews know that the steering wheel is a big deal to me. I have to be able to put my hand at the bottom of the wheel while driving. Thank you to Kia and all of the other car manufacturers out there who design their steering wheel to accommodate bottom-of-the-wheel drivers like me!

Kia Sorento Steering Wheel

The price. Vehicles that can hold a larger family can get pretty pricey, but the Kia Sorento starts out at $24,100.

The features. We tested the Sorento EX V6 (feature-wise it’s the middle of the line model) and it came with their UVO eServices Infotainment System, Rear Camera Display (which after having it, I would never buy another car without it), a backup warning system, blind spot detection display, bluetooth built in, USB/Auxiliary Input Jacks (which is also a must in my opinion), and a fuel-efficiency indicator (loved this!)

Kia Sorento Features

The safety. While there are convenience features that are upgradable for the different Sorento options, all of the safety features are exactly the same in all of the models. According to the US News ranking system, the Kia Sorento safety score was a whopping 9.4 out of 10!

The fuel economy. The base line model gets 21 miles per gallon in the city and 29 miles per gallon on the highway, which is pretty awesome for an SUV that seats 7. The V6 models get 18/24 mpg, but that’s still really good compared to other similar vehicles.

The look. It’s a very nice-looking vehicle that can hold several people without taking up as much room as a larger SUV or looking like a mini-van (although I happen to like the look of a mini-van, I have several friends who swear that they will never EVER be a “mini-van mom”).

Kia Sorento Exterior

The things I didn’t love:

The trunk. The trunk space is almost non-existent when both of the rear seats are up. Which is very understandable since they are trying to fit 7 seats into a much smaller space, but the trunk wouldn’t work for our family. You could probably still fit four in the back with one of the back seats folded down if you didn’t have any little ones in car seats.

Kia Sorento Seating

3rd row seating. While I think that the 3rd row seating is great (and necessary for our family!) it would be pretty tough for regular-size adults to sit back there for any length of time.

The packages. Some features are only available with a different model. For example, if you want a moonroof then you have to have the model with the navigation system as well. If you want the V6 then you have to get the model that seats 7.

Some reviewers have said that the ride in the Sorento is a little stiff and that there is a lot of road noise, but I didn’t notice any road noise and it didn’t seem stiff at all. The road noise was low and the ride was very comfortable in my opinion. BUT, just know that what I was comparing it to at the time was our 2004 Honda Odyssey that we have had for several years with very high road noise.

If you are in the market for a great family vehicle then I would definitely consider taking a look at the Sorento. The other reviews online are overwhelmingly positive and the price is pretty awesome compared to other similar vehicles.

Do any of you have a Kia Sorento? I was only able to drive it around for a week, so I would love to hear any experiences (pros or cons) from those of you who have one!

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Jun 12, 2013

5 Easy Ways to Save on Summer Travel Expenses!

Jun

2013

Wednesday

2 Comments

5 Easy Ways To Save On Travel Expenses

1. Keep an expense log.

It works with eating too. Whenever I write down exactly what I eat, I’m much less likely to eat things that I shouldn’t.

While I love the cash system for grocery shopping, I don’t like carrying around a lot of cash when we travel. So writing down everything that we spend a cent on while traveling really does help to keep expenses to a minimum when we are using the credit (debit) card instead of the cash envelope system.

2. Pack your own food and drinks.

Can you believe how much a bottle of water costs at the gas station? Most of the time it’s more than $1.00… for just ONE bottle of water! Instead, buy a 24-pack of bottled water before you leave at $3.50 (or much less with coupons!)

If you want to be really frugal, you can get a couple of gallons of water (or even fill empty gallons up at home) and bring plastic cups for everyone (and sippy cups for the kids) to drink from during the trip!

Packing your own cereal, fruit, lunch meat, cheese, peanut butter, and bread – or whatever else you eat – can save you tons of money when traveling! It’s definitely worth it to keep refilling the ice in the ice chest to keep the food cold. Instead of buying bowls, we buy a bag of paper cups that we use for drinking as well as for cereal for the kids in the mornings.

Another idea for food on the road is to make beef jerky at home before you leave. Buy rump roast and have the butcher slice it thin, then add your favorite seasonings and put it in a food dehydrator to dry. A food dehydrator is a little bit of an investment, but something that is very worth it! You can make all kinds of great dried snacks with a food dehydrator (apples, pineapple, blueberries, veggies, beef jerky, etc…)

If you don’t have a food dehydrator, you can make jerky in the oven.

3. Use the deal sites!

If you need to stay in a hotel, fly, rent a car, or go out to eat, then you’ll definitely want to check out the websites that help with finding the best deals on these things.

If you’ll be staying in a hotel, sites like Priceline help you to find the best hotel deals, and typically their prices are MUCH better than going through the hotel website. Priceline allows you to pick a star rating, pick the amenities you want, and then name your price. They assign you to a hotel (you don’t get to choose), but we have used the “name your price” method and it’s worked out great for us! My recommendation is to always go a star above what you think you might want.

Be sure to check out my post on how to get the best deals with Priceline (there are a few tricks!)

Daily-deal sites like Groupon also have some great travel deals… just be sure to take a look at the Yelp & Google reviews before you buy.

If you do know that you want to go out to eat while you are on vacation, then a couple of months before you leave be sure to check out the Groupon food deals for that area (just again, check the yelp reviews before you purchase a Groupon at a specific restaurant… ask me how I know!)

4. Be extra prepared.

It drives me nuts when we go on a trip and end up having to buy something that I have a cabinet full of at home. Like toothbrushes. Or toothpaste. Or a razor. UGH!!

So my recommendation is to have a small duffle bag that stays in the trunk of the car/van with extra toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, shampoo, etc. so that you never have to go pay full price somewhere when you’re on a trip!

Although needing this bag has been much less frequent since I’ve started to use Wunderlist for keeping track of everything I need to pack for all 6 of us (one of my top 8 must-have travel apps).

Another extra expense that you don’t have to have while traveling is medicine. Just make sure you bring your most important items with you when traveling so you don’t have to run out and buy them AGAIN at or above reg. retail price.

What do I bring with me? Oh, what most people would bring… Activated Charcoal, Colloidal Silver, and my stash of essential oils! (Plus the must-haves in a typical first-aid kit.) :)

5. Stay home.

Okay, not really home. But stay close! The amount that you’ll save in travel expenses is huge by vacationing places that are already close to you.

Do you know what things I remember most about the majority of our family vacations growing up? Being together as a family without distractions. Listening to Abbott & Costello & The Bickersons tapes in the car with my parents. And probably the biggest memories of all – the pools at the different hotels that we stayed at.

So why not make the same memories close to home?

I have a ginormous post listing out staycation ideas for just about every major city in the country (and some not-so-major cities)!

What are your favorite ways to save on summer vacation expenses?

More articles to help you save on vacation expenses:

8 Essential Travel Apps
Saving Money On Eating Out
Getting The Best Deals On Priceline

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2 Comments | Author: Rachel Holland
Filed Under: 5 Ways To Save, Articles, Front Page Tagged With: saving on summer travel, summer travel, summer vacation, ways to save on summer vacations

Jun 10, 2013

New Target Cartwheel Coupons!

Jun

2013

Monday

3 Comments

Target Cartwheel Program Just in case the Target printable coupons, Target mobile coupons, Ibotta offers, and Shopkick coupons weren’t enough to keep up with, there’s now ANOTHER way to save at Target.

It’s a new program called Cartwheel and it can be a little confusing at first so I wanted to go through it here.

Here’s how it works:

1. Head over to the Target Cartwheel page and log in with your Facebook account.

2. You can set it to show your posts to “Only Me” if you would prefer (I don’t like apps posting things for me!)

3. Click on “Collections” and browse through the different offers they have available.

4. Click the offer to add it to your Cartwheel offer collection.

5. Once you’ve added all of the offers that you want, click on “my Cartwheel” and then in the top right corner click on “redeem in store”.

6. Print the page that shows up and bring it into the store for the cashier to scan so that you can get those discounts.

Easy enough, right?

Have any of you tried it out already? Did it work at the register?

(And be sure to check out this week’s Target coupon match-ups too!)

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3 Comments | Author: Rachel Holland
Filed Under: Articles, Front Page, Target Weekly Deals

Jun 3, 2013

Turn An Old Wine Bottle Into A Gold Vase! {ditto} DIY

Jun

2013

Monday

4 Comments

Welcome to the June {ditto} DIY challenge!

Once a month ten very different bloggers are hosting this challenge to recreate in our own homes a project or design element inspired by a haute couture design. The idea is to inspire everyone to incorporate fine design elements into your own home in a way that fits your own style. (For more details on what {ditto}DIY is all about, check out my intro post!)

The ten hosting bloggers include:

Darlene @ Fieldstone Hill Design
Ruth @ Living Well Spending Less
Cindy @ Skip to My Lou
Jen @ Balancing Beauty & Bedlam
Edie @ Life in Grace
Rachel @ Surviving the Stores
Karin @ Trophy Mom Diaries
Lauren @ I am THAT Lady
Kelly @ View Along The Way
Melissa @ The Inspired Room

This month’s theme is Go for the GOLD, and this was our inspiration photograph:

{Art and design by Samantha Reitmayer Sano of Style/Swoon.}

The {ditto} DIY Challenge:

Gild something, or paint it gold! Then use it in a lovely display.

Here is my Go For the GOLD {ditto}DIY project:

I’ve never been a fan of gold. For the monetary value of the real stuff, yes. But for the looks of it? I generally don’t like the look of it on me (jewelry), or as decorations in my house. I have a few picture frames in the house that have a tiny bit of gold trim around the edges, but that’s it.

So when I saw that this month’s project was to paint something GOLD I had to think hard about what I could incorporate into my design (btw, when I say “my design” I just mean my lack of gold in the house, I don’t really have any particular design to things at all other than just wanting to keep things simple and clutter-free).

I’ve been majorly purging the past few weeks to get our house ready to put on the market (we are sooo close!) and I found an old, empty wine bottle on top of the cabinets in the kitchen. At one time I thought I could collect wine bottles to decorate the tops of the cabinets with… until I realized that I would have to dust them weekly to keep them looking nice. Yeah, scratch that idea.

Repurpose A Wine Bottle Into A Gold Vase!

Anyway, I decided to paint my wine bottle gold and use it as a vase on the mantle!

The challenge this month was to either gild something or to paint it gold, so I looked up how to gild something first and realized very quickly that gilding was NOT the DIY craft project for me. I’m not a big fan of spray paint gold, but I did like the idea of a very muted, sparkly gold.

I found a golden Valspar paint sample at Lowe’s (the official color name is Leather Satchel) and mixed in a package of Valspar Gold Paint Crystals.

Repurpose a wine bottle - paint it gold and make it a vase!

It turned out to be exactly the muted but sparkly look that I wanted!

[Side Note: If it's a windy day and you don't want to anchor down lots of newspapers outside, the Priority Mail flat-rate boxes work GREAT] :)

The paint sample was a little under $3 and the pack of gold sparkles was a little under $8, so the project was around $11 total (since I already had the wine bottle and a paint brush).

The gold crystals were easy to mix in, but I did end up needing the whole package to get it as sparkly as I wanted it to be. I’d recommend pouring in half the package, mixing that it, and then pouring in the other half of the package.

Repurpose a wine bottle into a gold vase!

This was a fun and EASY project that I would love to do again with different items. And I still have a nice amount of the glittery gold paint left too.

I needed a few coats of paint, but I think if I would’ve started out with a nicer paint brush I could’ve gotten away with 2 coats. (The quality of the brush DEFINITELY matters!)

You can’t really see much of the glitter in the far away picture, so here’s a picture of it up close so that you can see the sparkles.

And the final product…

Turn an old wine bottle into a gold vase - no spray painting necessary!

It’s not smooth like a spray painted vase would be, but I love that it has some texture to it.

But do you know what my favorite part of these projects is? Looking through all of the awesome projects that everyone else has created for this challenge!!

It is time to link up your own fabulous Go for the GOLD projects and join the {ditto} DIY party! It wouldn’t be much of a party if you didn’t stick around, so be sure to check out as many projects as you can! Then be sure to visit Darlene’s site for a peek at next month’s challenge along with some expert design tips on incorporating gold accents into your home. (HINT: This design challenge could very well use something that is just sitting in your closet, and turn it into gorgeous art work for your walls!)

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4 Comments | Author: Rachel Holland
Filed Under: Articles, Ditto DiY, Front Page Tagged With: ditto diy projects

May 22, 2013

Year Of The Staycation – Staycation Ideas For Over 90 Cities!!

May

2013

Wednesday

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How to Have a Staycation in Over 90 Cities Nation-Wide!
Why spend a ton of money on gas and/or airfare when you could use that money instead to have an awesome Staycation right around where you live!

I’ve teamed up with over 90 bloggers to bring you Staycation ideas for around the country. I put together a list of Staycation ideas in the Dallas, TX area (feel free to add to them too!) and other bloggers have put together lists for their cities.

Just click on the link below to go directly to the post for your city (or the city you want to visit).

You may also want to read the following vacation/staycation articles:

8 Essential Travel Apps
Saving Money On Eating Out
9 Tips For Saving Money While Traveling

South Central

Coastal Alabama :: Meet Penny
Huntsville, Alabama :: The Traveling Praters
Northern Kentucky :: Simply Sherryl
Chattanooga, Tennessee :: Living Chic on the Cheap
East Tennessee (Smoky Mountains, Knoxville) :: Finding Joy on the Journey
Nashville, Tennessee :: Montessori Tidbits
Arlington, Texas :: Grocery Shop For FREE
Austin, Texas (Hill Country) :: Ponder the Path
College Station, Texas :: How to Homeschool My Child
Dallas, Texas :: Surviving The Stores
East Dallas, Texas :: Funky Faith Girl
Fort Worth, Texas :: Coupons & Freebies Mom
Houston, Texas :: MomsToolbox
Houston, Texas :: MyLitter
Katy, Texas :: Moms Confession
McAllen, Texas (Rio Grande Valley) :: iLoveMy5Kids
San Antonio, Texas :: Melissa’s Bargains

Mid Atlantic

NW (or all), Connecticut :: Parenting Miracles
Boston (or all), Massachusetts :: Maven of Savin
Central, New Jersey :: Our Good LIfe
Adirondak Mountains and Central, New York :: For This Season
Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York :: Ann’s Entitled Life
Syracuse, New York :: I am THAT lady
Erie, Pennsylvania :: Growing Kids Ministry
Greater Harrisburg, Pennsylvania :: Family Balance Sheet
Hershey, Pennsylvania :: Good Deal Mama
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania :: Beyond the Cover
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania :: The Coupon “High”
Poconos, Pennsylvania :: Bucktown Bargains
Scranton, Pennsylvania :: Bucktown Bargains

Midwest

Des Moines, Iowa :: Make the best of everything
Aurora, Illinois :: A Savings WOW!
Central, Illinois :: The Homeschool Scientist
Chicago, Illinois :: Chicagoland Homeschool Network
Naperville, Illinois :: The Sensible Mom
Schaumburg, Illinois :: Ravings By Rae
Fort Wayne, Indiana :: Simplified Saving
Indianapolis, Indiana (Metro Area) :: In Good Cents
Muncie, Indiana (Central IN) :: the daisyhead
Northern Indiana :: So Dough Savvy
Kansas City Area :: Kansas City Mamas
Metro Detroit, Michigan :: Saving Dollars and Sense
Grand Rapids, Michigan :: Give Me Neither
Oakland County, Michigan :: Bargain Shopper Mom
Minneapolis, Minnesota :: Creative Couponing
Rural Minnesota (either Southern our Lake Country) :: Mommysavers.com
St. Cloud, Minnesota :: Frugal Finders
Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas :: Kosher on a Budget
Springfield, Missouri :: Getting Freedom
Cincinnati, Ohio :: Family Friendly Cincinnati
Columbus, Ohio :: Cleverly Simple
Dayton, Ohio :: Savings Lifestyle: Dayton
Mansfield, Ohio :: The Traveling Praters
NE Ohio :: Raising Lifelong Learners
Northeast Ohio (Canton, Akron, Cleveland) :: Sisters Shopping on a Shoestring
Black Hills, South Dakota :: Little House Living
South Dakota :: Moms Mustard Seeds
Oshkosh, Wisconsin :: Adventures of a Stay at Home Mom

Mountain

Phoenix, Arizona :: Mom Endeavors
Scottsdale, Arizona :: Saving For Someday
Tucson, Arizona :: Desert Chica Ramblings
Colorado Springs, Colorado :: The Greenbacks Gal
Denver, Colorado :: Bargain Blessings
Helena, Montana :: The WiC Project
Omaha, Nebraska :: Mom Endeavors
Reno, Nevada – Lake Tahoe (Northern Nevada) :: Saving in Nevada

Pacific

Fresno, California (Central Valley) :: NerdFamily Blog
Los Angeles, California :: Savings.com
San Diego, California :: Good Cheap Eats
San Diego, California :: Life as MOM
Portland, Oregon :: Frugal Living NW
Seattle, Washington :: Thrifty NW Mom

South Atlantic

Arkansas :: Discovering Arkansas
Washington, DC :: Kidventurous
Clearwater Beach, Florida :: Bargain Briana
Jacksonville, Florida :: Saving The Family Money
Southwest Florida (Ft. Myers area) :: Chaos Is Bliss
St. Augustine, Florida :: Simply St. Augustine
Tallahassee, Florida :: SwagGrabber
Atlanta, Georgia (metro area) :: Hodgepodge
Atlanta, Georgia (metro area) :: The Couponing Couple
Annapolis, Maryland :: The Happy Housewife
Hagerstown, Maryland :: Cheryl Pitt
Asheville, North Carolina :: Paradise Praises
Charlotte, North Carolina :: from our front porch lookin’ in…
Raleigh/Southeastern, North Carolina :: Upside Down Homeschooling
Upstate South Carolina :: The Tween & Me
Charlottesville, Virginia :: How to Have it All
Richmond, Virginia :: Teachers of Good Things
Smithfield, Virginia :: Walking in High Cotton
Virginia Beach, Virginia :: The Coupon Challenge

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Leave a Comment | Author: Rachel Holland
Filed Under: Articles, Front Page

May 22, 2013

Planning A Staycation In Dallas, Texas!

May

2013

Wednesday

34 Comments

With the price of gas continuing to rise this year, many families are looking for fun and inexpensive things to do closer to home instead of spending an arm and a leg on gas.

If you have a limited vacation budget this year, don’t fret! Myself and a ton of other bloggers are posting fun STAYCATION IDEAS in our areas!

The whole point of a family vacation is to have fun together, right? You can still have fun together and not spend over half of your vacation budget on gas!!

If you are planning a Staycation in the Dallas area, there is a TON to do. A. TON.

Here are several Staycation ideas for the DALLAS area:

WATERPARKS

Splash Kingdom in Canton – A family-friendly waterpark whose mission is to “Glorify God while providing a safe and fun recreation experience for families”
Wet Zone in Rowlett – {$10.50 for adults}
Surf & Swim in Garland – {Adults $6, children $5}
Bahama Beach Waterpark in Dallas – {$15 for over 48″ tall, $11 for under 48″ tall}
Hawaiian Falls in Garland – {$23.99 for adults, $16.99 for guest under 48″)
City Splash Parks – Harry Myers Park in Rockwall, The Harbor in Rockwall, and Forney Community Park all have Splash Parks! {FREE!}

OUTDOOR FUN

Blueberry Hill Farm in Edom – Pick your own blueberries and pay only for what you pick! They also have a great store with Preserves, Blueberries’n Cream Pies, Blueberry muffins, Blueberry Frozen yogurt, and Blueberry Lemonade!
Dallas Arboretum – enjoy a variety of flowers all year round at the Arboretum!
Ham Peach Orchard east of Terrell – Enjoy fresh picked peaches and blackberries and amazing peach ice cream. You can pick your own blackberries, but the peaches are already picked.
WIRED Zip Line and Challenge Course in Canton – WIRED is a unique zip line challenge course combining thrills, safety, easy access, and the beauty of rural Texas terrain. Our course is located on twenty acres of rolling meadow along a meandering creek.
Lake Ray Hubbard – Lots of info here for rentals & lodging
Lake Tawakoni – Lake Tawakoni is still a virtually undiscovered lake in Texas. It is clean and un-crowded, its size making it ideal for recreational water sports & fishing.
Belo Gardens – a fun family park in the heart of Downtown Dallas
Klyde Warren Park – The 5.2-acre deck park is an urban green space built over the recessed Woodall Rodgers Freeway between Pearl and St. Paul streets in downtown Dallas. You can find a Performance Pavilion where regular concerts are held, walking trails, a dog park, a children’s park, and a games area.

SHOPPING

First Monday Trade Days in Canton – Held the weekend BEFORE the first Monday of the month, thousands of vendors from across the country turn this friendly East Texas community into a shopper’s paradise where you can find rare antiques and collectibles, furniture, fine home decor, arts and crafts, clothing, jewelry, tools, produce, and much more.
The Harbor in Rockwall – The Harbor is one of our favorite places to go in the Dallas area! They have great restaurants right on the lake, a splash park, and live music on most weekends.
Northpark Mall – The kids will love the courtyard in the middle of he mall with lots of green space to run! There’s also a fun water area inside the mall (right in front of Williams Sonoma) with ducks and turtles!
The Galleria – Our kids love going to the Galleria. They recently updated their playground on the 3rd floor right in front of Nordstom’s, and they have a nice ice skating rink in the middle of the mall on the ground floor. If you have younger girls in your family then you might want to make a lunch stop at the American Girl doll store too!
Firewheel Shopping Center in Firewheel - a fun outdoor mall right off of the George Bush Tollroad close to Garland and Sasche.
Antique Stores in Forney - Forney is a hidden gem for antique shoppers! Just take Hwy 80 east out of Dallas and you’ll hit a huge line of antique shops!

ANIMALS

The Dallas Zoo – Be sure to bring swimsuits for the kids because they have a GREAT water area in the kids’ section!
Fish Hatchery in Athens – {$5.50 for adults, $3.50 for children ages 4-12}
Texas Discovery Gardens – Butterfly House!
East Texas Gators and Wildlife Park – Live Alligators from hatchlings to over 13 feet . The alligator enclosures have been designed to be as close to their natural habitat as possible. They have rocked walkways, an air-conditioned Welcome Center, Bounce House, Concession/Grill, Mister fans, covered Pavilions with picnic tables and shade.

MUSEUMS

Dallas Museum of Art
The Perot Museum
Blackwell House Museum in Canton
Heritage Park Museum in Edgewood

FAMILY-FRIENDLY ENTERTAINMENT

Shenaniganz in Rockwall – Bowling, Go-Kartz, Lazer Tag, Arcade, Rock Climbing, Billiards & Shuffleboard {Pay per activity, or $99 for an unlimited ALL-summer pass}
Rockwall Concert By The Lake – Thursday night concert series during the summer at The Harbor in Rockwall, TX {FREE}
Geocaching – Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location. {FREE}
Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine – the prices do tend to be pretty high in the summer (close to $250 per night), but since you’re saving on airfare by staying in the area, why not splurge a little? Being able to take a little break in the hotel room after a morning at the waterpark sure is nice. This one is a perfect place for kids of all ages!
Clear Springs Scuba Park
Official Paintball Games of Texas, Inc. in Forney – See page for pricing options.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, so if you know of any other great things to do in Dallas then please leave a comment below and I’ll add it to the list!

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