iT'Z Colorado Springs

When we decided to visit iT'Z Colorado Springs, I had high hopes. I'd heard that this was going to be similar to Chuck E. Cheese or Dave 'n' Busters.

After visiting, I'd say that if you have the desire to play games or eat, you should simply save your money and go to Chuck E. Cheese or Dave 'n' Busters. You'll spend less and your experience will be much better.

The first thing that I noticed was that you cannot simply go to iT'Z and play games. You just can't. Even if you already have points on a card, you have to buy a buffet for each person in your group. What if you have people who are on diets or can't eat at buffets? Too bad. Each person has to pay for a buffet. I did not order drinks, but looking at my receipt later (yes, I realize that I should have looked at it immediately), I found that we had been charged for 5 drinks. There's an extra $10 that I didn't expect to spend.

When we first arrived, the staff members were very unhelpful. I've never had a bad experience with employees at a Chuck E. Cheese. They're always more than willing to explain how things work, offer me information on coupons, and to answer questions. The staff at iT'Z was not so helpful. When I didn't want to pay for the buffet + game card combo, they gave me a ton of crap for it and kept explaining that I couldn't just buy a $10 card because it was going to "cost more."

$60 later...

The dining area is set up so that the food/buffet/bar/drinks are in the center at the back of the room. There were also a few different dining rooms. You get your food and drinks from the buffet and then pick a seat in one of the dining rooms. We went on a Saturday and the entire place was packed. It was nearly impossible to get food without tripping over a child. There was no organizational plan to the buffet at all (no lines). Everyone was just grabbing for food.

Given the choice, I won't pay for the food here again. There were several types of pizza, which was nice, but it tasted horrible. It was soggy and greasy. There was also a salad bar, which I was excited about. That is, until I noticed that the vegetables and the eggs were frozen. Yes, frozen. As in, frozen so you couldn't eat them, but they were still at the buffet. This iT'Z did have a bar, but it was unstaffed. There was a sign that said you could find a team member if you wanted a drink, but there were no team members to be found.

If you have older kids, they may enjoy the games at iT'Z.

There are a ton of different games, including arcade games and rides. My 6-year-old loved the selection of games, but it was definitely too much for my smaller son. The "little kid" things were too small for him (including a height limit for the bounce house) and the "big kid" things were too big for him, so it was frustrating for him. The bowling area was fantastic, I thought, and my sons both loved getting to bowl "for real."

That said, there were some problems with the games. Many of the games just didn't give tickets. Some of them ate your tokens. Staff members were nowhere to be found. Seriously. For a Saturday, you'd think there would be extra people working, but there wasn't. When you win tickets (assuming your machine gave you tickets), you could redeem them on some of the small prizes and toys in the prize shop. I liked that this prize shop offered stuffed animals and other cool toys.

If you have little kids, I would avoid iT'Z simply because it's not really kid-friendly. Little kids will get lost in the crowd and unlike Chuck E. Cheese, there is no security system in place to prevent kidnappings. I can't imagine bringing a toddler or preschooler here and letting them walk around. They would get trampled. Older kids (6+) may enjoy the variety of games and the rides. This iT'Z had a couple of different types of rides available, including a mini-roller coaster and bumper cars.

Hungry Buffs and Deli Zone - Valmont

I have no idea how this restaurant has a 4-star rating on Yelp, but I believed it and decided to take a chance by ordering from them.

Never again.

I live half a mile from the shop. Most of the time, delivery places in Boulder deliver food within 30-40 minutes. After an hour, I called the store and the manager told me that the food would be here in 5-10 minutes an that the delivery guy had just left.

Another 30 minutes went by (keep in mind, we'd been waiting 90 minuets at this point) and still no food. I called again and the guy said he didn't know what to tell me, the delivery man had left and that our food should have been there. Not once did he apologize or offer to comp the meal in any way. He said he didn't know what to do. Finally, he said he would contact the delivery driver.

Another 10 minutes, and the food finally arrived.

Our hot subs were smashed and cold. They were on the wrong type of bread. Also, the drink we had ordered had spilled all over the sides of the cup, so it was sticky, and wet. To top it all off? No straw.

Again, the customer service was TERRIBLE for delivery. Maybe eating inside the restaurant is fine, but I'll never chance it after our experience tonight.

Carnival Cruise Line - Florida

To celebrate our 8th anniversary, my husband and I planned a trip to Florida. More specifically, we planned to take a Carnival Cruise around the Bahamas for a few days and we left out of Florida. I realized when we were booking our flights and making our travel plans that figuring out exactly how to go on a cruise can be tricky. After all, Cape Canaveral is about an hour from Orlando. It would be a bit costly to take a taxi to the port and back again, but what other options were available?

My friend who lives in Orlando suggested that we utilize a shuttle service. I didn't even know that this was possible. After reading as many reviews as possible, I chose to book through America Around the Clock just three days before we would need transportation.

Now, the thing about going on a cruise is that most people book their shuttles, hotels, and flights months in advance. I didn't do that. Normally, I'm quite the planner, but I got busy, wasn't sure when we'd be flying in, and things just didn't happen. So when I found out that we could book a shuttle, I was excited.

Most of the shuttle services were already booked by the time I started looking, but America Around the Clock was fantastic. We paid $66 per person for transportation before and after the cruise. (This didn't include a tip, so if you enjoyed your driver, always make sure to give a few extra dollars.)

So, here was our plan for taking a cruise from Port Canaveral:
We flew in on Friday night and took a free shuttle from the airport to our hotel, the Sheraton Suites Orlando Airport. We stayed at the hotel and the room was fantastic and spacious. Our two-bedroom room with two beds and a fold-out couch on a Friday night was $120 (including tax). Skip the hotel buffet because it's overpriced and not that great. There are several restaurants, including a Denny's, within walking distance of the hotel. There is also a convenience store, so if you want to pick up some wine to take on the cruise, you can.

Saturday morning, America Around the Clock picked us up directly at our hotel. They even had a sign in the window of the bus with my name on it so we would be sure to find them! There was fantastic communication throughout the entire time and I loved that the driver was willing to text us at any point so we didn't feel lost or confused. They took us to the port and helped us off the bus. Going to the port, we rode in a huge, spacious bus with plenty of room. It was very comfortable and the driver was fantastic and friendly.

When we returned from our cruise, we were supposed to be picked up at 10:00am; however, we cleared customs early and I just texted AATC to let them know. They were fantastic! They picked us up at 8:30 with no extra charge, helped us load our stuff, and got us to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Going back we took a van since there were only three of us and again, the trip was smooth sailing.

If you're planning a cruise, I would definitely recommend flying in the day before your ship leaves. I loved having the extra time to unwind and relax before a busy day of getting on the ship.

Build-a-Bear Workshop - Broomfield

The Build-a-Bear in Flatirons Mall has a fantastic selection of bears and stuffed animals that moms and kids can enjoy together. I took my sons this fall and they both had a wonderful time getting to make their own animal. Expect to spend $10-30 per stuffed animal depending on what you want to get. I love that you can absolutely do this on a budget! Our spending limit was $20 per child. Each of my kids was completely fine with this. (In the end, one ended up getting a $25 animal and the other got a $15 animal, but it evened out.) Just talk with your kids ahead of time to let them know what you're going to spend.

We had never been to Build-a-Bear before (though I went with my mom when I was 10!), but I was pleasantly surprised. The staff members were all very thoughtful, kind, and excited to be there. I loved that they spoke with my kids and let them help with the stuffing and sewing. One of my sons tends to be shy around strangers, but the staff members we worked with were all very friendly and kind the entire time.