Since our children were young, we’ve enjoyed taking trips whenever we get the opportunity. We have made it a point to share moments and experiences as a family, and so it was no surprise when our middle child asked to go on a trip this year for his birthday, instead of having a big party. My husband and I began to bounce ideas off of each other and our son, when I came across a post on Facebook that I knew would be perfect: Homeschool Day at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX. We’re a big football family, so needless to say, all of the kids were thrilled.
Dallas isn’t too far of a trip from our home, so we decided just to leave out early the morning of and make the 4-hour drive. We had been to Dallas with the kids once before, but never to Arlington, so it was our first time seeing the venue in person. The excitement level in the car definitely rose a couple of notches as the stadium came into view. Parking was free and the stadium was not crowded at all, so we were able to park in the lots right beside the stadium!
Once inside the gates, we let the kids take the lead. There was quite a bit going on outside the stadium which the kids were eager to explore. They did bounce houses, slides, football toss, a miniature playing field where they could practice diving catches in the corner of the endzone. They all had a blast, and probably could have spent hours doing all of the activities multiple times, but it was getting close to the start of our guided tour (and was starting to get a little hot!), so we headed into the A/C to start our exploration of the inside of the stadium.
Inside the stadium, we joined up with our tour group and started off. We were granted access the club and suite level of the arena, as well as the owner’s stadium office. The stadium was full of exhibits on the team’s history, which we got to learn about as we made our way down to the lower levels. Eventually we ended up coming out on to the field through the tunnel the players run out of, which was a very cool experience. We were turned loose on the field to play and explore. The older kids tossed a football around and pretended they were in the game for real. They had an absolute blast down on the field! Once they were finally starting to tire out, we got in line to let them meet the cheereladers and mascot. Our oldest son even got to catch a touchdown pass from Rowdy the mascot!
Having seen everything the stadium had to offer, we loaded back up for the next surprise for the kids. We don’t watch a lot of television, but the kids love to watch Food Network with their dad, and especially Diner’s, Drive-In’s and Dive’s. My husband and I had taken a look at the Food Network website and decided to make the short drive into Fort Worth to visit one of the restaurants that had been featured on the show: Fred’s Texas Cafe. Let me tell you, I’m so glad that we did! The burgers were wonderful, but the star of the meal was the Queso Fries appetizer. Hand cut fries loaded with queso, bacon, guacamole and pico de gallo. These things were to die for! I would almost make the drive back just for these fries. Anytime you find yourself in the DFW area, I would recommend making a stop here.
Needing to walk off some of the delicious calories we had consumed far too many of, we decided to make an impromptu stop at the Fort Worth Stockyards. We had never been before and really enjoyed the atmosphere. We shopper around a couple of shops, let the kids, and my hesitant husband, ride a mechanical bull. Then a quick stop on our way out for some ice cream before calling it a day and heading to our hotel for the night in nearby Glen Rose.
Thanks for the great article!