It's summertime! You know what that means? It means it is time to treat our kids to some fun in the sun—and water! I have to be completely honest with you. My kids were troopers during the pandemic. They trudged through and persevered throughout the whole thing. Some people think that nothing changed for homeschoolers but that is not entirely true. While it's true that homeschoolers were already doing their coursework from home before COVID-19 hit, it's also true that most homeschoolers filled their days with extracurricular activities. When those were taken away, it hit many homeschoolers—hard. One of the joys of homeschooling is that we can teach on our own schedule, freeing up the rest of the day for activities outside of the home such as sports, music lessons, STEM, and other activities. Having these options torn from our young ones in 2020 was challenging but like I said, my kids handled it well. That is why I have decided to treat my kids to a plethora of activities now that venues are beginning to open their doors. Some activities I have found are free while others may cost a little more but are entirely worth it! The way I look at it is if companies are willing to open their doors this summer then they deserve the business—so let's give it to them!
One such company is Wet'n Wild Emerald Pointe located in North Carolina. They are open and ready for you to come and visit. If you have been following my blog then you know that we love this waterpark! Even though it is about an hour drive for us (we live in the country so really everything is about an hour drive for us!) we still love to make the trip every year.
What made this trip different is I brought all five kiddos by myself! In the past I would only take the older ones or my husband would be there to help with the littles. This year, I decided to brave it and to my surprise, everything went wonderfully! I will say this is mostly because I took advantage of the different amenities offered to help make our stay as comfortable and easy as possible.
First, we stayed in a cabana. And not just any cabana but the Harborview Cabanas. This was a game-changer. In the past we stayed in the cabanas by the wave pool. Those ones are gorgeous but with little kids, having a cabana so close to the kiddie area was a welcome change.
Second, we ordered food from the cabana's server. I'll admit, the prices were a little more than I usually like to spend but in this case, it was worth it. There was an option of checking in a cooler at the front and eating at the picnic tables near the parking lot but with little kids, I figured it was worth the extra money to have our food delivered right to our cabana. It really was worth every penny for the sake of convenience.
Let me just say that the kids' area is incredible! There is so much to do! I let my older ones explore the park themselves while I stayed with the younger ones. They really had such a blast and didn't want to leave even after a full day of fun! Their favorite was the "green slide" since they were able to ride tubes like the big kids. I think they felt special because when older kids tried to go on the slides the lifeguard would kick them out. They loved that they could go on an actual waterslide (with tubes) and that it was just for them (with their parents, of course!).
From slides to spray parks to a mini-wave pool, the younger kids had the time of their lives while the older ones enjoyed the bigger slides! You couldn't ask for anything better for the entire family.
What about mom? Well, my favorite is the Lazee River so I was sure to catch a ride (or two, or three) around with the little kids in tow. They enjoyed it but were eager to get back to where the action was when we were done!
If you are looking for something to do with the entire family during the summer of 2021, this is it. This was the best way to start off the summer and I am looking forward to possibly making a splash again at the end of the summer when Wet'n Wild hosts a Home Educators' Day! Stay tuned for more details!
Disclaimer: I received complimentary tickets for the purpose of this review. All opinions stated here are my own.
