Hot Fun in the Summertime

Jun 20, 2018 | Arkansas, Sponsored Posts, Travel, United States

*FTC DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by Wild River Country. All opinions are my very own.


Let’s face it.
Keeping kids happy when it’s hot outside can be difficult.
With the age ranges in my kids- early twenties to pre-school age- it’s almost impossible!

We were very happy to participate in a blogging event by Wild River Country as a family

 to see what they had to offer.

Did you know that Wild River Country is the largest water park in Arkansas?
With twenty-six acres including thirteen slides, three pools (including a great wave pool)
and plans for an amazing kiddie pool improvement in the next few years
Wild River Country offers something for everyone.
View from top of slide of wave pool
Wild River Country from top of Slide


We were treated to a cabana, which is so worth it to have a place to meet that’s in the shade.
You have access to a private cabana right on the wave pool, a nice footlocker to lock up
any valuables, beach chairs, bottled water and some packages even include meals which
makes things easy!
I think the next time we go we will choose the cabana party, which is admission for six plus
the cabana, meals, and more for a great price!
Table in cabana at Wild River Country with food and towels
Homebase at Wild River Country
My youngest is four and she loved the “tad pool” and the lazy river.
She especially liked that there was a special slide just for her age called the “Sidewinder.”
Tad Pool at WRC

The older kids loved everything! (The “Thrilling Three” were especially scary and on the top of
their list for best rides.) They also really enjoyed the “Pipeline” and the lazy river. In this age of technology, it’s great to see kids loving time outdoors!

The staff at Wild River Country is amazing. They employ over three hundred local people for the summer. The management prides themselves on the training they provide and it really shows. I noticed the lifeguards were extremely attentive and asked the management about it. They explained that their 62 lifeguards were among the top 3% in the nation with perfect audit scores for the past three years. All lifeguards are trained in-house with special intensive training and daily drills.


Makes a mom very happy to know her kids are so safe! I am seriously considering season passes for the older kids because it’s so close to home.

Wild River Country Lifeguards
Lifeguards Ready to Train at Closing Time

The final verdict?
My entire family had fun and asked when we’d be going back again!
Soon I hope.

On Fall Break in NOLA

Nov 22, 2014 | Arkansas, Louisiana, Travel, Uncategorized, United States

The end of September/beginning of October my kids had a week off for Fall Break and we took off for New Orleans on a spur-of-the-moment, long weekend trip!

The cotton was being harvested on the roads from Arkansas to Louisiana.  I always love seeing the cotton come in.  So beautiful.

We stayed at a Hyatt Place hotel, close to the Convention Center downtown in the warehouse district.  It was close enough to everything that we didn’t get our car out of the parking deck until we left.   


New Orleans is so friendly and fun.  So many interesting people and gorgeous weather in the fall.  I absolutely adore it.  


Fun things we did:

  • Ate beignets in Jackson Square at Cafe du Monde 
  • Visited the Audubon Aquarium (Fun if you haven’t been, but we visited the aquarium in Atlanta this past year and this one paled in comparison, probably pass next time.)
  • Walked in the French Quarter *
  • Ate at Mother’s (This is our favorite restaurant in New Orleans! You have to be prepared to order when you get to the front of the line though!)
  • Listened to live jazz on the street *
  • Ran in Jackson Square *
  • Visited the St. Louis Cathedral *
  • Toured the French Quarter on a Carriage Tour
  • Visited the World War 2 museum (we could have spent two days there- amazing)
  • Walked through the Farmer’s Market *
  • Toured the Old U.S. Mint (*Neat museum of money, history, and musical history. We also happened on a swing dance/band festival! All the real NOLA jazz is in that area of the city now, the FQ is mainly a tourist attraction.  Lots of great places to eat or listen if you park close to the Mint at the end of the Market.)
  • Toured the old cemeteries *(we didn’t do an official tour, just parked down by Cemetery #2

*All the starred things are FREE!!!
Trip wasn’t too expensive, except for food.  If you get out of the tourist areas you’ll get better deals.  For attractions look for coupons/deals online before you go.  There were some really cool places to eat and hang out down in the warehouse district that I’d like to try next time.  With a baby that was tired by the time we stopped to eat we didn’t try any of the fancier places.

On the way home we drove down to the ocean and stopped at a beach in Pass Christian, Mississippi.  Beautiful little town and they happened to have a church shrimp festival going on that was fun to walk around.  The kids had a great time playing in the sand at the beach before the long trip home.