Cowabunga, Dude!

It has been HOT here in Utah.  This week we were able to spend a day at the Cowabunga Bay Water Park in Draper.  My kids have been bugging me to take them for a really long time (you can see this place from the freeway).  Instead of telling them where we were going, we wanted to make it a surprise...so we hid all of our swimming stuff in a bag and hopped in the car.  Needless to say, they were SUPER excited when we pulled into the parking lot.

From a distance the waterpark looks really compact, so I was worried that it would be kind of boring for us adults.  But, it was actually a lot of fun!  There is a beach-type area, which is perfect for little kids to play in/adults to lounge in (the water is shallow and warm).  There is a kids play area, with small slides for the younger children.  There is a lazy river, where the current pulls you along as you float on an inner tube (this was my favorite part and I love that the inner tubes are free to use).  Then there are the water slides.  I was so surprised that my daughter went on every single one of them...I love that she is becoming more brave than she used to be!  

The water slides were fun, but I do wish they had at least one REALLY scary slide.  You know, the kind where you spend half the day working up the guts just to go stand in the line...then when you get to the front of the line you have to ask the person behind you to go first.  The kind where you sit down, say a little prayer, take a deep breath and force yourself forward...then you suddenly feel like you are dropping straight down, you can no longer feel your body touching the plastic and you start wondering how many people have died on that exact slide.  Then once you finally feel your body make contact with the water again, you are given what is most likely the worst wedgie of your life.  Yeah, THAT kind of slide. 

Even without any scary slides, it's a pretty fun place.  I could honestly spend all day in the lazy river, or just soaking up the rays on one of the lounge chairs! 

My kids had an absolute blast at Cowabunga Bay and I'm sure we'll be back!  Where do you go to cool off when the summer temperatures get a bit too hot?

(I was not compensated for this post, but tickets were provided for review. All opinions are 100% my own.)