Lake Lanier

I had my heart set on taking Charlotte to the beach this year. I even agreed to teach a class for the county so that we would have some extra spending money on our trip to the beach this year. I bought Charlotte some water shoes, an extra big hat, and a tent for the beach this year. Then the horrible oil spill happened in the gulf and took away our beach trip this year. I searched and searched and finally had to accept that the hat and the tent will work next year too and she has already gotten my money's worth out of the water shoes.....
Enter Lake Lanier islands. They have a beach! We decided to venture out on a big kid trip today and took Charlotte to the water park. Like most things with Charlotte, she did not jump right in. She clung to my leg or my hand for awhile and finally decided this place was ok. We actually stayed for almost five hours and had a picnic lunch. She also tried her first taste of dippin' dots and was so excited she was dancing in her seat. It is definitely a place worth going to with a four or five year old, but I think Charlotte will need a little more swim confidence before we buy a season pass. We will definitely go back though. She thought playing in the sand on the beach was the best, especially going around and digging up rocks to give to strangers. She also liked the wave pool (Of course, only if the waves weren't actually on). All in all, she handled the day so well and fell into a deep contented slumber tonight. And all those things I bought for the beach were perfect for our adventure today. I'm going to have to look into buying Bryce and I a big hat for our beach trip next year, because we are both feeling the stings of the sun.