Desert Springs Preserve

The coolest bathrooms EVER!

I would wash my hands all day if I had cool sinks like these!

The lights flickered and changed colors when the water came on....  why?  Who cares!  It was cool!

Building a desert sand castle....

.... and then destroying it with a torrential downpour....

Danni liked playing with the picture machine!

Soundproof tunnel.  Mommy and Daddy want 10 of these.

Danni getting constructive in the 'Build A City' exhibit....

I made a bridge for the city...

She helped with some windows....

I explored lots of desert houses....

The cave was my favorite!

Making an outside noise that woke the giant turtle up from hibernation!

Danni and Daddy splashing on the water ball...

I tried to roll the water ball off the stand... 

Playing with the granite turntable... it was only wet on the bottom... 

Catching the train in the playground....

Danni enjoyed the desert flowers....

I kissed a giant snake....

Admiring a  mini water ball....

We had wanted to check out the Desert Springs Preserve the last time we were in Vegas... but it was about 157 degrees out at the time, so we passed.  This time, the weather was in the 70's ... perfect for a visit to the Preserve.  We LOVED this place!  It had a lot of outdoor trails, places to play, and interactive exhibits about desert life and land for us to explore!  My favorite place, though, was the bathroom!  They had cool water conserving fixtures ... and when the sinks came on, blue and red lights flickered above our heads.  It was awesome!!  I asked if I could have one at home!  :)

Swimming!!!

A vacation wouldn't be complete without some pool time!!  It was a little chilly, but the hotel's pools were heated to a comfortable 83 degrees.  We took a pre-nap dip for some splashing fun!!  :)

Getting ready to 'make the biggest splash'

I had to make sure it was warm first....

Danni thought the water was just right!

I agreed!! 

NOT happy to get out ... nap time was up next!  :(

Yummy Cupcakery!!!

Mmmmm.... CUPCAKES!!!  We found the award winning Cupcakery bakery near our hotel ... they have another location in the Monte Carlo...  Danni picked out yellow cake with pink buttercream. I selected the Strawberry Shortcake cupcake (with bright red frosting that stained my teeth and made my lips look like the Joker's!)  I wish we had one of these closer to us!!!  Yum!

How can you pick just ONE?!

Diggin' in!

Yummmm!

She kept her cupcake as far away from Daddy as she could!

She offered some to Mommy, though!

I offered to share too.... once all of the frosting was gone!!!

Our favorite Children's Museum!

Vegas has the absolute BEST Children's Museum!!  We always make it a point to make a visit ... and it is always a highlight of the trip!!  Danni and I had a blast playing!!  We LOVED the grocery store.  Where else can you totally unload a produce section and not get in trouble for it?! 

Danni perched herself at the top of the stairs....

I was super excited to play!

Loading up the wheel barrow....

She'd bring the blocks up to me... then I'd send them back down in the buckets .... 

Blowing giant bubbles!

Making dams (yes, I used the word appropriately!) in the water table....

Danni was watching me splash!

Little girl... long slide!

Workin' the cash register with my cutey shadow!

She loved running crazy in the grocery store!!

No waiting on check stand 2!

Pushing buttons...

Pawn Stars!

Whenever Dora is night-night, Daddy sneaks a peak at 'Pawn Stars' ... one of his favorite History Channel shows.  We had to take another 'educational' trip out to the pawn shop where this is filmed.  We didn't see anyone famous... but there were lots of touristy people doing the same thing we were.  :)

We were bummed that there weren't any toys....

Taking the requisite tourist shot out front...

Vegas Big Station House

Doing spoon tricks at dinner....

I made a little house in the closet/cabinet....

One of the few times we were caught SITTING ....

A mobile stage...

The couch bed turned Dora shrine...

Danni came up to snuggle with me and the puppies before bedtime..

She loved my Dora nest!

I think she just wanted to steal all of my babas ("I get THREE babas because I'm THREE")

Don't ever actually eat off of the dishes in hotels... you never know where they've been....

Nightie night!!

I made breakfast!  (It's VEGAS... so animal cookies are perfectly acceptable!)

She'd better NEVER dance topless on tables in Vegas again....

Running barefoot on fake grass....

I insisted on eating my mac n cheese out of the cool silver cups....  looks like an army mess tin!

Mommy found us a great deal on a place in Vegas... so we took off on an impromptu vacation!!  This time we stayed in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite at the Grand View hotel.  It was about 10 minutes away from the craziness of Vegas...  We had a blast exploring (and destroying!) our 'big station house'  (a.k.a. 'vacation house')    Hopefully, they will let us come back!