Colorado Vacation: Day 3.

Wherever we go on vacation, the kids have their all-time top two favorite activities:
Eating the free breakfast buffets at the hotels.....


 ......and swimming in the hotel pools! These two are little hotel home-bodies and love to just stay at the hotel or condo when we are on vacation. No complaints from me. We fiddled around, snuggled up for a movie, and took our own sweet time getting "ready" for the day, while Darin was off at his work conference.

We did finally make it out of the hotel this afternoon. But it was so, so hot today, that we nixed some of our outdoor excursion ideas. We headed about twenty minutes out of Denver to a gigantic mall. I could have shopped for hours and hours....but we went there with the kids in mind, for a couple specific stores.
First stop, the food court for a cold treat at the DQ.

 Next stop, the LEGO store. That was really fun. The kids played with LEGOS, and played LEGO video games. And we made our own little LEGO family, which they packaged up to look like they came from the factory that way. So cool!!

Here are our masterpieces. Since Darin wasn't there, we had to make his guy for him. He is my "knight in shining armor", complete with a sword used to battle for me. (And his collared dress shirt underneath his armor, to represent how he takes care of us by going to work every day.) Our hero!!
I (Miriam), have a big "M" plastered across my female LEGO chest. Stands for Miriam and Mom of course. I'm the cheerleader for the guy with the sword, living the American dream. I carry a flame, to help me keep the home fires burning.
 Logan is sportin' the same facial expression, same hair, and same sword as his dad. And Ellie has just won the LEGO gymnast of the year award.
Aren't we just the perfect little LEGO family?!

We stopped by the Disney store and one or two other places. And then.....the most anticipated destination at the mall.......The American Girl store!!!! We have never been to one, and there is not one in Utah. Ellie and I were pretty excited. (Logan did NOT want to be in that girly store with a bunch of girls and dolls!!)
I warned Ellie that everything would be very expensive and to just plan on buying a little souvenir. You can see from the photo....we made a small purchase.

The 2012 doll of the year is McKenna, a gymnast. I actually bought Ellie the DVD to bring on this trip, having no idea we'd end up with the doll. 

Spur of the moment, I decided to make this a moment that Ellie would always remember. She had no hesitation and needed no time making the decision....McKenna it was!! She brought along another doll on this vacation and has been "teaching" the doll gymnastics ever since watching the movie the other day. She wanted to buy the matching outfit...but I draw the line at an $80 shirt and leggings outfit! Seriously!! I told her maybe we could find an outfit that kind of matches or......and she finished me sentence for me...."or maybe Rachie could make it?!" Aunt Rachie made her white nightgown to match one of her other dolls.

It's a pretty amazing store. They have a doll hair salon and every American Doll item!!

On our way home we stopped to give Darin a ride from his conference hotel, since it's so hot outside. Logan and Ellie are looking out the hotel window at the view of downtown Denver in the distance. When we got back to our own hotel, this tiny little bunny was scampering across the parking lot!!

Tonight Darin took the kids to dinner in the hotel, they went swimming (again), and watched a Disney movie. And me......I had a little alone time and retail therapy at the Mills Mall.