Springs Preserve Halloween

Springs Preserve

333 S Valley View Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89107 (702) 822-7700

Haunted Harvest Event

Spooktacular fun for all ages awaits those who dare enter the Spring Preserve's annual Haunted Harvest. The family-friendly event features a haunted hay maze, trick or treat stations, carnival games, a petting zoo, live entertainment from Mad Science and Halloween High's Monster Bash, and much more spooktacular fun.

For an additional $3 for members and $5 for non-members, guests can take a "haunted" train ride down our trails! These train rides sell out fast - be sure to get your tickets as soon as you arrive!

The Haunted Harvest Event was my mom's idea. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was worth it. Advice would be buy your tickets early and plan to arrive early. When we were leaving the line stretched out the facilty to the parking lot and they closed it down completely due to the crowd.

The Springs Preserve of course is here in Las Vegas. The Springs Preserve is a 180 acre area of preserved land dedicated to the maintaining the natural habitat of this area being Southern Nevada or more importantly Las Vegas. I've live here my entire life and I have never seen the natural landscape seeing as everything is modernized with Casinos and tourist industry. It is worth it whether it is for this event or not.

My favorite is the traveling exhibits and of course the educational attractions. We are members so we visit quite often. Each month they offer a new attraction.

This month we plan to also see the Dia de Muertos being held the weekend of Halloween (November 1st and 2nd).

Dia de Muertos 

This 3,000-year-old Hispanic celebration honoring loved ones is full of joy and tradition.

This family-friendly event blends rich customs with exciting activities such as live theater and dance performances, mariachis, face painting, sugar skull decorating and an art exhibition.

For an additional $3 for members and $5 for non-members, guests can take a "Legends from Old Mexico" train ride down our trails! Tickets for this go fast—be sure to buy them as soon as you arrive.

Of course our membership allows us to enter the park free but we still must pay for tickets to the additional events such as the Haunted Harvest Event and the Dia de Muertos.

Madison is going to be Elsa for Halloween. We decided since it was too hot for her full gown dress costume and matching cape that we would just wear hats. Me being Anna.

We stopped first at the MAD SCIENCE. I don't know who the scientist is that put the show together as I haven't seen her around before, but she was brilliant. I LOVE her! She was so happy to be there and engaged the kids. It was fantastic just to watch her. Madison absorbed a ton of information and had fun doing it. Couldn't stop talking about this substance (dry ice) that is colder than Antarctica, but also made up of this gas we breath out. (Carbon Dioxide)

Second stop was the petting zoo which Jace stayed in the stroller for. Followed by a maze of haunted booths and trick or treating. It was a lot of fun to see but as it got later the crowds got bigger. There was a concert happening in the front amphitheater area with booths designed for kids to play. Madison also was able to design her own cookie. We did not ride the train though as the tickets were sold out by the time we reached the area.

Family! We rarely get to bring everyone out to family events. It is one thing I regret most and wish we could do more of. With Jace being so sick it put a huge toll on us, and I know we cater to his needs more often putting Madison out because he has to leave. This time Nana and Papa came so they could take her should Jace have a problem.

Dad drove so our fancy stroller wasn't in the back of his truck, which this place isn't the best with small children and no stroller. Luckily for the event they had these available. 

We arrived 15 minutes before the event started and so glad we did. The line extended through the grounds and toward the parking lot. We arrived just in time so we weren't lost in the back of the line. We printed tickets ahead of time due to my mother being prepared so we walked right up to the front.

I told Jace to go get his spider-man hat. He loves the crocheted hat of his favorite superhero except he saw Madison wearing hers and says 'rawwwwwrrrrr' then storms back to his room. I wasn't sure why because his hat was in the living room. He comes back wearing these hair antenna looking headband. He wanted to wear this to the event not his spider-man hat. Not sure what we are going to do for Halloween and it is only a short amount of time away.

Fall Harvest Festival

Our local Trader Joe's store was offering a day of free pumpkin carving and face painting from 8am - 1pm last Saturday. They do the event every year, but in previous years Madison was a little too small. Jace of course was a bit small to carve a pumpkin. 

This year I let Madison design and carve her own pumpkin. They offered her a pumpkin and pen. She decided she wanted to do a "real" jack-o-lantern face. Of course I thought that was a great idea because it meant I had to do minimal supervision over the drawing and could watch Jace. Also it was her practicing her shapes.

The cutting tools were maybe as kid-friendly as a cutting tool could be. They were a small toothpick looking devices that cut nicely through the pumpkin. Madison did the eyes, nose and the bottom half of the mouth. She got a little squeamish when it came to pulling out the cut out pieces.

Jace stood at the edge of the table and watched Madison carve out her pumpkin. I was impressed at how well he behaved he was during the whole thing. You wouldn't guess by the look in the photo. He wanted no part of that haystack. I don't blame him those probably aren't the best place for anyone with extreme allergies.

Madison did face painting. She chose a ladybug option luckily it was small. I wasn't too big on the face painting idea. Usually she opts out of those, but a friend did it so she of course wanted to have the same design as her friend.

I have noticed at not just this event but even at her school, people buy the acrylic paints to pain kids faces. I may have to do some research to investigate this. I don't want to be that parent, but my goodness it weirds me out.  I cannot imagine the paint is very safe to be put on skin let alone your cheek with a ton of blood vessels right there. It is toxic, I mean just smell it. I thought there were actual face paints you could buy, but then again I've seen a few posts on facebook about girls who wore the specific "eye make-up" decals and received high level chemical burns. 

The last time the red gave her skin a bit of a rash. This time she did a black lady bug and it came off with wet wipes fairly easily. I felt bad last time she came straight home and washed her face. I couldn't tell if it was because it hurt or if she knew by the conversation I had about what is in the paint where did you get the paint that she knew it was chemicals.

Zane's Birthday at Kids Kingdom

Kids Kingdom - Las Vegas Indoor Playground

4975 S Fort Apache Rd #101, Las Vegas, NV 89148 (702) 294-0226

www.kidskingdomlv.com

This is something I have been searching for since Madison was small. Living in Las Vegas in the middle of the summer is no fun for small children. They want to run and play at the park, but if you don't get there before 7am it's too hot to ride on any of the slides unless there is a lot of water or a ton of shade. A few parks in the area offer these options, but most places don't. This indoor playground concept has a few facilities, but this place has been the best we've found so far.

A friend of mine had her son's birthday at Kids Kingdom. At first I was worried about taking Jace since he is so sensitive to everything. A kids playground made for little children made me so nervous. My first thought was it was a breeding ground for germs and I cannot afford for my children to get sick. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

The facility was very clean. The center of the room has a large assortment of toys to play with, tables for parents and large leather couches. 

Off to the right when you first walk in a baby center area with a bookcase of small toys and playmats for smaller children so they don't get trampled by the walkers.

In the far back is a large jungle gym type unit with a swing, ball pit, trampoline, slide, climbing area, and tunnel. My daughter seemed to like this area the most. It isn't designed for adults but was set up well enough that Jace couldn't climb up too high to get out of my reach.

Jace loved this push me car. There is no bottom so of course a taller person has to push the rider around. He spent at least 30 minutes in the small car being pushed around by either myself of Madison.

There were two different ball pits. One in the center of the room where I could watch him. The bigger kids wanted to jump into the ball pit, which of course Jace would then copy. The second ball pit is in the jungle gym which has a slide that shoots directly into another ball pit area made for a little bigger kids.

This was another item that Jace loved. This train is battery powered and traveled around the tracks set out. He loved it. The controls allows the rider to go forward, stop, and reverse. Jace however just kept going around and around. I was able to sit on the lovely couch after pushing him around in the toy car.

We enjoyed the event so much we signed up to have Jace's 2nd birthday party here. The party packages appeared somewhat reasonable approximately $300.00 for two hours of fun. A private party with 15 children included drinks and decorations. The biggest selling point for us was that the facility will also be closed to the public. We will have 2 hours of play time and a separate room for cake and presents should be choose to open them.

The only items I am required to bring are cake and snacks. They also have available items for purchase should people get hungry or want additional items. We cannot wait!

Town Square

Town Square Las Vegas

6659 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119

Town Square is like a large European style village made up of a variety of shops. It is a well planned and very spacious outdoor mall. The taller buildings offer shade from the blazing sun. The individual kiosks offer warmth in the winter.

We love the shops, and it is designed better than the downtown outlet mall both of which are outside. We don't go here very often though because it is off the strip. It isn't exactly far but with traffic it could take 45 minutes if not longer just to get home. 

During the holidays the traffic around the area with Christmas shopping and being just off the strip makes it potentially an even longer trip. We have figured out too to plan our trips around movie times so the let out isn't as bad either.

However, they do offer really good food options and a fun play area for the kids. I prefer going to this park during the summer because of the large water area. The water play area is a huge flat rectangle made of soft squish material that doesn't burn you bare feet so you don't have to keep your shoes on.

We prefer this in the summer because the water area keeps the kids cool. In the winter the water of course is shutdown limiting the attraction as Jace is still a bit little be climbing up the steep ladders to the tree-house. In the area they also have train rides, a tree house, slides, a kid theater, and a fun hedge maze to get lost in. 

You can see he was a little nervous to go in the water. I don't blame him. The water is clean and it appears to be recycled which is great for our area being a desert. Only it smells like a pool. With all the children they have to have some precautions set in place.

My children have never been those kids that run through the water and come back soaked. Although I say that and this day Madison did end up soaked.

There is also a small area clubhouse with a stove and fridge etc. Jace loved the windows. Although I had to grab him a few times because he wanted to climb out the windows. This would a be great for a backyard. If only my husband was a builder... 

Sister love

Usually it is precious how much they love each other. However lately Jace is getting into the "mine" and personal space phase. I suppose it is hard having all your toys taken by your big sister. He has resulted in taking her toys which is quite entertaining to see what toys he will play with of hers since they are all princess and pink.

Madison of course has no understanding of personal space. She sits as close as she possibly can to anyone she is next to. This is not only limited to our family which can be awkward when you go to the store or random places like the library. It's her personality she has such a loving heart its hard to tell her people don't like that. Brother on the other hand will shove or push her out of the way. 

Tivoli Village Park

Tivoli Village Summerlin 

440 S Rampart Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89145

We went to the park at Tivoli Village on a Sunday morning. It was a very different experience than during the Saturday Farmer's Market but always worth the trip. 

My children love the park. I love the fact that the grass is clean (fake grass) and the facility or the park area is completely enclosed. The top has a nice shade casing to keep the sun off the kids which helps on the extremely hot days.

My son had a great week and his skin was looking up so we spent an extra hour at the park. When it is windy or rainy it makes it hard to stay outdoors due to his condition. The other thing I love about this park is it is exceptionally clean. I don't know if it also has something to do with the Tivoli. I have found that most parks operated by the city aren't maintained as frequently as say others.

Most of the toys are plastic which I assume to be wiped down easily enough. Yes, my daughter is wearing a princess dress. She was Cinderella for the day and very excited to wear her dress to the park. 

There is a new Downtown Summerlin mall that just opened. We had hoped for something kid friendly like this. So far on our first trip to the new Downtown Summerlin Mall we have yet to find anything kid friendly like the Tivioli park, but we will keep looking. 

There is a bit of construction in the Tivioli area perhaps to compete with the Downtown Summerlin Mall and a security guard mentioned they plan to have a water area and additional parks for the kids.

We visit this park a lot for more posts and photos see my additional post - Farmer's Market

Homemade Pear Sauce

Pear Sauce Ingredients:

8 medium ORGANIC unpeeled pears (wash, core and slice)

1 tablespoon ORGANIC maple syrup

½ cup water

1/8 teaspoon vanilla (gluten free)

Materials:

Large cooking Pot

Wooden spoon

Blender or food processor

Cooking Directions:

Place ½ cup water in large pan with pear slices. You do not want the pears to burn or stick to the bottom of the pan so you will need to stir often with a wooden spoon.

Heat water to a small boil. The pears will start to shift color. Turn heat to medium to low , add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup (organic maple syrup not the conventional store bought high fructose corn syrup imitation), add 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla and cook for 25 minutes.

Mixing Directions:

Let pears cool for 5-10 minutes.

Dump any excess water into a small jar. You shouldn't have much but if you do keep it aside if needed. Dump pear mixture into a food processor or blender. I used the Vitamix blender on the smoothie setting. I recommend starting at a slow pulse. Mix pear mixture until desired texture.

Best when served warm. If you are not eating this right away, I recommend placing the remaining mixture in a small glass container with lid for up to 3-5 days in refrigerator.