We beat most of the Friday afternoon traffic, kept our eyes peeled for the hundreds of electricity-generating windmills dotting the cactus-strewn landscape as we made our way to a true kid's paradise: Ranchos Las Palmas Resort. Seriously. While fun for the adults to catch up with each other in a casual setting, this place cannot be beat when it comes to pleasing kids. There's a 2-acre water park with everything you can imagine.
Waterslides.
A lazy river.
And various other water features.
Lauren's special friend, Ruby, was also there with her family (her mom is one of my partners), and the girls were connected at the hip all of Saturday morning.
In fact, Ruby convinced Lauren to do something we haven't been able to: wear a swim cap and goggles. Ruby refused to take hers off all day and just happened to have spares for Lauren. Who wore them willingly and proudly.
She even practiced her swimming skills, although it was only in about 3 inches of water.
As the afternoon heat set in, we luxuriated in the coolness and shade of our cabana.
That night everyone from the firm and their families all congregated for cocktails and dinner on an outdoor terrace overlooking the resort's golf course.
Lauren made new friends at our table, including Ruby's little brother Mason, and sisters Katie and Maggie.
Following the meal, we let the kids run amok on the deserted golf course (while I don't have a photo, it's worth mentioning for the record that Lauren had a blast making "sand angels" in one of the sand traps).
A final hug with Ruby, and we loaded up the car and headed home.
Our little sprite forced herself to stay awake long enough to see her favorite windmill farm, red lights blinking in the night. We've already decided that a fall or winter return to Lauren's oasis in the desert is on the agenda.
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