Humor

Family Travel: Moab’s Best Adventures for Kids (plus a $500+ KOA giveaway!)

Be sure to enter to win our Grand Prize: 3 complimentary KOA Camping Vouchers good for one night apiece; including Deluxe Cabins, at any KOA campground in North America. $500 prize value.  Smaller Prizes: 2 complimentary KOA Camping Vouchers good for one night apiece; including Deluxe Cabins, at any KOA campground in North America.  $300 prize value. Additional details are at the end of this article. —— For several years, I was a Salt Lake City-based travel writer and adventure paradise Moab, Utah was my second home. We rafted the Colorado River, mountain biked famed Slickrock trail, 4x4ed Moab Rim, hiked to Delicate Arch at sunrise and cooled down in Mill Creek Canyon’s cossetted swimming holes. Even after moving to Colorado, getting ma...

Tween Trauma: The ultimate (worst?) birthday surprise!

I’ve been feeling lukewarm about birthday parties for my kids this year. I’ll only occasionally throw over-the-top fetes–sometimes simple is best so with my daughter turning 11, I hinted maybe it was time to forgo the big bash. She was horrified. It turns out you need to give a kid at least a year’s advanced notice because they spend the entire 364 days plotting it. I finally relented with a casual spa/PJ/ebelskiver party and she invited 10 of her closest friends.  If you haven’t been around tweens, there is a lot of giggling and silliness. The facials hadn’t even started yet and already, her friend (on the left) was covered in whipped cream. The Spa We crafted our own natural facial recipes and the girls had a blast giving each other face and ...

My Daughter’s Future as a Mouseketeer

When I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming a great actress. That Annie character (actress Aileen Quinn) had nothin’ on me. Well, except that she could act. And dance. And sing. I enrolled in drama the first chance I could when I was in seventh grade.  My dreams of stardom would soon be realized. Until I realized I hated acting. Well, I didn’t hate all elements of it but one in particular: improv. And this class was all about off-the-cuff acting.  Though I was an overly self-assured seventh grader, I was way too self-conscious about being funny on demand so after just one semester my acting career was over. My daughter Hadley has enjoyed performing in her class plays at school and I thought that was the extent of it until she begged me to enroll her in Colorado ACTS, a local com...

The ultimate pampering…and my rude awakening

I’m not in the practice of getting pampered so when I do, it is that much more special. And believe me when I tell you I received the ultimate services and treatments at Matthew Morris Salon and Skincare’s new RiNo “River North” location…which made my crash to reality that much greater.  But first, allow me to indulge you with the details of this 9-year-old salon’s second location in RiNo (River North). This area north of downtown defines “hip” with  creative businesses, funky art galleries and trendy restaurants housed in former warehouses tagged in “metropolitan art.” Just don’t call it graffiti because you’ll show you’ll show how unhip you are. I was invited to try out a...

Video: How to be a Powerful Parent (funny)

Do you want to know how to be a powerful parent? JP Sears has the answer. Or at least a really, really funny way not to parent.

The ultimate Mother’s Day: Dad experiences labor pains in viral video

What do you get for the mom who has everything? A little bit of payback… The Holderness Family, of “Xmas Jammies” fame, has a new video out for Mother’s Day. Wife Kim wanted something a little more ambitious than breakfast in bed — she wanted her husband to understand just what women go through to become mothers. This fun parody of the One Direction hit, “One Thing,” involves dad Penn getting electrical “stimulation” meant to mimic labor pains, and trying out a breast pump. Let’s hear it for the #MomThing! For a more in-depth look at Penn’s pregnancy experience, check out the behind-the-scenes video the family posted earlier this week:

The Mama Sagas–Come Share Your Stories With Us!

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I prepared for everything I possibly could. I thought I had all my ducks in a row. But from the moment I entered the hospital it became clear that becoming a mom is a wild ride and preparation is impossible. There are things no one tells you and no one shares – maybe because they are afraid of scaring you, or afraid of embarrassing themselves or inviting unwelcome judgment. As a result, many women experience moments of panic, isolation, or desperation after our babies are born or adopted. Some women feel terrified or confused or lost…. and women who don’t have close friends or family or good resources may feel like they have nowhere to turn. Even when our kids get older, we tend to sugar coat our realities when talking to other moms. ...

Video: Hilarious Bun in the Oven Pregnancy Announcement

After seeing all the darling pregnancy announcements that are going viral, it makes me wish we’d been a bit more creative. Once upon a time, my husband and I had sold our condo more quickly than anticipated and we had a six-month gap between when our new home would be finished. His parents generously let us live with them but before moving in, I learned I was pregnant. We decided to have fun with it so sat his parents down and asked if it would be OK if someone else moved in with us. Imagine their delight to learn they would become grandparents. As excited as they were, their reaction doesn’t have anything on Lynnda and her “bun in the oven.”

Glass Half Full: My House Hasn’t Sold Yet, But My Kids Have Made Their Beds For A Week

Like many people in the Denver area, I’ve decided to take advantage of the real estate boom that seems to be happening here. Actually, I should rephrase that: Like several people here I’m taking advantage of the market. Word on the street is the inventory is low, the demand is high, so if you want to sell…now is a good time. Weeks before I put my house on the market, I started envisioning a sold sticker on the sign in my yard the moment it was planted. After all, everyone else’s house was flying off the realtor.com website, why shouldn’t mine? Every time I heard a story of someone’s house selling in a day, I smugly thought mine would sell in minutes. And when I started getting phone calls for showings just moments after my house hit the MLS, I thought I had this in the bag. That sign is st...

Allergy Sufferers Unite with The Big, Ugly Cry

It’s that time of year that I dread: allergy season. Actually, the ironic thing about fall and spring (when my allergies are at their worst) is they are my favorite seasons. But since I moved to Colorado, I am lambasted twice a year with miserable allergies which almost always lead to a sinus infection. I went to an allergist a few years ago who ascertained I’m allergic to pretty much every grass and weed in Colorado. As an outdoor lover, this is not a badge I wear proudly. I’ve done allergy shots but had to stop when our insurance changed and since that time I’ve found very little reprieve. A few years ago, I hit my limit when my daughter was sent home from preschool with pink eye. I figured I would kill two birds with one stone and made an appointment with my gene...

Colorado’s Best Place to (Repeatedly) Get Sick on Vacation: The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa

It was to be the perfect January vacation: My son Bode and I would have our first ever mother-son getaway. My husband Jamie and daughter would join us 24 hours later at the luxurious Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa nestled at the base of Beaver Creek Mountain along the Eagle River. We had never skied Beaver Creek’s 1,800 skiable acres, host of the recent Alpine World Ski Championships. I picked up Bode after school and upon arriving at Beaver Creek, we kicked off our vacation with Thursday Night Lights, a free weekly parade for intermediate-level skiers or snowboarders. After registering at the Children’s Ski and Snowboard School, we were each given our own glow sticks and rode to the top of the Buckaroo gondola and down the Haymeadow run in a synchronized glow worm, only to be greeted at...

Leg shaving request today, navel piercing tomorrow?

In preparation for having children, I devoured books about how to take care of diaper rash. How to check for signs of dehydration. How to administer CPR on an infant. Once the children arrived and I felt like I’d mastered infancy, I sought out the books that discussed things like “how to raise confident girls” and “self-disciplined children.” Before I knew it, I was needing literature on “how to talk about sex with your adolescent.” But here’s something that nobody tells you before you bring children into this world. It helps to learn “how to be fast on your feet.” And I don’t mean when working the dance floor. It doesn’t matter if I’m dealing with a child, a customer, or that rude lady waiting behind me at the c...