Month: March 2015

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...

8 Reasons to Ski Beaver Creek Resort This Spring! (SpringFest, anyone?)

I have wanted to ski Beaver Creek Resort since moving to Colorado 12  years ago and my family finally made it happen (but not without a few hilarious hiccups along the way as you’ll read here). This 1,800-acre luxurious resort is comprised of three villages: The main European-inspired Beaver Creek Village, Bachelor Gulch, and Arrowhead to the west, with a bevvy of family-friendly activities and perks. The resort’s closing day is on April 12, 2015. Whether you enjoy their fabulous spring skiing and events or wait until next season, check-out these reasons why Beaver Creek should be on your bucket list. Beaver Creek SpringFest Beaver Creek Loves Kids. You don’t need to see these signs around the resort to believe that Beaver Creek caters to kids. Their SpringFest is ha...

Denver Deal: Denver Art Museum, Smashburger, YMCA of the Rockies and More

I recently watched a movie with my daughter. A Girl Like Her tells the story of bullying from both sides. I specifically waited until my kids were at my house so that we could watch it together. I thought the theme would give us an opportunity to talk about the topic. While I was a blubbering idiot crying (yes, I do that for Hallmark commercials too – what? You don’t?) my daughter–dry-eyed and somewhat annoyed that I made her sit through the movie–simply said, “Sheesh, Mom it’s just a movie.”  The movie claims to be loosely based on a million true stories – the plot is nothing new. Probably not an Academy award-winning movie – but certainly enough to get my teen kids talking about a very real problem and what they might do to ...

Foodie Friday: A Night in India via Arapahoe Basin Moonlight Dining

Ever since I heard about Arapahoe Basin’s special Moonlight Dining series, I have wanted to try it out. The ski area hosts this monthly special Moonlight meal at the Black Mountain Lodge at mid-mountain.  We headed to Arapahoe Basin around 4:30 p.m. and check-in time is at 5 p.m. This particular dinner was lift-served (not all of them are) so we had a choice: We could either take the lift up to mid-mountain, hike up, snowshoe up, or skin up. We chose to hike. It was a beautiful night with the full moon and the sun just setting. I do want to warn you that hiking in Uggs (which I did) is not the best choice of footwear (I did have hiking boots – but chose to leave them in the car – not so smart). It is a winter hike so wear your ski pants, jacket, gloves, a hat and bri...

Your Guide to Celebrating Easter and Spring in Denver

When I was growing up, Easter meant that the crocuses were in bloom and we were going to look for a new dress to wear to mass and brunch on Easter Sunday. What I looked forward to the most, however, was the scavenger hunt my father put on for us, with challenging clues we had to answer to move on to our next treasure. And the fact that spring had arrived. In the Christian faith, all over the world, Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ. This celebration merged with pagan beliefs in 15th century Germany. The Teutonic deity Eostra was the goddess of spring and fertility, and feasts were held in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal’s high reproduction rate. When German immigrants settled in the United States, they brought with them t...

Denver Art Museum to offer free general admission for youth ages 18 and under

The Denver Art Museum (DAM) announced today that it will offer free general admission to all youth ages 18 and under for the next five years, thanks to a five-year gift from Scott Reiman and the Reiman Foundation. A one-year grant from Kaiser Permanente Colorado also will support the Free for Kids program. The Free for Kids program begins today, and will continue through spring 2020, with the goal of securing ongoing support for the program. Free for Kids at the Denver Art Museum will fund general admission to all children, including school tours and other youth group visits. This incredible access opportunity also will seed a new transportation fund, providing bus funding assistance for Title I schools. Free for Kids funded admission gifts also enable the museum to cap youth pricing for a...

Mile High Mamas Spring Break Ideas (as seen on 9News)

Is Spring Break flying by too quickly? Watch us on 9News My20 this morning during the 8 a.m. hour for some of our favorite and fun ways to spend Spring Break in Denver! And in case you missed it: Spring Break 2015 in Denver–Over 50 Activities Featured!   See the 9News segment here: http://www.9news.com/story/life/moms/2015/03/25/spring-break-ideas-for-kids/70380040/

Family Travel: Three Perfect Days in Banff National Park

Crunching snow. Flowing meltwater. Shallow breathing. These are the sounds of solitude, something I haven’t experienced with any regularity since becoming a mom almost 11 years ago. But here I am—hiking Johnston Canyon during my solo trip to relive my childhood in one of the most beautiful places on earth. As an indomitable 18-year-old, I was ready to conquer the world so left Canada to attend college in the United States. I didn’t fully appreciate having a world-renowned destination like Banff National Park in my backyard…until now. As the first national park in Canada, this 4,100-square-mile park is a gallimaufry of mountains, forests, lakes, world-class restaurants and hotels. I am here to “SkiBig3” the local catchphrase for skiing the park’s three ski areas—Mount Norquay, Sunshine Vill...

Denver Deal: EpicSchoolKids, Jet’s Pizza, Denver Art Museum and More

I don’t love to stand on a soap box (weird being a blogger where I have a virtual soap box huh). I don’t get too deep into discussion of deep ideas. As parents, it is our job to teach our kids right from wrong. We all have our own ideas as to what that is and what details are contained. But, I do think we can all agree that bullying is wrong. Wrong to the core. I am so excited to view the movie A Girl Like Her (in theaters this Friday, March 27) with my 13-year-old daughter. Just to be straight I don’t think she is either a bully or being bullied – but still this is an imperative conversation to have. With a movie like this it may make the start of the discussion a bit easier.  Vail Announces Epic School Kids: For years the ski areas in Colorado have given...

Soybu activewear: Our top picks for Spring 2015!

Who is excited for spring? Soybu, our favorite Colorado-based clothing company for women’s activewear, recently launched their new lines Mykonos (channels the bright blue colors of Greece), Mod Nouveau transports you to Spain with rich, bold colors and Orchid Pond for late-summer leans heavily on black with several options of hues to bring the entire collection full circle.  The colors are vibrant, the designs are fresh and these comfy clothes will have you afflicted with SPRING FEVER! What I love most about Soybu is I can wear yoga pants all day and instead of being deemed a slacker, I’m stylish. I practically live in their skirt and dresses all summer long. A few of my picks:   Malia Dress Delicate (left) $64.00. This Tahiti dress is sporty, versatile and the solid ...

Family Volunteer Opportunity: Easter at the Bannock Youth Center

Join Volunteers of America for an Easter celebration at the Bannock Youth Center for the youth participants and their children. Bannock provides support services for at-risk youth in the community. Many of Bannock’s clients have children of their own and this is an opportunity to give those kids an amazing Easter! VOA is looking for volunteers to: 1.Donate food 2.Help run the event. When: Saturday April 4th 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. Where: Bannock Youth Center-455 Bannock Street, Denver CO, 80204 Who: The whole family!! Go here to sign up. For any additional questions pleas contact Christopher Battelli. Email: [email protected]; 720.264.3310.

Foodie Friday: Cream cheese mini ham quiches with hashbrown crust

My daughter has an aversion to eggs so I do what any egg-loving mother would do. I: 1) Force her to eat them. 2) Hide them in recipes. This recipe is the latter. A few years ago, my friend Tina brought over these mini ham quiches and we fell in love.With the quiches, not Tina. We already adored her. The original recipe calls for refrigerated flaky biscuits (place one in each cup for the crust) and that’s the quick and easy version. I prefer to have a hashbrown crust, which takes a bit more time but I love the crunch. Either way, you win! [yumprint-recipe id=’19’]