Month: June 2019

25+ Fabulous Fourth of July Recipes

There’s nothing quite like celebrating the Fourth of July as we honor this beautiful country. Don’t miss these delicious and easy recipes for your festivities.  Also, don’t miss Denver’s top events for 4th of July weekend! Berry Trifle at skinnytaste.com   Patriotic Funffetti Angel Food Cake at Life With The Crust Cut Off Fourth of July Bark at Life With The Crust Cut Off     Blue Moon Ice Cream at Your Homebased Mom   Red, White and Blue Strawberry Cupcakes by Bird On A Cake    White chocolate M&M popcorn at Kleinworth & Co. Sandwich Pops at  Living Locurto.   Red, White and Blue Blondie by Your Homebased Mom Almond Cherry Mini Cone Cupcakes at Lady behind the curtain   Patriotic Ice...

Gretchen’s Great Grabs: Portable games, Inventing Room and Murder Mystery

I asked my daughter to complete the sentence, “it’s not summer until…..” She said several things from drinking lemonade, to eating ice cream, to our annual trip to Crested Butte, to . All which, I agree, mean summer! But here is how we are making a little twist on summer this year.  Portable Corn Hole. My family likes to take little picnics in the mountains or we make our annual trip to Crested Butte. I somehow got dubbed the fun mom/aunt because I love games. I usually bring the Yahtzee game because it is easy, portable, and simple. This year I discovered a portable version of corn hole! Inventing Room. The Inventing Room dessert shop makes dessert theatrical. They freeze your ice cream with liquid nitrogen and describe what they are doing with your dessert in a theatr...

Summer RESET: Tons of technology management tips

Youth will have more time to breathe and explore their interests beyond school, but so often downtime becomes screen time. Summer’s wide open time spans can heighten battles over technology use. This is the perfect time to revisit your family rules and see what’s working and what’s not and come up with summer guidelines. So often parents ask me how to put in rules after having gotten very lax about them. Summer is a great time to think about a reset.  Youth will have more time to breathe and explore their interests beyond school, but so often downtime becomes screen time. Summer’s wide open time spans can heighten battles over technology use. This is the perfect time to revisit your family rules and see what’s working and what’s not and come up with summer guidelines.  Befor...

23 family-fun events in Denver this week

From the Boulder Magic Show to the Fort Carson Freedom Fest, Denver has plenty of awesome events this week. Be sure to visit our event calendar for full listings. Also, don’t miss Denver Free Days 2019 and our week-by-week guide to FREE outdoor concerts in Denver.  Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field June 27 – 30  Enjoy exciting major league baseball and come out to this series between the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Denver Outaws vs. Dallas Rattlers at Broncos Stadium at Mile High  June 27, 7:00 – 8:30 pm Don’t miss the thrill and excitement of Major League Lacrosse at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Family-friendly and affordable, the non-stop action will have you on the edge of your seat! Free Movie at the Park: AQUAMA...

Denver’s Best Playgrounds: Then and Now

Time moves fast, doesn’t it? Nothing stays the same for long. When it comes to public playgrounds in Denver, they look a bit different nowadays than in the 1912 postcard above. The Denver metro area is blessed with a rapid playground turnover rate: every year, the many Parks & Recreation departments tear down dozens of older play areas and put up brand-new installations. Brighter colors, new equipment, safer play environments. Here I share some then-and-now pictures of recently replaced playgrounds, complete with the original year of construction. See if you can spot any improvements! For a comprehensive guide to Denver’s playgrounds, go here to purchase. I wrote the iPhone app Denver Playgrounds & Parks to include every single play area in the metro area – over 750 of ...

Deals: Cinema Kids Camp, Half-price Broncos

  There are two truths about me (OK, probably more than two). I love to eat and I love magazines. I get 5280 Magazine occasionally and often moon over the fantastic restaurants and how, because I’m on a budget and I don’t love eating alone, I may not really get to go to many of them. That is why I’m really excited to get to experience Let’s Roam Dining experience. Exploring Denver’s restaurants and getting it all at a deal. Right now they are offering a 7 day free trial – if you sign up before Wednesday!   Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Kids Camp. Once again Kids Camp at Alamo Drafthouse  is where to go this summer. Choose your own ticket price of $1, $3, or $5. Enjoy a GREAT movie and 100% of the sales goes to a non profit! Chick Fil A Free Breakfast....

Free Family Support in the Denver area!

Do you ever wish kids came with a manual? Turns out, they kind of do! Family Tree SafeCare® works with parents and caregivers to provide them with information and skills they can use on a daily basis as their children grow. Family Tree is a non-profit organization with a mission to help people overcome child abuse, domestic violence and homelessness to become safe, strong and self-reliant.  We have three pillars of excellence: Child & Youth Services, Domestic Violence Services and Housing & Family Stabilization Services.  Child & Youth Services includes programs that keep children safe from abuse and neglect and help stabilize families. What is Family Tree SafeCare® Colorado and what is the cost? Who is eligible? SafeCare Colorado is a free, voluntary, Parent Support ...

Pot clubs coming to a community near you?

Colorado just took a big step towards more public marijuana use but your local community can still prevent it. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis late last month signed into law House Bill 19-1230, which allows adults to consume marijuana in public places like pot clubs, tasting rooms, restaurants, hotel lounges and tour buses. Polis’s predecessor, former Gov. John Hickenlooper, last year vetoed a previous version of the legislation. We had urged Gov. Polis to veto this year’s bill, which we believe could further normalize marijuana use for youth and increase drugged driving, jeopardizing the safety of anyone on the road. The new law allows, but does not require, Colorado municipalities and counties to allow certain kinds of public use. Therefore, the focus now turns to local governments. If you do...

Colorado girl becomes first to climb El Capitan!

A 10-year-old Colorado girl scaled Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan and may have become the youngest person to climb one of the most celebrated and challenging peaks in the world. Selah Schneiter of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, completed the 3,000-foot climb of the vertical rock formation with the help of her father, Mike Schneiter, and family friend, Mark Regier. On June 12, Saleh became the youngest person to make it on the treacherous “Nose route” on El Capitan— one of the most challenging and treacherous vertical rock formations in the California national park.

Roadtrip! Toy Story 4 Travels from Trash to Treasure

You might be familiar with the old Girl Scout song about making new friends. One is silver, one is gold. In the Toy Story universe, new friends are usually fluffy or plastic. The latest installment, Toy Story 4, introduces a new friend who is literally trash. His name is Forky (Tony Hale). Based on the trailers, I was skeptical about Forky. He’s a googly-eyed spork with pipe cleaner arms and popsicle stick feet, held together with clay. But because new-kindergartner Bonnie wrote her name on the bottom of his wooden feet, he is a toy. He doesn’t understand that he is a toy, much like Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) in the first groundbreaking film. However, it isn’t a retread of the first story. The toys have grown in their understanding of friendship and loyalty, especially Woody (Tom Hanks). W...

Why I Stopped Body Shaming Myself In Front of My Daughters

It happened when my older daughter, Violet, was not quite two years old. We were sitting around the dinner table, and I’d begun a tirade to my husband about how none of my pre-baby clothes fit right (and spoiler: They never would again!). I couldn’t figure out what size jeans to buy, I couldn’t imagine putting on a swimsuit… “I’m just not very happy with my body right now,” I said. And Violet, from her high chair, began patting herself all over. “My body! My body!” she said. I froze. I wasn’t sure how much she understood, but I stopped talking negatively about my body within her earshot pretty much that minute. This doesn’t mean I automatically turned off my own negative feelings. When Violet was four, and asked “why is your tummy still so big?” I had to take a deep breath before I could e...

27 family-friendly events in Denver this week

Awesome events this week include Alice in Wonderland Tea & Potion Party, Denver Superhero Heart Run, Denver Greek Festival and the Unicorn Festival. See our event calendar for full listings.  World’s Largest Swim Lesson at Pirates Cove Water Park  June 20, 8:00 am – 10:30 am Pirate’s Cove is proud to promote a Learn to Swim event! Drowning remains the 2nd leading cause of injury-related death of children ages 1-14 years. A free half-hour swim lesson will provided. After the lesson, stay and work on the skills learned. 16th Street Fair at 16th Street Mall – Pedestrian Mall June 21– 22  The 11th annual 16th Street Fair is an annual celebration of fine art, handcrafted goods, and the 16th Street Mall in Downtown Denver. Denver Greek Festival at Assumption Greek Orthod...