Month: December 2020

This New Rock Climbing Route In Colorado’s Newest State Park is For the Girls

Photo: Brittany Leavitt of Brown Girls Climb at the top of the newly bolted route, tentatively called Patterson’s Pitch. The route was named after Mary Jane Patterson, the woman who is presumed to be the first African-American woman to receive a Bachelor’s degree. Staunton State Park, southwest of Denver, has a new sport climbing route. That’s the kind of rock climbing route with anchors permanently bolted into the rock so that climbers can clip in with carabiners for protection as they go. The folks who set that route are on a mission to make rock climbing more inclusive.  Alan Prehmus is a longtime volunteer with the park and has been setting routes since he moved to Colorado in the 90s. “At that time I was climbing a lot in the South Platte area, and there weren’t...

One Denver family’s fight for special education services during remote learning

Jennifer and Jamin Alabiso proposed what they thought was an innovative way for their 10-year-old son, who has autism, to receive special education services during remote learning — specifically, the 45 minutes per day of reading help he needs to reach grade level. The family lives less than a block from his Denver school, and teachers had already been by the house several times to drop off supplies. Would it be possible for the special education teacher to sit with their son outside on the front porch, masks on, for his reading lessons? If not on the front porch, then maybe on the school playground? Or even inside an empty classroom? The school said no to the idea. At the time, all Denver students were set to start the school year remotely because district officials deemed class...

Helping Kids Through the Pandemic With Stories

“Mom, when can I have a sleepover?” I felt my eight-year-old daughter’s body stiffen as she lay next to me in the dark, waiting for an answer. I enjoy our bedtime chat, but dread questions like this. Before the pandemic, we had planned her first sleepover with friends. At the point of this conversation, sleepover plans were on hold indefinitely. My three children had generally handled social distancing well. To protect our parents, we had treated the pandemic as though we also were vulnerable late-70-somethings: remote schooling, no shared indoor spaces, etc. We did not want to cut the grandparents off from our kids, especially my mother who lives alone and had recently moved two thousand miles to Central Park to be closer to her grandchildren. Our kids played with each other and made up i...

Denver’s Most Popular Pet Names & Trends…and COVID’s impact!

Just how has COVID and the year’s events helped shape culture?    Apparently, we’ve been impacted all the way down to how we name our pets. The Dog People at Rover have just unveiled their eighth annual report of the year’s most popular pet names and this year’s data confirms that our pets are truly a reflection of our passions, our day-to-day realities and an enduring sense of humor. The COVID-19 pandemic not only gave rise to the more obvious names, like Covi (up 1,159%), Rona (up 69%) and Corona (up 24%), it also led to the emergence of names like Fauci (a new name in 2020). The pandemic has brought about a new reality for many Americans, as well, with self-isolation and less socialization becoming the new normal.    Binge-watching television is now ...

Learn how to safely explore Colorado’s backcountry with your family

With all the uncertainty of COVID (and if Colorado’s resorts will remain open), why not head into the backcountry with your family? Of course, safety is of the utmost importance and we’re very fortunate to have these awesome companies that are teaching us how to be confident in our ability to use our equipment safely and competently by seeking education and training.  2021 Family Mountaineering Weekend at YMCA of the Rockies, February 12-15, 2021: Include the whole family for special sessions on winter survival and backcountry skiing, and keynote presentations by Chelsea Murphy about what it means to be a Black mother with a passion for adventuring in the outdoors, and Len Necefer, a professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona, who will discuss the hi...

See all of Disney’s new ‘Star Wars’ series and films

Our family’s longtime tradition the day before Christmas has been to go to brunch together and then to see the latest Star Wars movie in the theater. Well, for COVID reasons, that obviously isn’t happening but my mood was boosted when I looked into what Star Wars features are coming down the pipe and believe me, there are a lot of them!  ‘Rangers of the New Republic’ The “Rangers of the New Republic” series “will intersect with future stories and culminate into a climactic story event.” ‘Ahsoka’ Ahsoka Tano’s story, written by Dave Filoni, will continue in a limited series starring Rosario Dawson, who recently appeared on “The Mandalorian.” Untitled Taika Waititi film A new Star Wars feature film with acclaimed filmmaker and Academy Award winner Taika Waititi is in develop...

Delicious Eggnog Streusel Muffins for Christmas morning

If your family is anything like ours, Christmas morning is chaotic and the last thing I want to do is worry about breakfast. That’s why these egg nog streusel muffins are perfectly festive and you can make them ahead of time to enjoy them right when you need them.  Egg Nog Streusel Muffins Muffins 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/4  teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups eggnog 2 eggs 10 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Streusel Topping 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 10 tablespoons unsalted butter chopped into small pieces Mix together.  Directions For the muffins: Combine the first six i...

Deals: New Year’s Eve, Math Help, Museum Reopening & More!

Did you catch the “star” Monday night with Saturn and Jupiter crossing paths? Scientists say it is the first time in 800 years they have been this close. As the year closes – I hope you take the time to count the blessings as much as your ability to overcome the troubles. We, at MileHighMamas, wish you a Happy New Year!    New Year’s Eve. We have put together a list of all the fun family things to do (socially distanced of course). Check out our full list! Math Help. Children falling behind in math? Get caught up fast and fun with Denver-based Elephant Learning. They guarantee your children will learn a full year of math in just 10 minutes per day for 90 days with their proven methodology. Join over 100,000 parents and lock in your founder rate before tuition raise...

Ice Castles in Dillon opens today

The Ice Castles in Dillon are back in town and are open to the public on Saturday at 6 p.m. Some tickets may be available onsite if they are not already sold out, but those prices are subject to higher prices. Ice Castles recommends that people buy tickets online ahead of time. General tickets go on sale Friday morning on the Ice Castles website. Pre-sale tickets have already been available since early December. General tickets for 12 and up cost $17.99 Mondays through Thursdays and $22.99 Fridays through Sundays. Child tickets cost $12.99 Mondays through Thursdays and $17.99 Fridays through Sundays. Holiday Pricing (Dec. 19-Jan. 3, Jan. 18 and Feb. 15) is the same as weekend pricing. The Ice Castles will be operating at a limited capacity. Masks are required ...

Love Denver? This Discovery and Exploration Guide is for you!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. While clicking these links won’t cost you extra money, they help us keep this site up and running. See our disclosure policy.  Do you love Denver? Essential Denver: Discovery and Exploration Guide is written in a unique style by Denver native Lisa J. Shultz. A few years ago, she decided to plunge into walking neighborhoods and revisiting landmarks of the city. In her youth, she went on school field trips to visit the Capitol, the Mint or the Natural History Museum. Her mom occasionally took her downtown to shop at the iconic department store May D&F, visit the Art Museum, see a theater production or eat at a restaurant in Larimer Square. But gradually Lisa’s excursions downtown became less frequent because the downtown a...

Digital Inequality: How Comcast’s WiFi-Connected “Lift Zones” Are Helping Denver Families

Most parents would agree that COVID-19 has been non-stop stress, especially as it pertains to distance learning and quarantining. Though difficult, I recognize my family’s privilege: my husband and I work remotely, we have Internet access and my two teenagers have school-issued laptops. These factors make us better-off than many Coloradans. In fact, a staggering 12.2% of Denver households don’t have Internet access (higher than the national average) and 8.2% of households in Denver don’t have a computer. The digital inequality gap has never been more pronounced than during this pandemic. So, what is the solution to thousands of low-income families who are falling behind in school? Enter: Comcast’s Lift Zones Comcast, along with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffm...

At Littleton School Of Music, We Want You To Play To Your Potential

I’m very proud of the wonderful learning atmosphere we’ve created at Littleton School of Music over the years… and our top-flight music faculty is one of the key elements of that atmosphere. Our school has been described as a dynamic, high-energy place where happy people work, play, learn, and grow.  We’re proud of our fantastic track record over many years, and of the safe, positive environment we’ve created and nourished for students of all ages and backgrounds. Why Start Our Own School? We started our music school in 2006, after years of working for other institutions, and we did it for a couple of important reasons. First, we didn’t like the way music students were treated at other schools. Belittled… stressed out… virtually “worn out” by instructors who were more interested in tr...