Tag Archives: Families

Family Deals: Spooners, Jump Street, Shutterfly, Rocky Mountain Theater for Kids, Whole Foods, and More

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Family Deals can be found right here every Sunday [and sometimes more often]. Come back often to learn more about fantastic deals in town and nationally for Boulder Families.

Frozen Yogurt: Spooners [at 29th Street Mall] is offering Family Night every Monday where your kids get 50% off their froyo [frozen yogurt] from 5pm to close. Consider coming over after you visit Larkburger for their Kids Eat Free! evening on Monday. [Learn more about all restaurants where Kids Eat Free! in the Boulder area here.] I learned about this deal from my 10 year old son who called me excited when he was at Spooners today because I could add it to the blog.

Indoor Trampoline Park: Jump Street is a family oriented indoor trampoline park. They currently have a deal offered by Groupon. The deal is $10 for 2 hours of jumping to your heart’s content. You can purchase deals for more time/kids for an even better deal. Kids LOVE this place! To get to this deal click here.

50% Off a Hardcover Shutterfly Photobook. These are great books and Shutterfly makes it easy to upload and create the books! The deal is good through March 26, 2012. Use code: 3BFP-3CY0-ABZN-TC3KK4. Go to Shutterfly.com to get started.

Summer Camps: Plumdistrict has two deals on summer camps right now.

  • Rocky Mountain Theater for Kids: $25 for $100 towards a 2012 Summer Camp. To get the deal click here

  • 2 Full Day Horseback Riding Camp with Monique Potts Horsemanship: $125 for a $200 camp. This is in Longmont. To get the deal click here.

Zoobooks Animal Anatomy Series for just $20 [67% off from Mamasource.com]. This offer includes 5 full-color books containing photos, articles, and trivia tidbits that get kids excited and knowledgeable about wildlife, plus 2 bonus books, an animal poster and sticker. Perfect for ages 6 and up. To get this offer click here.

Kids Eat Free!: Don’t forget about the Boulder Families Kids Eat Free! list. This list evolves over time, so check back often.

$20 Off at Whole Foods: You can still get $20 off at Whole Foods by simply syncing your Amex card with your Twitter account. Don’t have a Twitter acct? You can sign up easily [twitter.com] and still get great coupon-less deals from Amex. Use your synchronized charge card for qualifying purchases, and the savings are applied to their card statement within days [In addition to Whole Foods you can get couponless savings at Sports Authority, Ticket Master, Zappos, Fed Ex, 1800Flowers, and many more]. To learn more & get this deal click go to their official page here.

Pinterest for Families: Why Join In?

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I am always looking for a way to simplify my family’s life! I have enjoyed getting to know the blogging world, Facebook, Twitter, Evernote as well as some others. To nurture my creative side and keep my creative ideas organized I use Pinterest. This website is used by individuals and businesses alike and is growing in popularity at an incredible rate!

“Pinterest is a social media network based on images. If you find a recipe, a blog post, a pair of pants, a livingroom set, you can “pin” it to a board and share it with your followers. Similarly, if you see something someone else has “pinned” you can “repin” it to your board. Picture an enormous blank wall with individual bulletin boards organized by your interests.” As said by Social Velocity  I personally keep “pins” in categories such as: Crafts, DIY, Recipes, Design Ideas, Rainy Day Projects, Organizing, etc. But you can keep it in whatever form works for you. Be very careful because this “pinning” can get addicting!

Here’s why I love it:

1. It’s Easy: It allows me to organize my creative ideas and inspirations easily. I keep ideas of crafts to do with the kids, design ideas for our house, things that inspire me, etc… These are all kept on separate “boards”. I can find the ideas on Pinterest or elsewhere and simply “pin” to a board. [You can download a simple app that allows you to “pin” things to your account.]

2. It’s Creative: I can browse for ideas & follow people who have ideas & projects I like. I can take a look around Pinterest and find others who are posting things I appreciate. I can then “follow” them to find out what else they are doing.

3. It Helps Me Keep My Ideas Organized: I can organize recipes. There are tons of yummy recipes on Pinterest. You can get great ideas and keep them well organized on their own board.

4. It’s Always With Me: I can access Pinterest wherever I am. I like that I can pull up or share my boards any time.

To get started: Go to Pinterest.com. You have to request an invitation. If this doesn’t work just email me and I will shoot you an invitation. [When I tried to join without an invitation from someone already on it took weeks to get an invitation.] Then start to browse around. Before you start “pinning” ideas to boards you will want to consider what categories you want [just sketch it out before you get going]. Now make new boards and when you see something you like you can “pin” it to a board. You can also download a “pin it” app for your computer or phone so you can “pin” things you like outside of Pinterest.

If you have any questions shoot me an email or comment. Enjoy!

Boulder Events for Families: March 16 to 22, 2012

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Listed here are some great family events. Most are free. They are all opportunities to be together as a family and engage your kids of all ages. Let me know what you liked. Let me know if there is something I should add. Have a great week!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Saturday, March 17, 2012 [Happy St. Patrick’s Day]

  • What’s for Dinner? Colorado Food Past & Present Family Day at the CU Museum of Natural History. Hands on activities for the foodies out there. All Ages. 1–4pm.

  • French/English Storytime at the Boulder Main Library. 10:15 to 11am.
  • St. Patrick’s Day at the WOW Museum. Join them for a special presentation by the McTeggart Irish Dancers. 11 to 2pm.
  • Peter Pan: The British Musical, presented by Rocky Mountain Theater for Kids. All ages. May be sold out.
  • Wings of Spring: Bird Watching. All Ages. 7:30–10am. Boulder Parks and Open Space program. Meet at Sawhill Ponds, 0.6 miles north of Valmont on 75th St. Bring binoculars, dress warmly.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Monday, March 19, 2012

  • Read to the Dog. All Ages. 3:30 to 5:30pm. Bring your child to read to a this well trained and gentle dog. Reservations Required. [Boulder Meadows Branch Library]

  • Grand Rabbits Play Day. Free for kids 2 to 6 with guardian. Flatirons store. 9:30 to 10:15am.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Family Deals: $20 off at Whole Foods/JetBlue/Disney/Kids Eat Free!

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I am really excited about this one! Today I got $20 back from AMEX for doing my usual shopping at Whole Foods. It feels great! It sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t. I did it today and it worked! Read on…

  • Amex/Whole Foods & More Deal: Amex and Twitter are offering awesome promotions right now and you can find them summarized right here. Honestly I am most excited about the $20 off at Whole Foods [I signed up today and I got a note right away from Amex saying I earned $20 after shopping at Whole Foods & spending $75. WooHoo!!!], $15 off at Sports Authority [think soccer & other sports], $ off at Best Buy, & much more. You do need to get a Twitter acct, but that’s easy. [If it feels overwhelming shoot me a note and I will send you a step by step outline showing you how to make this offer work, including signing up for Twitter.] How to sync an Amex card to Twitter here.
  • JetBlue Deal: Livingsocial is running a pay $25 and get $50 to spend on travel between Denver and JFK or Boston. Get your deal right here.
  • Disney Deal: From Aug. 25 through Sep. 29 Disney is offering a free dining plan on vacations of 5 nights or more. The free dining plan can save a family a lot of money as the food at Disney can get quite expensive.
  • Other Deals: Whole Foods: Organic Strawberries are on sale for $4.99 & yummy pizzas at the Pearl St. store for $8.99 on Fridays [usually $13.99 I think]. Lucky’s Market: Organic Avocados 2/$1.
  • Kids Eat Free!: I keep updating the Kids Eat Free! in Boulder listing on the blog. So check back often to see what’s up with dining out.

What other deals should families know about right now? Shout it out!

I am not compensated in any way for showing you these deals. I just want families to know about great deals that are out there. http://www.boulderfamilies.com

Friday Musings: Deals, Project Ideas, and Print Media Suggestions

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Family Friendly Deals: These are some great deals happening right now!

Livingsocial screaming deals: Punch cards to Om Time Yoga [$32/5 classes] and Tickets to Denver Firefighters Museum [$9/4 tickets].

Weekend Project Ideas: Make something together this weekend!

Create Nontoxic Paint to make and use with your kids. This looks like a really fun project to do and then the kids get to go outside and paint the driveway or sidewalk. I have not tried it, but I cannot wait to try!

Make Pinwheels with your kids. Engaging project for the 6 to 10 year old set. These are fun to make & use.

Family Print Media Ideas: I love these two parent/family oriented magazines!

Taproot Magazine is the new creation of Amanda Soule, a creative parent and blogger [check out her blog!]. I have to give a shout out to Brain, Child Magazine, one of my all time favorites, This offers smart literature and research on a wide range of parenting topics.

Upcoming Give Away: I am so excited to be collaborating with a very old friend!

Look out for a give away by Mountain Mama in the near future! They have a great line of maternity technical wear and the most adorable baby gear. I am psyched about this give away!

Awesome Boulder Events for Families: March 9 to 15, 2012

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Listed here are great family events. Most are free. They are all opportunities to be together as a family and engage your kids of all ages. Let me know what you liked. Let me know if there is something I should add. Have a great week!

Friday, March 9, 2012

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Monday, March 12, 2012

  • Read to the Dog. All Ages. 3:30 to 5:30pm. Bring your child to read to a this well trained and gentle dog. Reservations Required. [Boulder Meadows Branch Library]

  • Open Space Story Hour at Chautauqua. Nature-themed story book [1-1:30pm] & Nature Detective Scavenger Hike [1:35 to 2pm].
  • Grand Rabbits Play Day. Free for kids 2 to 6 with guardian. Flatirons store. 9:30 to 10:15am.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Evernote is a Great Tool for Families!

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I love collecting resources & knowledge, but where do I keep all those random bits of information? Someone mentions a great camp, I think of a new blog idea, my kids tell me something really funny, or I have an idea of a project I want to do–I just send the website, link or idea to Evernote and voila I have it whenever I need it. Since I have gone digital [thanks iPhone!] I need a place to keep all my websites, ideas, whims, questions, etc… organized. Welcome Evernote!

Evernote is my favorite website right now. I signed up for an account wondering what the big deal was, but now I’m hooked! You can add a bookmark so your computer will send sites or links to Evernote with just a click or you can manually add them. Try it! I can categorize things by tags and always look back and find what I want. Right now I divide my life into: work, blog, family, kids, recipes, school [kids’], summer camps, house projects, & design. If I am at a meeting and I forget my notebook I just use whatever device I have in front of me and make a page on Evernote. This is the real deal and it’s helping me stay sane!

Get an Evernote account.

Why use Evernote?

  • Write down your thoughts or notes anytime, anywhere. It’s better than a notebook/journal because it is synced through the cloud and therefore it is on every device you have. I use this feature for blog post ideas, funny things the kids say, etc.

  • Clip websites and/or pages right from any device & keep them organized. No more remembering to write something down, bookmarking it, or having to hunt it down at the bottom of you purse. It’s right in one place. I use this for projects, summer camps, blog posts, etc.
  • Recipes or other things you can photograph rather than entering. An old recipe, someone just sent it to you, or its not on line? Just take a photo of the recipe and send the photo to Evernote. Now when you are at the store you can access all your recipes. I use this feature at the grocery store constantly.
  • Email your Evernote “notes”. You can simply share your Evernote pages with whomever you want. I use this for work, meetings, etc.
  • Voice notes. I have not done this yet, but I have it on good authority [Thanks, John!] that you can leave voice messages and Evernote transfers your message to print and leaves it in your Evernote notebook. I need to get to this one! No more trying to get in one last email while driving!

Some sites to search for more info on how to use and optimize Evernote:

What do you use to stay organized? How else have you used Evernote? Please share so we can all learn how we can keep our families and ourselves more organized!

Ride Marshall Mesa with Kids & Free Guided History Hike of the Area [3/11]

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Today was amazing! It reminds me of how much fun the kids have getting out on a bike ride. If they are ready to bring the bike out of the garage and get going I recommend taking them out on Marshall Mesa. This ride is good for the 5 and over set. It can be done with a Tag-along as well. Or just get out for a great hike if your little one is in a jogger or pack.

Marshall Mesa is an easy to moderate bike ride for kids. We just did it with our 7-year-old, Skyler, in September. It can be fun for the whole family. Do it as a loop or an out and back ride. The Mesa is stunning and there are plenty of learning opportunities along the way with a self-guided interpretive signs describing the coal mines the town of Marshall supported. There is an illustrated geologic map available at the Open Space and Mountain Parks site. Check out the elevation map of Marshall Mesa for details of the bike trails and other trails near by.

Upcoming Free Guided Event: Walking through History – Marshall Mesa on Sunday March 11, 9:30am to 1pm. Offered by Open Space and Mountain Parks this educational event for great for the whole family. More hike details.


Bike/Hike Details

Location: Just East of the intersection of Marshall Road and Broadway/Hwy 93

Length: Varies depending on loop. See map for details.

Difficulty: Easy overall with a few uphill/downhill sections. Most kids will need bikes with gears to enjoy this ride.

Age Range: 5 and over. Comfortable on a bike and using gears to some extent.

Let me know how it goes. Do you have other bike rides you really like with kids?

Kids Eat Free in Boulder: Check Out These Great Deals!

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In Boulder there is such thing as a free lunch–I mean dinner. Check out these restaurants where our kids get their meals for FREE! Where does your family eat where the kids eat for free, or it’s just a smoking good deal? Comment below so we can all get the scoop…

Monday

  • Larkburger invites kids ages 12 and under to eat FREE every Monday from 4 p.m. to close when an adult spends $9. 2525 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder. 303.444.1487

  • Beau Jo’s Pizza’s Family Night is Mondays. Up to 2 kids eat FREE with each paying adult. Plus there is kids’ entertainment each night. They have gluten-free options. 2690 Baseline Road, Boulder. 303.554.5312

Tuesday

  • Applebee’s offers a close to Kids Eat Free on Tuesdays where kids eat for 99 cents. 1700 28th Street, Boulder. 303.442.8813

Wednesday

  • Up to 2 kids eat FREE with the purchase of an adult meal at the Lazy Dog Sport Bar & Grill on the Pearl Street Mall. 1346 Pearl St., Boulder. 303.440.3355.

Thursday

  • Wahoo’s Fish Tacos serves up to two FREE kids meals for every $10 adult meal purchased after 4pm on Thursdays. Kids must be 12 or younger. 2790 Pearl Street, Boulder. 303.473.9072 [Changing to Weds. nights in the next few weeks, so call ahead]

Friday

  • What restaurant should go here? Write a comment and I will update this list.

Saturday

  • Old Louisville Inn offers kids FREE meals with the purchase of an adult meal Saturday & Sunday. 740 Front Street, Louisville. 303.666.9982.

Sunday

  • Centro Latin Kitchen has Family Night each Sunday where Kids under 10 receive a FREE kid’s entrée (choice of any entrée from the Centro kids’ menu) with the purchase of an adult entrée after 5 p.m. 950 Pearl St., Boulder. 303.442.7771.

  • Old Louisville Inn offers kids FREE meals with the purchase of an adult meal. 740 Front Street, Louisville. 303.666.9982.

Additional Discounts for Kids

  • St. Julien/Jill’s offers free meals for children 3 and under when they eat off the children’s menu. 900 Walnut St., Boulder. 720.406.9696
  • The Taj offers Kids Eat Free under 5. Between 5 and 10 years kids pay 1/2 price for meals. 2630 Baseline Rd., Boulder. 303.494.5216
  • Smiling Moose provides a Free Kids Meal with the purchase of any sandwich, chips, & a drink. Coupon is at the link above. 3223 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder. 303.530.2700.
  • Wild Mountain Brewery offers Kids Eat Free on the first Tuesday of each month. For kids 12 and under with a paying adult. 70 East First Street, Nederland. 303.258.WILD.

Don’t forget to always call ahead to make sure these restaurants are still offering their Kids Eat Free deals as they are subject to change at any time.

If you tried one of the Kids Eat Free! deals, did you like it? Which restaurant[s] are your family’s favorites in the Boulder area? Where are some other great deals for families? Any favorites for the gluten free crowd? Dairy free crowd? I cannot wait to hear the juicy details…

 

Don’t forget to always call ahead to make sure these restaurants are still offering their Kids Eat Free deals as they are subject to change at any time.

Have you tried any of these restaurants and gotten the free kids meal? How did you like it? Which restaurant[s] are your family’s favorites in the Boulder area? Where are some other great deals for families? Any favorites for the gluten free crowd? Dairy free crowd? I cannot wait to hear the juicy details…