The award-winning Back Bowl is the perfect spot to host a unique birthday party or any special event. Reserve your own lanes or the entire center for bowling with your guests.  Customized menus available from the Bowlmor Café with special music and lighting available to enhance your party experience. Call our special events coordinator for details and quotes.

www.thebackbowl.com
Just off the Eagle Exit on 1-70, Eagle
(970) 328-BOWL (2695)

see our coupon

Need help planning a Birthday Party? Make the day memorable for your child and easy for you.  A whole new level of Birthday parties is offered at the Gypsum Recreation Center. Choose your party: Climbing, Swimming, Gymnastics and Sports. With each party comes a host that stays with the kids while they are having fun. Your child will be the star with special treats just for them.  What do you do? You have fun by participating and relaxing.

www.wecmrd.org
0052 Lundgren Blvd., Gypsum

Leisa Gibson is a Colorado based photographer. During the summer months she books weddings and family portraits in the surrounding mountain towns including Aspen, Vail and  Keystone. For the past eight years she could also be found on the slopes photographing ski and snowboard action for a highly published position with the Vail Resorts Corporate Imaging Team. She currently spends her time creating imagery for ad agencies, development companies and publications. View Leisa’s online gallery at

www.alpineimages.biz

Voted “Vail’s Best Family Restaurant.” We’ve Got What Kids Love! Burgers, sandwiches, pasta, personal pizzas and Giant Milk Shakes served in the can…along with a full kid’s menu. Enjoy a great family meal at an affordable price. This authentic local pub and eatery offers traditional fare from the Isles plus award winning prime rib, steaks, seafood, hearty soups and healthy salads. While the kids are playing in Vail’s largest game arcade, you can catch your favorite sports on 30 screens. Serving lunch & dinner daily.

www.paddysvail.com
40801 Highway 6 - Right at I-70 Exit 167, Eagle-Vail

see our coupon

Get on Track:
Great Ideas for Kid Friendly Cross Country Ski and Snowshoe Trails
By Kirsten H. Michel

If you are thinking a scenic snowshoe or cross-country excursion would be a great family adventure, the Roaring Fork Valley offers plenty of options. We have included some of our favorites to get you on the right course.

Ashcroft – Located 12 miles up Castle Creek, Ashcroft Ski Touring (970-925-1971 or www.pinecreekcookhouse.com/ashcroft) provides the most unforgettable experience. Enjoy wide-open meadows, beaver dams and stunning views of the Continental Divide. Check in at the King Cabin for gear, tickets and maps. Try the Logan Trail for a gentle snowshoe, while the Flynn Trail offers family-friendly, cross-country fun.

Aspen – Rent your gear from the Ute Mountaineer (970-925-2849 or 308 S. Mill Street) and head to the North Star Preserve Loop. With 175 acres amid the shadows of Independence Pass, the preserve offers gentle trails and peacefulness in a perfectly natural environment. Parking is located 1.5 miles east of Aspen on Highway 82 (mile marker 42.5 and 43.5). Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are free.

Glenwood Springs – Discover backcountry cross-country ski and snowshoe trails at the Sunlight Mountain Ski Resort (970-945-7491 or www.sunlightmtn.com/XC_Skiing_%2526_Snowshoeing). With 29 kilometers of groomed trails, skiers and snowshoers of all levels will wander—free of charge—between Compass Peak and Williams Peak. Find maps and rentals at the base of the mountain. Families should consider the Sunshine Trail for an enjoyable outing.

Advertorial Content for Parents Handbook

Tucked high in the Brush Creek Valley, Snowmass Village, Colorado, is like the shy neighbor who turns out to be vivacious upon closer acquaintance. This 25-square-mile town resides over 40 miles of hiking and biking trails and offers one of the best summer resort music scenes in the state. Surrounded by a spectacularly scenic wilderness area, Snowmass is one of the few resorts in the U.S. to offer plentiful mountain boarding terrain and is the only Colorado resort to offer two 18-hole disc golf courses. It's no coincidence that part of our name is synonymous with "magnitude" and "substance." And yet Snowmass Village is not your typical mountain town. One need only glimpse the grand splendor of Mount Daly and the faces of people coming off the slopes year-round to understand that this town's core lies amidst a fertile landscape of adventure and rejuvenation.
The second largest ski mountain in Colorado offering nearly 150 miles of trails is right here in Snowmass Village. Snowmass also connects to the largest network of free groomed Nordic trails in the United States.
The mountain is our main street, our mecca, our coffee shop and our office. We swap gossip on picnic blankets at the Fanny Hill concerts, catch up as we catch air in the terrain parks and on the trails. While we live here for the sun-kissed summers and for the glimpses of the elk, fox and deer who share this unique Shangri-la. We're also dedicated to ensuring our guests feel the same. From the wild west to wildflowers to wildly enthusiastic locals, the town lives up to its name.

Featuring free admission and open year-round, every day except Mondays and major holidays, the Aspen Art Museum is a non-collecting contemporary art museum. Along with stimulating exhibition-related programming for the whole family, including its Questrom Lecture Series events (gallery talks tours with prominent artists, curators and special guests), and the inaugural 2009 week-long winter children’s workshops that begin December 21st, one annual highlight that makes Aspen truly unique is a collaboration  between the museum and the Aspen Skiing Company on a very special contemporary art-based collaborative lift ticket project.

When AAM Director and Chief Curator Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson arrived in Aspen in 2005, she saw the lift tickets attached to skiers’ jackets as virtual “blank canvases” on which contemporary art could be presented. With this in mind, she approached the Aspen Skiing Company with the idea, and the partnership was born. Now, in its 5th consecutive season, the AAM and SkiCo have selected an image by Dutch artist Carla Klein, whose paintings are abstract representations based on photographs she takes and processes herself. Klein joins past internationally recognized artist-participants Jim Hodges (2008/09), Karen Kilimnik (2007/08), Peter Doig (2006/07), and Yutaka Sone (2005/06) in the history of the partnership. Her 2009 offering is an untitled image painted from a composite series of photos that gives one the impression of moving quickly over a vast winter landscape.

Carla Klein will visit Aspen and will be a featured Questrom Lecture Series guest speaker at the museum on March 11th 2010, at 6:00 p.m., as well taking part on March 13th in the annual family Create-Your-Own Lift-Ticket event at the Snowmass Kids’ Adventure Center in Snowmass Village from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Both events promise free and fun access to art for the whole family, so don’t forget to mark your calendars!

Family Free Style:
Cool things to do at no cost to you.
By Kirsten H. Michel

Pack a week in the Roaring Fork Valley with free¬¬—yep, we said FREE—activities for the entire family. Sunday – Fill up your senses at the John Denver Sanctuary nestled between the Rio Grande Park and the Roaring Fork River in Aspen. Denver’s lyrics—Rocky Mountain High, Sunshine on my Shoulders, Annie’s Song—are forever etched into stones throughout the memorial. Get inspired at the Aspen Art Museum (970.925.8050 or
www.aspenartmuseum.org) with free admission everyday.

Monday – Sip hot chocolate, enjoy s’mores, and sing-a-long by the campfire at the Treehouse Plaza* in Snowmass (970-923-TREE or www.treehousekidsclub.com/home ~ offered Mondays and Wednesdays). The Basalt Regional Library* (970-927-4311 or www.basaltlibrary.org ~ offered Mondays) offers live music, from classical to Celtic.

Tuesday – Visit the Rock Bottom Ranch (970-927-6760 or www.aspennature.org/locations/rock-bottom-ranch/what-rock-bottom-ranch) in Basalt for a peek at farmyard animals
or a stroll along the nature trail. Bring your suit and a towel for the Penny Hot Springs
(www.marbletourismassociation.org/penny_hot_springs) along the Crystal River, just outside of Carbondale.

Wednesday – Feed the trout at the Crystal River Hatchery (970-963-2665 or
www.wildlife.state.co.us/Fishing/ClinicsAndEducation/Hatcheries) or the Glenwood Hatchery (970-945-5293), while you watch for wild turkeys, elk and deer. Search for the state mammal, the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, with a scenic drive through the Glenwood Canyon (www.glenwoodchamber.com/Natural-Wonders/Watchable-Wildlife).

Thursday –Relax in the Living Room at the Limelight Lodge* (970-920-3025 or www.limelightlodge.com ~ offered

Free is key
Deals abound in Summit County — you just have to know where to look

By L.S. Burns
335 words
 

There’s no need to be bashful — most everyone is looking to score a deal these days, be it dining discounts or free entertainment. The Parent’s Handbook has done the leg work for you — read on to find out about some of the best ongoing deals in Summit County.
Keystone is unrolling its KIDTOPIA festival this season, taking place over most holiday weekends this season — Dec. 21-27, 2009,  Jan. 14-19,2010,  Feb. 11-16 and Feb. 19-21.There’s a giant snow fort at the top of Dercum Mountain, family-friendly concerts in the plaza, arts and crafts, disco tubing, glow bug skating, and more.
Keystone offers a free Adventure Passport for all guests staying at resort-owned properties.The Passport gets guests with an array of free and discounted activities, like free ice-skating, night skiing, and snowbiking as well as discounts on sleigh rides, dining, and more. Visit www.keystoneresort.com.
Copper Mountain’s Chamber of Commerce knows what makes moms and dads happy — a night out sans their beloved children. Kids’ Night Out is a free childcare service where your kids can enjoy pizza, crafts, movies and more while you get some free time. The only condition is that you spend $30 per child in any commercial outlet at the resort during the hours your kids are in the program. The service is offered from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Reservations are recommended, call (970) 968-2318 ext. 38101.
If ice skating is more your style, bring your own skates and glide around West Lake at The Village at Copper for free. You can also rent skates at the lake at Chubs. Visit the Adventure Desk to sign up for any of these adventures. Visit www.coppercolorado.com  or call (970) 968-2318 to learn more.

The Delight in Cooking with Children

Cooking is a great way to bond with your children and help to develop their cognitive skills.  With the long winter nights and increased appetites from spirited winter activities, this is the perfect time to begin baking with your children!

Cooking with children is also a perfect way to introduce your child to healthy eating habits.  It’s recommended to introduce your child into the kitchen at age 3.  Cooking with children is often time consuming, messy, and very rewarding for all involved. Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time!  Keep in mind that when doing a project with children the process is always more important then the finished product.  Take pride in what you create! 

To develop your child’s language skills, read the directions out loud and discuss the ingredients as a team.  Emphasize the importance of the directions and work together to gather the ingredients.  Seeing the label on the ingredients helps develop word recognition and placing the ingredients in order as they are needed is great for sequencing and following directions!

Math and cooking go hand in hand.  Let your child measure and pour the ingredients.  Have them estimate how many tablespoons fill a cup.  Set out all the measured ingredients and let them recognize what is more and less.  One of the best things about cooking with children is stirring.  Have the children count every time they are mixing to either a number you set or as high as they can go! 

Cooking meets more science goals then most activities performed in the classroom.  Let the children smell each ingredient and describe the scent to you.  Let them taste certain things such as sugar or vanilla and describe the taste!  Have them observe the change in the food.  Cooking helps children to understand solids, liquids, textures, and smells. 

Wishes The Toy Store has the cutest clothing for ages 0-12. Dress your pumpkin in the sweetest designs from Room Seven, Malina, and Icky Baby.  Compliment their outfit with shoes from Robeez and Lelli Kelly. Wishes is conveniently located in Avon at Chapel Square and has been enchanting locals and visitors for over 13 years. Fun and educational toys and clothing your kids will love.
Chapel Square, Avon
see ad p95     (970) 845-0456

Need help planning a Birthday Party? Make the day memorable for your child and easy for you. A whole new level of Birthday Parties is offered at the Gypsum Recreation Center. Chose your party: Climbing, Swimming, Gymnastics and Sports. With each party comes a host that stays with kids while they are having fun. Your Child will be the star with special treats just for them. What do you do? You have fun by participating and relaxing.
www.wecmrd.org
0052 Lundgren Blvd., Gypsum
see ad p97    (970) 777-8888

Family Friendly Dining. Open for Lunch at 11 am, Dinner at 5pm, Bar open til 2 am. Now in 2 locations:  Beaver Creek in the St James building (free parking after 5 pm), and our new location in Eagle.
www.dustyboot.com  
Beaver Creek Village    (970) 748-1146
Eagle Ranch    (970) 328-7002
see ad p78,94   

see our coupon

Celebrating 5 years in Eagle! The award-winning Back Bowl is the perfect spot
to host a unique birthday party or any special event. Reserve your own lanes or the entire center for bowling for your guests.  Customized menus available from the Bowlmor Café with special music and lighting available to enhance your party experience. Call our
special events coordinator for
details and quotes.
www.thebackbowl.com
Just off the Eagle Exit on 1-70, Eagle
see ad p    (970) 328-BOWL (2695)
see our coupon

Kids can cool off this summer at watering spots in Vail and Edwards

By L.S. Burns
(599 words)

============
Going deeper
• The Eagle Pool opens for the 2009 season on June 5, and features a large pool, a kid’s pool and a water slide. The pool is located at 1700 Brush Creek Road in Eagle.Admission is free for kids 2 and under, $4.50 for kids age 3 to 17 and for senior citizens and $6 for adults. There are also family passes and punchcards available. Hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday, noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Call 970-328-5277 or visit wecmrd.org for more information.

• The Eagle-Vail Swim Club opens for the season May 23 and closes Sept. 6. The pool is located at 99 Eagle Drive in Eagle-Vail and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The fee for non-residents is $8 per day and Eagle-Vail residents pay $6 per day. Call 970-949-4257 for more information.
=============

Besides the pool, there are plenty of ways and places where kids can play in the water in the Vail Valley and, even better, they’re free.
You know its summertime when little kids start frolicking in the Children’s Fountain in Vail Village. The fountain is turned on each summer by Memorial Day and sometimes earlier if the weather is good. The water flows until shortly after Labor Day, though an exact date varies each year depending on the weather, town officials said. Swimming suits are required, said Todd Oppenheimer of the town of Vail’s public works department. Public restrooms are located just south of the fountain.
As a 7-year-old Leslie Fordham’s daughter, Lettie Fickling, loved playing in the fountain, Fordham said.
“She liked jumping from rock to rock and if she fell in, well that was fun too,” she said.

The Vail Recreation District delivers high-energy excitement via vast and varied programming for both adults and children, including mountain biking, trail running, sand volleyball, soccer, baseball, softball, basketball and more. Leagues, special events and sports camps deliver lasting memories for all.  
www.vailrec.com/youth_camps_sports.cfm 
Vail
(970) 479-2280

The Vail Recreation District offers diverse and exceptional summer youth camps for both visiting and local children. From adventure and ecology to skateboarding or science, there’s a camp that’s perfect for children ages 30 months to 12 years. Camps fill quickly and are on a first-come, first-served basis.
www.vailrec.com/youth.cfm
Vail
(970) 479-2292

Vail Mountain Bike Camps offer mountain bike instruction from a world-class staff for kids and adults. Learn the skills of mountain biking in a fun and beautiful environment.  Programs include kid’s camps for kids ages 7-13, an afternoon adventure camp, a kid’s race academy for kids ages 10-17, adult skills workshops, women’s weekends, and private and group instruction. Limited kid’s bikes available.
www.vailmountainbikecamps.com 
Vail
(970) 470-3431

The Dillon Yacht Club Junior Sailing Program is a great way to spend the summer outdoors learning a lifelong skill. The Junior Sailing Program is a non-profit organization and does not require membership. Youth sailing classes are open to all community residents. From our beginning lessons to our advanced racing team lessons, the classes offer skills and memories for a lifetime. The sailing program offers empowering experiences, which allow boys and girls to do great things. In each of our classes, students will find meaningful opportunities for building self-confidence and self-discovery. For details on all our activities and events check out our website.
www.dillonjuniorsailing.com
Lake Dillon
(303) 808-5286

Outdoor discovery and fun begins with Gore Range Natural Science School. Unforgettable programs taught by expert instructors feature mammals, geology, birds, dinos, plants, art and much more! Multi-day, weeklong and overnight camps for youth entering 1st through 8th grade. Scholarships available.
Course schedule, descriptions, and registration forms at:
www.gorerange.org
Avon
(970) 827-9725

Need help planning a Birthday Party? Make the day memorable for your child and easy for you.  A whole new level of Birthday parties is offered at the Gypsum Recreation Center. Choose your party: Climbing, Swimming, Gymnastics and Sports options. With each party comes a host that stays with the kids while they are having fun. Your child will be the star with special treats just for them.  What do you do? You have fun by participating and relaxing.
www.wecmrd.org   
0052 Lundgren Blvd., Gypsum
(970) 777-8888

The award-winning Back Bowl is the perfect spot to host a unique birthday party or any special event. Reserve your own lanes or the entire center for bowling with your guests.  Customized menus available from the Bowlmor Café with special music and lighting available to enhance your party experience. Call our special events coordinator for details and quotes.
www.thebackbowl.com
Just off the Eagle Exit on 1-70, Eagle
(970) 328-BOWL (2695)
see our coupon

Given our wonderful reviews, private setting and special attention to detail, 4 Eagle Ranch has become one of the premier private party/birthday party and celebration venues in the Vail/Beaver Creek area. With an onsite event planning staff to assist you, we will customize your occasion professionally and with ease. In addition, 4 Eagle Ranch provides Corporate Meeting and Incentive planners with a full service, multifaceted alternative to traditional banquet opportunities.
www.4eagleranch.com
Hwy 131, 4 miles North of Wolcott
(970) 926-3372
see our coupon

Wishes The Toy Store has the cutest clothing for ages 0-12. Dress your pumpkin in the sweetest designs from Room Seven, Malina, Zutano and Icky Baby.  Compliment their outfit with shoes from Robeez and Lelli Kelly. Wishes is conveniently located in Avon at Chapel Square and has been enchanting locals and visitors for over 13 years. Fun and educational toys and clothing your kids will love.
Chapel Square, Avon
(970) 845-0456