If you want a beach experience in Boulder, the Boulder Reservoir is the best place to go. There is a roped-in area for shallow swimming, and kids can take a swimming test with a lifeguard if they want to swim out into the deep to the floating raft. Of course, my kids spend a lot of their time there playing in the sand. Just be careful not to visit if there may be a thuderstorm, as the lifeguards are very good at shutting everything down in case of inclement weather, even if a storm seems a little far away!

The North Boulder Recreation Center has a great gymnastics program and a great space for it! We found that it was a much cheaper option to go through the city than it was to go to some private gymnastics companies. And there are even some of the same instructors! There is also a great pool here for the kids with a water slide. Good for the younger crowd.

We took our boys and their grandparents on a tour of Hammond's Candies. They weren't doing much production on the day of our visit but we enjoyed seeing some of the machinery anyway. After the tour, we bought some candy in their shop and enjoyed eating it. It was a fun little activity for a cold day!

What kids don't enjoy a trip to the zoo? Parking is easy in Denver and there are many free days scattered throughout the year. We always head straight to the polar bears because they are so popular with our boys. And when they were younger, the carosel and the little train were definately a hit.

Our family always enjoys going to the Denver Art Museum. It is free on the first Saturday of the month! And on the free days there are usually some great kids activities. For example, there was a volunteer demonstrating a loom last time we were there, and my son must have stayed there weaving for half an hour. Don't forget to visit the bubble popping room, where kids can stomp on "bubbles" projected on the floor and watch them "pop".