Having lunch with a friend on a patio is a great way to break up the day and maintain our fragile grip on our sanity. Of course, the TWMs community came through for her, so we thought we would compile the answers while adding a couple of recommendations of our own!

Great Places for Lunch with Kid-Friendly Patios

• Rogers Roadhouse
• Woodshed Smokehouse
• Tia’s on the Bluff
• HG Supply
• Maggie’s R&R
• Rodeo Goat
• Salsa Limon Distrito
• Yesterday’s in Aledo
• Heim on the River
• BREWED
• Parker Co. Ice House

And the two grandmamas of Fort Worth mommy patio lunches…

• Joe T’s
• Central Market

The post As Determined by Tanglewood Moms: Kid-Friendly Patio Lunches first appeared on Tanglewood Moms.

photo credit: Lee Virden Geurkink

Boy, was I ever wrong! There’s a bunch of family-friendly things to do in Santa Fe all year long! I’ve compiled a list of things we’ve done or are planning to do, and I hope you can use it for planning your family trip!

The Ski Basin

While the Santa Fe Ski Basin isn’t open in the summer, it’s a wonderful place in the fall, winter, and spring. In the fall, the chair lifts open (this is a MUST during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta), and in winter and spring, the skiing is great! With over 80 trails, there are ski runs for every level of skiing ability. If you’re not a skier, enjoy a beverage in Totemoff’s Bar while you wait for your ski bunnies to tire themselves out!

Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project

This summer, we’re going to tour the Wells Petroglyph Preserve. Ancient peoples built their civilizations on the mesa, and it’s home to an amazing amount of petroglyphs, shrines, water control systems, and field houses. The Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project seeks to preserve these through education, offering guided tours.

Take the Train

The Rail Runner Express runs from Santa Fe down past Albuquerque to Belen. Explore the Santo Domingo pueblo, hike through the Bosque, go fishing at Isleta Lake, or just wander through Albuquerque’s Historic Old Town. The Rail Runner is a great way to spend a day on the rails, seeing other parts of the Land of Enchantment!

Shopping on the Plaza

When we visited my parents over spring break, my daughters wanted to go to the Plaza. I decided not only would this be fun, it could be educational. (Shhhh, don’t tell them!) I gave them each a certain amount of money and told them that was it for the day – they had to budget it as they saw fit. I was quite impressed; they walked along, looking at the Native American jewelry and art for sale, made their choices, and kept track of how much money they spent/had left. They each got some wonderful jewelry and had enough money left over for a trip through Señor Murphy’s!

Lunch with a Llama

If shopping isn’t your thing, why not go to lunch with a llama? Yes, a llama. Wild Earth Llama Adventures, as well as offering overnight camping trips with a llama, offers wonderful day hikes with a great guide to tell you all about the local flora, fauna, and history, along with a llama to carry the gear! You set the pace of the hike, experience some of the most glorious wilderness in the world, and have a gourmet lunch. All ages and fitness levels are accommodated, and I can guarantee you that this is a trip your family won’t forget!

There are so many things to do in Santa Fe with your family that they could fill a list a mile long! Here are few other family-friendly things to do:

• Spend some time bending your mind at Meow Wolf
• Visit the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
• Tour the Puye Cliff Dwellings and/or Bandelier National Monument (I recommend both!)
• Spend the morning on Museum Hill
• Take a ghost tour through the oldest capital city in North America
• Spend an evening at the Santa Fe Opera
• Learn to fly fish on the Pecos River
• Tour the Glorieta Battlefield
• Learn how to bake bread in a horno (a traditional New Mexican outdoor oven) at El Rancho de las Golondrinas
• Hike to Nambé Falls or kayak on Nambé Lake

The post Family Fun in Santa Fe first appeared on Tanglewood Moms.

As Benedict Arnold used to say, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!”  My 10-year-old son Isaac is spending the summer with me, and I’ve noticed he LOVES YouTube. Some of the shows strike me as silly at best. (I’d rather play a video game than watch some teenager talk about gaming.) But many of the channels teach him useful activities like magic tricks, pranks, science experiments, and how to make slime. With Isaac as my handy consultant, we’ve compiled our top four picks.

How to Make Your Own Slime!

This one uses Borax, a common detergent. Use your own discretion. After talking to several parents, I felt it was safe when used in small amounts. The video worked well, and Isaac was happy with his slimy creation. Altogether, the ingredients cost $20. There are endless varieties of slime: butter, unicorn rainbow, puffy, monster, snow, etc.

EvanEraTv

https://www.youtube.com/user/EvanEraTV

Isaac is a big fan of this how-to magic channel. The host, Evan Era, is a kid-friendly personality who demonstrates tricks then explains, step by step, how to do it yourself. There are endless episodes. If your kiddo gets into sleight of hand tricks, Magic Etc. on Forest Park Blvd offers supplies and has an incredibly helpful staff.

How to Prank It Up

https://www.youtube.com/user/howtoprankitup

You might regret this one when your teeth turn blue after brushing or you walk into a wall of invisible tape, but your kid will have some great memories of pranking Mom or Dad. HowtoPRANKItUp is hosted by Dennis Roady. The language occasionally enters 13-and-up territory, but I found it to be largely kid friendly. Most of the pranks use household objects.

HooplaKidzLab

https://www.youtube.com/user/hooplakidzlab

With titles like 10 Science Tricks to do at Home and Science is Awesome, Hoopla Kidz Lab blends education and entertainment. With step-by-step instructions, your budding scientist can learn (don’t tell them this) while doing all sorts of cool stuff with household items. Definitely a lot of fun.

YouTube is full of stuff that we don’t want our kids to see. But these channels offer kid-friendly content to keep parents and kids happy.

Edward Brown writes about music, arts, and news for a variety of publications. He’s an award-winning writer for the Fort Worth Weekly and volunteers for numerous Fort Worth nonprofits. 

The post YouTube and You first appeared on Tanglewood Moms.