Santa Fe, NM

Are you looking for 'city' things to do, or 'country' things to do?
Santa Fe is good for walking around and looking at the old city buildings.
El Rancho de las Golondrinas - is a living history museum located on 200 acres in a rural farming valley just south of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The museum, dedicated to the history, heritage and culture of 18th and 19th century New Mexico, opened in 1972.
Santa Fe has many art museums, and a children's museums.
As for the outdoors.... There are many options for hiking near and in Santa Fe. You can take short drives from town to get to many trail heads.
From Santa Fe, a 45 minute drive will get you to Bandelier National Monument - which more hiking, and scenic cliff dwellings.
For adults (not your question, but if you have the chance) there is a spa called 10,000 waves - that is quite nice.

July and August tend to be warm for NM - so temps in the upper 90's would be expected. They are also when we get a bunch of our annual moisture - so (depending on the year) there may be daily afternoon thunderstorms. That said, in NM it is almost never cloudy all day - the storms show up, drop rain, and move on. Layers of clothing are a must. :)
I live a bit North of Santa Fe, so PM me if you have specific questions. :)

I love Santa Fe. Its beautiful. I reccomend buying the museum pass. It's great. I really love the folk art and childrens museums. Dont miss that church with the wooden staircase. it's really something. There is a trip planner on Santa Fes website. That time of year would be a lot of great outdoor fun. Mountain biking and hiking. It'll be so much fun. Go visit the reservations. Buy some Indian Fry bread for me.

my Mom & older son LOVED Sandia Peaks tramway....just don't drink anything alcoholic. My son slept for hours after his Long Island tea!

Can we say altitude sickness? LOL....what a dumb bunny!

I believe the Native American festivals are in August, but I think it is the 3rd week of August. If they are there during your visit, there is a lot to see in the plaza. As well, there are live bands at night.

One time while there, we took a day and did this train ride. http://www.cumbrestoltec.com/ It was awesome! My husband fussed about wasting a day on a train and as it turned out he was as excited as a 5 year old. Something I will never forget! Other than that, there are plenty of things to see and do. If the children enjoy the water, there is a little river my cousins play in and caught some frogs. Not for me, but good kid stuff.

I'm excited for you! We go every 2 years.

There are a lot of beautiful hikes in the area and that is what I would do if I were you! Driving up into the Jemez mountains (through Los Alamos) and stopping to hike at Los Conchas trail or Jemez Falls are two of our favorites. Both are great for kids! You can drive all the way into the town of Jemez Springs and eat lunch there before heading back. Bandelier National Monument is very cool as well and a perfect thing to do with kids. You explore all these anasazi ruins (houses in the cliff walls...you can climb up ladders and explore inside) There is a side trail called Tsankawi that is near the town of White Rock. This trail is a part of Bandelier and also has a lot of ruins to explore. It is gorgeous and very cool!

I live in Santa Fe, so feel free to PM me. The children's museum is great for younger kids. Lots of outdoor activities... Hiking, nature walks, etc. depending on when you come, there will be a festival or art show on the plaza, both great for kids. There's a great outdoor pool near downtown with a tot pool too. The farmers market on Saturday mornings is a huge hit with kids- balloon guy, music and tons of good food to taste.

It's not humid here so even if temps are in the 80s or 90s, you'll be comfortable in the shade. The average high in July and August is actually only in the high 80s, so temps might be in the low 90s but probably not high 90s. But the sun is bright so we usually plan indoor activities in late afternoon.

If your kids are older, you might want to take them to Shidoni foundry and gallery to watch live bronze pours (making bronze sculpture). If you like trains, the Cumbers and Toltec train ride is a good day trip (narrow gague coal-fired steam trains). Santa Fe tours has short train trips on a different rail line.

Santa Fe Clay sometimes has one day classes.

Definitely go to 10,000 waves if you can.

I actually hate Santa Fe. It is nothing more than a commercial money grubbing tourist trap. So if you do go plan on doing nothing in the town part that is for tourists. It is not worth it. The museums are good, buy the package where you can visit any of the listed museums over and over for X amount of days. It is the most cost effective. Some of the best artists live there but as for the other stuff, it is a tourist trap.