"Real Life in Boise With Kids" - a weekly series where Boise With Kids will feature real, relatable, normal parents doing awesome things across the Treasure Valley. It'll be a space where local parents can share about their passions and give real, honest, tried and true feedback and tips for living their "best (family) life" in Boise. Hopefully it'll give you a chance to learn more about our community, inspire you to try out new places and activities, and get hooked up with pertinent, useful stuff that will help you and your family to thrive in Boise.
Get ready to meet the "Real Parents of the Treasure Valley" - 😜
If you'd like to share about yourself and be featured in this new series email Becca at becca@boisewithkids.com. We can't wait to learn more about you!
Meet Holly Horch: Hey friends! I’m Holly and I live in south Boise with my husband Andy and our 4 kids! I was born and raised in Oregon and we moved to Boise when I was 13. After I got married, we moved to Washington state (where my husband is from) and lived there for 10 years. We loved Washington but we decided to move to Boise about 3 years ago for a job change for my husband. He now owns a tree trimming business called Crown and Root Arborism. It has been really cool and a completely different experience to explore the Treasure Valley as a mom vs when I was a teenager. There is so much to explore and we love it!
We have 2 girls (ages 9 and 8) and 2 boys (ages 6 and 2) and we LOVE being outside as often as possible. Some of our favorite activities are: hiking, mountain biking, camping, swimming, biking the greenbelt, and we are looking forward to backpacking as a family this year!
I started a business last year that combines my love of getting outside and my love of being a mom. My business is called All Weather Adventuring and you can find me on Instagram here. I sell adventure kits for kids on Etsy I have a spring kit and a summer kit, both filled with fun nature inspired activities, and my best-seller is my adventure guide kit! It comes with a lanyard and adorable little magnifying glass, as well as laminated sheets that include the Leave No Trace principles, adventure essentials, animal tracks, a fun scavenger hunt, local wildflowers, and Idaho mammals and birds. It has been so fun to research our state and other states and learn about the different wildlife and flowers! I love providing families (including my own) with this tool to get kids excited about interacting with nature 💙
Local Family Favorites:
Boise River green belt! We absolutely love walking, biking or scootering along the greenbelt, especially in the spring and summer when it is all green and gorgeous!
MK Nature Center: this place is a hit with all of our kids every time we go. They love looking at the sturgeon and playing in the giant eagle's nest!
Hiking the Boise foothills! There are so many trails to explore in the foothills! I even created a couple of hiking guides for some trails in the foothills that are great hikes for kids! Here is a link to one of them: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1008754405/ridge-to-ridge-hike
Children’s museum: this is great for all the ages that my kids are, but the boys especially love it!
Eagle Bike Park: we have been going here for years and love it! It’s been super fun to see our kids get more brave each time going on the “little hills and big hills” (the pump tracks) and we have started taking them on the trails too now that we have a Kids Ride Shotgun seat for our 2 year old!
Local libraries: we love visiting our libraries here in the Treasure Valley! We have been to a handful, but our favorite is the Victory Branch. The entire basement is dedicated to kids’ books and toys, and my kids love visiting Frankie the turtle! We love getting the “kid packs” which are filled with themed books, a dvd and an activity of some sort.
Favorite Family-Friendly Places to Eat:
This is a hard one….we usually end up getting take out for my husband and me and making food for the kids at home 😂 (or let’s be honest: it’s fast food a lot!) I’m always open to everyone else’s ideas and suggestions! I will say though that one place we love taking the kids is the Tepanyaki Japanese Steak House on Garden St. It looks like a hole in the wall, but the food is delicious and the hibachi-style cooking (where they cook it in front of you) entertains the kids every time!
Best Park/Playground:
Camels Back Park: we love the diverse playground, the trees to climb, the open green space and the hiking trails! (My 6 year old calls the big hill Mount Huffenpuff 😂🤷♀️ So we always conquer that when we go!)
Cassia Park: my kids love the double swing here!
Cottonwood Park: the zip line swing at this park is fun for kids and parents!
Reid Merrill Park in Eagle: the playground is so fun for the kids and we love walking the greenbelt and trails by the river just behind the park!
Mallard Park in Caldwell: this one is so great for kids of all ages! I love the accessibility of it with the ramps and there are walking trails for the bigger kids to walk, scooter or skate board!
Best Part of Life in Boise with Kids:
We absolutely love the variety of outdoor activities available here in Boise year round! From hiking in the spring and fall to exploring in the mountains year round, we love it all!
Best “parenting hack”:
If me or my kids are cranky: WE GO OUTSIDE! Even if it’s just a walk around the block or sitting in the yard. I have tried and tested this theory over and over and over again. I promise it works. There are so many physical and mental health benefits to getting fresh air. The outdoors have saved my sanity many times
Happy adventuring! ❤️
-Holly