On this day, three years ago, I officially started Boise With Kids. Man, what a journey it’s been!
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment I bought the domain “boisewithkids.com” and decided to just jump in and “do the dang thing”. I wasn’t sure what I was creating but something in me just knew it would be perfect for the Treasure Valley community and for me and my fam.
At the time I had 3 kids ages 2, 5 and 7 and was a full time stay at home mom “in the thick of it”. We’d lived in Boise for just about 6 months after moving here for a job for my husband from Pocatello in July, 2021.
I was my ideal audience. I was longing to grow some roots in our new city but didn’t really know where to turn. I wanted to take this burden and loneliness off my fellow parents’ plates and help them find answers and thrive alongside their families in our beautiful City of Trees. The idea of Boise With Kids had been spinning around in my head for months and I’m so glad I went all in even though I didn’t really know what I was doing and had definitely never done anything like this before.
I just found an old blog post where I re-introduced myself and just had to copy and paste a couple paragraphs of it as it really sums up who I am, why I started BWK and my goals for it:
“Here’s my life history in one long, run-on sentence (my former teacher mom is gonna hate this)… I was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska where I, along with my three brothers were homeschooled until high school, went to college in St. Paul, MN, spent two years living and teaching in Los Angeles, CA while working on my Masters in Education, fell in love and moved across the country to Petersburg, VA for a year, moved back to Minnesota where I got married and worked as a college admissions counselor, uprooted our life and moved abroad to Santiago, Chile to teach English and travel around South America, moved BACK to Omaha where we lived for four years and had our first two boys before sort of sporadically moving to Pocatello, ID for a job opportunity, had our youngest there in 2020, then in July of 2021 moved over to Boise where the rest is history. That’s the short and sweet version. If you want to know all the nitty gritty details, just ask! I’m an open book.
When I’m not obsessively working on Boise With Kids you will likely find me driving the struggle bus, being a coffee snob, drinking cans of Underwood Rose wine or crafting cocktails with my husband or friends, outside adventuring with my crew, baking the world’s best chocolate chip cookies or compulsively eating my children’s ears off (“cute aggression” is a real medical diagnosis, okay?!).
I have a passion for connection and it is what dictates so much of what I do with Boise With Kids. I want families to feel connected to our amazing city and to one another. I have a heart for supporting moms and believe to my core that we are better together and that better moms make a better world. This is why I created Boise With Kids back in January. I wanted to create a space that families could turn to whenever they had a local kid-related question. Questions like: Where can we sign up for swim lessons? What parks are good for toddlers? Where can I find affordable kids clothing? What is there to do downtown? How do I meet “mom” friends? And so much more.
As Boise With Kids continues to grow, the more answers you’ll be able to find here. So please, PLEASE spread the word! The more families we get involved, the better this resource will become. Promise.
- Subscribe to www.boisewithkids.com to get all new posts emailed directly to you so that you don’t miss any new info. (THIS ISN’T TRUE ANYMORE – BUT YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE AND GET OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS AT BOISEWITHKIDS.COM/SUBSCRIBE)
- Follow us on Instagram and be sure to like, comment, share and save posts that really hit home for you. The whole “algorithm” thing is no joke and if you don’t “engage” with Boise With Kids over there then you’ll stop seeing it in you feed!
- Join us on Facebook by following our Page and engaging in the Boise With Kids Group where you can share about local events, activities and services.
If you’re a local business or organization that is looking to reach local families – get in touch with me! Let’s work together to promote all of the amazing opportunities available to our community. My email is becca@boisewithkids.com“
Oh! I just remembered I wrote a BWK is Two recap blog last year – check that out here! Year two was full of big changes!
Okay, I’d regret it if I didn’t take a little look back at the past year and celebrate some highlights. Here goes (in no particular order)…
- By the end of 2024…
- There are 890 Instagram posts, 17.1K IG followers, the Boise With Kids Facebook page has around 2.3K followers but the Facebook GROUP has over 10.8K members, there are almost 3K weekly roundup newsletter subscribers with more being added daily and the website has almost 230 blog posts/articles!
- The website got a huge makeover in the Fall as it moved from Wix.com to WordPress.com with the help of the local team at Valice. So thankful to have experts guide me through all fo the technology issues that come my way!
- Our “Best in Boise With Kids Directory” launched on October 1 and features TONS of local businesses that serve local families. I LOVE this new Directory and what a “one stop shop” it really is. I am excited to expand it and add more and more throughout the years!
- The Events Calendar is continuously the most visited page on the website. I hired a friend to help manage it and she’s done an amazing job keeping it up to date, answering emails at events@boisewithkids.com and helping me prep the events section of the weekly newsletter! Thank you, Paige!
- My friend Kim of @idahoadventuremom and I celebrated two years of hosting our monthly, no-agenda “Moms/Ladies Night Out” events and are still going strong! We’ve hit up tons of local bars + restaurants but also enjoyed some outdoor adventures and a couple trips to The Springs in Idaho City in 2024.
I cannot thank you enough for being here and supporting this business of mine! It has been a joy to serve our local community and I’m forever grateful and honored by the opportunity.
I’d love to beef up the team this year. If you’re interested in helping me write blogs, create content for social media, help me connect with local businesses and sponsors or have other gifts and talents to share – let me know! I’m confident there are exciting things ahead!
With love and gratitude,
Becca
