Boise, Idaho is home to urban professionals, retirees, and growing families desiring larger city amenities with the down-to-earth charm of a small community. Additionally, Boise offers Idahoans natural beauty with awe-inspiring, rolling foothills, treed parks, the Boise River, the Boise River Greenbelt system and Ridge to Rivers; all of which contribute to a thriving family-friendly and outdoor lifestyle.

To explore Boise life up-close, we interviewed the Cruz family: Adam, Amber, and their three adorable kids (Cate, 8; Navin, 4; and Zoe, 2). Adam and Amber invite us into their new Boise home to give us a glimpse of their life and what they enjoy most about living in Boise, Idaho. 

Here are highlights of their family story:

The night we bought the house, we laid on the pool chairs out back and laughed out loud together as we watched the sun set over the backyard. We said, “Can you believe we just got this home?” It was such a great feeling. That night we could see all the memories that were about to be made.

Our home's backyard captured our eye, and heart, the moment we saw it. We fill our days in the pool and hot tub. We turn on the water feature and watch the sunset without any back neighbors. 

Along with String Birthday, Amber does a great job of surprising us with random love notes. She often wakes up before us and, to our surprise, we find thoughtful notes on our doors

We eat dinner as a family most nights on our new table. Its a new favorite spot to eat and share about our days. 

Our backyard is where we spend most of our time playing and resting. 

Riding bikes on the Boise Greenbelt, in the sunshine, all day; and, of course finding something good to eat along the way.

Tuesday night is family night. We attempt to experience something that we haven’t done in a while. A walk to a new neighborhood, a new restaurant, bowling, or a craft night. One of our favorite family nights is playing Sorry. 

Cate loves writing story books and reading. Navin will play with cars and trunks until the sun comes up. Zoe enjoys destroying all the things Cate and Navin build and then finding a good book to read.

 

Our favorite vacation destination is Bend, Oregon. No agenda, great food and walkability, along with bike riding and hiking. On a past trip, we nearly ran out of gas getting there because, well, your in the middle of Oregon. We stayed in an Airbnb near the Deschutes river. We would wake up everyday and walk over to Active Culture and got Acai bowls.

Thank you so much for opening up your home to our readers, and for sharing about your family and traditions. As a community, we believe that we can grow by becoming inspired by the traditions and lifestyles of other families. We can and learn so much from each other! We also have a tradition of sharing family favorite meals. Do you have a favorite family recipe that you would like to share?