Recent Blog Articles

Wanderlust 2: Jon's Response

Jonathan Longnecker / August 31, 2014

Psst...If you haven't read the original Wanderlust post in which Ashley totally calls me out and asks me if we can travel around the country in an RV, check it out here. Back? Ok, read on:

First, I want to say that Ashley didn't just spring this on me out of nowhere. We've talking about this for a year or two. If you had asked me 5 years ago what I thought about selling nearly everything we own, getting an RV and traveling around the country with 4 kids I'd say that sounded insane. Like, really insane. Now? I'm not so sure.

Anyway. I'm very different from my wife. She's the free spirit, I'm the planner. Lucky for her, though, I can still get swept up the big ideas before diving back down into the details. And let me tell you - those big ideas resonate with me. Traveling the country, not having a mortgage, being free of our stuff, adventuring, meeting new people, giving our kids a unique and amazing education - it sounds awesome.

Even though I dig my routines and familiarities there's something deep inside of me that is drawn to ripping myself and my family out of our consumer culture.

A couple of years ago I read a book by Seth Godin called Linchpin. In it he talks about how the industrial revolution changed our society - public schools were created so they could have minimally trained, compliant workers for the factories. Not individuals. Not entrepreneurs. Not artists. Not engineers or lawyers or doctors. Replaceable cogs in the big machine. Suburbs sprung up around the schools and within one generation we had created a consumer culture. One generation was all it took to make the focus of our lives be about buying things we usually couldn't afford anyway. We homeschool our kids for a number of reasons, but mainly because we don't believe in what our education system - public or private - is based on.

And yet here we are living in a very nice house crammed up against 400 other houses in a little suburb in East Knoxville. Can we really make our kids question this whole "American Dream" thing if we aren't questioning it ourselves? My discontent has been bubbling up for a while now, longing for something more - something different. Something based not on what I can buy, but what I can experience with my family.

So yeah - I'm really, really interested in this whole traveling full-time thing. I get it. I feel it.

And then my detail-oriented, planner/thinking self kicks in and I start stressing out. Because let's face it - this is a huge, life-altering direction. We'd be leaving our nearby family, throwing ourselves into all kinds of weird and uncomfortable situations, being crammed into a tiny space all the time, getting rid of our house and all our stuff - which we've been accumulating the last 10 years.

That's a lot to lose.

Is the loss worth the gain?

We're not sure yet, but we're talking, researching and investigating. Next post we'll share with you a pros & cons list we came up with trying to work through all these big questions. Stay tuned!  

Image courtesy Artur Pokusin via Unsplash.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video

Jonathan Longnecker / August 28, 2014

Guys. We are the biggest ninja turtle nerd family you've ever met. Seriously.

All 4 of my kids love the turtles - and each have chosen their favorite. Jett likes Leonardo the leader, Adali likes Donatello the scientist, Jax likes Michelangelo the fun one, and Ada likes Raph the hothead. It's actually kind of weird how much the turtles parallel our kids. Anyway.

We've watched just about every episode of every season of every incarnation of the Turtles, seen the movies (yes, even the new one!) and we're addicted to the toys.

When Nickelodeon bought the rights to TMNT several years ago I had no idea the Turtles would be back with such a vengeance. But it's pretty awesome to be able to share a love for something you had as a kid with your own kids. Of course, now that the Ninja Turtles are everywhere again, so are the toys.

I'm pretty sure we have every one they've made. We watch toy fairs to see when the next characters are coming out. Guys, we have a problem. To be fair - the Playmates toys are actually really good quality and pretty cheap for what you're getting. They're a good size and lots of fun to play with. Unlike the tiny little super hero toys they make that are nearly twice as expensive and no fun to play with.

I didn't want our kids to have all these toys and just play with them occasionally. I wanted to teach them how to make something awesome with what they have. So naturally we made a Ninja Turtle Video.

We hope you like it! We had a blast making it :)

Wanderlust

Ashley Longnecker / August 27, 2014

It's no secret that I'm a bit of a hippie.  I'm a dread lock wearing,  oil loving, kombucha drinking, Whole30 eating girl that has a desire to minimize and simplify my family's life.

I get rid of toys if my kids haven't touched them in about 6 months.  We only get our kids one or two pairs of pants/shorts and enough shirts to get through most of a  week without doing laundry.  Our kids have a pair of flip flops and a pair of Chucks and that's their shoe options.  We keep things simple.  We make our own laundry soap.  We make art for our home.  We make our own tables.  I cut our kids' hair and Jonathan's hair.  

We try to keep our lives free of clutter and extra activities so we can spend time together as a family.  I highly doubt we will look back at our lives when our kids are old and grown and say, "man, I wish I would have sent them to school/daycare so I could have worked." or "I wish we didn't spend so much time with our kids".  

I see so many people rushing around with their kids trying to get them to every sporting event, and every activity they get invited to, every piano or guitar lesson (or both).  Makes me exhausted just listening to their busy lives.  Which brings me to my next crazy idea (and yes, I have many of them).

I want to travel.  I want to take at least 2 years with my family and travel.  I want to see the US.  I want to travel to lots of beaches and national parks and waterfalls.  I want our kids to experience this country we live in.  I have only seen a handful of the states and I would love to make my way through at least half of them in those 2 years with my family.  I have researched, and researched for quite some time.  

I've listened to podcasts, read blogs, talked to people who have traveled full-time with their families.  If Jonathan told me today that he's ready, I would have a for sale sign in our yard tomorrow and all our items on craigslist tonight.  I would sell it all and go right now.  I have an idea of the route I would want to take and places I want to go first.  I've priced travel trailers and fifth wheels and trucks to pull fifth wheels.  I've researched how to paint the inside of the trailer so it would feel more like home. I've researched healthy cooking over camp fires and how to make some money on the road.  Jonathan can work from anywhere with good internet and I can figure out how to sell some homemade items for extra cash along the way.

I want to go.  I want to meet people with the same interests that we have.  I want to meet people who want to go and experience life with their families in tow.  I don't want to wait until our kids are grown and gone.  I want to see the world through their eyes and learn with them. I want to see their faces when they see Niagra Falls, and NYC and I want to be there with them when they see the giant Red Woods.

I want to be there when Jonathan lets them start their first fire or teaches them how use a compass.  I want to be there when he teaches them to play the guitar.  I want to listen to them sing a song they made up around a camp fire.  I want to watch the movies that they will make when we're on the road and listen to the stories they write about their experiences.  I want to live life with them and I want to make every day a family adventure.

I'm ready to go, are you, Jonathan?  

FIVE!

Ashley Longnecker / August 25, 2014

Guys! We only have 5 more days on our first Whole30 journey.  I can't even believe it.  If you don't count the few times I ran to my room crying at the smell of fresh pizza, cookies, and biscuits, and waffles... then I'd say we've done really well.

Eating clean is hard when you have picky kids.  On one hand I want them to be super healthy and conscious of what they eat, but on the other hand I don't want them to stress out over if they have had one too many bananas in the day, or if they should eat a chocolate chip cookie because they have already eaten a granola bar that day.  I want them to be kids.  I want them to play.  I want them to be carefree and enjoy their childhood.

In the meantime I can be a good example and teach them how to cook a healthier version of spaghetti, or a healthier version of chocolate chip cookies. They'll learn by what we do, not by what we preach at them.  

Be a good example for your kids today.  Choose an apple over that banana muffin, but do it with a smile. Then go outside and beat them in a good game of kickball!

Flash Sale: Give What You've Been Given Shirts 50% Off!

Jonathan Longnecker / August 21, 2014

Hey friends! We're clearing out inventory in out shirt store so we can start working on some new projects. First up are our Give What You've Been Given shirts. Starting today both the men and the women's versions are 50% off! Whooo!! Just head on over to the store and grab one before we run out.

You guys rock!

Jonathan & Ashley