• My husband and I met in high school, and we moved from a small rural farming town to the coast of California in 1989. We had a 1967 VW Bus and a brand-new Nissan Sentra. Surf and beach days became a way of life.
• Camping, mountain biking, yoga, and learning about holistic health were an integral part of our lifestyle. Backpacking 11 miles into Sykes Hot Springs in Big Sur, taking a 2.5-month “bicycle gypsy” tour ... we rode our bikes from Eugene, Oregon, to Bend, Oregon, and back to the coast of Oregon and down the California coast.
• At age 20, I taught myself to swim laps as part of completing a triathlon sprint. Yoga was a regular part of my life, and I had the privilege to first learn from Shoosh https://yogawithshoosh.com/ . . . and later take a yoga instructor intensive training program with Peter Sterios. https://levityoga.com/peter-sterios-welcome-and-biography/
• I became a fitness instructor, teaching classes like Step, Stretching with Seniors, and Circuit Training. Taking Physiology in college helped me understand that exercise helps everything!
  
• Business became a focus as I completed my AA in Business Administration, along with taking every Early Childhood Education course I could at our local community college.
  
• With our kids coming along beginning in 1994 … we launched the next phase of life of growing a family and being active in programs that helped the kids over the years, such as gymnastics, Junior Lifeguards, scouting programs, church youth groups, swim team, water polo, and more. The dance team became a way of life for 10 years as the girls were involved in competition hip hop, ballet, jazz, tap, and musical theater. Shout out to our peeps at Ryan's American Dance!
  
• In 1996, we started Finn Plumbing Inc. and throughout our "raising kids and family" phase of life, we balanced work and fun with me staying at home managing the office, marketing, admin, accounting, and more.
  
• Unexpected challenges such as health and medical emergencies, 9/11, the 2006 thru 2009 real estate crash, coronavirus shutdown, inflation, and all the macro/micro economics that go along with all that, taught us to be resourceful, flexible, efficient, effective, resilient, and innovative. We had to "bob and weave" through what came at us. Rise above. Strengthen the ties that bind. Grow spiritually. We had, and still have, many mentors. We learned that there were "pillars" in society, and we became pillars too ... steadfast like a lighthouse for our families and others. We learned to stay the course and steer the ship. Our equilibrium would go off, and we learned how to get back into balance. We found opportunity through chaos.
• Homeschooling, private school, public school, community colleges, and universities have all been part of our unique approach to education, identifying what was right for us at different points in time.
• The arts, music, dance, clean comedy, time in nature, good food, spiritual life and discernment, good friends, and family time have always been important to us.
  
• Growing up in the 70s, going through high school in the 80s, and early adulthood in the 90s …we have experienced a lot of changes in technology and the way people communicate. We celebrate the retro as classic, and we embrace the new technologies as ways of increasing quality of life and leaving our legacies.
  
• We know the power of having "grit" in life and the power of knowing how to deal with disappointment, unexpected challenges, and change. When it all falls apart, we learn to pick it all up and go forward.
  
• Now that the kids are grown, we look forward to our next phase of life, and we look forward to growing the Earth Adventures For Kids collections and community into a brand for all as a way of life, health, and wellness.
  

Join the crew. Use the tools.

Our tools and systems are time-tested. You may find them eclectic, original, and unique; presented in a way where you are not sure who designed everything, a kid or an adult! From our "family raising experience," our tools and systems are comprehensive and designed so you can tailor them to fit your needs.

We are not experts, and we have never been perfect - but we have learned a few things about implementing the regular disciplines of a life well lived. Life was not always easy for us. In my early 20s, I read the books "First Things First" and “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey, which impacted me, inspiring me to live my best life. As Stephen Covey said, “Begin with the end in mind” and put "first things first."

Being a person who has lived this mindset for over 30 years - I say, whatever the past has been, learn from it and move on. See your future. Define your destination. Chart your course and steer the ship. Every day, you create your legacy. Keep moving forward. The time is now.

All the Best and Aloha Every Day,

- Nan