-Well hello there-
We are so excited you clicked your way to this page!
We are the Klasnicks—a family of 5 on a lifelong journey of shaking things up, recalculating what matters most to us, and doing whatever it takes to live our dreams out loud.
Now we have to be honest… things didn’t always look this way. Our vision hasn’t been so crystal clear in the past (and we are still learning and growing today and that’s all right). We spent many years checking things off the list. You know the one… the list you write out in early adulthood that clearly covers the essentials for a life of happiness (a Fortune 500 job, 2 kids, a big house in the suburbs, a cushy retirement account). We’d checked off all the things one by one. These were all the things that were supposed to make us happy, so why did we feel so unfulfilled? We couldn’t shrug off this feeling of wanting something more, something different, for our family. A whole new change in perspective.
Enter Recalculating Happiness
We made a new checklist. We stopped living for what we thought we “should” have at a particular stage in life. We made a new list with our family of 5 at the forefront. We prioritized seeing one another more, homeschooling, and traveling with Matt. We realized there was more to life than a job that left Matt drained week after week; we needed to grow as a family leaving corporate America behind. We dipped into our savings and embarked on a 9-month journey around the world as we explored new cultures and experienced different ways of living. We sold the house in the suburbs, along with most of our belongings, and simplified our lives. We started a business and learned what life was like outside of corporate America. We moved to a small town in the mountains of Colorado and slowed it down. All because we thought it was possible.
Plain and simple,
we wake up every morning to experience life in a new way, with new priorities in mind. It hasn’t been easy or perfect but the journey has been full. So, so full. And you know, we realized, you should love the life you live.
Jessica
Hi, I’m Jessica! I like to think that I am the mastermind behind all our shenanigans. I am always dreaming big and finding ways to get my hunky husband to buy into it all. He always knows I’ve been scheming when I enter the room and say, “So honey, I was thinking…” Before kids, I crushed it in the corporate world. Fast-paced environments, 60 hour work weeks, #1 in sales, extravagant award trips.
But once our first son came along, I transitioned into staying at home and eventually homeschooling our 3 boys. Now, I am more invested in teaching them to live bigger, balance out the junk food with green smoothies, laugh at themselves, know when to apologize, and love more each day. When I am not busy planning our next adventure, you can find me practicing kundalini yoga, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, organizing something, or watching House Hunters International. I want to say, at the end of this life, “I died young at an old age.”
Matt
Hey there! Matt here. I am a quality over quantity kind of guy. What gets me out of bed every morning? Making a positive impact on the people I spend time with and seeking new adventures. I hate small talk but I know how to get down to the heart of the matter. My wife considers me to be the worst movie picker ever but my taste in music makes up for it (think The Beatles, The Grateful Dead and Widespread Panic).
I was a Director at the world’s largest investment firm but the near 1,000 hotel nights away from my family over ten years traveling was taking its toll. I was missing too much, Christmas plays, baseball playoffs, sitting down for family dinners. So I found a way to take my family on the road with me. I found a way to manage conference calls in hotel lobbies while the kids were fast asleep in the hotel room and planned meetings while they were doing school as we traveled across the country. As a family, we’ve changed and now I’m convinced that real life is found in making memories, trying new things every day, and being open-minded to seeing things from a different perspective. Here’s to new possibilities!
the boys
Luke
AKA (also known as): The Blue River Sherpa, Lukey
Secret Powers: Ability to withstand extremely cold temperatures and extremely sour candy, memory to rival Forrest Gump, early morning kind of a guy that always pops out of bed with a smile, cliff jumping and extreme skiing
Faves: Reading fact books (Guinness Book of World Records), watching Warren Miller films, daydreaming, laughing out loud at his own jokes, eating fancy cheese
Eli
AKA (also known as): Buddy, Duncan, “E”
Secret Powers: Unstoppable dance moves, professional cuddler, killer ski style, a memory bank of football stats, staying up late (a night owl!)
Faves: All things chocolate and chocolatey, chicken wings aficionado, Seinfeld, holding babies
James
AKA (also known as): Jimmy Matt, Jimbo
Secret Power: Eating five tacos in one sitting, giving the best hugs around, helping his momma in the kitchen, skiing double black diamonds
Faves: Animals (and animals facts), keeping up with his brothers, beating us all in chess