Alexa PenaVega opened up about how her Tennessee farm life with husband Carlos PenaVega and their three kids is the “polar opposite” to the glitz and glamor of Hollywood.
“I love [that] we’re very outdoor[sy] people,” Alexa, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, June 24, while spending the day volunteering with the Salvation Army. “My kids were raised on the island [in Hawaii] for a long time, and then we lived on a boat, and now we’re on a farm in Tennessee. So, we’re very outdoorsy, but if you think about it, they’re living such a wild life, they go from living on a tour bus [with their dad’s group Big Time Rush], and traveling, and touring, and being on movie sets.”
She went on, “So, when we’re home, I wanted [life] to be the polar opposite of that. And this is kind of what we live in. They experience this, they’re riding their little motocross bikes in the backyard, and pet chickens, and hopefully we’re getting a cow soon. Just fun life stuff.”
Alexa and Carlos, 36, moved their family out of Hollywood in 2017, first to Maui and later to a farm in Nashville. The couple share Ocean King, 9, Kingston James, 6, and Rio Rey, 5.
This summer, Alexa and her Spy Kids costar Daryl Sabara are partnering with the Salvation Army for the charitable organization’s program to provide access to camps and daycare for thousands of children across the country at little or no cost to families.
Alexa and Sabara, 34, will surprise kids ages 8-12 throughout the summer with some spy-inspired activities in honor of the 25th anniversary of their iconic movie Spy Kids. These outings are designed to encourage teamwork, creativity, and fun in the young campers while introducing a new generation to the classic 2001 movie.
“[Salvation Army] helps 28 million people across the U.S. every year, and then learning about the summer camps, they help almost half a million kids every year with their summer camp program,” Sabara told Us. “Like, there are so many different facets of the Salvation Army that we’re still learning about, even today.”
Alexa concurred, saying, “If there is a need, Salvation, I guarantee you, has a way to have it met, and they’re just really special. But with this camp in particular … I think there are about like 150 kids at this particular camp [we’re visiting], but for a lot of families across the U.S., one summer camp is really, really expensive. Most families cannot [afford it].”
The former costars agreed that a key value of the Salvation Army’s free or low-cost summer programs for kids is that most other camps are “just too much money” for families these days.
“Once school ends for these families, it’s really hard for them, because they’re like, ‘Okay, what am I going to do about childcare?’ Because the parents still have to work, money is tight, but they don’t want their kids to be stuck at home all day, so these summer camps run all across the U.S.” Alexa pointed out. “They’re at little to no cost to these families, and it’s because of amazing people who are making donations to the Salvation Army, whether it’s financially, whether it’s donating their time, or different kind of things to Salvation Army.”
She added, “So, there are a lot of different ways to give. If you go to the Salvation Army, they have a whole list of how you can become part of the Salvation Army family and give back to do good.”
The pair have also started to introduce their own children to Spy Kids. (Sabara and his wife, Meghan Trainor, share three children: Riley Thomas, 5, Barry Bruce, 2, and Mikey Moon, 5 months.)
“My oldest has seen it, and he’s into it,” Sabara told Us of Spy Kids. “He’s just kind of in disbelief, he just keeps looking at me, and then looking at the screen, and be[ing] like, ‘Wait, that’s that’s you?” And I’m like, ‘Yeah, dude, I don’t get it either, but that was me,’ but yeah, it’s so fun to watch him watch those movies and see what he’s interested [in].”
Alexa confirmed that her three little ones are Spy Kids fans too. She also offered her thoughts on why the franchise continues to resonate after 25 years.
“I think for a lot of kids they’re just like, ‘Oh my gosh, I could be that, or maybe my parents are spies,’” she pointed out. “It just kind of is exciting, and it was very exciting [to make the movies]. It teaches beautiful lessons and values. So I think for a lot of different families, all walks of life.”
She concluded, “We were a Hispanic family too, which there were not a lot of films with like a multicultural family in the forefront, and I think that was special too. It just really stood out on all fronts and kind of broke the barriers at the time, and it just lasted. People are loving it, still!”
