Alexa PenaVega opened up about how her farming life in Tennessee with husband Carlos PenaVega and their three children are the “polar opposite” of Hollywood’s glitz and glamour.
“I love (that) we’re very outdoorsy (sewing) people,” Alexa, 37, told exclusively 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 outdoors a lot, but if you think about it, they live such wild lives, going from living on a tour bus (with their dad’s band Big Time Rush), to traveling and being on set and touring.”
She continued, “So when we’re home, I wanted (life) to be the opposite of that. And that’s kind of what we’re living in. They’re experiencing this, they’re riding their little motocross bikes in the backyard and petting chickens, and hopefully we’ll have a cow soon. Just fun life things.”
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.
Twenty-five years after saving the world as sibling secret agents, Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara look back on their Spy Kids journey with nothing but fond memories. “It’s honestly the opposite of the horror stories you hear. It was real,” PenaVega, 37, told Us Weekly exclusively as she reflected on her experience as (…)
This summer, Alexa and her Spy Kids costs Daryl Sabara partners with the Salvation Army for the charity’s program to provide access to camps and day care for thousands of children across the country at little or no cost to families.
Alexa and Sabara, 34, will surprise kids ages 8-12 all summer with some spy-inspired activities in honor of the 25th anniversary of their iconic film Spy Kids. These excursions are designed to promote teamwork, creativity and fun in the young campers while introducing a new generation to the classic 2001 film.
“(The Salvation Army) helps 28 million people across the United States every year, and then they learn about the summer camps, they help almost half a million kids every year with their summer camp program,” Sabara said. Us. “Like there are so many different facets of the Salvation Army that we’re still learning about, even today.”
Alexa agreed, saying, “If there’s a need, Salvation, I guarantee you, has a way to meet it, and they’re just really special. But with this camp in particular…I think there’s about 150 kids at this particular camp (we visit), but for a lot of families across the United States, a summer camp is really, really expensive. Most families can’t afford it).”
Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega.
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesThe former members agreed that a key value of the Salvation Army’s free or low-cost summer programs for children 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 over the United States,” Alexa pointed out. “They cost little to no cost to these families, and that’s because of amazing people who make donations to The Salvation Army, whether it’s financially, whether it’s donating their time or different kinds of things to The Salvation Army.”
She added: “So there are many 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 couple has also started introducing their own children to Spy Kids. (Sabara and his wife, Meghan Trainorshare three children: Riley Thomas, 5, Barry Bruce, 2, and Mikey Moon, 5 months.)
“My oldest has seen it and he’s into it,” Sabara shared Us of Spy Kids. “He’s just kind of in disbelief, he just keeps looking at me and then at the screen and says, ‘Wait, is that you?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, dude, I don’t get it either, but it was me,’ but yeah, it’s so fun to watch him watch those movies and see what he’s into (in).
Alexa PenaVega and Carlos PenaVega support Salvation Army USA.
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty TrustAlexa 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 god, I could be, or maybe my parents are spies,'” she pointed out. “It’s just kind of exciting, and it was very exciting (making the movies). It teaches beautiful lessons and values. So I think about a lot of different families, all walks of life.”
She concluded, “We were also a Hispanic family, which there weren’t a lot of movies with as a multicultural family at 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 love it, still!”
