Family of 7 Sells It All + Finds Balance in Bus Life Adventure

She Who Wanders

Jan 25

A convo with Anna from The Roberts Were Here

Meet Anna. Wife and mom of 5, Anna is the epitome of an adventure mom. Seeking a more intentional life for her family, she and her husband renovated a school bus and hit the road in 2019, with a goal of seeing all 48 lower states, Alaska and the 63 National Parks. Having dreamed of full-time travel as a kid, Anna is passionate about experiencing the world, diving deep into culture + learning, and serving others with compassion. She is a photographer and storyteller at heart, loves homeschooling her 5 kids, taking them on adventures, teaching them healthy habits and how to live a vibrant life of learning and exploration. Anna is an inspiration to dream big, believe that anything is possible, and live every single day to the fullest.

mom in overallas stands near water @therobertswerehere Anna Roberts

Q: Tell us a little about you and your family like where you’re from, where you live now, how old are your kids and anything interesting or unique you’d like people to know.

We’re from Kansas City, MO. Michael and I were both homeschooled and met through an athletics program. We got married at ages 20 and 19, stayed in the KC area, and had 5 kids. Elise is 13, Micah is 11, Elijah is 9 and Jude is almost 7. We thought we were done having kids and then nearly 5 years later (after having 4 kids in 6 years!) Nora surprised/blessed us in the middle of our school bus conversion! She will be 2 on January 2nd.

Q: The Great Wanderlust is all about moms stepping outside of the box and diving deeper in both travel and in life! The mission is to inspire mamas and families to feel fully alive through adventure and exploration! What is your great wanderlust? What most makes you come to life??

I feel alive being active in nature. I love to move and go and stay strong and healthy. The first long camping trip we did with the kids was six days at the Great Sand Dunes, and I remember I kept saying “I get to be outside for over 100 hours straight!!” 😆 What REALLY makes me come to life is the combination of those things with new experiences. I’m that person that rarely wants to watch a movie more than once (with a few exceptions). I want to watch one I haven’t seen before. New places, challenges and experiences excite me!! That would be my great wanderlust. For some it’s not about a checklist - that may ruin it for them. But the list in my mind is always growing and keeps me motivated in the best way. Thinking about it and getting to try all these new adventures and explore all these new places is incredibly exciting for me! There are of course also places that I love to go back to. 😉

kids in front of white bus skoolie @therobertswerehere Anna Roberts

Q: As an introvert, what does it look like to keep your energy levels up while living in such a small space. How do you find time + space to recharge on the daily?
I have to be very intentional about finding time alone for my mental health. To find daily time takes the regular effort of getting to bed at a decent time and not looking at screens in bed so I can get up early before everyone else. My regular routine would be to be up by 5AM and have time to workout, spend time in prayer, and have a post-workout shake on my own without anyone asking to share it ha. This gets very tricky while traveling full time because we don’t normally stay in one place for months at a time. It’s a learned combination of consistency + flexibility. Beyond that, 1-2 times a month (hopefully) Michael will find places to take the kids (the park, library, beach, etc.) and give me the whole day to myself. Most of the time I’m working or cleaning and/or meal prepping, but it’s still very helpful to me. Next year I would like to make more of an effort to spend some of that alone time out in nature.

kids overlook new york city from central park @therobertswerehere Anna Roberts

Q: From your perspective, what are some of the biggest perks to full-time skoolie travel? What about the biggest challenges?

The biggest perk is that we would have never been able to see and do all the things we’re doing had we not made our home a place that has wheels and can take us all over. Sure, gas can be a big expense depending on how much you move, but you drop so many other bills. No rent or mortgage (we boondock the majority of the time or find very inexpensive campgrounds if we absolutely have to), no utilities or property tax, your lifestyle and minimal space causes you to spend even less money on stuff, etc.

The biggest challenges for us are keeping up with work, school, working out and eating healthy home-cooked meals (as opposed to quick pre-made things from the store. We rarely eat out and only if it’s something special and unique to the area we’re in) while traveling full time and still having all of the regular responsibilities of a family. Those things require consistency and planning. Our big goal is to get to the lower 48 states (and hopefully Alaska) with the bus and the 63 National Parks (as many as we can in the bus anyway) so we’re definitely not sitting stationary much, which makes everything mentioned above even more challenging. On the upside, you really have to learn to be even more intentional about those things if you want to keep up with them.

mom with toddler in baby carrier hiking Anna Roberts @therobertswerehere

Q: What type of schooling do your kids do and what are some of your favorite resources that help you make it happen?

We were already homeschooling prior to full-time travel. We liked the curriculum (My Father’s World) we were using so we stuck with it. This curriculum uses a combination of Charlotte Mason and classical approaches, with an emphasis on “living books” for history, science (which we have been able to use along with the places we are traveling to) and character building. The curriculum also includes work in reading, writing and English. We use Right Start Math for math. We do school year round because we take longer breaks through the year instead of all at once. We’re flexible and things can change depending on where we are and what we’re doing, but our school week is usually four days, Friday to Sunday, leaving time to explore during the week with less crowds. We do our best to keep our school days at around 3 hours (sometimes 4 for the two older kids). There’s so much learning that comes naturally from traveling! The places you go and people you meet! The National Park Service and Junior Ranger Program is one of the greatest educational resources on the road.

family of 7 lives in skoolie @therobertswerehere Anna Roberts

Q: Some people can’t imagine living such an unconventional lifestyle, but you guys seem to do it so confidently! Do you ever have doubts/fears? If so, how do you stay focused on your goals/values in the midst of them?

I was raised a bit unconventionally pretty much from the beginning by being homeschooled in a time where it was still a little “weird.” My parents were also eating really healthy and teaching us about health before the health food movement really gained steam. I can’t relate at all to what the average American my age was eating as a kid. These are just examples of what my childhood was like in a couple areas, and I’m grateful for it. My parents taught me, not necessarily to be skeptical, but to do my own research and learn the knowledge for myself. To not blindly follow the crowd. This thinking also led me to use a midwife and doula and have a completely intervention-free first birth at a hospital and then home births with my other four (Nora being born in the bus!).

As a kid I begged my dad to buy an RV so we could sell our house and travel the USA! So, while it’s definitely not always easy, living an unconventional lifestyle was a very easy choice for me and I do credit my upbringing for a lot of that. My main doubts and fears come as a mom. I try to be so intentional in my parenting and even though I see the benefits of this lifestyle I do have doubts and get mom guilt sometimes, mostly with my older kids, wondering and hoping that I’m not doing the wrong thing for them. That’s the part of me that is very passionate and intentional and driven to do my very best. I have to remind myself how intentional I am in being a good example, working to show them a different way, keeping the communication open, knowing who they are, seeking advice/wisdom, etc. and those silly doubts are just that, silly doubts!

Q: What characteristics do you want to see develop the most in your kids by raising them in this adventurous way? How are you already seeing those come out in them?

I hope they remember this as one of the greatest adventures of their lives. Qualities I have seen grow in my kids from our travel/outdoor lifestyle: bravery and courage, physical and mental strength, learning languages, history, geography, architecture, and more, firsthand. Learning first-hand about the beautiful diversity in the world, confidence and flexibility, collecting moments/memories and not things and that they can do hard things!

Q: Someday when you decide to move on from skoolie life to your next big adventure, what do you think that might be? What other big dreams do you have? (or can you not even imagine living a different lifestyle than the one you are now?:)

We don’t plan to do the bus life “forever,” but we want to keep traveling and living in a more unconventional way. We have dreams to explore other parts of the world. I also have dreams of converting a boat (like a smaller ferry boat or something similar) into a home and/or building a treehouse to live in! We always want to be in a place where it’s easier to get outside and be active. Whatever we do, I don't think it will be considered “normal.” Ha!

Anna Roberts @therobertswerehere boy in mountain lake with lifejacket on paddleboard in the background

Q: What would be your biggest piece of advice for a mom who wants to make a lifestyle change and get out of the rat race and into more adventures with her family, but is afraid + unsure how to start?

Balance should be my middle name because my advice always seems to go back to that word! I am always finding the balance to most things. While it’s important to see the big picture and plan for the future, it can be daunting to focus only on that, debilitating even sometimes. Find the balance. Know where you want to get to but focus on the one thing you can do right now. If my health is getting off track and it all feels overwhelming, I start with water for several days. Just making sure I get all of the water I need in a day, everyday. When I feel like I have that down, I add something else. Sometimes it’s a giant “baby step” like buying an old school bus without knowing what to do, where to go or pretty much anything else! And sometimes it’s finding the closest and simplest trail and getting your kids in the habit of hiking it. Purchasing used/inexpensive kayaks as experience gifts for your family instead of “things.” Planning ahead to prioritize a family outing (bike ride, kayaking, hike) on the weekend.

We all started at the beginning. Most of us didn’t have the perfect situation. Before what you see on our social media account, it was me taking my kids to natural trails, ponds, parks, and bike rides around the neighborhood, in between nap times. Some weekends we all took small camping trips. And then we found longer local trails, borrowed a friend's canoe a few times a year and tried indoor rock climbing. And it grew from there. Decide on one thing you can/want to start doing now, do it as consistently as you can with grace for yourself, and grow from there.

Q: Is there a question you wish I would have asked or anything else you’d like to share with other mamas relating to travel or life?

Don’t be afraid to reach out to others on social media! Sometimes I get messages from people and I can tell they feel like maybe they’re imposing or we don’t have time to answer their message. Not the case! We love to help if we can and even meet up if we’re in the area.

Q: Who inspires you to dig deeper in travel and life?

Oh wow, too many to name! We constantly feel inspired from others and find something to learn from them.

First recommendations off the top of my head: