While they fell in love in the California desert, Kareena and Landon Sheely have made a home, and a family, nearly two thousand miles away.
For the past ten years, Landon, an artist and tattoo artist, and Kareena, a stay-at-home mom who also sells vintage clothing and items she’s sewn or knitted, have lived in La Crosse. They moved to Wisconsin to be closer to Landon’s family, but have since found community and welcomed their daughter Emilia to a place that’s become dear to both of them.
Kareena shares more.
Where did you and Landon each grow up?
Landon is from La Crosse, grew up here for the most part, and then his family moved to Lansing, Michigan. I grew up in in a little southern California desert town, San Jacinto. We met on the Fourth of July in 2008 in my hometown and the rest is history! We got married April 2009, where we lived together in Los Angeles at the time.
What do you like most about living in Wisconsin now?
We love living in La Crosse. I always tell people that the Driftless Area is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been! We enjoy being outside and this area is perfect for that. Hiking, biking, kayaking — it’s all accessible without having to drive hours away. We also have a really great friend group and community here. Something that feels pretty special.
How old is your daughter and what are some of her favorite things to do at this age?
Emilia is four! I can’t believe it but it’s true. She learned how to bike without training wheels this summer, so biking has been on the top for things she enjoys. She really loves coloring, doing crafts, unicorns, dinosaurs, hiking, reading books together, asking us how to spell things so she can write them down, trips to the library … the list can go on and on but mostly she’s pretty excited to do anything.
What’s a typical weekend like for your family?
A typical weekend for us always starts with pancakes! It’s something we started doing at the beginning of the pandemic and it’s just kinda stuck. We like to get outside, maybe go on a hike, walk to the library, go to a park. If it’s too cold out we usually just stay cozy and watch movies, do puzzles, give Emilia a popsicle to eat in the bath, take it easy.
What is home like for you and your family? How do you like it to feel and why?
We live in an apartment above a bicycle shop! We really love it and I’m sure they really love the constant footsteps of a four-year-old running around all day. We like our home to feel bright and open, with art and music and books around. Most everything Emilia would need to draw or make a craft is accessible to her for her to grab, and I think that contributes to independence and creativity. That’s important to us. And of course there are times we’ve had to childproof certain things for certain ages, but currently this is what is working for us and its really fun to see what she makes!
What are the best parts about raising a child in Wisconsin? What are the challenges?
I didn’t grow up hiking or biking on beautiful trails like we have here, or getting to be in nature, going to coffee shops, farmers’ markets and art shows, seeing bands, going to the library, and I love that Emilia gets to have that experience. Having seasons and a great group of friends have also made living here and raising Emilia so wonderful.
Emilia will start 4K this upcoming school year, and there certainly is a lack of diversity in our town and our school district compared to where I grew up or to bigger cities in Wisconsin. She knows that we are Native and Mexican American and that her dad is white. She knows that her skin is brown like mine and that a friend of hers has skin that is white. It is not too young of an age to discuss color and privilege, so we talk about it! I would like for her to be around and see diversity among her peers, but that may not be the case to some extent living here. We take that responsibility as parents to educate her, whether that be by diversifying our books to include BIPOC characters and authors, attending protests or showing our own heritage and culture and people with her. There are ways to make diversity not foreign. Be a part of your community, and make that a safe space for your BIPOC friends and family.
What are some of the most important values you hold as a family? Or things that are important to you in raising your daughter?
Kindness, empathy and justice are few things that are very important to us when it comes to raising our daughter.
There’s never enough time for everything, but what do you prioritize as a family? What do you always make time for?
Landon is usually home from work before dinner so we all look forward to having that time together! We also have a pretty solid bedtime routine for Emilia that we always do together, and that’s pretty special.
– Katie Vaughn
Katie Vaughn is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and is always up for an adventure.