Why we choose to live on a homestead as millennials: We don't get a day off, but we love raising our girls in this environment.

• Christina Heinritz and her husband, Trevor, built their own homestead in California.
• They are raising their daughters, ages 2 and 4, to live off the land. 
• It's hard work, but Heinritz said she loves raising her children this way. 

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Christina Heinritz, 33, who owns a homestead in Lincoln, California. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.

I grew up in the Bay Area — I didn't even have a dog growing up. No pets.