The Longs from Missouri are a patriotic, all-American family who live for paint ball. Wife Gayla (37) is just one of the boys on the paint ball field, but at home she is happy to take care of all the household chores, which husband Alan has deemed "skirt work." When Alan (38) is not wreaking havoc with his four wild and crazy boys - Cody (15), Coltan (10), Clayton (8) and Cameron (4) -- he serves as the mayor of their 55-person town. The Longs are proud of their Midwestern roots and consider their lifestyle the "American way." Corn dogs and fast food are staples in their home, and their exercise comes from riding ATVs. Alan and Gayla want their kids to have fun; education and the environment can take a backseat.
The Stephens-Fowler family from Northern California consider themselves "citizens of the world." They strive for excellence in both mind and body. Life coach and certified weight-loss hypnotherapist Renee (43) and British-born environmental entrepreneur Stephen (49) raise their children, Juliette (11) and James (8), to be both health and environmentally conscious. With a diet of strictly organic food and weekends spent doing "family fitness activities," the kids admit they can't remember the last time they had a French fry. Domestics are taken care of by a housekeeper, as that is regarded as a necessity in the Stephens-Fowler set. In order to ensure acceptance to an Ivy League school, they push their kids to excel in highbrow activities such as music, fencing and speaking foreign languages. Both children attend a bilingual school and have already visited over 12 countries.