Where does it hurt the worst?
[narrator] Previously on Little People, Big World.
Tori had called me and said, uh, "This is an emergency."
Do you feel nauseous?
[Tori] I have never seen Zach in that much pain.
He started crying and saying, "I'm dying."
I think that we have been sitting on a knife's edge.
And we just didn't know it.
There was something going on.
Well, he's apparently doing good.
I'm kind of giving him space to heal, now.
You know, like, I got up there for birthdays
but, um, they don't come to the farm.
I think they just want space, still.
I never pictured the house that I raised my kids in for the last 30 years
to be a short term rental.
I just see it as very sad.
When it comes to my dad, I think he really screwed over the farm,
everything that the family built.
When he's around, you know, hey.
He's grandpa to the kids and everything,
but that doesn't change that I think he screwed over the family.
Like, Tori and me are taking a break.
We're definitely separating ourselves from our family more.
[Tori] Oh my gosh, are you going to do the laundry?
-Thank you so much. -No, this is what you're doing.
Dad's going to do the laundry.
I'm just bringing it here for you.
Wow.
Don't throw it.
[Zach] Hey, hey, hey. I told you this was going to get out of hand.
[screaming]
Every time I play or roughhouse with the kids,
I seem to get in trouble for doing it but then Zach can do it.
-[laughing] -Ow!
That one... [laughing]
That one went so fast I didn't even see it. [laughs]
You guys get all crazy and then he doesn't know how to calm down
and then you yell at him and then the whole emotional uproar.
Here, take it. [laughs]
Okay. Mom's done.
Before I get in trouble.
Testosterone's raging through that kid's body.
That's why I say simmer down. I see it.
Like, he's, like, raging.
I think Si-Si is ready for bed.
[Zach] I'll put him down toward you.
We're going to put the cute little baby to bed.
[Zach] It's been one month since my shunt surgery.
I don't have any restrictions, or--
You were more restricted than I was after a C-section, though.
Like, the things that you couldn't do.
Yeah, 'cause they had to take care of me.
About two weeks after my surgery, I got my staples out.
[Tori] Let me see.
-Ooh. A little bit of dandruff. -Can you see holes?
Can you see the holes?
Wait, they kept your staples?
And Jackson's touching them?
Yeah, I told the guy, I was like, I'm just going to breathe really hard.
Don't mind me.
And then, like, the first one, I'm like [breathes]
or whatever I was doing
and he's like, are you okay?
I'm like, yep. I told you, I'm fine.
-Just do it. -Just do it.
Did they put any, like, numbing cream
or was it just like balls to the wall, they just did it?
-Balls to the wall. -Ew.
Stick your hand in
and then pull it out.
Like that.
Okay, now go. Fold it.
Man, folding laundry is the worst.
You folded two articles of clothing.
I know.
Do you have any appreciation for me
that I do this every day of my life?
I, but, yeah, I do.
-[Tori] But what? -I have a lot of appreciation.
-[Tori] But what? -I do. It's simply the worst.
It's simply the worst
and I can never be on top of it.
It's never ending.
Life's definitely been busy.
Three kids and a husband recovering from surgery.
Change a couple more diapers.
Make a couple more meals.
-She had to play a little bit more defense. -Yeah.
Look at Lilah trying to help.
Lilah's so helpful compared to the rest of you knuckleheads.
When I can't pass the kids off to go take a shower,
I definitely notice it a little bit more.
I feel like it's an emotional thing rather than a physical burden.
Totally.
I have an appointment coming up
and I think it ends this whole shunt situation.
[Zach] I don't think I've had any--
Well, it's never going to be done with,
so don't get in that mindset when your brain explodes again.
Honestly, I think I'm just grateful too
that I think we finally have answers
of what's been going on for the last 10 years
and hoping that we don't have to deal with it for another 10 years
and yeah. We're happy to have him home.
How are you doing since this whole scenario?
Good.
Like I'm the only one who's kept it together.
You have.
You did good. [laughs]
[Zach] Some wives would have freaked out
and had mental breakdowns.
You kept it together.
Tori handles everything that comes with me very well.
[laughs]
And she supports me awesome.
And yeah, I put her through a lot.
[laughs]
And she's still here, so...
Well, imagine if you had a wife that, like
-couldn't deal with this. -Oh, God help me.
Imagine if you had a wife that, like, any little thing happened, they completely--
Oh, yeah. It would have been over.
She's kind of like the rock. [laughs]
I'm like the sandstone. Just keep breaking. [laughs]
Like, I was definitely nervous in the hospital.
Hopefully this thing stays together for another 15 years.
I hope you stay together for another 15 years.
I'm still in, like, you know, post-traumatic stress
from, like, the pain and, like, the headaches
and every time my head aches or something,
you know, oh, is this going to lead up to something worse?
So that might take a while to get out of that.
[Zach] Well, I'm still here, you're still here.
-Thank you. -Yeah.
For being here.
Now the crisis is over, we can start living life.
-Um, do you want to tackle this bucket now? -Oh, yeah.
Well, you have been a busy bee.
Is this the fireplace?
-That's one possibility. -Oh, okay.
-On your wish, we added-- -Thank you.
Isn't that better?
I think it is, yeah. Finn certainly liked it better.
-Finn always likes what I say. -Yeah.
'Cause he's an artiste.
Early next week, Karen is going to be heading out of town
so I'm going to give her one last chance to influence the plans
and the decisions and a lot of the choices that I'm making
and I'm sure there'll be a million other things that come up while she's gone.
If this shelf came to the top of this, it was like a border.
Okay.
And then this lined up with that.
Yeah, you like it better.
Yeah.
We've engaged with a, you know, designer
to help us, uh, work out the details of the house.
She's really just helping us narrow down this or that.
We're kind of coming in with ideas
and then she's like, oh, this would be great and it's all overwhelming
and so she's sort of our sounding board.
Are you going to be okay when you're gone
with me making all these decisions?
I'm going to have to be. [laughs]
Okay. All right.
-Just call me first. -All right.
-I want this to be our house. -Well, I appreciate that.
But it is still always going to be your house
-No. -that we're going to share.
I do look at it that way. We're not married.
This is Matt's house that I happen to cohabitate in.
We have heard that building homes, construction, remodel,
can cause divorces.
We don't have to worry about that.
[laughs] Don't have to worry about that.
Um, and then are you happy about moving the shower so you're closer?
Yeah, let me look at that.
It was funny, 'cause I mentioned that to you
and you're like, oh, no, we're not doing that.
And then the designer's like, why is the shower way over here?
Well, you pushed on it.
She's got to agree to some of the stuff, you know.
I tell you all the time.
You make the final decision.
In the end, it doesn't matter to me
if the house is this, or this, or this.
Karen's famous.
That's a crazy idea, but you make the call.
That's the craziest thing I've ever heard.
That will look so ugly, but you decide.
Click.
I get left with...
Hey, I'm trying to work through a collaboration.
That's a terrible idea, but it's your decision.
That's a terrible idea but it's your call.
Go to bed with that.
She's in Arizona, I'm up here and I get that.
And then, good night.
So beside all house stuff,
what else are you going to do while I'm gone?
Chris and I are going forward with that guys' night.
That'll happen a couple of nights after you leave.
-Oh, good. -So you're going to have a girls' thing.
We're going to have a guys' night
and I talked to Zach, haven't talked to him in the last couple of days,
but when I talked to him, he seemed to be doing good,
so I'm happy that he got through all that revision stuff.
Yeah, probably feels better than he has in a long time.
Yeah, I think last time I talked to him,
he definitely was noticeably better.
Checked in on Zach a couple of times
and it seemed like he was recovering well.
I think the phrase he used for me was gamechanger.
So he's not expecting any more headaches like he had before.
Um, it feels like Zach's on a good road to recovery.
Well, now that we're getting a home, we've got to figure us out.
-But let's give it a little breathing room. -Okay.
I mean, we won't have any baby footsteps running around.
-That's not where we're at. -No.
But grandkids...
It's a little bigger than we should have built, probably.
I mean, you know, but I think at least we don't worry
about not having room for all my junk.
Lilah has started taking dance classes and she loves it.
Oh, oh, whoa.
Well, we'll see how this fundraiser goes.
Amy and I were talking about doing a charity event.
I think the biggest thing is, um,
do I want to go down this road again?
Having it at the farm and with them.
Matt offered the farm up to, you know, host this,
but Matt and I have history and it wasn't always pleasant
so we'll see how smoothly it goes.
Come on.
[Zach] We're building a shop right now.
Downstairs is going to be for the tractors and all the tools.
And, uh, create more of an official workspace.
Oh my goodness.
[laughs] Yeah.
Jackson, look at this.
[Zach] Shop's where Dad is going to spend a lot of time.
Dad's space, not Mom's.
Growing up, I didn't spend a lot of time tinkering at the farm.
I spent a lot of time walking around the farm,
but I never got into, like, the tinkering, fixing things,
but now, I'll be able to have my own space and maybe get into that more.
So this is going to be a wall.
There's going to be a wall right here.
Hang on, let me see what Lilah's doing.
What are you doing?
Get unstuck.
Pull.
Can you back up?
Gosh.
This is why we walk around the mud, okay?
-[Tori] What? -What?
[Tori] How'd you get up there?
[Zach] The next steps for it is just finishing that framing
and then getting the plywood on the roof,
building out the dormer windows.
I've never seen a structure be built from foundation to roof.
Oh, yeah. Big learning experience.
So it's been kind of fun to, like, learn.
I say instead of, 'cause we talked about doing one of those porcelain sinks
-that doesn't have any storage. -Yeah.
I say we get a short sink in here
and its cabinet built in.
-So you have storage underneath. -I think that ship has sailed.
No it hasn't. I'm the one that's in charge of that.
The light switches and the windows are low.
And the bathroom sink is going to be super low.
And all the light switches are, like, 24 inches high.
So our kids can sit there and turn them on and off.
Yeah, so our kids can sit there and turn them on and off.
All right. Do you guys have to get ready for dance?
We do have to get ready for dance.
Tell the boys, bye.
-[Zach] All right, Lilah. -Goodbye, boys.
-[Zach] You're going to dance? -Bye.
Lilah has started taking dance classes
and she's doing just ballet right now.
[Tori] I was just thinking she really needs to be socialized
and if I put her on a sports field,
-she'd probably think that we were killing her. -[Zach] Oh, yeah.
-Anything with bouncing balls. -Anything, anything that--
A basketball comes up to her, ugh.
Yeah, I just couldn't imagine her doing sports.
So I did dance and she went to two classes and ended up loving it.
And she talks about it.
She comes home and shows everyone her dance moves
and she loves it, so it stuck.
Can you do that?
[Tori] In front of all the dance moms,
one little girl came out and said she had to go to the bathroom.
So then Lilah comes out and says she has to go to the bathroom.
And I'm like, no, no, no. We're not going to play this game.
Just because somebody else is going pee-pee,
we're not going to, like, do it.
Well, five minutes later, she peed her pants right there
and I felt like a terrible mom.
So bad, it was, like, a whole big thing, too.
But that was my fault. It was a bad mom move.
Now we always go to the bathroom before dance class.
Wait, Lilah. Come here.
Come right here and do it.
Go right on this little dot. Do it right there.
Okay. Do your twirl.
Oh! Perfect.
Okay. Do it again.
Ooh. That was good.
I think the dance class has given Lilah something of her own.
Yeah.
It's something that she does
and I think that that's given her a lot of confidence.
Yeah.
Okay. Really quick. Show Daddy, then we've got to go.
Are you ready?
Oh, oh, whoa.
Hey, Lilah.
[Tori] Wait, Lilah. Try one more time. You've got it, girl.
Lilah.
-Lilah, you've got to do that without falling. -Hey, Lilah.
-Yeah. -[Tori] There you go.
Hey, Lilah.
[Tori] See, it's not easy.
-[Zach] Okay, okay. I think we're all done. -[Tori] All right. Got to go.
-Ow! -[Zach] Yeah.
[Tori] Are you okay? Let's put your shoes on.
Main thing, cabinets, carpet, flooring.
Now, you want to know the truth, right?
The truth? Yeah.
You can't handle the truth.
The truth is I don't care much about all this stuff in here.
I care about what's happening back at the farm.
Well, that's obvious, but it all has to work together.
You can't just abandon me with all this stuff.
Karen's leaving for Arizona tomorrow,
so Cherie, our designer, sent us to the flooring store
to look at some flooring, you know, textures and color.
I feel a lot of pressure right now,
because Karen's going to be leaving, going out of town,
so it's more difficult to make decisions
when you're trying to save time,
you know, you're not physically right there
in the same showroom together.
You ready?
What have you got?
Da, da, da.
No.
Too light.
Okay, that's your tadum, tadum, tadum.
Look at my tadum, tadum, tadum.
There. The top one up there.
[laughs]
That's like a black floor almost.
That is so dark.
How about, look at the grains in this one.
You want the grains or the color?
Both.
All right. I mean, if you want to throw that in the mix.
You think that's too dark?
I do, but here's the good thing.
The designer decides.
We pick the ones we like and then she decides.
You know what's interesting? As soon as it starts going in a direction you don't like,
then it goes, oh, let's get the designer to help.
The designer has picked up what I do.
Well, you can do that.
I mean, I think it's a terrible idea, but yeah. Go ahead.
I think it's a terrible idea but go ahead.
-I think it's going to look terrible. -Yeah, she does say that.
But it's up to you guys.
That's really bad. That's really ugly, but okay.
That's what Karen says to me all the time.
I'm like, I love that style.
I want to put some barnwood in my office. Just, like, one piece.
All right. Well, that would be really obnoxious, but okay.
Maybe one of the bathrooms has this barnwood look.
Seriously?
The house is definitely more contemporary
than anything else on the farm
and so it's not a barn
and so, you know, you don't want to try to make it look like a barn.
Why not?
This is the way we're going to do it from now on.
Find a product that you like.
You tell me where you don't want it
and wherever's left is where I'll put it.
Is this a product you like?
That's a product I like.
You want to know where I want it?
In the, where?
-Nowhere. -Nowhere?
Now that we're making all these decisions on this house,
I can kind of sympathize with Amy.
You're so persuasive and you just stay on it and gnaw at it
until I'm like, you know what?
I don't care.
My mother used to say, he grinds on it.
[laughing]
You know what? You just hurt my personal feelings.
I'm actually kidding.
I mean, yeah. Let's bring it out
and maybe Cherie can find a place for it.
By rejecting that product, I am now damaged goods.
But look. Elegant.
-I'm going to go with that. -Sophisticated.
Still warm and rustic.
Barn doesn't...
So certain things just need to--
What's that hotel we went to years ago where every room is different?
Madonna Inn or something like that.
You went there with Amy, not me.
Oh, sorry.
Get your girlfriends straight.
[laughs]
Okay. Well, every room was different.
That's what I want to achieve.
-Well... -When you walk into every room,
it's unique.
We've got problems, then.
'Cause we talked about a cohesive look.
Well, there's a lot of choices and Karen's taste and my taste are not always,
I mean, we're sort of in the same neighborhood, often.
Um, but, you know, I like certain things
and she likes different things.
Uh, I wish we had made a little more progress,
but I guess something's better than nothing.
I like a little more rustic, a little more natural.
Rustic and natural.
And I like steel.
Metal steel with big bolts.
She doesn't like big bolts.
I never said I didn't like big bolts.
I don't like big bolts from 1917.
It happened to be 1937 that the Golden Gate Bridge was built
and they used lots of rivets.
And it looks a wonderful look.
-Do you think we've made any progress? -No.
But it's a good start.
I think that, like, everything that we went through
definitely, like, puts things into perspective.
All these issues are still here
and, you know, the other shoe can drop at any time,
but I would go through millions of surgeries
before I want my kids to go through a surgery.
[Tori] Hey, who's gonna win?
-[Lilah speaking] -[Jackson speaking]
[Lilah speaking]
[Zach] It's been a month since my surgery,
and the whole family's gonna go bowling.
Feels good. Feels, you know, still not out of the woods,
but it feels good to be out of that, you know, time.
Why don't you put your shoes on?
Oh, we're not just gonna pull our pants down right here, thanks, though.
[Tori] The actual reason why we went bowling,
was because a couple of weeks ago,
one Saturday, we're sitting around, just bored,
-and Dad's like, "Hey, who wants to go bowling?" -[Zach] Oh, yeah.
And all of us were, like, "Yeah! Let's go bowling!"
-Yeah. -And we're packing up,
we're literally getting in the car,
and Jackson goes,
"Guys.
Dad can't lift more than 10 pounds."
-Yeah. Yeah. -"And a bowling ball is more than 10 pounds."
-And Zack and I looked at each other... -So we didn't go bowling.
Our five-year-old is being more responsible than we are at this point.
So we didn't go bowling. [chuckles]
We like bowling. We like...
-We've done it a couple of times. -Easy with the kids.
-[Tori] Oh, Daddy-o! -[Zach] There we go!
-[Tori] Wow! Oh! -[Zach] There we go!
[Tori] Honestly, it's like, easy,
'cause we just get out of the house for a couple of hours.
-[Zach] Yeah. -It's nice to just get out.
-Let them get some energy out. -And it's fun watching Jackson do new things.
[Tori] Watch fingers!
-[Jackson speaking] -[Lilah speaking]
-[Jackson] Wow, straight! -[Zach] Oh, wow, wow, yeah.
[Tori] Ooh!
[Lilah squeals excitedly]
[Tori] That's so cute. Jackson helps Lilah with her ball,
Lilah does not care, as long as there's snacks.
She's, like, "Sure, I'll go along with it."
-[Lilah speaking] -Go.
[Tori] Wow, look at it, Lilah! You gotta watch it!
[Zach] Uh-oh.
[Tori] Wow, Lilah!
[Jackson speaking]
Well, nobody got any stripes,
-'cause we're not tigers. -They're called strikes.
-There you go. -Strikes.
[Tori] Oh!
[Tori and Zach] Oh! Oh!
[both yelling] Oh!
[Tori] Good job, J!
[Tori] How big was your bowling ball?
[Josiah babbling]
Or, like, how heavy?
So what was the number that was on it?
-Six pounds. -[Josiah continues babbling]
[Zach] Tori, you were losing the whole game!
Now you're gonna win it.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna blow it right here. Watch.
You just have to hit one pin, and you're gonna win.
[Tori] Oh wait, really?
-[Tori] Strike. -[Zach] Oh my gosh.
-[Tori] Whoa! -[Zach laughs]
[Tori] Finally!
-That's annoying. -[Tori] I win!
[Zach] Who's the best bowler?
-[Zach laughs] -Pretty sure I won.
Yeah, Mom did win.
Mom got a strike at the very end.
I think Si-Si's the best bowler.
[Tori chuckles]
[Zach] Glad I'm over my ordeal.
[Tori] You were falling apart.
I know, I am falling apart. I already told you that.
I think I've been pretty clear about my falling apart since day one.
[Tori] I don't know, though. Have you?
I have. You chose to ignore it.
-Did I, though? -Yeah. [chuckles]
[Zach] It's always something.
-There's always some-- -There's always some headache,
-some gut ache. -Ache. Yeah.
-Some ache. -Knee ache, toe ache.
Brain ache.
[Tori] I think, though, once you hit 30,
it's really just a new world for everyone.
It's, like, things just make noises, and...
-Yeah. -...things start breaking down.
No, I think that, like, everything that we went through,
for sure, makes you, like, more grateful,
for every, like, day that everyone's healthy,
and everyone's good.
-[Zach] Oh, yeah. -[Tori] You know?
-[ball crashes into pins] -Right?
I think about that all the time, now.
It definitely, like, puts things into perspective.
And, like, the fact that all of our kids are able to bowl.
Oh, yeah, bowl. Not just bowl,
but they're all very capable kids.
[Tori chuckles] Okay, can you just turn around?
[Zach] Regardless, you know what I'm saying?
-Right. -They're all very capable.
Right.
[Zach] When it comes to what I just went through with hydrocephalus,
and shutting all function, and all that,
I feel like our kids are old enough now
that they might be out of that.
-Hopefully. -It's a very common thing,
at a young baby age.
But you can get a shunt at any time.
You can get a need for a shunt any time.
You know, you can get cancer, you can,
there's a lot of different things that can happen.
Three dwarf kids are doing pretty good.
We're blessed. That's for sure.
[Zach] They still got a lot of life to live, though.
They have a lot of time to break down, like Dad.
Yeah. [chuckles]
[Zach] I would go through 20 surgeries,
a hundred, millions of surgeries,
before I want my kids to go through a surgery.
But, um, all these issues are still here,
and, you know, the other shoe can drop any time.
I don't think that's in Tori's mindset,
to wait for the other shoe to drop.
I don't think that's her personality.
It's probably more mine, if anything.
With, like, kids, like, I'll, my next,
when's one of our kids gonna have an issue?
But, you know, we'll take it one step,
one, you know, day at a time.
Gonna break the floor! [laughs]
[Matt] Coming up...
So being relatively new married,
how's that changed your life?
That's what I wanna know! What is the hardest part?
[Chris] It was hard sharing,
and cleaning up after somebody else, and closing doors.
[Matt] You're not trying to convince me that Amy
doesn't close doors behind her?
She's always been like that?
[both laugh]
Drives me a little nutty too, when people don't do that.
Boy, it's a little slippery out there, isn't it?
-[Ty shouts] -Very. Very.
I can see your breath!
Caryn's away, and it's a perfect time
to get Chris and Bill and Ty,
a couple of my buddies together,
and, you know, just kind of hang out.
I think both of 'em have met Chris briefly,
on multiple family events and things.
So Ty came to me specifically,
and said, "We gotta set up a guy's night,
and hang out with them." I said "Great!" So we did.
-[Ty] Oh, fire. -[Chris] Wow.
[Ty] Get that thing stoked up.
[Chris] Oh, the cabin looks good.
-It does. -Let's go check it out, gentlemen.
All right.
I've known Matt now for, what, six years, I think?
And in the beginning, I was really kind of surprised that, uh,
Matt was, uh, as friendly as he was.
You know, usually, you know,
you hear exes not being too friendly with, uh,
new significant others.
I just know that when we sit down,
and we have a conversation,
you know, it feels like we're talking the same language,
we just seem to have a lot in common,
and, uh, it's a great opportunity
to, you know, expand my friend circle,
and, nice to be included.
Whoa!
It's a little warm in here.
[Chris] Oh!
Oh, yeah. That feels good.
Amy wasn't, by any means,
encouraging me to go over
and do a guy's night,
with Matt and his friends.
But, you know, she knew it was something I wanted to do,
and, um, fortunately,
Amy's kinda gotten used to the idea that,
you know, we're gonna keep running into each other, you know?
And, um,
and it's, I think in a healthy way.
Ty, thanks for pushing on this.
[chuckles]
-[Matt] Yeah, if Ty hadn't been so persistent... -[Chris chuckles] Yeah.
I really wanted to do this.
Cheers to all of us.
-[Chris] Yeah. -[Ty] Here's to friends.
-[Matt] Here's to friendship, yeah, yeah. -[Ty] Whoo.
-[Bill] Cheers. -[Ty] No, I really wanted to do this.
Whoa, whoa.
Am I the only one in the group that's not married?
[Ty] Yes!
-[Ty laughs] -That's not right.
-[Ty] I know-- -Yeah!
[all laugh]
-I thought maybe this was gonna be a bachelor-- -[Matt] Go back around!
[Ty] I thought this was gonna be a bachelor party.
I was gonna, like, pop the news on you?
Yeah, I thought you were gonna pop the news to us.
Hey, you guys like? I just added--
[Ty] No, don't change the subject.
[Matt] I am changing the subject.
I've added curtains since anybody's been down here. These are new.
[Ty] Those are nice.
Are you gonna start a family, Chris?
[all laugh]
We got a dog in September, we're set.
-Yeah, Amy wants to be pregnant again, right? -I don't know!
I don't if you know the king of awkward questions.
[all laugh]
I know how much Amy loves kids, man.
-You gotta have one more. Come on, Chris. -No, no. You know,
never having kids of my own,
I never thought I would experience, you know, the grandchild thing.
-Oh, man. And you-- -But, uh, having hooked up with Amy--
-Jackpot. -Yeah.
Yeah, seven grandkids already,
-and more on the way, and you know, so... -Yeah.
[Matt] Yeah, you know, and I must admit,
Chris fits into the family very well.
-Everyone, all the kids, rant and rave. Yeah. -[Chris] Oh, well, thank you.
And it's really great that you guys are such good buddies...
-[Chris chuckles] -...because you don't see it very often.
Well, you know, it is, it's not like, you know,
Matt and I aren't anywhere near as close as you guys are,
but Matt's more like a really good neighbor.
If I need to borrow a power tool, I can call him up.
-[Ty] Right. -If he's got a question about drywall, he calls me up.
-Yeah, that's true. -You know? We just, you know,
So there's, we're just very comfortable
about reaching out if we have a question about anything.
You know, we don't just call each other to talk for an hour or two.
Right, no, exactly.
[Matt] I gotta respect Amy's, you know...
-What does Amy think about it? -[Matt]...whatever you call it.
You know, initially, she, when I first met her,
she wouldn't have approved of this at all.
But over time, it's just kind of evolved naturally.
-[Matt] Right. -But still, on the way here,
I stopped at the, uh, the spot over there,
on, uh, West Union.
and got a bouquet of flowers, I've got 'em in the car.
-Oh, good! -So when I go home tonight--
[all laugh]
Good move! This guy here!
-[all laughing] -[Matt] Everybody get out your notepads!
-[Ty] Cheers to that! -[all chuckling]
[Ty] That's, good for you!
You know, one of the things I love about her,
is a bouquet of flowers go a long way.
-[Ty] Oh, I bet! -Oh, I know that!
I'm happy that Amy, you know,
seems to be more and more okay,
-I mean, the flowers don't hurt. -[chuckles]
But, you know,
but it's good that, um, Amy seems to be okay with it.
We get together to just, you know, catch up on what
-he's doing, what I'm doing, and yeah. -Yeah.
It's neat that you guys have a, you know, that you get along.
Like I said, it's probably--
I, you know, honestly,
I feel I can call Amy and talk to her about things.
Honestly, we get along better now than, than we did.
-Funny how that happens. -Yeah, funny how that happens.
Time always heals, too.
I mean, don't you feel like you're getting along better now
than you did five years ago?
Yeah. Definitely.
Amy does seem to have,
a lot of people say, she's relaxed a lot more.
I've heard that about you, too.
I mean, I didn't know you very well five years ago,
but I've heard people say that you've kinda relaxed a little bit too.
I mean, obviously I haven't really gotten to know Matt
until probably just the last couple of years.
But, so, I don't know what Matt was like before,
uh, we met, but, uh, from what I hear,
you know, I've heard some good things,
that you've sort of mellowed with age.
and, uh, which is natural, I think most people do.
There have been some things that have happened out here,
some events and stuff,
and Amy said to me, in the old days,
you never would have agreed to that.
And so, I think even she has said
-that you've kinda mellowed, softened in some areas. -Yeah, yeah.
That's true.
-I don't sweat the petty stuff as much. -Yeah.
So being relatively new married,
how's that changed your life?
Well, it's, you know, I've been a bachelor all my life,
-and, you know-- -[Matt] That's what I wanna know,
what is the hardest part?
It was hard sharing,
and cleaning up after somebody else,
and closing doors, and drawers,
um, that took a lot of adjusting, you know?
Putting the toilet seat down.
-[Chris] Yeah! -[all laugh]
-Oh... -[Matt] You're not saying,
you're not trying to convince me that Amy
doesn't close doors behind her?
She's always been like that?
[all laugh]
Drives me a little nutty too, when people don't do that.
When Chris is sitting there in the cabin,
you know, you would never know that,
you know, me and Bill and Ty go back quite a few years,
and that Chris is just, you know, recently,
um, but you'd never know that,
we visited as if we'd all been fishing buddies for 30 years.
Caryn and I were trying to figure out, like,
we had the whole, don't fix what's not broke,
we got that whole thing going, you know, like...
-Right. -...it's just, it's working so well,
we're, I think we're afraid that,
I mean, it's not that we have anything
against the institution of marriage,
we've both liked it, we've been married,
but, like, do we need to do that, exactly? You know...
I was concerned about that too.
You know, I mean, at 59,
it's not like I felt like I had to get married,
but I'd heard so many stories from other couples that,
were together for a long time,
and as soon as they got married,
the relationship changed.
-Yeah. -I was a little...
They're allergic to the metal.
-[Matt] Don't talk to us about that! -The jewelry.
[Matt] That's all I need to know, in real life, don't tell me about that.
So did you feel that kind of shift, or?
-Well... -[Matt] Not yet.
[Chris] Fortunately, that didn't happen.
But no, I was concerned about that,
but fortunately, it didn't change.
-Okay. -I don't even feel like,
if anything, it became easier.
We're not, we're not taking anything off the table.
We always, when we talk about it,
we always say we'll talk about it again
in a couple of weeks, or months, or whatever.
You know, but the house right now, is,
a lot of it was, push stop because of that.
So that does sort of, it's a game changer.
-You're scared. -Petrified.
-[Chris chuckles] -[Ty] You are!
-Petrified! Yeah. -[Chris] You are? Really, you are?
You are, I feel it. You're scared.
-I'm shaking in my boots. -[Ty] You're shaking in your boots.
You don't like that... [stammers]...commitment.
-[Matt] No, it's not that commitment, no. -No?
No, it's just, I understand.
I don't ever see myself with anybody other than Caryn.
I think she feels the same way.
One of the things that's very good about Caryn and I's relationship,
is we're able to give each other space.
We enjoy, sort of, our mixture of independence.
We've tested our waters
by having our place together in Arizona,
being able to go down there.
We did talk about once the house is real,
we would revisit it,
so we're starting that process of, like,
hey, does this change anything?
[chuckling] We're both kinda like, not necessarily,
other than, you might sell your house
and move in, you know.
So, um, but you know,
we very much respect
and appreciate the,
the concept of marriage,
and the principles behind it,
and we're weighing all of our options.
No matter what I do, one thing I can promise.
You guys will be the last to know.
-[all chuckle] -Whoo!
-[Ty] Salute! -[all chuckling]
[narrator] Coming up...
[Amy] It's so funny, I'm getting so many people commenting
-on yours and Matt's romance. -[Chris chuckles]
People think you guys will talk about me.
I don't think so.
[Chris] Wow. What a great day.
[Amy] I have to get a map of this park,
I haven't been here in so long.
[Chris] Yeah, I'm glad that we kinda have it to ourselves, too.
[Amy] Oh, yeah. Me too. Come on!
[Chris] If you guys wanna walk up to this table...
-[Amy] All right. -...I'll go back to the car and get our lunch.
[Amy] Oh, good! I get to watch her, you do all the work?
[Chris] Yeah.
We're kind of in our early spring,
and wanna take advantage of the nice weather,
so, we wanted to have a different kind of scenery,
-taking Daisy for a walk. -[Chris] Yeah. We got spring fever.
-We wanna get out in the sunshine, and open air. -Yeah.
All right, to our first picnic.
I know, isn't that great?
First picnic of the year.
It's so funny, I'm getting so many people commenting
-on yours and Matt's romance. -[Chris chuckles]
Lisa's, like, what in the world is that all about?
and I said, "Yeah, i know."
You're getting okay with it, though, right?
As long as it doesn't get too crazy.
People think you guys will talk about me.
I don't think so.
I'm glad that Amy is getting more comfortable with,
uh, you know, Matt and I.
-You know? -I swallow it.
[laughs] Okay.
[both chuckle]
I'm glad Amy could choke it down.
[both laugh]
Well, in a way, when Matt and I get together,
she knows it's safe, we're not talking about Amy.
You know, no one's throwing her under the bus.
-Don't be comparing notes, man. -[Chris chuckles]
You know, occasionally, I mean, some relationship comes up.
Oh, like what?
I might make a comment about, you know,
you and I do this, or this is an issue,
and he might say something about he and Caryn,
but we don't compare notes about you.
[Amy] What's the issue?
Oh, no issue.
[chuckles] I'm in heaven.
Really?
What did you say, babe?
-I-- -What'd you say about me?
I have no idea what he's talking about.
[Amy] Tell me the truth.
Um, yeah. Apparently, you know,
Matt and I both, uh,
think that it's kind of,
I don't know.
Maybe a little irritating
that you're always leaving doors
and drawers open, for no reason!
You grab something,
and then you just walk away, and leave the door open!
Well, I leave it open because I have to go back and shut it
when I return the item there--
But it could be weeks before you go back!
In the meantime,
I'm tripping over an open door!
-You know? -You know what?
Those incidents rarely happen,
-and when they do, I think they're blown out of-- -[groans] Oh my god.
...blown out of proportion!
Rare? Oh.
I think I know BS when I see it, most of the time.
Well, we'll see how this fundraiser goes.
Are you into helping, or being with me on it?
I mean, I've been trying.
What more would you like me to do?
[Amy] Well, once I get a date,
maybe think about a few people
that maybe would be interested in coming.
[Chris] Amy and I are talking about, uh, doing a charity event.
Amy has in the past,
and now I'm finally at that point in life
where I wanna start doing some more charitable work, and giving back.
And so far, it's been kind of fun.
[Amy] And then the, um,
things that I was thinking about raising money for,
I think it's just easier to do it
for organizations I'm familiar with.
And that is DAAA.
What does the DAAA stand for?
Dwarf Athletic Association of America.
So the charity we're supporting is DAAA.
[Amy] There you go! You're picking it up!
[Amy] It formed back in 1985,
to give the opportunity for dwarves
to really compete in sports.
We have national games,
we compete, we have, uh, medals.
There's a, uh, international dwarf games.
It's a wonderful organization,
and now that I have grandchildren,
um, it's an organization
I'll be with, you know, forever.
Can you handle me being in charge?
I don't mind you being in charge.
But I don't wanna be a mute gopher for you.
-[Amy laughs] -You just want my mouth shut,
and just do whatever you point and tell me to do.
This will be our first time collaborating on anything like this,
so if I'm gonna be a part of this event,
I actually wanna be a part of the meetings, too.
Obviously, you can really, you know,
only have one chief when it comes to
planning any kind of special event,
I just wanna be able to,
you know, throw some of my own creative ideas and input into it,
and be proactive,
rather than just being reactive
to whatever the boss says.
I gotta pick a date.
I thought Matt only had one date available,
which I still think he does.
Or he has another date, I don't know. I gotta see.
Matt offered the farm up, to, you know,
host this, so, you know, that was, checkmark,
you know, a done deal.
I think the farm was a good option,
because it's not taking anything
out of the budget or cost,
and I'm familiar with the venue.
It's a beautiful, interesting place
-for almost any event. -[Amy] Yeah.
I think the biggest thing is, um...
...do I wanna go down this road again?
Having it at the farm, and with them.
[Amy] I think the place I'm at with Matt and Caryn,
is a little more neutral right now.
But Matt and I have history,
And, you know, history sometimes stays with you.
It wasn't always pleasant,
and Matt has a harder time when someone else is in charge,
and so, we'll see how smoothly it goes.
[narrator] Next, on Little People, Big World...
Go get Mom's suitcase!
Thank you! That's so helpful.
Now that Zach is feeling better, doing better,
I'm gonna go out of town with two of my girlfriends.
[Zach] I'm not, like, nervous, it's just, you know,
you're diving in for three days, of, like, who knows what.
[Zach] All right Jackson, you ready to roll?
Let's go do your hair!
Lilah. Find your shoes.
I mean, a lot of things can happen in 72 hours.
-[Lilah] No! -[Zach] Lilah...
-[screaming] -[Zach] Lilah. Lilah! Jackson!
-[crying] -[Zach] Jackson!
Thank you!
Chris and I were thinking about
maybe to put on a small little charity function.
Are Matt and Caryn participating in this too?
I would assume so.
He's gonna wanna be in charge.
That's his farm now.
-Who's gonna be in charge-- -Me! Me.
Girlfriend, let me tell you something.
-[Amy] No. They said-- -That is not your farm.
I am running the show.
When it comes to the charity and how it's gonna be run,
we'll do it my way.
We got a date blocked out.
Well, from what you told me,
there's no other dates available.
They were very sparse, yes.
Well, is there any way that you can check these dates?
[Matt] Amy's made it very clear that she's in charge.
Amy, if you're lucky, I'll let you plan my fundraiser. [chuckles]
-This is gonna be fun. -[Matt chuckling] Yes.
[Matt] I loved the idea
of this party being out here.
[Caryn] Okay, that is not the indication
you gave multiple times!