[Amy] Previously on Little People, Big World...
[Zach] Oh, yeah, yeah.
[nurse] What is it?
[Zach] It's a boy, it's a boy! It's a boy.
Yeah, Josiah's a little person,
has achondroplasia like his siblings,
and yeah, now there's four of us.
My little dwarf tribe.
-Yeah, my tribe. -[Tori] Posse.
[Zach] My army, my posse.
[Tori] Thank you guys for being
such good, good brothers and sister.
[Chris] How long you think it'll be
before we can get all the family back together
for, like, a holiday gathering and that sort of thing?
Probably say five years.
-Really? You think it'll be that long? -Mmm-hmm.
Must be some hurt feelings
if you think it'll take that long.
This was something that I think hit to the core
and so I think that's hard
just to sweep it underneath the rug and say,
"Okay, yeah, it's all good."
I think it'll take time for them.
[Caryn] Well, cheers to you, boss.
You pulled it off. You always do.
The farm's officially been on the market for a few days now.
I think the relationship with Zach kind of set back
with me putting the farm on the market,
and him not feeling like it was done properly.
[Caryn] At some point, you and Zach
need to have another conversation.
Maybe he needs to hear that you're sorry
it didn't work out.
[Zach] Since the farm announcement,
we haven't seen much of my dad.
In my mind, we, like... My dad screwed the family.
And, you know, he's playing victim.
I, like, I would look at it like farm's done.
[children babbling]
[shouting] Ah!
[Zach] Oh, oh, oh, okay. Okay.
She just headbutted him.
It's just been over two weeks since we brought Josiah home,
and it's been going great.
You know, it's an infant,
it's a newborn in the house, you know.
[Tori] I feel it's our, like... it's my niche,
like I... this is where I wanna be.
There's nothing I'd rather be doing
other than hanging out with three little kids.
[Tori] Jackson, what's been your favorite part
about being a big brother?
Again.
You're good at helping Josiah, huh?
[Zach] Pretty much all of my immediate family
has met Josiah now,
my mom, my dad and my siblings.
But we don't have plans for Caryn to meet Josiah.
There still hasn't been any recognization
from Caryn or my dad.
Like, they still think they did nothing wrong.
Which, like, I don't see how Caryn doesn't see this, like,
my dad put her in a situation also where it's like,
you got into family business here.
Family is always gonna be, like...
It's gonna be different than when someone else
rubs you the wrong way.
But I don't excuse my dad, like,
I hold my dad responsible
for that breakdown in that relationship.
[Tori] She's just trying to hold his hand.
[Zach laughing] Oh, wait.
Only Daddy can say that.
-[Tori] "No, no, no, no." -[Zach] Yeah, what?
Who makes you the authority?
-No, no, no, no. -Jackson, let her, let her.
[Tori] Oh, and he holds his hand?
Yeah, look at this.
I can never deny Matt and Caryn
that they were amazing to us,
that they helped us through many times.
I mean, the kids loved them
But no matter what,
when you have two adults, and there's kids involved,
if those two adults don't get along well,
the relationship with the kids is gonna suffer.
[Zach] Lilah, I don't know if he needs that right now.
I don't think he needs his bink right now, Lize.
[Jackson speaking]
[whispering]
[Tori] Secrets don't make friends.
[Zach] Yeah, what was that?
I definitely think Jackson and Lilah have gotten closer
-since Josiah's come into the picture. -Yeah.
Which I think we were really worried about,
'cause they have such a good bond,
that we were kinda worried about, like,
throwing a wrench into it.
I think this is your best.
[Tori] I feel like I'm trying to enjoy it more this time,
because, like, it's the last one.
[Zach] You're relaxed, you're not, like, all, like...
[Tori] Well, he makes it easy, though.
He doesn't have any, like, quirks.
Even at night, even at night you're not, like,
all freaking out and, like, getting upset
-and all that stuff. -Yeah.
[Tori] I don't know, he's just, like...
He's so easy, and I really am trying
to just enjoy it this time,
'cause I don't think we're having any more.
So...
-[Zach] Let's say we aren't having any more. -What?
I'm gonna put a little bit more of a definite on it.
[Tori] I also feel like recovery this time has been, uh...
[Zach] Been better?
[Tori] Well, like, the hospital sucked.
And the first two nights sucked, home,
but now I'm like...
I don't hurt as bad.
I am feeling better.
I think I've just been up faster, quicker.
It's definitely like, you gotta... Life goes on.
You got two other kids that you gotta worry about,
so you're up and going faster.
He also just doesn't have weird quirks
like the other kids did.
You know? There's nothing for me to, like, worry about.
The worst thing he's had is diaper rash.
I'm like, there's nothing else, like,
weird about, like... There's no throwing up.
There's no crying all the time.
You know?
Jackson as an infant was also very easy.
However, he was my first,
and so I panicked about every little thing.
I mean, he hiccupped and I, like, panicked.
Lilah, love her so much.
She was very colicky, very finicky.
She had really bad GERD,
so she threw up all the time,
she had, like, really bad reflux.
She was a hard baby.
Josiah's been easy, 'cause he's easy.
Like, he's a straightforward kid.
He eats, he poops, he sleeps.
Like, he's not colicky, he's not finnicky,
he's just easy, so it's made it easier to enjoy everything.
What are they doing right now?
Are they playing together right now?
I mean, I don't hear screaming, so...
[children giggling]
-[Caryn] Look at this view. -[Matt] I know. It's nice.
This will be our backyard.
[Caryn chuckles]
[Matt] Now that the farm's on the market, um,
and, you know, I'm making progress on my new house,
thought I'd bring Caryn out to the house site,
the house pad, and give her kind of the lay of the land
on which way we're gonna orient this new home.
The house is going to be right here.
I mean, this will be a little bit in the backyard.
I've been trying to design m ultimate dream home for year
Many artists have been hired to come up with ideas.
-It's at least four or five, I think, yeah. -Yeah.
Because of the supply chain issues,
a lot of my craziest ideas, you know,
are just gonna be more difficult to achieve.
So Caryn found a builder,
and there's a floor plan that works for us mostly.
Just a few little tweaks.
We could put some of our ideas into it,
but for the most part, this is a home
that's already been built a couple of times.
It's a little different, a bit scaled back
than what we originally wanted,
but when Caryn brought this to me
it just, click-click-click, made sense,
and it, you know, could be done and achievable.
[Caryn] So now it's in the realtor's hands,
so do you hear from her? Does she give you updates?
Yeah, a couple times a week, and, uh...
there's been, you know, a handful of, um...
preapprovals, so that's encouraging.
You know, these kind of large deals take six months.
We're what, just one month into it.
Um, and I've been meeting with a lot of the buyers
and giving them the details that they're asking for,
and if nobody turns out that's the right fit,
or, you know, can take on this farm,
then I'm gonna start looking at plan B.
Plan B is, we're working on it, developing plan B,
but we know there's gonna be a plan B.
'Cause I always have a plan B.
[chuckles]
I'm planning on starting the build process, um...
even though, um...
So that not being sold quickly
doesn't deter anything on this?
[Matt] No. If it doesn't sell,
I'm still gonna go ahead with the build.
I'm still gonna start the build. I'm not gonna wait.
Gotcha.
[Matt] I'm very happy with my decision to sell.
Of course I can look back and say I'd do things differently.
Almost everything I've ever done in life,
I look back and think,
"Oh, jeez, I could have done this better."
You know, you learn from your mistakes.
So there's no doubt I should have sat down
with both Jeremy and Zachary
at the same time and tried to, you know,
come together, "Hey guys, how do we do this?" you know?
You definitely get, you know, smarter.
Never smart enough, though.
It's always just,
you're always one word short of saying the right thing,
but I think, um...
you know, I'm happy with where things are right now.
I went to, um, see the little Josiah and he's...
Oh, I've seen photos. He's so cute.
-Yeah, he's very professional. -Does he look like Jackson?
[Matt] Uh, yeah, looks, but...
I don't know if he looks as much like Jackson,
I didn't quite see that, but what I saw is
-he's calm like Jackson. -Ah.
-Remember Jackson was very, like, calm? -Yeah.
Like, you wake him up and he looks around and goes,
"That all you got?" then goes back to sleep.
-You know? -[Caryn chuckles]
[Matt] I have seven grandkid now, and, um,
I got a chance to, you know, go meet little Josiah
and hold him, and, um...
very cute, very calm.
Very wonderful little fella
And, you know, little person and, uh,
he reminds me a lot of Jackson. He's very calm.
-Jackson seemed so big. -Yeah.
-I bet he's just the best big brother. -Yeah.
[Caryn] I would love to see the grandkids.
I miss them so much. I haven't met Josiah.
But I don't feel welcomed so I'm just kinda standing down
and letting Matt do the grandfather thing right now
Three little achon, dwarf babies, and, um...
Four out of five in that family.
[Matt] Four out of five in that family.
I was super happy to meet Josiah
after he was born and get to hold him.
I was a little sad that Caryn wasn't there.
She loves babies,
and, you know, even though we're not officially married,
I think people know that, you know,
Caryn isn't going anywhere.
She's a big, big part of my life now.
And Caryn's getting a lot of blame
from Zach and Tori, and I don't...
I don't think it's deserved.
Caryn, more than me,
I think she's really hurt by the process.
I think they should show her some respect.
She's on their team.
Um, you know, and so to alienate her is probably,
you know, not a mature way to handle things.
Come to Caryn and her relationship with Tori,
I hope it heals.
Two people can never come together and heal
if they don't each give a little bit.
[Matt reading]
[Chris] I got this bike for Jackson,
and this had the lowest
-seat setting I could find. -Yeah.
I hope Zach and Tori don't feel like I'm intruding on...
[laughs] That I'm getting his first bike instead of them.
[Matt reading]
[Caryn] I know it's probabl weird for you guys,
-coming to town and there's no kids. -No little Jackson.
I wish we could have sat and talked about it like adults,
because they just left,
and so I don't know what to do.
[tool whirring]
-Hey babe. -Hey.
You got room in here amongst all my garage sale stuff?
Well, I'm glad you're getting rid of a bunch of it.
Well, we'll see how it goes.
Okay, what are you doing now?
-I cut the post down... -Uh-huh.
...on the bottom of the seat so now it's bottomed out.
-Uh-huh. -I mean, that's kinda what...
You know, even though this is a used bike,
what inspired me to get it is
-this had the lowest seat setting I could find. -Yeah.
[Chris] I got this bike for Jackson, and, uh,
it's kind of a belated birthday gift.
I wasn't able to go to his actual birthday party
at the time and take the bik
and actually I think this is working out better,
you know, 'cause we can kinda focus on
him trying it out,
versus he'd be distracted with all the other toys,
birthday present.
I'm hoping this'll work, but if not,
I'm gonna cut these blocks out, I'll do four of 'em.
That's how I did it when I grew up.
Well, my dad did it.
-Wood blocks on the pedals? -Yeah.
I totally remember that.
I remember really liking, you know, riding a bike.
I don't really remember a lot of
modifications that my parents did.
But once I was able to do a two-wheel bike,
my dad came up with
getting some wood and attaching it to the pedal
so that my feet could reach it.
I think this is a very good starter bike
since he's really never had one
-except for maybe a trike. -Yeah.
I hope Zach and Tori don't feel like I'm intruding on...
[laughs] That I'm getting his first bike instead of them,
but I don't know, this is like a rite of passage, you know?
For me it's just a lot of fun to be able to be a part of it.
Oh, you just like having kids around
and having that little moment of an experience.
Well, that too. Maybe we'll have to leave...
you know, keep this here,
-and he has to come here to ride it! -Oh yeah, that could be.
I think if I'd ever had the opportunity
of having my own kids, I mean,
there are certain milestones, like a bike.
And just the thrill of
sharing a new experience with a child is...
to me is a lot of fun,
and I'm hoping that I get
a lot more of those opportunities.
Without taking too much away from their own parents.
You know, I hope that there's a few new experiences
that I can be a part of.
So, I would love to do this before we take off
-on our motorcycle trip. -Yeah.
So, we're going on an 18-day motorcycle trip.
Our destination is Skagway, Alaska.
Hopefully we'll see a lot more animals.
We really wanna see the wildlife.
I'm super excited about doing this trip.
It's gonna be some amazing new country,
and hopefully, um, things will be just great.
[Amy] So, hey, have you heard
anything from Matt about this whole house thing?
I almost wanna call him and say,
"Hey, how's it going? Any showings?"
Um, I just checked this morning,
-it's still active so it's not pending... -Yeah.
...so obviously they haven't accepted an offer yet,
but I am tempted, though, to call him and say,
"Hey, how's it going?" [laughs]
I'm really curious what kind of...
Well, if you do, babe, you let me know, okay?
Okay? 'Cause I ain't. I...
You know? To me, it's done.
When I found out that Matt went live
with the sale of the home, it was on the MLS,
of course I had to take a look,
you know, look it up, and yeah,
I was kinda surprised at the price.
It was a bit higher than what
he had talked to me about previously.
But there's a lot to like about it,
and, um,
you know, I think he's gonna get some activity on it.
You know, I could raise the seat up
if you wanna give it a try.
I think my butt will be too big for the seat.
That's true. Wouldn't want you to break it
before he got a chance to try.
Oh, really? Really?
-Really, babe? Really? -I'm kidding!
[laughs] I'm kidding.
Oh, gosh.
-I tell ya. -[Chris sighs]
[Zach] Lilah and me are gonna move this dirt pile.
You're just wanting to use your boy-toy here?
Yeah.
Today I'm gonna work on my bridge project,
because when the creek comes through,
it splits the property in half.
So I wanna build a bridge s I can get across to that sid
Yeah, I'm working on project
I'm doing it for us, Tori, and our kids.
This is the thing.
He didn't tell me he was buying a tractor.
He didn't ask. He just bought one.
Such a deal came up, you just can't say no.
But you could tell your wife.
Yeah, I did it before the guy got seller's remorse.
Okay, however though, I have a trust for my husband
that he's not gonna do something stupid.
Like buy an excavator.
-Did you buy an excavator? -[cackles]
No, I didn't.
[Tori] Lilah!
Look at her push you out of the way.
[Zach] I know.
-[Tori] Lilah loves the tractor. -[Zach] Loves the tractor.
Last night at, like, eight o'clock,
her and I are just bouncing around on the tractor.
On the little tractor.
See? She knows I'm giving them
-great, great, core memories. -It's expensive, though.
[Zach] All right, get in.
Growing up on the farm,
you just get experiences
that, like, you just don't get in the city
and neighborhoods.
Yeah, I grew up on tractors
So it's cool I'm able to have this proper
and give my kids fun experiences like that.
I'm proud of the life we've started
up here in Battle Ground.
Just teaching the kids, like, yeah, you can do
anything you need to, but just figuring out
how you can get that done.
Didn't get the farm but we'r starting our own legacy here
and giving our kids a good life.
It's fine that we don't live on the farm.
And even though our relationship
is in a better spot,
I don't think the relationsh with my dad's
gonna be the same.
How he came to that conclusion is what's very upsetting.
Look at how she's walking. Why is she walking like that?
So she doesn't get mud on her shoes.
That's how girls walk. We walk like this so we don't...
Stop being weird. Come on.
[Tori] ...you don't get mud.
[Amy reading]
[Amy] Hey Jackson,
Chris has something very special for you.
Here.
Chris, I think, is trying to find things
to connect with the kids on.
He's got the fish tank, he did the bike thing.
Jackson, he's very stoic, very, like, no reaction.
[Chris] You wanna give it a try?
[Deb] Come on, baby.
Come on, baby girl.
Oopsie! Oopsie!
Okay, I have not really walked in, like...
How long?
Like two weeks. Not good.
-Well then, you know what? -I slipped a few days.
We have to get, or I have to get back into it.
I've been trying to work ou for the last two months.
I wanna continue to walk right up to
just before we leave for the big Alaska trip,
so I'm walking with my good friend Deb.
Anybody can walk a whole lot faster than I ca
so I'm very appreciative that she lets me walk with her,
but, you know, I gotta take in every day I can.
[Deb] How much have you lost?
So, probably about seven, eight more pounds to go.
[Deb] And you've lost how much?
-Seven. -Okay.
We started two months ago and I'm like, "What?
This isn't going fast enough!"
My original weight loss goal was about 15 pounds.
I think Chris's was 20.
I think we both haven't achieved
as much as we had hoped,
but, you know, there comes to a point at a certain age where
I just wanna chill, but I gotta get up and do it again.
[Deb] So, with married life with Chris,
and the grandkids, 'cause he never had kids.
[Amy] That's the thing he's really getting into,
especially for the boys.
-You know? -Well, now they're family.
They're his family, too.
Well, he's enjoying seeing that.
Oh, I love that.
I'm happy that Chris has been able to
embrace and enjoy
having my kids and the grandkids over.
Chris had to come on his own
I didn't wanna push that on to him.
To me, that doesn't create a good relationship.
So this had to come from him, him wanting to do this,
and I'm thrilled that, you know, he's doing it,
and that makes me happy.
How is that new little baby?
-Oh, Josiah? -Yeah.
I just saw them the other day.
-Oh! [giggles] -Oh, he's a cutie.
Anything else going on?
No, not really. I mean,
you know, you probably heard the farm's up for sale.
-[Deb] I did hear. -You know.
And how do the kids feel?
-You know, I just think they're ready to move on. -Yeah.
It's like, let it be for sale, you know?
We tried, and we're tired, and...
-Just... It's in the past. -Yeah. Move on.
It's still...
-You know, having the issue or whatever. -It's a piece of your life.
I think the thing he doesn't understand,
but this is how always Matt has been,
come and go. If it wasn't for me,
we probably would have left that farm
-within five, 10, eight years. -Yeah.
'Cause he moved a lot as a kid.
I didn't, I never moved.
-But I like that stability for kids, and... -Yeah.
When we first bought the farm house,
I don't think Matt intended to be there
as long as, you know, we all have been.
We had originally put an offer on a neighborhood house
but Matt found this farm piece of property.
And so I told him, "I mean, life happens,
but if at all possible, I don't wanna really move
while the kids are growing up.
I would like them to have
a place that they can always remember, call home."
I think legacy is important
I think it should mean something.
Well, that house, that was your home for how many years?
Well, for me, probably about 29.
-Gosh. Well... -Um, yeah.
-Now you got a new home. -Yeah.
[Amy] You know, the house is up for sale,
I mean, there's nothing really I can do about it.
It is what it is.
I just hope that all the kid
have some sort of good memory
about how they grew up, where they grew up.
[Debs] How long are you guys gonna be gone?
[Amy] Uh, the 2nd through the 20th.
[Deb] Oh, that's gonna be fun.
[Amy] We leave, like, a week from now.
[Deb] That is gonna be so much fun.
[Amy] We are so excited that it's not gonna be great weather this weekend,
'cause we have so much to do.
[Deb laughs]
[Josiah fusses]
Come here. Yeah.
I hear ya, honey.
There we go.
It's been a month since Josiah's been born,
and we're starting to take him out more.
Oh, what are you doing?
[Zach] Today we're meeting my mom and Chris
at the park in Portland.
Chris said that he had a surprise for Jackson
so we're excited to see what it is.
[Tori] Where are you guys going?
[Amy] Well, it's a nice little postage stamp of a park.
Yeah. Cute little place. Hey Zach.
-[Zach] Hi, how's it going? -[Chris] Good.
Lilah sure likes the...
The little playground? Hey Lilah!
[Chris] Oh. How's he doing?
[Tori] He thinks he's hungry, but he's not.
-Aww. -That's all you do.
So far everything's good? Healthy and...
-[Tori] Everything's great. -That's good.
This is the second time that I've met Josiah.
Zach and Tori came over once,
and I did get a chance to meet Josiah,
but, you know, I mean, at that age he's just
-a little shriveled ball of flesh. -He's not shriveled!
He barely had his eyes open, I mean, you know...
And you held him, but you didn't want to.
Yeah, I've just never been into babies.
I feel uncomfortable, you know,
holding or picking them up
because, you know, they just seem
so vulnerable, so fragile.
Until they start speaking
and I can communicate with them, uh...
-And interacting with them. -Yeah, yeah.
It's just a lot more fun to interact that way,
so, um, yeah.
It's all a big learning experience.
[Amy] Hey Jackson,
Chris has something very special for you.
Okay?
[Jackson speaking]
[Amy] All right, Chris!
[Tori] Hey, that's awesome!
[Zach] Yeah, that's way cool.
-[Amy] Oh, dear. -[Zach] Are you stoked?
[Amy] Do you like that bike?
[Jackson speaking]
[Chris] You wanna give it a try?
Jackson, here, you gotta put your helmet on, though.
Here.
-It's just like your scooter. -This is a brand new thing.
[Amy] Hey Lilah Ray! Come on, Lilah!
Have you been on one of these yet?
[Amy] Besides a tricycle?
They've all been too big.
Jackson, he's very stoic, very, like, no reaction.
You won't know if he likes something
until you get him home, alone,
to see how much he talks about it.
But I think it was really ni
that Chris found a bike that fits Jackson
without having Jackson there. I am impressed.
[Chris] You know how to get on one of those?
Okay, so put this foot on this pedal
and then swing the other leg around.
There you go.
Here, step up there. There you go.
Oh yeah, yeah, get on the seat.
-Okay. Now. -Can he reach them? Yes!
Now, you press this way to go
and then if you wanna stop, push back and it'll stop.
Okay? All right.
Jackson was just barely abl to reach the pedals.
It turned out that my block idea
was a blockhead idea.
-[laughs] -It didn't work.
When he went to put his feet on the pedal,
they would flip, and wouldn't end up
-in the right position for his feet. -I see.
-You gotta push that down. -[Tori] Just watch, honey.
[gasps]
[Tori] Gotta keep going, J.
-Just keep going forward. -[Tori] There you go.
-Gotta push down, push down. -There you go. Keep going!
Watch where you're going.
Push down that way, not behind you.
The other way's gonna stop.
I think he might have just been trying out the brake.
There you go. And then watch where you're going.
You gotta steer, too.
-[Amy] Yeah, there you go. -[Tori] Good job, J.
-[Tori] Nice, dude! -Good job, Jackson.
When it's on this side, this foot, push down,
but then once it goes here,
once it goes right here, stop pushing
and only push on this foot.
Okay? Right, left.
Right, left. Right, left.
There you go. Push down and forward.
There you go, there you go!
Chris, I think, is trying to find
things to connect with the kids on.
He's got the fish tank, he did the bike thing.
So it's nice of Chris to tak some interest in the kids
and does fun things like that. So I think it was great.
[Chris] Yeah, I've never taught a kid
how to ride a bike before.
I certainly don't remember when I learned.
You just keep moving forward.
Keep going, keep going.
No backwards, just keep going forward.
-All right! -[Tori] There you go!
Watch where you're going, though.
I was really happy that Jackson took to the bike.
He struggled a little bit at first, and I was--
Well, he kept not knowing how to go forward,
how to go forward and the brakes.
[Chris] Yeah, yeah, he kept hitting the brake.
But in the end it seemed like, yeah,
like he liked it, like he enjoyed it.
Good job. That's awesome.
[Zach] Jackson, good job starting that.
-Yeah, we'll have to practice that. -Hey, Jackson, Jackson.
What do you tell Chris and Mimi?
You're welcome.
-[Jackson] Lilah, you... -[Tori] Watch out, watch out.
[Amy] Good job, babe.
You know, it's watching stuff like this
where I regret that I never had kids.
-Oh! -You know, I...
didn't have any of these moments.
Well, now you have these ones to share.
Well, Jackson, we're glad that you like the bike.
Chris was so excited to give that to you.
[Chris] Mmm.
Can I try it? [groans]
Oh, my gosh.
Here I go. Whoo!
Whoa-ho-ho!
[Zach] Gosh, knuckleheads.
[Matt reading]
So, that's Matt's future home site.
The plan is for Matt and I to move in together
once the house build is complete.
I would be really sad if he builds this
and then the kids don't feel like he's worthy of coming.
Right now everything is so turmoil,
and I don't know, I don't know how it fell apart so bad.
You guys gonna be able to come and help us out for pumpkin season?
Yeah, we'll be here.
I should be able to show you your new bedroom.
-It should be a frame. -[laughs] My new bedroom!
You won't be able to sleep in it.
I don't think you guys are gonna let me in that house.
That's what I like about your DW,
you don't have to take your shoes off.
That's true.
Cowboy Bob and his wife Jody
I just met Jody in recent years,
you know, 10 years ago, but Bob I've known
for 40-some-odd years.
We grew up together
just south of San Francisco
in a town called San Bruno.
We were, I think, 14 or 15 years old,
and we went to junior high together
and high school together.
And Bob and Jody, they're in town for a couple of days.
He was on his way up to northern California
and kinda detoured through to come see us here at the farm.
What are you boys chatting?
-Minding our own business. -Hey hey hey.
-We are going to go take a walk. -Oh, okay.
[Matt] Only one condition. When you come back,
you can't have a honey-do-list.
[Caryn] Well, that's what we're working on.
Don't talk about us while we're gone.
Uh, we might, just a little bit.
[Caryn] I met Jody maybe seven, eight years ago
You know, Bob and Matt were good friends,
and they would come up for pumpkin season
and stay on the farm, so we...
so we got to be good friends really quickly.
She's a really neat person.
Oh, yeah, this isn't getting much use these days.
[Jody] Well, that has to be sad right there.
[Caryn] I know, it's probably weird
for you guys coming to town and there's no...
[Jody] No little kids.
-[Caryn] Kids. -[Jody] No little Jackson.
Well, I bet he misses being here
because he always loved to come and play on the farm.
You and Bob went up to see them.
-We did. -So you've seen their new place.
We saw their new place.
They didn't have chickens at that time.
Uh, but I think maybe they've gotten chickens by now.
So I've heard. [chuckles]
Bob and Jody have known Zach and Tori for a long tim
So they were aware, you know,
that things were not super-cohesive.
Um, I think they had hoped to see them,
but it just... You know, every family has stuff,
so the stars weren't aligned.
It's hard, you know, I think
blending families... You know, Matt and I aren't married
but I still went all in
because I plan to spend my life with Matt.
And so I love those kids like,
seriously, like they were blood,
and I don't really have any tools
to fix this,
and I have to let it run its course. It's his family.
It is his family.
He's gonna have to figure out how to fix this.
You know, honestly, I remain really sad
about the whole situation. I wish it had never happened.
If we could go back in time,
I know Matt and I would do things differently.
I wish I knew how to move forward. I'm ready,
and if I were to see an opportunity to fix it,
I would be all over it.
But the opportunity hasn't really come around
that feels natural.
When it all went down and the big meeting went bad,
I'm sure there were things that Matt said or I jumped in.
I wish that after it was over,
we could have sat and talked about it like adults.
'Cause we didn't ever have a chance to say,
"Wow, we didn't mean it that way.
This is actually where we were coming from."
We haven't had that opportunity
because they just left, and so I don't know what to do.
This whole thing has been painful.
You know, if my kids weren't talking to me,
I'd probably go show up on their doorstep
and just be like, "Let's work this out.
Like, time is getting away from us.
I'm not... I don't like this."
And I would love to do that,
in this situation it's just not my place.
Each family has their own dynamic,
and so I can't instill my process on to this family.
They have their way, and so
I need to let Matt kind of work through this.
So that... That's Matt's future home site.
-That big pile of dirt. -[Jody] Oh.
So it's hard to vision,
but somewhere out here is the backyard.
Somewhere out here.
Maybe in a year from now, when you guys come,
we'll be able to actually sit out here
instead of the back of the DW.
How do you feel about maybe living here now?
[Caryn] I'm excited.
I don't think I care where we live,
but it was time to move toward our future.
The plan is for Matt and I to move in together
once the house build is complete.
We've been together for many years,
and we love being in Arizona together,
that's kinda where we "lived together" on vacation.
And so this will really feel solid.
Like kind of turning that final page
on being together all the time,
so it's exciting and slightly terrifying.
I would be really sad if he builds this
and then the kids don't feel like
he's worthy of coming, or...
You know, the idea is to have a space where we can look out
and see all my grandchildren, his grandchildren, his kids.
Right now everything is so turmoil,
-and it's just so unfortunate. -Yeah.
I don't know, I don't know how it fell apart so bad.
Yeah.
[Caryn] It was nice
having a heartfelt conversation with Jody.
It's just someone to bounce stuff off.
They have family stuff,
so we have a lot in common in that area.
It's just...
It's great to have great people in your life.
Cheers. Next year we'll be toasting to some wine
and maybe the kids will be
out there running in the fields, right?
You might have a new grandchild by then.
[scoffs]
[Caryn] I'm not sure where to go from here.
I think I'm open but I'm not pushing.
I heard a saying once: if you build it, they will come.
Let's be hopeful on that.
Well, I'm glad to have you.
[Jody] I know!
[Amy reading]
[Bob] I know there's, like,
a lot of turmoil, let's say, with family.
[Matt] I mean, I think Zach's very upset.
But he sat down, one conversation,
and came out with demands.
A lot of people say that
I told the kids that they would inherit this property,
and I never said anybody would inherit it.
I definitely made some mistakes along the way.
Root beer! Thank you. My favorite.
-Cheers. -All right.
What's up?
Mmm.
That's good root beer, baby.
When are you going on your horseback...
your horse-backing trip?
We go Wednesday.
Bobby, as we always called him through school,
um, was always a cowboy.
He always wore a big belt buckle
and a cowboy hat, that was his thing.
And I was a little bit more of a hippy.
I had long hair, and he was a little bit more clean-cut
Now he's retired and enjoying life
and he sort of spends a fair amount of time on the road.
And they come by and spend a week, and we hang out
and share war stories.
So, you've heard about all the craziness going on.
That's one of the things why I wanted to come up here
so I could get it from your mouth.
There's a lot going on in the farm, huh?
-Yeah. -I couldn't believe you're selling it.
You know, I'm trying to...
get to retirement stage.
I know there's, like, a lot of turmoil, let's say,
with the family and the farm and who's gonna live there
and who's gonna buy it. How's that going?
[Matt] Yeah, I mean, I think Zach's very upset,
but he sat down, one conversation,
and he came in with demands,
-you know, that just couldn't be... -Oh, yeah.
That went beyond price and had to do with
all the other guarantees he wanted, you know?
And the maintenance, and this, and...
Things that I just, I, you know...
couldn't accommodate.
Family, negotiating with family's gotta be
-a tough thing to do. -Yeah.
Yes. I don't think, um...
You might have a stubborn streak.
-Have you ever seen the stubborn streak? -Yeah, I have.
But I also know nobody that cares
about his family more than you.
And I don't know if your family understands that.
I think that they, a lot of times they see
kinda like crossing the Ts, dotting the Is and all that,
and that you're some businessman and all that.
I know different.
-You have to take care of yourself. -Yeah.
But I know you also wanna take care of your family.
And I don't know if they see that
as much as, like, I can,
being from the outside looking in.
[Matt] Mmm.
The last thing I wanna do is open this all up again,
but I feel much better
having the chance to talk with an old buddy
that I've known, and who's known me
for as many years as he has.
I definitely made some mistakes along the way,
and I'd say one of my biggest mistakes
was I continued to think that these kids would figure out
how to keep the farm in the family,
that legacy, but the problem was,
if I'm gonna give you something,
then to suddenly think, "Oh, wait a minute, I'm sorry,
you should probably earn that a little bit,"
-it's hard to turn that corner. -Absolutely. Right.
[Matt] Lot of people say tha
I told the kids that they would inherit this property,
and I never said anybody would inherit it.
I always said that hopefully we could
keep this as a legacy.
That made a giant assumption which was my fault.
My assumption was that
the kids were gonna work together as a team
and share in the business.
But everybody had different dreams and aspirations
and goals for their own individual life.
You can't blame them for that.
But I cannot keep an expectation
that no longer is valid.
And you're beating yourself up
over a lot of this stuff, you know,
and you've done what you can do.
But the idea that you gave them a choice of
possibly owning that,
you know, when you're still around
is admirable, because I don't know anybody...
My family wouldn't have done that.
Have you ever heard the phrase "I created a monster"?
Created a bunch of little monsters.
-The farm is definitely a monster. -The farm's a monster.
You also have four great kids.
Like, if I was gonna say something to them,
I think that they did the right thing
by creating a piece of their own world.
I think they'll be happier for that.
I agree with that.
I think even though Zach never really said to me
he wanted a blank slate,
I do think that Zach did want that.
He didn't want something that I was hovering over,
and had all this expectation
He wanted to be his own man with his own creations,
and, um, I respected that.
So, it sells tomorrow. What's next?
I wanna split my time. 50%, you know,
-would be my objective. -Right.
Especially now that my folks are down there in Arizona,
-Caryn's folks are down there. -That's right, that's right.
As far as the pumpkin season,
I'm just gonna do that
for maybe another year,
-maybe two. -Yeah, yeah.
No, there's a lot of work that goes into that.
I think one thing you deserve is you deserve retirement.
Some people say retirement is not
what it's cracked up to be, and it's not always.
But I know for a fact
you would have so many projects going on.
And I can see you down there basket weaving
-in one of those old folks' groups, you know? -Old folks' crochet club?
We might be right there with you, you know?
[both chuckle]
Yeah.
Bob's a straight shooter.
Bob would tell me directly if he disagreed with me.
And it meant a lot to me that he doesn't think
I'm that far out of line of being fair
and true to myself and, you know, to the family.
Dealing with Zach, I'm just gonna do
what I've always done, take little steps,
and do what I can and don't dwell on what I can't change,
and I'm just gonna keep trying.
[Amy] Next on Little People, Big World...
Bob and Jody's visit was really nice.
I was able to share with Bob how disheartening it is
that my kids aren't just celebrating
experiences that they had,
instead of focusing so much
on what they're not gonna have in the future.
[Caryn] This whole thing has been painful.
The fact that it's still going on is heartbreaking.
I sometimes am a little sensitive.
I think it has a lot to do with
trying to be so careful about my image
and how people look at me throughout my whole life.
There are moments where, you know,
it goes back to my childhood, that, um...
Yeah.
What you look at as "all okay" I look at it as critical.
Hey!
Thank you for inviting us.
My good friend Brian and his wife Geri
flew in from Texas a couple of days ago.
What did you guys think of Matt when you first met him?
You were a nice guy. You were nice to me.
You smiled straight to my face
when you stabbed me in the back.
[laughing]
Go, shoot it! Shoot it!
Nice, left foot!
I think Grandpa's gonna be out here soccer.
-[Jackson speaking] -And Cha Cha.
[Tori] Caryn tells other people that
she's waiting for our olive branch,
and that olive branch...
the dove took it to another island, I don't know.