[narrator] Previously on Little People, Big World.
Brian.
-Good to see you. -You too.
[Matthew] I met Brian from the Little People
of America Conference.
We have these big conferences once a year
all over the United States.
So did you get hit on a lot when you went to the event?
I said yes to him pretty quick.
[Matthew] Amy was new in the national scene.
And I remember saying, "Who's the gal with the hoops," you know?
And kind of it went from there.
Caryn, have you ever gone to one?
No.
Oh, so--
I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to it.
Finally, I'm getting to go along.
And Zach and Tori and the kids are also going
I don't know how long it's been since I've seen
Jackson and Lilah.
And I haven't gotten to see Josiah yet.
This rift with us is heartbreaking, really.
Goal to goal. Goal to goal.
Go, shoot it. Shoot it.
We're getting ready for the LPA convention.
I think grandpa is gonna be at your soccer.
[Jackson speaking]
When we see my dad and Caryn,
it's just... it's not... it's whatever.
We'll be focused on other things.
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.
Who's going to get there first?
I think Mom's going to get there first.
Am I going to beat you?
[Jackson speaking]
Do you want me to push you?
I'm going to beat you. I'm almost there.
We're back from our vacation in Spokane
at the LPA convention.
Go, Jackson, go.
LPA is Little People of America.
They host an annual conventi every year
around the United States.
And then DAAA, which is Dwarf Athletic Associatio
of America, they host the dwarf games in connection
with LPA's convention.
[woman] Come on, Jackson.
Go, go!
I work with the DAAA board a lot.
It was a fun time. It was great.
Jackson played some soccer for the first time.
Killed it.
Seeing Jackson hang out with fellow LPs
was a lot of fun.
[Chris speaking]
Jackson's been to other conferences,
but he was super young.
This is the first one that he, like, participated in.
All right, Jackson, go.
I think it was a little overwhelming, but I think
he had a lot of fun.
Jackson's so confident.
He's a really confident kid
And he enjoyed the experience.
You got to get down there.
So when he kicks it, he's going to kick
it to one of you guys.
My mom was one of the foundi members and athletes of DAAA
So it is kind of a generational thing.
She was part of that first group.
And then and then me, I came in and then now
Jackson's participating.
Here you go.
Kick it hard.
[woman] There you go. He's picking it up.
You know, Chris saw LPA for the first time.
I was wondering if they'd all be looking
at me like, "Amy, what did you do?
What did you do?"
No, instead, they're looking at you like,
"What a lucky girl."
Yeah.
It was great reconnecting with some people.
Last time I saw them, we were all kids.
And now we're all dads.
It can be an intimidating thing to walk into it.
It's just overwhelming.
I think I was intimidated 'cause I took the, like,
number one Bachelor of LPA.
No, I don't know if there's jealousy.
[Tori] There was.
We won't name names, but there were a couple ladies.
Zach was like a wanted dude.
Like, he's a good-looking dude.
I don't blame anyone.
Are you guys ready?
[Zach] Chris is very good in social settings,
so I'm sure he found his...
his niche and was able to survive.
Hey, Jackson. Can I give you some good luck?
-[Caryn] Fist bump? -Give me a five.
Fist bump. Fist bump would be better.
[woman] Can I have one, too?
I saw my dad and Caryn at Jackson's soccer DAAA.
Caryn got to meet Josiah.
It was good that she was able to see
him and finally meet him.
Jackson, go.
It was a fun, like, first DAAA experience for our family.
This is a good spot.
Nice and shady.
We're happy to be home in Battle Ground.
And we still have so much of the summer to enjoy.
Summer's just getting going.
Guys, you can ride your scooter right here if you want.
Do you want a snack?
Huh?
Lilah, do you need to go potty?
Do you need to go potty?
Don't go pee-pee in your pants.
Okay?
We're starting to potty trai
She's a little more interest in potty training
than Jackson ever was.
You know, she has stuff going on with her ears,
and so our pediatrician gave her...
it's not a hearing test, but it's like a pressure test
that they... they send something to the eardrum
and it's supposed to kick something back.
It's like supposed to emit something.
And hers has flatlined, which is like not good.
That usually means that there's water behind her eardrums.
And so we're gonna go see an ear, nose, throat doctor
like to see if it's affecting her hearing and delaying
her speech or what's going on.
[indistinct]
Isn't he so cute?
Babe, we gave birth to the same child twice, though.
Jackson and Josiah.
-Yeah, they're twins. -Yeah, they look identical.
He's a little bit smaller, I would say, than Jackson.
Like Jackson was just like he was like a chunk.
Like a rumble.
But they look very similar, I think.
their temperament is definitely similar.
Like, Josiah's definitely starting to get a little bi
more of like an attitude then, like, Jackson.
Like, Jackson was just chill.
Jackson was solid.
He was so chill.
All right, so camp out next week.
How are you gonna get that tent back up?
[Jackson speaking]
-[Zach] Yeah. -With a little help of him?
-Yeah, Jackson's gonna help me. -Yeah. I love it.
It's going to take all...
it's gonna be an all-day thing.
Jackson and I are gonna do a campout on the property.
When we were dating, we had a campfire at the farm
every single night.
-Like, no joke, no exaggeration. -Yeah, every weekend.
Now we have our own spot.
We have a brand-new spot for our own little campfire.
It's just, like, glorious.
Jackson. What do you want to eat at the campfire?
[Jackson speaking]
You could cook some hot dogs.
-Yeah, we can do hot dogs. -Yeah, we can do hot dogs.
And brown beans, Dad's favorite.
-Daddy can do the brown beans. -My favorite.
I would eat the whole can.
[Jackson speaking]
[Zach] I'll be in charge of the dinner
and we'll cook over the fire
And keep it simple. Just a little hot dog action
Just loves a good bean.
I love me some fat brown beans.
[Zach speaking]
[Jackson speaking]
[Lilah sobbing]
Her life. Her life, man.
It's so rough.
Lilah has never been camping so she doesn't have any feelings.
I will not be taking Lilah camping, I'm sorry.
I will take her to the princess castles
of all princess castles.
I will not be taking her camping.
She won't be camping in the backyard either.
She's gonna be a handful.
She already is a handful.
We'll not be waking up at 11:00 for her crying
and saying, "Mumma, Mumma, Mumma."
I can't really picture her camping at the moment.
Do I get to sleep out there with you?
It's only two cots out there.
Darn.
Well, maybe one day, Mom has her...
I have a big air mattress that we can put out there.
[Jackson speaking]
[Tori speaking]
The new tent's just for Zach and Jackson.
It's gonna be sweaty and it's gonna be...
Dusty and...
Dusty and dirty and--
Sappy.
Yeah.
My ideal camping situation is like an RV
or a hotel cabin.
Yeah.
Come here. You come here.
You come hang out with Mom.
[Zach] Unbelievable.
[cooing]
[Tori] Can you go get the burp cloth, please?
[cooing]
That was disgusting.
Oh, it's so pretty.
Summer.
There's like greens and flowers and sunshine.
[Matthew speaking]
Mint. I got a lot of mint at my house.
So we just got back from the LPA conference.
And it was the 65th year of the organization
I've been a member, you know since I was young.
Hot coffee.
Thank you.
Croissant.
Oh, they did have that.
-They did. -Excellent.
It's very much like going to a big-time class reunion
or something.
It's a lot of old friends.
People that you've known your entire life
that you only get to see, you know, every year or every couple of years.
And I enjoy it immensely.
It's great to connect with people, meet new people.
Brought Caryn this year.
I guess I didn't realize going through that pamphlet
and going to some of those seminars
and having all of those renowned doctors there.
And it was very well organized.
It was... it was a good time.
Going to the LPA conference was actually an honor.
I was very excited to be included
because it's coveted to people that are in that community.
They are looking for connection and resources.
Yeah, it was great to watch you catch up with all your old
buddies and hear the stories.
It was fun.
[Caryn] This was my very fir LPA conference.
I've heard about them for years
and years and years.
And I had a little teeny bit of trepidation
just 'cause I didn't know what to expect.
But honestly, walked in the door.
Everybody was welcoming.
And being the average sized person,
I wasn't really the odd man out.
There was plenty of other little people an average siz there.
It was astounding. I had a really, really good time.
Of course, I was there with my handsome boyfriend.
But I enjoyed it on many levels.
And I met a ton of Matt's old girlfriends.
They're all very cute and sassy, of course.
Giving me the once over.
They gave you the once over.
I'm sure people were curious about how...
about meeting you.
I'm sure they were.
And I'm sure they were curious about, you know,
Amy and I interacted and Chris, Amy, me, you all interacted.
But, you know, we hung out with them a lot.
[Chris] And how was your night last night?
Partied into the wee hours?
Amy.
These little people party.
Any... Amy out-partied us.
At one point, Amy came up to me and whispered in my ear.
She said, "Do you think people are going to take sides with us?"
Like, "Well, if they are, I don't feel it yet.
Do you feel it?"
She goes, "No, I don't," you know?
Well, how could they?
'Cause we were together, so they couldn't pick a side.
Right.
There was no sides to pick.
And I joked... I joked to Amy, we should have had T-shirts made.
Mine, says "Team Amy" and her says "Team Matt."
I'll buy them.
You'll buy them.
That'll be awesome.
I think all the other little people that we've known
our whole lives that know that we've got divorced,
I think they were all, you know, realizing,
"Hey, you don't have to take sides.
It's not Amy against Matt."
You know, we weren't wrestling common friends for each other,
and we were just Amy and Matt doing our thing.
I was very impressed by Jackson's little soccer ability.
He definitely knew which way the goal was.
Having a soccer dad coach is probably helpful.
[Matthew] Uh-huh.
We went and saw Jackson play soccer, obviously,
because that was one of the main reasons that we went.
I think he just melded righ into the whole concept.
It was really, really outstanding,
fun to watch him interact with other LPs of his size.
Getting to watch Jackson, you know, in his little soccer tournament with
not only his peers in his age group,
but they're all little like him.
And I don't know that he's ever experienced that.
So what a neat connection to make at a young age.
Yeah.
And I got to meet Josiah. He's cute.
And when I went up and said hi to Lilah.
And I hadn't seen her in a long time, you know,
she's looking at me and I said, "Can I sit down?"
And I won her over with that.
Next thing you know, we're over playing rocks.
Yeah, she liked that, throwing rock with you.
Yeah.
It was so fun to get to see Zach and Tori's kids.
I mean, I hadn't seen him in a while.
And so it was just... that was delightful.
And I got to meet Josiah.
He's a little... little button.
The National LPA Conference was in Spokane, Washington,
and that happens to be where my daughter Moll
and her husband Joel live.
He's all fired up.
It's all that matters.
You got it, sis?
Zach and Tori stayed with Molly and Joel,
but they were more focused on the sport,
which was at a local college
so we didn't see a lot of them.
We saw them a couple of times real briefly,
you know, coming and going.
But they were busy, you know, taking care of the kids.
I felt worn out after the first couple days.
I was... I was absolutely exhausted after two days.
Well, Arizona was nice.
-Yeah. -That was... that was fun.
I think it's fantastic that now when we go...
it's not just my parents, now it's your parents, too.
-Yeah. -And the fact that they hang out.
That's so funny.
Very funny.
After a couple of days at the LPA, Caryn and I flew
directly from Spokane down to Phoenix.
My folks relocated from Central California
down to Arizona, and they love it.
Both our parents, without planning it for years and years,
ended up in the same zip code.
And I'm sitting there with my dad
and he's like, "Oh, Ron's calling."
In the short time that Matt's parents
have been so close, they've gotten close to my parents.
So looking forward to spending a lot of time with them.
Coming up.
Have you ever talked to Matt about this whole farm deal?
We got into a little tiff and he thinks he's owned
up to all his mistakes.
I'm like--
I've noticed a change with Amy speaking up.
Now with the farm sale, I think she's just
finally said enough.
And again, with Matt, you need to own
up to what you've done.
[man] And later.
I had a lot of fun with him at LPA.
But it has got me thinking.
I feel like he is getting close to realizing
like he is different.
[Tori] Yeah.
He was paired up with kids his age that are dwarfs and he was like,
"Why am I playing with the babies?"
Eventually it'll catch on to him, that collision
of confidence and self-worth and then reality
is what hurts the most.
-I've never been here. -I haven't either.
-Thank you. -Looks interesting.
Look at the menu here first.
Something is coming towards us.
Oh, dear.
What?
Okay. They talk about this.
I have never seen this.
I have not either.
Is that, like, even for us?
Maybe not.
Oh, I guess it is.
We are table four, I think.
You want to grab it for both?
Okay.
Especially after COVID,
some restaurants are trying out
these robot type things.
Okay, I think we have to push done.
-Oh, yeah. -Oh.
-Okay. -Wow. That's...
Wow.
[Amy] See you later, you scooter thing, you.
[Lisa] Okay, we have to catch up.
We haven't... You've been gone.
I've been gone.
No, really. Seriously.
We've lost two months.
We're getting old.
-[Lisa] I know. -We're getting old.
Time is flying.
[Lisa] Well, that is true.
-And... oh, my goodness. -Wow.
Look at this wow.
[woman speaking]
-Okay. -Oh, okay.
-[woman speaking] -So does he have a name?
Oh, this is the fondue right here?
[woman speaking]
Oh. Shoshanna.
-All right. -Thank you.
Thanks, Shoshanna. Is that her name?
Yeah, Shoshanna. See you later.
-Oh, my goodness. -Where do we start?
How was the LPA conference?
It was very interesting with Chris
going to the conference.
I said, "Babe, you're going to be the sequoia amongst
all these little bushes, you know, or something."
And I said, "I can't tell you whether to kneel down
or take a knee, kneel down, just be eye to eye,
'cause some little people,
if you do do that, then they're like,
Hey, you don't have to do that."
-Yeah. -But no, Chris loved it.
This was Chris's first time going to a national conference.
I tried to prep Chris, but not too much.
But from what he told me, I mean,
he had a great time.
He met some great people, people I've known for a long, long time.
They were very welcoming, very accepting of him.
I was very appreciative.
So have you ever talked to Matt about how you felt
about this whole farm deal?
Well, towards the end, you know, when he was thinking
about putting the place up for sale.
We got in a little tiff.
You don't admit to anything.
Well, I'm taking responsibility, so.
[Amy speaking]
There's a lot going on...
There's a lot going on that you don't know about.
He thinks he's owned up to all his mistakes.
I'm like, "Well, I think you better ask all four of us.
I don't know."
Wow.
It can't just be, "They did this and it couldn't be worked out.
I tried to do this, but they just, you know,
wouldn't hear of it."
I think in order for things to rectify,
you've got to let the kids know,
"Hey, I had a part in this, too.
I probably could have done something different to see
if this would have worked out."
Well, I'm glad you had your voice,
if that's what came out of it and you were able to stand up.
I know a lot of many, many years
where you held it in and held it in.
Boy, did I hold it in.
I always had a tendency to hold it in.
He... he oversteps,
he... he out maneuvers everything.
I've noticed a change with Amy speaking up.
And even sometimes with Chris, there are things that I think
she was passive in the past and now she's like,
"No, this is important to me, and I want you
to hear what I have to say."
Now with the farm sale, I think she's just finally said,
"Enough. This is how I feel."
And, and, with Matt, you nee to own up to what you've don
To see the farm not go to one of the kids
when that was their dream, it's just really sad
for me to see that.
Once the sale happens, maybe that will be an opportunity
over time to break down and, you know,
maybe he can or maybe the kids will be a lot more comfortable
coming into something that works for them.
As a relationship, you mean?
Yeah.
I know the boys are really hurt.
I've actually had some conversations
with... with them.
And I don't know.
That's something that's a healing process
because the kids, really, their heart was into it.
And I just don't know if that came into play
when the sale came about the way it did.
I think it was maybe more financially driven.
This wasn't a family deal.
It was a business deal.
They're done.
They're not looking at buying the farm.
No.
It's like done.
You move on.
Yeah.
[Jackson speaking]
-What? -[Jackson speaking]
[Zach] Jackson and I are setting up
the new canvas tent.
We're gonna have a family campfire dinner,
but only Jackson and I,
are gonna be camping out tonight.
[Jackson speaking]
Jackson, you're the one that's supposed to be helping me.
Why did you give him a popsicle
when he was supposed to be helping me?
I wanted a popsicle, and I knew if I got
a popsicle, I'd be in trouble if I didn't get them one, so.
-Unbelievable. -I didn't think that one through.
See that.
Oops, can you get that one?
I loved going camping as a kid with the family.
When I was a kid, me and my dad would take
us camping far out in the Oregon wilderness.
And it was always a fun time
Go!
[Zach] One of my favorite things to do.
[gun fires]
Now, yeah, extending that to Jackson,
I hope he likes to go be outdoors
and this helps develop that love.
I'm excited for when Josiah and Lilah get older,
and we can all do a big family campout.
All right, bring me a yellow one.
And go.
You did that fast.
God bless whoever color coordinated these.
You did great, though, babe.
You've already got the roof.
Oh, here comes the hard part.
[Jackson speaking]
On a scale of one to ten, how helpful is Jackson?
Uh, he's been helpful for a second there.
[Tori] Is Daddy so good?
[Jackson speaking]
[Zach] Pole, Jackson.
All right, drop the pole.
Yay!
Good job.
Good job, Jackson. Very helpful.
Even though Jackson started off slow, he came through.
Wow!
Good job, boys.
[Zach speaking]
[Jackson speaking]
Just the boys.
Why can't the girls come?
[Jackson speaking]
-Yeah. -[Jackson speaking]
[Tori speaking]
[Jackson speaking]
Now it's time for just the boys to set
everything up in the tent.
What are you going to bring in the tent?
Um, my pillow.
[Zach] Pillow and your pal.
[Jackson] Bunny and--
And shall we bring some board games?
Yeah. Like, Trouble.
[Jackson speaking]
Thank you.
Can't wait to camp out with you.
[Jackson speaking]
In business.
Hope the bumpers are up.
[man] Coming up.
Bowling is a little tricky for me.
That's a bad one.
My fingers don't really fit in the hole.
Good one.
Oh, that wasn't right.
And later.
When it comes to Jackson being different, I don't think
he's caught on yet.
We haven't had the talk about how we're different
than everyone else.
I worry about, like, he's so like, has such confidence
in himself, I hope that that doesn't break
him down, you know?
That's like part of the sad thing of the transition
of like being a dwarf and then recognizing
like, "Oh, wow, I am being left behind."
[Ty] Hi there.
How's it going?
Good.
We're here to do some bowling, so I need, like, 10.5s.
Ten-and-a-halves.
I'm just going to keep my shoes.
I know that kind of breaks the rules, but yeah.
-Not a problem. -Is that okay?
You sure you don't want bowling shoes?
No, I would... I would trip and fall.
Ty's kind of bigger than lif
You know, him and I go way back, and he's a fun guy.
When's the last time you went bowling?
Oh, probably about ten years ago.
You guys are gonna stay in the same house together?
[Matt] No, we're going to show them our house,
but we're not going to... we're not going to go that far.
[Ty] A lot of people marry their spouse a second time.
My friend Tina.
[Matt] What? We're not going there.
-Yeah, yeah. -You need to just stop.
I don't even really remembe when the first time
I met him, but we immediately clicked.
And we've been buddies ever since.
Okay.
Bowling.
Hope the... hope bumpers are up.
Ready, Ty?
[Ty] I'm ready.
[Matthew] Bowling's cool.
I enjoy it.
Oh!
That wasn't right.
Not good.
But bowling's a little tricky for me.
First off, my fingers don't really fit in the hole.
In any of the holes... any of my fingers.
[Matthew speaking]
Although I should try that sometime.
But I do have fun just pushing it down.
And, you know, I try to push it as fast as you can so that
it doesn't roll into the gutter.
-I put a little spin on it. -There you go.
Oh, good one.
It's going to curve over.
That's a bad one.
Nice form, Ty.
Oh, right there.
You got it.
[Ty] Right down the center.
[Zach] Here we go.
[Ty] Oh, there you go.
[Zach] There you go, baby.
You got it.
Good job.
Going bowling was kind of fun.
I don't know why I don't do it more often.
It took a little toll on the ol' body,
but it was, for the most part, pretty enjoyable.
Okay, take a break.
What do you think so far, huh?
Yeah. I'm glad.
It's good to get out, get away from the farm.
Go out with you.
-There you go. -We're not somewhere...
Are you still excited to sell it? What's going on with that?
Yeah. Well, we had people looking at it today.
-[Ty] Oh, you did? -Yeah. Second visit.
Tomorrow, a third visit.
Wow.
A couple of new folks had come in
to look at the property in the north side.
And I'm pleased with the interest level.
You excited to have a neighbor?
Yeah. I mean, it's... it's sad and happy.
I mean, it's like a relief, you know.
I'm not so sorry about the big house...
[Ty] Right.
...because I haven't lived there for however many years.
-It's been a long time. -Long time.
-[Ty] Long time. -[Zach] Oh, here comes.
All right.
Are we okay down here? I know that's kind of breaking the rules.
Absolutely. No, you can drink it right down here.
-Thank you. Yeah. -Bacardi with Diet.
Perfect. Thank you. Thank you, my friend.
Cheers.
When I bought the farm, I said to myself...
[Matthew speaking]
To me it's just, "Okay, so it took 30 years, but..."
Right.
I'm not feeling quite as sad.
I think I'm feeling more a sense of relief.
[Matthew speaking]
[Matthew] And I think Amy did, too.
And I think some of the kids kind of, you know, it's hard.
It's where they grew up.
My prayer and my wish is I want them to look back
and think about the good memories
and how it was amazing childhood
and that it was wonderful.
Yeah, that's interesting.
It'd be interesting when you build a house...
-Oh, yeah. -...what your feelings.
Did you hear what we found out?
No.
They're telling me that it's going to take,
like, six months to get a permit.
That's what it just took us.
That puts me right in the middle of rainy season.
Now I got to wait till it dries out again.
Yeah, you can't build that house in the...
Nah, it's not going to happen this year.
[Ty] Wow.
Well, the new house build,
it's... the word that I heard today is logjam.
There's a logjam at the county for the permitting process.
So the new house project is going to take longer.
A little bit frustrating.
It's a long time. It sets me back almost a year.
I think Caryn's disappointe about what's happening.
Right now, we're just sort of hanging out in limbo.
It just doesn't make sense for us, for me to propose to her,
for us to get married until we have a place
that we can land in.
And neither one of our house work for each other.
So it's just very, very disappointing.
He's behind by ten points.
He throws it down for the good old man.
What did I tell you?
-I won. -I lost by two.
Oh, jeez.
I love it.
[man] Coming up.
We're keeping it simple.
Hot dogs, buns, and ketchup
That's it. We don't need anything else.
We all ended up just eating hot dogs
because we didn't have any beans.
'Cause I forgot the beans 'cause I did the grocery shopping.
But you also didn't put in an order for beans.
Oh, you're about to get crushed.
[producer speaking]
Lilah, are you going night-night?
Yes.
No. We're going to do a fire and do hotdogs.
You're gonna cook your own hotdog.
[Zach speaking]
We're keeping it simple. Hot dogs, buns and ketchup.
That's it. I don't need anything else.
We all ended up just eating hot dogs
because we didn't have any beans.
'Cause I forgot the beans 'cause I did the grocery shopping.
So we had no beans.
[producer speaking]
She actually forgot the beans.
But you also didn't put in an order for beans.
I... It was discussed.
I would like to point out that you didn't put
in an order for hot dogs either.
It was discussed.
I don't think I was there for that discussion.
Oh, you're about to get crushed.
-[producer speaking] -Roll the tape.
Where was that?
-Gosh. -When did we talk about it?
-Yeah, we can do hot dogs. -We can do some hot dogs.
And brown beans. Dad's favorite.
-Daddy can do the brown beans. -My favorite.
-Is that going to be your hot dog stick, J? -Yep.
[Zach] I think he needs a bigger one. Doesn't he need like a big, thick one.
I like that one.
Thought that was a good one.
I want this one.
Tori, do you think I could just cook on this?
But then why did we just do those sticks?
That was a waste of time.
Ma.
I don't know.
I got the grill.
But then also, it's fun to like I actually
have a hot dog on a stick, so I'm whittling
the sticks down.
The stick, that's a cool experience, though.
Kids love that crap.
Whittling a stick down, that's a pastime.
I think dads love that crap.
Give me the hot dogs. Lilah, you want hot dogs?
Yeah.
All right, you're going to--
I also know, in our garage, I have invested
in two very long and safe pokers
that you can put hot dogs on.
But we don't know where those are.
-I do know where they are. -Oh.
Whatever you do, you do not touch this on the...
on the black stuff.
-Don't hit the ash. -[Zach] The ash.
So don't hit the ground.
He's most certainly going to hit the ash.
[Jackson speaking]
God bless.
Classic.
Let's let the boys do this.
And the girls are going to sit and watch tonight.
Look it. See, daddy's putting hot dog on.
[Jackson speaking]
[Zach] I don't know.
[Tori] I love me a good hot dog.
And, like, over the campfire, it's just like...
it's the only way to do it.
There's no other way to do it.
Good thing we don't have beans.
Lilah's got the toots.
Yeah.
[Tori speaking]
Is this?
That's awesome.
[Tori speaking]
Ooh, you better tell Daddy thank you.
That looks good.
[Michael speaking]
It might be hot, so--
What's wrong with it?
[Michael speaking]
She is me.
She is 1,000 percent me.
Yeah?
Yeah, that would have been me, 100%.
Got anything on my hand, I freak out.
Dada!
Can you put it back in?
Lilah's not your roughing i type of girl.
She gets bothered by the littlest things.
Smoke, dust, pebble in her shoe
can throw her off, her whole mood off.
So I don't think Lilah is gonna be your outdoorsy kind of girl.
Jackson, Mikey and Jess.
And they have a boy, Michael,
who's your same age are going to come.
[Tori] Is he four or three? Do you know?
He's four. Closer to five, though, than he is.
Jackson, that's your same age is coming.
-How cool is that? -[Tori] That'll be fun, having a friend here.
[Zach] They're going to stay the whole weekend with us.
We're going to go to the beach with them.
My friend Mikey and his family are coming
to visit us from Indiana.
Mikey and me go back a couple of years.
We've played on a couple of dwarf athletic teams together.
And Mikey and Jess have a son themselves
that's around the same age as Jackson.
-Jackson? -Yeah.
How did you like playing soccer at DAAA?
Was it fun with those kids?
Yeah.
Are you gonna be a soccer player now?
[Jackson speaking]
-Oh, my goodness. -[Jackson speaking]
You've got a busy life ahead of you, dude.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm stoked that he appears to like soccer.
He's still asks, "When do I go back to soccer?
When do I...
So I think he is into soccer currently."
Okay, Jackson, can you do me a favor?
What?
Can you go grab my water cup on the porch there?
[Tori] Thank you.
I had a lot of fun with him at LPA.
But it has got me thinking.
I feel like he is getting close to realizing,
like, he is different.
Yeah.
He wanted to know at LPA.
He was like, "Dad, why are you playing with all the kids?"
He sees me as dad and an adult,
but he's like looking at me playing
with all the other dwarves.
And then he was paired up with the futures,
kids his age that are dwarves, and he's like,
"Why am I playing with the babies?"
There's a picture of him looking
at these four other dwarves his age going like...
Like, "Is this my class?"
You know, like...
I'm not, like, super worried
about it, you know what I'm saying?
But it's just more of, like, a curiosity thing, you know?
Do you think about it?
I had a lot of fun with him at LPA.
[Tori] Yeah.
But it has got me thinking.
I feel like he is getting close to realizing
like he is different.
-Yeah. -[Zach] Do you think about it?
Yeah, I do.
[Zach] When it comes to Jackson being different,
I don't think he's caught on yet.
We haven't had the talk yet about how we're different
than everyone else.
He kept saying, like, "Dad, they all look like you
I think he's gathered it.
I just don't know if he's gathered it enough
to personify himself as that.
I think he's I think he's gathered
that, like, these people are like dad and grandma
and grandpa, but they're not like me.
With Jay, he hasn't got there yet.
He hasn't like, "Oh, we're going to this
because I have achondroplasia and we're going to, like,
meet other people with achondroplasia
or types of dwarfism.
I worry about, like, he's so proud of himself
and so, like, has such confidence in himself
and sees himself so highly,
I hope that that doesn't break him down. You know?
I think we have to, like, continue to foster that
as best we can.
[Zach] I hope he doesn't lose it.
But it's also super sad when you do have
such confidence in yourself and then, like, eventually
it'll catch on to him.
That's like part of the sad thing of the transition
of like being a dwarf and then recognizing,
like, you do have such... I belong here,
I'm this, I'm that.
And then you slowly like, "Oh, wow,
I am being left behind."
And you can't catch up.
I went through it and there's not really one big moment
I had that I was like, "Oh, wow. I have dwarfism."
It's like little moments tha kind of accumulate, you know
racing at school or playing chase.
I remember having moments maybe, like, I was frustrated
because all the friends would run away.
Like, they would run away from me.
I, like, vaguely have this memory
of like I was always coming in the house going,
"Mom, they ran away again," you know?
And then my mom would yell at Jeremy
like, "Don't leave your brother behind!"
It was so like, demoralizin because it's such
like a little brother thing, you know?
I'm not the little brother, so.
That collision of confidenc and self-worth
and then reality is what hurts the most.
It's coming for him.
So that's... I... it's coming from my kids.
You're more worried about it?
Not like worried, but just...
Yeah, like, how are we going to approach it
and how are we going to, like, make it positive
and... you know?
Honestly, it's that one I'm more worried about.
Unbelievable.
Are the girls done?
Can we go?
-I think we're done. -Are you all done?
Dada.
You're fine. Stop that. Go, go.
All right. I think we're going in.
[Zach] She's so excited to go inside.
[Jackson speaking]
All right. You ready for your last hot dog?
Yep.
Don't get eaten by a bear. Okay?
Are you sure you don't want Josiah to camp out with you?
No. Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
[Jackson speaking]
All right, Jackson, are you excited?
-Yeah. -It's been a while.
We'll stay up a little later, though.
[Jackson speaking]
Just the boys.
Shall we take bath and go night-night with Josiah?
[Jackson] Hey, Dad.
[Zach] Yeah.
[Jackson speaking]
[Zach] Okay.
Jackson loves camping out.
He loves sleeping in the ten campfires.
I think he just loves the one-on-one time too.
All the other kids are in bed, and it's just him and me,
and he loves all that.
[Jackson] Hey, Dad, what's your favorite sport?
[Zach speaking]
[Jackson] That's my favorite sport, too.
-Yeah? -[Jackson] Remember, I play soccer?
[Zach speaking]
I love camping out with my dad.
I love it when it's just the boys.
Can Lilah come, though, sometimes?
How about Josiah? Can Josiah come camp with us sometime?
Not till he's older, though, right?
Yeah.
-Recording. -Yeah.
[Zach] Can you get... get a little bit of fire first.
[Jackson] I'm following you.
[Zach speaking]
I got a lot of good memorie camping with my family
growing up.
Yeah, that's why we...
you know, we definitely wanted property
to be able to do stuff like that.
My dad used to do that with us.
It used to be a boys camping trip.
And we would go either with our friends
or my dad's friends, and then we would be the kid
That's... that's like my mai memory of camping.
[Jackson speaking]
As time goes on, my dad...
you know, we'll see more of my dad.
Jackson loves outdoors like grandpa.
I think Jackson would love it if he came up
for a campout or something like that.
[Jackson speaking]
[Zach] Teeny tiny bugs can get in the tent?
Yeah.
I don't think bugs can get through the mesh.
I just know he's going to remember
these moments and...
Yeah. We have fun together.
Hey, night-night, Jackson.
Good night.
[Jackson speaking]
[Zach] No, ants can't get that high.
[Jackson speaking]
-Night-night. -Night-night.
[Jackson speaking]
Next on Little People, Big World.
Well, we kind of need to talk to them about pumpkin season.
I got to get my head around it.
I haven't quite decided whether I'll do pumpkin season
or how involved I'll be.
What makes pumpkin season a little more unique
is when there's some of the family members involved.
Pumpkin season's lost its lure for me now.
Mikey and Jess,
I've known them for years.
Their son is the same age as our son.
He's an LP as well.
This age is like the last years our kids
before they become aware of who they are.
They can run down the beach and not think about
like, who's looking at me, who's staring.
The older they get, they're going to start
realizing that the world maybe looks at them differently
or that they are different.
Jackson, I just think he has a stronger
confidence in himself.
I hope he doesn't lose it.
Well, I'm sorry.
I know this is hard for you.
I notified everybody, all the kids.
Said they all dropped everything.
Now I'm okay.