I see Little People

And I'm sure I'm going to hell for saying that. :)

But it's true.

My friend S and I took a trip out to Roloff Farms on Saturday. Do y'all know who the Roloffs are? They have that TLC (The Learning Channel) reality show called "Little People, Big World".

For those of you unfamiliar, the Roloffs are a family consisting of Little People and Average Sized People. Matt (the dad) and Amy (the mom) are Little People. There are four kids. Jeremy and Zach .....16 year old twin boys. (Jeremy is Average Sized and Zach is a Little Person.) Molly the younger daughter (Average Sized) and Jacob the youngest son (also Average Sized).

Anyway, the family is local to Portland, Oregon. And each October I guess they open their farm up for the public to come out and check out their big Pumpkin Patch.

Here's a picture of Amy. S and I took a picture with her but because when I looked at the picture I Also Saw Big* People (that would be me) ... I'm leaving you with nothing but Amy ....and my shoulder (on the left side) for scale! ;) (love you, Photo Editing Software!)

*note to self .... taking a picture with a Little Person and with a guy who weighs maybe 100 pounds soaking wet is NOT good for ones self-esteem. Just sayin'! :)

Here's a sign on the property warning that you may be captured on camera. I did see them filming Matt but that was in the distance and I made sure to stay out of camera range. (who me? Camera-phobic?? :))

And you can also tour other areas on the farm where Matt has spent years building things such as a Western Town.....

a barrel of bras?? :)

....a pirate ship, ......

arrrrrrr!

....a three story tree house....

first two levels

............... which no self-respecting bigger,older woman should try climbing (especially trying to hold the purse in one hand) ... just sayin'.......

The Rope Ladder of PleaseGodDon'tLetAnyoneBeVideoingThis!!!

...... and a castle!

I'm tellin' ya ... this place is a kid's paradise! Pretty awesome!

They also had a tractor-pulled hayride (that's Zach driving the tractor)....

.... and a Pumpkin Catapult.

The catapult was awesome! Those pumpkins went a-flyin'! Reminded me of that Northern Exposure episode where they catapulted that body (does anyone remember that show?!! I'm datin' myself, aren't I?? :))

[Bad news on the catapult though. I heard this morning that there was an accident with it later that day and the youngest son Jacob and another gentleman (perhaps the one pictured here?) were seriously injured. So I'm sending good thoughts that they get released from the hospital soon and all is well.]

And in the western town, lo and behold, I spotted yarn!!! So I HAD TO stop and checked it out of course!

Little did I know that this lady spinning the wool is Matt's mom. So we stopped and chatted with her and Jeremy (also pictured) for awhile. (Jeremy, btw, is going to be quite The Lady Killer. Mark my word, peeps .... there will be posters of him plastered to many a teenage girl's bedroom walls. I know these things! ;))

Anyway, I was asking about the filming and Matt's mom said that the crew is there 10 hours a day, 5 days a week!!!! Holy Cow!!!!! But Jeremy interjected that if the family really wants a day off that they can request one. Or if a special event is going on, that the crew may film a little of it but then leave to give the family some privacy.

Also, Jeremy was saying that he wanted viewers to focus on the music that TLC lays down on top of the film. He said it is interesting how the music can really intensify what is just a normal sibling squabble or whathaveya.

AND ... they were talking about the amount of email that they get. Matt's mom said that Matt gets a new email every four seconds (I think) and Jeremy said he gets approximately two a minute! YIKES! And this is a show that is not a big hit or anything (in fact, I'm guessin' most of you have never seen it.) Can you imagine how it must be for actors in shows or movies which are hugely popular!?! That would be insane!

Anyway, they were all really down to earth. And all very sweet. So check out the show if you get the chance. And send best wishes for the two injured on Saturday.

[update 10/31/2006 2:35 PM: Looks like The Oregonian posted an article about this incident with the pumpkin catapult. Plus some other interesting tidbits on disgruntled neighbors and celebrity stalkers]