Little People, Big World: Climbing Mount St. Helens

Longtime readers know that I'm a big fan of the Roloff family. I've enjoyed many of their episodes and specials, and, without being cheesy, I can honestly say that they HAVE affected the way I think about ableness and judgment. However, I thought that this installment fell a little flat. Maybe because Molly, Jeremy, and Jacob weren't in it, and maybe because all Matt did was build yet another structure for the farm. The hour-long update really just focused on Amy looking for a goal and then achieving it. While it was cool to see someone actually climb Mount St. Helens (I didn't know you could), I don't think it was the best use of an hour. Maybe Amy could have at least talked about the campfire food and how she'd improve it, now that she has a cookbook (Short and Simple Family Recipes) and all? Or perhaps Zach could have shared more about ANYTHING ELSE going on in his life besides doing this climb with his mother?

Little People, Big World "Conquering Mount St. Helens" (Special): Now that three of the kids are out of the house, Amy decides to step up her training and do a mountain climb on Mt. St. Helens for two days. [props to her - that's ambitious!] Zach decides to join in on the 8,000+ ft hike, though Matt doesn't think it's a good idea. Amy even wears a weighted backpack around the farm to train. She and Zach also do some park trails for practice, and Amy continues to push herself. On the big day, they get started at 1pm with a little over two miles to hike. They break at 1.5 miles to have a snack, and Amy worries that she won't be able to make it. [weird little "I don't know but I've been told" thing Amy was chanting.]

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They build their tents around 5pm, then work on a little practice part of the boulders. Her knees begin to bother her, and Zach starts to worry about his mother. They cook over a fire and have dehydrated food for dinner, then bed by 8pm so they're ready for a 6:30am breakfast. [they seriously showed Zach pulling up his pants zipper??] At 12:30pm they have 1200 feet left to climb, but it's through the boulders and ash. They finish and love the view. [it's nice that they didn't have to carry their large packs all the way up!] Matt is still in disbelief when they return. [that was odd to me.]

Matt wants to fill the hole where the old church was before it was moved to the wedding part of the property. He thinks that a little red schoolhouse would be a good idea, as Amy used to love teaching preschool. The big problem is moving it from their toolhouse, as it's taller than the doorway. They have to re-shingle a little, and then add a working bell tower, but in the end, Amy really likes it, feeling like she's on Little House on the Prairie. [I was smiling, too.]