LPBW: Tied Together, A Rainy Wedding, Pumpkin Season

I hadn't realized that Jacob is a senior in high school! With that, I guess I hadn't realized just how long ago the Roloffs first did a television special... or how long I have been watching families on TLC, as this one was among the first that caught my eye. These episodes that wrap up the first batch of regular episodes in ages are mostly focused on Matt and Amy, rather than the family, and do not touch on the premise of the show at all. Longtime viewers are well aware of the amount of work the Roloffs have done to adapt their home and lifestyles to their small statures, and there's no need to beat a dead horse explaining things (like the Duggars do), but they've really just become yet another reality family. The only aspect of these three installments that even hints at the challenges of little people is Matt having chronic pain that is further aggravated temporarily. I wonder what will happen if this family is brought back for more specials/another season?

Little People, Big World "All Tangled Up" (S07E06): Matt and Amy are working together okay, but Zach challenges them to spend 24 hours linked together by a six-foot rope. If they can do it, Zach has to work 5 hours for free. They immediately argue about what to do, as Matt wants to work on a project and Amy wants to make dinner. Later, Matt just quits because he has more to do than what he can do around Amy. But, he acts like they've been together the whole time when Zach returns. [what the heck?!?] When time is up, they admit that they did take a "break." [but did they actually learn anything from this experience?]

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Tori is working for Roloff Farms, but she's interviewing for a real teaching job an hour away. Zach and Jacob start talking about the pitfalls of long-distance, but Jeremy gives advice, as he's been doing long-distance with his girlfriend of nineteen months, Audrey. [it ain't easy, kids. my now-husband and I lived 330 miles apart for five years, including the first year of our marriage!] Molly tells Zach that he can be "a girl" in his relationships, which catches him off-guard. [while I agree that Zach is more sentimental than most, I don't know that he's really "the girl" of his relationship.]

Little People, Big World "Come Rain or Come Shine" (S07E07): It's late September, and Liz and Mike are the final wedding of the season. [Matt is working on a big obstacle course for pumpkin season, so he tries to make Amy run this wedding solo. what?!?!?] The couple struggled with Mike in Afghanistan for a while, and book the farm without even meeting the Roloffs. [maybe they should have talked to the Roloff kids about the hardships and trials of long-distance relationships!] They want to base the look around the little chapel, but don't plan on doing a lot pre-wedding stuff around the farm. [this really doesn't seem odd to me, as I always look at the uber-involved couples constantly at the farm as the weird ones!] Matt has a great plan for a little "room" with window frames, a couch, chairs, for the couple to have a "first place together," but rain is predicted so they don't want to risk doing it under some trees. They put it inside, which is also what they do with the "candy shoppe" theme that the couple wants. [Matt and Amy butting heads should come as no surprise at this point, guys.]

The couple is committed to getting married outside, regardless of the weather, but wet ground means that the bridesmaids stain the dress when they accidentally drop it. [omg!] It's a three-generation gown, so two hours before the ceremony, the girls ask Amy for help lifting the mud and grass. [I had a bridesmaid who has a story of using Woolite at 3am the morning before her own wedding because of a similar mishap!] She comes to the rescue with club soda, though it probably made little difference as Liz let the train drag across the ground as it poured during their ceremony. Hair dyers are used to warm up the couple and dry their clothes before the reception, while the guests are distracted with ice cream and candy. [Matt being out of commission because of extra pain was rough. but how was Molly still around if it was late September?]

Little People, Big World "Crossroads for the Roloffs" (S07E08): With summer coming to an end, the kids take pictures of themselves around the farm. [but we don't see the parents' reactions?] Jeremy takes off on the 21-hour drive to Santa Barbara, then Molly heads out (in her new SUV), and finally, Zach. This episode actually takes place over a month or more, as the kids haven't started the fall semester yet at the beginning, but pumpkin season is already rolling at the end. Two weeks before pumpkin season begins, Matt has a couple of kids out to act as a focus group for the new play areas. But, when the kids aren't blown away, he's worried because there isn't time to re-think the activities. [how awesome would it be to play-test an obstacle course?? I would have killed for that opportunity as a child!]

The first day of pumpkin season, the internet goes down, so there is no cash registers to take credit cards for a while. But, Matt makes his phone a WiFi hotspot and they get things going again. [smart!] However, the trebuchet throws at an angle and damages itself, and the sound system on the hayrides is also down. Not only does all of this frustrate Matt, but he's also concerned about his future with Amy, as the kids being out of the house constantly tests them.