Roloffs Online

Kevin October 15th, 2009

Last weekend my family and I flew up to Portland to visit Roloff Farms. We lucked out with beautiful weather and some amazing scenery up in Portland this time of year. The mix of evergreens with splashes of red, gold, and orange from seasonal trees was quite the show from mother nature.

We spent almost the entire day Saturday (Oct 10th) at Roloff Farms. One thing that surprised me was just how close to the city of Portland the farm is. From watching the show, the surroundings seemed to indicate they were in a rural farm area … maybe an hour outside the city. However, the farm is actually only about 20 miles from downtown Portland. We were driving along the freeway, when the landscape switched pretty abruptly from urban to open fields and a more rural feeling. The Roloffs actually live in Helvetia, a suburb of Portland.

After reaching the farm, we all picked up a Roloff Farms sweatshirt or t-shirt from their gift shop. They were selling all sorts of stuff such as water bottles, key rings, Roloff Farms dirt in a jar, family pictures, coffee mugs, sweatshirts, t-shirts, Little People Big World DVD’s, Matt’s book “Against Tall Odds”, magnets, fleeces … all sorts of souvenirs!

We then bought a combo ticket to go on both rides for $10/person (it was $6 separate if you only wanted to go on one). One ride was a scenic tour of the entire farm, the other was a ride out to Western Town where we got to get off the trailer and tour the town for about 5 minutes. The one thought that kept coming back to me as we toured the property was just how nice everything looked. It was quite an amazing piece of land, and all of Matt’s projects, along with all the landscaping really made it something special. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a tad bit jealous by the time we left

The day we were there, a TLC crew was there filming the show. The topic? Matt organized a contest - a fort building competition between three teams of local kids. They were all building their forts as we toured the farm, and the cameras were rolling. You can see the crew in some of the pics we took.

We saw everyone in the family except Molly, who we were told by Papa and Honey (the grandparents) at Western Town that we had JUST missed her by 5 minutes - she had to cut out to attend a surprise birthday party. We actually met and got to talk with both Amy and Jeremy. Amy was super friendly, so was Jeremy. It actually surprised me a bit just how down to earth they all were. Jeremy had more than a few girls swooning over him.

All in all it was a very fun trip. The farm was everything we had hoped it would be, and more. If you’ve ever considered going, I’d highly recommend it. Our entire family loved it. Thanks Roloffs for letting us visit your farm

You can view the hundreds of pictures we took at the farm below. Enjoy!!

[Show as slideshow]

• Farm Projects , Peggy , Jacob , Jeremy , Zach , Roloff Farms , Pics , Amy , Matt
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Kevin October 12th, 2009

Get ready all you Little People Big World fans!!

Matt sent out an email today reminding everyone that season 5 starts tonight. For anyone who hasn’t made it out to the farm yet this year, they will be showing Molly’s Castle completed. Make sure to set your DVR’s accordingly

You can read Matt’s email below.

Hi Everyone…

What a crazy time of year. How exciting to have our season premiere at the same time as our best pumpkin season ever! I am so thrilled to be showing off the new and completed Molly’s castle (FINALLY)! Does Amy kill me for my budget overruns? You’ll have to tune in tonight to see…

We hope you’ll join us as we continue to share of life journey with 20 new episodes this fall. This season promises to be packed with even more intimate and unforgettable moments than ever before.

All the Best,
Matt

• Molly , The Show , Matt
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Kevin September 30th, 2008

With the summer over, and pumpkin season upon us, Matt has sent out a Fall newsletter updating fans about what’s been going on around the farm. A few highlights from the newsletter:

• The new season of the show will feature a number of trips to far away places.
• The farm is now open for Pumpkin season. It goes from September 27 - October 28.
• The farm has a few new attractions for visitors.
• Zach & Jeremy are now seniors in high school.
• Molly just took her driver’s permit test.
• Jacob is now in middle school, and playing soccer.
• Amy continues to book speeches and public appearances, and is traveling a lot.

You can read the newsletter in full by following the link below.

Continue Reading »

• Zach , Jeremy , Amy , Roloff Farms , The Show , Matt
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Kevin June 5th, 2008

Matt sent out a summer newsletter today with updates about the family and farm. For those with sort attention spans, here are a few highlights:

* You can now buy Roloff Farms merchandise directly from ShopRoloff.com.
* The major remodel to the house is now finished.
* Molly was co-valedictorian of her middle school.
* Jacob just finished 5th grade.
* The twins just turned 18.
* The TLC crew is out in full force at the farm this summer, taping what will be the 4th season of the show, set to air this fall.

You can read the full news letter below.

Continue Reading »

• Jeremy , Stuff To Buy , Jacob , Molly , Zach , Roloff Farms , Amy , Matt
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Kevin February 14th, 2008

In this month’s newsletter, Matt revealed and talked about the results of his DUI trial. He was found not guilty by the jury for drunk driving, but was found guilty of crossing over double yellow lines due to drowsiness and driving an unfamiliar vehicle. You can read Matt’s side of things below:

I am grateful to everybody who stood by me in the months-long ordeal leading up to my trial. The hundreds of letters and e-mails showing support gave me the strength and courage to stand up and fight for my rights to have my day in court and be vindicated.

I was found not guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol. From the beginning of this nightmare, I tried to explain to the arresting officer that I had just returned from a 4,000 mile road trip, was driving an unfamiliar vehicle, and was exhausted. I was not drinking or effected by alcohol in any way whatsoever.

I know that many of you feel I was guilty because of my prior DUI and my refusal to take a breathalyzer test. I can assure you that ever since my past transgression, which I admitted and did restitution for, I have been firm in my conviction to never drink and drive. The facts will bear me out, as did the criminal justice system. I am thankful to the many friends who offered to testify to my constant refusal to drink and drive. My doctor even offered to share with the court all the possible ways my recent health issues could have played a role in that night, but my lawyer decided to keep things simple and place the bulk of my defense on the bottom line: I was not drinking and driving.

It was a scary experience, and I am thankful that it is over. I was, however, found guilty of driving over the yellow lines; which I readily admit. I was too tired to be driving an unfamiliar vehicle on a winding, curvy road after having driven a 42-foot RV from California earlier that day.

It would have been much easier to plead guilty, pay a fine, and keep this whole embarrassing event in my life quiet and out of the public eye - but I’ve always told my children, just like my father told me: “When you are right, be willing to fight.”

Although it was an uncomfortable experience, and something I would rather have not had to go through, I felt it was important to not sweep this event under the rug. My family has shared our ups and down for over three years now, and despite the embarrassing nature of the charges, I felt we owed it to viewers to tell this story. So the cameras were there, and everybody will have the opportunity to see all the details of the case unfold when the new season of “Little People, Big World” premieres in March.

• Matt , Roloffs In The Media
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Kevin December 21st, 2007

The Roloffs recently sent out a holiday newsletter which you can sign up for here. Matt gave a rundown of all the latest projects on the farm, and what the family has been up to. He also talks about the pending DUI trial, and shares his feelings about the whole ordeal.

Rather than paraphrase the whole thing, we have included an excerpt of the newsletter below so you can read about what the family has been up to. Click the link below for the newsletter.

Continue Reading »

• Jeremy , Jacob , Molly , Zach , The Show , Amy , Matt
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Kevin December 11th, 2007

The editor of Orato, Robyn Stubbs, has this cool process where she interviews people, then takes their responses and puts them in a first-person, narrative format. She recently featured Matt in this format, and the result is a very insightful and entertaining article.

One point of interest from the article worth noting is where Matt talks about how much TLC pays the Roloffs for appearing on the show:

People don’t believe this, but Discovery and TLC don’t pay a lot for these reality shows. They treat you well and take you on vacations and sometimes companies give you things to balance the compensation, but for the most part, you’re left to your own income.

So the point I take is that TLC is basically willing to pay for projects, vacations, and other things for the family as a way to create different themes and settings for the show … but they don’t necessarily pay the Roloffs a huge salary in addition to that. Still, take that with a grain of salt. When Matt says they don’t pay “a lot”, that’s a pretty vague term. What might not be a lot to Matt, might seem like a huge amount to some people. And I’d imagine Matt downplays the compensation they are paid, because like most people, he doesn’t want the world to know all the details about his finances.

You can read the full article here.

• Interviews , Matt , Roloffs In The Media
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Kevin November 12th, 2007

Fox12 in Oregon reported Friday that Matt’s DUI trial has been set for December 5th. Matt was pulled over last June, and later cited after failing a sobriety test.

HILLSBORO, Ore. — A trial date has been set for television star Matt Roloff, who is accused of driving under the influence.

Roloff stars in “Little People, Big World,” a reality television show on The Learning Channel that focuses on the lives of Roloff, his wife and his son, all of whom are dwarfs.

He appeared in court Friday and a trial date was set for Dec. 5.

In June, a Washington County deputy pulled Roloff over as he was driving on West Union Road.

Deputies said Roloff failed a field sobriety test and was arrested. He was taken to the Washington County Jail and cited on charges of DUII, refusing a breath test and failing to drive within a lane.

It was the second time Roloff had been linked to a driving under the influence charge. In 2003, he had a DUII charge dismissed after completing an alcohol diversion program.

Roloff and his family live on a farm in Helvetia, Ore.

The news site also has a video of Matt in court - for those interested.

[Update - 12/17/07]
Word has it on the TLC forums that the trial has been delayed until mid January, which explains why there has been no news about the outcome of the December 5th trial.

• Videos , Matt , Roloffs In The Media
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Kevin November 12th, 2007

Have you ever missed an episode of the show, or wanted to download that one in particular you just loved - without paying for an entire season on DVD? iTunes makes it easier than ever to get your LPBW fix! You can download any episode you want, starting with the first season, for just $1.99 a show.

There are a few that aren’t available, such as the “Lost Episodes” aired during Season 3, and the specials at the end of Season 1 where the family looked back on the previous season and summarized their favorite memories. The regular season episodes are all there though. You can even watch a small preview of each show to help refresh your memory of what was shown on that episode. We have updated our episode guide with a link to the iTunes store for each show.

Also available for free, are several of “Matt’s Chats” video podcasts where he interviews other little people that have inspired him. Among the interviews are Chris Rutte of the LPO about teasing, psychiatrist and Hollywood actress Merideth Eaton, and R. Ernie Lee about the challenges little people face when they decide to become parents. You can download all of the podcasts here.

If you don’t have iTunes installed, you can download it here. Once you have it installed, clicking on any of the iTunes links will automatically open the iTunes store for that item. Happy downloading

• Stuff To Buy , Videos , The Show , Matt
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Kevin October 30th, 2007

It’s not every day that you see Matt with his shirt off, but check him out! He looks great for a guy in his late 40’s. And why not? It only makes sense that when you use your upper body as much as him, you’re bound to be in pretty good shape.

This pic came from Matt’s site, and I can only assume it is from another trip they went on - not Hawaii, but somewhere else tropical because there are other pics of the family and you can tell it’s not the Hawaii trip. Chances are we’ll see it on the show later this season … at least we can hope.

• Pics , Matt
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