Jonah turns 14 on the family farm. His dad takes him to test a new 37-ton log splitter, he does chores, and the family gives practical gifts like socks and safety glasses. His parents say he's responsible and helpful, breaking the teenage stereotype.
Looks absolutely amazing. Beck, what you making?
This is our spice nut cake. Grain-free. Delicious.
Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Big brother's 14! It's Jonah's birthday today. He had us get up this morning and do the chores without him. He got a rest. They started the car. Pro jam kids. All right, so I said, Jonah, what project do you want to do for your birthday? What'd you say?
Clean the garage first.
Oh, what happened? This ain't the garage.
I'd rather go to Northern Pool and get the splitter.
Okay, so I would too. So yeah, let's do that. We're there. It's a boys outing. We got the log splitter hooked up. What do you think, buddy? First impression?
Nice.
Well, yeah, I mean, compared to our 30-year-old splitter— 40— that we can't seem to get running for more than an hour. Well, I kind of like 37 tons versus 20 tons.
Yeah, that's probably better.
That's powerful.
It'll cut that— wait, walnut? Maple easier.
Gonna cut that maple easier?
And the, um, yeah, we have some really tough wood up there. 50, that's gonna be really slow, especially on the highway.
John, we are home just in time for lunch. Wanna crank that thing up? Me? In a bit. How's it going in here? It's going good. Smells good. Look, Mommy, he was just fine. She was worried about him.
Did you have fun? Was that your first adventure away from me?
Is that— I think it was.
He didn't even cry once.
Well, we were away an hour and a half, 2 hours.
You had fun with the boys.
He's excited to be back.
He did.
He had fun with the boys, didn't he?
He did. He had a good time. He fit right in.
You fit right in with them, didn't you?
Mom has cut up and soaked Jonah's fries. Jonah, you ready to do this? Let's try the splitter. That's a safety bet right there. We got to remove that down. That's probably the safety to prevent it from coming down. Yeah, and that probably keeps it from flipping too. Get vertical. I'm like, let's do it horizontal, but they want to do it vertical. So, well, it's quite a bit more bending over when you do it vertical, but they're young yet.
First try!
The stuff nobody sees. Afternoon chores with Jonah. So what do you normally do with your afternoon chores?
Get on a bike and listen to my audiobook and go out and do the chores.
Homeboy makes it look easy. He's got them trained nicely. You're 14 years old. What makes you want to get out here and come and piddle around on the farm with your family?
It's just fun. I just like to work and do things.
What makes you do this even though sometimes, or even a lot of times, you don't want to do it?
I find something to get motivated about, so getting it done and listening to my audiobooks.
Ah, I like it. Why not just fool around and play video games and watch TV? It's boring.
It's just funner to be out in the fresh air and the mountains all year.
Well, we got a leak there, Jonah.
Nice.
I tried to stop it. Not a good— that did me. He's still laughing. I'll try to connect to the water before the leak. I realize it's still gonna leak, but hopefully we can get some of it up here.
Happy birthday, dear Joe! Happy birthday to you! Oh, you did it in one try!
That means you get a wish.
I wish I could say a song. What do you wish for? I can't tell you.
Oh! How is it, Jonah?
Good.
Present time.
It's a box!
Oh good, packed underwear. Mom, you got him more underwear and socks?
Lots.
Good. You're in a hurry. Big hurry for that underwear. He must be running real low.
They just put other stuff in there. Safety glasses.
Oh, safety glasses. And that's the walkie-talkie. But we gotta do blessings.
Oh wait, no way, this one right here.
Oh, one more. Is that from Big Daddy? Yeah. Now this one you don't know what it is.
No.
Oh, another present. Uh, You got it right.
Socks and underwear.
What?
Another box.
This is going to get littler and littler. Oh, here it is. Oh no, no, no.
What is it?
It's the, uh, it's the label for the suitcase. Where are they going, Grandma? Where you got them going?
Anywhere. Yeah, Florida. Anywhere they want.
All right, y'all ready for the blessing?
Yeah.
Okay. Youngest to oldest.
He's a good boy because he likes to play. He lets me use his new bike sometimes, and he is a good brother.
I like it.
I like Jonah because, um, he's nice and he Doesn't let me get into trouble sometimes, and he makes me clean the house. Jonah's, uh, he's nice. He helps me build things. He lets me sometimes use his tools, and he's a good, good big brother.
You are the Firstborn for sure. If you get a dictionary and look up firstborn, there's gonna be a picture of Jonah there. You're responsible. You can be bossy. Um, you are always looking out for all your siblings and wanting to make sure that they're safe and that they're doing the right thing. And you, you are very good with Henry and you love being with him and holding him and you carry him on your back. You did it today. And I think you're gonna have a special relationship with him. But I was thinking back to 14 years ago. I can't believe you're 14. It was, it was an exciting day. To meet you. And, uh, I, I'm just thankful to be your mom, and I love you.
Teenagers always have this stigma being these nightmare kids, you know, they're rebellious and I don't know, getting into trouble and all these crazy things. And I always thought, well, maybe my kids don't have to go through that. And you're now second year into teenager. And proof that it doesn't have to happen. So very much appreciate you for staying on the straight path and being a blessing to us and not a burden.
I guess in about 4 years you're going to be an adult. That's crazy. I just love it that you love tools and you like to build things and you're just following in Grandpa's footsteps.
Yeah, he is.
And you're a blessing to the family.
Joni, you're the oldest and you're asked to help out and take care of the others. Sometimes that's a very hard job and maybe thankful that your parents are thankful that you're able to pull that off and we see you trying to always do a good job. And when we were coming home, we saw you outside putting up decorations, and I thought to myself, Wes, he really wants everything to look good. And you are industrious. You try to make things better and do what you can do. Always around the farm. And we're thankful for you. And we love you much.
Everybody want to give Joan a hug? Aww! Aww! Aww! Aww! Aww! Even Teddy! Even Teddy's in there! Even Teddy! Aww!
If I had to start my Homestead all over again, it could only pick one animal… 
