Mr. Brown Turns EIGHT! Best Birthday Gifts EVER

Happy day, everyone. That was last night, prepping for a very special day for a very special boy. Mr. Brown in here? I hear him in the bathroom. Get him in just a second. You're ready to go. You don't care that it's dark. We got a new oven and we're having to degasify it, hence why all the doors are open when it's 40 degrees outside. Windows too. I guess the hurricane rains came and went and it only ended up being a light rain. Yesterday afternoon, actually a perfect rain. We needed it and it wasn't too harsh. So all the hoopla was for nothing. Like Mark Twain says, something like, I suffered many a woe, but most of them never happened. Something like that. Yeah, we're worried about nothing. You sure you want to wash those for me? I'll wash them. You're a sweetheart. Well, how's it, my man? What happened to reading? Having a reading first thing. I have to read on Saturday. Oh, God forbid. God forbid you read on zero day. How you feeling? Everybody wants to know. Good, good. But look, the Burn It Up Cooking Show, twice the heat, two of them. We went from 6 cubic feet of cooking space to— no, we went from 4, from 5 to 6. How do we do that and get 2 ovens? Well, there's no storage in the bottom. That's going to be super handy, 2 ovens, since we basically make all 3 meals at home. What have we been living for, Beck? Well, our other one broke. There you are, up and at 'em early this morning. Happy birthday! Happy birthday, Mr. Brown! How old are you, Gideon?

6.

No, you Well, you're gonna be 7 today.

7.

Big boy. What's the plans for your big 7 years?

Watch stuff. Because it's your birthday.

It's zero day. You gonna watch a movie?

Uh-huh.

Okay. Uh, and you don't have much chores on your birthday. How'd you luck out and have your birthday on a zero day? What is your vision for this year?

Like maybe go on a date with Baba.

Ooh, I like it. I like those goals. All right, go have fun doing chores. Griddle guy forgot to clean his griddle last night. It is a lot easier to do when it's warm. I did a stainless steel scrubber, I did a soap cloth, then a rinse cloth, then we're going to warm this up to dry it off. And then there's one more thing. I didn't put enough oil on it last time and it rusted. It's a good bit of olive oil. Hey, birthday boy, you gonna come help us milk?

Yeah.

Heck yeah. Uh-oh. I'm glad, I'm glad Cody didn't get those little lambs. And this is just spewing out. They just jump right back in. Is that how it is, guys? And why are the cows out? Get in. What's the plan?

I don't know.

Something's happened. Everybody got out. Fence was hitting last night.

I know how we could get the sheep in. Get it with the papa.

Oh, that's a good idea actually. Cows are nursing. Kind of makes me wonder if this just happened, but either way, we're out of milk. So I guess the bad news is everybody got out and we're Not getting any milk. The good news is, zero day, your birthday, we don't have to milk. Here we go. This takes one. Look at that, just takes one.

Open the cow's gate and I'll try to herd them in.

You're gonna be a motorbike cowboy?

Yeah.

All right, let me shut this gate.

Good deal, do it.

We need to fix all the bits now.

Not working.

Hey, it does.

Let's mimic what we're gonna do, drive Sally in the milk sled. Into here. Tomorrow we're gonna have problems because we're gonna need to move this, work up this log. Don't want to do that today. It's zero day. I don't think it's gonna get in the way today. Let's check the pigs while we're here. They're just right there. This, this coming soon, turning that into this very soon, like a couple of weeks-ish. The graders are coming, uncover things like this Amazing boulder. See, look at that boulder there. Dang, I'm just in love with this land. It's good to be in love with your land. It's good to toil, have fights and arguments with it, and be aggravated and heal and move on. Oh look, they're cuddling next to the cousin. That's your cousin. Are you a good cousin? That's not even the mom, y'all. You guys staying warm? Because it was rainy and cold. That's a mean combo. You guys don't have to get up, they said. Well, it's time for breakfast. How they doing on feed? Okay, good. That'll get us through today. Are you a good cousin? Are you a good cousin? I can't wait to eat you. You're gonna be delicious. You're gonna be delicious. Look at those piggies go. All right, we're having to go again at another market farm. Stay tuned, you guys are going to be able to buy this pork from us. We'll buy it from Jonah. We're working out the deal right now, but Jonah wants to raise these guys. He's gonna raise them in the greenhouse. Winter's coming. I think we'll do what we did last time where we Hired a chef to come in and he did a demo on how, how a pig is broken down. That was super interesting for folks. And he talked— we talked about how to cook various meats. And so everybody got to come, they got to see the farm, learn how to cook, learn how pigs broken down. Beefcake, you're a mess! You're a mess! What are you, hand shy, huh? We got enough water for today. I think so. Oh, looks like we lost one. Did you know that the more babies an animal has, the less nurturing they are? So with piglets, well, she had 12. One was dead upon arrival. This was number 11, uh, but she's got 10 left. And the key is she cares for them, so she lets them nurse. She's not neglecting them. They've probably doubled in size already. Look at this. And the key is to basically give her all she can eat, all she can eat. Like, when she's not nursing, she's limited to 6 pounds. But when she's nursing, she's probably eating double that. But we just give them all you can eat. We have them with the feeders because they're growing and we give them all they can eat. And these little guys are going to get all they can eat. Reason we separate them from Beefcake and the other sow is because they need to be rationed. Beefcake would eat 50 pounds, but we limit him to 4 to 6 pounds, and that's usually food scraps. Sorry, Cubby, I forgot to bring you in before the hurricane rain, which didn't amount to much. Oh, the bucket's open, so I'll open that and you'll throw the net in. Yeah. How's it going? Smells a lot better in here.

Wow, I turned it off and I'm gonna re-wipe it down and turn it back on.

That'll do it. There they are. Is that all of it? No, I could swear we had more socks and underwear than that.

Look, it's Christmas.

Oh my word, homemade lemonade. Yes, fresh squeezed. How many do you do? I normally do 1 and a half, and then she does about a quarter of a cup honey, a couple tablespoons honey. That's it. Mixes it together. Adds ice water. Can you say hi to the people?

Can you say hi to the people?

Hi to the people.

Could you give them a kiss? Could you blow them a kiss?

Oh, it's just a box. It's just a box. Oh look, Henry's gonna be into this one. It says Tonka. Do you know what a Tonka is yet, Gideon?

Yeah, I got them last year.

Look, it's your boy.

I don't know how to open this box.

Hey, is it your birthday, buddy? He thinks it's his birthday.

Gideon, whatever it is.

Oh, it's new and different. Should we let him open another one? Yeah. Okay, we'll let you open up another one since Henry— since Henry took it.

Oh, a Hot Wheels track!

Who got in this? Me.

I love all of your snacks. Look at this, you guys. You are awesome.

Rare occasion I get to have tea with Mom. I've been off my strict diet for a while. Felt good on the 3-day fast. Totally gonna do that again very soon. And then probably go into a meat-only, uh, gaps. But I'm gonna build up to that. It's Gideon's birthday, we're gonna have fun. I'm gonna have some tea with Mom on this cold day. Interesting enough, 3-day fast, I started feeling better. 3 days on normal food, the symptoms have caught back up to me. So really, I could maybe have a cheat day here and there every once in a while and then go back and probably not suffer. We'll have to try this. Yeah, let's work up to my birthday. Fast, then meat gap, and then meat. And then maybe intro some things before I get to my birthday so it's not like this huge crash. Maybe some fruits and then just go nuts on my birthday. Chocolate and peanut butter pie.

Yeah, I'm gonna make a nice one.

Ooh, biscuits and gravy.

Yeah, you bring it all to the floor or you're gonna go crazy.

Oh yeah, I'm gonna go crazy. What am I living for? Every once in a while I can't have biscuits and gravy. I'm a Southern boy, true and true. Gotta have the biscuits and gravy. She didn't go, "Yeah, hurrah!" Because you're from Florida. You're from South Florida. Why isn't South Florida the South? Because it's not. It's not, is it?

It may be souther, but it ain't souther.

Whose gift is this? Mine.

We're trying to figure this out for gifts.

Who's it for? Get in. Look at this. It's kind of fun to have you guys along on the zero day. Mom's making some popcorn. Well then, I've got to make some chicharrones. Is that how you say it? Spanish for pork rinds? Fancy for pork rinds? Pork rinds serve as an awesome alternative to popcorn. Honestly, I like it even better than popcorn. Southern boy getting his pork rinds. South Florida girl getting her hair popcorned. They should be 385 to 400.

It's 385.

That's it, turn it down to low. No, no, not yet. Gotta put salt on it, you know, to stick. Little homegrown cream in the tea. Mucho, a lot of it. Look at this.

Fun.

Look at you. Now you're gonna share with the kids. Yeah, mine's over here. Kids usually watch a movie out here. We usually go watch a show in the back. One show down, and Mom taking a break to eat. Yes, a little leftover Japanese. And just ordered our letters. I found some metal. Letters to mark our mineral straw. Did you get 3-inch ones? I did, because 6-inch, you couldn't— you couldn't put 2. Sometimes you have to use 2, right? You can't just use one initial. Like, we have a CU, we have C— can't just do C. Sometimes we have 3. Yeah. Oh yeah, like BBC, but you could have just done B.

Yeah, no, because then I have— okay, a B for buffer plus.

But that's a big problem. And this can finally be solved. Easily finding minerals. Another thing, people can do that chore back.

Yeah, I know, that's the problem. Nobody knows where anything goes.

Yeah. All right, show number 2. Did you set this out to room temperature?

Yes.

Okay, there's cake in our future. Gideon, what cake did you order?

Spice nut.

Spice nut, that's a popular too.

This one doesn't go very well. It did make a beautiful sound.

And look what I just got. A memory card for every single day of the week so I never record over anything ever again. Tuesday's card is gonna be for Tuesday only. We would have published by the time I use this card again. Got the card carriers labeled and the cards themselves. You know, I lost a very valuable vlog, that daddy and daughter trip. With Lily and I. What's important though is that it never happened again because I can't go back. This is a precaution. Looky here, Beck.

Oh wow, I like it.

That's organization, huh?

It's perfect. It's what you've always needed.

Yep, I'm getting organized every day and everywhere. I'm getting better. Look, it's working. I'm glad to say both the pig panels protecting the beds from the dogs and The COVID crop. Look, it's coming in. Yes, that means we won't have to cover with plastic this year. Whenever you can, have the animals and the plants do the work of the farm. You ready to go? You walk a little ways. Family walk. Tractor! How many times have you said tractor in life? Keep going, keep going. Let me put him in that stroller, babe. You don't have to sleep, we're just gonna set you in there. Baby's not happy about the stroller. Okay, John, are you wheeling with us? You wheeling on out with us?

Uh, well, are you gonna go the half a mile?

Yeah. Okay, have you done that before? So we're gonna go half a mile down, half a mile back. I guess we can push you. Good boy, run! Go, Henry! Better go!

Yay!

Well, mom seems to think the oven hasn't off-gassed yet. So yeah, I'm taking these over to the farmhouse. To her credit, I do still smell a hint of— smells kind of like burning plastic. The manual says run the oven on 550 for 30 minutes to an hour. We've done it like 5 or 6 hours, we still haven't had enough smell. All right, I think we're good, I think we're good. Yeah, I think that's good. Look at this, Gideon!

I'll have that one.

Good meal, my man. Yeah, are you excited or what?

Yeah, do you want me to cut it up for you?

Yeah, chicken parmesan, parmesan noodles, alfredo noodles, and broccoli. That's your request? Family favorite. Happy birthday, Gideon! Gideon, you know where you were this little when we started vlogging? So Mr. Brown couldn't talk, or could he? I guess he was talking. A little bit. Is the dinner everything you thought it would be?

Yeah.

Present time. Yup. What is it? You want to guess? White or black or themed underwear?

I've always wanted this Lego set too.

Don't let Henry get a hold of that one.

Yeah, he'll destroy it. It's a box. A raking thing.

Sand tool.

Sand tools and a truck. A dog.

A sand truck.

A sand truck.

Who's this one from, Mom?

Me.

Oh, I see another Tonka.

I've always wanted this one.

Oh yeah, you have?

Uh-huh.

One more. What do you think it is? It is a tent.

It's a 4-person tent. We're gonna put sand in it. That's gonna be your sandbox.

Oh, that's where you're gonna get sand.

Let's find a sandbox.

Well, you know what I was thinking? We put a sandbox inside of it. But you're gonna, you're gonna put the sand directly in the tent. Yeah. Oh, time for the blessings. You want to bless him first? Youngest to oldest.

Say I love the tractor.

Gideon's a good little brother. And he likes to make messes with Henry.

Hmm, okay.

Gideon's a good little brother. He's fun to play with and he's fun to be around.

Shall we take that down? We look like a bunch of rednecks.

I know, I'm like looking around in the background. I think this looks terrible.

Hopefully people saw the beginning of the vlog and understood we had a plastic fire. Basically.

It's not a plastic fire, it's the chemicals breaking down, the burning in of the new oven.

Gideon's an interesting little brother. He likes tractors and Legos, and he's just, uh, nice to be around.

It's a bummer that Grandma and Grandpa can't be here, but we'll bless you. So it's 6:00 now, and you were born at 9:00. And about 7 o'clock is when labor got real hard, and we didn't know what you were. You were a surprise. You were our only surprise, and you continue to surprise us every day. Continue to surprise us. Keep us on our toes. You are growing up, and it's hard because sometimes I still think of you as this little baby, and you're not a little baby anymore. Anymore. You're 8 and you're getting more responsibility every day and growing up a little bit more every day.

Mr. Brown, where are your shoes? I say that because you're so playful and you never have your shoes on because you're just so full of life getting out. Uh, I have to find your shoe. I have to help you to find your shoes a lot, and I don't mind because you have a lot of responsibilities on the farm. Uh, and one thing in particular, I figure because you helped me so much on the farm, we're trying to find your shoes so that you can go help me. I figured it's the least I can do because you— your job— because Jonah gets assigned jobs, Josiah gets assigned jobs, and your job has kind of fallen into my little buddy to come along and support me, and I love and appreciate that. You're a good little helper. It's true. You want to eat cake?

Yeah.

Woo! So Gideon, were those some of the best birthday presents you've ever gotten?

Yeah, I've gotten lots really good, but this is like, it's really good. The presents are still really good.

Are you missing out on the Socks and underwear. Happy birthday to you.

All right, smile at the camera. Look at the camera.

All right, can I blow it out?

Blow it out. Is that funny?

That's a good spice nut cake.

Oh good, I'm glad you like it. You like it, Henry? What's your birthday wish?

Get a motorbike. Oh, mine was to get a horse.

Ah, maybe one day. Hey, we're glad you were born, buddy. Yeah, a lot of other people are too.