My Best Friend Turns 43

Happy birthday!

I want you guys to see what this woman has done. Mucho plants. Starts. And that's what's left. Starts for friends. An asparagus and strawberry garden designed a pretty coop suitable for a front yard. Not one garden jamming out the bug net. Not two gardens jamming out the bug net. But three gardens jamming out the bug net. What's your biggest pet peeve?

Surrounding what?

This one.

Licking the bowl.

Licking the bowl. Oh, don't lick the batter bowl.

I don't like that.

It doesn't taste good.

Like, it's such a— the ice cream one does. It's more that you just leave more in the bowl than you like take out. That bothers me.

What about when you can't find your nozzle because a kid took it off?

Yes, that's very frustrating.

That happened this morning. But I see you found it.

No.

Oh no, you found another one.

This is the nozzle that's always over here. There's a nozzle that's over there. That's missing.

I see it boiling up inside of her.

It's under that big, big trash, all that trash. Mmm, something smells good.

What makes you happy?

Whatever that smell is. Do you smell it?

Yeah.

Oh, it's tulsi. That's why. That's what makes you happy.

Oh.

Because it's like the happy plant. Mmm, smell that. Let me smell. In the past when I've grown it, I've grabbed some of it and stick it in my overalls and then like the flavor, the smell wafts up. What else makes me happy? Makes me happy. When, when I grow food and it tastes good, that makes me happy. When my cucumbers germinate, that makes me happy.

Well, then are you happy? Oh, you're not happy? Meaning, have your cucumbers germinated?

They haven't.

Oh, nothing. Beans hopping. Acorn squashes. Well, how old were the seeds?

I don't like acorns. That was debatable. This is the echinacea and it is just gonna be, it's gonna have, I'll have another whole tray of echinacea. So it's gonna be a nice bushy flowery area and that makes me very happy.

Cleaning out our basement. Maybe I threw— Jessa seems to think, do you really think maybe I threw this trash on top of a thing? What do you got there?

Whoa!

That's pretty historic. Wow! I think it's worth a shot. Found nothing but an old pink paint can, broken PVC, some old inner tube. Did you decide on a cake, darling?

Yeah, I'm gonna go with spiced nut because I have everything. I was gonna do a crepe cake, but I would have to go to the grocery store to get some of the ingredients. I don't want to do that.

It's your birthday. Why don't I make you a cake?

I know, I wish that other people could cook as good as me.

Right?

Because like, you guys could cook me a meal, but it just wouldn't be—

Mm-mm. So-so. Did you say enjoyable?

Enjoyable.

You enjoy our meals. It's just not birthday quality. There is something special. The cake looks like collapsed. Rebecca's such a good cook. When it goes wrong, it's rare, and it's hard on her. And it's her birthday. I say, I say to her, relax, get in the bath. I'm gonna make this cake because what do we have to lose?

It's for 3 minutes.

What was that?

You about knocked me out.

Starting again, reheating one of those. The cakes are out. Let them stay in this a little bit. The test is is, is it just going to be hollow in the middle? Oh yeah, it's a little burnt on top, but I think we could take a bread knife and cut it off. What do you think?

Yeah.

Hey, you feel better after that nap?

I do.

3 and a half hours later, chicken Parmesan from the farm, broccoli, noodles, decorated table, flowers from the land. My first ever birthday cake.

I helped.

Of course you did. Mm, how's it feel?

Good. Nice.

First ever you didn't have to make your birthday meal, right? Well, we'll see if it's as good.

It will be.

I mean, the standard has to go down when somebody else makes it, right? So why do you choose this meal for your birthday?

Because the deliciousness.

Present time.

Mama, I will watch the baby for 100 100 minutes? 1 hour.

100 days.

I was gonna be like 100. Look, this is so creative. It's the mouth of the heart. It's the mouth of the heart. I like that. It's all right. I got some butterfly patches.

Chapstick.

Chapstick. I mean, we always need a chapstick. Is this like a throwing star? Throwing star.

Or an acorn. What are you gonna do with that acorn?

I'm gonna grow a tree.

She's got your nice towel from the bathroom.

She does have a very nice towel.

From your bathroom.

Very nice towel. What is it? It's a butterfly.

A real butterfly?

Is it alive? Yeah. Mama, I catch them in the greenhouse. Do you? You can catch them? I can't catch them if I try.

Apparently this is what I got you. Honey, just get whatever you want. Nice.

She does. Now read it out loud. What's a birthday card without money inside? Ah, you idiot. This one. That's so funny because the kids were like, you're gonna get money.

Ah, there you go.

Put it on.

Now she's got a wig. Blessings.

Momma's a good mom because she likes to make us cakes for on our birthdays. I like you, Mama, because you're really nice and you go shopping for us. I like you because you buy us things we need. You're a good mom. You're fun to be around. She helps us when we need help. She comes on chores with us sometimes, and that's a lot of fun. And she really likes her tomato plants.

When I was a child, I was very shy. I still am quite introverted despite having my own YouTube show. Um, I don't know, really. It's just, it's— I know you're there, but it's just a camera standing right here. And nobody's talking back. I was so shy when I first started dating Rebecca. Her mom, Beth, Grandma, eventually asked her, do y'all ever talk? She never heard me say anything. When Big Daddy heard my childhood nickname, which was Talking Man, I don't know if I've ever heard him laugh so much. But he called me Talking Man not because I talked so much, but because I talked so loud. Hey, Polly, Polly, Polly, hang on. We'll get her. Come on. Come on. I guess you could imagine I didn't have a bunch of friends. A vlog fan once, when he met one of my best friends, said to him, "Man, Justin must be the life of the party." Jodi, my friend, just cracked up. Growing up, I just wanted one friend. I just wanted a best friend. Really what happened, I met Rebecca, then we became best friends. And then we got married. We got Jonah a farm sitter for our last trip, not because— well, maybe a little of accountability, but mostly for companionship. Well, I woke up this morning thinking about us at that event, and a lot of people, you know, it's, you know, it's kind of a professional event. A lot of people go alone, but you always go with me. And I always have my companion with me, and I always appreciate it. It was a good memory.

Oh good, thanks. I love it when Justin said that you grew up never getting your figures in the dirt, and now your fingers are in the dirt. All the time. And I'm thankful for 5 grandbabies. You're right, Big Daddy.

Thank you for all the meals.

Oh, you're welcome.

All the ice cream and cake?

All the ice cream and cake.

I'm happy that you want to help other people and be kind to people in need because there's a lot of people in need, and I'm glad that you have a heart for that. So thanks. I never thought you'd have 5 kids. Oh, looky here, Beck. You ready for this cake?

I'm ready. Happy birthday, Mama.

He's like, what's going on? And he's like, I was really intimidated to make that cake. And the whole meal.

But you did.

I was frustrated at first with the stress of it all, but it feels good to have done it.

Thank you.

Accomplish it successfully. Does it pass your standard?

It does. Tastes really good. It's— cake is cooked, which is where mine failed. But it's very moist and Light and fluffy and delicious.

Basically, the moral of today's Burn It Up cooking show is if you can read and follow instructions, you can cook. We decided to let the butterfly go. Uh-oh.

Oh! There it goes.