I think your success is a testament to how hungry people are for gathering with likeminded, family-friendly people. I'm so happy to hear everything went so well!! Great job to Mike and all those who participated in putting this together. The two biggest complaints really were out of your control. Gary, do what you need to do to get healthy again!

Had a blast! Sorry about your back Gary, that dunk tank was brutal. (Mike)

Rather than an inversion table, try just a zero gravity chair. This relieves the pressure, but doesn't pull the back out straight.

The proper venue is probably the hardest part of planning an event, because of the very reasons you mentioned. Unless you limit the numbers coming, which is probably not what you would like to do you always run into that. That is why each year it gets better because you kinda know how popular it will be and you learn something each time.

Good morning Family! So sorry Gary got reinjured😢. Please rest before getting back into construction!! Thrilled the meet up was a success ❤🙏🙏🙏Blessing’s Auntie Laura

It was so good to get to see you again this last weekend hun. I had missed yall so much.

Hope you back gets better soon. Your garden looks great.

We got a Back To Life for my husband. It works amazing on his back. Can go from not being able to sit ,stand, or lay comfortably to be able to get back to his regular routine.

Love hearing about your garden and mel lighting up talking about it.

Feel better my dude been struggling with my back for last few weeks 😪 so I feel for you

I really enjoyed watching you on KZfaq having so much fun. I’m sorry about the back Gary!

You all helped so many people this past weekend congratulations to you and the others

Yall are such an amazing family!! Your property is really beautiful and getting better all the time!

Heal well that man, love to the Fam xXx

I enjoyed all of the videos of the meet up so far. So much fun 🤩🫶🇨🇦

Have a great Day! You’re doing a awedome Job!

It was good watching all the fun. Gary take care of your back and be safe on the roof SAFETY FIRST

HELLO GARY AND MEL. IT WAS SO NICE TO HAVE MET YOU TWO!! Love ya’ll

Great job to all the folks that held and showed up for the meet-up. It looked like a really well planned , fun event. Even all the live videos and filming coming from the event was fantastic. It truly looked fun. You all did a fantastic job😊❤

Congrats julia.. first time im catching a live...

Mel and Gary the meet up was so amazing and my heart is so broken that I couldn't go. Oh well. Hope that you get to feeling better Gary. Enjoyed watching and thanks. Love y'all

Good morning Mel and Gary, glad the Meet Up went and was a big success and the kids are enjoying life, you will find they grow up far to fast. 👍👍❤️❤️🇨🇦

Wish I could have spent more time with y’all!

I had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. I am so happy that I got to meet y'all in person and spend some time with your family. I think everyone did a marvelous job and I hope to get to come to another one in the future.

Hope ur back gets better soon. Take care and love your way.😊❤

Great time , love watching the video's

Good morning 🌞 you both did an awesome job @ the meetup - all the lives looked so much fun 😍 Gary, don't overdo - rest your back some 🙏 Have fun in the garden Mel 🍓🍅🥕🥬🥒

It was a great meet up y’all and it was good seeing you guys again!👊

Hi Gary and Mel. I haven't seen your videos in a while, but I do love them. I said a prayer for your back, Gary. Blessings from Rick, in N.H.

Congrats to Julia! What a beautiful young lady you can be so proud of!❤️

❤ 500 people? That is a lot. Hope you get over your back pain soon. I have to take medication for blood thinners or I will get ligh headed or dizziness from my blood pressure getting too low.

I had a great time. It was so nice meeting you.

I'm glad you all had a great time this weekend. Finding a location with ample parking may be a issue without renting a building but then that changes what you can do and can't do and the feel. ❤❤

But Mom/Dad it was great he cleaned up nicely. When he first showed himself & I saw your eyes I truly thought maybe it was permanent & might not wash off. Glad it worked out & smiles all around again. So sorry for the injuries that Gary took for the team. Also the accident Ridge Life had with her knee. Those were the only negative things I heard said about the event. Everyone was pleased that I listened too. That's a blessing to have so many gather for fellowship & enjoy themselves.

It was great to meet you both this past weekend. I'm looking forward to the next meet-up. I think the location was perfect. As for parking and lodging maybe some can double up at the campsites next time. For parking have a few volunteers helping point out spots. Maybe park at the campsites of attendees.

you are all awesome

Mike and Lysaa did a terrific job....i enjoyed what i saw on all the lives. Live in Barbados so will prob never get to meet you guys in person. But know that i enjiy every content

Good morning guys hope you feel better soon Gary I love you guys so much ❤

It was great watching all of you at the meet up. You guys were all good sports going into the dunk tank. Hope your back heals quickly Gary. Kids will be kids, love them! Mel, show us the pickled radish and vegs when you jar them. Have a good week.

Back Pain Prayers for your Back Gray 🙏 Stinging Nettle is excellent for pain every Gardener should plant 🌱 this wonderful Herb 🪴

Mel if you have any large pieces of cardboard that will help with the weed control and the black roll of weed barrier I hope it works

We use a shuttle bus for our big events at our state park.

You might want to find people to shuttle people back and forth next time I know that might be an added expense but I can see this thing getting bigger and bigger you guys look like it was fantastic I watched some of the lives and everything else and I've been watching some of the videos after and it's been fantastic so congratulations on a big success I'm very happy for everyone involved

Good Morning and Have a Great Day!! 🦋✨️

Good morning guys. Just wanted to thank you two for making us feel so welcome at the meetup! Thank you all for putting the meetup on, and allowing us the opportunity to share time and conversation with each one of y’all! God bless you and your family! Please stay safe guys, and hug and kiss those kiddos of yours everyday! Love you guys! Bye!

I would vote if your using fair grounds to look at Greenwood to the Sebastian County Fair Grounds...its still far enough away from the City but also close enough for lodging....That would be awesome and if it was at a fair grounds location I would possibly look into bringing a forge setup for blacksmith lessons.

Good morning you all ❤

I have an inversion table. My hubs and I use it. We do not go all the way upside down. You don't have to. Just about half way, enough to stretch you out.😊I know you said you did that😊 great gathering😊

Mel another great thing to make when you have an abundance of radishes, is slicing them thin, spread them out on a cookie sheet, spray it with cooking oil lightly, then sprinkle on some good ole' chili powder. Then baking in the oven until crisp like potato chips.

Would love to see how the pickling ❤

Hey You!

Good Morning 🌞

I really wanted to come, but my middle son high graduation was on Saturday! Maybe next year

I just wanted to say I'm really sorry that you're back is hurting you I don't know what the weather is over there today but if it's still raining in the barometric pressure is high does it make my back hurt and it's very high here today I slept so I don't know my neck and my back are so so so so so stiff and they hurt really bad hopefully you can get something that will help your back take care and God bless

Parking is always an issue for large functions. Some of these functions here use a shuttle system, golf carts etc, or buses from a central location.

I want to let you know I had a BLAST and loved 😍 🥰 💕 meeting yaw .Both of you are beautiful in side and out .Can't wait to see you again ❤

I'm the same for remembering names. What i do to help me remember names is say 'glue' after the name. It just helps it stick.

Doesn't get any realer than dealing with the kiddos....poor Abe...lol. Hope you get to feeling better soon Gary and ya know were available for help if needed....not a fan of heights but with safety measures I'm good to go....haha. Was an amazing weekend and glad everyone had fun.

Yes, I think I've never watched a meetup where there wasn't some sort of drama, but yours. Not at all, I think you guys, Mike, Lyssa, David, Anthony & Rox, Jayme & Kevin, Mama V, Tara & Jason, everyone did an awesome job! I so wish I could have been there. It looked so fun. Sorry to hear Jen Jen got injured on the e bike. I didn't hear the final number, but I know from the looks of it you had to raise quite some money for your charities. Yes, Gary should rest today, there is nothing worse then back pain! Need some time to heal. I saw Tim's video last night, very good! Being in SO CA, isn't the best for having a good community of like minded people. I think this is why I miss the midwest so much, it's more likeable. If I could I would be moving there in a heart beat, but my husband won't go for it. LOL Don't over do today, relax a little, just do what ya have to. It was fun to see the faces of the people you see in the chat too! Now I feel as though I know them! LOL What ever you do, have an awesome day. Love you guys!

Good morning!!!😊🎉❤

Good morning Coffee… have a great day ahead and stay safe

Sitting up straight,doing deep breaths,take one in,hold it,think of nothing,exhale,do it about 5 times. Relax,do it again. Your nerves need to relax.

lol My son and his friends always writes on the first one asleep with a sharpie. one of the guys wore bushy brows, tear drops and beards and mustache to school for a couple of days. I had to hide annd markers and ink pens when these guys would come over.

I’ve seen where big events had Golf carts,to pick up people park far down the road and pick them up & drop them off .Or what ever you can use to pick them up in.Just a thought.And guys you are only human and get sick or hurt,people need to understand that.Hope you feel better Gary,don’t push it,you will just make it worse.🤗❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Gary and Mel you need to try the dr ho kit my husband use to drive truck (semi) and he was always sore and putting his back out so we got him the dr ho it has saved him from having sore muscles etc etc

I laughed at people saying I would slow down at different ages. I’m 61 and now starting to slow down. Things hurt more as we get older.

Boost up your vitamin C for a few weeks, it help a lot with bruising and helping your body to heal. LOVE your channels!!

if its your lower back around s1 then amazon do a belt which works awesome its a compression belt with none slip strips I was in a really nasty car wreck and twisted my lower back. if you need a link i can post one otherwise just type in pressure belt and that should work too

Let's get to the important part how do you do Gary at the fishing derby

Good morning. It looked like you all had lots of fun. Poor Gary got beat up by water.

Good morning glad to see ya survived that tank and I thank you for my boys Draven is so proud he had me take him all around to show every one that he won he'll never forget that thank you for being so good to him thank you thank you❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Good morning, ya'll

David said he thought over the weekend, there were way over 500. Thats awesome!

Hello Mel and Gary, thanks for another great video! Gary pace yourself you have plenty of time to get that house done, grab your brother inlaw, I know he has a bad back too, but you know he more than willing to help you too. I'm going to let you know from my own experience when you go down hard, you'll be out of commission for a long time. That recovery is slow and very painful.

About the huge turnout and next year...look into places that are set up for large events and check all your boxes. My first thought was 'the county fair'. That was a yearly event my parents took us to. Great job though, especially all Mike's hard work. Highlight to me was introducing new neighbors. Get em' to do KZfaq! LOL.

Spray around with some vinegar salt and water mix will kill some of the weeds and put just a little bit of dish soap in the water and spray it on the weeds

A shuttle bus might be the answer to the parking problem

It's camping in the ruff,people can't worry about where people stay. That's just how it goes

Greetings from Northeast Ohio. I have always wondered why are you? These meet ups are held in May. That is really tornado season, correct?. Yeah, I would move them. Maybe early August before the kids go back to school

I asked my pastry chef daughter about your hard donuts. She shared that is normal because there are no preservatives, just as you thought. Nothing can change this 😢 She even checked America’s Test Kitchen and same info. Darn, fresh are best! ❤

Hello. I can’t get over how grown up Abe is. What a handsome young man. The donations will be well received🥰. Thank you all. Have a great day✌️🇺🇸

🤣 shouldn’t laugh but that sort thing my boys would do 😂😂😂😂

I don't know which day but I heard two say that they kinda waited before they went thru food line and doing that they said there was nothing to eat!!

Good morning mel an gary

YOU GUYS ALL KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK. WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE. MY WIFE IS. NOT GOOD HEALTH SO I COULD NOT LEAVE HER ALONE.SO I KINDA LIVE THROUGH THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING

Abe is so funny and adorable. 😂

Gary I feel your pain but you need rest in between your mowing don't over do. You have a big hurt on that back of yours, sadly will take weeks. Maybe ice will help with the bruise 20 min on and 20 min off . Good luck

Back problems are cumulative. Your back still remembers all those cinder blocks. I'm almost 65. If I only would have known, well I would have done it all anyway. Lol Im sure you would have too 😂

David and Anthony both said that the dunk booth beat up their backs.

Let me tell you,about the group thing. Get other people involved now,whether they don't do it like you want,or burn out will come. I did 10 years of that here,country in the country music festival. Next thing ,the older people who started it said they were done,next thing we knew,it was done. Don't let anyone be more important than the next. You are adult enough to just be good people.

Hey, how about shining the Bat Signal to the Framily! Please ask for help instead of risking Gary’s back? I’ve dealt with similar back issues, but always knew when to say “uncle”. Please Mel, take things slowly, also, you have greater responsibility to stay healthy with Gary injured. No, I don’t know everything but I an avid subscriber who with great respect, genuinely cares for your family’s future.❤

Hi Gary maybe go to the Chiropractor!

"What happened was" is getting worn out too.

Maybe next time you could book some food trucks for the event.

Have you got Arnica great for muscle strain

Uber needs to pull a wagon from camping areas to pavilion!!!!

Hi all

Gary you look so worn out mate , you really need to take a break like Mel is saying and I must say you have one hell of woman there that can’t stand up to the plate while you take it easy Gary , all the best to both of you guys 🥰

You can go down and sunbath in the garden Gary

I was hoping to see bobblehead and dogman did they show up at all