Back to the Big House: Duggar Family Update, Broomball, & Jinger's Childhood Room

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast – "Back to the Big House: Duggar Family Update, Broomball, & Jinger's Childhood Room"

Release Date: July 2, 2025

In this heartfelt episode of The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast, hosts Jinger Vuolo and Jeremy Vuolo delve into their recent family trip to Arkansas, share nostalgic moments from Jinger's childhood, and recount their adventures playing broomball. The episode is a blend of family updates, personal anecdotes, and lighthearted banter, offering listeners an intimate glimpse into the lives of the Duggar family beyond the reality TV spotlight.

Recent Arkansas Trip: Last-Minute Family Reunion

The episode opens with Jinger and Jeremy discussing their spontaneous trip to Arkansas, highlighting the challenges and joys of organizing a family gathering on short notice. Jeremy reflects on the importance of family unity, stating, “The Duggars have been through a lot these last few years. And it seems like everyone's in a really good place” (01:00).

Highlights:

• Planning on the Fly: Both Jinger and Jeremy admit that their trips to Arkansas have often been last-minute affairs. Jinger shares, “Literally two days before. I think that's what happened on the last two trips” (00:52).
• Emotional Significance: Jinger emphasizes the emotional aspect of the trip, mentioning, “It was such a sweet gift, such a memorable trip” (04:58), especially during a season when she was longing for family connection around her birthday and Christmas.

Playing Broomball: Reconnecting Through Sport

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to Jinger’s childhood favorite activity—broomball. After years of not engaging in organized sports, Jinger and Jeremy return to this beloved pastime with family members, bringing both laughter and unexpected challenges.

Highlights:

• Introduction to Broomball: Jinger explains, “For those of you who don't know what broomball is, let me just set it up for you” (15:02), detailing the unique aspects of the game played on ice without skates.
• Family Dynamics on the Ice: Jeremy shares his astonishment at the athleticism of his family, saying, “Broomball brings out the monster in men” (17:11), while Jinger humorously recounts her initial fears: “I was actually kind of Terrified because now I'm 31 and I'm running and I have three kids to care for” (15:22).
• Memorable Moments: The duo nostalgically recalls moments such as Jeremy’s brother Ben getting hit and the competitive spirit that turns friendly games into intense battles. Jinger notes, “It’s not just the Duggar World. It is our sport” (19:37).

Nostalgia and Visits to the Big House

The podcast takes a sentimental turn as Jinger and Jeremy revisit the Duggar family home, often referred to as "the Big House." They describe the changes and reflect on their upbringing.

Highlights:

• House Transformation: Jinger observes, “When you walk in at, like, 2pm on a weekday and the house is clean, I thought, okay, this is a different season of life” (29:46), noting the contrast between past chaos and the current serenity.
• Connecting with Extended Family: The hosts discuss the complexities of coordinating large family gatherings, especially with grown siblings and their own families. Jinger shares, “You have to like a lot…” (28:45).

Family Interactions and Children's Experiences

A significant emphasis is placed on how Jinger’s children, Felicity and Evangeline, interact with their cousins and navigate the large Duggar family dynamic.

Highlights:

• Kids Meeting Cousins: Jinger highlights the adorable confusion her children face, saying, “They honestly are overwhelmed half the time because they don't remember everybody's names” (35:15).
• Creating Lasting Memories: The hosts discuss ideas for helping their children remember family members, suggesting, “What we should do is create, like, a little book that would be fun and read it every night” (35:21).

Reflections on Family Bonds and Personal Growth

Throughout the episode, Jinger and Jeremy reflect on the strength of family bonds and their personal growth over the years.

Highlights:

• Balancing Planning and Spontaneity: Jeremy shares their upcoming strategy for better planning, “Soon I'm going to take you out on a date, but it's going to be a strategy date” (06:58), highlighting their efforts to balance spontaneity with organized planning.
• Appreciating Family Unity: Jinger expresses deep gratitude for the family connections, saying, “I really cherish these times when we're able to get together and have time” (33:56).

Conclusion: Cherishing Family and Looking Ahead

As the episode wraps up, Jinger and Jeremy express their joy in reconnecting with family and engaging in activities that bring them closer together. They hint at future podcast content, including a potential annual Arkansas trip and more family-centric episodes.

Final Thoughts: Jeremy concludes, “It's awesome. It was a lot of fun. I mean, I really enjoyed it” (26:55), emphasizing the value of family time and shared experiences. The couple invites listeners to stay tuned for more updates and to follow their journey on social media platforms.

Notable Quotes:

• Jeremy: “The Duggars have been through a lot these last few years. And it seems like everyone's in a really good place” (01:00).
• Jinger: “It was such a sweet gift, such a memorable trip” (04:58).
• Jinger: “They honestly are overwhelmed half the time because they don't remember everybody's names” (35:15).
• Jeremy: “Broomball brings out the monster in men” (17:11).
• Jinger: “I really cherish these times when we're able to get together and have time” (33:56).

This episode serves as a touching reminder of the importance of family, the joy of revisiting cherished memories, and the excitement of creating new ones. Whether you're a long-time listener or new to the Ginger & Jeremy Podcast, this episode offers relatable stories and genuine insights into maintaining strong family ties amidst life's busyness.

Transcript

[Jeremy]

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[Ginger]

We'Re talking about Arkansas.

[Jeremy]

Oh, yeah. So we just got back from Arkansas.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And we spent a week and I feel like the last couple times we've gone to Arkansas have been really last minute.

[Ginger]

Oh, my goodness. Literally two days before. I think that's what happened on the last two trips.

[Jeremy]

You know, it's a really special family. Like, they've been through a lot these last few years.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

The Duggars have. And it seems like everyone's in a really good place.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And everyone's had to work through things in their own ways.

[Ginger]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jeremy]

This is your childhood in a nutshell.

[Ginger]

Yes.

[Jeremy]

And it's been years.

[Ginger]

Thanks for asking me that question. That really means a lot because. No, I'm not. I'm not tearing up. I don't need tissues. About that. We had a rough.

[Jeremy]

Those would be happy tears. Those would be tears of joy.

[Ginger]

I'm not crying. I'm not crying.

[Jeremy]

What's going on, guys? We are back for another episode of the Ginger and Jeremy podcast. And last week was fun. Ginge. We passed the 50 episode milestone.

[Ginger]

That's crazy.

[Jeremy]

And we had Matt and Abby on to talk about their explosion in TikTok and how they've helped us with the podcast. This has been a fun ride.

[Ginger]

It has been. Well done. Thanks for helping kick this off. Cause I was a little preoccupied when we restarted this podcast and I think you had the vision for it. And I was like, oh, yeah, that could actually work. So way to go, Jer, for getting us back into the podcast space. It's been a lot of fun chatting and also just us to, like, sit down late at night, do a podcast early in the morning.

[Jeremy]

It's the best.

[Ginger]

It's been really fun for us.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. I really enjoy this. And next week will be number 52, which means we've been doing it for exactly a year, and it doesn't feel like the year's best.

[Ginger]

It doesn't. That's wild.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, it's been pretty cool. We've had some pretty fun guests, and we've got some great guests coming up as well.

[Ginger]

Yeah, I'm excited for it, so.

[Jeremy]

Yeah. Excited for you guys. Thanks so much for tuning in all this time as well. I think we've almost, like, tripled in terms of listenership since we started, which has been really cool to see. And we're really grateful for you guys. And we've got some fun things coming up for our loyal listeners, so stay on the lookout. If you don't follow us on the Instagram page, go to Ingerandjeremy and follow that, because we put a lot of stuff on there that you won't see on our socials. There's some fun stuff coming down the pike. Okay, here's what we wanna talk about today, is we. What are you. You're looking at me funny.

[Ginger]

Your sleeve has food on it, and I think it's from one of the kids. It really does not matter. It does, but you're in dad mode, so that was for me.

[Jeremy]

Evie just had breakfast and then she.

[Ginger]

Gives you a hug.

[Jeremy]

I was doing some work on my computer and she ran up to me.

[Ginger]

And gave you hug.

[Jeremy]

Planted her face. You know, it's funny, some of the. I'll be at church and like, some of the college students in the ministry be like, oh, man, you got a stain or something. I'm like, bro, we're in a different season.

[Ginger]

If I have one stain that's actually kind of cr.

[Jeremy]

We're in a different season of life here. Bro, That's. Yep. That's donut. That's from 20 minutes ago.

[Ginger]

And there's pasta. Like, I wore white pants the other day, and immediately I, I, I was like, oh, why am I wearing these?

[Jeremy]

Rookie mistake with the white pants.

[Ginger]

Yep. Not okay.

[Jeremy]

Okay. I don't know what we're talking about.

[Ginger]

We're talking about Arkansas.

[Jeremy]

Oh, yeah. So we just got back from Arkansas.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And we spent a week. And I mean, that was like a last minute. I feel like the last couple of times we've gone to Arkansas have been really last minute.

[Ginger]

Oh, my goodness. Literally two days before. I think that's what happened on the last two trips. So our last trip to Arkansas. We'll just go there first. That trip happened because it was so close to Christmas. I was really missing my family. We had planned to have Christmas with your Family. And it was super close to my birthday and I was just feeling really sad. I was like, I feel like I just really miss my family. I wish we would have planned better. Jeremy is the best. He said, okay, well, would you like to go to Arkansas? He called me up and said, would you like to go to Arkansas tomorrow?

[Jeremy]

That's after I had called. A couple of siblings started with James, and they were like, yeah, we'd love to come out and spend time with Ginger for her birthday weekend. But it was just becoming like a logistical burden on them. And I'm thinking, hey, we're the ones asking, so the logistical burden needs to be on us. Let's just get up and go. So that's what we did. And it was worth it.

[Ginger]

It was.

[Jeremy]

Well, it's always worth it.

[Ginger]

The most special trip, I think it meant the world to me in that season because there was so much that I was like, oh, I just want to be there around the holidays. And it was such a sweet gift, such a memorable trip. And then this one, it was amazing because we were actually looking at our summer schedule and we actually had a lot of things that were happening over the weekend because being in college ministry, you have a ton of weddings that happen. So every weekend or every other weekend feels like, you know, there's a wedding or a bridal shower or something like that that's happening that we wanna be a part of. And so with that, there were also other trips we just saw, okay, there's not gonna be much time to hang out with family. And so Jer said, I think we should do an Arkansas trip. We. Let's figure out when we can fit that into the schedule.

[Jeremy]

Our summer, I mean, our listeners can probably relate to this. Our summers get jam packed so fast. And I'm one of those guys, I was telling you, I commit to things six months in advance. And then when it comes time time, I'm like, man, why did I commit to that?

[Ginger]

Yeah, speaking engagements.

[Jeremy]

Speaking engagements or something. And not because of those engagements, but because you realize, okay, we have a little more time with our kids this summer. And all of a sudden, before you know it, every weekend is gone or trips. And then you don't. Well, us, anyway, we don't do great at planning way ahead.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And so we're more impromptu, which, honestly, actually, here's something we can update the podcasters on. Soon I'm going to take you out on a date, but it's going to be a strategy date. It's a brainstorm date. So we're going to get sushi, take it to my office, get a babysitter, and we're going to plan, schedule out. We're going to plan 1 year, 3 year, 5 year old, because we really don't do that. Like, we don't sit down and take time. And so we did that and said, okay, what does our summer look like? Because here's the other controversy we've talked about on this podcast. It's our most explosive disagreement as a couple. We use different calendars.

[Ginger]

Yes, we do. We do. I don't use Google. I use Google Maps. I use Google Calendars.

[Jeremy]

I can't stand either of them.

[Ginger]

Now, Google Maps, let me just say your Apple Maps do not allow you.

[Jeremy]

Oh, so we're giving, we're presenting arguments now.

[Ginger]

I'm going to give you an argument real quick. This is, I think, I think once I tell you this, this will actually make sense.

[Jeremy]

I feel like they're the drawers and.

[Ginger]

We'Re like, let's hear it. Let's hear it.

[Jeremy]

So you just went right into opening statement.

[Ginger]

The Google Maps. The reason I use them is because it allows you to search for things on the way. And when I'm with the kids, I often need to search for a convenience store or I need to search for a coffee shop to keep me going on the way. And you cannot do that in Apple Maps. And it will say, two minutes out of the way. This, this, this, this, this. And it gives you all the options as you're doing it. You. I don't know how you function without that.

[Jeremy]

So same features on Apple Maps.

[Ginger]

It does not. Well, I've tried. I've tried. It's not on there. It's not on there.

[Jeremy]

Well, maybe it's messed up with Car Apple CarPlay, but must be. Yeah, I'm. I don't know. I just like how everything's synchronized with Apple.

[Ginger]

But I guess what I said, I'm switching over to Apple Maps. I mean, Apple Maps, not Apple Maps. Nope, I'm not. I'm switching over to Apple Calendar so we can sync your work calendar.

[Jeremy]

The problem is because my work is on there, I can't change.

[Ginger]

He can't change everybody else's meetings, but.

[Jeremy]

We sat down and we said, okay, what's our schedule look like this summer? And it was on a Tuesday or a Wednesday or it was maybe a Wednesday or Thursday actually. And the next week was the best block of time for us to take a week. And so we up and booked. I used tons of air miles, which we never use.

[Ginger]

Nope.

[Jeremy]

And We've got a bunch. So I thought, let's use some air miles. And we flew out to Arkansas.

[Ginger]

Yeah, it was great. It was such a perfect time. And I think sometimes in this season of life, I am the type of person who's so content to stay home because for one, I don't like to fly. And the other side of it is the logistical side. Cause I am not a planner. I would much rather go two days before than you tell me six months in advance. Because then I think, okay, wait, I'm gonna have to plan. How is Finn gonna be at that time? What season of life is he gonna be in? Is he gonna be cranky on flights?

[Jeremy]

Here's a valuable lesson.

[Ginger]

Six months, I don't know right now. I know he's easy.

[Jeremy]

That we've learned planning too far ahead and you wanna save 50 bucks on the flight, so you book the 6:30am flight instead of the 10:00am and then you get there and you're just like, miserable, miserable.

[Ginger]

Don't do it. Go for those extras. Spend an extra 50, 150 bucks if you have it, and make it convenient for your family.

[Jeremy]

This was Finn's first trip.

[Ginger]

This was. And that's part of the thing. I thought if we scheduled this out three months in advance, what if he's in a cranky season? What if he's struggling with teething? Now's the time to go when he sleeps and he's happy all the time.

[Jeremy]

Good point.

[Ginger]

Well, let's just go.

[Jeremy]

It's valid points.

[Ginger]

I love it.

[Jeremy]

We also brought along our favorite podcast producer, editor, Mark Finster.

[Ginger]

Yeah, we did. We brought along Mark.

[Jeremy]

That was a last minute decision too. Mark's like, hey, I'm game to come if you guys want to record some pods. And at first I was like, no, I don't think you know where are we going to set up. So we call Ben. Ben graciously is like, hey, dude, feel free to use my office in the church.

[Ginger]

For those of you who don't know who Ben is, he's our brother in law.

[Jeremy]

Yes, Ben Jesse, married to my sister Jess. And so we set up a podcast studio and we've actually got some of those episodes coming out. We just had one come out with Jed and Katie a couple weeks ago. But we've got some more coming out and that could be a fun annual thing to do to.

[Ginger]

Oh, I love it.

[Jeremy]

Bring the podcast to Arkansas once a year and sit down. All right, guys, we're going to take a quick break from this episode to talk to you about cozy earth.

[Ginger]

Y' all have heard us talk about cozy earth all the time. And it is for a very good reason. Their sheets are so buttery soft. They're bamboo sheets and they are temperature regulating.

[Jeremy]

Yeah. It reduces the risk of heat sweats at night. Sweats?

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

Did I say night sweats?

[Ginger]

You said heat sweats. Night sweats.

[Jeremy]

I don't know what night or heat.

[Ginger]

Sweats are, but night sweatshe, I'm telling you. Overheating postpartum, I've had so many like up and down regulate. Like keeping my temperature at night regulated has been a difficulty. But with Cozier's sheets, I've noticed it's been so much better.

[Jeremy]

So get them just in time for summer. Those summer heat waves are coming and you want these bamboo sheet sets. They're incredible.

[Ginger]

And the best part about it is that there is a 100 night trial. So you can try these sheets for up to 100 nights and if you don't like them, you can return them.

[Jeremy]

There's also a 10 year warranty. These sheets are legit. So upgrade your summer with cozier sheets. Go to cozyearth.com, use code ginger J I N G e R for 40% off. The best selling temperature regulating sheets, apparel and more. Trust us guys, you're not going to be disappointed. You'll feel the difference the very first night. Go to cozyearth.com, use code jinger J I N G e R for 40% off. Herbs House is back with another great coffee deal for our listeners. For those of you guys who love caffeine, need it to get through your day, get 20% off your first three orders plus free shipping when you sign up for Herbs House coffee box.

[Ginger]

That's incredible. And not only that, they're throwing in a free gift, a sample of one of their premium blends. When you use code ginger at checkout.

[Jeremy]

Now this is cool. So look at this. I just took. If you go to their website, herbshouse coffee.com, there's a coffee quiz you can take.

[Ginger]

It is so much fun.

[Jeremy]

Look at this. I just took this quiz and they paired me with the perfect blends that I will like.

[Ginger]

That is brilliant.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, it honestly is brilliant. I've never seen that before.

[Ginger]

It's amazing.

[Jeremy]

Herbs House is coffee.

[Ginger]

Yeah. You can choose like what level if you want decaf, regular coffee, how many.

[Jeremy]

Cups of coffee you make a day.

[Ginger]

What kind of flavor of coffee you prefer.

[Jeremy]

Honestly, you should go to Herb's House just to do the coffee quiz.

[Ginger]

That's Brilliant. I love it.

[Jeremy]

Here's. Here's why we love Herb's house as well. They use only 100% specialty grade Arabica coffee, which is less than 5% all coffee produced in the world. So it's very exclusive. I mean, they're particular about what kind of coffee beans they're using.

[Ginger]

Yeah. They have a wide range of blends and styles, and you can count on herbs for crowd pleasing blends that everybody.

[Jeremy]

Will, like, try it out with 20% off your first three orders and free shipping. But then once you're hooked and you start bundling, you save even more money.

[Ginger]

Yeah. And so, guys, we've been drinking this for years now, and it's super good. So go get yours now and use my code ginger for 20% off plus free shipping and a free gift.

[Jeremy]

Yep.

[Ginger]

All right, now back to the episode. It's super fun, like.

[Jeremy]

Like what we've talked about, Ginge, where it's, like, fun for us to sit down, sitting down with the family. Honestly, sometimes when you're visiting, there's kids running all over the place, you're on the go, you're doing this, you're doing that. When we set time aside to just have a conversation with the cameras and the mics, it's still just a conversation. And sometimes it's like the nicest touch point you have with someone.

[Ginger]

It is. It's quiet. And we did that over dinner with a couple siblings. And it was sweet too. But at the same time, it's like, it's just great because you have something planned out and you're just chilling and it's very relaxing and fun.

[Jeremy]

And so hopefully you guys as listeners appreciate those episodes too. But the Arkansas trip was fantastic. And here's what I want to hear from just off the top here, Ginge, is for a long time, you've been wanting to play broomball.

[Ginger]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jeremy]

This is your childhood in a nutshell.

[Ginger]

Yes.

[Jeremy]

And it's been years.

[Ginger]

Thanks for asking me that question. That really means a lot. I think I was most excited to play and then have you play because. No, I'm not. I'm not tearing up. No, I'm not. I'm not tearing up. I don't need tissues about that. No, I'm just tired. I was about to let out a big yawn.

[Jeremy]

Oh, okay.

[Ginger]

We had to.

[Jeremy]

Rock songs. Those would be happy tears. Those would be tears of joy.

[Ginger]

I'm not crying. I'm not crying. So, no, we went and played broom ball, and it was so much fun. I was actually kind of Terrified because now I'm 31 and I'm running and I have three kids to care for.

[Jeremy]

The worst idea.

[Ginger]

One who's an infant who is totally reliant upon me to take care of him. And I thought, if I get injured, this is very bad. We're in another state. We can't just like drive home. Why am I playing this game? But am I playing this game? I begged to play this game. So I literally messaged Jer, my brother and which you call Jeer Jir. I just called him Jer.

[Jeremy]

Jeer because you call me Jer.

[Ginger]

But you're Jer for years.

[Jeremy]

Call him Jeer. And it's J E R. I never understood the, where the second E was coming from.

[Ginger]

I don't understand it. But he's Jeer and you're Jer.

[Jeremy]

It's Jeremiah.

[Ginger]

It's. Yeah, it is. So, yeah, I messaged him and I asked if we could play broom ball. And he was like, well, let me see. So he called our local. The Jones center is what it's called. That's where we would go play twice a week, play broom ball. And for those of you who don't know what broomball is, let me just set it up for you. You literally go on the ice ride.

[Jeremy]

30 something year old's nightmare is what it is.

[Ginger]

It's amazing. Or everyone's dream. So you go on the ice hockey rink and hopefully it's right after they've skated. You've had a skating session of people like going out to skate on the ice and they've roughed the ice up just enough to where when you get out there, you go with tennis shoes and you use a stick that's shaped like a broom and it's kind of split. You get like a rubber ball that's small and you hit the ball into the hockey nets. You have two teams, you know, you're running, playing against each other. It is a wild time. I mean, I kind of actually want to turn this question back on Jer, because Jeer, Jer, you're getting your Jeer and Jer, I want to turn it back on you because how was it walking onto this rink? You think, okay, I have no real protection. For years we wouldn't even use a helmet.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, but they made you wear helmets this time around.

[Ginger]

So you used a helmet. Right. So you feel safe.

[Jeremy]

Well, Ben also came on with a full mouth gear. Glasses.

[Ginger]

We'll get into that helmet. We'll get into that.

[Jeremy]

And then he was the only one who got hit Square in the neck.

[Ginger]

In the neck. He got. He got hit.

[Jeremy]

His.

[Ginger]

His whole neck was, like, red. And I walked up to him like, are you okay? Because I talked him into playing. I said I could not believe Ben had never played broom ball.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

It's like, that's a crime, what my family does. And he lives there. He lives.

[Jeremy]

It's a shame.

[Ginger]

Real close to the rink. And so I was like, a shameful behavior. How have you never been?

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

And so I had him come. But. Okay. How was it running on the ice?

[Jeremy]

It was wild. First of all, broomball brings out the monster in men. I had no idea that your brothers and sisters possessed this gift and skill. And your dad. Can I talk about your dad for a second?

[Ginger]

Oh, my goodness. Yes. Yes.

[Jeremy]

Pops is 59.

[Ginger]

He's. He's 60.

[Jeremy]

60 years old. He just turned 60.

[Ginger]

Let me see how he's 61. Soon go.

[Jeremy]

Your dad's.

[Ginger]

No, he is 61.

[Jeremy]

Yeah. He just had a big milestone birthday, and he's out there. He's got knee pads on. I'm going this harbor freight.

[Ginger]

Knee pads.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

It's great.

[Jeremy]

His move was when it gets kind of around the corner and the curve of the arena, he would slide on his knees to box anybody else out, and then on his knees with the broomstick, hit the ball like he scored three goals. And when I say three goals, the score, I think, was like, 5. 5 or 4. 4. He scored three of the goals, which were incredibly impressive. And I'm looking at this going. I'm watching this happening like he's going.

[Ginger]

To be sore tomorrow.

[Jeremy]

Well, I was thinking, how is. First of all, how is he moving like this?

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And then I was amazed at the skill set. John David, when he got. He was like, oh, my word. John David is the Lionel Messi of. Of Broom Bowl.

[Ginger]

Oh, yeah, he was.

[Jeremy]

He gets that little thing. He was literally juggling it, scooping it, like, in the air over people. Joe scored from probably 50 yards away from our defensive third.

[Ginger]

It takes a lot to do that.

[Jeremy]

He was smacking the ball. And I'm sitting there ginger, looking around me, going, what have I stepped into? What world? What Duggar World have I stepped into?

[Ginger]

It's not just the Duggar World. So this is the crazy thing, but it is our sport. It is the thing that, you know, we all come together, we get all vocal. I mean, I yelled so much that night, I lost my voice. If I go play any other game, I'm gonna be more passive. And, like, I like to be competitive. I Love trying to do sports, even if I'm not great. Yeah, but that's the one where I'm like, yelling, I'm all in. Even if I'm, like, sliding around. I played a little more cautious, Ginger, because I did not want to hurt people. I did not want to hurt myself and other people at the same time.

[Jeremy]

We're going to do. I took video of the whole night. So we're going to do a vlog. Maybe Finster can put up like a picture or two or maybe even a video clip here while we're talking about it. Oh, we're still playing. All right, Ginger. 15 minutes left.

[Ginger]

That's so sad. I want to cry.

[Jeremy]

We're dying.

[Ginger]

Look, I'm telling you, they still got it. Look, Finn's out here for his first time.

[Jeremy]

Ben with the. With the mouth guard. He just scored. Hey, Pops. How's it feel to score solo goal? Just like old times. 60 and counting. But it is intense and it's intensely fun. Like, I got so competitive about it now I restrained myself. Cause I'm playing with like, some high school kids too, or whoever was there. But I could see myself getting into it.

[Ginger]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jeremy]

And hearing about the battles that you guys had back in the day.

[Ginger]

We should get into those just to give people a picture of what broomball can be. So we had all these random people from the community would show up. Some of them would come what we would say just to get their anger out. We were pretty certain for sure they would come. And there were a couple guys who were fuming. They would be like beet red yelling. Some of them got kicked out for foul language because, you know, it's a community center for families, so they're not gonna let you be crazy. And that's the scary thing about kick em out.

[Jeremy]

Recreational sports, whether it's indoor soccer or something like this, is you get guys who are trying to relive their glory days in high school.

[Ginger]

Yes.

[Jeremy]

Now they're frustrated accountants.

[Ginger]

Yep.

[Jeremy]

And they come out on a Tuesday night and they're looking for blood.

[Ginger]

Oh, yeah, they are. And they found blood because half of em would check people into the wall. And where you're running full force on the ice, it's a big old guy and he's running towards you. You better get out of the way or you're going to be checked into the wall. When you watch hockey and they're going crazy. Think about that. But with no pads.

[Jeremy]

What is it about ice that lends itself to violence?

[Ginger]

Wild. Well, you feel powerful on it. Because you're running on ice, and you feel like you can fly. And then what happens is you realize you can't stop, and so you plow into the wall or another person with a metal stick.

[Jeremy]

I love that quote.

[Ginger]

It's so great.

[Jeremy]

Ginger, that's an. You just said you feel powerful running on ice. You feel like you can fly. That's so inspirational. That is so. That's like, Vince Lombardi level inspiration. And then we're gonna watch clips of Roomba going past.

[Ginger]

Okay, well, listen to this. So this is what happens. You. You had people get kicked off the ice for swinging their stick too high, checking people into the.

[Jeremy]

That's the thing. I'm surprised.

[Ginger]

Didn't know you're supposed to have. You have to have, like, no high sticks. So sometimes when the ball's flying over you. They had rules for years of no high stick. There was no one out there to be the ref this time. They used to have refs back in the day, but they don't now. And so it's every man for himself. And my cousin got his teeth knocked out, and that's why Ben showed up with the mouth card, because he knew. Oh, yeah. Well, our cousin who got his teeth knocked out. Poor guy. How many teeth got knocked down his front? Two.

[Jeremy]

Seriously?

[Ginger]

Yeah. Poor guy.

[Jeremy]

You replace him.

[Ginger]

It was a whole process. He had to wait for a while. He had to wait a while to get his teeth put back in.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, but that's pretty par for the course for Arkansas.

[Ginger]

It is. It's an Arkansas thing. He was real. Like, everybody wanted dating.

[Jeremy]

It's like the English in Arkansas. Like, you don't have teeth.

[Ginger]

Nope. You don't need teeth. Who needs teeth?

[Jeremy]

Or maybe even a little Alabama love in their Roll Tide. You don't need teeth in Alabama.

[Ginger]

But there were several times where before you had to wear a helmet. Like, you'd have people laid out on the ice and there would be blood. They'd go to the er, and that happened. And here we were out there playing twice a week, and it's miracle that no one got in. Major.

[Jeremy]

The ice lends itself to the violence and the er. We took Felicity out ice skating for the first time over Christmas with my parents. And 20 minutes in a kid. There's an ambulance pulling in.

[Ginger]

Yeah. Dragging a kid off the ice. Yeah. They literally had him.

[Jeremy]

I mean, I guess as humans, we haven't picked up on the fact that, like, hey, this is a really slick surface. That's very hard. Maybe it's not the best place for entertainment. And so then we take razor sharp blades on our feet and go out there and have fun with large sticks.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

What are we asking for? We're asking for trouble.

[Ginger]

Well, with broomball, you don't even wear skates.

[Jeremy]

No, I know. But I'm just combining some of the aspects of our ice entertainment.

[Ginger]

Yeah, it's crazy. So, yeah, it was fun being back out there. And I was just sad that there were not as many skaters before and I had the wrong shoes. I would have actually, like, bought broomball shoes had I known.

[Jeremy]

I was like, there are broom ball shoes.

[Ginger]

There are broom ball shoes.

[Jeremy]

Googling it.

[Ginger]

And so it's a specific type of sole that's gonna allow you to grip the ice better. So I legit would have bought broom ball shoes had I known I was gonna go play, because the shoes I had were not the best. And I was sliding around, so I was not able to get the grip I needed to run. So those are broomball shoes right there.

[Jeremy]

See him?

[Ginger]

He's gonna show y' all what it looks like. So anyhow, what a great time. It was so much fun.

[Jeremy]

Never knew. I never knew.

[Ginger]

We did do other stuff in Arkansas.

[Jeremy]

Yeah. But I've never seen you so happy as to. When you heard that we got the.

[Ginger]

Place reserved, I was so happy.

[Jeremy]

I mean, you have because broomball. And you write about this in People Pleaser, the community you found in broomball.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And when you were real sheltered and more, like, isolated and you were interacting with people from the community, going to Taco Bell afterwards, I mean, I was.

[Ginger]

Nervous as I'll get out. But I mean, it was fun. And I think that broomball is something that, like, we didn't play organized sports. And so that was the closest thing to an organized sport that we had done. Cause we play a lot of games in sports, like, as a family, we had people over all the time. Like, every other night, there was like, volleyball, basketball, all the things were happening. Kickball, like, there were tons of things that we would play. But that was so much fun. We looked forward to it. And we would go ice skating all the time. We'd be on the ice all the time. So, like, ice skating, broomball, those were free sports in our area. And so we could just go play whenever you wanted.

[Jeremy]

It's big time. That's awesome. It was a lot of fun. I mean, I really enjoyed. I really enjoyed it, and it was cool. You know, the other thing, too, is it is sports bond. People like, you bond really, like, with your teammates. But even spending, you know, an hour out there, even with your family and your dad was out there, your brothers were out there, some of your sisters were out there. It's just a really fun way to spend time and to engage with family and like, yeah, just connect on that.

[Ginger]

It was a blast. Yeah, it was so fun.

[Jeremy]

It was awesome.

[Ginger]

Can't wait till we can do it again. I'm going to actually have to, like, buy a couple broom ball sticks for us to have here and we'll play broom ball in la. I think being in college ministry is kind of perfect. That's the sport that a lot of people play. So we'll get. We'll get one set up here. Go back.

[Jeremy]

Yeah. I mean, they have it locally in the.

[Ginger]

They do.

[Jeremy]

So going home to Arkansas, what does that feel like for you?

[Ginger]

It is so exciting. I love going back to visit and at the same time, it's overwhelming. And this is why, because we live away. There are a couple siblings who live away now, just a few. And when you live away from family and then you come back, then everybody wants to see you, everybody wants to connect with you. And it can be so tough to juggle all of that because when you have so many siblings and their families, then there's all the nieces and nephews. Everyone trying to coordinate stuff is hard, especially when you're just there, even if you're there for a week, to be able to see everybody, to be able to, like, connect individually, is hard. So you have to like a lot. Okay, we're going to go to brunch at this time. But everything always takes longer than you expect to because you're coordinating, getting out the door with so many people. And then if you want all the sisters to get together for brunch or to go get their nails done, then you have to coordinate that and allow room on either side because there's so many people to come. Like you're having, you know, nine of the girls with. Often you'll have nieces and nephews that are tagging along and to get reservations is hard. That's something that we ran into because it's like we went to a couple different places and they had to seat us at different tables because there's not room for 20, even if it's not everyone going. And so all those little logistics are fun but also kind of crazy. And then when you go back, you want to have those deep connections and be able to sit down and talk with maybe one couple for five hours over dinner. And we did that with a few. But at the Same time. You can't do it with everyone every trip.

[Jeremy]

Well, Jill and Derek were out of town. They got back Friday night. We left Saturday morning. It didn't work out. Your mom and girls were there for a couple days, but then they had a trip planned. Yeah, but then Jana was able to come in. So it's like, you miss some people. You connect with some. It can be tough. But that's. I mean, that's not bad. I mean, that's a good thing. Everybody's doing stuff. Everybody's.

[Ginger]

Oh, it's awesome.

[Jeremy]

They're living their lives.

[Ginger]

And then there are times where, you know, when we first got there, we were able to connect. Like, a ton of people went to the big house, and our kids got to see all the animals that they have there. What's that like, super fun.

[Jeremy]

What's that like, you walking into the big house? Cause we haven't been in the big house for a long time.

[Ginger]

Yeah, it's wild. We went back and a lot of the siblings showed up. And it's kind of crazy, though, because when we first walked in, I was. I thought this was so cute. We walked in, and Felicity, she's, like, walking in. Everything's clean. It's, like, perfectly clean. And I'm walking and thinking, okay, I know typically when you show up at the big house, it's kind of messy because we clean it. Like, we would clean the house every night, and it would be spotless, ready to go. But when you walk in at, like, 2pm on a weekday and the house is clean, I thought, okay, this is a different season of life because you have, you know, maybe five kids who live there now, and they're all grown. I mean, I say all grown. Josie's, what, 15? But she's youngest. And so that's strange. So you walk in and it's like Felicity said to Lolly, my mom, she's like, Lolly when she's like, where are all the kids? And Johanna started laughing. She's like, we are the kids, because they are the youngest in the family. Josie's 15, so she still feels like a kid. But all the other ones, Jordan, she's grown up. Jenny's grown up, Hanni's grown up. So it's. It's a different time. And when you walk in, it was quiet, clean. And so they took the. They took our littles around and showed them all the animals that they had. They have a big farm now.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

Tons of chickens, goats, sheep, cattle, horses.

[Jeremy]

There's that inside playroom with. There's A house inside the playground.

[Ginger]

A literal playground inside with a huge slide.

[Jeremy]

And Evie Jo ate that thing up.

[Ginger]

She loved it.

[Jeremy]

She loved it. That slide up there. She kept saying, daddy, come down with me. I'm like, evie, I'm a little big. I did try. So there's a secret passageway in the Duggar home.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And it goes through the ceiling or through the wall, through the playhouse, into the boys room. And it's like this very cool slide. It's a tunnel, but it's boarded also.

[Ginger]

Did they close it?

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

I mean, it makes sense because if you are. If you're going to the boys room and you have guests over, you're still asleep, and you have little kids climbing through there. I mean, I get it. That's a problem.

[Jeremy]

Is it emotional for you to walk into your old bedroom and look around?

[Ginger]

I don't think I even went into the bedroom this trip.

[Jeremy]

I took the girls up.

[Ginger]

You did? To show them my room.

[Jeremy]

The girl. Yeah. I said, let's see. This is where Mommy would sleep.

[Ginger]

That's crazy. I mean, they've rearranged up there to see them.

[Jeremy]

But it was. It was cool for them to.

[Ginger]

I love that.

[Jeremy]

I think that's. I don't know if that's their first time up there, but in recent.

[Ginger]

Yeah, probably recently that. Yeah, it is. It's crazy. Walking back and just like one of the kids came in from cutting the. Cutting the grass like we have. We had a couple, like, ride on mowers. And I just remember so many summers, you know, we'd all take turns mowing. That was something that we did. And I, to this day, love yard work because of it. I hate gardens. I hate gardening, but I love to chop things down. So you give me a push mower, you give me a ride on mower. I love it. One of the girls came in from cutting the grass. So when you walk outside, you're just hit with that aroma of fresh cut grass. And it smells different than here. Cause there's something about, like a little humidity kind of soaks up that smell and pushes it. I don't know. It's like the farm country living, all that fun stuff. So, yeah, it was fun. Like stepping back into that old property and just seeing the family and all the things. I think my younger siblings. That's the part that's really fun. I love seeing how they've grown and matured, what they're into now. Because when I left, that was a long time ago. It was a half years ago. And those little kids are all Grown up. And it's hard for me to picture the little kids as teenagers and as adults now. It's kind of wild.

[Jeremy]

Things are at a really good place with our family, aren't they?

[Ginger]

Yeah, it's been really sweet. These visits going back have just been amazing and. Yeah, I just really, really cherish it. And I'm so thankful our kids get to step back and see and get to know my siblings, too, because the younger ones, like, it's hard when you live away and you have younger siblings. There can be a certain level of guilt, like, oh, I wish I knew more of what was going on in their life, or I should call more often to hear what they're up to. But they also have their own lives. They're growing up. And there are things that when you go back to visit, it's really sweet because then my kids get to connect with them and get to find out what they're into and get to see their, you know, their farm. Like, that was fun. It was so fun. Take them on their little horse and all of the things. So I really do cherish these times when we're able to get together and have time. Like with my mom. She was just out here for a couple weeks helping me with Finn. I think we talked about that. Organizing every cabinet in my house and having them get to spend that time is just precious.

[Jeremy]

What's it like seeing Felicity and Evie interacting with their cousins?

[Ginger]

It's adorable. They honestly are overwhelmed half the time because they don't remember everybody's names.

[Jeremy]

So true.

[Ginger]

They know. I think the more that we're around the nieces and nephews, my nieces and nephews, our nieces and nephews, then they connect and really connect with certain ones and start to get their names down. But then as soon as they get their names down, then we leave. And then when you come back, even if it's been six months since they're kids, they've changed and grown so much, so they're always like, wait, remind me of their name. What's their name again? So I feel like what we should do is create, like, a little book that would be fun and read it every night. This is so and so. Do like a little quiz.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

Because they're not going to be able to remember. We're already at 40. Is it 41 grandkids that it will? I don't know how many is it 40? Wherever we are, we're somewhere around there.

[Jeremy]

I've got a funny story about that. I was. I was. The other night, I Was in Kingsburg speaking at a high school ministry event. And there's some people who knew you and the family, and one of the guys, we're sitting in a circle, and they. This. This one girl, she also has a large family. And she said, yeah, I think we have, like, 43 grandkids. I was like, whoa, that's more than the Duggars. The duggars only have 40 or 41 or whatever. And then one of the brothers looks at me and goes, how do you know how many grandkids the Duggars have? He's the only one who had no clue. Like, I married one of the Duggars.

[Ginger]

I love that.

[Jeremy]

And so I just said, well, because I married one of them, and it was so funny, but everybody started dying. He goes, but he was like, really almost, like, put off, but, like, weirded out. Like, that's such a random.

[Ginger]

Why do you keep up with that?

[Jeremy]

Yeah, like, he just throws out, like, how many grandkids at Duggars have? He's like, why do you know that? Well, because I married number six.

[Ginger]

That's so funny.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, it was a funny moment.

[Ginger]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jeremy]

What do you think will stick with you from this trip?

[Ginger]

Oh, a lot of things. I think just anytime you're able to just go and chill with the fam, it's the best. But, yeah, definitely that broomball night was memorable. Getting out there with you, seeing you get into it was fun. But I think just the conversations that we got to have, late night convos. We stayed at Joy and Austin's, and that was just so much fun. They were so, so kind to host us last minute for what, five or six days?

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

And.

[Jeremy]

Oh, yeah, super last minute. Super hospitable.

[Ginger]

Yeah. Incredible. I love those late night conversations.

[Jeremy]

I think we connected with Joe and Kendra on a level that was real deep, too.

[Ginger]

It was so fun.

[Jeremy]

Really sweet. John and Abby, we got to spend time at their house.

[Ginger]

So many people.

[Jeremy]

It's. It's, you know, it's a really special family. Like, I even go and just spending time with. With everybody, it's really fun. Like, it's a really fun family. And, you know, they've been through a lot these last few years. Yeah, the Duggars have. And it seems like everyone's in a really good place.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And everyone's had to work through things in their own ways, but it was such a delight to go back and spend time with people and to see everyone and wish we got to see everyone. Like I said, Jill and Derek weren't There Justin Claire and others. You know, Justin Claire in Texas. But that's sometimes impossible to see everyone in one trip.

[Ginger]

Oh, yeah. I mean, it happens.

[Jeremy]

So we need people to still come out and visit us.

[Ginger]

In California, we're having people come out to visit all the time. And so when those trips happen, it's really sweet, too, because we love having people come out because we get just that quality time within. For five days or something or for a weekend.

[Jeremy]

I'll tell you what. I saw Josiah and I said, hey, what's up, Josiah? And he goes, typical Josiah fashion. What do you think? The first thing he said was to me?

[Ginger]

Did he have a joke for you?

[Jeremy]

Yeah. What do you think the joke was? I said, what's up, Josiah?

[Ginger]

And he said, this guy? Did he?

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

Oh, my word. Josiah. I love that. I love that. He's so funny. Well, it's not Joe, because there's.

[Jeremy]

Shorten his name only a certain way.

[Ginger]

Yes. Cause you used to always shorten Josiah's name to Joe. Cause it's Josiah. And he'd say Joe. And I'd say, well, you can't say that because his older brother, who's like 14 months apart, you know, he's Joe. That's Joseph.

[Jeremy]

Nicknames are.

[Ginger]

And then the next one's Josiah. Josiah. Exclusively Joke. Hesiah. And the other one's Joe.

[Jeremy]

That is so funny. It was a lot of fun.

[Ginger]

Last. What was your favorite part of the trip?

[Jeremy]

Goodness. Hanging out with Austin. Maybe on a lazy Thursday, we went out shooting.

[Ginger]

I love it.

[Jeremy]

And so I was hitting some targets from 700 plus yards, which was fun.

[Ginger]

That's impressive, actually.

[Jeremy]

Wow. It's no big deal, Jen.

[Ginger]

Jesse, you know what? It is impressive.

[Jeremy]

I do my best to adapt to the Arkansas lifestyle when I'm there.

[Ginger]

You do good. Do you fall into the accent?

[Jeremy]

No, not as much. So when Cade Fainer is around, Cade's everybody from East Texas. I get that East Texas drawl, which he probably doesn't think sounds anything like East Texas. Really? The Arkansas accent isn't as contagious.

[Ginger]

It's not. I think that it depends on who you're around in Arkansas. Cause a lot of people don't have that thick of an accent. And then half of them do. So I will fall into saying y' all a lot. I said it a ton. We just had friends in from where? Tennessee, Mississippi area. And I started falling into that accent hard, too, because it's just so easy to do.

[Jeremy]

There's a couple things you say, like you'll start saying maybe so. Which is something I think the family says a lot of maybe so. Yeah, it's like, an interesting answer. I would never word things that way. Like, hey, do you want to go get ice cream later? Maybe? So it's like, okay. And he starts saying that. And then there's maybe so.

[Ginger]

Yeah, maybe so. We'll go get some Brahms. See, I have my Brahms cup here.

[Jeremy]

And then there's another one that Austin and Joy say all the time. And it's something Oklahomans, I've noticed. Say, can you think of it?

[Ginger]

Yeah, yeah, I'll think of it in a second.

[Jeremy]

I know it'll come randomly.

[Ginger]

We talked about it a lot. Yeah, it kept coming up.

[Jeremy]

It bothers me. I don't know why it bothers me. I'm just like, it's not proper.

[Ginger]

You're too proper. The Volos are very proper. They are very proper, and I love that. It's kind of awesome. And we're just very not proper. We don't care either. Okay, hold on one second. This is not brought to you by Brahms, but we have to talk about Brahms ice cream, babe.

[Jeremy]

I got addicted. I'm glad we were only there for a week, because I had Brahms every night.

[Ginger]

Almost every single night. The last night, it was incredible. We were talking about it. We were like, we need to go get Brahms. But everybody was wiped out from those days of visiting. And Jeremy was sitting there till the last minute, till it closed. He talked about it. He's like, can we go get ice cream? Should we get Brahms? But he didn't want to drive 10, 15 minutes late at night to go get it. Cause we were all wiped. So we didn't get it the very last night, but almost every day.

[Jeremy]

We didn't need it the last night.

[Ginger]

Brahms soft serve frozen yogurt. Those cones are, like, $1.79 for a small. And a small is not small. And it's like two bucks for a large.

[Jeremy]

Hey, I remember the saying it was. I can't remember exactly, but maybe this will kickstart it. It's something like, what's that? They say something like, what's that?

[Ginger]

Or whatchamacallit.

[Jeremy]

No, it's something like that whatchamacallit. It's like. It's asking for clarification, and it's a phrase, and I'm just like.

[Ginger]

And, yeah, I know what you're saying. I'll remember it later.

[Jeremy]

Oh, man. Okay. Well, maybe people can leave it in the comments if they think of it. All right, guys. Well, thanks for hanging out. It was a great trip and fun. Little recap there, Ginge. I'm glad we got to fulfill your childhood dream again of playing some broom.

[Ginger]

Ball and get you into it.

[Jeremy]

It was fun.

[Ginger]

I love it.

[Jeremy]

All right, guys, thanks for hanging out. Like, subscribe, Leave a comment, Send us some questions in if you want. And we've got some announcements coming your way soon, so we do. Stay tuned. Follow the socials on TikTok Instagram. Better not be Irish twins. All right, guys, we'll see you next week.