METROPOLIS - A family of little people shared their superhero-sized story in the hometown of Superman on Sunday and used some of their vacation time leading up to the event to take a tour of Southern Illinois and Kentucky.

The Roloff family has grown to be some of the country's most famous little people, thanks to the hit show "Little People, Big World" on TLC, which documents the day-to-day happenings of their lives.

Amy Roloff and her husband, Matt, are both dwarfs and share four children. Their son, Jacob, 9, and daughter, Molly, 13, are average height. They also have twin boys, Zach and Jeremy. Jeremy is average height while Zach is a dwarf.

The family took a break from the show and vacationed along the Mississippi River aboard the American Queen riverboat. They stopped off in Paducah on June 30 and in Metropolis on Sunday to sightsee before sharing stories of their personal struggles with dwarfism. The inspirational talk took place Sunday night at Harrah's Metropolis Casino's Riverfront Event Center.

During the American Queen's Paducah stop, to the surprise of local residents, the Roloff Family headed off the boat and along the streets of Paducah's riverfront area. They shopped, visited some local tourist attractions and stopped for a brief meet-and-greet with the media.

"We had to take a detour because of the floodwaters," Amy said. "We have been gone a month. I thought that was going to be a really big accomplishment with teenagers and them being away from their friends that long. They have had a really great time, though."

Amy said her kids have grown up on a nearly 40-acre farm in Oregon and said they enjoy getting out and seeing places that are so different from home.

"They come to small-town America and they see how everything is different and they love it," she said. "I consider what I do and the experiences I've had to be a blessing beyond what I had ever thought."

Although it was a vacation, Amy said she and her kids were happy to be able to sit down with local residents and share their story in hopes of inspiring others who also face obstacles.

"I consider it more like I'm having a conversation with the audience," she said. "Unfortunately, I'm doing most of the talking."

Amy said she wasn't always happy about having a television show and cameras following her around. It was Matt who pushed for the series and she initially went along with great reluctance.

"In the beginning, I really didn't want to have the TV in my life," she said. "But, the TV follows me. I'm not going to do anything that I do differently because that's what they want."

She said she is now grateful for the opportunities the show has given them to share their story and reach out to others.

"I am very careful of my kids and the attention that they are given," she said. "You don't see much of their school being filmed. I know that even though we allow this in our lives that other people shouldn't have to. I'm not going to yank my kids out of school and pull them around the world."

She said school work is a priority for their family, so she wants to ensure that the show doesn't interfere with the kids' education.

This was Amy's first visit to Metropolis. The other members of the Roloff Family had been to the city about one year ago and met up with local radio talent Shane Parker, "The Bear on the Air."

Parker was involved in one of the "Little People, Big World" shows and he and the Roloff Family developed a friendship.

Parker was one of the first people waiting for Amy and her kids to get off the boat last week and was eager to hear her story Sunday night.

"I met them before and I got filmed," Parker said. "They are great people. Of course, I have six kids myself."

Parker said the Roloffs love his locally famous fried Twinkies and he was excited to have a reunion with them.

While in Metropolis, the Roloffs filmed for several upcoming shows.

tara.fasol@thesouthern.com / 351-5824