Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond's Sweetest Family Photos Through the Years

Meet Jamar, Ree's "bonus son." In an excerpt from her forthcoming book of essays, Frontier Follies, the cook introduced her foster son, Jamar, who has been living on their Oklahoma ranch for the past year and a half. Ree kept Jamar out of the spotlight at first because of state agency restrictions, but now that he is 18, they no longer apply.

"He’s larger than life, has a hilarious laugh, and is extremely smart—both book and street. He’s a great kid who’s overcome some difficulties in his life," she writes. "I’m proud of the kid, and I can’t wait to see where life takes him."

Ree celebrated her oldest son's 18th birthday in September by gushing on social media of course! "Before he was a quarterback, he was a cowboy," wrote the proud mom, sharing throwback photos of Bryce on the family's ranch. "Can’t believe he’s 18...it went by so ridiculously fast. His dimples are still the death of me. 😂 "

"These two are gonna have so much fun together," Ree wrote after her daughter Alex, 23, became engaged to her new fiancé, Mauricio Scott.

Alex also shared the happy news on own social media, posting sweet photos taken of the moment Mauricio, 23, got down on one knee.

"Still waiting for someone to pinch me??!?!" she wrote alongside the post. "Mauricio Scott is the sweetest picture of God’s goodness and provision. And I get to spend FOREVER with him!! I love you, fiancé!!!!!!!"

The culinary star celebrated her daughter Paige's high school graduation during the same weekend as her nephew Caleb's. She shared photos of her kids at both ceremonies, and was sentimental about the entire weekend. "They were all tiny cowboys/cowgirls yesterday! Now they won't stop graduating from high school," she wrote on Instagram. "I asked Bryce and Todd to promise me they will never pursue independence, higher education, or any of that nonsense that would one day take them away from their mother. (They have not gotten back to me yet...)"

During a recent visit to her Pawhuska restaurant and retail store, The Mercantile, Ree ate with her sons Bryce and Todd and their friends on one side and her daughter Paige and her friends on the other. "Ladd and I had a quiet, romantic dinner right in the middle of them. Just kidding on the quiet, romantic part!" she joked on Instagram. "But you know what? It's fun to be surrounded by teenagers."

The blogger shared a glimpse into what life on the ranch was really like with little ones. "Todd didn't want to be put down that day," she said of her youngest son, now 13. "Cowboys really only need one arm to work with!"

Throwback! Ree posted this shot of her cattle ranching husband, Ladd, holding their oldest daughter, Alex, as a baby. "One of my favorite photos of all time," she wrote. "Ohhhhhh, the feelings this evokes."

"My two girls and my two nephews at the Lodge in the year 2000. They always wore pajamas in those days---heck, this was probably 3:00 in the afternoon. Also, there's no telling what Paige is eating," wrote Ree.

Ree reflected on this day in 2011 when she pretended she was going to rope the dummy steer but then turned and snagged Ladd instead. "It's how we show affection out here in the country," she joked.

Ree's love for her animals knows no bounds, and here she is with her beloved late bassett hound, Charlie, in 2015. "Me and my buddy! He's thrilled to be here," she captioned.

"I've been trying to come up with a clever caption for our family Easter photo," Drummond captioned this sweet shot in 2016. "How about 'Salvation Selfie?' (Sorry. Ha.)"

"Smoochie Selfie. Actually, we'd been dancing to 'Love Shack' and were really sweaty, so I guess I should call it Sweaty Smoochie Selfie," Ree captioned. "Weddings are fun for an old married couple like us!"

Ree was understandably emotional at Alex's high school graduation in 2015. "She's a graduate! This is before the ceremony. DURING the ceremony, when it was our turn to get on stage and speak to our child, I cried and passed my husband the mic, then he cried and passed me the mic," she wrote. "We are not handling this well. But the rest of the ceremony was just dandy! Ha."

In their go-to vacation destination of Vail, Colorado, Ladd convinced Ree to embrace her adventurous side. "We've had a wonderful family trip this week and today's our last day!," she captioned this sweet shot. "To go out with a bang, this guy is making me do some zip-line thing over a huge canyon. Hold me."

While visiting the Big Apple for the launch of her lifestyle magazine, the family caught the popular Broadway show Hamilton. "It was beautiful. Brilliant, touching, poignant, and real. I cried three times. Okay, four. Then we got lost on the subway getting back to our hotel. A memorable ending to our New York trip!," said Ree.

Visiting Alex at college in Texas, Ree and her other daughter Paige got to be there for a special moment. "Paige and I went to Alex's sorority bid day this weekend and it was so much fun to get some more hugs in," Ree captioned. "Also, it was precious for me to see that Alex has found a group who will be there for her and have her back as she navigates this new phase in her life."

For her son Bryce's last high school football game of the season in 2017, the family was there to show their support. "Paige and my mom were there cheering him on (and keeping each other warm.)," wrote Ree.

"I wanted to state for the record that I L❤️VE this child and think he's pretty neat. Yep...I'm a Todd fan," she captioned on this sweet shot with her youngest son in December 2017.

"Next time Alex comes home from college and her 'little' brother says he can lift her up on his shoulders...she will believe him," Ree captioned this Instagram photo. "Also, my children are now nine million years old and forty trillion feet tall. Goodbye."

"We all get matching pajamas late on Christmas Eve," Ree recently told PEOPLE. "The dogs get them too!"