I feel you. I just require my players to have a really strong background story. So far my wife is the only one in our group to go that route. She and her husband (my npc) were already precocious hobbits in their tweens who fell in love with Bilbo's stories and decided to have an adventure the same way that rich old white people go on safari, as in not really understanding what they were doing, but thinking it sounded fun.
They are essentially a precursor to Merry and Pippin in that way, with Rosemarie being a Brandybuck 'Scholar' who wants to learn all the cooking recipes in the world and who was already having 'adventures' to Bree for that purpose. Bledic (a warden), on the other hand, is a more normal hobbit who has a position as a Bounder (thus already as close to an adventurer as normal hobbits get) who is excited by his wife's eccentricities and follows her out of both and awe of her bravery and a desire to protect her. He has slowly been developing an idea of a 'Bounder for everyone' as they adventure.
They are nearly done with Tales from the Wilderland, and have created a rather good place for themselves with the Beornings by just being courteous and always willing to help. Rosie is learning to keep bees during her Fellowship phases and they have founded a little farm near Beorn's place (their patron) and generally do hobbit things
Oh, and the 'safari leader' is a young dwarven merchant the two met in Bree who is traveling the world and trying to re-establish trade routes for Erebor. So, yeah. Any other hobbits in adventures or whatever I have been changing to humans.