Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Lawson Celebrates His Bday in Hawaii

Happy 29th birthday to Lawson Bates! This year, he happens to be on a vacation in Maui, Hawaii, with his girlfriend, Tiffany Espensen, and Tiffany's parents and older brother. Hope y'all have a wonderful trip.

 
Nathan Bates and Lawson Bates
 

Photo courtesy of UPtv

Saturday, July 24, 2021

Webster Girl Squad

It has been a while since we've shared a new photo of Alyssa and John Webster's girl squad. Allie turned six in April, Lexi is four-and-a-half, Zoey turned three in March, and Maci is five months. We just can't get over their matching dresses!

 
Zoey Webster, Maci Webster, Alyssa Webster, Lexi Webster, Allie Webster

Photo courtesy of @websterforever


Wednesday, July 21, 2021

New Music from Travis' Family

 
Clark family (Katie's future in-laws)

Many of you know that Travis Clark's family has a music group. They have released a number of CDs over the years and just put out a new one, God Is Faithful. Among others, the CD includes the original song that Travis performed for Katie during their engagement, "Will You Marry Me." You can listen to previews of each song on the Clarks' website. The CD can also be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and other music streaming platforms.

Photo courtesy of UPtv

Monday, July 19, 2021

Willow Turns 2

Happy 2nd birthday to Willow Balka! She is the 10th Bates grandchild, and her mama, Josie, is the 10th Bates child. Just a month ago, Willow became an older sister to Hazel.

 
Willow Balka, Kelton Balka, Josie Balka, Hazel Balka

Photo courtesy of @josie_balka

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Watch Nathan's Engagement

 
Nathan Bates and Esther Keyes

As most of you know, Nathan Bates proposed to Esther Keyes on May 22nd. The show went on break just one month later, so fans were not able to see the engagement covered on the show. To give you a glimpse at their big moment, which was the culmination of a three-day, romantic adventure, they uploaded a video to YouTube (link below). Nathan and Esther will start their journey as husband and wife in October.

Nathan and Esther's Engagement

Photo courtesy of @natebates93

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Cooking for Two

 
Brandon Keilen and Michael Keilen

"Learning to cook for two, I think, was one of the hardest things when we first got married. I feel like I over-seasoned and overcooked, and a lot of our meat was dry and way too salty. But you just have to relearn portions."

-Michael Keilen

For the Bates girls, getting married is an especially big adjustment because it involves some serious cutting down of portion sizes. When you are used to cooking for an army and suddenly have to adjust your recipes to feed 90% fewer people, the learning curve can be steep. Some of the ladies weigh in in the video below.


Photo/video courtesy of UPtv

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Katie's Wedding Website

 
Travis Clark and Katie Bates

Less than five months to go until Katie and Travis become husband and wife! They just completed their wedding website. You'll find a quick version of their love story, a list of their wedding party members, and links to their registries. 

The future Mr. and Mrs. Clark will hold their ceremony and reception at Castleton Farms on December 3rd, 2021. If the venue name sounds familiar to you, that's because Carlin and Evan had their wedding at the same location in May 2019. 

Photo courtesy of @kgbates2000

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Zach and Jadon

Jadon Bates is one month old today. Zach and Whitney had a newborn photo shoot done by Taryn Yager, and we thought we would share this beautiful, father-son snapshot.

 
Zach Bates and Jadon Bates

 Photo courtesy tarynyagerphotography.com; @zachnwhitbates

Sunday, July 4, 2021

July 4th and Kelton’s 26th

Happy 4th of July to our American readers! How are you celebrating this weekend? 

Happy 26th birthday to Kelton Balka, and happy birthday to Papa Bill Bates.


Photo courtesy of @josie_balka


Saturday, July 3, 2021

4th of July at the Farm

Spending 4th of July at Papa Bill and Mama Jane's farm in South Carolina is a Bates family tradition. In past years, we have posted photos from their get-togethers, including in 2017 and 2019. Some of the family members are spending the weekend there this year, so we thought we would share this adorable photo.


Carlin Stewart, Layla Stewart, Papa Bill Bates

Photo courtesy of @carlinbates98