Bates Ski Trip 2025

A couple weeks ago, the Bates family took their annual ski vacation out west. Not everyone attends every year, but it still ends up being a good sized group. If you have watched Bringing Up Bates, the Bates' reality TV show that aired from 2015-2021, you know that this trip has been a tradition for quite a few years. The Clarks and Stewarts both uploaded YouTube videos of footage from this year's trip (links below), which took place in Utah. At the ends of Katie and Travis' video, you'll also hear Gil and Kelly Bates share some marriage tips.  

Katie and Travis Clark: Bates Ski Trip

Carlin and Evan Stewart: Bates Ski Trip

Photo Shoot with Baby Weston

We don't hear from Tori and Bobby Smith very often. They are busy living life with five children. Their youngest, Weston Slade Smith, arrived on May 29th, and Bates family photographer Lydia Bates took his newborn pictures. She and Trace recorded the session on video and uploaded the footage to their YouTube account so fans can see how much the Smith children have grown.

Bates 'I Love You Day' 2024

If you are a long-time fan of the Bates family, you've likely heard about their annual gathering for Valentine's Day, which they call 'I Love You Day.' Every year, Kelly Bates plans a big costume party for the entire family and a separate dinner for all the couples. For the past several years, they have chosen a theme and have awarded prizes for the best costumes. 

This year, the theme was Little House on the Prairie. The festivities took place this weekend, and Carlin and Evan Stewart have already shared footage of both the costume party and couples dinner on YouTube.

2022: Bible characters

2021: Noah's ark/animals 

2020: Roaring '20s

2019: Chivalry/medieval

2018: Growing Old Together

Thanksgiving on the Farm 2023

Spending Thanksgiving on Papa Bill and Mama Jane's farm in Honea Path, South Carolina, is a Bates family tradition. It's always an exciting time filled with lots of family togetherness and tasty food, and this year was no different. Trace and Lydia posted a video with footage. 

Trace and Lydia Bates: Bates Thanksgiving

Update on Lydia's Family

The Bates family continues to pray for a very imminent situation involving Lydia (Romeike) Bates and her family. As we recently shared, Lydia’s family has been suddenly ordered to prepare for deportation. Her parents, Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, have seven children. This deportation even includes their two married children, whose spouses are Americans. Thus, it would affect Trace, Lydia, Ryker, and the entire Bates family greatly. The Romeikes are Germans who have been living in the United States legally for 15 years.

Uwe was a guest on The Glenn Beck Program on September 28th. Those interested can listen on Apple Podcasts or on the Blaze Media website. The interview starts at 1:25. The petition referred to by Glenn Beck can be found on the HSLDA website.

Recap: "Headed to the Altar"

Bringing Up Bates, "Headed to the Altar"...

• Michael met Brandon several years ago at a homeschool conference. Between their first encounter and the start of their courtship (December 30, 2013), Michael prayed every day that she could be Brandon’s wife.
• The show opens with a flashback to September 2014. Michael makes a surprise visit to Brandon’s Bible school in Texas. Although the couple waited until their engagement to hold hands, they showed affection throughout their courtship by hugging.
• In November 2014, Brandon pays a visit to the Bates’ house just outside Knoxville, Tennessee, to get to know Michael’s family. They spend Thanksgiving with Gil’s side of the family.
• In February 2015, Brandon takes Tori, Carlin, and Josie to a local jewelry store to get a feel for Michael's taste in jewelry. He ends up designing Micheal's ring himself.
• Also in February, the older Bates boys take their future brother-in-law out for a guy’s night at a bowling alley. “They’re very intense,” says Michael of her brothers. “I guess in a way it makes me feel loved that they care that much about me, but at the same time, I felt for Brandon, knowing what he was going to go through.”
• In March 2015, Gil, Kelly, and Michael meet with Brandon and his parents in Chicago, where Brandon has worked since graduating from Bible college.
• Over a delicious dinner of Chicago style deep dish pizza, Kelly starts fishing for information. “Not trying to be nosy or anything, but just wondering: Have y’all talked about maybe a time?” pries the mom of 19. “Are you thinking a season, a particular season?”
• The next day during lunch, Brandon holds a secret conference with Gil in the men’s room to discuss the engagement.
• In April 2015, Brandon tells Michael that he will be traveling to Washington D.C. To ensure that Michael doesn’t suspect anything, Gil and Kelly encourage their daughter to “surprise” Brandon while he’s there. 
• Brandon plans a scavenger hunt proposal, with help from his sisters Angie and Becky.
• On April 13^th, Michael spends the day traipsing around the city, as she follows Brandon’s clues. At each stop, Brandon has left a video and a piece of a cardboard replica of Michael’s ring. At the end of the scavenger hunt, Brandon is waiting to propose, as both sets of parents watch from afar. 
• “The whole day was kind of like an emotional roller coaster,” says Michael.
• With a lot of help from their families, Michael and Brandon’s wedding preparations go very smoothly. The couple’s four-month engagement is an emotional time for the Bates family, as they prepare for their beloved Michael to tie the knot and move to Chicago.

Details of Zach & Whitney and Erin & Chad's engagements are coming soon. Stay tuned next week for the wedding episode!   

'It's Like the Good Old Days Again'

You're not the only one who is looking forward to the return of Bringing Up Bates. The Bates family is looking forward to it, too! Season three premiers Thursday, January 7th, 2016, on UP.

Gil: 'They All Push Each Other to the End'

Who do you think is the most competitive member of the Bates family? According to Kelly Bates, all the kids have a competitive spirit. "They get it from their dad," says the mom of 19 (video below).

Recap: "Addee & Ellie's Pool Party"

Bringing Up Bates, "Addee & Ellie's Pool Party"

• Gil fulfills his promise of giving Josie a private tennis lesson.
• “Sometimes we…treat the family like a herd or a flock, instead of like individual people that are valuable, special, important,” shares Gil, as he emphasizes the importance of spending one-on-one time with each child.
• Gil grew up playing tennis and says that his “claim to fame” was when he finally beat his dad on his dad’s 50^th birthday. He is proud of Josie for wanting to learn a new skill.
• Meanwhile, Kelly takes Trace clothing shopping at a local thrift store.
• “All of our boys are probably just as picky about clothes as our girls are,” shares Kelly. “They know brands, they know what they like, they know what they think looks good or doesn’t look good. So I feel like I’m the old lady out of style when I’m shopping with the kids.”
• Trace will graduate high school in December. Kelly asks if he plans to continue working with Gil, but Trace says that he “really ain’t big into that tree business.” 
• The mom of 19 encourages her son to experiment with a few classes at The Crown College of the Bible and reminds him that she and Gil will pay for his first semester, but she assures him that she will be happy with whatever choice he makes.
• Trace thanks his mom for taking him shopping and says he “had an amazing time” with her.
• Addallee and Ellie’s birthdays are in February and April, but the girls have been holding off for an outdoor pool party. Now that summer has rolled around, Gil and Kelly decide it’s time to fulfill the girls’ wish. Whitney’s mom, who has a pool, invites the family over to her house.
• “My parents have always really tried to make every birthday really special, especially for the younger children,” says Lawson. Gil and Kelly make a habit of taking the birthday kid out to a restaurant and then allowing him or her to have a party.
• After the Bates arrive at the pool, everyone jumps in the water while Kelly prepares lunch. “Where’s the birthday cake?” asks Zach. Turns out, Gil was in charge of picking up the food on Kelly’s list, and he bought two boxes of cake mix and brought them to the party.
• “Who’s going to cook a cake mix while we’re in the pool?” Lawson asks his dad. 
• “What about all the things I got right?” says Gil. “You did good, you did good,” Kelly assures her husband.
• Michaela saves the day when she arrives with a store-bought cake. Before chowing down, the Bates take turns sharing praises about Addee and Ellie, which is something they do at every birthday celebration.
• “If you’ve ever heard of constructive criticism, it doesn’t feel too constructive if you’re the one getting it,” says Gil. “But praise, or encouragement…is a powerful, powerful thing.”
• “Affirmation from other people, when it’s real, means so much,” shares Nathan.

Recap: "The Quest for the Dress"

Bringing Up Bates, "The Quest for the Dress"...

• Kelly and Michaela meet with Kim, Kelly’s older sister, to discuss flowers for the wedding. Kim has a flower shop in Mebane, North Carolina, called Gallery Florist. She has done flowers for each of the Bates kids’ weddings, as well as for Kelly’s wedding.
• Michaela wants cherry blossoms, but since they aren't in season in August, she settles for silk flowers.
• After Kelly married Gil, her mom adopted two daughters. One of those girls, Beth, is getting married the month before Michaela, so Kelly and Michaela meet up with the rest of the family for Beth’s wedding shower. Michaela and Beth are only a year apart in age and are close friends.
• For one of the shower games, guests divide up into teams and create toilet paper wedding dresses. Afterwards, Gil the penny pincher gathers the leftover toilet paper to take home. “Man, look at all this savings!” exclaims Gil. “This is the soft kind.”
• Later, Erin and Chad have a photographer take newborn pictures of Carson. “I have never known why people want to go take pictures of itty bitty babies,” says Nathan. “And then the next thing is, why they always want to take their clothes off and put them in a little bucket or something."
• Michaela, accompanied by her mom, sisters, and sister-in-law, heads to White Lace & Promises in Knoxville, Tennessee, in search of the perfect wedding dress. The bride-to-be wants a simple gown that makes her look skinny and has a train and sleeves.
• As expected, Michaela is hit with an onslaught of opinions each time she tries on a dress. “I’m going to tell you something about the Bates,” says Josie. “They are not scared to say what they think. They just blurt it out. Whitney doesn’t do that, but we do that.” 
• “It is good to be honest,” agrees Whitney. “But you have to do it in a loving kind of way.”
• Tori and Carlin turn out to be the biggest critics.
• After trying on a bunch of wedding dresses, Michaela admits to feeling discouraged. “I was thinking, ‘Maybe we should just elope or have a tiny wedding that nobody is going to see,'” she shares. 
• But before long, Michaela finds exactly what she has been looking for. The gown will need extensive alterations to remove some of the poof and add capped sleeves, but everyone agrees that it is very “Michaela.”
• The only catch is that it will cost nearly $2,000, which is significantly more than Michaela had allotted for in her wedding budget. She resolves to pray about it and make the final decision in a few days. 

Recap: "Organized Chaos"

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, "Organized Chaos"...

• Gil and Kelly and the kids go through the lengthy process of pulling out winter clothes and packing away summer clothes. "It takes us all day to go through clothes," says Josie. "And sometimes another day," adds Katie.
• "That's mine!" is one of the most common phrases heard as the family sorts through clothes.
• Kelly decides to donate her maternity clothes. "I'm getting old, and there's not been a baby in a long time, and so I thought, we're just keeping clutter," says the mom of 19, who would still love to have another kid, as would the rest of the family.
• Kelly adds: "Somebody said, 'If you get rid of all your clothes, watch what will happen, you'll get pregnant.' So I said, 'Good idea!'"
• The Bates family prepares to sing at the Museum of Appalachia's Tennessee Fall Homecoming festival. To get the little kids in the mood to sing, Carlin and Kelly lead them in a round of "The Poochie Lip Disease."
• The evening before the festival, the whole family gathers to rehearse "In This House," the song they will be singing at the event. It doesn't go as well as they had hoped. 
• On the day of the performance, Kelly says she is most nervous about the older girls giggling and the little kids not being attentive.
• The performance turns out well, and the whole family is relieved. Carlin also showcases her yodeling skills, and Lawson sings one of his original songs, "Freedom Sure Ain't Free."
• When the Duggars helped the Bates add an addition onto their house back in spring 2008, the old part of the house became a storage room. Chad and Erin come over to help the family organize the space so it can be used.
• "We are great project starters, but Chad is a good project finisher," says Nathan.
• In the middle of the project, Michaella receives a text from her boyfriend, Brandon. "Brandon is my greatest distraction, and I love being distracted," says Michaella.
• "When Brandon texts, [Michaella] is no help around here," laughs Gil.
• The Bates boys pause the cleanup project to do home haircuts. Chad is a self-taught expert at trimming men's hair. "My brothers, they are very, very, very particular about their haircut," says Erin.
• "You are definitely the best guy that Erin has ever married," Gil tells Chad jokingly. The dad of 19 makes a point to reward his son-in-law for helping with haircuts.

"Nashville Son" Recap

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates "Nashville Son"...

• The Bates family is preparing to plant a winter vegetable garden. They have had gardens in the past, but it is been several years. "Eating healthy is a good goal," says Kelly. "That's what we're aiming for, but we fall short a lot of times, probably just because of habit and what's convenient, what's cheap."
• Gil and Kelly disagree about where the garden should sit. Gil thinks the valley is the best place. "I'll tell you what. Water rolls downhill," says the dad of 19. Kelly points to an unused piece of land at a higher elevation. Her rationale? "Water comes from the sky...everywhere."
• Kelly and her supporters decide to give in "with a good attitude," as the mom of 19 says. Kelly asks Gil to consider building a playground on the plot of land she had initially chosen for the garden.
• "When there's a difference of opinion, we try to listen to each person's opinion," says Kelly. "But it comes to a point when you can see from their expressions, their tones, their attitudes that...this has gone a little bit too far. We're not just sharing opinions at this point. There are some hard feelings that are forming."
• The whole family helps Gil plow the land and prepare the garden for planting. Erin's husband, Chad, who grew up on a farm, comes over to help.
• Lawson drives three hours to Nashville to record a new song, which was released yesterday. He took up the hobby of writing music a few years ago. Some of his songs are about his experiences, and some are stories about other people.
• "I am very excited but also very nervous," says Lawson. The 22-year-old has managed a landscaping business for several years and still keeps that as a day job, but he is currently placing more emphasis on building his music career.
• When he arrives in Nashville, Lawson, who has never had vocal training, meets with performer and voice coach Joyce Martin.
• Lawson records at the studio belonging to legendary bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs. His new song, called "Problems," is a duet with Rachel Leftwich, Rick Skaggs' niece.
• While visiting Music City, Lawson also has the privilege of discussing his career goals with Ed Leonard, president of Daywind Records.
• Upon returning home, Lawson receives accolades from his family when he plays the recording of his song.
• Here is Kelly's take on musical training: "Gil and I never had a musical background and can't even read a note of music, but we felt like it was really important for all of the children to have music lessons just so we could use it for ministry."
• Lawson, Nathan, and Trace are asked who they think will be the next Bates to get hitched. "It will probably be Lawson, or Tori," says Nathan. "Them girls like to jump ship early," adds Lawson.
• Kelly says courtship is a popular topic of conversation in the Bates family, as the kids like to tease each other about potential mates, or lack thereof, and try to match-make.
• Lawson says his parents don't force their kids to pursue courtship over careers, or vice versa. Instead, they tell their children to make their own choices, and they promise to be there to support, encourage, and advise them.