Bates Home Makeover

Last season on Bringing Up Bates, Gil and Kelly Bates accompanied Michael, who was not yet engaged, on a trip to Chicago to spend time with Brandon Keilen and his parents. While they were away, Chad and Erin Paine stayed at the house and enlisted the children to help with a special surprise for Mom and Dad.

When Gil and Kelly walked through the door of their bedroom after the trip, they were shocked to see what the kids had been up to: an extreme home makeover.

"...Just the thought that our kids would want to do something like that for us, it was really sweet," shared Kelly, after the initial shock of the surprise had passed. Check out this video:

Recap: "Brandon Pops the Question"

Bringing Up Bates, "Brandon Pops the Question"

• Brandon Keilen calls Gil to share his plans for the big proposal. The Bates all love Brandon and say it's about time that he ask Michael to marry him.
• Brandon wants Michael to have a unique engagement ring, so he brings sketches to Harrington's Fine Jewelry in Chicago to start the design process. 
• The white gold ring features a big stone that represents God as the center of Brandon and Michael's relationship, surrounded by each of their initials (M and B).
• Brandon texts Michael to tell her that he is planning a trip to Washington D.C. and will be staying with his sister, Angie. Michael asks her parents if they mind if she goes along. Gil suggests that Michael surprise Brandon in D.C, so Michael makes plans to stay with Angie but does not tell her boyfriend. Little does she know that she is part of a much bigger plan. 
• Meanwhile, Gil and Kelly are secretly planning to fly to D.C. 
• Michael arrives in D.C. and surprises Brandon at Angie's apartment. (Angie sends Brandon on an errand and has Michael greet him at the door when he returns.) 
• Michael arrives on a Sunday, and she and Brandon spend the day sightseeing with Angie and another of one Brandon's sisters, Becky. "Anxiety was kind of mounting as the day was getting closer," says Brandon, as he makes final plans to execute the proposal the following day.
• Back home in Tennessee, the kids use the iPhone app Find My Friends to figure out that their parents are no longer in Florida. They put two and two together and realize what is happening, and they are thrilled.
• The next morning, Brandon and Michael visit the D.C. cherry blossoms at the Jefferson Memorial as the sun rises. Brandon tells Michael that he has to leave for a few hours to do work and hands her the first clue of a scavenger hunt.
• "Brandon, he gives 'thoughtful' an entirely new definition," says Michael, touched that her boyfriend planned something for her to do in his absence.
• The scavenger hunt takes Michael and Becky on a trek across the city. Angie and a third Keilen sister, Christy, are helping behind the scenes. At each location, Michael watches a video made by Brandon and cries at his thoughtfulness.
• The last clue takes Michael to Great Falls Park, Virginia, where Brandon is waiting with flowers and the ring. 
• "Michael, I want to say three things to you," Brandon tells his girlfriend. "The first thing is: I love you. The second is: I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And the third is a question: Will you marry me?"
• "Yes!" responds Michael. "I've wanted to from the very first day I met you."
• The couple shares a few hugs before their parents come out of hiding. 
• Brandon and Michael are planning their wedding for August 15th.

Recap: Future In-Laws?

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, "Future In-Laws?"

• Gil, Kelly, and Michael head to Chicago to meet with Brandon Keilen (Michael's boyfriend) and his parents. Erin and Chad come over to help with the little ones while Gil and Kelly are away.
• Brandon's family lives in Michigan, but when Brandon and Michael get married, they will live in Chicago, where Brandon has been working since graduating from school. (Brandon proposed soon after this episode was filmed, and the wedding is set for August 15th.)
• Gil requests that they have Chicago pizza, so they enjoy a meal at Giordano's. Kelly and Michael are eager for Brandon to propose, but Gil is a little more laid back. "I know that [Brandon] has got to be thinking engagement," says Kelly. "It has to be on his mind, because it's on all of ours."
• The following morning, they head to an art shop, where they each paint a piece of pottery.
• At lunch, Brandon pulls Gil into the men's room to ask for permission to propose in the next few weeks. Brandon tells Gil the date, but Gil doesn't plan to tell Kelly because he knows she will spill the beans.
• While they are eating, Kelly pulls out a 2015 calendar and asks Brandon if he wants to choose a date for the wedding. Brandon jokes that he is planning on Valentine's Day of 2015.
• Back in Tennessee, Erin and Chad and the kids prepare to redecorate Gil and Kelly's bedroom as a surprise. Chad and the boys work on refinishing the antique bedroom furniture, while the girls decorate.
• While Erin is babysitting, she has the kids use their food to make animals. Gil doesn't like wasting food, so the children say he would not approve.
• When Gil and Kelly return home, they are blown away by their newly decorated room. Gil tells the family that he had a special talk with Brandon but won't reveal the details. "I hardly ever know anything everybody don't know," says Gil.

Recap: "Michaella and Brandon"

Bringing Up Bates, "Michaella and Brandon"

• Brandon comes to Rocky Top, Tennessee, for a two-week visit with the Bates family. His relationship with Michaella has been long-distance since the two started courting on December 30th, 2013, so Gil and Kelly suggested he come for an extended stay to bond with the rest of the family.
• "I have been counting down the days since I first found out he was coming," says Michaella. "I have been so excited about having this time to spend with him and seeing him interact with my siblings."
• When he arrives, Brandon surprises the kids with candy. "It was the bestest!" says Judson. "He's my favorite."
• "Brandon was smart to bring candy in one way, but he would have been smarter to bring earplugs," jokes Zach, who admits he is enjoying the quietness of married life with only one kid.
• As the third youngest of ten kids, Brandon's upbringing was busy, but definitely not as chaotic as Michaella's. "It's kind of overwhelming at times, but it's also kind of fun, just to be able to be in the atmosphere," he says, smiling. "They are all very loving people."
• Michaella and Brandon met at a homeschool conference about five years ago. "The more I get to know her, the more I realize how honored I am to be in this relationship with her," says Brandon.
• Gil and Kelly share one rule with the couple: they cannot be alone in a room together.
• While Michaella works her day job as a nanny, Brandon, born and raised in Michigan, accompanies Gil and the boys on a tree job. "He might be a Yankee, but he works," says Tori.
• The future Bates son-in-law is cautious at first, but by the end of the day, he is pulling his own weight. "Brandon was working so hard that he was making me start to look bad," says Trace.
• Later, Gil and Kelly take the courting couple on a walk in the woods. They give Michaella and Brandon some privacy by stepping back and allowing their daughter and her boyfriend to go on ahead. 
• "When you have chaperones, sometimes it's awkward to carry on really in-depth conversations together," explains Kelly. "So we like for all the courting couples to have opportunity to have all the conversations they need to have..."
• Gil and Kelly pray with Michaella and Brandon and give them a book, which is also used by the Duggar family. The "Getting Ready for Marriage Workbook is available on the Store page of the Duggar Family Blog.
• Michaella and Tori take the little kids to an indoor bounce house, and Brandon comes along. Tori tries to force Brandon to go bouncing and go down the slides with her. At one point, she grabs his arm, and Michaella, in fun, shouts, "Tori, hands off!"
• "If I'm not going to touch him, then she can't either," says Michaella, laughing. Tori shares her side of the story: "It wasn't like I was trying to hug the guy for crying out loud. I was just trying to get him to come have fun with me."
• Next, Brandon goes bowling with the Bates boys. "When do you think you're going to get engaged, man?" asks Nathan. "It's hard to say," responds Brandon, who admits that he is thinking about proposing but that he wants to keep the details a secret.
• At the end of the evening, Michaella's brothers put their stamp of approval on Brandon.
• To get a feel for Michaella's style, Brandon takes Tori, Carlin, and Josie ring shopping. Each sister has a slightly different idea about which ring Michaella would like best. In the end, everyone knows that Brandon will make the final decision.
• "Brandon handled all the connections with the kids in a great way, and I think he's really a star player," says Gil sincerely.