'A Sweet Shower & a Surprise Switch' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "A Sweet Shower & a Surprise Switch"

• Kelly and Josie are back in New York City for Josie’s dress fitting. “I am hoping that it fits because there’s a lot of changes that we made that I’m not really sure what they’re going to look like, but I think it’s going to be great, hopefully,” says Josie.
• “Oh my word,” says Kelly when she sees her daughter in the gown. “Josie, that is more beautiful than I even imagined.” Both she and Josie love it.
• “I could not be any happier,” says Kourtney Wilson, Josie's bridal consultant.
• Back in Tennessee, Evan’s mom gives him some impromptu dance lessons to prepare for the proposal. “Just the fact that neither of you really know how to dance…it’s just adorable if you step on each other’s toes or don’t do it right,” says Erin. “It’s okay, it’s not about being perfect, but just about…making her dreams come true.” Erin has payed a big role in helping Evan plan the proposal.
• Twenty days before the wedding, Kelly and the girls host a tea party bridal shower for Josie (even though Josie is more of a coffee drinker). With all the babies and weddings the Bates have had, it has become difficult to find a new theme for each shower.
• “A Bates party is always a late party,” says Kelly. “Guests are coming in, and we’re hanging the decorations, but that is typical for a Bates party.”
• The ladies compete in a game of “sniff the teabag.” The goal is to identify each type of tea by smelling the bags.
• Carlin, Erin, Whitney, and Ellie end up winning, even though their process of elimination strategy is a little suspect.
• Josie is thrilled about all her gifts, and she shows it as she opens them. “Honestly, now I think everything feels real,” says Josie. “The wedding is coming.”
• “You’ve got an iron and an ironing board, now you’re ready to get married,” jokes Kelly.
• “Kelton’s going to love it,” laughs Josie. “He loves ironing stuff. I never iron anything.”
• Kelly and Carlin drive to Nashville to watch Lawson and family-friend Oliva Collingsworth record at Black River Sound Stage, and Tori comes to join them. Kelly and Lawson are clued in on a big surprise that is about to go down, but Carlin and Tori are clueless.
• Evan is extremely nervous as he waits to enter the studio. Lawson is able to sneak him into the sound booth, and he starts singing a little jingle: “I got your bags packed and the plane tickets in hand. I know you’re confused, so I’ll help you understand. I’ve got a getaway trip that’s already been planned, so I’ll bring you as my girl and me as your man. This is the when. You don’t know the where, but I promise, girl, when we get there, you won’t know what to say when you see the surprise. So are you ready to take the trip to the time of our lives?”
• Carlin is shocked and says later that her face looks like that of a “dying duck.” She runs into Evan’s arms. Evan has also purchased Carlin a new suitcase.
• Tune in next week to watch the rest of the proposal. “I made sure to take all my rings off here, just in case,” laughs Carlin.

Recap: "The Big Apple of Nathan's Eye"

Bringing Up Bates "The Big Apple of Nathan's Eye"

• Nathan is planning to surprise his girlfriend, Ashley, in New York City and ask her to begin an official courtship. For the Bates family, “courtship” means “going steady.”
• “The main goal for us in courtship is the desire to stay pure in the relationship,” shares Kelly. According to Gil, courtship is not a guarantee that the couple is going to marry, but if the relationship does not end at the altar, the two will part as friends.
• Lawson helps Nathan pick out a courtship gift. “If Ashley is going to kind of fit into our culture, she needs to get her a pair of cowboy boots,” explains Nathan. His three youngest sisters are not impressed by his gift. Nathan ends up purchasing a pair of earrings to go with the boots.
• Lawson doesn’t agree with Nathan’s decision to pack Western attire for his trip to New York City. “I’m proud of where I’m from, but sometimes you’ve got to adapt to the environment,” says Lawson.
• Nathan had originally planned to go to NYC alone but ended up inviting his mom to come. Before he knew it, Gil, Lawson, and Erin (along with Carson) had expressed a desire to tag along.
• Nathan is a bit concerned that Ashley will think he is proposing.
• The Bates show up at Ashley Salyer’s apartment in the Bronx. The Salyers are a homeschool family with seven children. Ashley’s father, Tim, works in the probation system, and her mother, Ana Maria, runs an in-home daycare.
• They have one hour to decorate the apartment with streamers, balloons, and posters before Ashley returns home. Erin draws a picture of two ducks (labeled Nathan and Ashley) kissing. Nathan hangs it front and center, but Gil has a different suggestion: “We’re going to put that one on the back burner.”
• When Ashley walks in, she is overjoyed to see Nathan. The two embrace in a big hug. Ashley admits that she had suspected that something was up, but she hadn't expected such a big ordeal.
• The next morning, Ashley and a few of her siblings take the Bates on a boat tour to see the Statue of Liberty. They visit China Town, where Erin and Ashley try their hand at making noodles, and then end the day at 10Below Ice Cream.
• On the second day of the trip, Nathan takes Ashley on a carriage ride through Central Park. “For some reason, they didn’t want me to go along and enjoy that moment with them,” laments Lawson.
• Kelly explains that in a big city, there are plenty of eyes on you at all times. For that reason, the couple does not take a chaperone along.
• The next stop is the outdoor ice rink at Bryant Park. While Nathan and Ashley are skating, Lawson sets the gift bag in the center of the rink.
• “I’ve had a great time hanging out this week, and I love you a lot, and I thought we’d get you something to help you fit in with our culture a little bit,” Nathan tells Ashley. He has to get down on one knee to pick the bag up and is afraid she will think he is proposing. When he pulls out the earring box, he makes sure to tell her that it’s not a ring.
• “We’d like to start courting, if you’re okay with that,” says Nathan. “Of course I’m okay with that!” responds Ashley.
• Nathan unveils one final surprise, as he informs Ashley that he has purchased a ticket for her to return to Tennessee to celebrate Christmas. Ashley is elated!
• Back at the Bates home, it’s time for the annual Christmas party. The out of town couples make a surprise visit. Nathan and Ashley tell their courtship story. 
• Zach and Whitney hand Kelly a box filled with either pink or blue balloons. When she opens it, everyone is thrilled to find out that Bates grandbaby #4 is a girl!

Recap: "Love is in the Heir"

Bringing Up Bates "Love is in the Heir"

• Nathan, Jackson, and Warden return from spending Thanksgiving with Nathan’s girlfriend Ashley, who is from the Bronx. Because of the distance between them, Nathan and Ashley are not able to see each other very often, so they decide to spend the holiday visiting family and friends together. 
• Nathan invites his parents on a lunch date at a local BBQ joint to have some “large talk,” which means he has a very important matter to discuss.
• Nathan shares that he has talked with Ashley and her parents and that he feels the Lord’s guidance in their relationship. He plans to ask Ashley to begin an official courtship, although the two have been boyfriend and girlfriend for several months.
• “For our family, courtship is kind of like what other people would call going steady,” explains Kelly.  While Ashley loves New York City, she has said that she would be happy living in East Tennessee. Nathan admits that he would not want to move to the Bronx.
• That evening, everyone helps decorate the house for Christmas. Kelly and the girls decide to go with a more rustic, country theme, so Gil brings a rusted metal lampstand in from the barn. Using greenery and lanterns, the gals are able to turn it into a festive decoration.
• Nathan calls a family meeting and announces his plan to ask Ashley to begin a courtship just before Christmas. His siblings are ecstatic. “I do have some opposition, but that’s just for selfish reasons,” shares Lawson. “We’ve been free men forever, and I know how this thing goes…I’m going to be the lone survivor here at the house.”
• “[Lawson] told me that he’s read some studies that show that once a guy gets a girl, his career goes downhill,” says Kelly, laughing.
• Zach and Whitney head to Dr. Vick’s office to have their first ultrasound with Baby #2. At 1.5 inches long, Baby is very active, unlike Bradley, who, according to Zach, was lazy while in the womb.
• Whitney elects to do a blood test to find out the gender, as it is still too early to tell on the ultrasound. She guesses that the baby is a girl, and, as we know, she is correct!
• The kids prepare a special meal for Gil and Kelly in honor of their 28^th wedding anniversary. They set up a small table in the master bedroom and serve salad with strawberries, blue cheese, and walnuts; rolled chicken breasts with ham and cheese in the middle; fries; and green beans.
• “My mom and dad’s marriage is very important to us because you don’t see many marriages that are that well off,” says Isaiah.
• According to Kelly, having the kids involved in their anniversary made it more meaningful than it would have been if they had gone out to celebrate. 

Recap: "Blessings...And New Beginnings?"

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, "Blessings...And New Beginnings?"

• Ashley and Anastasia, two friends whom Lawson and Nathan met at a conference, come for a visit.
• The boys recently visited Ashley and Anastasia in their "hometown" of New York City, and now they want to show the girls what life is like in the hills of Tennessee. “…We decided to give them a taste of what the real world is like,” says Nathan.
• The first item on the agenda? Horseback riding. “The most fun part was watching them try to make the horses go in a straight line,” says Lawson. “They did better than I thought,” says Nathan.
• Later, Gil and Kelly take Lawson, Nathan, Anastasia, Ashley, and a few of the other Bates to McCloud Mountain Restaurant, which has a beautiful view.
• The visit goes very well. “Who knows? They just might want to come back again someday,” says Lawson, smiling.
• Kelsey, Erin’s close friend from college, throws Erin a baby shower. The Bates usually invite both guys and gals to their baby showers, but Erin has decided she wants to have one with just ladies.
• As friends and family members gather for the shower, Kelly is stressed out because her other daughters are 30 minutes late, due to a miscommunication over whether Carlin or Tori is supposed to drive.
• At the end of the shower, Kelsey reveals a special surprise she has planned for Erin. She instructs everyone to grab a balloon and release it outside in memory of the babies Erin miscarried before she became pregnant with Carson.
• “It was very, very touching,” says Kelly. “It was a very loving gesture, a thoughtful gesture that I would not have thought of doing.”