Bringing Up Bates "Fly Fishin' Zip Linin' Honeymoon"...
- After their wedding, Michaela and Brandon honeymoon in Flathead County, Montana.
- The newlyweds’ first activity is fly fishing on Flathead Lake. The Bates kids are not surprised to hear that Michaela ended up catching more fish than Brandon. “[Brandon] is not the fisher type,” says Carlin. “He’s more like the city, office desk, suit and tie kind of guy.”
- “Fishing was fun, but with her being at the back of the boat and me all the way in the front, I was ready for some time where we could actually be together,” says Brandon.
- The second activity is zip lining. (Michaela wears a dress and leggings under her harness.) The view is breathtaking!
- Michaela and Brandon also take a ride on the Alpine Slide, an attraction that allows you to ride down a plastic track in a sled.
- Back in Tennessee, Gil takes Addee, Ellie, and Callie on a date to Rickard Ridge BBQ in Caryville. “Watching Michaela get married and looking around at all the other girls who are quickly growing up, we decided to take a little date night, just for fun,” says Gil.
- According to Kelly, the week after Michael’s wedding was very emotional for the little girls, who miss their sister older very much. “Just spending time with Dad has a way of just making everything seem like it’s all okay,” says the mom of 19.
- Gil, who is supposed to be on a diet, orders sweet tea, but the girls confiscate it. They give it back and tell him he can only have one glass, but he accepts a refill while his daughters are in the bathroom.
- After having worked in the sheriff’s department reserves for a few years, Zach begins an 11-week training course at the Police Academy. The first part of the program forced him to be away from home for an extended period of time, but now he is able to commute each day.
- “I ain’t going to lie, I called home crying a couple times,” says Zach. “Every night,” shares Whitney.
- “I was going to sound tougher than that, but yah, I called home crying every night,” admits Zach. “I missed my wife.”
- Whitney says that the support she has received from her parents and Zach’s family has been a lifeline. She and Josie, who used to chaperone Zach and Whitney before they were married, prepare a meal for Zach.