Bringing Up Bates"Windy City Newlyweds"
- Soon after Michaela and Brandon return from their honeymoon, Kelly, Carlin, Josie, Callie, Judson, and Jeb travel to Chicago for a visit.
- “When I first got to Michael’s apartment, it was a perfect little place, but it’s really, really small, which is fine; we started out small,” says Kelly. “But it was very crowded. They have a lot more stuff than they have places to put it, and it was too cute of a place to be cluttered.”
- The gals immediately start reorganizing the living room.
- “What have you been doing since I’ve been gone?” says Brandon when he returns from work.
- “It took like an hour to decide if he liked it,” says Carlin.
- The next day, Michaela and her mom and siblings take the iconic architectural boat tour through downtown Chicago.
- “What a neat place to visit!” says Kelly. “Emphasis on Visit,” adds Gil, chuckling.
- After the tour, it’s time for Kelly and the kids to head home. “It’s always hard to say goodbye to any of the children, no matter what their age is,” says Kelly.
- Back in Tennessee, Erin and Chad discuss ideas for restoring an old hutch. Woodworking and restoring dilapidated furniture are currently just hobbies that Chad pursues in his free time, but he hopes to start a business in the future.
- “Restoring furniture, doing any project really, is a way to relax for him,” says Erin, as she and Carson watch Chad work. The finished product is incredible!
- The Bates family gathers to celebrate Zach’s graduation from the Blount County Regional Training Academy. The ceremony is delayed when Zach shows up late.
- One of the speakers at the graduation ceremony reminds the recruits that nothing is more important than their partner, both on the job and at home.
- It is an emotional day for Whitney and the rest of the Bates clan. “I was a proud wife because not many guys put their life on the line for people they don’t even know,” says Whitney.
- “We are all super proud of Zach,” says Nathan.
- The Bates family members, especially Whitney, admit that they worry about Zach as he works as a enforcement officer. “It makes me pray for him a whole lot more often,” says Kelly.
- “[Zach] has become the kind of man I think…everybody wants their son to grow up and be like,” says Gil.