Join Jon, Kate, and their eight children on another rollercoaster season—I mean, year—of their incredible life together. With their strong focus on family relationships and togetherness, Jon and Kate take their energetic brood to North Carolina’s beaches (where even the boys begin to enjoy swimming lessons), to amusement parks built for kids (Lego Land and Sesame Place), and finally to Hawaii (so the kids can meet some of their extended family and participate in a truly romantic ceremony). Sound like a busy season (I mean, year)? I haven’t even scratched the surface.
The sextuplets turned four this year, and instead of having a big carnival like Kate wanted, they decided to have a family day. Later on, the little kids got to decorate cupcakes with some of the biggest puffs of icing imaginable and the older girls got to decorate their own cakes with fondant—Kate described that as “edible food coloring,” and she was not exactly thrilled. (If you’ve ever seen Kate Gosselin, you know she’s a bit of a neat freak.) Decorating involved a mess, and the kids had on church clothes. 2+2=4. (Don’t worry, though. At the beach, Kate let them use chocolate pudding as body paint. She really let loose because she was at someone else’s house!)
In another episode, Jon shopped for and prepared a Korean feast for the kids. This was the first time he’s cooked for the family. (Can you believe that?!? If my husband didn’t cook, we’d eat hot dogs or chicken fingers every night.) The kids loved it, and Jon was vindicated when Kate said he’d got the Hawaiian-Chinese fried rice perfect. Kate was hoping to make this a weekly tradition.
Meanwhile, the little kids wondered about what it was like when they were born, so the family arranged a tour of the NICU where the kids spent their first weeks and the condo the family shared after Kate got out of the hospital. All of this is fascinating to mothers…all of us wonder if we could have endured what Kate did!
From July 4th fireworks to a Phillies game to Thomas the Tank-Engine to a photo shoot for Good Housekeeping—the Gosselins cover a lot of ground this season. Always learning, and always finding new ways to help each other and teach the kids life lessons—that, to me, is the essence of Jon and Kate Plus Eight. This is another fascinating season (sorry, Kate, I mean year) of America’s favorite reality show. Don’t miss it!
Reviewed by
Adrin Fisher
