Fake Lashes Like Camping Too! Bachelor Recap- Week 4

Week 4 of The Bachelor is usually when the outright crazies have revealed themselves and the front-runners tend to start cracking.  Some relationships are heating up while others have fizzled a bit.  First impressions are really only meaningful for the first couple of weeks and then nerves start to settle a bit.  It's really a pivotal time for Chris to start making some hard decisions on who will stay and who will go.  

I'm actually in support of Chris' family coming to meet the girls when there are still lots of them to choose from.  We all know what happens when sisters get involved in the final two.  There have been some crazy sister scenarios in past seasons.  Ashley H's sister was so hard on the guys and later appeared on TLC's Extreme Couponing.  Ben's sister Julia was also a bit tough although I think she'd be an incredible Bachelorette and should drink beer with Ali everyday, Can the next Bachelor please have a nice brother or a fun cousin who is just looking for a drinking buddy during family parties?

Leading up to the "Let's Get Natural" group date, there was a major melt down in the house when Ashley I thought she would have to leave her fake lashes at home.  After pulling up to a mud pit near some brown hills, Chris told us, "I want to see what the girls are like in a bit more normal setting".... Because being asked to hop in a reservoir with 10 other girls and a camera crew with producers is completely natural and something he would probably plan if he wasn't on a reality show...

Truth be told, Kelsey was a real downer on the date but that whole situation would be a total nightmare.  Being an East Coast kid and growing up on the ocean, I can appreciate that ones idea of "beach" can be subjective.  But wait... aren't they in LA?  They could have done better than a swampy resevoir.  If Chris then dropped the bomb that they would be camping out there- I'd be a goner.  If my third date with my husband was camping, he would have never seen me again.  It took a good three years before I agreed to sleep outside in a tent.  Even if you are a fan of camping, there would be nothing fun about spending the night with your boyfriend and his six other girlfriends.

Ashley S. continues to beg the question "Which psychiatric ward is missing its patient?".  That girl is cray!  I watch a lot of crime shows on Slice (I'm currently on a massive "Fatal Vows" kick- great show for a newlywed) and guys get murdered by way more stable girlfriends.

Ashley I. tried to pull the classic sneak-out-in-the-middle-of-the-night-to-visit-the-Bachelor but production has really stepped up their game.  The camera man was clearly made to sit at that picnic table all night to catch every scandalous move the girls try to make.  I imagine he's an intern and just plays Candy Crush all night until the union guys get to work the next morning.  I think KardAshley is making way too big of a deal about being a virgin.  She keeps saying how insecure she is about it but, if that's the case, save it for the Fantasy Suite where you can have a private conversation.  As if she'll even make it that far...  Also- how horrible would their breath be after drinking and sitting around in mudpit tainted clothes all night!?

I was surprised that Chris' sisters picked Jade for the one-on-one date.  She's been completely off the radar thus far and they didn't seem all that interested in her during their chat.  The one with the Kate Gosselin hair style seemed especially disinterested when Jade was talking about her career in modeling/organic make up.

Chris' sister...  I mean...  Kate Gosselin.

The Twitterverse was giving Carly a hard time for saying she wanted to find a guy like her Grandfather.  Personally, I know what that's like.  My Gramps loved WWF wrestling, debated the rulings in Judge Judy cases at the dinner table and was a loyal viewer of Ricki Lake.  And you wonder where I get my bad TV genes?!

Cinderella date?!  Ohhhhhhh- just kidding- it's a cross-promotion for a new movie.  When asked, Chris gives us the shocking news that "I've never been to a royal ball before" Duh.  My concern was that he wouldn't know who Jade was when she came down the stairs; not because she's transformed into a princess but because he's never talked to her before...

KardAshley was super disappointed that she wasn't on this date and had even packed a sparkly gown in case there was a princess-themed evening.  "Whenever someone asks me to describe myself, it's Disney Princess."  More like the wicked step sister.  At least we got to catch a glimpse of her emotional eating issues... with corn...

Jade seems really sweet but I worry that she's not ready to go back to Iowa and live a quiet farm life.  She left Nebraska to model and start a cosmetics line in L.A. which leads me to believe she's looking for something more than her small town roots.  I think we'll see her around for a while but might might fade back into the wings when it comes down to some of the other girls.

The girls on the second group date were total troopers.  They were made to do a mud run in wedding dresses but they were all (well... almost all...) incredibly great sports about the whole thing.  The girls in the short dresses have a clear advantage although no one really stood a chance against Jillian anyway.  Her competitive nature is a turn-off  even to the girls.  She's just super aggressive and her energy is so masculine.  I'm starting to like Carly more and more as she comes up with some really awesome digs against the other girls.  She's cute, witty and, although she takes some shots, she's not too mean.  

Jillian's one-on-one time with Chris was luke-warm from the start.  She seems to think she's incredibly fascinating although she's really not.  I think she wants to "win" more than actually go through the process of finding love. Either way, Chris followed his gut and kept that rose to himself.

I'm really into the mini-dates that some of the girls are planning for Chris during the cocktail parties.  It's a great way to spend some crucial time together and create an experience he is sure to remember. The girls are taking some good initiative to get creative and have some really quality interactions.  

KardAshley went back in to make sure that Chris know she's a virgin.  Things got so bad that even Mackenzie was rolling her eyes at Ashley's ridiculous over-reaction. 

Britt-don't meddle with what's going on with other girls.  And don't speak for other girls claiming they were wanting to go home after he gave the rose to Kaitlin.  She has to make the most out of her time with him and he shouldn't have to justify his relationships with anyone else.

Britt- if your real life boyfriend was messing around with a bunch of other girls, you would have every reason to question him and be upset.  Buuuutttt...  this is The Bachelor.  You know if you start to meddle with what's going on with the other girls, Chris is going to get mad and walk out!  You have to make the most of your time with him and pretend he's not making out with your friends.  That's just life.  

The rose ceremony wasn't anything earth-shattering.  There were too many E's in that house and JuElia had to go.  The single mom's always make it into a whole "I know he wouldn't keep me around longer than necessary because I have a child" but really it's just because her name was too weird and he couldn't figure out where that darn E should go.  

Lez'be'honest... This season is getting a bit American-Idol-after-auditions. Hopefully things will get a bit more exciting next week when we find out the Kelsey is the craziest one of all!!

Ummm...  breaking news...

CARLY IS ZAK's sister!!  Zak from Des' season!  Zak- the singer/songwriter!  Skip to 1:10 for the good stuff.  Carly clearly scored the cute genes.

As always, a huge thanks for all the tweets and commentary.  If you'd like to join the conversation next week, just send your thoughts and reactions my way @midtowndiaries.