Recap: Michelle's Birthday Makeover

On tonight's season finale of 19 Kids and Counting, "Michelle's Birthday Makeover"...

• While Michelle spends the day with John-David, Jim Bob calls a family meeting to plan 24 hours of surprises for his wife's 46th birthday. The kids spend the remainder of the day making cards and writing clues. 
• When Michelle returns home, the birthday supplies have been hidden. the family is gathered in the living room, pretending to be immersed in Bible time. 
• The day before Michelle's birthday, the kids prepare activity number one. While she is telling the cameramen that "True character is revealed by what you do in secret," Anna and the older girls are smuggling a balloon target behind Michelle's back.
• Birthday kickoff: While the family looks on, Michelle shoots at the target until she pops the balloon containing a clue.
• Surprise #1: Dinner with the man with whom she is smitten. Before dinner, the girls give Jim Bob a new hairstyle. (Friends have compared the back of Jim Bob's head to the back end of a duck.)
• While Jim Bob and Michelle are enjoying fried chicken at a local restaurant, the boys deliver flowers and Michelle's next clue.
• Surprise #2 : The happy couple spends a quiet night in a hotel room decorated by the girls.
• Surprise #3: Room service times nineteen! For breakfast, Jim Bob calls "room service," and the kids show up with Michelle's favorites...and her next clue.
• Surprise #4: While Michelle enjoys ice cream with Grandma and Amy, Jim Bob accompanies the five youngest (Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn, and Josie) to the dentist. Jim Bob admits that he is nervous--taking the kids to the dentist is usually Michelle's job.
• Michelle is also a little unsure. "Ah, this is going to be quite a sight!" remarks the mother of nineteen. 
• Surprise #5: Michelle meets Anna, Jessa, and Joy at a boutique to shop for new clothes. The cashier hands Michelle her next clue.
• Surprise #6: Coffee with Jinger, Jill, and Jana. The next clue is hidden in a picture frame on the shelves of the coffee shop's gift corner.
• Surprise #7: Birthday makeover! Cindy, Michelle's best friend since grade school, is waiting at the salon. Under Cindy's watchful eye, the stylist gives the Duggar matriarch a new look. Does Michelle like it? She prefers curls but says that she will learn to love her new do. "This is what I look like when I get out of the shower," she jokes.
• What is Michelle's surprise for the family? Her hair! The family is stunned, but they approve. 
• The kids line up oldest to youngest, each holding a letter and facing towards the wall. As Michelle correctly answers questions about her family, the children turn around and reveal a message: TRIP TO JAPAN AND CHINA.
• Michelle hugs and kisses all of her babies, big and small, to thank them for a lovely day.
• Hours before the big trip, a mild epidemic infects the Duggar clan. Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn, Josie, Mackynzie, and Michael all catch the flu.
• That night, Jim Bob and Michelle give up their bed for Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn, and Josie, but the little girls end up joining Mommy and Daddy on the floor.

Recap: "Fencing Fireworks"

Tonight on 19 Kids and Counting, "Fencing and Fireworks"...

• While playing a game with animal cards, the little girls ask the cameraman to tell them the name of one of the animals (a meerkat). Josie's response? "It's a mirror cat...with a mirror."
• Jim Bob takes the kids shopping for 4th of July fireworks. Each Duggar child is given $7 to spend, and everyone but Josiah, Justin, and Jordyn stay within their budget.
• At their Independence Day celebration, the Duggars set off over 200 fireworks. According to Jim Bob, 4th of July is the one day of the year that his children are allowed to play with fire, and they love it.
• A friend of the Duggars' invites them to his fencing club to learn the basics of sword fighting.
• "In our family, fencing usually means building a fence," says Michelle. That's what most of the kids thought when they first heard the word, but most were willing to give it a try. "We thought we'd take a jab at it," jokes the mom of nineteen.
• The lessons starts off with running and calisthenics. Jim Bob, Michelle, and Grandma Duggar join in on the fun, but the older girls prefer to watch.  "It would be embarrassing," explains Michelle. "They're at that age; everything is embarrassing."
• "It was just a little too unique for me," says Jinger.
• After warming up, the Duggars are ready to begin. Grandma and Michelle go head-to-head in what Michelle calls her "first fight with [her] mother-in-law." (To this day, Grandma still talks about how much fun she had.)
• On the other side of the gym, Justin beats his dad twice in a row. "It's a great way to settle family arguments," says Jim Bob.
• After the commercial break, Jinger--a talented pianist--successfully plays "Amazing Grace" on two pianos at the same time.
• Jim Bob rounds up the kids to plan Michelle's 46th birthday party. Grandma, Anna, Amy, and the older girls head to a local craft store to stock up on supplies. They set a clock for 30 minutes and make it out of the store on time.

Tune in next week for the season finale!

Recaps: "First Grandson Turns One" and "Thrill Seeking Duggars"

On tonight's new episodes of 19 Kids and Counting:

"First Grandson Turns One"

• Josh and Anna take their kids shopping to buy decorations and food for Michael's 1st birthday. Josh, Mr. Meat Connoisseur, enjoys selecting high-quality barbecue fixings.
• While in the grocery store, Michael--the sneakiest one-year-old on the block--grabs an egg from the cart and chucks it on the floor.
• Anna shows the drawing of her intricate, three-tiered cake to Amy and Joy, and they set to work. The kids decorate the Rice Krispie blocks that will spell out Michael's name.
• On the day of the party, Josh uses his parents' Duggar-sized grill, installed when they completed the house, for the first time. The kids have a blast trying out the inflatables.
• Meanwhile, the master bakers call in backup to finish assembling the cake. Sierra, a friend of Anna's and known as the Cake Doctor, arrives to lend a hand.
• The ladies kick the camera crew out of the kitchen, and the finished product is soon revealed. Sierra is able to revamp the cake and turn it into a beautiful creation that everybody loves. Everybody but the birthday boy. "The person that seemed to dislike the cake the most was Michael," says Anna.

 "Thrill Seeking Duggars"

• The Duggars prepare for another party, this time for Makeda Vanderhoff's 13th birthday. (The Vanderhoffs recently moved to Arkansas and have 21 children, twelve of whom are adopted.) With the help of a few friends, the Duggars prepare dinner for 47.
• It's another big day when Grandma Duggar, Jim Bob, Cousin Amy, and the kids head to Silver Dollar City with a "small" crowd of 50. They are joined by three single moms (one is Debbie Query, the Duggars' music teacher) and their children.
• Michelle and Josie, who is under the weather, spend the morning at home but join the family in the afternoon.
• The group spends the day riding roller coasters. Even Grandma and Jim the Soundman join in on the fun.
• Another birthday? This one is a more intimate affair. Jim Bob and Michelle take Jill to lunch at Green Bean, a restaurant where all ingredients are organic and locally grown, for her 21st birthday.
• A day that many young people use as an excuse to party, Jill prefers to spend with her family. "I really wanted to have a good time with my parents," says the birthday girl.
• Michelle gives Jill a bag of her favorite candies and perfumes, and Jim Bob presents his daughter with a beautiful cross necklace. 
• "She is such a loving person, and that is her, that's who she is," says Michelle.
• While at the restaurant, Jill tells her parents about another birthday surprise that she received ... her first speeding ticket. "I got a nice little birthday card last night." Jill, who is taking midwifery classes, was on her way to a birth.
• At age 21, what are Jill's thoughts on the future? "I'm content being single right now, but hopefully in the Lord's time I will be married." 

Fun facts

-The Duggars use their home intercom system an average of 15 times a day 

-Anna purchased 20 boxes of cake mix for Michael's birthday

Recap: "Baby Steps" and "Kittens and Konstruction"

Tonight on 19 Kids and Counting...

"Baby Steps"

• The show opens at Josh and Anna's house, as Mackynzie models her denim dress for the camera. "I have pockets!" says the toddler. "See, I have pockets!"
• "Mackynzie is definitely very verbal," says Anna.
• Josh and Anna welcome a new member into their family ... a kitten named Domino. (Great guesses, readers!) Just like the Duggars' previous cat, Domino will soon live outside. For those who were wondering, the feline featured in "Josie's First Birthday" eventually stopped coming home.
• Later, Anna brings the kids to the car lot so that Michael can show Daddy his latest accomplishment. The then-11-month-old takes his first steps. (Mackynzie began walking at 13 months.)
• Fun fact: Josh usually has about 80 vehicles for sale between his two car lots.
• Josh and Anna, Jim Bob and Michelle, and Anna's family, who is visiting from Florida, head to the local bowling alley for an afternoon of fun and fellowship.  "I don't like competition," says Anna.
• Michelle, who does not consider herself a skilled bowler, ends up doing very well.  Her advice to novice bowlers? "I like to use those little side rails," explains the mom of many, chuckling. "If you really want to get a high score, use those little rails that come up on the side."
• Mrs. Keller makes her way to the top of the pack, but Jim Bob is determined to take the lead. At the end of the game, the two are tied, and Jim Bob insists on a tie breaker. "I ended up beating her by one pin," says the Duggar dad. "I almost felt bad.. I think she let me win."

"Kittens and Konstruction"

• Michelle receives a call from her kids. They are on the road with Jim Bob and would like her permission to purchase a kitten. She gives in. How about two kittens? Michelle, an animal-lover at heart, cannot resist. The Duggar cat count rises to three with the addition of Ellie and Mia.
• And then there were five! "Just when I thought we were done rescuing kittens, we ended up with three more," says Michelle. The tender-hearted Duggar men came across the kittens while fixing up the Stonybrook house--featured in "Puppies, Properties, and Patients."
• "I'm glad that the younger kids have the opportunity to suffer--I mean to learn--through the same process of getting up and doing the feedings all throughout the night," says Jessa, recalling her own childhood of kittens. Michelle, who volunteered at an animal shelter in high school, wakes up every three hours for nighttime feedings. 
• With the help of a friend, Jim Bob and the boys continue their renovation project, and Jim Bob develops poison ivy.
• Following in his father's entrepreneurial footsteps, John-David has almost finished clearing the property mentioned in "Puppies, Properties, and Patients" and looks forward to receiving a piece of land and a house in exchange for his work.
• Michelle and the kids take two trips to the vet to have the kittens examined. According to the doctor, who has known the Duggars since 1975, the felines are thriving.
• Six cats just isn't enough for the Duggars. As the credits roll, Jim Bob shares one last update: "We found seven more under the house."  Thirteen cats and counting, anyone?

Recap: "Grand Ole Duggars" and "Hunting and House Guests"

Tonight on TLC's 19 Kids and Counting...

"Grand Ole Duggars"

• Michelle, Grandma, and the kids are invited by a local church to participate in an outreach called Laundry Love. At a local laundry mat, they pass out food, paint nails, play with customers' kids, and (of course) wash and fold laundry.
• "This is what it's all about," says Michelle. "Getting to just serve and be a part of the community."
• As far as their own laundry goes, Grandma Duggar is the woman; she does an average of 70 loads each week. "Grandma left for like a week," says Justin. "Our clothes were everywhere."
• Jana, Jill, Jessa, and Jinger are invited to speak at an Advanced Training Institute conference in Nashville. Jana tells a story about a struggle that she and Jessa had as kids. At one point in their relationship, Jessa would constantly tease Jana, who sought wise counsel from her parents. To show how much she cared, Jana gave Jessa one of her prized possessions. After that, Jessa said that it was no longer enjoyable to tease her sister, and the two made up.
• While in Nashville, the Duggars tour the Grand Ole Opry and sing "Amazing Grace" on the stage.
• Afterwards, the family heads next door to tour the Opryland Hotel, complete with an indoor boat ride.
• "No matter where we go as a family, sooner or later, somebody's gotta go to the bathroom," says Jim Bob. Jim Bob and Michelle are constantly doing head counts.

"Hunting and House Guests"

• Anna's sister and her husband, David, come down to Arkansas for a visit. After a jam session, brothers-in-law Josh and David go head-to-head in a unicycle race, handstand contest, and basketball competition.
• Friends of the Duggars who own a chain of fast-food restaurants bring dinner over. After chowing down on chicken, the two families plan what will be the Duggars' first hunting trip.
• After a six hour bus trip beginning at 5:00 AM, Jim Bob and the older kids are ready to hunt turkey. Everyone suits up and takes turns shooting paper turkeys. 
• The next morning, the Duggars split up into groups, are assigned a guide, and head out.
• "Turkey hunting can teach you a lot of patience," says Jim Bob, who is paired with Jinger. "You sit there for hours, and nothing happens."
• After a day of hunting, the Duggars head home with two turkeys, shot by the older boys.
• Even though she isn't successful, Jinger enjoy hanging out with her dad. "I think that it was great father-daughter time," says the 18-year-old.