Kate Gosselin would go to the sun, moon and stars for her kids — and that’s what she did in the Tuesday, December 20, episode of Kate Plus 8. Organized confusion was the result, of course, as the group had to work as a team — but they made it happen.
That said, before night’s end, an exhausted Kate screamed, “Could I have the waffles?” at her road-weary kids.
Boldly Go Where No Reality-TV Family Has Gone Before
Summer vacation time! The Gosselin brood headed off to space camp in Huntsville, Alabama. The 16-year-old twins, Mady and Cara, always wanted to go to space camp, they said. Before hitting the road, mama bear Kate showed her military-like ability to organize, doling out cleaning responsibilities to the youngsters like a seasoned pro. The girls swept, while Aaden and Joel rid the house of trash. Even though the family’s teamwork at space camp needed work, you didn’t know it from this exercise.
At space camp, everyone got lessons immediately in dealing with an intense motion simulator, or as Kate called it, “a spherical-looking dizzy machine.” After mom rode, the kids laughed behind her back at Kate’s screaming in the air. Kate admitted to being out of control some of the time while riding.
Aaden got major cute points on this one. When asked why he wanted to go first, Aaden said, “Because I’m a brave young boy.”
But the space story of the night? “Our family’s teamwork,” Kate said. “Lack of teamwork.”
Ready, Aim …
The dreadfully messy next exercise had the kids arguing with each other over who would control a space shuttle. Positions needed to be doled out among the group — important buttons had to be pushed, after all — and Kate wanted one of the coveted jobs in the commander’s booth. This segment ended with dancing — as there was nothing left to do.
What worked better perhaps was turning the kids against each other. This was what happened afterward in a flight-battle simulator exercise, as the kids (and mom) got a chance to shoot each other down in combat planes.
Kate took this seriously, she told the camera with a smile. “I think we could have done that all day,” Kate said. “Although we really love each other, it was fun to shoot each other down.”
Who knew that quiet, mild-manned Leah would win the Top Gun award, gunning down her competitors with the ice-cold blood of a fighter pilot? A close-up of her face showed focus, calm and the eye of the tiger.
Nearing the end, a centrifuge simulator had the kids going 3.2 g of speed in circular motion. Kate sat this one out, saying she wasn’t fond of vomiting.
The Most Important Meal of the Day
Then the kids worked in groups on water-immersion scenarios. And here’s when kids began helping each other as Mom watched on, bringing everything together.
“Excellent teamwork,” the instructor told the kids.
The Gosselins’ endless summer continued as everyone hit the road for beach fun on the Gulf of Mexico. Everyone was tired, arriving at a beautifully cleaned house. When the kids helped unload groceries, Kate made it clear that she needed her waffles, as we all do at times.
Tell Us: Does Kate need to work on her temper after the waffles incident?
Kate Plus 8 airs on TLC Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
