My favorite part of the season…Hometown Dates!! The time when we get to see from where these people came.

Who Got Kicked Off: The red X’s indicate those (and by those I mean Chris, womp womp) who were sent home.

Chris

Chicago, IL

Before I comment on this date, I have to say how cute Emily’s outfit was – red pants, black trench, and white scarf. I’ve been wanting most of her outfits this season and stalking Possessionista’s blog to get the scoop.

Back to Chris. So his family is Polish through and through. He speaks Polish. They had a Polish extravaganza with Polish food and Polish dancing. Emily met Chris’ parents and two sisters. Not terribly exciting. I’m not super fond of Chris – the jumpiness from last episode, the uninspiring conversations they have. I just don’t see it, and I guess Emily didn’t either. Burn.

Cute/Corny Quote of the Episode: It’s not what you have but the love you have for each other.

Love Counter: 3. Yes, 3 of the 4 guys have told Emily they love her. Not falling in love with her. Nope, in love with her. Way to go Emily. I think that’s a Bachelor record. (For your reference: Arie was first, followed by Jef, followed by Chris.)

Jef

St. George, Utah

Again, Emily’s outfit was adorable! White sundress with brown belt and cowboy boots. Jef may have been caught playing with her dress a couple times throughout the episode.

Jef took Emily skeet shooting. Emily hit every clay pigeon.
Jef: “Emily looks so hot holding a gun. I just want her to hold a gun all day long.
Emily’s deduction: “He’s a little more country than he wants people to know.”

Emily met a boatload of Jef’s family sans his parents who were off doing charity work. Jef, how much cuter can you get? You’re smart, sweet, have some pretty decent one-liners, and you and your family do charity work. Swoon.

During the date, Jef’s 3 sisters took Emily aside and put her on the hot seat. It looked uncomfortable. Emily’s chair was offset from the sisters’ chairs and they peppered her with questions. To break it up, one of the many children wandering around came up to Emily and asked her to pick her up and hold her. It was adorable.

Apparently Emily just inspires novels. The ultimate muse. At the end of the date, Jef read Emily a note (several pages long) he wrote on the plane home from Prague. Again, he included Ricki in the note. He never leaves Ricki out. Smart boy.

Arie

Scotsdale, AZ

Emily was greeted by Arie racing in his Indie car around the track. Mmmm he could wear that racecar outfit every day and I wouldn’t complain. Apparently, Emily agreed.

Best Quote of the Episode: “Arie definitely looks stupid hot.” – Emily. Yes, Emily, yes he does.

Arie drove Emily around on the race track.
Emily: “Are you gonna drive slow?”
Arie: “No, but I’ll drive safely.” – Adorable.

Arie was concerned because his parents are very European and Emily is the all American girl. Both of his parents speak Dutch and Arie told Emily, “If they say bad things, I’ll just translate them favorably.” So cute. Turns out Arie’s mom did speak Dutch in front of Emily and surprise surprise it was uncomfortable. Arie segued very nicely though and translated to bring Emily in on the conversation.

Arie’s dad also used to race cars and won the Indie 500 a couple times. Arie’s mom is hard to read, not the most warm and friendly person, but I think Emily won her over. Arie’s mom brought up Brad and asked the question America always wants to know: What happened? Why didn’t it work out? Emily explained that she didn’t ask the hard questions before. Thus it explains why she put all of the guys through the ringer the first couple of episodes.

Turns out deadpan is just Arie’s mom’s default expression as evidenced by her quote to ABC producers with her same expressionless face, “I can’t wait for her to choose him and they can be together and would make an awesome couple.”

Sean

Dallas, TX

Sean aka the perfect boy greeted Emily with his two dogs. Emily met Sean’s family in the backyard with their perfectly manicured lawn with a ridiculously cool mini playhouse.  Then Sean (28) dropped a bomb. He still lives at home. He showed her his room, his messy room, and named off his stuffed animals including Moo Moo and Whiskers. Emily’s response to the cameras: “He’s a mess and he’s really into stuffed animals.” When he showed her the messy room her response was, “I can clean.” Umm, no. The proper response would have been to run for the hills. Then, thank God, the family told her it was all a joke. Sean doesn’t live at home. I can’t believe how calm Emily was about the whole thing when he was telling her because I would have given him a hard time.

Take Note: They have nicknames for each other. She called him Hunny. We haven’t seen a ton of Sean, but nicknames indicate they have a strong bond forming. Example: Ashley called JP Cupcake.

Again with the chasing. Sean likes to take the phrase “chasing after the girl” literally. For a second time, he ran after Emily, chasing her car after they said good-bye so he could have another kiss.

Next week is Fantasy Date time in the Caribbean!!

Until next time, Bachelor Fans.