[eggie smurf]

I'm not sure how many people outside of America have heard of this reality show "Extreme Home Makeover" (EHM) but it is a show where a crew goes to a different town or city and demolishes, then rebuilds a home for families who usually have some type of hardship. A couple of weeks ago, one of my clients dropped off his taxes and he said his company, Anderson Homes, was approached by EHM to volunteer to build a new house for a deserving family in the city of Wilmington. They accepted and last week, the show came into town and demolished the old house and built a brand new one in under 5 days.

Yesterday was the big reveal where they bring the family home and show them the new home. My friend Peachy and I went downtown to watch....the host of the show Ty Penningtonis a dreamboat I wasn't sure if we'd get anywhere near the house but we got there early enough and got right across the street from the home and up on a barricade so that we could see everything. And we might be on TV too because they were doing crowd shots and the camera got right on us a few times (during the "Move That Bus" chant). The tentative air date of the show is March 30 on ABC if anyone wants to watch. Even though it was 25 degrees out and snowing, the three hours in the crowd was very invigorating. It's nice to be part of something larger than yourself and see a community rally around and support one of their own for a change instead of seeing all the crime and violence in the real world. I thought I'd share a few pics that I took too.

This is the house before demolition:



The New House - it's the one with the green siding and red roof



If you see this girl and her sign, then you will see Peachy and I right next to her on TV!



Me and the famous "Move That Bus!" bus:

[SmurfingH]

I love this show! It's my absolute favourite! When Ed hurt his hand I burst into tears - well I was feeling down anyway, but it was the mention of his wife pregnant with triplets that really got me sobbing. You're so lucky to be able to be there for the reveal!

Oh I've come over all a tingle now! I'm a bit of a nutcase I know.

[eggie smurf]

I love this show! It's my absolute favourite! When Ed hurt his hand I burst into tears - well I was feeling down anyway, but it was the mention of his wife pregnant with triplets that really got me sobbing. You're so lucky to be able to be there for the reveal!

Oh I've come over all a tingle now! I'm a bit of a nutcase I know.

I had NO idea this is shown in England -- cool! I did see Ed and Paige and that other guy who's name I can't remember as well. I have a lot of pics of Paige too because she kept coming out and waving at everyone!

[Guest]

Me and Mrs B always watch this show Stace, its brilliant, it beats the crap out of anything the Brits come up with ! Usually when we watch it, i look up and see Mrs B in tears, and thats the adverts

Yep, really great show with some really sad stories involved

Love your pic with the bus

[Tojo]

I've never seen this show but it sounds interesting. The old house didn't look that bad from the outside but the new one looks good. It looks a bit like a bar or restaurant.

Good to see you had fun Stace even though it was so cold.

[eggie smurf]

The little boy has cerebal palsy and is in a wheelchair but the old house wasn't wheelchair accessible so they fixed that all up inside as well as adding an elevator. But the old house didn't look too bad from the outside for being over 90 years old. Not sure what the inside looked like before but I bet the new inside is amazing.

[Gerda]

I will have to remember to watch it on that date. They came to do a town here in wisconsin last year and the local tv stations made a big deal about it at the time and just the other day they went back to the family to see how things are and the family told the tv people what a hard time they where having paying the new taxes on the house because the value was so high.


gerda

[Rachel]

Hi Stace, yep I watch Extreme Makeover every now and then too, in fact I watched an episode yesterday about a firefighter who had died because of a lung infection caused by the mold in his house. They rebulit it all within a week. I even commented to Rich last night about how this could only be done in America as it would take months here!

Good to see you had a great day out and got to enjoy the whole experience a but in person.

Gosh, it really looks cold there, I have been in the garden in a t-shirt the last two days. Brrrrrr

[eggie smurf]

Gosh, it really looks cold there, |

Cold is an understatement!! Here's a pic of Peachy with snow on her...everyone was covered by the time we left!! My client just came in to pick up his taxes and he was there the entire time and told me he'd email me interior photos

Snow covered Peach

[SmurfingH]

Can't wait to see those, Staci!

[Tojo]

I was just wondering what the houses are made of as a house in Germany takes months to build - not because the workers are slow, but because the houses are solid!!! No tornado's gonna rip one of the houses here to shreds....

I can only assume that those houses are made of wood & plasterboard Here they're made of concrete blocks & bricks & the houses have cellars too.

[eggie smurf]

Here they're made of concrete blocks & bricks & the houses have cellars too.

The frames are wooden but there is also concrete, bricks, basement, etc...it's just that they have a bajillion workers on the house to complete the project so quickly. It normally takes 4-6 months to build a house here too IF they work fast

[Syd Smurf]

How cool to see the shoot of this show Fishy....even though it was incredibly cold and you got a sore butt from sitting on a pole or hanging around that dirty old man in the crowd.....not sure which one caused the soreness now as my memory is fading. Great to see they have a porch now too. I always liked watching stuff getting filmed and we were lucky last year to see the tv show "Chuck" (one of my new faves) being filmed and also the new Will Smith film......to me, it seems there is something being filmed everyday on every street in America by the looks of things.

Nice to see the Peach again too

Dyar

[eggie smurf]

I heard from my client that the show is tentatively set for April 20. And he sent me some exclusive shots of the inside...no one is supposed to have these so everyone

Bedroom


Dining Room


Bathroom


Hallway

[SmurfingH]

Oh wow! That does look nice! Thanks for sharing Staci!

[Cassiebsg]

I sort of like that show... I like the building and design part, I hate all the histeria and how sad this family story is - sobbing time .
Personaly I would watch Monster House if I had to chooce bettewn the two.

Anywa, must have been great to be there and all.
Thanks for the pics they look nice...
Though, I must be the odd one, cause I hate bathtubs with feet - always did, always will.

[Smurfysmurf]

Wow...I like the interior...thanks for posting the pictures..I have never seen the show but everybody I know loves it, so please remind me when it is on, Stace

[SmurfingH]

A new series of this starts tonight in the UK. UK TV Style at 10 pm and it's a 2 hour one. Set those video recorders!

[Dreaming In Blue]

Lucky you Staci! That would of been so exciting to be there. I will have to remember to look for you in the crowd. The inside of the house looks fantastic. I love the wall colors.

[Michelle]

WOOOOOOOW I'll look for sure.
I don't miss any of these shows. I love it to look at this.
This is a real good concept, most of the people really needed help.
When I'm looking at it and Wim arrives home he always ask me 'did you cry already?' or I say: 'ssssttt it's my crying houre!'

Thanks for letting me know, so 20 april.... booked!

Michelle