Extreme "MOVE THAT BUS" Makeover Day #7

This post is for Thursday's "MOVE THAT BUS" Makeover Day!

Day #7....

Brought......

E..xcitement!

X..tra HOT weather!

T..ears!

R..eally large crowds!

E..xhaustion!

M..any hours of waiting!

E..xtreme Makeover Host TY!

M..any Policemen!

A..very large bus, that got stuck and had to back in!

K..iller pictures of Ty & Trace Atkins!

E..leven gazillion water bottles!

O...my goodness...are they ever coming home?!

V..ery red in the face kids!

E..mpty limos again and again!!

R..ewarding emotions as the Marshall Family finally returned home!

It was an exciting, tiring, terribly hot, emotional day all wrapped up into one! We learned, quick, that alot of WAITING goes into making a TV show. When TV people say "5 minutes", expect 1 hour or maybe even FIVE HOURS!

NOW, when I watch "EXTREME MAKEOVER HOME EDITION" on Sunday nights, uhhh....I know that the limo that is shown pulling up is really empty, they taped a fake limo like 4 times coming in, and not when the real one rolled up.....the crowds that are screaming are really just screaming and jumping up & down for a cameraman asking them to do so......when Ty says, "Hey Bus Driver!......" or in our case..FORGETS to say, "Hey Bus Driver!"....they do alot of retakes, while the family waits patiently to see their new home!! I also learned that.......

The family is really surprised when the house is finally revealed and the tears start to gush as you see what the past 7 days really means to such a deserving family!

It was an experience I will forever remember and I hope my girls will too. I am still in awe of Glen and Brandon at their skill, talent, and dedication to this amazing project!

"MOVE THAT BUS" was a L-O-N-G, but GREAT DAY and may blessings continue to shower this family!

SO.........

Are you EXTREMELY tired of this story yet? NEVER FEAR, only one more day as I end it with some EXTREME FINAL THOUGHTS! Stay tuned........

Extremely (Exhausting) Makeover Day #6

This post is for Wednesday's Makeover Day #6:

Tonight was a dig deep kind of night. Dig deep to get the sprinkler system into the ground, dig deep to get the plants in, dig deep to plant hundreds of beautiful flowers, and dig deep to find the strength to get it done. I found myself singing over and over the words that are playing now (turn the volume up if you haven't already)...

Britt Nicole reminds us "Don't let your lights go down, don't let your fire burn out, cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe" and The Marshall Family needed us all to dig deep and give them a reason to believe....and that's just what we did.
Just as we felt like we couldn't dig another hole, our shoes were filled with mud, water, and rocks...... most people, like Glen hadn't slept in over 40 hours.........we'd think of the struggles this family faces on a daily basis and why we were there and suddenly, that rocky Lancaster ground didn't feel quiet as hard??

Oh, who am I kidding...yes it did! We just knew we were there for a purpose and it was gonna get done, (or Glen & Brandon would descend their wrath upon us)! So we kept singing and digging until the sun came up and it really took shape!

Only a day left till we scream..."MOVE THAT BUS!" Stay tuned!!

EXTREMEly Behind!!

WOW! Now I'm blog behind!

I have been held "hostage" in Lancaster for the past 2 days...so much to blog about, so little Wii-Fii!!

I'm busy posting pics and writing away..stay tuned for all the latest

"MOVE THAT BUS" Action!!!

UPDATED: Extemely (Busy) Makeover Day #5

UPDATE: I forgot to mention (referring to yesterday's post)......I didn't really break any rules with the picture taking, no one seemed to care if you took pictures..... as long as it wasn't of the interior of the house, and I HAD A PAULIE SIGHTING!!!

YIPPEEEEEE!!!

Original Post: Can you say HARD Manual Labor........

in 83degree weather!?! woo-hoo! I'll take that over 108 anyday! **TopLawn requests all the night shifts please!** We worked through the night and got most of the landscape and sprinkler system in! So far it is amazing! I asked Glen if he was donating a year's supply of Round Up for this poor homeowner, because she is going to have some flower beds to maintain! We might see her on the TV jumping with excitement, crying tears of joy, and then hopping back on the bus and saying, "Back to Disneyland please!".... when she sees the size of this ginormous landscape!


It was incredible to see how each trade worked together, worked on top of each other, worked over each other, and even under at times to get the job done! An experience that we are proud to be a part of!

I was soooo excited to see some familiar faces to work with last night! Ms. Dana (both of my girls' preschool teacher..LOVE HER!) and the funniest girl from Facebook, a high school friend, Michelle!! We laughed the night away as we tried to "blend" in with the landscaping crew. She even brought me a POMPOM to cheer these workers on with! LOVE HER too!!!







After only 2 quick hours of sleep, Glen is back at it today, tweeking the sprinkler system. I'm going out later with the girls and our dear friends just to "spectate" tonight. More HARD MANUAL LABOR tomorrow...........Stay Tuned!


"MOVE THAT BUS" is less than 3 days away!!!!

Extremely (ALL-NIGHT) Makeover Day #4

OK....after last night's update......things changed again!! Now we are scheduled to start tonight at 6pm and work all night! YES!! My time of day---my blood doesn't start actually running through my veins until about 7pm anyway, so this should be FUN! Also, if I remember correctly the HOT SCORCHING TEXAS SUN goes down about 9ish too! Yee-Hawww!!! I might do this thing without a heat stroke!!

One bummer of a note....if you are on the working side, the rules state, CAMERAS NOT ALLOWED. "What?!" Do they not know I have a blog about this exciting stuff!? I just might have to be hopping over the fence, be a spectator, take a picture....hop the fence, be a worker, and so on. The rules also state that if they see you with a camera, you will be asked to leave. I might save this rule-breaking act for about 5am, (when my blood puts a halt on running through my veins), whip out my camera, get a couple of shots......and beg to be asked to leave. (just jokin!)

UPDATED Extremely (Restful) Makeover Day #3

UPDATE: God must've heard my prayer, we were notified that the Landscaping portion has been pushed back a day and will not start until Tuesday evening. EVENING! ah-ha!! A little less HEAT in the evenings! Thank you Lord! It has been reported that many have fallen ill, workers & spectators, on this project due to the EXTREME HEAT. Please send up prayers for all involved that this project will be completed and noone will be become seriously ill or injured in the process.

Today we are gearing up for Day #4.

Tomorrow is Landscape Installation Day for Lancaster's Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

Glen is finalizing all the blueprints for one AWESOME GORGEOUS landscape, (have I mentioned how I think he ROCKS?!) Meanwhile, I am running all over town, buying up all the "Cool-Its" I can find to freeze and tie all over my body!


I'm a little nervous. This will be the 1st time in 14 years that I have actually worked out in the "field" with Glen. I've always kinda been the "behind the scenes, in the air conditioning, keep your clothes clean & smelling pretty, keep your arm-pits dry & fresh, resting while eating Bon-Bons" kind of TopLawn & Landscape employee....signing checks, paying bills, etc...But tomorrow will be a get sweaty, get your Walgreens Press-On nails dirty kind of day.......I hear he's a "tough boss" to work for too........

Just hope I don't get one of these........

BEFORE I get to meet Ty!

Meet Ty?! Sheesh! Apparently, something I'll only get to dream about!

Extremely (Hot) Makeover Day #2

Day #2 was Demolition Day of Lancaster's Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

The girls and I arrived bright and early, since rumor had it that TY would be"in the house"! We got a little closer..........heard his voice, does that count? We could hear him on that bullhorn, as they filmed the first portions of the demolition segmet, but never got even a glance of him, as he was surrounded by people with hardhats on and cameras! Phooey! Strike 3 for Ty Sightings!!

Everyone was ready....

The DALLAS SWAT TEAM was ready to do most of the demolishing....

The Fire Department was ready for any mishaps....

The helicopters were flying over head...ready...

The camera crews were ready......

The girls...uh...not so much ready for the heat! Hallie had to make an emergency run to the nearest porta-potty before she got sick all over Paulie's sawhorses. (ps).....Have you ever experienced a PORTA POTTY on a sweltering Texas Summer Day? My goodness, I'm quite certain that might be similar to what it's like in the pits of HELL!

Riley fell ill and had to sit in the shade of a trailer on some dry, burned up grass, with her head between her knees, all the while dodging some pesky fireants that kept dawdling in and out of her flipflops!

After about 4-5 takes of the same shot, I made the motherly decision to save my children and not let them melt right in front of my eyes, as they were acting like they were just about to spontaneously combust......we packed up and headed out on our 1hr drive home.

"WOW! That was exciting huh?!" I asked joyfully.

"It was so hot out there, I bet we could fry an egg on the pavement!" they whined ever so sadly.

So we did!