Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

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The hit ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which I'm sure many of you have seen, hit our quiet little 'burgh this week. We heard whispers several weeks ago that the show had narrowed it down to five families in the northern Utah region, and then about three weeks ago, it was reported more seriously that it would be a family in Cache Valley. Last Sunday the design team showed up at the home of a wonderful Tongan family in our community. There are nine children in the family, and the husband died about two years from a heart attack. They run a catering business, and sponser a Luau every year at the aquatic center, which we have been lucky enough to attend in the past. It's a lot of fun, and they are a really great family. They were sent on a fabulous vacation, a cruise I'm told, while the team demolished their home and built them a 5700 square foot home in the space of six days. We were finally able to make it to the site as spectators on Saturday morning, and it was mayhem. They had the entire street cordoned off for several blocks, and both the police force and the fire department have been working extra shifts for the last week to cover security, along with the security the show brings along for the celebrities. They cordoned off the sidewalk across the street and allowed the public to line up there as spectators, and if you were willing to brave the cold, you could stand and watch the various points of demolition and then rebuilding. By the time we got there on Saturday they had the house mainly done, including the landscaping. In fact, they were doing a lot of preperation for the family's return this afternoon. We stood by while the fire department took one of their hoses and cleaned off the streets, then they used a vacuum truck to suck up the debris. Not a twig or spec or dirt would be found when the family returned home today! We were lucky enough to see one of the design team, and he even came over to address the crowd, standing very close to where I was. I was able to capture his speech to us with the video function on my camera, and I posted it on here for your enjoyment! For some reason the video is posted sideways on the site I used, but you get the general idea anyway. Anyway, having the crew here and the hub-bub was great, but having your town taken over for a whole week is also very inconvenient! We ended up avoiding town a lot this week, as it was easier to stay out of the way of everything! The episode featuring the family in our town should be airing on November 26th, which is the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so try and catch it, and maybe you can even catch a glimpse of us in the crowds! Hope you all had a great week!