Nearly two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the the taping of an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition reveal with my friend Holly, which took place in our hometown of Waynesboro, PA! The Drumm family of South Mountain was chosen to receive a new home. Tasked with completing the build was Dan Ryan Builders of Frederick, Maryland. DRB and their subcontractors did an amazing job at completing the Drumm family’s gorgeous new home in a jaw-dropping 106 hours!
As exciting as it was to see a popular prime-time TV show being taped and to meet the designers, I’d have to say hands-down that Dan Ryan and his crew are the biggest heroes in my book for taking on the task of completing such an amazing build. When Dan spent some time meeting with those of us at the front of the crowd, I made certain to congratulate him heartily! It was rather amusing to see his face turn red as we asked him for his autograph…he’s obviously not accustomed to “celebrity” status! 
Our morning began extremely early as we arrived at 5:00 AM to be on the first shuttle bus to the build site. In order to pull that off, I had to get myself out of bed at 2:30 to get showered, dressed and then drive the hour-long drive down to Waynesboro. 
The shuttle bus line as it quickly grew behind us:
Some of the signs near us at the build site:
Before I go any further, I cannot emphasize enough just how difficult it was for me take photos! There were about 4000 people packed into a standing area that was fit for probably no more than 1000, and it was literally so crowded I had to do the “shimmy” just to reach down to get something out of my bag. Having my 70-200 mm zoom lens on my camera (it’s long and heavy) made things really interesting. My apologies to Holly for the multiple bruises she probably now has on her head!
The weather at the build site was miserably foggy and drizzly, which made the crowded conditions all the more fun. But in spite of the gloominess, there was much excitement and electricity in the air!
Here is Dan Ryan as he chatted with us and signed a few autographs:
A random shot of Dan Ryan and his crew behind the camera boom:
Didi Snyder (one of the show’s designers) signing autographs:
Eduardo Xol (another designer on the show) and a group of volunteers:
The drycleaners arrived with the Drumm family’s freshly-cleaned clothes:
Here are just a few of the many volunteers who worked on the week-long project. Isn’t the house gorgeous?!? I never would have thought to put baby-blue shutters onto a majestic colonial house like this, but it totally works and looks awesome!
Designer Paul DiMeo was signing autographs while wearing a mask. I heard through the grapevine that the mask was so Paul could get into Ty’s “secret room”, but I guess we’ll have to wait for the show to air to find out what that’s all about!
I snagged “just a few” shots of Johnny: 
And here’s Johnny signin’ my autograph! 
The crew coming to film some of our rowdiness! Now I wonder if we’ll make it on the show or end up on the cutting room floor?!?
Disappointingly, I did not get a nice photo of Ty. When he wasn’t being pulled in ten different directions by the film crew, he managed to make a couple of “high five” runs past us. The problem with that was the 500 hands that were out in front of my lens when he ran by, meaning all I got in the photos were hands! 
But, he did high-five my lens, which was kinda funny! Anyway, here he is with the film crew in front of the infamous bus:
It was funny watching Ty film this scene outside the house. Those poor landscaping guys had to keep getting down and pretending to dig until the take was complete!
The furniture truck arrives and is unloaded:
Eduardo and Ty helped carry furniture inside the house:
“It’s all in guys!”
The cleaning crew emerged moments before the family’s arrival:
The film crew preparing for the family to arrive. In the photo on the right, you can see a wall of volunteers beside the bus that prevented the family from seeing the house before they were safely ensconced behind the bus:
The arrival of the Drumm family in their limo:
Bus driver, MOVE THAT BUS!!!!
It was very difficult to get photos of the family and their reaction, due to all the hands and arms in the way, but here is what I managed to get:
Dan Ryan offers the family his congratulations:
It was funny how Ben, the oldest son (who is a wrestler) picked up Johnny and spun him around!
Below is Henry Cejudo, the Olympic wrestler who took the gold medal in Beijing. Oldest son Ben is a fan, and Henry was brought in to surprise him. We chit-chatted with Henry and his agent for a bit before he was summoned into the house to meet the family.
The house was really pretty all lit up in the fog after dark:
The family also received another surprise, which nobody was permitted to photograph. A brand-new Ford vehicle was rolled into the driveway minutes before we had to board the last bus of the evening to head back home. Unfortunately, we were whisked onto bus and driven away before the cover was ever taken off the vehicle (but from what we could see of the bottom it looked like a light blue sedan). I wonder if I’m even supposed to be blogging this?!?!?
Whew! What a day it was! It was a cold, dreary, crowded and uncomfortable day, but…it was well worth it for the experience! It was so surreal to see all of this happen just around the corner from my great grandparents old house where I played as a child nearly every Sunday afternoon. If you want to read more details about this particular extreme home build, or learn more about the Drumm family, check out the Dan Ryan Builders Extreme website.
And last, but not least…be sure to tune into this episode when it airs on Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 8 PM!!! I’ll certainly be watching!!!
Although I can’t change the fact that I work a hectic full-time job, I can change the fact that I’ve been rather disorganized, and that this very disorganization has been taking a lot more of my time than necessary. My ultimate goal is to be able to do more than one or two photo sessions a month and cut back my day job hours as I pick up sessions. But to make that happen, I’ve gotta get organized darnit! So, wish me luck!
