Hushed neighbors watched as the bus crept slowly up their quiet Minnetonka street and halted in front of the taupe two-story house on Park Lane. Suddenly, Ty Pennington sprang out of the bus with a bullhorn and bellowed, "Goooood morning, Swenson-Lee family!"

Nothing. No Swensons, no Lees.

The family was inside, making so much noise that they couldn't hear the news they were hoping for -- that they would get a brand-new house.

They were trying to pass the time, Vicki Seliger Swenson said, to keep from wondering if they would get a visit from ABC's popular TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." They knew they were finalists, and they knew they would find out Tuesday if they were winners.

Pennington, the show's hyperactive lead designer, tried again. This time the family poured out of the house: Vicki; her husband, Erik; their three children and the four children of her Vicki's late sister, Teri Lee.

The Swenson house, while fine for a family of four or maybe five, became a tight fit when the family unexpectedly expanded to nine following Lee's death. A widow and 3M technician, Lee, 38, was murdered nearly a year ago by her abusive ex-boyfriend in her family's Washington County home.

Erik and Vicki Swenson, both teachers at Hopkins High School, didn't think twice about taking in Teri's kids. The house, however, was another matter. With only three bedrooms, beds and dressers took over many of the living areas.

"It's one big slumber party every night," Vicki said. Added Erik: "Dinner is like eating at an elementary school lunch table, if you know what I mean."

Their students made a videotape nominating the family for a new house and sent it to the show's producers. The result is that quiet Park Lane will be a TV set for the next week, and neighbors say they couldn't be more pleased.

"We are very, very tickled," said Glenn Johnston, who lives down the street. "The kids are in such a sad situation. For what they've been through, they have such a positive attitude. They're just really good, outgoing kids."

For neighbors, who had been warned by the show of the potential invasion, it also means a chance to do some stargazing.

"I can't believe I saw Ty come out of the bus. That was, like, amazing," said 16-year-old Angela Ugorets, who with her friend Julie Christensen, also 16, began watching for the show bus at 6 a.m.

The new house, to be built by TJB Homes of Blaine and an army of volunteer carpenters and subcontractors, will be 5,600 square feet with seven bedrooms and five baths. That will give the family members more than twice as much space as they had before.

It's the show's 100th episode -- the 99th is already under way in Cheyenne, Wyo. -- and the first in Minnesota, said senior producer Diane Korman. Nearly all the materials and labor for the project are donated, she said.

Demolition of the current house will begin Thursday, followed quickly by the laying of a new foundation. Once the house is built, it will be furnished according to the needs and special tastes of each family member.

Overseeing the work will be the show's design team, led by Pennington and including show regulars Paige Hemmis, Paul DiMeo, Michael Moloney and Tracy Hutson.

Tom Budzynski, owner of TJB Homes, admitted to being a bit dazzled by the fast-paced construction schedule and compared it to being an astronaut on the launch pad. "We can build a home -- that's almost the easy part," he said. "But you're also trying to create something."

It may be a TV show, Korman said, but "this is not a movie set. This a real home, a quality home that generations will live in. We're here to take care of this family and honor them."