'Extreme' elation in St. Paul

Elizabeth Flores, Dml - Star Tribune

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," crew members cheered on the crowds for filming as they waited for Sandy Morris to see her new home.

They chanted "Move that bus!" And there it was, a new house for a St. Paul mother, her children and her day-care kids, too.

By KEVIN GILES, Star Tribune

Last update: October 12, 2009 - 11:07 AM

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Endless rehearsals for the "Move that bus!" scene were necessary in a made-for-television drama in St. Paul, but the unscripted emotions of a family who saw their new house for the first time Friday were real and spontaneous.

"Tia! Tia!" chanted many of the children outside the house at 226 Prescott St., which will be featured on an upcoming episode of ABC-TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Tia, Spanish for aunt, is what the children call their day-care provider, Sandy Morris, who arrived in a black limousine with her children Catricia, 15, and Mychal, 12.

An army of construction workers -- 3,000 strong with as many as 300 on-site at any one time -- built the new combined house and day care in 96 hours even as rain poured on the efforts.

"They were cold, they were chilled, they were sopping wet, but I saw a lot of smiles out there," said a beaming Tom Budzynski, whose Blaine firm, TJB Homes, coordinated construction. "They were angels, they were saints. They gave unselfishly."

Morris and her children stared at the three-story house in disbelief after "Extreme Makeover" host Ty Pennington and the crowd behind him waved away the bus that had blocked their view of their new house. Morris wept, running to the metal barricades to hug the many children she has known in 14 years of running a day-care center in the District Del Sol neighborhood south of downtown St. Paul.

Parents of those children nominated Morris, who had quit her job as an early childhood education teacher to start a day-care center for the benefit of her neighborhood. Her 100-year-old house was crumbling and she was in danger of losing her day-care license as a result.

The new house, with a sweeping front porch, has an expanded day-care center built in the back and a children's play area built over the garage. Budzynski said the family now has personal space that they won't have to share with the day care.

The production fell into an awkward moment Friday when, as cameras rolled, Morris and her children couldn't open the door of their new home. When that was resolved minutes later, they swept inside to deafening cheers from the onlookers.

Among them was Tammy Rustad of Maplewood, who brought her 3-year-old daughter Sidney. "She thinks Ty [Pennington] is fun and crazy," Rustad said of her daughter. "She does love the show and she's always screaming, 'Move that bus!'"

To Sidney and all of the other fans who came to see the Morris family celebrate in sheer joy, moving the bus was the crowning moment in a weeklong community effort to help a deserving family.

A date hasn't been announced for the show. "Extreme Makeover," which airs at 7 p.m. Sunday and has chronicled new houses for 120 families, has won Emmys for best noncompetitive reality TV series.

Kevin Giles • 612-673-4432

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