well, we were on national tv tonight.
it was somewhat anti-climactic.
when they finished filming us, they told us our clip would probably be on June 5th.
we never heard anything else. then someone text me tonight and said "i'm watching you guys right now!" total bummer. i was hoping to write on here and inform you when it'd be on, and be able to tell my friends.
nevertheless, it was really cute. they did such a good job. I even teared up, and i hadn't cried the actual day it all happened, haha.
so, jon decided that he wanted to surprise his dad at a harley dealership. they're both really into motorcycles, so he thought it'd be really special to do that. i don't really know anything motorcycle, but i knew that idea was great, and it was even more special that it was jon's idea.
so on April 11th and 12th, Jon and I hung out just the two of us. no one really knew that he was home, and his entire family especially didn't know. his mom and brother did a good job at keeping it secret. john and kathy got into town late on April 12th. the show had flown the two of them out here, reserved them a rental car, and reserved hotel in oceanside, so they drove up and crashed in their room.
april 13th, kelly, the producer, calls us early in the morning to ask if Jonathan has his uniform ready. uh, what? we forgot that we had decided on that uniform. whoops! so we took it to the tailor the second they opened and paid extra for it to be done in two hours. we picked it up at noon, went home and got ready, and then left for the surprise at 1.
jon and i were both a nervous wreck!!
we got to the harley dealership at about 1:30 and planned the whole surprise. then we started filming. we filmed for about 1.5 hours there. they didn't show any of that on the episode, which i was glad about. i felt like the biggest tool in front of the cameras.
then, i left to pick up john and kathy. ummm, talk about anxiety! i had to pretend nothing was up. kathy knew we were surprising john that day, but she didn't know how or when. john started asking me questions on the way to the dealership like "did they have you sign a waiver?" and "what is the title of this show?" and i just had to brush him off!
he was probably like "ugh, my daughter in law is such a snob."
when we got to the dealership, they mic'd all three of us up. then, we got back in the car and drove up to the dealership again to make it seem like it was the first time on camera. so when you watch the show and see us pull up to harley, that was the second time:) (third time for me, since i'd been there already with jonathan!)
i had to pretend it was the first time meeting everyone at harley, because john didn't know i'd already filmed there that day. it was crazy. i was such the ball of nerves.
we walked around the dealership for awhile, looking at motorcycles and talking about them.
one of the guys, mike, that was helping us looked a little bit like jonathan; kind of short and stocky. mike was actually a former marine with 3/5, which was cool. he has dark hair, you'll see him on the show. he came up and talked to john about the motorcycles before asking if he wanted to test drive one. john didn't know they were going to let him ride one, but he was hoping they would, so he said yes! and things fell into place. mike told john that someone would bring a bike out for him to ride, and that he(mike) was going to go in the back to get all suited up. he said that john could follow the camera van, and that he would just drive behind john as a liability. john didn't ask any questions. so mike went out back, and told jonathan that everything was ready!!!!
jon out back, waiting for us to tell him its time to go!
jonathan riding behind his unsuspecting dad :)
they brought a bike out for john, and then jonathan drove around the dealership and started driving behind john. they drove around the block for a short period of time, though it seemed really long while we were all waiting for them. all of the employees came out of harley and were all waiting for the two boys to get back! it was so cute!
scary and exciting waiting for them to arrive!!!
so john drove up and pulled in front of me. i was in charge of saying the punch line for the whole surprise. they didn't tell me that until john and jonathan were gone. i could have been going over what i was going to say!!!
anyway, john pulls up and i start asking him how his ride was and if he liked the bike and if jonathan would like it etc etc etc, while jonathan is getting off the bike behind john and SLOWLY taking off his glovessss and unbuckling his helmettttt and just taking his time. finally, when it looked like jonathan was ready, i said to john "why don't you turn around and see who your escort was?" so john turned, and jonathan took off his helmet.
it was so cute. john said that when i told him to turn around, it registered before he saw him. he was still SO surprised that jonathan was home already! the whole weekend, john dad kept telling us how happy he was and thanking us for surprising him. he also said (on camera) that i'm too good and keeping secrets, but i didn't take it to heart.
we had a good day wednesday. jonathan and i got to sleep at the hotel with john and kathy, which was fun. we went out and walked around the beach in oceanside. i didn't think i liked oceanside, but this area was actually nice! then on thursday morning, April 14th, we went to a condo for more interviews. they interviewed me, kathy, jonathan, john, and then john and jonathan together. it took so long!!! about 4 hours. then we were DONE!
the people working on the show were so much fun, and had such energy!
Jon Surprises His Dad for an Episode of the TV Show "Coming Home" from Double Scoop Photography on Vimeo.
it was such a fun experience! it was crazy watching the show and seeing how much they didn't put on there. hours and hours of filming for five minutes of air time! i guess that's how it goes.
i'm sorry i couldn't tell you sooner when it'd be on, but watch it tomorrow (monday!) here! it's episode 12, "three cheers for dad".
by the way, no, jonathan didn't get a motorcycle out of it, but the four of us did get free harley swag. ha!
