So, if you read Part 1 of my post-wrap reflections of Indiana, you may be thinking, "Okay, so two episodes in a week and some cheapo fake jewelry...where's the 'crazy,' Jim 2.0?"

Well, the true craziness happened over the final two days, with our first-ever two-block-party weekend.

First off, I should explain that just throwing one My Home 2.0 block party is a pretty crazy undertaking in itself. Not only is it a huge, outdoor party with tons of interactive booths, food and activities designed to keep hundreds of people entertained for several hours (with all the planning and prep that entails), it's also the culmination of a TV shoot, which has to be synched and timed to mesh perfectly with the live event.

Although the Gurus do a couple tech run-throughs of the makeover reveal before they bring the family in, once they're in, they have just one take to get it right (since you can't fake those genuine, emotional reactions a second time.) And it has to be right for both the TV show taping and the audience outside, who are watching the live feed on the Jumbotron. Producer Kathleen (above) conducts this complex symphony from outside, switching angles on the fly while giving the camera operators directions via headset, as they wind and weave through the house, trailing cables behind them all the way back to the Jumbotron.

So, throwing a successful My Home 2.0 block party takes a lot of work, planning, and a certain amount of grace (one accidentally yanked cable could spell disaster during the finale.)

Oh, and it really, really helps if the weather's nice.

We went into our two-party weekend expecting rain, although we all wished really hard against it. Someone must have heard our pleas, because the damp, cloudy skies parted shortly before the party began, giving way to beautiful, sunny weather throughout pretty much the entire Royer family event on Saturday.

Above: Brian works on Royers' green screen, Foley sound effects cart

The main focal point of the Royer makeover was their stunning basement. It used to look like mostly a repository for old toys and games, but is now a colorful, creativity-inspiring, multi-media playground. It's decked out with an isolated, full-feature sound booth (formerly a closet); a wall-sized special-effects green screen that rolls up when not in use; a custom Foley cart packed with various noise-making props; and state of the art desktop computer station with pro-caliber sound and movie editing software. The boys got an amazing HD camcorder setup (below), complete with a high-quality external mic and a "sun gun" for flooding night scenes with necessary light.

If there's a type of sun gun that shoos away clouds, though, it was nowhere to be found the following day (but you're working on one for next season, right, Gurus?) By late Saturday night, it seemed pretty certain it was going to be a wet day at the Porter family block party, so we scrambled to get some giant tents. (I'm not the one who actually made the late-night "Hey, do you have giant tents?" phone call, but from what I gather, it was pretty entertaining.)

The Porters have a nice big corner lot with lots of space, so the big tents were set up in their front and side driveways. It gave the party a really homey feel, having it all on the Porters' property, and since their home is a neighborhood social hub anyway, it just felt like a natural progression. And it made for less walking, which was good since it rained a bit. And by "rained a bit" I mean "Hurricane Ike."

Yep, I would have thought it was pretty crazy to throw a block party during a hurricane -- if we were in Florida or the Gulf Coast. But I, for one, figured we'd probably miss most of it all the way up in Indiana. And we did -- for the majority of the party, anyway.

We kept checking the weather report every half hour or so, to see if it was going to get worse. It rained on and off pretty much the whole time, but that still didn't stop hundreds of partygoers from going with the flow (sometimes literally) and having a blast.

Early on in the party, MC Big Kess joked into the microphone that it was getting a little wet, but that's okay because we could all just roll around in the mud and have a good time when the shoot was done. Some kids took his words to heart, flopping around the drenched bounce house, playing corn hole (a Midwestern beanbag-toss game), or just good old-fashioned playing in the rain. (The Porter kids had so much rain-soaked fun, in fact, that they had to be rushed back to the RV minutes before the reveal so they could dry off for their final scenes.)

The marvel of the Porter home was their new entertainment center, with a giant HDTV, hooked up to the Gurus' invention, FiOS-Enabled Emotion Detection, a.k.a. the FeED System. In gives the family a one-of-a-kind advantage in online gaming, and when not in use it doubles as a really cool modern art piec e that ties in visually with the family's chicken coop outside.

But the gift that really made everyone mist up was a certificate redeemable for a top-of-the-line hearing aid for mom Melinda, whose difficulty hearing had made her feel like she sometimes was missing out on the full experience of movie night and other family gatherings. As Guru Alison said, she gives so much to her family, and they really wanted something special just for her.

All in all, we did luck out pretty well with the weather during the Porter finale shoot -- the sideways rain and accompanying gusts didn't pick up until the very end of the party, after the reveal, just as the grand prize winner was picking up his HDTV. This was right around the time the wind flipped a production tent over the back yard fence, along with a picnic table that was lashed to it! Fortunately, some seriously hard-working production assistants and other crew members were on hand to make sure everyone's laptops and other equipment didn't get soaked. (Thanks again, Tina!)

Post-party craziness: Exhibits A, B

I don't think any of us knew how insane the weather was going to get that Sunday, but thanks to all the unflappable Fort Wayne residents who showed up to cheer the Porters on, rain or shine, we had a fantastic, fun, and safe block party.

In fact, the residents of Fort Wayne we encountered all week were so nice, truly making us feel welcome, and seemed as excited to have us there as we were to be there (well, most of 'em, anyway.) On behalf of all the crew, thank you, Fort Wayne!

The double-episode shoot, two-block-parties-in-a-hurricane craziness really helped bring the crew and families closer together, and I think there's a real sense among all of us involved that if we can make it through all the challenges of our week in Indiana and knock out some of our best episodes yet, we can get through just about anything.

Can't wait to see the "anything" that the Gurus and crew tackle next!

The crew arrived home safely yesterday after one of the most crazy, fun, crazy weeks we've ever had on My Home 2.0. Did I mention it was crazy? Because it was. 

Above, L-R: Director Eric, Guru Lloyd, Account Exec. Marianne, Guru Brian

Some folks might have thought it was a bit nutty to try to pull off in one week what we usually do in two, but in the end, shooting both the Royer and Porter episodes simultaneously worked out great. As predicted, the back-and-forth shooting method proved very efficient, since the build crew could work on one home while the other team shot footage with the family at the other home. Nobody missed a word of dialogue from the sounds of power tools, and nobody had to miss valuable work time when "Quiet on the set" was called.

Of course, there were certain people who went above and beyond, sometimes doing up to double the work to make sure everything was done. For these tireless go-getters, there was The Bling.

The Bling may have seemed like a crazy (or at least silly) idea at the beginning of the week, but rewarding the hardest-working crew member at the end of each day, with a big faux-gold dollar-sign necklace that the Bling-bearer got to wear on set the next day, ended up being brilliant.

The Bling really helped motivate people to chip in and be part of the team (I even set aside my usual "I'm just the blogger, that's not my department" spiel to help move furniture and gently wrap the Porters' delicate collectibles one late night.)

Far from promoting an overly competitive spirit, though, it actually fostered one of giving and selflessness -- by mid-week, when Bling-bearer and build producer Dustin (above) couldn't decide between the three Gurus, he went out and bought two more pieces of Bling himself. (After that, it was triple-Bling days until the end.) But the daily Bling ceremony was about more than just a silly, tacky necklace -- it was about earning the respect of your peers and being proud of a job well done. And even if they turned some necks a funky green color, hey, that particular shade became a badge of honor, too.

More post-wrap thoughts coming soon...

You can create all kinds of magic when you're shooting a TV show (and if you're the Royer kids, you can even alter the fabric of space at will), but the one thing we have yet to figure out is how to control the weather outside (Guru Brian's Personal Weather Machine notwithstanding.)

Yesterday at the Royer reveal, we were blessed with near-miraculous weather -- sunny, blue skies when we thought for sure it would rain. We're keeping our fingers crossed for the finale of the Porter shoot today, but even if we get a little rain, the show must go on. Hey, that's why they invented giant tents, right?

So if your game gets rained out today, or you're stuck in the house with nothing to do, don't let the weather stop you from enjoying an exciting chance to be a part of a TV shoot, and possibly even win a flat-panel TV or one of several other awesome prizes.

Click here for details and directions, and keep an eye on this post, where I'll be adding block party photos throughout the day. See you this afternoon!

And these lucky guests walked away with a 42" flat-panel TV:

Today we'll be giving away the same great prizes as yesterday...but you can't win if you're not here, so come on down! (Click here for details and map.)

Here's some video of party MC Big Kess of Wild 96.3 checking it out at the Royer block party yesterday:

Don't forget, Big Kess will be partying with the Porter family today (Sunday), getting the crowd pumped for the finale of their TV episode, the big tech makeover reveal. 

Come join the party from 2-6pm -- you could be on TV...or walk away with one! We'll be giving away a 42" LCD TV, an iPod Nano, an Xbox 360, a Panasonic Lumix digital camera and lots of other great prizes, so get here early!

If you live in Fort Wayne, come on down and see the family's tech makeover, revealed live! Not only could you be seen in the Royers' episode, you could also win a 42" flat-panel TV, Xbox 360, iPod Nano, or one of several other great prizes. (Click here for details and map.)

Royer family block party, Saturday, Sept. 13:

Porter family block party, Sunday, Sept. 14:

It's been a fantastic week in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Gurus and crew have been working really hard, bouncing back and forth between the Royer and Porter homes, and their handiwork is almost complete!

This weekend we'll be shooting the finales to our latest episodes -- the tech makeover reveals -- and we'd love for you to share the laughter, joy and mind-blowing surprises with our 2.0 Families.

Above: Jaeger block party, 4/26/08

Besides the once-in-a-lifetime chance to appear on TV, we've also got a carnival's worth of fun stuff for the whole family to see and do, free food and soft drinks, and the chance to win a 42" LCD TV, Xbox 360, iPod Nano, or Panasonic Digital Camera. 

Above: Wurtz block party

Click these links to get full party details and maps:

SATURDAY: Royer Family Block Party

SUNDAY: Porter Family Block Party

The parties start at 2pm -- get there early for a good parking spot. See you there!

Another great side-effect of our new two-at-a-time shooting method in Fort Wayne this week? Our first ever two-block-party weekend!

Of course, double block parties means double the chance to win one of these fantastic prizes:

• 42" LCD Television
• iPod Nano
• Xbox 360 Gaming System
• Panasonic DMC-LZ8K Lumix 8.1 Megapixel Compact Digital Camera
  

This lucky crew won an Xbox 360 at the Wurtz Family party.

In addition to hanging out with the Techno-Guru show hosts and seeing the unveilings, the block parties will be chock-full of fun stuff for the entire family, like food and soft drinks from great local restaurants, carnival games and prizes, a clown, a caricature artist, face-painting and balloon sculptures for the kids. And it's all free!

Join us this weekend -- click these links for full details and directions:

SATURDAY: Royer Family Block Party

SUNDAY: Porter Family Block Party

And to see fun photos from our previous 2.0 Family Block Parties, click the links near the top of the Casting & Events page.

See you at the parties!

When you've got five kids -- each with their own schoolwork, clubs and sports -- running a household is a challenge on a good day. When you're trying to coordinate that many schedules on a veritable patchwork quilt of hand-scrawled pages and sticky notes, it's practically a miracle.

Such is life for the hectic-but-happy Porter family of Fort Wayne, Indiana -- Melinda and Kent, and their children Jonny (16), Tommy (12), twins Cece and Billy (10), and Anna (8).

The Porters truly love hanging out with each other -- playing video games and watching movies together are the primary focus of their together time. The tough part is finding free time when all seven can be together -- and their current technology (and lack thereof) is not very conducive to creating free time.

For all five schoolkids, there's just the one tired, old computer, connected to an overworked printer that always seems to be running out of ink. With the desktop system occupied almost every waking minute, Kent, a frazzled traveling salesman, sometimes even resorts to sitting in his car with his work laptop to get things done. And as if Dad weren't busy enough already, he also runs a licensed hair salon out of his basement!

Between all the gaming, haircuts, and various sports and social clubs, the Porter home has grown into a warm and inviting social hub for the whole neighborhood. All it needs is a little boost from the Techno-Gurus to take it to the next level, and in turn, give the family more free time to actually enjoy it.

So if YOU were a Guru, what would you do?