Home Alone
When you leave your teenage kids alone in the house, it’s hard to say what you’ll come home to. The sink could be full of dirty dishes, there might be broken remnants of a crazy party, or maybe everything will be just as clean and orderly as you left it. The teenagers in this story had a different plan entirely.
When the Schoonover sisters decided to record their activities in the house while their parents were gone, they could have never guessed that it would quickly go viral online. People all over the world headed to their YouTube channel to observe the amazing work of these girls, imagining how their parents must have felt when they got home. These viewers then shared the video with friends, spreading the surprise for everyone to appreciate.
A Real Surprise
It can be hard raising a family, especially when the kids turn into notoriously difficult to deal with teenagers. These parents must have left home with their fingers crossed that their girls wouldn’t destroy the house in their absence. Instead of empty beer bottles and stains on the carpet, the Schoonovers got a real surprise when they returned.
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A Well-Earned Vacation
Although a lot of people come to their hometown for vacation, North Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, Karen and Chip Schoonover felt that they needed to get away for a well-earned vacation. They trusted the maturity of their four daughters to be responsible with the house while they left for a week in December. These lucky parents could have never guessed what these girls would come up with while they were away.
The ‘H’ Girls
As more girls kept joining their growing family, Chip and Karen felt that they should give them each a name beginning with the letter ‘H.’ Heather, the oldest of their children, had already moved out and gotten married several years before this story takes place. Nonetheless, her younger sisters, Hollie, Halice, and Haley made their best effort to persuade her to join in their plot. Once mom and dad pulled out of the driveway, these girls were ready to enact their scheme.
A Christmas Surprise
Hollie, the second oldest, was the girl in charge of the entire operation. She organized their efforts and directed their efforts to make the greatest Christmas surprise their parents had ever received. The moment that their parents left, the girls jumped to work, all of which was recorded by the youngest daughter, Haley.
Captured on Tape
Hollie loved being in front of the camera, and Haley loved being the camerawoman. In fact, this relationship goes much deeper than this one instance. In the past, Hollie would apply makeup for her sister while Haley would film the process. This led them to their natural roles in preparing this amazing Christmas gift for their mom and dad.
Scholarly Sisters
While Hollie and Haley were the artists of the family, Halice wanted to follow in her eldest sister’s footsteps and go to college. She goes to a school nearby, Coastal Carolina University. Heather is the proud holder of a university degree, and Halice hopes to graduate soon with a bachelor’s degree. She then wants to go on to her master’s in physical therapy.
Home, Sweet Home
The youngest sisters all live in North Myrtle Beach, and yet the oldest, Heather, decided to come back to home, sweet home to help her sisters with their Christmas project. Heather moved further west with her husband and works in real estate marketing. She knew that she couldn’t leave her sisters alone in their ambitious plan and wanted to be a part of the action.
A Rising Star
Though the plan was Hollie’s idea, she doesn’t foster dreams of becoming an interior decorator. Instead, she’s a rising star with big dreams of Hollywood fame. She wants to act and sing, and yet it can be difficult to make a name for oneself in this competitive industry. While she’s working towards her goals, she works as a makeup artist.
Moving Home
Though they were proud to call North Myrtle Beach home, that wasn’t always the case. The Schoonovers were originally from Seminole, Florida. When they moved to their new home in South Carolina, they became attached to the place and put down roots. This deep feeling of being at home certainly contributed to the significance of this outstanding gift.
Home Renovation Dreams
Most kids would probably consider it a great gift to their parents to clean the house while they were away, but the Schoonover girls had bigger plans. They had home renovation dreams. And yet, since none of them had any experience in this field and they only had one week, they were in over their heads. They questioned whether they’d really be able to pull off this stunning feat.
Out of Here
In order to give their home a complete makeover, they needed to start somewhere. Since there was plenty of unused things and junk piling up around the house, they decided it needed to get out of here. Though they planned on only devoting a couple of hours to sorting through everything, this process ended up taking the greater part of an entire day.
Bye-Bye!
Getting rid of old things was just the beginning. The next difficult task ahead of them was saying bye-bye to their old carpets. They ceaselessly toiled to bring new life to their home and ended up realizing that the best way to get rid of those nasty old carpets once and for all was chucking them out the window. Out with the old!
A Helping Hand
It was beginning to look like they were going to run out of time. Though these girls have probably watched home improvement shows on TV where the renovation seems to be done in no time, this didn’t seem to be the case in reality. They knew that couldn’t do it alone, so they called in a helping hand. They rang up some boys that they knew so that they could get some muscle on the job.
Replacing the Furniture
The girls wanted their big gift to be the best it could be, and that meant updating a lot of their home furnishing. The girls painted the living room and then pooled their money to get some new furniture for the room. However, they soon found out that getting new furniture was the easy part; getting rid of it was much harder! In their video, they show a hilarious struggle to shove the old couch off the porch.
Well-Equipped for Hard Work
Even if the girls hadn’t realized just how hard their task would be, these ladies are no strangers to hard physical work. The oldest of the lot, Heather, is in charge of workout accountability groups and works to ensure that people stay on track for their health and fitness objectives. Another of the sisters, Halice, takes this stuff quite seriously as well, as she’s studying exercise and sports science at university.
Working Together
To get the job done, the girls had to do what they did best: work together. They had spent a lot of time banding together on geocaching while growing up, and they used this team ethic to get the job done for their home renovation. They played to their greatest strengths in this way, knowing that were stronger together than alone.
Feeling Lost
During a project of this magnitude, it isn’t uncommon for us to hit a wall. During the third day, the girls looked around at their house, torn to pieces and in shambles, and felt lost. They didn’t have the expertise to do the job and wondered if their efforts would be in vain. They had a long way to go and they were second-guessing if they had been too ambitious.
Getting Some Energy
As the girls stretched out on the fourth day, unhappily leaving their comfortable beds after a too-short sleep, they looked around at the disrepair of their nearly unlivable house. They were exhausted and felt like they would have a hard time getting on with it. To give them all a boost, one of them went out and picked up some energy drinks. This gave them all the energy to continue on with the task at hand.
Taking Its Toll
Even though they had some extra assistance, painting their entire house turned out to be a monumental task. They originally may have thought that moving the furniture would be the most difficult job, but when they found themselves painting trim around the windows late into the evening, they wondered whether they had bitten off more than they could chew. This project was taking its toll on their bodies and their morale.
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Feeling It
They were over halfway through the week, and yet their to-do list didn’t seem to be shrinking. They were exhausted from not getting enough sleep, and they were really starting to feel it in their bodies. Their backs ached and their legs were getting sore. They weren’t used to this kind of work, and yet, because of their incredible love for their parents, they plugged on at work and fought against their limitations.
Other Obligations
As time crept forward, the girls started to see that they were making progress, slowly but surely. The hard times weren’t over, though, because some of the girls couldn’t work on this day because of other obligations. This left Haley and Hollie alone to continue on. They knew that the end was in sight, so they kept at it.
A Major Accomplishment
On the fifth day, Haley recorded herself talking about the tasks that her and Hollie alone accomplished. We see Hollie on the dining room floor, painstakingly painting the trim in light blue. Even though they had been left alone on this day, they had made a major accomplishment by installing new carpets.
An All-Nighter
When the alarm rang at seven in the morning, Hollie and Haley were still exhausted from the night before. They had pulled an all-nighter, working until they couldn’t stand any longer. They knew that their parents would be home soon, and they still had to paint half of the kitchen and finish the cabinets. With just one day left, they were feeling the pressure.
The Final Push
During the final push of the sixth day, Hollie took out her camera to show everyone just how this project had affected them. When asked how she felt, the girl responded, “I feel like I’m in the army.” We then got a picture of her “stress acne,” to prove her point. Only the finishing touches remained on the new paint job before the daughters were ready to move in the furniture.
The Big Surprise
When their parents got home, the girls knew that they were in for a big surprise. Their eyes shimmered with delight and excitement as their parents pulled into the driveway. To distract them from immediately noticing the changes in the house, the oldest girl, Heather, drove over to greet them. They set up the camera outside and got ready for the reveal.
The Introduction
In the YouTube video, the girls decided to start with the moment when they were waiting for their parents in the kitchen before cutting to them getting to work. We hear Hollie whisper, “We’re so nervous!” They flit around, looking out the window, getting ready to blow their mom and dad’s minds.
Their First Look
When Karen got her first look of the house from the outside, she could tell that something was different. She asks, “Alright, who cleaned?” Of course, she may have been suspicious that they were trying to cover something up, and she must have hoped that they had also cleaned up the inside. Little did she know that these girls had done much more than just clean the house!
Just the Beginning
This was just the beginning of what was the come. Heather says to her parents, “Your surprise isn’t over yet,” and then leads them inside, glowing with pride. Chip and Karen were immediately blown away, prompting the girls to tell their parents to “take a deep breath.” They couldn’t believe that they were walking into the very same house that they had left a week before.
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Taking It All In
Karen couldn’t believe her eyes. “What!!” she screamed. As she was taking it all in, it was like she had entered into somebody else’s house. “What did you do!?’ she asked with delight. She was so surprised that she covered her hands with her mouth, wandering wide-eyed through her very own house. It wasn’t just clean. It was completely updated—and they had even more to go!
It All Pays Off
The girls must have felt that all their hard work was paying off when they saw the look in Karen and Chip’s faces as they beheld their renovated kitchen. Karen wept as she looked at the pale blue walls, fresh brown cabinets, and gleaming marble countertops. How a group of teenage girls could afford marble countertops is beyond us, but nonetheless these industrial daughters smiled with delight as they told their parents that this was just the tip of the iceberg.
They’ll Be Hosting Christmas
As she walked into the dining room, Karen must have begun planning having the family over to their place for Christmas dinner to show off the incredible work of her daughters. The transformation was awe-inspiring. The girls giggled and cried with their mom, the entire family swept into an overwhelming torrent of emotion. And their tour was far from over.
The Master Bedroom
The girls took their parents into the master bedroom to show off just how thorough they had been. Karen waltzed atop the fresh carpeting while Chip stood solemnly in the doorway, not knowing whether he could believe his eyes. Each responded in their own way to this incredible surprise, yet it is clear that both were in shock.
Amazed and Grateful
The whole family was amazed at this stunning accomplishment, and the parents were certainly grateful. These girls had really pulled out all of the stops. They had even redone the master bathroom, installing a new tub and shower and applying fresh paint to the room. Even the décor of every room was carefully planned out to harmonize with each other. Karen and Chip thought that they had just about seen it all by now.
Fit for a Guest
Any guest in the Schoonover household would be staying in style from now on, as Karen and Chip soon realized as the girls led them into the guest bedrooms. The colors and decorations matched the rest of the house, and their thoughtful daughters had even replaced the sheets, comforters, and curtains. These girls had spared no effort or expense to create a perfect household for their beloved family.
Merry Christmas
It would certainly be a Merry Christmas for the Schoonovers. The daughters had given their parents a gift beyond their wildest dreams. When reviewing the before and after pictures, it is apparent just how stark of a transformation they achieved. Plus, Karen and Chip got the best gift that a parent can get: knowing that they raised four amazing, compassionate, and hardworking children.
Published Online
Following the surprise reveal to their parents, Hollie edited their footage and posted the video to her new YouTube account. It may have been her first video, but its amazing nature brought some attention. Hundreds then thousands of people watched their incredible journey. After a few months, these girls had over 115 thousand views on their Christmas surprise video, and their tale was far from over.
Treasure-Hunting
Though geocaching may not be the most familiar of family pastimes, the Schoonovers love it to this day. Smartphone GPS location may have dampened the thrill a bit, but the general idea is that someone hides a little piece of treasure and shares the coordinates. Then people can go treasure-hunting to try and find that trinket using only the coordinates.
When They Arrived
When Karen and Chip arrived back home, they were feeling good after a restful and relaxing week away. Yet something felt off. When they got out of the car, Karen gazed around in an attempt to figure out just what was wrong. Then the four daughters streamed out of the front door, and the parents were surprised because they had only expected to see three. “Hey! Hey! What are you doing here?” Karen beamed to Heather. They were certainly happy to see that their oldest daughter had come to pay them a visit.
An Internet Sensation
Hollie dreamed of hitting it big for a long time, but she could have never guessed that her first taste of fame would be because of her beautiful Christmas surprise. As the video became an internet sensation, people from all over the world asked if they could help to spread their beautiful tale. The video went viral, and the girls were thrilled that so many people appreciated their efforts.
Media Attention
One day, when Haley was scrolling through her Facebook newsfeed, so just happened to stumble upon a picture of herself and her sisters staring back at her! Their story had gotten some media attention, and she raced to share the article with her friends and family.
A Real Change
Not only had they made a real change on their house, but they were also making a change in the world by inspiring others. A lot of sites picked up their story, including international press organizations that couldn’t get enough of these Carolina girls. Even in Portugal and India, these girls made waves with their selfless conduct. Their wish is that others will see their love and dedication to each other and that they will motivate other people to do the same.