When parents go on vacation, anything can happen, especially if you have kids. The house could become a total disaster, perhaps there will be food remains on the walls and furniture. Let’s not fail to mention a possible house party of course. On the other hand, some kids surprise their parents by doing exactly what they are supposed to do. These teens had an interesting idea when their parents left their home.
Down To Business
Parents of a couple of teenagers dreamed of a vacation alone but were worried their kids would destroy their house while they were gone. The Schoonover’s found a surprise that made their minds boggle.
Down To Business
Vacationer’s Dream
Despite living in a great vacation location in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Karen and Chip felt it was about time to go on a vacation and get away from home for a little while. They decided to take a week-long trip in December to unwind a little.
Vacationer’s Dream
Good Or Bad Idea?
As strange as it might seem, they assumed their daughters were old enough to take care of the house and themselves as they went on the week-long trip. Nothing could have prepared The Schoonovers for what their children would do while they were gone.
Good Or Bad Idea
The Four Hs
With every new female addition to their family, Karen and Chip decided each of them should have a beautiful name that begins with the letter “H.” Heather is the oldest, followed by Hollie, Halice, and Haley. As the girl’s parents were preparing for their vacation, they began to conjure up their plan of action.
The Four Hs
The Shining Light
Hollie was definitely the mastermind behind the operation. The second oldest helped organize the details with her three sisters. The moment their parents left, the four girls began their plan hoping to pull off the greatest Christmas surprise their parents had ever seen! Holly wisely instructed her younger sister Haley to set up a camera and start recording. Their plan was elaborate and had several layers to it.
The Shining Light
Get The Video Camera
Only seconds after their parent went off on their vacation, the sisters put their plan into motion. Christmas was going to be really different this time around, and Hollie told Haley to get the video camera so they could document everything.
Get The Video Camera
An Interior Designer
Technically the plan was Hollie’s idea. She never really thought she wanted to be an interior designer. But as it turns out, she would be a very good one if she would choose to go down that career path.
An Interior Designer
A Star In The Making
Actually, Hollie had always wanted to be an actress and singer! As it turns out, the entertainment industry is not an easy one to break into. In the meantime, she began to offer her services as a makeup artist. She thought this could be a possible career path if she got more experience.
A Star In The Making
Snapshots Of Time
While Hollie loved to be in front of the camera, Haley loved to be behind it. The sisters thus worked together to produce their respective arts. Hollie was in charge of doing her sisters’ makeup, and Haley would capture the final product on film. In terms of the epic Christmas gift they were planning, it seemed Hollie and Haley’s artistic skills were a perfect match.
Snapshots Of Time
Taking A Study Break
While Halice had different talents than her sisters, she wanted to follow in her older sister’s footsteps and attend university as well.
Taking A Study Break
University Girls
Halice decided not to stray too far from home and graduated from Coastal Carolina University. She wasn’t the first member of her family to go there, Heather actually graduated from the same university several years before. Halice wanted to get her B.A. and go to graduate school for physical therapy.
University Girls
Back To Her Roots
Perhaps the three younger sisters had more at stake with their Christmas gift than they thought. They were all still local to North Myrtle beach after all, while their eldest sister moved away. She still lived in South Carolina but moved farther away with her husband. She was working for a real estate company doing marketing. It was important for her to return home this time to help her sisters make their dreams come true.
Back To Her Roots
Making Big Moves
While the Schoonover family felt like an integral part of the Noth Myrtle Beach community, it turns out it wasn’t exactly the case. All of the girls were born in Florida, and it was actually there that they grew up.
Making Big Moves
A Part Of The Community
After the family relocated, the entire Schoonover family thought North Myrtle Beach was simply where they were meant to live. They all loved the city and their home, and all of this made the girl’s gift all the more meaningful.
A Part Of The Community
Racking Up The Views
It was just the girl’s luck that the video they made went viral all over the internet. The YouTube response was crazy! It really touched users, and the impact of their surprise was much bigger than they thought.
Racking Up The Views
Starting From The Bottom
The girls were planning to give their home a little makeover while their parents were away on vacation. Some children might think just cleaning up a little would be a huge gift, but these girls wanted to go one step further. However, they made one mistake.
Starting From The Bottom
A Critical Mistake
Making one significant mistake, none of them had done a home renovation before, so they did not realize the degree of what they were taking on!
A Critical Mistake
Facing Challenges
Although the girls were dead-set on making their plan a success, they didn’t realize the kinds of difficulties they would face. It was actually the first time that anyone of them had done any sort of home improvement project. They were faced with big challenges that made them feel unsure about the practicality of their gift.
Facing Challenges
A Big Job
The girls really wanted to do a total home makeover without their parents finding out. Cleaning up a was only the beginning of the project they hoped to pull off.
A Big Job
Out With The Old
Sorting through each room, the girls collected huge amounts of things that could be thrown away. Initially, they thought this process would only take a few hours, but it ended up being exhausting and taking them most of the day.
Out With The Old
A Clean Slate
This home renovation was not going to be easy. Perhaps Hollie was overly ambitious with the design plans. Despite this, they continued on, ripping out all the old carpet in the house. As they got into more difficult work, the girls tried different tactics to make their job easier. They decided throwing carpet out of the window was the easiest way to get rid of it! What could go wrong?
A Clean Slate
Getting Busy
The girls decided that they would rip out all of the carpets already in the house, and this was very strenuous indeed. They then found that the most efficient way to get rid of those carpets was by throwing them out of one of the windows. Not an easy task at all!
Getting Busy
Realizing The Workload
We’ve all seen some sort of home improvement show on TV. Well for the girls it was no different; they had seen many themselves and that’s where they got the idea to redo the house. But watching it done on TV versus doing it themselves, was quite different.
Realizing The Workload
I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
The girls were definitely inspired by all the home makeover shows they were seeing. They thought they too would see a dream house in a blink of an eye, but it was not this easy. It became apparent pretty quickly they underestimated just how long this gift would take to pull off. The girls figured getting some extra workers would help the process along, and they knew just the boys for the job!
I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
Pooling Together
As Hollie was working on the gift of a lifetime for her parents along with her sisters, they wanted to update the home decor while they were at it. This meant not only cleaning it, but also putting some money in to purchase some brand new furniture, for the living room in particular.
Pooling Together
A Sudden Realization
Quickly realizing that if they buy new furniture, they have to get rid of the old furniture, the girls faced a new challenge that was easier said than done. Despite working together as a team, they had a hilarious struggle pushing their old couch off their porch and into the yard!
A Sudden Realization
Old Furniture
Despite this, the sisters found that getting new furniture was actually easier to deal with than it was to get rid of the old stuff. They managed to shoot the hilarious fight to get the couch from the porch to the lawn on camera.
Old Furniture
Flexing Their Abilities
The four sisters quickly realized just how much work they had taken on. Not all of them were total strangers to physical activity. Heather, the eldest sister, often hosts workout accountability groups. Halice also was into fitness. She was working on a degree in exercise and sports while they were renovating the house.
Flexing Their Abilities1
Another Strong Sister
Halice happens to be another one of the daughters who had a thing for fitness and health. During the time that they were doing the renovations, she was studying sports science and exercise, in college.
Another Strong Sister
Working As One Unit
The girls were all close in age, and this definitely worked to their advantage. They were certainly no strangers to working together as a team. A project like this home renovation would simply be impossible if they weren’t used to working together. When they were younger, they did geocaching together.
Working As One Unit
Playing To Their Strengths
If you haven’t heard of it, it is essentially a local treasure hunt. One person gives clues and coordinates in a certain location, and members of the community work together in small teams to try to find the prize first. Perhaps this helped them prepare for what they were doing with the home.
Playing To Their Strengths
What Is Geocaching?
Geocaching is quite the original sport. By using GPS coordinates, participants track down hidden caches of random objects hidden in the first place by someone else. It could a cache from a total stranger! Geocaching was one of the Schoonovers’ best games.
What Is Geocaching
Hitting The Hurdles
Anyone that takes on a serious project has the feeling eventually that there is no end in sight. The girls too felt like they were reaching their breaking point on only their third day of work. As they continued to work, they saw their house as being in total shambles. They thought there was no chance they would complete the project, and it was beyond their ability.
Hitting The Hurdles
Losing Energy
Exhaustion really started to kick in, and their beds couldn’t have felt more comfortable than when the morning was chilly. But even without lots of sleep, and cold temperatures outside, the girls knew they had an important task ahead of them.
Losing Energy
Low Motivation Levels
As dawn rose, the girls slowly stumbled out of bed and put on dirty clothes to prepare for another day’s work. None of them had slept much the night before, and all of them were slowly losing their motivation. On top of that, their house was basically unlivable!
Low Motivation Levels
Looking For A Boost
In order to get some of their motivation back, one of the girls decided to purchase a pack of energy drinks for everyone. The sisters happily enjoyed a drink together to raise their energy levels enough to get back to work.
Looking For A Boost
Wearing Them Down
Despite getting some extra help, just painting every single room was way more work than anything they expected. They thought moving the furniture would be the hardest part! When they found themselves struggling to paint, especially around the edge of the windows, it was the collective encouragement that kept them going.
Wearing Them Down
Feeling The Physical Strain
The week was almost halfway over, and the girls still had a mountain of work to do! They were tired from lack of sleep, their backs were hurting, and their legs were sore from all the standing. They described their pain on video. It was due to their love for their parents that they kept going.
Feeling The Physical Strain
Their Motivation
With all the obstacles and hardships that they girls faced, many of us wonder what kept them going. The greatest motivation for these young ladies was their parents. Their deep love for their parents ensured that they would get the project done.
Their Motivation
Finding Their Numbers Depleted
As the days went on, the girls were progressing little by little. They thought if the day prior was hard, the next day would be a little easier. They were wrong. Eventually, only Haley and Hollie were available to put in time on the 5th day of renovating the house. The girls didn’t want their lack of numbers to slow them down, especially because they knew they were in the home stretch of finishing the huge project.
Finding Their Numbers Depleted
All By Themselves
Haley took the camera and decided to document the progress the girls made on their own on the 5th day. With no one but Hollie seated on the floor of the dining room painting the wall blue, the two girls had a lot of work ahead of them.
All By Themselves
Progress Is Made
As it was only the two of them on this day, Hayley was explaining that despite this, they still managed to make some major progress! On their own, the two girls installed new carpets.
Progress Is Made
Up All night
At 7 a.m., the alarm rang. Hollie and Haley were immediately awoken from their much-needed sleep. The two girls were determined to keep working until they couldn’t anymore. The kitchen was now half painted. Half of the cabinets also needed another coat of paint. It was actually their last day to finish everything before their parents came home the next morning.
Up All Night
The Kitchen
The kitchen still wasn’t done, and it was a great part of their project. The cabinets were all in desperate need of double-coated painting, and there were even some that hadn’t been touched at all. They were on their last day of work before their parents came back. the next morning was D-Day.
The Kitchen
Hearts On Their Sleeves
Hollie took the camera and made an entry to show their parents just how tired they were. She asked Haley on camera how she felt. She replied, “I feel like I’m in the army.” Hollie then got a little candid with her filming. She showed off her “stress acne” that flared up around her face. Despite the struggling, the girls decided to finish up the rest of the painting and put the furniture back.
Hearts On Their Sleeves
Planning Ahead
Of course, the day their parents came back from vacation was going to be a big day! With all the excitement shimmering in their eyes, the girls were getting ready to share the gift they worked so hard on with their parents. They had just one more trick up their sleeves!
Planning Ahead
Using A Decoy
For starters, the girls were plotting to throw their parents off by surprising them with a visit from their eldest daughter, Heather. Heather drove to the house with a camera set outside so she could greet her parents as they pulled in.
Using A Decoy
An Enticing Introduction
Hollie whispered into the camera, “We’re so nervous.” The girls watched their parents pulling into the driveway and they began to film the final moments of their video footage. When all was said and done, the girls decided to use part of their film from these moments as the opening to the video they would eventually post on Youtube. The girls quickly ran back and forth from the camera to the window to make sure they caught their parents on time.
An Enticing Introduction
Uncovering Hidden Treasure
While geocaching may not be the most common thing to do as a family, there are actually millions of people who do this worldwide! Smartphones with GPS capabilities have lessened some of the fun of the search for treasure. However, the game is still popular and plenty of fun.
Uncovering Hidden Treasure
A Worldwide Hunt
The main idea is that someone in the community would hide a trinket somewhere in the world, and share the coordinates publically. People in the area would put the coordinates in their smartphones in order to uncover their little piece of treasure.
A Worldwide Hunt
Off The Trail
As Karen and Chip Schoonover finally pulled into their driveway, they immediately noticed that something was different. Karen got out of the car and began to inspect the yard carefully to try and figure out what.
Off The Trail
A Lovely Surprise
Karen was trying to put her finger on just what had changed! As her four daughters walked out of the house together, Karen and Chip were so surprised! They only expected three of their daughters to be home. Karen shouted, “Hey! Hey! What are you doing here!” Both parents were totally overcome with surprise and joy at the mere sight of Heather.
A Lovely Surprise
Judging A Book By Its Cover
Karen immediately knew there was a huge difference in her house. She said, “Alright who cleaned?” Karen had secretly been wishing the girls would tidy up a little. From how the house looked on the outside, Karen could see that her daughters had probably cleaned a little more than she expected.
Judging A Book By Its Cover
It’s Just The Beginning
The girls planned that Heather would tell their parents, “Your surprise isn’t over yet” before she would lead them inside the house. Neither Karen or Chip could have predicted what they would see after being gone for only a week.
It’s Just The Beginning
Not Over Yet
The girls advised their mother to “take a deep breath.” Karen and Chip began to walk through the house and their minds were completely blown!They couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
It’s Not Over Yet
The Shock
Karen’s jaw pretty much dropped. She screamed, “What!” As she went around the house, she felt like she was in an entirely new world. “What did you do?” she yelled. The surprise in her voice could not be hidden.
The Shock
Cards On The Table
Karen covered her mouth with her hands and she continued to go through her new house in awe. She saw it was not just clean, but the entire kitchen was completely updated! She had no idea what else the girls did in the other rooms.
Cards On The Table
Rewards Of A Challenge
Karen was becoming overwhelmed by emotions. She began crying! She just couldn’t believe what her daughters did to her kitchen. The pale blue paint looked great against the brown cabinets. The girls even managed to replace the countertops with new marble ones. Still, there was more to see!
Rewards Of A Challenge
Dining In Style
Karen actually had to take off her glasses to wipe away the tears streaming from her face. She was walking into the dining room as she did this. She never once thought this would be a gift her daughters would give her. The change was simply astounding! The girls cried and laughed alongside their mother. They definitely felt pride in what they accomplished! There was still more surprises in store for their parents.
Dining In Style
Updating Their Comfort
Next, the girls led their parents into the master bedroom. They really took care of every single detail! Karen basically danced into the room noticing the new carpet under her feet. Chip was in the doorway in complete shock, barely able to breathe. His jaw then nearly hit the floor!
Updating Their Comfort
Shining With Gratitude
The Schoonover parents could hardly comprehend what prompted their daughters to do this! No detail was missing. Even the bathroom that connected to the master bedroom was redone.
Shining With Gratitude
An Open Invitation
Karen and Chip were still in total shock as the girls showed them the details of their bedroom and guest bedrooms. The color scheme perfectly matched the rest of the house. The bedsheets, comforters, and curtains were all brand new! Karen and Chip were all smiles and kept thinking how amazing it is they raised such thoughtful daughters. It was pretty clear they had put in a ton of time and money into the home renovation.
An Open Invitation
Looking Ahead
As the video came to the end, they explained they wanted to give their parents the best Christmas gift they had ever received! It was clear the girls took on a huge project from the before and after pictures. Karen and Chip were equally as pleased with their new home and they were with their incredible daughters.
Looking Ahead
The Internet Takes Note
The internet also took note of how incredible the girls were! The video was gaining a ton of traction on YouTube. The comments were also amazing!
The Internet Takes Note
Discovering Their Fame
Hollie, of course, dreamed of becoming famous, but she never thought this would be how it happened! Many people that saw the video wanted to share this incredible story. Initially Haley, Hollie, Heather, and Halice had no idea the video and their story was going viral. Finally, they found out and they could not have been more excited to see how many people they were reaching!
Discovering Their Fame
Seeing It In Print
It was actually Haley who found out first just how far their story spread. She was going through her Facebook feed when she noticed a picture of her and her three sisters. She knew immediately that someone had seen the video, and she just couldn’t wait to share the article with her network!
Seeing It In Print
Relishing Their Impact
The girls were so happy because their work was inspiring others! It wasn’t just going viral in America, but even as far as Portugal and India. All four of the Schoonover daughters hoped that their video would inspire others to do the same for their parents or loved ones.
Relishing Their Impact