Congratulations Kathy & faimly ! I hope you got to enjoy the wonderment of the entire Scripps Network and Crew as we did in 2012 ... HGTV has got to be the greatest ... as with us how much we wished we could have taken the house but with all that was going on in our lives at the time with her Mom and Mine there was no way we could take ownership of the house in Utah but wished with all our hearts that we could have become part of one of the most enjoyable places we've ever visited on the planet .. the people ... the majestic mountains everything about Utah and of course that magnificent house that HGTV built! Whichever you chose it sure is a life changing experience in numerous ways and we do wish you all the best ... Thanks again HGTV for making another faimlies dreams come true!

Hi Kids ... unless things changed from 2012 to this one ... we never got to stay at the dream home but HGTV did put us up in one of the most beautifull places we've ever stayed in ...The Montoge!
Also we had sooooo many people ask us why we didn't take the place and sell it afterwards "for more money" sad to think anyone would think that way in the first place ... just being so thankfull for just winning something like it was enough for us! We decided the night of the ambush that we would take the cash instead mainly because of both our Mothers being termenaly ill. I guess most peole never read the rules and know of the cash option?
Anyway if most people just gave it a little thought ... if you take it ... you have to come up with the taxes ... you have any idea what the taxes on 2.2mil is? We would have had to come up with something like 729K to keep the 2012 "no way" heck I would have had to go back to work after taking out a loan .... LOL! Oh and then there was the fact of moving "how many miles away" from family and friends ... new property taxes "that I know we couldn't aford" ... BUT ... I'll say it a million times over and over again that HGTV was and is one of the most memeriable experiences in our lives ... the kindness &hospitality in everything pertaining to the winning and all ... the people of Utah ... it was such a wonderful experience that I don't think Vicki or I would ever be able to thank everyone enough for ... such treatment and experience that everyone showed us... was truly worth more than any HGTV Dream Home will ever be worth! So Dream Home ... with the cash value "you can and we are" building our dream home thanks to HGTV ... Best of Luck to you all!

Hey Ladny !
I think HGTV knows that most people will never take possession of the actual dream home "They have a big artical that they published back in 2006 saying so themselves) but the car / suv and the cash plus the FMV of the house is plenty to build your own dream home where you prefer after winning "so as it is listed" HGTV DREAM HOME (if you were to win) you can build your own dream home as you say ... the thing they do here is to show people what you can do and the different idea's that go with it all! Heck we took a lot of those ideas and have incorporated them into ours!
My wife won the 2012 Dream Home and as much as we loved everything and everyone it wasn't to be BUT we sure are building our own Dream Home (Thanks to HGTV) here in Pa.
So many people have asked in the past (did you guys sell the house) I had to ask most if they read the rules or not? Most said no not really? The rules states ... if you don't take the house you have the option of a cash prize which in all cases would be more than enough to build your own Dream Home as you stated ... so with all that said Thanks to HGTV for the chance at winning such and of course the best to you and yours in the up and coming Dream Home (BUT) I have to tell you I'm really pushing for Bee to be the winner this time around! Take care ... and keep on blogging!

Ah ... Bee ... you are so sweet !

Well ... that was one of the reasons that we probably wouldn't have taken the home in Utah "if everything in our lives at the time weren't upside down" We live in a rural area where we have little if no restrictions on anything ... yes we have 5 dogs ... three small poodles and two small cockers and if we were to have moved to Utah you were only allowed two dogs and they had to be quiet no neusence to your neighbors! If you watched the reveal you would have heard our dogs barking that night when the crew got close to the house and our  "natural alarm system" went off LOL!

I understand that most people can't afford to take the houses that they do build and that is why they build them in places like they do ... they have agreements with the developer to buy the houses if the winner doesn't take it!

HGTV wrote an article back in 2006 I believe explaining most of this to the public ... that they themselves didn't expect people to actually take possession of the homes? I guess the upkeep and taxes alone would be such a burden "I think when we considered it ... my total income of my pension would have went for the taxes on the new home" LOL I'd had to have gone back to work! LOL not a bad idea really when you think about where you were living and what in at the time!

We both wonder today ... what our lives might have been like if we could have taken it but we know we'll be happy now given the opportunity to build our own dream home thanks to HGTV!

Best of luck to the new winners again ... so much to take in ... take your time ... and I pray they're lives aren't upside down at the time like ours were!

Thank you! Yes we sure were blessed ... actually Vicki had a plate made for her Terrain that says right out there on front "I'm Blessed"

LOL ... LOL ... I told most people that I knew who the winner was but they'd have to watch the reveal on TV=C2=A0 to find out and I'm guessing most people where blown away when they did watch .... since I told them if they didn't they'd like really regret it! Oh it was a blast !

Hey Bee ... good morning to you too ... a little late here I'm afraid 9:04 pm now (been working on the apartment all day) ... Well Vicki has about 2300 miles on the Terrain now ... we only take it to breakfast & church on Sundays and she takes it once in a while shopping but is so afraid that someone is going to hurt it LOL!

Vicki ( didn't ) retire ... she however did cut down to three days from five ... but now she might start working for another store on her days off at the Latrobe one!

I'm working on the Garage apartment yet ... I got all the T&G ceilings up and am working on the false beams right now ... then I want to get all the trim work done in between putting in the kitchen cabinets that came Wednesday ... then they can start working on making the counter top that is suppose to be done in 21 days from the order ... I have all the T&G to paint yet ... oh and did I mention I have all the plumbing to do yet "That's all" All in good time ... oh and did I mention this week has been crazy for computer work "don't forget I have that little business on the side" I do it mainly to save people on these ridiculous prices that these places charge to fix them "my hobby" An Out of Hand Hobby Vicki called it! so I named it that for tax purposes! LOL!

So when I take a breath or two I promise to send you a few more pictures ... actually I am going to do a power point presentation so you get a real feel of where we are and just what it all looks like!

Thanks as always Bee ... you are one of a kind!

Well nothing here has really changed other than not much stress as before the winning "for my wife" I had already retired a couple months prior to her winning along with some other things happening in my life that took a bunch of stress from my life so other than the Humble feelings we have as being so fortunate our lives haven't changed ... oh wait ... one other thing is the fact that we are able to help our kids and some other friends out now and somewhat secure a retirement for the wife. "That's all" LOL!

That's funny ... my wife wanted the Arcadia instead of the Terrain ... I was thinking is that why they made it the Arcadia this year? Oh and no you have to take the vehicle that they are advertizing at the time of course as I mentioned you get to order the color and all the options you want as long as you keep it in the $ range of the one they our offering ... which is practically the top of the line if not ... HGTV doesn't fool around ... they go out for the consumer 110% "Thank you HGTV" as always!