06/24/2026
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade… preferably with a side of chaos, family hugs, extra patience, and a whole lot of prayer 🤗
Two months ago I got my car in for a leak. They fixed it only two days before our trip, less than 24 hours after being repaired, my engine light comes on. Apparently the part that cools the engine now needs replaced too (it was just replaced — only a year old!).
Let the lemonade-making begin. We were already packed, so we said a prayer and hit the road anyway. My car did great……..
What was going to be a trip to Shelton, Washington to see my sister 🫶 and family turned into a long, beautiful, slightly wild adventure. One niece got married on the way up!
In Shelton we had us, 2 of our kids, nieces, nephews, great-niece, great-nephew, and my two sisters (one from Lacey, one from Arizona). It’s been a long time since we were all together. I even got to meet my niece I’d never met before — she is beautiful 🥰 Instant heart-melt.
As we headed home, the front tire flew off my son’s car right before the Columbia River bridge. Literally a mile before. We are so very thankful it did not fly off on that bridge!
Triple A got it to a repair shop, and the driver found us one when everyone else was weeks out.
So now we had 4 passengers, 2 dogs, and a cat — plus all our stuff — crammed into my Blazer in Long Beach, Washington. This was the first of many challenges we came across. To say we were being tested was an understatement ❤️🔥
We faced an unprecedented heat wave with no air conditioning in any housing that we found (this is a must, y’all 🤣).
I accidentally deep-fried my arm making fish tacos 🔥. Lost phones (then tracked them down like a detective). Broke my glasses, got new ones… and lost them within 24 hours. Classic.
Things we learned in Washington:
- Long Beach has great food and the longest beach in the world… but no seashells or rocks 😂
- Cats are easy to travel with but hard to find lodging
- We explored everything and everywhere and never found a rock.
- Learned lots of patience 🤭 and how to fit in small spaces because all housing was filled due to the World Cup
While we were all okay, we were definitely out of our comfort zone. But we made it through together.
We are home and open and thankful beyond measure 🙏 ❤️ 🙌
Photo drop coming — we definitely saw beauty all around us, even in the middle of the lemon storm. Life doesn’t always go according to plan, but it sure delivers the important stuff: family, love, laughter, and memories that stick.
Who else has turned a “simple” trip into a full survival story? Drop your tales below — I need the solidarity! 😂🫶
