A F-oil-ed Trip

Our trip to Mouth Saint Helens was a bit of a bust.  

Our Plan:

1.  Short hike and viewpoint 

2. Check into cabin

3. Ape Caves hike (Mom stays at the cabin while Dad, Tyson and Summer do the caves-aprox. 2 hrs)

4.  Dinner at campsite (walking tacos)

5. Bed

Next day...

1.  Breakfast (made at camp--eggs and sausage)

2. 1 hour hike (lava canyon) 

3.  Shorter lava caves

4. Head home

Mike had originally planned a third day to go to the other side of the mountain where there is a visitors center and better views of the volcano, but since Tyson was only home for 6 day and my knee was still bad, he shortened the trip.

Well, this is how our trip went:

1.  Short hike and viewpoint

2.  Discover our car was rapidly dripping oil (we hit a big bump in the road that poked a hole right through our oil pan, so it was dripping A LOT)

3. Drive to the nearest gas station and see what we could do to fix this hole--duct tape didn't work (this is a tiny town, we were lucky we were so close to the only gas station)

4.  The guy at the gas station was super helpful.  He called the only mechanic in town (who was also luckily just 2 mins away) and he dropped everything to help us out.  He plugged up the hole with a screw and thought that would last us for the next few days (and our trip home).

5.  Mike and the kids still managed to make it to their 3:30pm cave hike.

6.  Instead of 2 hours, the hike took them FOUR hours.  When they got back to the car, there was a group of people writing a note and calling a tow truck because the car was leaking so much oil.

7.  I was back at camp, worried sick.  They finally made it back at 7:45pm--without calling the tow truck.

8.  We decided to call it quits and head home in the morning.

9.  We made it home, stopping every hour to check and add oil.

10.  $800 later, the oil pan is fixed.

Another adventure under our belts, I guess.  We are grateful it wasn't worse, but this means we may have to head back to Mount Saint Helens!

Summer and Tyson have such a cute relationship:)

Our one view of Mount Saint Helens the entire trip haha

Our cute cabin--with AC and electricity!

I had a lot of alone time to unpack and set up.  

Thank goodness the cabin also had wifi:)

Sleeping buddies

We were there too:) The best night sleep "camping" ever!

WA Bucket List Item--Check

 I can't believe it took 12 years for us to get to Mt. Rainer--especially since it's only 2.5 hrs away!  It wasn't ideal to go with a hurt knee, but we did it anyways (that seems to be my mantra this summer).  It was breathtaking.  We did 4 kid-friendly (seriously super short and super easy) hikes and each one was unique and beautiful.  The beauty made up for our horrible night sleep (all of us except dad) and the super pricey restaurant we ate at in the park.  Pictures just don't do it justice, but they'll try.

I made her pose like this:)

Just trees, but so pretty

The wildflowers were unreal

The rainbow though...

Found this trail just outside our campground

An air mattress with a generator is the way to go!

Our cute campsite

Maybe we'll get back there in another 12 years haha.

Twilight is Timeless...Apparently

The night before Kya left for her bachelorette party at Jordan's, she and 2 of her bridesmaids who were staying at our house (Taylor and Emme) decided to watch Twilight.  Summer didn't want to be left out, so I watched it with them and made Summer close her eyes during any scary parts.  Little did I know this would start a year-long obsession with Twilight:)

First was the constant begging to watch the first movie again and again and again. 

Then it was begging to show her friends the first movie.

Then it turned into begging to watch the second movie.

Then the third.

After the third movie, I put my foot down.  I told Summer the 4th movie was too mature for her.  She struck up a deal while Jordan was over (that I swear I was tricked into) that if she read the entire 4th book, she could watch the last two movies.  The last book was 754 pages, and Summer hates reading...I felt pretty safe.

Here we are the last week of July 2025, almost a full year since Summer watched the first movie.  She finished the entire book and we just watched the last two movies.  I did skip a couple "mature" parts but we watched them.  

Now the obsession will be over, right?!

North Carolina

 Our first trip to NC to visit Kya and Clayton!  

Summer and I were just going to go on our own, but we decided it would be more fun to fly Tyson out from Provo too.  We did so many things (even with my bum knee), I'm not sure what is left for next time we visit haha.  

I really hate flying, but it easier with this cutie:)  We couldn't believe how hot and humid it was when we walked out of the airport!

We went to this crazy mini gold place that had fun games/challenges at every hole.  Summer loved the one where you ride a zipline swing and try to drop the ball in the hole.  I liked the giant ring/hook game and the school bus!

Here are the kids on the bus

Kya gave us a tour of her middle school (where she teaches) and her new classroom.  It's still crazy to me that she is a teacher!!

We LOVED hanging out at Kya and Clayton's apartment pool.  There were never many people there, the water was the perfect temperature, it was always warm outside (except when it started pouring rain...although I guess it was still hot haha), and we could even grill our dinner there!

We went to the farmer's market...it was awesome but soooo hot!

We stopped by the Raleigh temple--it was tiny. 

The gardens at the temple were so beautiful.  Raleigh had these pink trees everywhere and I had never seen them before, so we looked them up and they are called Crepe Murtle. So pretty.

Clayton took Tyson to this super popular/highly rated disc golf course

I got to try Andy's Custard!  

Clayton was disappointed when I didn't think it was "life-changing" haha.  

It was super good though--yum.

A little Top Golf

Duke University (Chapel and Gardens)

Felt a little like we were in Europe

I felt like I couldn't truly enjoy the gardens because it was so hot and my knee was in such rough shape.  I would love to go back in the spring sometimes once my knee is healed.

Toured the Battle Ship NC--this was amazing!

Spent an entire day at Wrightsville Beach.  Summer didn't love the waves and salt water at first, but it didn't take long before she was body surfing and having the time of her life.  The water and sand were just perfect.

Everyone got a little sunburnt even though we kept applying the sunscreen.

We ended the day fishing off the dock and watching the sunset.

We ended the trip with a downpour just before we got on the plane.  While we were waiting to take off I snapped this photo of a rainbow and sent it in the family group chat.  Clayton responded with his own rainbow picture at their house...the same rainbow.  It's hard to live so far away from those we love.  I am grateful that we are able to visit and I cherish these memories that we make together.

Until next time...

I'm Next...

Tina is FIFTY!!!

We drove up to Canada for the entire weekend to celebrate...and I only took 2 pictures!

We went to Bard on the Beach, Hayward Lake, dinner, and an after party at Tina's.

It was a perfect way to celebrate my sister who I love so much.  

Super rainy at Bard on the Beach

Hayward Lake with the Leavitt clan

I made this photo collage for Tina's party 

(I made them for Sheri and Lisa for their 50ths too)

There are so many cute pictures of Tina and I together over the years.  I am so grateful to have her as my sister and friend.  There's nothing like those times when we get silly and hyper and laugh until we can barely breath.  Love you Tina!

A Pain in the neck...I mean stomach...I mean knee

 This past year has been a bit of a struggle with my body.  After Kya's wedding was over and Summer went back to school last fall, I was excited to get back on track with exercising.  I joined Orange Theory (gym) and started strong.  Unfortunately, by the end of October, I was having pretty constant, unusual stomach issues.  I am no stranger to stomach issues (I've been struggling since Tyson was born 19 years ago), but this seemed different, and more constant.  I finally went to the doctor in November and he sent me to a specialist...only I had to wait until January for a phone appointment.  The specialist scheduled an endoscopy and colonoscopy...for the end of April.  I was kind of crushed.  I was making myself crazy thinking I had stomach cancer (I had read my Grandma's history that said her father died of stomach cancer when he was 45), and I was just not feeling well every day. I didn't know how I could make it to April...especially since we had a Vegas trip planned and a trip to Idaho for graduation.

Somehow I made it to my procedure and all the results came back normal.  I was relieved, but still confused.  Miraculously my stomach pain seemed to diminish...and then go away entirely.  I started to wonder how much of this was in my head and how much was in my stomach ugh.  Frustrating.

Well, I had a good few weeks where I felt great.  Relief and healthy.  Then one day, my knee buckled and I couldn't walk.  This happened 2 more times before I went to urgent care.  Anyways...to make a long story short.  I've been going to PT for 2 months for what the doctor thought was a patella traction issue, but I just saw a specialist this week who thinks it's a torn meniscus.  I have an MRI on Tuesday.

I feel like this entire year has been robbed from me--especially my summer.  I got a bike and a paddle board for my birthday that I haven't been able to use yet.  We went to Mt. Rainer and I could barely do the kid-friendly hikes.  I am just in pain all the time.  I am grateful that I have an MRI scheduled and I don't have to wait long.  Hopefully answers and solutions are on the way.

Same knee, different day :/