Defeated.

It's the freakin' weekend baby, I'm about to have me some fun.

Or so we thought.

Sunday night is our Friday night, for those of you who aren't privy to the canyony life we live out here. And this Sunday night is special....because it's the beginning of a 3, count 'em 3, day weekend. We had to work on good ol' Martin Luther King day so we get our comp day this Wednesday.

The ladies and I hopped in the car and hit the road at about 5pm on this rainy Sunday evening. Just about 2 hours ago...we were on our way to Spokane, Washington..or as some would call it, Spokompton. There were beautiful plans of midnight milkshakes at Sharis, quad bike explorations in the hills of Deer Park, pottery painting at Polka Dot, and quality time with Papa Schultz. But alas, Papa Jesus had some other plans in store.

Let's roll back the clock a little...

It's mid afternoon.

It's raining.

And when it's raining down here, it normally means there is snow at the top of property.

Snow=bad.

So some balmy qualms start to set in about 5 hrs ago while the interns are hard at work...turning over camp from the Family Worship Center camp that has just left. It's 2:30 in the afternoon when we start hearing frantic calls over the radio about how three buses have gone off the road on the way out of camp. Gone off the road, meaning they're hanging out in a ditch. Stuck. Can't get out. Muddled words are murmured among the interns.

We've heard stories about camps getting snowed in. If they can't get out, they have to come back in.

Do you know what that means?!

We have to feed them. We have to house them. We have to entertain them.

Utterly unexpectedly.

Muddled words are muttered among the interns. It's our Friday night, and there's a potential catastrophe in our midst.

All that to say, the buses made it out.

Rolling forward to 5 pm. We are off work. The camp didn't get snowed in. And now it's our turn to try and make it out to civilization.

As much as I despise driving during any sort of uncertain conditions, I decided to drive the first leg of the journey, little did I know how short that stubby leg would be.

It's still raining as we drive out of camp. And about 15 minutes in, it's snowing. We get to the treacherous hill that leads to the "top of property" and I look at Krista for affirmation. "Should I take the truck route, or should I try the hill?"

"I think you can make it up the hill. You just have to give it more gas. You need enough momentum but don't give it too much gas so that your tires spin out."

So I go for it. It legitimately takes all the courage I have within me to attempt trying to make it up this snowy mountain, considering I've lost control of my car twice in the past and almost threw up both times, and my body seizes up with paranoia at the hint of snow or ice on the road.

So this is huge.

I make it about halfway up and then I start sliding. I freak out. Stop the car. And tell/demand that Krista drive the rest of the way. We grab the chains out of my trunk, the ones my dad gave me that he recovered from deep in his scrap shack behind the house.

Krista and I attempt to put them on...while Ashley and Sonia hang out in the warmth of my backseat. We try unsuccessfully to strap em on for about 10 minutes, when here come The Wagners. All 6 of them. And I think there might have been some cousins or other friends along for the ride.

They're on their way into town to go to church, when they happen upon us, stuck on the side of a mountain, helplessly trying to out chains on my tires.

I hate the snow.

Lance Wagner gets out of the car and for a merciless 40 minutes, attempts to help us put the snow chains on. Either one of my tires has elephantiasis and is grossly larger than the other one, or one of my snow chains is crippled and can't fully extend it's limbs. Regardless of the affliction, one of my chains doesn't fit the tire. And we tried relentlessly to make it work, only to bow down in defeat an hour later.

I'm sure the Wagners missed their church service. Krista is going to miss her tattoo appointment. I'm nearly missing some fingers due to frostbite. And what did we gain from this debacle?

1. Make sure both your snow chains fit properly before there's snow on the ground.

2. Don't leave home without a flashlight.

3. Make sure you always have chips present, for times of great emotional stress.

4. And when all else fails, turn the music up really loud and dance in the rain...or snow.

And now we're back home...disconsolate, but safe.

But it's still the freakin' weekend...and I'm determined to have me some fun.