Twice is right 'Price'

People dream of going on “The Price is Right” and winning a car.

When you’re the Kuenzel family, you get to dream twice.

“I was jumping up and down and so excited that it was really happening,” a joyful Rachel Kuenzel said Wednesday after winning two cars on the program.

Kuenzel, who graduated from Lakeland High School in 2004 and grew up in North Idaho, was sworn to secrecy about the big win until the episode aired Tuesday.

“It’s so awesome,” she said. “I don’t keep secrets very well, so it was really hard to keep that secret from the whole family. It feels really good to be able to share the excitement with everybody.”

Kuenzel, 32, was on an email list for On-Camera Audiences, an audience casting company, when she received news about a youth week at “The Price is Right.” Her 5-year-old son, Ronan, adores the show and watched it every day in his hospital room when he underwent a bone marrow transplant in 2014.

The producers of the show adored him back, because he won them over during auditions.

“The producer asked my son, ‘So Ronan, what do you like to do for fun?’ and he said, ‘I like to spin the big wheel,’” Rachel said with a laugh. “He is a little charmer and he has super big energy, so it went to his favor that day.”

Ronan wore a shirt that read, “Drew got me through my transplant” while his mom’s shirt read, “Ronan’s wish is to meet Drew.”

That wish came true when the family heard the words: “Rachel and Ronan Kuenzel, come on down! You’re the next contestants on ‘The Price is Right!’”

“My mind kind of went blank,” Kuenzel said. “You’re super excited and you’re just elated; you just don’t even know at that time. To be picked was surreal.”

Rachel’s husband, Dylan, cheered for his family from the audience as Rachel brought Ronan with her up to the stage.

“He was so excited, he just wanted to meet Drew. He was over the moon,” Rachel said. “Drew was extremely nice. He’s hilarious; during the commercial breaks he talks to everyone in the audience too, so he’s very personable.”

Rachel beat the other contestants on her very first bid, winning the chance to play “Lucky Seven,” a pricing game played with seven $1 bills to win a car.

“I was kind of nervous because I watch that one a lot and I see a lot of people lose at it,” she said.

It was her lucky day, because — with Ronan’s help — she guessed very near the price of the 2018 kinetic blue Chevy Sonic, with two dollars to spare.

“Everyone wants to go on and win a car, and the fact that I actually did, I can’t even describe,” she said. “I felt surprised and blessed.”

Rachel and Ronan went on to spin the big wheel, again beating the other contestants to participate in the big showcase at the end of the show.

Rachel bid $29,000 on the first showcase, which included a 2018 Volkswagen Jetta, a bounce house and a trip to New York City with accommodations and Broadway tickets.

She was under price by less than $1,000, while the other contestant was off by about $13,000. Rachel won that second car, and a nice slice of the American Dream to go with it.

“We were so extremely blessed that day,” Rachel said. “What’s even cooler is every person that went up that day won their game, so all of the families got to go home with something. It was a positive experience.”

“It was awesome watching them win and light up,” Dylan said.

Rachel said because they have three children, they’ll be trading in the new cars for something a little bigger — a Dodge Challenger, her dream car.

“I’m super excited that we’ve been given this opportunity,” Rachel said. “It was definitely awesome to receive this blessing from the show.”

“The Price is Right” airs weekdays at 10 a.m. on CBS. Check out clips from the show featuring Ronan and Rachel at https://mobile.twitter.com/PriceIsRight.