The end of the Road!!!

Well folks - our long journey is coming to an end. We should be arriving home around 6:00 tonight. So far, our trip home has been quiet and steady. About 30 minutes ago, a truck kicked up a rock that chipped our windshield. 3700 + miles & two windshield cracks, one tire blow-out - but it's been a great trip.

A special thanks to all the friends & family that entertained us. We had a blast everywhere we went. We are so thankful that we have you in our lives.

We love You

The Volosin Family

Blair!

On Tuesday night - we drove to Blair, OK and met several of our friends and relatives for dinner. Rob & Cindy Boyd were leaving that night for a family vacation - so we met them for a pre-dinner ice cream. They have three adorable kids. Then at 7:30 we went over to Pizza Hut and met up with Gary, Cheryl & Jessica Edwards, Teresa, Dalton, Faith & Brailee Scott, and Paula Wiley. After Billy's tragic death, I was worried about Teresa and her kids - but they seem to be doing really well. Dalton is so much like Billy - it's crazy. It took me back to when Billy and Teresa were dating (when Billy was a crazy, talkative cowboy). I have always thought of Teresa as a really strong person - but now I think she is amazing. There was a lot of hospital talk since Cheryl, Paula, Dustin & Nick all work at hospitals. We also found out the exciting news that Jackie is pregnant. We were so grateful that we took the time to stop there and spend a little time.

Texas!!

We arrived in Texas on Saturday evening. It was great to see Claudia and her family. On Sunday we attended their church. They have a wonderful worship team. Their music is amazing. Bailey met a friend - her name is Bailey. (Don't ask me how she always manages to find other Baileys) On Sunday we just vegged. On Monday, Claudia had to work, Nick and Jeff went golfing, and I took Bailey, Sydney & Christian to Dallas to shop. We had a great time at Sam Moon at Harry Hines - and then we went to the Vista Ridge Mall. I was able to finish up the remaining back to school shopping that I needed to do for the girls. Monday night we ate spaghetti and played a couple of games of Nertz. Jansen started his football "hell week" on Monday - so he was totally exhausted. He still managed to whip up on us at cards. We pulled out on Tuesday morning - went to their awesome Christian Bookstore - and picked up the new Hillsong CD/DVD. I called Claudia to tell her we were heading out and she sounded so quiet that we decided we needed to see her again. We picked up lunch and went to the post office. We were able to spend a few more minutes with her.

Our Time in Blanchard, Oklahoma!

We arrived in Blanchard around 3:00 yesterday afternoon. It was so hot that Uncle Lendell & Aunt Cyndi wanted to hang out for a while before we went to Bricktown (Downtown Oklahoma City). We got to tour their gorgeous home.

When we arrived at Bricktown, they were having a regae' festival - so the streets were packed. We ate dinner at Crabtown - a truly cool experience. They put paper over the table and dump seafood, corn, and potatos on it. You just grab it and start in. The food was awesome! After dinner, we took the water taxi through the downtown riverwalk area. We walked through Bass Pro (a huge hunting & gaming store) and the girls were able to take target practice. On the way home, Uncle Lendell drove us by some of the rescue missions that he has worked with.

After arriving home around 11:00 p.m. - Aunt Cyndi and I decided to just visit for a while. We hit the sack around 3:30 a.m.

Today - we took their boat down to the lake and swam and tubed all day. Jonathon, Tamara and their kids met us there in the afternoon - we were so glad we got to spend a little bit of time with them. The girls had a blast being pulled by the boat. It's even fun when you get thrown off. (Jonathon will pay! ) The highlight of the day was me and Aunt Cyndi getting riding on the tube. I probably won't be able to move tomorrow - and we are burnt to a crisp.

Oh well - a blast was had by all - Onward to Texas!!!

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Onward to Oklahoma!

We are on the road heading to Blanchard, OK. (Which is just outside of Oklahoma City) The girls were sad to leave Kansas, since they had so much fun....but we've got so many more people to see. Yesterday Uncle Bryan took Nick golfing and the girls took a hike on their land. (450 acres) It kind of freaked them out - lots of spiders, bugs, weird noises, etc. Hannah even took them to the cow burial ground (the place they throw the dead cows - and coyotes eat them. They said the ground is covered in cow bones) :) Bailey was certain that they were in poison ivy at one point - but so far no rash. Both nights we were there, Tara took the kids to a big youth conference in Antioch. They really enjoyed that. ("so many hot guys!!!") Bailey met one on Tuesday night - and he started texting her on Wednesday. I guess that's what happens when you hang around Hannah...she is quite the "hot guy" magnet!! They said they also got a lot out of the services.

Our tire was repaired by a travelling tire shop - so that was very convenient and cool. Hopefully we do not have any more car trouble.

Finally in Kansas!

This morning we slept in due to our late arrival at the hotel. Our drive was without incident - so we arrived here around 3:30 p.m. We were so excited to see Uncle Brian, Aunt Tammy, Tara & Hannah. They are as wild and crazy as ever. It has been 4 years since we have seen them - but it only took Sydney about 10 minutes to get over her shyness. The girls swam, checked out an abandoned house, and entertained us most of the evening.

Nick loves coming to Kansas - my uncle keeps him laughing. He is even talking about coming out in April for the Big Roundup. Talk about "City Slickers"!!

Tara came home from college a couple of days early so that she could see us - and we are so glad she did - she is as gorgeous as ever - and a total blast. We enjoyed catching up on her life now that she is an adult and getting ready to enter into her career as a teacher.

Hannah is adorable. She is very athletic, so we got to hear all about her sporting events and all the boys in her life. Evidently, she is so good at Basketball, she practices with the high school varsity team.

Bailey is finally coming out of her quietness a little bit - so we'll see what tomorrow holds for her. Once Aunt Tammy started talking about the cute boys - she perked right up.

2nd Day of Travel

Well - our second day on the road has been wild. Things started out well - having a quick breakfast at Denny's, then getting on the road. Around 2:30 we are driving through Parachute, Colorado, where the weather was a cool 85 degrees. Miss Bailey asked to roll her window down and when she did - we heard this loud roar - like a large vehicle passing us on the right side - but nothing was there. Nick slowed down a little bit and then our car started shaking. We quickly realized that our tire had blown out. We were able to get off the road and park under an underpass. Everyone was a little shaky when we finally got stopped - but so thankful that we were okay. We called roadside assistance and within two hours we were back on the road.

I am so thankful that Bailey asked to roll down her window at exactly that time. We had been driving at a good speed (blasting Hillsong) so we could not hear a thing in the car. So grateful for the great hand of protection that is over us.

We are still on the road making up the lost time and will hopefully arrive at our hotel destination in about 1.5 hours. It is storming pretty bad. Bailey is a little bit nervous. We forget how awesome Cally weather is until we get into the other states. There is lightning everywhere and it is raining really hard.