Wow. I blinked and my time on the World Race ended.
Many of you who have been following me around the world maybe wondering what I’ve been up to and what’s next on my agenda. So, in a two part series, I hope to fill you in on all the excitement! This first part is all about where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing [mainly through pictures] from the time I stepped off the plane on June 22, 2018 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to about Mid-August.
enJOY!
I spent the first couple of days back in America at the beach with my teammate Melissa. We relaxed and soaked up the rays in St. Augustine, FL and visited with her family in Jacksonville, FL. She took me to all her favorite local spots. It was a great to unwind and recharge… I mean look at that view! A huge thank you to Melissa’s momma and daddy! I will be back!
I left sunny Florida and flew to Evansville, IN, where my parents live. They greeted me at the airport with flowers and a balloon! While I was gone, I left them in charge of caring for and keeping my two pups alive. They survived [the dogs and my parents ha!] and we had such a sweet reunion full of kisses! Look they are both smiling.
I spent a few days going through boxes and realized I have way too much stuff. We enjoyed fireworks with my brother, since you know… America, God bless it… 4th of July!
I left Indiana the day before actual 4th of July and made my way to Tulsa, OK. My first time back in Oklahoma since July 2017. I really should have kissed the ground. Anyway, first, I got to visit with my Aunt Susan and my Grandmother. They listened to me for hours and looked through about 823,512 pictures from my trip.
Then I spent time with my girl Nicole, her littles, and Josh of course. Her youngest baby, Lennyn, was born just a few weeks after I left last August, so I finally got to meet her! We swam and watched probably the best fireworks show I’ve ever seen.
My time in Oklahoma was short lived, as I headed next for Branson, MS to meet up with my cousin Anna, her husband Chantry, her sweet boys and her grandma! Anna laugh cried when we hugged. Wow… what a trip. We rode the duck boats and stuffed our faces at Dixie Stampede. Not bad for my first time in Branson!
I made my way back to Oklahoma and finally made it HOME to Chickasha! Me and the gal pals woke up very early before church one morning to take some pictures at the beautiful sunflower patches in Amber.
I spent the week catching up with family and friends, just sharing the ups and downs of our lives over the past year. I got to see my Aunt Leslie and my Aunt Lela Sarah and of course swimming [or rather pool lounging] with Aunt Nancy was in order…
…and so was a ride in Shanna’s little red convertible!
After a wonderful week in OK, I continued my road trip journey up to Colorado to visit MORE FRIENDS and for my 10 year high school class reunion! I don’t even know how that’s possible. On the way, I stopped in Wichita to have lunch with sweet, sweet Kricket and her lovely momma!
Colorado Springs will always be home for me and hold a very special place in my heart. It’s where I was born and raised, spending 18 years of my life there. I got to stay nearly a week with my longest standing best friend, Taylor, and her family. They are just like my own!
During my visit to Colorado, I got to spend some time with my dear friend Carey! We’ve been friends for over 10 years now. Although physical distance has kept us apart, we’ve managed to stay in touch over the years and pick things right back up. It was so great catching up on where the Lord has taken us over the last decade of our lives!
I took a quick trip up to Denver to stay the night with my cousins Matt and Amanda and their kids and then my cousin Mike took me to a delicious breakfast the next morning. [Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to take any photos!] BUT, I did get to meet up with my squad-mate COBERG9 and had so much fun just chatting and catching up on all things PWR [Post World Race!] I can’t wait to celebrate his big day with Taylor next summer!
For months, I was determined to hike Pike’s Peak either all the way up Barr Trail, or just up the Incline. So, after making it back down to Colorado Springs, I decided climbing all the way up the Peak wasn’t really realistic for me this time, so I trudged up the [more or less] 2,800 steep steps!
Those views though!
My main reason in visiting Colorado [besides seeing all my dearly beloved friends and family] was for my 10 year high school class reunion… WHHHAATTT!?!?!? So yeah, that happened. I’m old. And here are two of my friends and classmates, Connor and Amanda… sophomore English class.. HOLLA!
Like I said, Colorado will always be home to me. One of my absolute favorite things about this place are hands down the out of this world gorgeous mountain views! [see picture below, ha!] I drove around all week trying to capture the best view of Pike’s Peak. I know of a few great lookout spots, but this one just happens to from my elementary school. I mean, COME ON JESUS!
I left Colorado and spent nearly 2 full days driving back east across the country. I stopped in Kansas City and had dinner with my cousin Anne and her family had a brief over night stay back with my parents and then made my way to Gainesville, GA for a week long stay for Project Search Light [PSL] with about half of my X Squad peeps! It was a glorious reunion with the people I had the absolute privilege and honor of growing to loving the past year. Gosh I love them so much!
The sessions and break outs were awesome, really geared towards taking all that we’ve learned and experienced through the World Race and looking forward to apply all those things for the rest of our lives! A few of us got to lead a worship set one morning!
My girls!!!! My Abiding Azar girls [minus our fearless Burt]! Wow, the love I have in my heart for these 5! We got together to have dinner at Mellow Mushroom to commemorate our very first day of being a team at the same restaurant [and same table, no less!] we visited back during our training camp [on my BIRTHDAY! June 14, 2017]. Wow, just wow. These women have continued to surrender their lives, each in a unique way, in pursuit of sharing the love of Christ with those around them.
After leaving Georgia, my next stop was in Chattanooga, TN to see my teammates Derek and Bethany! They took me to their favorite brunch spot, shopped around at a few local shops [including a super cool vintage thrift store!], we walked across a cool bridge, ate ice cream and trekked up to Lookout Mountain [drove, we did not hike, ha]. Check out this view of the Tennessee River. I got an American history lesson about the Civil War from Derek.
A huge thank you to Derek’s parents for opening up their home to me! It was so fun to meet them finally in person after all the months of saying hey over FaceTime! Early in 2019, Derek and Bethany will be moving to Sombor, Serbia to be missionaries with their month 1 host. If you would like to keep up with their journey and/or join their support team, click here!
Before leaving PSL in Georgia, Bethany asked me if I wanted to come stay a few days with her at her sister’s house in Washington Court House, OH. She said the invitation was open and I was welcome to stay as long as I’d like! So, naturally, I was like Y-E-SSSSSS!! Thanks Joy and Nathan for opening your home up to me!!!!! [Joy was one of THE most encouraging people to me while I was on the field. She commented on every one of my blogs and with her, I knew I had someone in my corner routing for me every step of the way, even though we’d never met!] It was such a relaxing few days. So great to have nothing planned and nothing on the agenda. We made tapioca balls, had a bonfire, and walked to get ice cream in the pouring rain, just to name a few highlights!
I haven’t colored my hair since 2012, but for some reason felt the need to put PINK in my hair, ha! Of course, my girl Betty was up for the job.
TA-DA!
I asked Bethany if she wanted to come with even further up north for a few days to visit our Squad Leader JulesRules90 in Indiana and Burt in Michigan. And of course [AGAIN], she was up for it! We drove on what seemed like every back road in Ohio and saw the most horse and buggy carts I’ve ever seen in my life! We arrived at Julie’s to homemade cookies and such sweet hospitality by her and her awesome parents! We walked around downtown, went to a craft fair, and lounged by the pool. Love you Reusser Family!
Bethany and I had another day to kill before heading to the Mitten, so we decided to stop by her hometown, Toledo, OH. We went to church, had lunch with her mom, brother and grandma, and then I got the grand tour of the city and the University of Toledo. It was fun to see Betty’s old stomping grounds. Thank you, thank you to the Grayczyk Family!
Then, it was finally time for Michigan! It was my first time to visit the mitten and it did not disappoint! We stayed in the Dykstra cottage right on Lake Michigan. Burt had all of our favorite snacks and her parents came over for dinner. Gosh it was great… I will be back!
Burt took us on the tour of Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan via sea doo. We laughed so, so hard. My first time driving a jet ski was a 10/10! Lake life for life!
Tubing. The absolute most thrilling/fearing for my life moment of my life. Period. Ha! We had so much while Burt’s dad pulled us around. I’m pretty sure I never stopped screaming bloody murder. I did NOT want to fall off and I’m proud to say, I never did. I was in the middle and just kept drifting back and forth over the waves crashing into Bethany and then into Brittany. It was pretty funny!
We left Michigan just as quick as we came! We drove back to Ohio and I got to stay one more night with Joy and Nathan before leaving for Asheville, NC! I got to stay with my very dear to my heart friend, Katie! We’ve became friends in our awkward middle school days, remained close through our college days in Oklahoma, and stayed that way during the ups and downs of #adulting. Katie and her husband Nick got married while I was on the Race. It was a bummer not to be there, but I loved getting to see their new house, spend time catching up, and of course, hiking! Katie’s mom, Neicie, was also in town visiting, so great to see her! Somehow we managed to NOT TAKE ANY PICTURES!!! URGH. I have no idea how that happened. Next time!
I did get to see my brother Paul’s family while in North Carolina before all of us [except for my nephew Shadrach and his girlfriend Starh] met my parents and other brother, Eric, in Spencer, TN. We got together to celebrate my dad’s retirement and my parent’s anniversary! Here’s the [nearly] whole Rollow crew!
We spent the day hiking at Fall Creek Falls State Park. We made it all the way down to the bottom of the falls and swam a little in the pool. It was not for the faint of heart, going down or coming back up, but we made it!
It was the first time me and my brothers had been all together since like Christmas of 2014 or something like that. We for sure don’t look related, do we?!
I’ll end this thing with this adorable picture of my mom and dad because without them, I wouldn’t be here today, but really! I took this picture of them on the day after their 44th anniversary. I did best my best to capture some candid moments on our last day together before heading back to Oklahoma to stay and I think this picture pretty much sums up their life and their marriage.. so filled and overflowing with JOY! Can I just say, I love this picture! I can’t help but smile when I look at it. Mom and Dad I love you both so much! Thank you for everything you’ve instilled in me, everything you’ve allowed me to learn for myself, your example of humility and serventhood, and for your never ending love and support!
Wow. If you’ve made it to the end, CONGRATS! Ha, but really, thanks for your time investment and interest in my life. As you saw, my life has been all over the place [literally] in June, July and August. I drove over 7,000 miles in 7 weeks! Crazy, I know. But don’t worry, things did finally settle down for me [well mostly].
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 OF MY NEXT Y-E-S TO SEE WHAT’S IN STORE FOR ME IN 2019!!
