End of the Year Update

Hi everyone! 

Happy holidays! 

Tyler and I were just talking about how this season is flying by. We can’t believe it’s already Christmas and we will be into the new year in less than 2 weeks. Time has definitely gone by faster than recent seasons, probably because Carter is older and keeping us more and more busy by the day. I am a little nervous for January though! Time always seems to drag by in January once the excitement of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas have passed. Hopefully we can find things to do to keep the season moving right along and, in turn, be able to soon count down the days until we are home! 

  

Tyler’s team has been doing great in both their Italian league and international league. I mentioned in my last blog post that they were moving on to the next round in their international league and this time their group includes teams from Cyprus, Netherlands and another Italian team.  I told Tyler I will be jealous if he ends up on a beautiful, warm beach in Cyprus! Tyler has a game on Christmas Day, which isn’t exactly ideal. But thankfully it is a home game so at least he will not be traveling. Overall, basketball has been good and hoping it continues! 

We got to take a weekend trip at the beginning of the month as Tyler finally had a few days off. It is so tempting to just relax and spend time together at home when he has time off. Tyler is constantly on the go so just being able to relax with him when he has time off is so nice. But we knew we should really take advantage of the time as he may not get more than one day off in a row for the rest of the season. Yes, he works at least 6 days a week, sometimes more and it can sometimes be a couple weeks+ before he gets an entire day off. So we decided to take a trip to Florence as neither of us have ever been. I am so happy we took the trip. It was so nice to get away and Florence is beautiful. We had some great food (had the most amazing, *authentic* American breakfast/brunch at a cute little cafe!) , took the train to Pisa to snap some pics at the leaning tower, and stayed at hotel with a pool (not so common in Europe!) so that Carter could go swimming. It was the perfect, little, refreshing getaway. 

Well, that’s about all I have for now! I just wanted to get a little update in before the end of the year. Carter is starting to really understand Christmas and it is so much fun. I can’t wait to watch his little face while he opens his presents on Christmas morning! 

Wishing everyone a very, merry Christmas and a happy new year! 

An Overdue Update

Hi everyone! 

This post is long overdue! I have been meaning to write this for 2+ months and somehow it always gets pushed off. So here I am writing this today so that I can get it posted ASAP! 

So here we are season 9 (wow! 9 years!) back in Italy with the same team as last year. I left off in my last post about Tyler’s team making it to the playoffs. Unfortunately they lost in the first round but it was an incredible season and I am so proud of Ty and his team. 

We had another great summer back home. As I always say, it flies by way too fast but I know Carter had an absolute blast. We were constantly going places and doing things to keep him busy and of course he loved seeing his grandparents, aunts/uncles and cousins. Carter often talks about his “house in Minnesota” and asks to see pictures and videos from things back home. It breaks my heart a little! I know he misses it so much but I’m already looking forward to another summer of spoiling him with family and fun things to do. 

Even though missing home will be a given, it has been so nice to come back to the same team, same city. I would tell family and friends that even just knowing where the grocery store is and not having to figure out things like that is so helpful. Coming back to something familiar and comfortable when you’re in a foreign country is priceless. We love the city and we are grateful for the team and the management here who helps us with anything and everything that arises outside the basketball court - anything from doctor appointments to fixing a light fixture in the house! 

Since Tyler’s team did so well last season, they qualified for a league that plays all across Europe. So not only does he have his weekly Italian games, but he also has a weekly international game. This is amazing for Ty’s career but also a big adjustment.  He is gone a lot more and although it was a little difficult for me at first, Carter and I are adjusted well and we keep busy to pass the time! Tyler’s team is finishing up their first round of group play in this league and have already qualified for the next round. This round, he traveled to Bulgaria, Hungary and Portugal. I can’t wait wait to see where he will be traveling to next because I think it’s so cool that he gets to go all of these places! 

Ok, I think that is all I really have for a quick  update! We’re doing great, just living our routine overseas life! I promise it won’t take me nearly as long to write my next post! 

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving! We will be celebrating with Tyler’s team here! I can’t wait for the day that we will be able to share it with our family and be home in the US. It’s a blessing to be able to spend holidays with family! Enjoy! 

A Crazy Season

Hey all! This season has been a crazy one (basketball wise). Here’s the scoop!

The first half of the season was ROUGH. I mentioned in my last post from February that they lost so many games by the matter of just a couple of points. There were literally about 8 or 9 games that were that close and we lost.

Every. Single. Time. 

It was, for real, crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was unreal that they lost so many games like that. We ended the first half of the season 4-11.  

FOUR AND ELEVEN guys!!!! And now we are heading to the playoffs! WHAT?!

I also mentioned in my post from February that we were on a little winning steak. The guys had started the second half of the season winning 4 games in a row, beating some top teams in the league. After those 4 wins, we lost 2 in a row. At the point, I thought “Oh, our luck is over.” I figured maybe the guys might win a game here and there, but I never anticipated what was to come! I don’t think anyone would have anticipated it! After those 2 losses, the guys have won 8 in a row. They are 12-2 this second half of the season, with the last regular season game tomorrow. They moved from 13th place (out of 16 teams) to 6th place. 

As most of you know, I came back to the States with Carter at the beginning of April. When we decided that we would be coming home early April, it was way before any of their success was happening. And even though they were winning when I left, they were still in 11th place. Had I known they would be making the playoffs, I probably wouldn’t have left so early. It would be so awesome to be at the playoff games and, of course, be together as a family. I hate having Carter and Ty apart! But we’ve already gotten this far and I’m thankful that I am able to split my time between overseas and home a little more evenly this year. 

This season has been the craziest rollercoaster but so awesome to see them climb from the bottom to now a playoff team! I am so proud of them and regardless of how the playoffs end up, they worked so hard to get there and are so deserving! Tyler has also been having a great season for himself, personally. He has earned weekly MVP of the league 3 Times and has been playing consistently and efficiently. It’s definitely been a top season in his career. 

Playoffs start this weekend and we will be cheering on DaDa! And then we will be counting down the hours until he joins us at home. Then the summer will really begin for us!

I am sure I will keep everyone updated via Facebook. I will also write another blog post to wrap up the season once it is finished! 

Until then! 

Go Varese!!

Life's been GOOD

Hi all! 

Life lately has been good. We got through what seemed like the longest January ever! We saw a meme that said "It literally feels like January 74th" and it made us laugh! It was so true! January CRAWLED by! But February is FLYING by! I can't believe it is already nearing the end of February and it will be March by the end of next week. March has a whole new meaning when we're overseas. It's that first taste of ALMOST being done with the season and summer is just right around the corner come May! You get a little pep in your step and each day gets a little easier knowing it's not too much longer until we will be home in the USA. 

Tyler's team has been doing SO GOOD lately. They had a really rough first half of the season. They lost several games by just 2 or 3 points and the W just never fell our way in those games. It really sucked to see how defeating it must have made the guys feel. But we are now 4 games into the second half of the season and we have won all of them! 3 of the wins were against the top 3 teams in the league. On top of all of that, Tyler got MVP of the week in the league in one of the wins, making it his 2nd time this season earning MVP. Things are looking good around here! 

Tyler had a break last week and we were able to take a little 3 day vacation. We decided to stay close and drove to Verona (2 hours away) and Venice (another hour past Verona). We had never been to Verona before and heard it was a beautiful city. And it really is! I am so happy we went. The city is gorgeous, has a cool coliseum/arena right in the center of the city and it is said to be the place that inspired Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We even got to visit Juliet's balcony on Valentine's Day. I guess we are pretty romantic, right?! 

After spending a night in Verona, we headed to Venice for a couple of nights. In hindsight, Venice probably wasn't the best choice for trying to get around the canals with a toddler and a stroller. It's a lot of bridges/steps and alleyways and it definitely wasn't ideal having to pick up the stroller every five minutes. But I've always wanted to go back to Venice since we visited four years ago and I'm definitely still glad we went. There really isn't anything quite like Venice! We got to see the beauty of the canals and take some cool pictures with Carter. 

We went inland towards another part of Venice called Mestre and we spent a lot of time there over the couple of days. We walked around the city center, ate some great food and hit up a gelato spot twice because it was that good! I also got to meet another basketball wife that lives there from an online Bible study group that we have for overseas basketball wives. It's a group of women that live literally all over the world so it's so cool when we are in the same city and have the chance to meet up. 

My mom is coming to visit in March and will be here for my birthday and Carter's birthday. She will be here in about 2.5 weeks, which is so crazy that we will get to see her so soon after what will be 6 months+ away by the time she gets here. I know she is excited too and probably the most excited to see Carter. ;)

Time is really going to go by fast with March being right around the corner, my mom's visit, and then I plan on going home with Carter the beginning of April. After last season, Tyler and I had a conversation about me splitting my time a little more evenly between home and overseas, doing something more like 7 months overseas/5 months home. Going home in April VS. May literally feels like a world of a difference. Our time home is so precious and getting an extra month-6 weeks home is a huge blessing. I do feel a little guilty leaving Tyler but our time apart is only temporary and he will be home for the summer before we know it. And I am not ashamed to admit that I think it is important for me, personally, to feel like I have a healthy balance between overseas and home. 

Ok, that is all for now! Until next time! Arrivederci! 

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone! 

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed your holidays with friends and family. We were lucky to have Erica and Dan (Tyler’s sister and her husband) out here with us. It made the holidays so much more fun, it was so nice to spend time with them! We got to get out a couple of times (Milan and Como) and they got to see an exciting overtime game (which unfortunately did not end in our favor). It was a busy 10 days that they were here and Carter was spoiled with presents from everyone. 

I am soooo excited that it is the new year! We are that much closer to summer and being home! But January is, by far, the hardest month for me being overseas. We’ve already been here for several months, the excitement of the holidays have passed and now it’s just lonely, cold January. It’s just smack dab in the middle of our time being here - we have come so far in the season but we still have so much more to go. It starts to pick back up once February rolls around, but man! January is rough!! I got really emotional the other night because I miss home so much. I truly do love where we are here, but it will never compare to home. I think everyone who is in our situation of playing basketball overseas goes through these moments throughout the season (especially wives). I am just trying to remind myself to be happy in the moment and not take things for granted. Soon enough, we will be home and then I can cry all the happy tears I want! 

On to a different update: Carter has grown up so much recently! His language has exploded over the past couple of weeks. He is stringing 2 and 3 words together and picking up on new words so fast. It is so crazy to hear him talking more! I keep trying to get him to say “I love you!” But he must know that since I want him to say it, he is going to hold off! ;) I can’t wait to hear him say it, I know I will cry! 

That’s just a quick recap of life lately. I hope you all have a great Friday and weekend ahead! STAY WARM to all of our Minnesota/Iowa/South Dakota family and friends!!!!