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!