Journeying through life with Jen and Tina: January 2013

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

End of January Update

Hey!

We just wanted to write a little update since it's been about a week and a half. There's not a whole lot new to write about, but we figured we better get back into the habit of blogging or else there's a good chance that we might have a repeat of some of the past years where we just stop blogging in the second half of the season :-)

So, that being said, we have officially been back for 3 weeks now. Games have been going well so far in this part of the season. We only have one more game in January, and then in February, we will have a ton of games including the Final Fours of the Romanian Cup and the Central European Cup.

Last week, we got an unexpected snow storm (well, at least I didn't expect it). It was funny because the few days leading up to it had been really nice weather. Kari and I were actually talking one night after practice about how surprisingly warm it had been in January and how it seemed like maybe we weren't going to get any more snow since it was almost February. We went to sleep that night and woke up the next morning to snow everywhere! Hahaha...what do we know? :-) Thankfully, it melted the next day :-)

We found out today that we have this coming Sunday off and possibly Monday so there's a chance that Jen and I might try to plan a little excursion. It's really short notice, and not a whole lot of time so we'll see what we can come up with :-) We hope everyone is having a great week!

~Jen and Tina

Waiting for the tram after practice

They love Romania :-)

Kari running to catch the tram. When we are waiting for the tram after practice, there are two different trams that come by - number 7 or number 18. Number 7 takes us straight to where we live. Number 18 takes a turn towards the center of the city, but it's possible to get off and walk to another stop and wait for a tram there. At this stop, there are more trams that come by so it's possible that it might be faster to take number 18 and then catch 3 or 6. It's a gamble. Kari decided to take her chances, but this time number 7 was the better choice. Jen tried to stall the tram for her by keeping the doors open, and she managed to get a picture of Kari in action :-) It's normally not a big deal to run to the tram, but with those snowy/icy sidewalks, it's a bit risky :-)

Kari carrying Jen across a slushy puddle :-) What a good teammate!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Visiting Jence!

Hey Everyone!!

We just wanted to give you an update from this past weekend. Tina and I had a game against our old teammate Jence Rhoads! We left Friday morning and ten hours later, arrived in Sfântu Gheorghe. (English: Saint George) The city is located in the central part of the country and in the historical region of Transylvania. I was excited when I found out we were in this region because on my flight over to Europe, I watched the movie 'Hotel Transylvania'. "Supposedly" the castle from the movie looks identical to the real Dracula's castle in Romania. We didn't get to see the castle on this trip, but when we play another team closer to the castle, we will get a chance to sight see.

We saw Jence before our Friday evening practice and made a plan to meet up the next day. Saturday morning, Tina and I went to Mass at 7:30am at the closest Catholic Church to our hotel. It took us 5 minutes walking to get to the church, but it was freezing! I really can't remember the last time my face was so cold. Seriously, it was painful. Tina and I are from Arizona and California, and we are not use to that kind of weather! After Mass, Tina and I ran back to the hotel and met up with Jence.

We walked to her apartment to meet her new puppy Ella! Jence and her roommate decided to save a puppy from the local dog shelter. There is a stray dog problem in Romania and apparently, the shelters will give dogs away for free to people who are interested. Ella is a very cute puppy. She is not yet potty trained and peed on the floor twice when we got there. We decided to take her for a walk outside in case she wanted to do #2. As we walked through the city, we got a chance to reminisce on old times and update one another on new things happening in our lives.

It was such a great time visiting with Jence! We weren't sure how much time we would get to see her, but we were able to hang out after the game, too! We introduced her to Carla because she played at Ole Miss, but mainly because Vandy women's basketball smashed Ole Miss a couple weeks ago. Thank you, ladies!

Jence, we love you and are so blessed that we got to play two years with you. Thanks for being a great friend and teammate. Can't wait to see you in a month!

Getting ready to take Ella on a walk. She wasn't liking the cold.

Ella

Figuring out the collar and leash

Jen teaching Jence her new magic trick that our coach taught her

Success!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Happy Birthday, Jennifer and LeeAnne!

Today is my twin sisters' 14th birthday! I can hardly believe that they are getting so old :-) I wish that I could have stayed home a few days longer to celebrate the big day, but since I can't, I just want them to know that I'm celebrating over here!

I love you, Jenn and Lee, and I'm so happy we're sisters :-)

(From Jen):

Happy Birthday, Jenn and Lee! I'm so happy that the both of you are in my life. You are my little sisters and my friends. You both are very special people, and I'm excited for what God has in store for your lives. I love you so much and can't wait until the next time I see you!

Love,

Jen