My week with my dad!

First of all, let me apologize for not blogging in awhile... I have been pretty busy lately! Now I have some more free time, so I will fill you in on my dad and Nicolettes wonderful trip to Lithuania!!

Nicolette and my dad first stopped in Holland for a couple days, so I had to wait till Tuesday to go pick them up from the airport. I had practice in the morning, and then Amanda and I busted out of there very fast to drive the hour to Vilnius to pick them up. I was so excited that I ran and jumped onto my dad, I think I startled him as he didn't see me coming!

Now I didnt have as much time as I wish to show them around Lithuania, seeing as I had two practices most days, but we made do... The day they arrived, Amanda and I dropped them off to explore downtown a bit while we practices, and then went to this traditional Lithuanian restaurant to get the National dish- Cepelinai... Needless to say it is very filling!
 

So the next day I had practice in the morning and then the rest of the day off, so we decided to go to Trakai.. It is about 40 mins away from where I live and it is a very famous castle in Lithuania and  Vytautas the Great helped finish it, and also died in this castle. (my dad knew ALL the history, and told me what the castle was all about.. but of course I tuned him out most of the time and can't remember exactly he said). It was a lot of fun, Amanda, Lina (one of my team-mates), and I went around taking silly photos and whatnot, while my dad and Nicolette stopped to read all the historical stuff. It was great to see something I had not yet seen!

Here are some photos:

 Lina, me, Amanda on our way to the castle

 Lina and I excited to get the day started!

 Right as you walk into the Castle.

 Dad and Nicolette before heading over to the castle...

 The castle from a far, it really was a nice view!

 Picture inspired by AK...

Taking a break from touring the castle with my dad  :)

Once we were done with Trakai, we headed back into Kaunas to meet up with some of my team-mates for dinner. I wanted my dad to see my friends not just from a basketball standpoint, so it was nice to go out and relax for the night. Of course Nicolette and my dad had to have their first fried bread and beer tower experience all at one of our teams sponsors: Charlie's Pizza!

 Dad, me, and Nicolette after their first Charlie's experience

 The fab 5 :)

 The beer tower... HAD to have dad experience this!!

Me, Marina, and Giedre :)

So the next day I had two practices, so Nicolette and my dad decided to go visit Klaipeda, another city in Lithuania that is about 2 hours away. It is known for its water, as it connects into the Baltic Sea. Also it is known for its Amber, so it was a must see for them! They had a great time and enjoyed the day to themselves. Later that evening when they got back.. we stayed in and made dinner in my apartment and watched the movie Burlesque. These are the times I miss about home.. just being able to sit at home and "veg" watching a movie with my dad. 

Friday was game day, so my dad and Nicolette went and visited Old town in the morning, and then Amanda and I made them breakfast for when they got back. I must say, I have gotten a bit better at cooking while I've been living on my own! Next stop was to show my dad around the gym where I spend all of my time! My dad loved it, and was happy that he got to see the yellow, red, and green chairs...

More photos to document the gym I live in:

 Chatting away about something basketball related...

 Dad and I at center court <3

 Look its Vici!!

 Vici Aistes.

 My dad was literally soooo happy to see the gym!

Of course... the red, yellow, and green chairs.. Ha ha

After stopping at the gym, my dad and Nicolette followed the team bus to Vilnius, where our game was being played. They then got to see my play in one of our Lithuanian league games. We won by 50, so it wasen't too entertaining, but of course my dad was just happy to see me play! 

 Dad and I after my game :)

 Amanda, me, and my dad! Go North America! :)

Amanda, Lina, and I (yes I know how white I am)!

So Saturday was my dad and Nicolette's last day in Lithuania, and Amanda and I drove to Vilnius to meet them after our practice Saturday morning. We went to lunch at this pancake place, where it serves all kinds of crepes filled with whatever you want. It was delicious! Next we walked around the old town of Vilnius looking at souvenir shops, and of course the linen and amber shops.  

Then it was off to dinner, to get some more Lithuanian food and then to the Sky bar... which is on the top floor of a hotel, and has the best view of Vilnius at night. We spent the night there just talking.. okay maybe the occasional argument about technology and my age group...  Either way we had a lot of fun on their last night here. 

 Starting the evening off at the hotel bar, LOVE my dad :)

 Ya.. got my dad to have a cosmopolitan...:)

At the restaurant, enjoying the last night!

So my dad and Nicolette's trip has come to an end :(. It was a great time, and had some great memories! I will be home soon enough to see everyone at home, but it was nice to have home in Lithuania for a few days!

I am so grateful to have parents who love me, and support me halfway across the world :) My moms just waiting for me to play in a warmer place :) (don't blame her)!

This past week has been crazy for basketball, we went to Belarus for the Baltic league semi-finals. We won 3 games in 3 days, but I will blog more about that soon!

Hope everyone is doing well! :)

Until next time,

CP

Linas visits Lithuania :)

So, this past week hasen't had much entertainment. We had one game which we won by 40 against the second best team. It was great to be back on the court and play.

We had two days off this weekend.... which was so nice to be able to sleep in and just relax. No crazy adventures, but I did spend a lot of the weekend cleaning getting prepared for MY DAD :)

I am soo excited too see my dad and Nicolette. They come tomorrow until Sunday, so I will have plenty to blog about next week.

So another short post, but I promise an exciting blog after this week.

Until next time,
CP

Not so much new..

Im just writing a quick little something to say that really not much has been going on here.. We've had 3 Lithuanian games since the tournament... we won all 3.

I didn't get to play in the last two as I had a minor injury, so didn't want to risk getting hurt more to try and push through the two games.. This week I should be able to get back to normal and start practicing. Its funny how much you miss something when you cant do it for a couple days.

Other then that Amanda's parents were here all week, so that was awesome to finally meet her parents, and of course we explored the city more, and even found some new places for us to visit.. A nice restaurant, paintball, and a new mall! :)

My dad and Nicolette come a week on Tuesday, so I am praying I will be able to clean my apartment before they get here.. and of course Im really excited to see them, and show them around!

Thats all on my end! I hope everyone is enjoying North America.. I will be back soon!

Until next time,

CP

DnB Cup CHAMPS :)

So this past weekend, our team won the DnB Cup.. now I don't know exactly what that means, because our team got a bid straight to the semi-finals while other teams had to play for 3 months just to get to the finals...

Anyway, I did not realize that it was such a big deal until we won, and they had a ceremony and confetti along with trophies and medals! It was cool to have a celebration for winning.. I mean who doesn't like a celebration?!?!? It was nice to have champagne poured into our trophy and drink out of it, like it was the NCAA championships!

The best part, was we had our whole team back for these games! :) We were back to full strength, and it was great to have a sub once in awhile! Now that this cup is done, we have a few more weeks of Lithuanian league regular season before playoffs, and Baltic league final four starts.

Within that time Amanda's parents come.. this weekend, and then my dad and Nicolette come in the middle of March, so that is something to look forward tooo! :)

Here are some pictures of our team winning:

Nice picture of us all with confetti and the trophy :)

 Drinking champagne out of the trophy! :)

 An action shot from the semi-finals

 Me getting a check for being mvp... Love being a pro athlete!

 A funny photo of our team after we fell down while photographers took photos of us.

So that was my weekend, now we only have one game this week, so a little rest time. Not much else to share for now, I'll be sure to blog again when some more excitement happens!

Until next time, 

CP

Courtnay-Palooza!

This past weekend was a very eventful one! First off our team had 2 games, which we had to play with 7 players.. which included only having 3 guards. This meaning, the 3 guards had to play the entire game. So we won both our games by a comfortable margin, but it was a little tiring in the process.

Friday was my birthday, so after the game Amanda and I went to the steak house we love. we also thought a nice big ice cream dessert was in order.. and it was delicious! We then had an afternoon game on Saturday, which if we had won meant we would have two full days off. EVERYONE wanted this, as this was the first time we would have 2 full days off since I have been here.

Needless to say we won, and got our two days off. Amanda and I headed straight to Vilnius for the weekend and to start Courtnay-Palooza! :). We got to the city and relaxed for a bit, before meeting up with two of our team-mates to start the evening activities. It was nice to know we had a couple days off, and we planned on enjoying them!

The first stop for my birthday celebration was a friends bar, which was holding karaoke this night... yes I karaoke, and yes it was horrible! Now I ended up going up twice, with the first one being just Amanda and I singing Destiny Child- Say my name.... now the words did NOT match the song, so it was a disaster from the start! With that being said.. we had a good laugh at it!

The next time we went up, we signed up our two team-mates Giedre and Lina with us to sing "billionaire" in dedication of Marina, who was not there to celebrate her birthday (which was feb 13th).  This was a better performance, but still us just being silly.  The rest of the performers, actually were trying and were very good! They took it seriously and I was impressed with them all!

From then on, we went out and had a lot of fun. Many photos and memories were made on Saturday night. It was a great birthday for sure.

Sunday, we didn't do much, as we slept and went out to eat during the day, and at night we went to the Sky bar at a hotel in Vilnius, that has a great view of the city. It was really nice at night. We ended the night with some intense game of Jenga, and coming up with some great nicknames for ourselves. My nickname you ask: PIG.... I won't go into details on how I got that nickname, but I think it may have stuck....

Monday Amanda and I went for massages in Vilnius before we headed back to Kaunas. Now I obviously did not know what to expect heading into this, but I had ordered a deep tissue massage... and I did not get that. I would classify my massage as a light body rub... it was nice, but I left the place just as sore as I had been when i walked in. Amanda's massage was a little more interesting, as she had a small chinese lady literally hang from the wall and walk on her....

All in all we wont be getting massages anytime soon in Lithuania.... you live and learn right?!

So our two days off were a huge success, and now its back to work with another two games this weekend. The good news is everyone is back for our team, so we should have 12 healthy players for our games!

Here are some photos of the weekend:

 On the way to Vilnius :)

 I was soo tired, that a nap was the first thing on my mind when we arrived!

 Me and Giedre

 Amanda and I

 Lina and I

 So don't wear dresses often.. so it had to be documented!

Amanda and I "performing"...

 Us being silly while getting ready.

One of my favorite pictures!

So that's all they wrote about Courtnay-Palooza :) 

Until next time,

Courtnay :)

Dunk Contest!

So I am finally getting to blog about the dunk contest....yes the famous dunk contest. I will save you from reading all the way and tell you right now I finished second in a dunk off! I think I should have won, but either way it was a fun experience. Now I can put dunk contestant on my resume.

I know everyone is dying for videos, so I will post this one of my best dunk of the night. Please do not laugh too much.

The whole all-star game was interesting, and took a total of 5 hours to do. There was a 3 point competition and a friendly game where one athlete paired with a young kid and shot for a minute, and see who got the most points. I also got to take part in that, so it was nice to be a part of the action. Of course there was the dunk contest, and then there was the actual game. Where 10 players from the league played against some men. They definitely put on a show for the crowd.

The interesting part was the girls had to wear dresses to play in.. I saw these type of uniforms at the World Championships, so it was not a huge shock for me, but it still is funny to think that people think its okay to have women dress up in a dress for an athletic game!


That was the big adventure last weekend, and this week has not been too exciting. We have had 6 or 7 players to practice, so it has made for some interesting practices. One big note is that 5-3-2 is BACK! the drill I blogged about earlier has made a return, and Amanda and I were once again last to finish. I am hoping it does not make a permanent return..

We have two games this weekend, and then Amanda, Giedre, Lina and I are heading to Vilnius for the night to celebrate my birthday! Should be a good time for sure.

I will leave you with some pictures of me playing in our game last weekend.

I wont caption them all, as they are all pretty similar. I still have the same short shorts and still number 4.

I hope everyone is doing well across the ocean. :)

Until next time,
Courtnay