the good and bad of vegas

Last week, our family went to Las Vegas.  We went to see Wayne and his team, Humless, play in the CCS (Men's Club Championship Series) Bowl and the USA Sevens Tournament.  Since most people's first question about a trip is "Did you have fun?" I thought I'd do a little run-down of the fun and not-so-fun we had in Vegas.

Good

• Plane ride there - the kids were angels and we had the whole back row (six seats) to ourselves.  It was Heaven.
• Awesome hotel - we stayed at Embassy Suites (courtesy of Humless) and they were beautiful. . . the complimentary breakfast buffet which included made-to-order omelets, french toast and pancakes (among other things) wasn't too shabby either.
• We got to cruise Vegas in a van! It was fully equipped with a DVD player (a MUST-have in our next vehicle), fold down seats and sliding doors that opened on both sides. I LOVED all the space and I think I must've said "K. For reals. Next car I want a VAN" about a dozen times. Haha. Thank you Kina!
• Family time! - I love spending quality time with our family.
• WARMTH!  Utah has been so cold lately, it was so nice to feel the sun's rays again.  And of course - 
• Sourdough Jacks - YUM!

Bad

• Our team lost. And it was a bad loss.  I don't even like talking about it, but it involved a penalty and a bad ref's call.  Aargh.  It was really disappointing for everyone to end the tournament like that.  I felt especially bad for the sponsors and players who had put so much into it.  It was such a downer and kinda cast a gloom on the rest of the trip for me.
• I had packed poorly so I felt ill-prepared for some situations. . .including just getting dressed in the morning.  To make it worse, Malia, Kina AND Tali all had accidents in some of their outfits so it cut my already small supply down even more.
• Watching all-day rugby tournaments is more of an adult activity than a kid activity. . . so we didn't really end up watching that many games.
• Plane ride back - our family got split up and there was like 20 minutes of chaos with babies crying. I was really touched, however, with the sweet sweet people on our plane.  Seriously, it was like everyone was a team and trying to help us.  I was soo soo grateful.  After the storm, they went to sleep . . . and I sat in my chair and cried. 

. . . So it was kinda a so-so trip for me.  Oh well.  I'll say this - I LOVE taking trips as a family.  I think traveling is invaluable to my kids.  It's so fun watching Malia and Kina in the airport now - they totally know the whole security and boarding drills.  It's awesome.  I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything.  That being said - I don't think I'll be going again to Vegas for rugby anytime soon. :) And now, some pics - 

This is a good example of my poor packing.  Since the girls had no swimsuits, they wore this cute tank-top and rolled pants combo to the pool.  Kalofie. 

Us at a game.  Can you tell Wayne was outside in the sun a lot?

Humless 7's (not everybody pictured)

Special thanks to Wayne who organized the whole trip and to Humless who covered most of our expenses.  And big kudos to our family - it was more fun because everyone was there.  Thanks for the support!  Viva Las Vegas!