Vegas Cup

Five days after returning from our big trip, once I had thoroughly laundered and tidied and cleaned and tried to get everyone back into a good routine, Cat had a soccer tournament in Las Vegas.  This was especially tricky for me because I felt an obligation and desire to sing at President Monson's funeral that Friday afternoon, but we were able to work it out for Cat to drive to Vegas with a teammate, then I drove straight there from the funeral (literally).  I arrived right after they finished their game that evening (which they won, 1-0!) and hung out with Cat and some teammates for dinner before we found our Airbnb (and waited for the host to tell us how to get into the place) and went to bed.

Cat's team had a game the following morning and the weather was gorgeous: sunny and comfortable, with Cat reporting that she actually got hot during the game.  (No complaints from me.)  It was fun to be outside watching my girl play soccer again, and she did a great job.  The team played well but unfortunately, they lost the game 0-2.

We met up with some more teammates for lunch, then went back to the Airbnb so Cat could shower before joining a little team party with snacks and games around a pool at the condo complex where most of the team was staying.  Mafia was definitely the favorite game.

The team had one more scheduled game the next day, with the possibility of three more that weekend if they entered the semifinals/quarter finals/finals, but with the loss Saturday morning we thought there was a good chance the team wouldn't advance.  Cat wasn't going to play in any of the Sunday games anyway, so she and I went home, planning to come back early Monday morning (MLK Day) with all the kids if necessary.  We took a quick detour for a picture at the iconic LV sign before heading home.  Cat thoroughly enjoyed having the car and the DVD player to herself for five hours straight.  The drive went smoothly and we arrived home at about 9:45 that night.  

We found out the next day that the team had lost their Sunday morning game, and therefore wouldn't be advancing and we didn't need to go back to Las Vegas for Monday games.