More Vegas

We're back from Vegas and still working on unpacking. Mom, you know how much I hate unpacking! Being unpacked means the trip is actually over. As much as I hate living out of a suitcase while I'm away, doing it while I'm home reminds me that it wasn't too long ago that I was on vacation! The only problem is that the suitcases are starting to spread . . . all across my bedroom floor. Last night I woke Matt up trying to get to the bathroom when I stepped on a bag, went the other way and tripped on some shoes and then basically fell into my suitcase. He just giggled and gave me "it serves you right" look. So, I guess I'll unpack today. Or maybe tomorrow. Did I mention that it's a little bit sad to unpack? All of the shorts and sandals in my suitcases have to directly up to the top shelf because it's Fall here. Okay, enough whining . . .

I think I've already said this, but we had a great trip. Of course we missed Matt and Josh and Liz. But a little heat and some grandparent time was much-needed. My mom and Dennis were so nice to take lots of time off of work to hang out with us and watch Tali while I had a little no-kid time. I went to the InterBike dirt demo and the indoor trade show. I also went to two races, mentioned later. We got to have lunch with my sister Tiffani and dinner with her and her family. (Yes, we have the same name, minus an e. She's my step-sister. We were Big and Little Tiff all our lives. She got the raw end of that stick. She's not big, by the way.) I wish I lived by just one sister!

Grandma and Tali had a hard time parting ways when we left. Tali wanted to get on the plane, but not without Grandma. I'm so glad they got reacquainted, but sad that we don't live closer.

On to the photos! Yes, I am going to go ahead and post a bunch because Grandmas and Grandpas love photos! If each picture is worth a thousand words, I can save you guys a lot of time . . . because I can write a lot.

Fun-fun Tali:

Tali making some cake and then taking a little break to check her texts.

We went to lunch at the Yard House (mmm) at the new City Center Mall with Aunt Tiff on Friday. Tali saw the little park with the water fountains and was smitten. We let her play in the dry area and I told her we'd go home and run through the sprinklers at Grandma's house. When we got to the car, we were roasting, the swim suit was right there, and I thought, Why would we possibly pass up a park this cool. So, I changed Tali and we went right back in. Besides, I passed Godiva's on the way out and really needed an excuse to go back and get a cold drink, with some chocolate in it of course (double yum!). Later that same night we went to the park again for a Ward Party. Tali was still in her swim suit. There's really no reason to not be in your swim suit all the time if you're two and in Las Vegas! (I think I wore a swim suit all summer long until I was . . . well, way older than two.)

Cross Vegas:

This was a Cyclocross race held at Desert Breeze Park. It's a cool type of race to watch because the riders do lots of laps and have to occasionally dismount and remount their bikes very quickly. Whenever you're trying to do something technical really fast, there's a good chance someone will crash. Oh, and it was in the dark. Lance almost crashed once. TeeHee!

There were two barriers at the bottom of this hill, so riders had to dismount, hurdle with bike in hand, run up and remount. This is a little action shot. Good riders jump and land directly on the seat - ouch! Really good riders can actually bunny hop the barriers and ride up the super-steep hill. Then there is no need to rack oneself. (I didn't do this race, but it looked fun. Am I crazy?)

The Lance Chronicles:

Left: Lance racing. He got 22nd place. Right: Lance after the race - looks hammered.

Left: Lance after the race - feels hammered. Right: A few minutes later - recovered already.

By the way, I didn't use the zoom for these pictures. He was so close and I was so star-struck! Once I saw Ashley Simpson and Pete Wentz in Las Vegas. That didn't even compare in levels of coolness. I got lots of pics. I promise I wasn't following him. He must've been following me.

USA Crits Finals:

Lastly, these are pictures of the pro men at the USA Crits Finals. A Crit/Criterium is a fast-paced race held on a very short, technical course. Sometimes it's around a city block. This one was in the parking lot of the Mandalay Bay. To make it at least 1K, they had to twist it and turn it quite a bit. They called it a supermarket course because it felt like racing your bike through the supermarket - at 25-35 mph, seriously. I did do this race. The only option for women was to race with the crit pros (at the USA finals). I knew I was out of my league, but I wanted to see how it felt. It may have looked fun, but I assure you it was not. It was SO hot, so technical and SO fast! I won't brag about my results, but they were definitely what I expected when I signed up. I stayed with the pack for 20K out of 40K. In a crit if you get dropped off the back of the main pack, you will eventually get lapped. So, to keep the course free from obstacles (I was an obstacle after 20K) you get pulled from the race. 50 started, 33 finished. A few crashed. Thank heaven I didn't. If they listed the order of people pulled, I was probably fifth (from last). I have no shame!