What Happened in Vegas

If you recall from my last post, Cam, Sarah, Chris and I bought tickets to the MWC tournament right after BYU beat SDSU for the second time.  BYU was on a serious roll, and since we knew we wouldn't have to play SDSU or UNLV until the tournament's final game, we thought BYU would be a shoo-in for the championship.

But then a mere 48 hours later came word that Brandon Davies had been suspended from the team, and suddenly that championship was not so certain.  We debated selling our tourney tickets, but finally decided to go anyway.  My thinking was that, if BYU somehow pulled it off, we would be so sad to have had tickets but then missed it.  And, if nothing else, it was a desperately-needed weekend away (thanks for watching the kids again, Mom!).

And whoa, Nellie did we make the right call.  BYU did not pull off the championship, but we were there when Jimmer scored 52 points, became BYU's all-time leading scorer, and finally beat those dad-gum Lobos.  I got to experience first-hand the hatred other teams' fans have for BYU (they really, really hate us), and gained a new appreciation for the acoustic quality of the Marriott Center.  I'd guess only 15,000 BYU fans were at the tournament, but without the sound-absorbing benefits of the MC, those fans were deafening.  My ears were ringing until the next morning.

On Saturday we did a little wandering around before the championship game started, and the highlight of our meandering was definitely the butterfly garden at the Bellagio hotel.  Chris and Cam took their lily considering very seriously.

And although I had an absolute blast cheering for the Cougs and getting to know Sarah's wonderful family better, I was very happy to return home on Sunday to see my monkeys playing in the trees.