Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner: The Final Score of the Nevada vs UNLV game!

Well...I'm back!  After a long weekend in Vegas and two insanely busy days of school and work, I am back on my blog and couldn't be happier.  It's amazing how in these few short weeks I've really become addicted to writing on this darned thing! I was actually going through withdrawls from lack of writing.

The reason for this trip to Vegas was for the annual North (Nevada) versus South (UNLV) football game.  The location switches locations every year and this year it was in Sin City. (CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE RIVALRY) I went on the trip with a group of my closest and bestest friends.  We all know each other through years of work at a local youth service agency in town.  Most of these ladies I've known for over six years, and honestly they're more like sisters than just friends. 

Vegas was a whirl-wind of fun, laughter, craziness, relaxing, dancing, recuperating, drinking, sleeping, eating, football-watching, and an endless supply of mayhem and foolishness.

Our t-shirt design!

 The football game was amazing!  Arriving to the game hours in advance we had plenty of time to get some tail-gating time in.  The jello shots? Outstanding, as was the blue electric lemonade.  And we all looked super cute wearing the matching tshrits we made.  Our boys played a great game, and even though we knew we were going to win it didn't stop us from shouting louder then any of the Rebel fans that we were surrounded by. 

Blue Electric Lemonade

Pack Blue Jello Shots

One woman sitting in front of us asked me to quiet down a bit.  I remember just rolling my eyes at her.  She then asked if she gave me some of her Red Vines if it would quiet me down.  I told her I didn't like Red Vines.  She then asked if some of her peanuts would quiet me down.  I told her I didn't want her peanuts.  Then she asked if a beer would do the trick.  By this time I realized she had a good sense of humor, and rather then being bitchy (which I initially thought) she was really just feeding into all the craziness my girls and I were bringing.  I told her beer wasn't really my thing and declined.  She then upped the anti and offered all of us a round of shots if we all settled down a bit.  Of course we accepted THAT offer, and in a mere minutes she was back with Jager (my FAVORITE) for all of us! After the round of sweet, licoricey nectar we all became great friends and it didn't matter that we were in Pack Blue and they were in Rebel Red.

Like I said, we (obviously) won the game.  That makes Nevada UNDEFEATED so far this season!!!  (IS IT NEVADA OR UNR? CLICK HERE) It also means that we get to keep the Fremont Cannon (a cannon that is used as the game trophy) in Reno. Since 1969 (when the first rivalry game was played) the cannon has changed hands twelve times with the current holder being Nevada, following Saturday's 44-26 victory. This was the SIXTH STRAIGHT YEAR in a row that we have won, leaving us with an overall record of winning 21 out of the 36 games played between the two teams.  

The Fremont Cannon stays in Reno!

Besides the football, Vegas didn't let me down at all.  This will be the third time I've been down south since May (and I'll be back next week for a conference).  I've realized that I have really come to enjoy Nevada's largest city.  So much to do, so much to see, SO much bigger than Reno.  I've also realized that as much as I like it there, I could never live in Vegas.  Great for a vacay, but after a great trip I enjoy returning back to reality.

And after such a FANTASTIC blur of a weekend, reality hit HARD yesterday.  We didn't get home until after 1am (I guess that happens when we didn't get on the road until after 5pm).  We stopped at the Goldfield Hotel again to find ghosts. (CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE HOTEL) One of my girls swears she saw something (it could be possible?) while all my other girls thinks she was seeing things.  It drizzled, rained, and monsooned almost the whole way home and when we got back to Reno I was happy that I had left a sweatshirt in my car.  We left with it feeling like summer and arrived home to a full-blown Fall!!! 

We LOVE our Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn!!!

I'm sad that this vacation had to end.  I rediscovered how much I love my friends and how fortunate I am to have this amazing group of women in my life.  I mentioned earlier that it feels more like we're sisters and this trip just reaffirmed this.  Seeing what we packed was just validation enough...we had multiples of IDENTICAL items. Of course we all need deodorant, but that almost all of us used the exact same kind?  Silly!!!  And it didn't stop there: same (newly bought) shirts, white cheddar popcorn, shaving cream, razors, hair spray, etc.  And the stories and inside just were endless.  I will never think of pepper jack cheese without laughing.  Whenever I hear the song "Toot It and Boot It" I'm going to smile.  And if for some reason I lose an arm or a leg I will make sure I keep it in a pickle jar in case the Messiah comes or in case my other limbs have separation anxiety and need to talk to the one that's detached (of course you won't understand this unless you came on this trip). 

As I return back the craziness that is my week, I'm left with nothing but amazingly priceless memories that will no doubt last me a lifetime.  Now it's time to give my liver a break, return back to reality, refocus....and leave me dreaming of my next adventure....