Do you honestly need 50lbs of checked baggage for a trip that's just over two weeks in length? Will you be bringing a bunch of items to family/friends and bringing a lot of items back? Or do you need to bring a bunch of supplies for kids?

I'd seriously re-evaluate what you really need for this trip and downscale your packing plans. Do a packing pre-run, get everything you think you want to pack and look at it. Do you really need everything you have? Is there anything you can do without?

There are some good tips in articles like this one:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...TRDH1DLQP6.DTL

on how to minimize what you bring. You'll find you can get by with much less than you'd ever imagined, and you'll be much less burdened because of it. Also consider just how draining it will be after a very long overnight flight to heft around a pair of massive suitcases that weigh as much as you do. I get tired after my 7 hour trips with just my light carry on, I don't know how I'd do it with a pair of huge checked bags.

If you really buy enough overseas that you require another bag, you can always look into packing up a sturdy cardboard box and checking that, or buying a second small suitcase during your shopping trips. I don't know that you'd need to buy one here and now.