Oy-Vay

I just spent a most glorious weekend (albeit "muito quente" - hot) with 3 of my favorite gals (oh, and my most favorite little gal, too - Miss M accompanied me) - the Minha Nossa Meninas - in the city that truly does not sleep - Las Vegas. What happened there should probably stay there (if only all that food we ate could have stayed there, too, instead of traveling home on my hips with me), but there are a few things I can share.

Leia (L1), Barbara, Libby (L2), and I served our Church missions in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, some 10 years (or so) ago - yikes! There weren't many American sisters serving in the mission so we had to stick together when the going got tough and the Cariocas tried to get testy with us! We managed to adopt Leia along the way when she married her American sweetheart and became one of us. Love it! Actually, B and I were companions in the MTC - 2 blissful months of learning a new language and trying not to put on too much weight from those Golden Grahams-crispy treats! L1 and L2 were companions right when L2 got to Brazil and started her mission. L1 was considered high-maintenance at one point so it was probably only natural that the 2 of them got to work on humbling one another!

Back to Vegas - 8 kids, 4 husbands, and 11 years after we all met, we finally all got together again. So happy we did. L2 is 8 months pregnant, my Miss M needed to tag along for sustenance's sake, and L1 and B were such great stroller-pushers, drink-getters, luggage-toters, and non-stop shoppers extraordinaire. We met up on Friday and hit the newest Cafe Rio establishment - manna from heaven, I like to call it. I think I ate my entire Pork Barbacoa salad in that one sitting. Mmm-mmm good.

We checked into our chi-chi Planet Hollywood hotel room (could the music in the check-in area have been any louder?) and settled in for a nice long catch-up session. I'm fairly confident Miss M and I were the first ones to doze off but I lasted until about 3 AM my time. Not bad, right?

Saturday took us out and about...

First stop - Coca Cola World - who doesn't need a nice, cold fountain-poured Caffeine Free Diet Coke? (It's the only way I'll drink it)

...and then on to M&M World - Peanut Butter was the consensus fave
...we walked and shopped until we almost dropped - the view from our hotel room
...and what would this Menina reunion be without some Brazilian churrasco? This waiter was from Rio, the abacaxe (L1, did I spell that right?) was to die for, and our rule was Portuguese-only speaking before, during, and after dinner - hilarious.
...and one final toast (Guarana, of course) to great friends, otimo experiencias no Brasil, recipe-swapping tales, child-raising stories, and more great times ahead in the not-as-distant future.
Amo voces, meninas! Ja sinto sua faulta - de mais. Fazemos isso de novo bem logo! Beijos e abracos...