At the ages of 20 and 21, Rachel and I are quite used to living far from home. And yet, every time we have the chance to visit with my mom, despite all that time and distance in between, it seems we are just getting closer.  I can honestly say our mom is our best friend.  

When she came in town this time, we started the trip with a round of shopping before looking at the menus of 4 or 5 different restaurants on Center Street because we couldn't decide what mood we were in.  We saw Mama Mia 2 in theatre, as a result of which we were all singing Abba for the rest of the week.

On Friday, we visited my cousin Becca and then hit the road.  I swear, I saw more of Utah in three days than I have the past seven months! We first drove to my grandmother's childhood home in downtown SLC, where a plethora of our own growing-up memories reside. However, we were devastated to find the old place practically demolished, gutted from the inside with nothing but a shaggy skeletal frame left standing.  All that was really left were the gorgeous French garden where we used to pick cherries, count koi and watch fireworks. 

After shaking off that sadness, we hit up the Dutch store for some European sweet treats, including German marzipan.  Then we headed down a lush green highway to Park City. That evening, we visited our family friends from Boston and listened to horror stories of their son's mission in the Pacific.