Utah Weekends

Someone once wrote, "A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be a best friend."

I know it doesn't always happen like that, but for me, this statement couldn't be any more true. Shulamith has lived in Utah for the majority of the past seven years. During college, she was home summers, but still, the greater part of the year she spent in Utah. In those seven years, I've been fortunate to have the resources to visit her often. I couldn't begin to count the number of trips I've made to Utah, dozens for sure. Since she was married just over a year ago, these visits now include her husband, Mathew. He is so very patient and understanding. I mean seriously, what new husband truly wants his wife's mother sleeping on his living room floor one weekend every month, sometimes for several days? But Matt just smiles and goes with it. He even thanks me for coming to visit when we say goodbye. Shulamith scored big time when she found this guy.

This past visit was similar to our other "Utah weekends" with one exception. We had the opportunity to attend one session of General Conference, our church's semi-annual general meeting which is broadcast to members throughout the world. Matt took this picture of us just as we were leaving for the Sunday afternoon session. It was my first time attending General Conference in person, and it was everything and more than I expected. I will never forget how it felt to be there. Snow covered Temple Square and fell gently upon us as we walked from the parking lot to the conference center. It is an experience in itself to sit in an arena that seats 21,000 and is filled to capacity; I felt very small. And yet, I also felt profoundly welcome. How edifying to hear our church leaders speak of the value of marriage and the importance of loving our children by focusing our discipline on nurturing who they are rather than punishing what they do. I was able to get five tickets, so we could take Matt's parents with us. It was lovely to be united both as family and in our common faith.

The remainder of the weekend, we played, played, played! One night when Matt had to work, Shulamith and I went to dinner at The Melting Pot. I'm pretty sure it's Utah's answer to breaking one's diet. A 3-hour dining experience, this meal consisted of four courses: Swiss fondue with French bread and apples; spinach mushroom salad; chicken burgundy broth with various meats, vegetables, and pasta; and (finally!) milk chocolate fondue covered with crushed Oreos, served with delicious dipping choices including cheesecake, marshmallows, rice crispy treats, pound cake, and fresh strawberries and bananas. Are you feelin' it? The most fun part by far was watching Shulamith attempt to locate a missing ravioli in the pot of burgundy broth. I was laughing out loud.

Surprisingly, we were able to walk, not roll, out of the restaurant. Somehow we even went on to enjoy many other marvellous meals including our standards: Cafe Rio, Pei Wei, and Cheesecake Factory. We also tried a new bakery for breakfast one morning, and on the way to the airport Monday night, we went to a place Shulamith and Matt recently discovered, The Red Iguana, where we ran into a couple from Billings who had driven down for conference. Small world. We had only a brief hour with Isaiah at Smash Burgers. Other than that, he worked the entire time I was there at that stupid (but necessary) job of his.

As for movies, we saw three. The best was Lincoln Lawyer. There was enough action to keep me interested but not so much to be scary/violent, and Matthew McConaughey always provides decent eye candy. Red Riding Hood and Source Code were also plenty entertaining. And let's not forget shopping. We found some great deals at Down East. In fact, the skirt I'm wearing in this photo and the shirt Shulamith's wearing both came from there. We each bought both, but decided not to be twins at conference.

It was another great addition to the history of Terrianne and Shulamith's weekends in Utah. I will go back for a few days in May when my semester ends, and perhaps that will be my last official visit?? After that, hopefully, we will be Utes ourselves!

A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be a best friend. Thank goodness!