Sentence 1: It had been a while since Ann had seen her mom. 
 Sentence 3: Ann decided to buy a ticket for the holidays 
 Sentence 4:  She was able to pull off a surprise visit to her mom 
 Sentence 5:  Ann and her mom were able to spend time catching up! 
 Option 1: She had been away to college. 
 Option 2: She had been sleeping in her room.