10/04/2012

1. We went to BYU around lunchtime, walking through the bookstore and then getting lunch at the CougarEat. It brought back lots of memories, and made me feel a little old! When we sat next to a cute freshman girl at our table and I realized she was far closer in age to my children than to me, I felt even older. :-) Walking around the Wilkinson center made me smile at the wonderful uniqueness of BYU. In what other university student center will you find baby changing stations in the restrooms? Or a busy student volunteer office where you can sit down for a few minutes between classes and knit baby hats for hospital NICUs, or sign up to tutor kids for free at the local boys and girls clubs? Or see students studying scriptures over lunch? Our NOT see a single tattoo or hear a single swear word? Or see students with their textbooks in backpacks, walking around with their babies in front packs? I love BYU.
After eating, we went back to the bookstore, and I let the boys each pick out a book. I remember my parents doing that for my siblings and me when we were kids. While the boys and I perused the fiction section, Ben went upstairs to the text books and bought a set of class notes on soil and farming. If that isn't typical, I don't know what is! :-)

2. After walking around BYU, we headed over to my brother Brigham's house. He is now a professor of economics at BYU and lives on the bench near Timpview high school, Ben's old stomping grounds. Ben and the boys, plus Brigham and three of his kids hiked up to the Y on the mountain above BYU while Christine and I stayed behind with baby Jane and talked and got dinner ready. I love that they will be in Utah for at least the next few years, where we will get to see them regularly. We spent more time with them yesterday than we have over the past five years!

3. Eva and Abraham came over for dinner in the evening. Eva looks beautiful and I think is having fun her first semester. And it was so fun to see Abe with his little nieces and nephews. Next semester, I will have four siblings at BYU, either as students or professors. That is the biggest concentration of Frandsen siblings since before Benjamin left home, back in 2005! Abe and Ben helped Brigham assemble a trampoline in the backyard before we left, well after 10:00 pm. I hope we didn't overstay our welcome. :-)