the lonely sun and nothing else.

Well, off to a rough start. Tonight we made a very sincere, genuine effort, and went to ward prayer---with a good attitude. Another lesson learned:

Attitude isn't always everything.

Here is a sample of the type of conversations we had:

"We are so jealous of your apartment. We wish we could live in it." ---Nice, helpful, friendly boys who helped us move in furniture.

"Well that would be against honor code." ---Taylor O. (strike one.)

"How old are you guys?"

"19."
"18."
"...17." (strike two.)

"You're kidding."

"No I'm not. [long, silent pause] But my birthday is next week!" (strike three. we're out.)


Family night is tomorrow, so there is sure to be some more classic material for our blog. Also, if you don't have a blog, we highly recommend it. It makes life so much more exciting.

"17." ---Taylor Olson.

we love that---taylor & taylor (and veronica)

people keep talkin'.

So we understand that all y'all have some preconceived ideas about what it is like down here. After last night, we're here to tell you that they are probably all true. But it's fine. That's the way we like it.

We attempted to be social last night, and ventured from our off-campus set up to a "Friday Night Extravaganza!!!" As our destination neared, the first people we saw were Ally and Lisa. We have to give them props because they warned us not to go. But in our attempt to be over-excited, over-enthusiastic, and over-adventurous freshmen, we decided to check it out anyway. Here is a list to sum it all up.

> 5,000 hormone-charged BYU freshmen, running around on a large grassy field playing get-to-know-you games.

> 5,000 hormone-charged BYU freshmen "boogie-ing" to "Low" by Flo Rida.

> 5,000 hormone-charged BYU freshmen pledging to "meet up with core group for dinner sometime next week, or attend their first exam in their underwear." (We didn't know things like Flo Rida and testing in under-garments were allowed here.)

> Taylor O. gave her number to a complete stranger, accepted a marriage proposal, and cartwheeled from one side of the track to the other. There is just something in the air down here.

> For one of the final "games" 5,000 hormone-charged BYU freshmen all made the biggest human circle we've ever seen and on count all ran into the middle, forming what would resemble a giant attempt at a mosh pit from high school prom. We know what you're thinking. "Mosh pit?! BYU is nothing like I thought it would be!" We were thinking the same thing. Flo rida, mosh pit, AND underwear all in the same night? But just when we thought these kids had stopped living up to the BYU rep, they all raised their arms and while jumping up and down, 5,000 hormone-charged BYU freshmen all chanted, in unison, "B-Y-U! B-Y-U! B-Y-U!" It was like a Skyline football game all over again.

> As we started heading for the edge of the group a nice young man belted over the chanting, "Anyone want to go crowd surfing?!" Taylor O. wailed, "Sure!" Now before you get too excited, she did not end up going. But the girl who did was dropped as soon as she was lifted. Apparently BYU students don't have much experience in this catagory. It's fine though. That's the way we like it.

> We finally broke away from the F.U.N. and met up with Ally and Lisa. We had a thoughtful chat on the track bleachers, and phoned our "wasted" friends from USU.

> We shared a relaxing walk with Jack back to our off-campus realm, and got this nice couple to document our experience. She had a hard time with the camera, bless her heart, but she is still a sweet spirit.

"This is what we imagine it being like for those who have lived a bad life on earth."---Ally & Lisa.

we love that---taylor & taylor.

part of the western family.

Yesterday was a day of "Education in Zion." Though we managed to avoid most orientation activities, we still had plenty of lessons to learn:

1. Plan more time than needed when grocery shopping. After spending an hour and a half and $100, we learned that we really need to streamline our grocery shopping experience.
2. The cuter the clothes and the less on the left ring finger, the cheaper the prices. Literally. The prices go down. JP, a helpful, young, single grocer, was all too willing to cross out the bar code and write in a new, lower price.
3. Real maple syrup is expensive. No wonder people buy the fake stuff.
4. If you're looking for a husband and a great family atmosphere, Macy's is the place to be. We've never seen so many couples, baby car carriers in shopping carts and giant engagement picture advertisements.
5. Holding hands while grocery shopping must strengthen the eternal bond.
6. Contrary to popular belief, in the Provo Macy's the cream cheese is NOT located by the butter. It does in fact have its own cream cheese section on aisle 10.
7. If you keep seeing the same young, single college student over and over, he may think there is something going on between you.
8. Babies are big here. We knew that already, but the whole aisle dedicated to them really confirmed it for us. The amount of young children we see continues to blow our minds.
9. At 6:30 on a friday night, you are guaranteed to get the last stall in the parking lot.
10. You can't fry eggs without a spatula.
11. No matter how you look at it, bermuda shorts are always uncomfortable and unflattering.
12. Dozens of talented musicians practicing in the same hallway makes for quite the ear-piercing cacophony.
13. It is a good decision not to wear the neon plastic wristbands that instantly scream out, "I'm a freshman!! Wanna go to the creamery and play some games on the grass?!"
14. There is not a restaurant in town that doesn't have a wait at 1:30 in the afternoon. You're better off with a pb & j.
15. Walking through the dark BYU campus late at night can be "dangerous." We know this because of the posted signs.

The college life. You learn something new every day.

"Anything tastes good if you smother it in enough peanut butter and honey."

we love that---taylor & taylor.

the princess and the pea.

last night i was breathing loud. so taylor threw a pillow at my head. i threw it back.

"shut up and put your money where your mouth is.
that's what you get for waking up in provo."

we love that---taylor & taylor.

you get out of it what you put into it.

our first day here was better than we ever expected. here is a breakdown:

AM

8:15) 31 min morning run. we decided to count how many other runners there were. nine. five of which we are sure were freshies.
10:26) we left our apartment with only four minutes to get to new student orientation. turns out we had nothing to worry about. hordes of freshies were still arriving. just another reminder that being punctual never matters when you're dealing with mormon standard time.
10:30) they treat us so well here. we got to choose the color of our wristband and the number that we wrote on it. color green, number nine.
10:30:21) christian jacob frandsen.
10:40) met up with jack who also happened to choose green nine. coincidence? i think not. divine inspiration? i think yes.
10:43) jack is accosted by some freshmen girls he met in a previous line. we love freshmen.
11:30) opening devotional. we learned that we each bring something special and unique to this university. we also learned to be a friend. now we have 5,000 close friends.

PM

5:17) purchased our books. thirteen and five. who do you think had more books? you'd think taylor o. right? but you're wrong.
6:30) enjoyed our first on-campus $5 footlong.
8:18) discovered a puddle of water under our kitchen sink, so we missed the live jericho road concert. but we had our own itunes version.
11:37) we've been blogging and facebook chatting for hours. now we're enjoying some company from allyson rachel morgan and lisa clair dickson. they're on our red couches as we speak.

what a day.

"All of BYU is serious, but also a great deal of it is fun." --- President Cecil O. Samuelson

we love that---taylor & taylor.