Philippes

We don't have cable TV at our house.  

So, when on vacation, we let our kids watch endless amounts of the cable TV.  

In our hotel in Las Vegas, we watched Man Verses Food, a family favorite and they spotlighted Philippe's restaurant in LA.  

Philippe's claims to have invented the French Dip sandwich and they dip the bread in the auju instead of having it in a bowl on the side.  

We decided to have a field trip there.

Outside the restaurant.

Waiting for our sandwiches

The famous sandwich.  

We tried their pork, beef and lamb.  

BEST french dip sandwich I have ever had.  My father in law, his wife and my husband all said the same.  My kids loved it too (especially the lamb).  The beef was my favorite.

Their hot mustard was awesome too.  

Let's Talk About the Vacation 'Stache

Dentist husband comes from a family of nine kids.  Every three years, we take a trip to Newport Beach, CA and have a glorious week of family togetherness and beach fun.  Honestly, I love my husband's family.

About 10 years ago, instead of going to the beach, my father-in-law took us on a cruise.  On the cruise, Dentist husband invented the "cruise 'stache."  It was awful and I was almost embarrassed to be with him but since we were traveling with two kids and I was 7 months pregnant (yes, you read that right), I had no choice.  

Ever since then, on family vacations, Dentist husband and his brothers and brothers-in-laws grow a "vacation 'stache."  This year was a banner year for vacation 'staches and many of the men grew them ahead of time.  Dentist husband got a late start because I didn't let him have one at my 20 year reunion, which was just the weekend before.  

The whole crew, including my father-in-law.  He was a first time participant.  

Dentist husband with the "Ray Byes" which was a man in his church growing up.  His brothers and sisters saw him and all said, "Hey, you are growing a Ray Byes!"  Little does this man know, his mustache is famous.  

 Sibling #7's husband.  

Sibling #8's husband's chin beard.  This doesn't do it justice in that it was very creepy in real life.  

Sibling #5 husband

Sibling #1.  He started growing his weeks before the reunion.  

Sibling #9

My father in law

Sibling #6 husband

I forgot to take one of two people, Sibling #2 and Sibling husband #4.  But, I found this hilarious picture taken at the Luau a few days before.  The man holding the baby in the back is Sibling Husband #4 and the one next to my husband is sibling #2 and he is a surgeon.  I know.  Hard to believe. (Actually, they were doing hilarious poses for everyone during a photo shoot of all of the men.  These two are HILARIOUS together.)  

Anyway, it was a great trip.  We love Newport.

20 years!

This past weekend, I went home for a quick trip home (I was in Boulder 27 hours total) for my 20 year high school reunion.

I have strong feelings about attending reunions.  Honestly, I cannot stand when people disparage reunions and choose not to go.  I have never, even when I felt that way internally, regretted attending a reunion of some sort.  There are always people there I was glad to see and friendships reformed--often with people I would not have expected.   (And I have attended high school, mission, and study abroad reunions.)  

That said, I can say I loved my high school years and I was very excited to attend.  It was a great reunion.  The people who put it together did an excellent job.  Having done a ton of the work for my husband's 20 year reunion, I completely understood how hard it is to put together a reunion and I so appreciate those willing to do it.  (I did have a small part in working on this one but because I was out of state, most of the legwork was done by others.)  

Sadly, this is the only picture that I had taken that night.  (Taken by my sister just as we were leaving.)  But it is good picture and I am glad I have one to document the occasion.  Go FHS Class of 1991!

Greatest Love Song Ever?

Dentist husband and I are both talkers.  And, because we are both talkers, we talk about EVERYTHING.  And, often they are very heated discussions about things that aren't important at all.  Recently, a friend overhead us talking, thought we were arguing, only to discover we were "discussing" something very trivial.

The other night, the topic was the greatest love song of all time.  We, as a couple, don't officially have an "our song" and that led us to consider great love songs.

Here is what we came up with.  We couldn't put it in any particular order so we have just decided that these songs are all, "our song."  But, if we were ever on The Newlywed Game, we agreed "Fields of Gold" by Sting would be our answer, since that song came out closest to when we were dating.  (I was actually in Israel doing a study abroad when it came out and he was still on his Mormon mission in Minnesota.)  You can click on any of the songs to go to a Youtube link to hear the songs.  Feel free to comment and add your own songs.

1.  Fields of Gold, Sting

2.  The Book of Love, Peter Gabriel  (This is a cover, the original band to sing it was The Magnetic Fields but Peter Gabriel does it so much better in both Dentist Huband's and my opinion)

3.  In Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel  

4.  The Luckiest, Ben Folds 

5.  You and Me, Dave Matthews Band (The video is really worth watching.  Very cool.  Well done whoever came up with this video idea.)

6.  Walking After You, Foo Fighters

None of those songs were played on the radio when we were dating.  The songs that come to mind when we were dating are below.  All good songs but for various reasons, didn't make our "cut".

 I Go Blind, Hootie and the Blow Fish

Champaign Supernova, Oasis

Banditos by The Refreshments

Big Me, Foo Fighters  (Great video)

Oh and for those of you who are reading this and know what a huge fan my husband is of the band Rush, none of their songs made it because I am not a huge fan of the band Rush.  He can enjoy them as much as he wants (and he does) but with the exception of a few songs, I have to let him enjoy them on his own time.

Why this little boy is one of my favorites

Sometimes, children call out to you to do a specific blog post about them.  This summer, Toothsome #3 has been an absolute delight.

He is always thinking and experimenting.  Nothing is safe in my house because he is always coming up with a new idea for every item in my house.  (And, we have had to have very serious talks about not taking anything apart without asking permission.) 

Recently, at burger place, I got a text from a friend.  I responded.  I looked up and in that short amount of time, he had broken most of crayons in pieces, taken off the paper and was "experimenting." 

Here he is at my husband's office--drilling.  (An old dental cast, and my husband's dental drill equipment.)  He asks if he can do this every time we go into the office.   

 Somehow the word, "Hobo" was introduced to my son this year.  He is fascinated about what Hobo's do.  He then came to me and said, "Can I burn Toothsome #1's old tennis shoes, so I can make a Hobo fire?"  With supervision, I let  him.  When the shoe really started to burn, he pulled out my old camera and took a picture of it.  (I had no idea it was in his pocket but it fits his mentality.  All experiments need to be documented.)  

The "hobo" fire a little later.  We let him burn it until the rubber on the sole was all melted.  It was a windy day and we insisted everyone stay away from the very stinky fumes.    

I adore this little man.

Guess what? I have a son old enough to go to Scout Camp

I have spent the day reflecting about my now 12 year old son.  

12 years ago, we were living in Colorado.  My husband had just graduated from dental school and we had moved into my parent's house to wait for the baby to arrive and so we wouldn't have to pack up our dental school apartment with a newborn.  Toothsome #1 was born on the 4th of July weekend.  It was in a small hospital and he was the only baby born that weekend and we had the whole maternity wing to ourselves for the weekend.  The nurses would come into my room just to chat because there was really nothing going on except "us." 

My husband had a practice waiting for him to come and purchase but my doctor told us he didn't want me traveling with a newborn until he was 3 weeks old and my husband didn't want to leave me or the baby.  (This was the only time we had that luxury.  After my others were born, he went straight back to work within hours. My husband feels a huge commitment to his patients.)  

Since he was my first, I didn't really know but he was an easy baby.  He cried when he was hungry or when he peed outside of his diaper (which was frequently).   I had my mom with me 24/7 for those three weeks and it was marvelous.  

Three weeks later, we moved to a home in the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake.  I went from constant help in a beautiful 5000 square foot home to no help in a home that was a 1400 square feet fixer upper that needed a ton of fixing up.  It was a horrible first few months!  But Toothsome #1 was a trooper and we made it through.

Early on, it became obvious that Toothsome #1 loved Daddy more than his mother.  I was honestly fine with that, and that is still the case and I am still fine with that.   When his chips are down, he wants Dentist husband.  They have a one of a kind relationship and I am so grateful they have each other.   

As his younger siblings have come into the scene, he has been an excellent older brother.  His siblings adore him.  He is smart and capable.  He is also shy.  Is he perfect?  Far from it but as a parent, I adore and love him to pieces.  

When he turned eight, and it was time to go to Cub Scout Day camp, he didn't want to go.  He cried--a lot.  I ended up having to carry him to the car over my shoulder, strap him in the seat and tell our leader to drive away and that he would fine once he was out of my sight.  That was true.  (I know him very well.)  

Well, at the age of 12, we had no drama.  He packed his own backpack, and got out of the car excited to go to Scout Camp.  I have complete trust in our scout leaders (honestly, they are the dream team of scout leaders) and I knew he would be fine.  And, he was.  He loved it.  Until scout camp, he has slept away from our house two nights.  This time it was five in a row!  But again, he was fine and had an excellent time.  (And they did amazing, fun stuff--SCUBA, aviation, horseback riding, canoeing, wake boarding, small boat sailing, ice caving, and even the horribly hard to get Environmental Science merit badge).

Today, he passed the Sacrament for the first time.  Yes, I got a little teary.  He is not my newborn anymore.  He is not even my little boy anymore.  But he is still my son.  12 years happened too fast.  

BBC Book List . . . I'm starting to Wonder if it is a Fake

I have mentioned this list more than once here on this blog and I am now wondering if this is a fake.  This list has been going around blog land for several years (this blog included) but I can't find anything on the BBC that has this list or any mention that most people have only read six of these titles.  I did find the 2nd list I've posted, which is a list looking for Britain's Best Loved book.  


That said, I have used both lists in the last few years when picking books to read.  They are both full of great titles and so honestly, they can't be bad but I thought I would just clear up the fact, that I think the first one was created by someone and then they made the claim--just not the BBC.  If I am wrong, please someone let me know.  


And, I am playing along.  I have put an X by anything I have read.  


1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (X)
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (X)
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (X)
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (X)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (X)
6. The Bible (x) (Yes, I have read the WHOLE thing.) 
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (X)
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (X)
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (X)
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (X)
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy 
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller 
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare 
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier 
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (X)
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk 
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger 
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger 
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot 
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (X)
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (X)
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens 
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy 
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh 
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (X)
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck 
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll 
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame ()
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy ( )
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens ( )
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (X)
34. Emma - Jane Austen (X)
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen (X)
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (X) (Again, likely proof this list is a fake.  #33 covers this.  The BBC doesn't make mistakes like this.
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - (I've started this three times, likely I will never read this one.) 
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres ( )
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden ()
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne 
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell 
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (X)
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (I've read parts of it in Spanish, I might add.)
44. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving 
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins (X )
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (X) 
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy ( )
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood 
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding 
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan 
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel (X)
52. Dune - Frank Herbert ()
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons (X)
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (X) (Who ever put this list together loves Jane Austen.) 
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth ()
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (X)
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (X) 
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley ()
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon ()
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez 
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (X)
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt ( )
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold ()
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas 
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac (X)
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy ()
68. Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (X) 
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie 
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville 
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens 
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker 
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (X)
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson ()
75. Ulysses - James Joyce 
76. The Inferno - Dante (X) (Why not the whole Divine Comedy, which I read for an English class at BYU.  Yes, I am bragging.) 
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ()
78. Germinal - Emile Zola ()
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (X)
80. Possession - AS Byatt (X)
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens ()
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ()
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker ()
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ()
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert ()
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ()
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White (X) 
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom ()
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Again, why the WHOLE collection here?  This list is a fake.) 
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ()
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (X)
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (X)
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ()
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams (X)
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole ()
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute (X)
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas ()
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare (X)
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (X)
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo ()


**41 of these titles.


1.The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien X
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen X
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling X
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee X
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell X
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis X
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë X
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë X
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens X
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott X
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell X
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling X
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling X
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling X
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien X
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl X
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute X
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen X
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen X
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery X
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams X
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald X
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett X
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck X
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky X
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens X
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough X
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding X
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins X
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith X
83. Holes, Louis Sachar X
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons X
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie 


**32 of these titles


There are a ton of repeats in these lists and I will say, I do like the real BBC list better.  Maybe I am just subconsciously favoring honesty.