Brock. Kim. Jackson. Ellie. Jane.

I'm still grumpy, but if I don't blog, I'll be even grumpier. Must. Blog. Often. It was so fun having Brett's brother, Brock, and wife, Kim, come for 2 days. Perfect end of summer. I love their little kids. The best thing that happened was that Jackson pulled his mom aside and said, "Mom. I LOVE it here!" That was after a full day of swimming and playing with Syd in the 2nd house, which he thought was pretty cool. I loved that he loved it.

We showed them Beverly Hills, then went to the Grove in Hollywood.

Supposedly the best doughnuts in L.A. I'm kind of obsessed with doughnuts right now. Not eating them, just thinking about them and once in a while eating one, but wishing I could have twenty with no consequences.

That night, the four of us went on a date to the birthplace of the French Dip Sandwich, opened in 1918. It's called Philippes and it was a no nonsense kind of place with rooms everywhere and people just eating, eating, eating homemade pies and french dip sandwiches. Supposedly, in 1918, the cook accidentally dropped the bread in the juices of the meat and the customer said, "that's ok. I'll take it anyway. " The next day, he was back with friends requesting the same thing. The rest, as they say, is history. Coffee was 5 cents until 1977 when it went up to 10 cents. It's still cheap. When I read about its history, I was so glad we went there! I want to go back now. Who wants to go?

There must be 8 rooms like this...plain tables, sawdust floors and people just eating. I read that the counter workers been there for over 20 years. The sandwiches don't come with au jus though. The bread is already slightly moist with juice. It's just right without having to dip.

Then we drove to Alhambra for the best hot fudge sundaes around according to Brad Kofford who grew up in Arcadia. It's called Twoheys. It's also been there for a long time and is a gathering spot for the locals. This was our 2nd time and it was good. Finally, we took them to L.A. Live and saw everything set up for the Emmys, which was the following night. It was weird to see the red carpet set up off of a major street. It looked so normal. On TV, it looks so, I don't know, glamorous. Every tv show had their own little booth set up back to back. It was interesting.

Brock and Brett in ESPN Zone at L.A. Live. All of my kids do that same tongue thing Brett is doing. How does that get passed down through DNA? I'm sure Brett won this game.