Birthday Lunch

Since we didn't get to go out to dinner on my actual birthday, we went on Sunday instead. I like to stay home on Sunday nights, because I have to get up early for work the next day, so we went out for lunch instead of dinner. Going out for lunch also means that my in-laws won't have to drive around in the dark.

I spent the whole week trying to decide where to go for lunch. I finally settled on The Cheesecake Factory because there are a variety of dishes there for everyone to choose from. I also really like their Miso Salmon dish and although we just had salmon on Wednesday, I can never have too much salmon.

Patrick let our waiter (whose name was "Eric") know that it was my birthday, so Eric the Waiter presented me with a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream, sprinkles, and a candle. He also announced that it was my 21st birthday before singing "Happy Birthday" with a group of other waitstaff.

The singing was fun, and the food was great, but the best part for me was that Anthony was home. He got home on Saturday night after midnight. I couldn't stay up that late, and neither could Natalie. We both went to bed earlier, and Patrick woke us up when Anthony got home. Alex was supposed to go with Patrick to the airport to pick up Anthony, but Alex fell asleep and Patrick didn't have the heart to wake him up. He did wake up Alex after they got home, and Alex insisted that Patrick should have awakened him. Alex and Anthony stayed up a bit longer chatting.

Eric didn't see Anthony until Sunday morning. He gave him lots of hugs, of course. I took this photo at The Cheesecake Factory and to me it really shows how much Anthony loves his little brother and how much he missed him. This also shows how much Eric loves Anthony and thinks Anthony is such a fun brother.

Now my birthday celebrations are officially over--on to Christmas!