Goodbye, Anthony!

We went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner tonight, a farewell dinner for Anthony. When he is home, we like to cook or bake his favorite foods for him, and the same goes for taking him to restaurants that serve his favorite foods that he doesn't get to eat while at school. He had not yet had the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, so that became our last stop.

First I have to mention that in this first picture, Natalie was finally in a good enough mood to pose for a picture with her "favorite oldest brother" (as opposed to Alex being her "favorite older brother" and Eric being her "favorite younger brother"). She had tried to go swimming at our gym, and she only ended up swimming 100 meters before she decided she was too sore to swim any more. Patrick took her there this afternoon because she thought she might be feeling well enough to swim, and her going to swim practice would have delayed our dinner. Lifetime Fitness was a shorter trip that they could make earlier in the day. She wasn't happy with not being able to swim more, so I think that put her in a bad mood. Patrick and I feel powerless to help her with her ongoing back problems. With some effort on her brothers' part, they joked around with her enough that she finally got in a better mood by the end of the meal.

This is the picture I took when we first got to the restaurant, when Natalie was not in the mood for a picture. I posted this on Facebook also. Eric looks so tiny wedged in between his big brothers!

Eric had the kids' pepperoni pizza, and requested buffalo wings as an appetizer, to which his big brothers enthusiastically agreed. The waitress suggested an appetizer called "Buffalo Blasts" that are described as "Chicken, Cheese and Our Spicy Buffalo Sauce all Stuffed in a Spiced Wrapper and Fried until Crisp". She suggested that because it was bigger than the usual order of regular buffalo wings. They were delicious, and the boys were very happy with it. Alex had his usual Fettucini Alfredo, as did Natalie. Anthony had the Shrimp Scampi, and Patrick had the Factory Nachos. I ordered my usual Miso Salmon, but I was sorely disappointed when the waitress said that had run out of salmon. Natalie had wanted salmon also, the "Herb Crusted Filet of Salmon". I ended up ordering my old favorite, Chinese Chicken Salad instead.

For dessert, Alex ordered this delicious Strawberry Shortcake. The reason why we did not go out to eat last night was that he wanted to be able to get dessert, but since he knew he would have to run a mile at soccer practice this morning, he did not want to feel weighed down by a heavy meal the night before, so we went tonight instead. Alex got this dessert one time before, when it was just the two of us at The Cheesecake Factory. I shared it with him then, and I shared with him tonight. Even Alex could not finish this whole humongous dessert, even with a little help from me.

Anthony, Patrick, and Eric shared two pieces of the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake (with Anthony having his own piece). Natalie declined dessert, although she did order the Iced Frozen Mango for her drink, described on the menu as "Mango, Tropical Juices and a Hint of Coconut Blended with Ice and Swirled with Raspberry Puree". It was a rather large and colorful drink, and she was probably too full after her meal and that drink.

It was already past 8pm by the time we got home. Anthony then rushed off to see his friend Alejandro one last time. I said my goodbyes to him before he left since I knew he would not be back before I go to sleep tonight and then I would have to go to work before he wakes up tomorrow. His siblings also said goodbye to him for the same reason. I miss him already!