One of our very first friends in Alexandria were the Kachers. Aaron and I had barely moved into the area two years ago and they invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them. We accepted the kind invitation and the rest is history! We have been friends ever since and will continue to be 🙂 Although we now go to different buildings for church, and the Kachers bought a town home in a different neighborhood, we have always managed to spend time with them and their beautiful babies.
On Saturday, the Kachers invited us to go out and celebrate Ben’s birthday. Last year, we ended up at Murphy’s in Old Town Alexandria, sitting by a fireplace in a very crowded and loud room, with a band playing. The food was good and the company was better 🙂 This year, Ben picked Macaroni Grill. The one thing to mention about Ben is that he loves food but he could survive on chocolate alone! Last year, I made some molten lava cakes and realized the full extent of Ben’s addiction to chocolate! Haha.. needless to say, we love the Kachers and enjoy our time with them.
Aaron and I thought we were going over to their house, so I made Ben the ultimate chocolate lovers’ cake: Double Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake with Milk Chocolate and Cream Cheese Frosting!!! Yes, I even tried to decorate it like I did Aaron’s cake but the frosting was a bit gooey versus firm, and I did not have enough time to let it set. So, I threw it on the cake stand (which weighed a ton), put the lid on it, and tried to hold it in the passenger seat as I picked up Aaron on the way. The precarious holding of cake stands with a freshly frosted cake while driving is not advisable. With my usual driving skills, I swerved to get onto the freeway, only to have my cake slide right into the side of the lid (thank goodness for that! I cannot imagine having to wipe of chocolate cream cheese from my car seats).
We had an enjoyable dinner at Macaroni Grill and our waitress was wonderful. It makes such a difference when you have a good waitress. She allowed us to sneak in our homemade cake so Ben could have a piece of it. We sang to him, let him blow out his one candle, and then dug in. We gave our waitress, Hirut, a large slice as well. She loved it!
Ben was in chocolate heaven, and I was glad that we got to celebrate Ben’s birthday with him again this year!
