Since I don’t eat out much, I don’t always know what’s supposed to happen in a restaurant, especially a nice place where the prices on the menu are in code. I’ll tell you one thing, though. If they’re too upscale to put dollar signs on the menu, I expect the food and service to be pretty darn good.

We had a family dinner at such a place tonight, in honor of Tammy’s mom, who has been visiting but is heading home tomorrow. It was also a birthday celebration for her, and I’m pleased to say that she shared the chocolatiest cake I’ve ever tasted with me. In fact, she almost insisted that I eat more than my share. Well, you don’t really have to push very hard to get me to say yes to a deal like that.

We had all the adults in the family except John, who was out of town. (Dakota was the one who asked where Grandpa John was. You don’t think that little boy notices things? Someone was missing, and he called us on it.) All of the children were there, too, of course. That’s what made things interesting, and that’s also what earned the servers a substantial gratuity. They were very good and very patient (the servers, I mean, but you could say that about the kids, too).

It was a special kind of trial because Aiden has been trying so hard not to be miserable, cutting teeth and running a slight fever. He was a trouper tonight, entertaining everyone in that special way he has. And Dakota hadn’t been feeling well early in the day, either. In fact, he was sitting next to me, taking in what was happening and making the occasional quiet comment. Then suddenly he kind of rolled over so his head was in my lap, as he pulled my arm around him.

D.J. was amazing. As uninhibited as he can be sometimes, he acted like the oldest child he is, sitting quietly and drawing with the colored pencils provided by the server. He ate most of the cheese pizza that he ordered, and he didn’t demand a lot of attention. Hmmm. Maybe he was a little under the weather, too. I sort of missed his constant chatter.

Kylie made not a sound the whole time we were there. She was asleep for a lot of it, of course. The clatter of dishes (and the clang of Aiden helpfully clearing the table of anything that was in front of him for very long) didn’t faze her a bit. And when she was awake, there were enough colored lights within her field of vision to keep her amused. She’s one baby you can take anywhere, apparently.

The wait staff earned their big tip, not by being overbearing or overly solicitous, but by taking everything in stride, and with a smile. The food was excellent, but we expected that (at least, I did). The service? Some people in that line of work don’t understand what the word means any more, so when we get it, I notice.