That’s all of us in this photo, along with my parents, last night at a restaurant in Redmond (a large Seattle suburb and home to Microsoft). With Melinda’s and my birthdays being so close together in May, my parents have long wanted to take all of us out for a birthday dinner. With our departure for a month in France coming on Thursday, this doubled as a going-away dinner.

I chose a restaurant called Graces 5. I picked it because ALL of the items on the menu are gluten-free, a boon for my mom since she is gluten-sensitive (some might say she is sensitive in other ways, too, but let’s not go there). Our server snapped this picture just after delivering 6 different gluten-free desserts, all delicious.

We shared, taking a bite and passing to the right. I think it was Melinda who said, “This is the best way to have dessert!”