Soft ice cream

Soft ice cream
Originally uploaded by Robin's Nest3

Once the summer hits, we like to live on ice cream and freezies. But, we got an even better treat when we visited my parents last week--soft ice cream!

When I was a kid, we'd all go over to The Dairy Freeze (near where my mom grew up) for soft ice cream. It was a half hour drive to heaven. The best was the chocolate dipped ice cream, although I could never quite eat it fast enough to prevent the drips that my dad had to help us "lick down". (I have learned since becoming a parent that this is just a big excuse to get some extra ice cream.)

Well, now my childhood hometown has soft ice cream in the form of a Dairy Freeze knockoff. Why did they have to wait until I moved away? Friday night we headed to "Danielle's" for some burgers and soft ice cream. Sydney (who helps Dad with the horses) was giving carriage rides, with Faith in tow. And the rest of us were there to enjoy eating outside on a warm summer evening and visiting with people.

We bumped into George's Uncle Tommy and Aunt Carol when we pulled up -- small town for you. Then, after burgers, it was time for ice cream -- chocolate/vanilla twist dipped in chocolate anyone? Even the horse, Suzie, got her own vanilla cone after Blake helped her "lick it down". (Check out the side shots from flickr for a picture of this.)

A perfect summer evening!