Ice cream is magical. I have fond memories of a local dairy that served the best homemade ice cream. They sold candies such as candy dots, wax bottles and giant pixie sticks, too. The line would form outside the door. My family took me there a lot during the summer. Instead of driving on the expressway, we’d go the back country road just so we could stop in there. I always had such a hard time picking a flavor, so would often get different flavored scoops with plenty of sprinkles. Their waffle cones were homemade. They were so generous with their portions and everything tasted delicious.

As an adult, I had booth space across the street from the dairy. I sold antiques and collectibles on the weekends. Then before I moved away, they re-opened the drive-in movie theater on the same property. Sadly, the dairy closed down. I’m glad I moved away. I don’t think I could bear seeing it that way. I want to remember it exactly the way I last saw it. Rumor has it there’s been rustling in the old building. I wonder if someone will bring it back. I can’t imagine it being anything other than it was.

Ice cream shops are pretty expensive these days. We still take our kids to various shops as a treat, but often wince at the cost.
Alex’s rail trail restaurant is quite generous with their portions. This is especially true with the kiddie cones as you can see from the photos. But it’s not homemade and it’s simply not the same as when I was a kid. But it’s wonderful in its own special way. My kids have a hard time choosing flavors. My daughter often chooses two different flavored scoops. All the kids love sprinkles and we get to sit on the patio outside of the restaurant and watch the activity on the bike trail. The kids love riding their bikes on the trail and stopping in for a special treat. And it’s strategically located close to the beach. Bonus!

You’ll notice the girls are wearing headbands. We’re growing out their bangs over the summer. I’m hoping Ally’s bangs will be long enough, so I don’t have to pin them when I make her ballet buns for dance. Right now, they’re at that awkward length of growing them out. Their bangs are annoying the heck out of them. Translation: There’s a lot of hair drama daily.

Oh and again Ally asked me when she could start shaving her legs. Give me strength! She’s wearing her green glitter flip flop earrings. She lost a silver glitter one at the beach last week and was pretty upset over it. She actually tried to dive underwater to look for it.

You might have noticed the marks on Matthew’s face. We use bug spray, but he’s still getting bit by mosquitoes. Those bites are leftover from 4th of July. Sigh.