Ice Cream, Summer Nights, and Friends.

A few weeks back I took my two girls (lest anyone get the wrong idea, I babysit for two lovely girls after school and all day during the summer) to something called the Scooper Bowl here in Boston.  It was a blast!!  It is a fundraiser for cancer research and consists of a bunch of ice cream vendors from all over the US coming together and handing out bottomless amounts of ice cream to very happy ice cream lovers.  It's a "pay one price and eat as much as you want" kind of deal.  We tasted all sorts of lovely things, Moose Tracks, mango sorbet, and even Lobster Tracks (this is New England, after all - fear not, there were no real pieces of lobster, but it was good).  I enjoyed every spoon licking last drop of that flavorful and oh so fattening treat.  However, my heart was won by the Pineapple Coconut ice cream dished out by the folks at Haagen Daz!!!  If you've never tried it, I suggest you get yourself a tub and a spoon (don't even worry about a bowl, you won't need it) and tuck into it some hot summer evening!!

Last week, for my birthday I was feeling a bit lonely (okay, I was feeling sorry for myself and homesick for family).  It's ridiculous, really, because I got phone calls from all of my siblings wishing me happy birthday - most of them singing some version of "Happy Birthday" over the wires, and I couldn't ask for better friends than those I have made here in Bean Town - and those who have shown their support for me across thousands of miles that separate us from one another.  In the end it turned out to be one of the best birthdays.  A friend and I discovered we both enjoy the same Pineapple Coconut ice cream.  So, we grabbed a carton, two spoons, and sat out under the stars eating and talking.  It was a clear night and the moon was so big and beautiful.  I couldn't have asked for a better birthday ending - good friend, beautiful night, and delicious ice cream!  So, thank you to those who invented my new favorite ice cream, and thank you to my friends and family who took such good care of me on my birthday, and thank you to a loving Heavenly Father who has allowed me the opportunity to experience all of it!!