The End of an Era

All good things must come to an end.  Really, they do.

We have been in the ice cream business since the fall of 2004.  Our kids have manned the counters in three different ice cream establishments.

Allie has being doing this solo ever since David left on his mission.  But she never let me take a photo of her until the last day, when I insisted.

She saw us coming and headed for the bananas. 

I guess she believed Paul when he told her he was going to order a banana split on her last day!

But we encouraged her to actually take the order before she set off to work.

She is so good that she can take orders with her eyes closed!

Once he settled on the ice cream flavors, she began dispensing the toppings he wanted.

What’s a banana split without the whipped cream?

 

And the masterpiece!It was worth every penny!

Allie had a great time working there.  She made lots of new friends and was able to work with some she already knew.

We still like to eat ice cream, but somehow it’s just not the same going out for ice cream and not having one of our kids make it for us!

Commander of the Clown Cones!

Allie currently works at Baskin Robbins. She is trying to pick up as many shifts as she can because college is expensive and it is coming quick (too quick if you ask me.)
So this is a site I see often as I drive Allie to work. . .

As you can see, we have blue skies and nice weather. It's perfect ice cream weather. (Of course, we say that about any kind of weather!)

Do you feel a little bit giddy just before you walk in or is that just me? (Don't answer that.)

Allie was recently promoted to . . . .something. It doesn't really have an official name, but she is in charge of the clown cones! She has to make them each week and make sure they are stocked up. These beauties below are not of her making but soon her handiwork will be available! (And she got a raise!)

She declined to be in today's photos due to the lack of the appropriate uniform and the lack of parental warning. Sorry about that.

Mission Food

In our letters from Sister Bowen, she usually tells us about the food she is trying or sometimes NOT trying.
In her early letters, she has told us about Vietnamese Soup with cow stomach lining (which she does not recommend because it tastes like spiky rubber bands) and Indian Milkshakes which is pistachio ice cream with red sauce (cherry, maybe) and noodles. She reports that it looks disgusting but tastes really good.

Today Sister Bowen sent us a photo of Satan's Ashes which she tells us is the hottest curry in the world. She commented that "no, I did not try it. Are you crazy?)

She has also told us that ice cream is not as popular where she is so it is pretty expensive. She and her companion had an experience last week that she shared with us. . . .
"Last Wednesday Sister Cardona and I were getting ice cream (I was introducing her to Baskin Robbins) anyway, we were in pants eating ice cream at a bus stop in the middle of a snow storm and so a couple came up to us and asked us why we were eating ice cream. Before we knew it, we had an appointment with them for this coming Friday. So therefore, sister missionaries should not have to wear skirts (or even name tags - did I tell you that I lost three in the past month? so now I'm sister Cardona until my new ones come in)."

Here they are eating ice cream in a blizzard and drawing attention to themselves!

Ice Cream Scoopers Abound

When Jennifer was thinking hard about getting her first job, her heart was set on working at Coldstone.

Problem was that it wasn't open YET. The store was being built, but the hiring (and opening) kept getting delayed.

Finally, applications were being accepted and hoards of teenagers auditioned to be part of the crew. They had to not only fill out an application, but they had to do something memorable to be hired.

Lucky for Jennifer, she was one of the chosen :)

First day on the job

Jennifer worked there for a year before heading off to college. She needed money for college so she needed to find a job. Where did she get one?

Sugar N'Spice is a shop in the food court at BYU. What was her first job there? Scooping ice cream, of course
David was quite envious of Jennifer's money making skills. So he too got a job at COLDSTONE too.

David worked there for a while, but the store ended up closing down. So David hit the pavement to find another job. And where did he end up?

Baskin Robbins of course!

David worked there until he left for his mission.

And then there's Allie.

Allie wanted to join the family business. . .

Super Scooper!

Sister Act

When Coldstone closed down, Allie was out of a summer job. Lucky for her, her brother lined up employment elsewhere. And they were willing to take her on.

Allie works solo now.

Ice Cream in a Bag

Allie has a band trip coming up. She and her buddies like to make tasty treats for consumption in their hotel room. One year it was sandwiches of all sorts. This year, the food of choice is ice cream made in a bag. Allie is looking forward to haunting the ice machine in hotel!

Here's the recipe they are using this year:

Ice Cream in a Bag

What you'll need:
· 1 tablespoon sugar
· 1/2 cup milk or half & half
· 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
· 6 tablespoons rock salt
· 1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc)
· 1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
· Ice cubes

How to make it:
1. Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
2. Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
3. Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
4. Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes.
5. Wipe off the top of the small bag, then open it carefully. Enjoy!

Tips:
A 1/2 cup milk will make about 1 scoop of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more.

Sunday Dinner

No one is quite sure how it started, but everyone would be upset if it came to an end.

We are counseled to have simplity in meals on the Sabbath day. So we tried different things. We had "aardvark stew" (which is really rice pilaf) and pancakes, until Paul started making those for breakfast. Somehow it evolved to ice cream.

And ice cream it has stayed for more years than we can remember. I wonder what our missionaries have for their Sunday dinners now!