July is National Ice Cream Month!

Back in 1984, Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the 3rd Sunday as National Ice Cream Day, stating that these two events should be observed with "appropriate ceremonies and activities."  Given the great love and esteem my dear husband has for this past president (I jest not)...

 we decided to honor Reagan's wishes and enjoyed reveling in this delectable dairy dessert.  Besides, it sure beat recognizing July as Lasagna Awareness Month.

First we introduced the idea with ice cream crafts.  We built an ice cream cone 4 scoops high so Sophie could practice her cutting skills and Rhys could become acquainted with glue.  We talked about flavors, shapes, and cone to bowl preference.

Later in the week we polled our neighbors and house guests regarding their ice cream flavor preference when given the boring choices of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.  Rhys held a picture of the three flavors so the participants could point to their choice.  Sophie marked their responses on a chart.  Vanilla and strawberry tied for the most adored of the boring flavors.  Chocolate only lagged behind by one, however.  In total, we asked 23 persons.

 Another day, Sophie filled some of her time by sorting hot and cold items.  We had pictures of the sun for "hot" because July has been sweltering, and an ice cream for "cold."   Then she categorized a number of pictures onto the appropriate side of the paper.  Here Sophie is putting a BBQ grill on the cold side because I am distracting my sweetie with taking pictures.  Way to go Mom!

 Our ice cream antics culminated by preparing homemade ice cream today, on National Ice Cream Day.  This morning, before church, we made the mixture and tossed it in the ice cream machine so it would have adequate time in the freezer while we were at church.  We chose to make strawberry, but as previously stated, strawberry may be considered boring.  So we went with a more sophisticated version--Strawberry Balsamic Basil. 

It was delish and not overly sweet. And admittedly, it was not a true ice cream but a frozen yogurt. But it was good. We even splurged and used cones. We were happy to have Oma and Opa over to share with.

Thank you Ronald Reagan for suggesting another way for our family to have fun together!  We'll have a bowl tomorrow expressly in your honor.