Happy (unofficial) Summer!
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Summer is (un)officially here! We've been waiting for this weekend for months (mostly my school-aged kids and their countdowns) for warmer weather, slower days and fires and cookouts! It's also softball season, which keeps us busier than I'd like, but nonetheless, we're grateful for the start of summer break!
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Our kids finished up school this past week, so we spent a day floating/rafting on the Clarion River in Cook Forest--one of our family's most cherished activities. We rented the big blue raft this time, but we also love to kayak or just grab a tube and float! If you're local to Cook Forest and haven't tried a slow, quiet day on the river, we can't recommend it enough!
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And speaking of summer break, we're so excited to welcome back two of our nephews to the creamery! They help us with gelato and all things in the creamery, making our time more efficient and so much more enjoyable. This week, we created my nephew's favorite gelato, Cookies + Cream, as a perfect way to get the season started. If you remember, we soak everyone's favorite Oreo cookies in our gelato base and churn it before adding LOADS of crushed Oreos to the finished product. It's an ode to my little brother always stealing a whole row of Oreos and soaking them in a bowl with milk to eat with a spoon when we were kids. Either way, it makes for a superior flavored gelato, in our opinion!
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I hope you have a chance to visit with those you love, make a s'more or cut up a watermelon this weekend! If you're nearby, our farm shoppe is open this Saturday and every Saturday 10am until 2pm!
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This week's links + finds:
- So many creative ways to hang an American flag at home.
- We rented this big blue raft (seats 6!) from Pale Whale Canoe Fleet in Cook Forest, which also rents tubes, kayaks and canoes all summer long!
- I don't know why I save this recipe only for summer, but I'm glad it's back! So fresh and even healthy, this is my favorite summer dip!
- We always create a (realistic) summer bucket list, and I can't recommend it enough. We pick little local adventures and fun annual events (county fairs, amusement parks, parades) and my kids look forward to each event as though it's a big vacation! I loved this writing about the family summer bucket list.
- Made me laugh, but also reminded me that it's completely okay to make mistakes!
Happy (unofficial) summer, friends! We hope you have the best Memorial Day weekend!
xx,
Lisa