Neighborhood Block Party!

Back in April my dear friend, Alicia entered a contest sponsored by Dreyers Ice Cream. Alicia had to enter a two paragraph entry telling why her neighborhood deserved an ice cream block party. She entered and then a couple months later she got word from Dreyers that she had won!!! YAY ALICIA!! What she wrote was so sweet and heartfelt. I know many of you have heard me say that I love our neighborhood, but we really do have such a wonderful neighborhood! We love it here!
The Thrusday before the party Dreyers Fed Ex'd Alicia enough ice cream and ice cream bars to fill her freezer! There were so many great flavors it was hard to pick just one to try..

Here's a little family picture at the party! We had name tags and had to write our favorite ice cream flavors.. Madi's was vanilla, mine was chocolate & peanut butter, & Gary put down "anything flavor will do".. I wish Gary felt that way about ALL foods (picky eater)..

Alicia had a great turnout! It was so nice to just sit around and chat with our friends in the neighborhood. We wave at each other as they drive past our house, we say hi in church, but we don't get together and just sit and chat as often as we'd like.



Madi enjoying her vanilla ice cream...

Jackson had SO much ice cream... At this age Madi wouldn't touch the stuff. Their eating habits are opposite.. It's nice to have a child that will at least try everything.


Here is a copy of the essay Alicia entered into the contest..

Sandra came over yesterday to borrow my oven cleaner. She's looking for something to clean her iron with. That pesky build-up doesn't have a chance against her! And Madi, the sweet little girl across the street, called to see if she could come over and play with the boys. She was just a toddler when they moved in 3 years ago and my oldest, Coleman, was only 3 so they've now known each other for the better part of their little lives. Having moved 10 times in 5 years before settling here, we had no idea what we were missing out on. Neighbors can be a fantastic blessing!

You see, my husband and I are both Eastern transplants that ended up in Utah thousands of miles from our families. We've always made do, relying on our "tag-team" parenting efforts and never needed anyone's help. But what does a young mother do when she is as sick as a dog in bed with the flu and her husband has one of those "can't miss" days at work with no family close by? In my case, I called a friendly neighbor who gladly took my kids to her house so I could rest. That day, to me, was the day I learned how important it is to nourish relationships with our neighbors. It's been 2 years since then and there have been meals made and shared, birthdays remembered, tools borrowed, driveways shoveled, and plenty of shoulders to cry on when needed. It's no coincidence that we've moved into such a caring and charitable neighborhood at this time in our lives. We needed a family and we found family right out our front door!

Thanks again Alicia for your sweet words and the wonderful party! We had a great time!