Dryer’s Slow Churned Ice Cream and the Suburban Village
This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Dreyer’s/Edy’s Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute
Scene: Friday night, dusk. My neighborhood.
Little girls run down the sidewalk wearing bathing suits. They just spent the past hour swimming in a pool that belongs to none of them, but rather a different neighbor who is happy to see the expensive pool get some use. Their wet hair hangs down their backs. They pause to whisper secrets into each others ears before they skip away. Their giggles echo in the cul-de-sac.
Teenage boys play basketball in a neighbors driveway. They try to act tough and cool, but they are just like overgrown 8yr olds. They straddle that fine line between childhood and adulthood, vacillating wildly between the two.
The younger boys ride their bikes around, as fast as their legs can pedal. They come to screeching stops leaving a trail of rubber from their tires behind. They jump off their bikes and let them crash down in the middle of the road as they run off to find salamanders in the storm drain of yet another neighbor’s house. Their faces are tan. Their knees are scraped. Their voices are loud.
Driveways are littered with toys that may or may not belong to the occupants of that particular house. The sidewalks are covered with hopscotch boards and chalk drawings, the graffiti of the suburbs.
I stand outside talking to some of the other parents. The street lights come on. Eventually it gets dark. The children mostly go inside grudgingly until there are just two families left outside playing in the street.
“Want to eat dinner with us?” I ask, knowing that I have a huge pot of chili on the stove. It is a Friday night. This is as exciting as it gets in the suburbs.
“We would love to. I’ll make root beer floats for dessert.”
Before I lived in this house, I thought neighborhoods like this were a myth. But by pure luck we have found a place were people do more than wave on their way out of the driveway. We have found a place where people care about each other and look out for each others children. A place where we share the small moments of our lives, the moments that bookend our days, the moments that tend to be forgotten. But in the end, it is those which matter the most.
Oh, and don’t forget the root beer floats. Because that is where the true excitement lies.
*****
Would you like a chance to win an ice cream party for your entire neighborhood?
Simply go to the Dreyer’s/ Edy’s website to win one of 1,500 Dreyer’s/Edy’s® Slow Churned® Neighborhood Salutes. Each winning neighborhood will scoop up a doorstep delivery of Dreyer’s/Edy’s® Slow Churned® Light ice cream (with half the fat than regular ice cream, Slow Churned® gives neighbors even more reason to celebrate!). The package includes all of the fixings (cups, bowls, scoops, etc. and of course, ice cream, to host a summer block party for up to 100 guests.)
I totally wish I was eligible to enter this since we have just decided that for my daughter’s birthday party we are going to have a Make-Your-Own-Icecream-Sundae-Princess/Pirate party. Phew, was that enough hyphens for you or what?
Enter by May 29th at 11:59 PM (ET) for a chance to win a neighborhood “>slow-churned ice cream party.
In order to win Neighborhood Salute, people have to tell us why their neighborhood deserves to win a party in 350 words or less.
Offical rules and boring stuff:
Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
This giveaway is open to US residents, 18 and older
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
Please see the official rules here: Official Rules
And since not all of you can win an ice cream party for your neighborhood, leave me a haiku about ice cream in the comments and I will chose ten(10) of you to receive a coupon for a free 1.5 quart of Dreyer’s/Edy’s slow churned ice cream.
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Here in Wisconsin
May 20th, 2009 at 4:18 pmNot enough time for ice cream
Love it while we can!
Oh you KNOW my love
May 20th, 2009 at 4:22 pmfor haikus is nearly as
great as for ice cream.
A bunch of our neighbors just completed a 10-week Weight Loss Challenge and lost 101 pounds together! What a wonderful reward to share with our families. To try out the new ice cream with half the fat would be an awesome way to celebrate our success!
May 20th, 2009 at 4:23 pmI use to live in a neighborhood like you do now. It was wonderful. We now live in a great neighborhood but it doesn’t have a lot of children in it. You know people in the south always wave at others. That’s how we roll down here:) My husband and son love ice cream. Bluebell is my husbands favorite and my vanilla bean homemade (with famous amos cookies in it) is my son’s favorite.
May 20th, 2009 at 4:27 pmmint ice cream is cool
May 20th, 2009 at 4:28 pmchocolate, vanilla too
I want it all- NOW
We are just moving out of an apartment complex where I couldn’t tell you the name of a single person living here. We are moving into a neighborhood. And I can only hope that it is anything like what you just described.
May 20th, 2009 at 4:39 pmI grew up in a neighborhood like that… it was fantastic! You (and your kids) are so lucky to have been able to find a place like that to live. I hope I can find a neighborhood like that once I have kids. (Sadly, the neighborhood I grew up in is NOT like that anymore.)
Here’s my haiku (pitiful as it may be):
Some are addicted
May 20th, 2009 at 4:51 pmTo drugs, cigarettes or beer.
Ice cream is my vice.
Twittered! (or is it “Tweeted!”?)
May 20th, 2009 at 4:55 pmice cream delightful
May 20th, 2009 at 5:03 pmin a carton or a cone
cooling and warming
Hmmm..350 words or less…well, we live on a cul-de-sac where the children outnumber the adults three to one. The only edge we have is that we provide the food, so winning the ice cream party would let us gain control of the wild ones for as long as it takes to eat a bowlfull! Thanks for the chance!
May 20th, 2009 at 5:15 pmDelicious cold treat.
May 20th, 2009 at 5:34 pmDevour before it melts.
So many flavors.
Neighbors are on crack
Therefore, I am not sharing
Ice cream is all mine
(Mmmm, love ice cream, especially that slow churned stuff. Also, hi Chris! When are you visiting me and Darren in California?)
May 20th, 2009 at 5:37 pmWait, my haiku about crackhead neighbors probably means you won’t visit. Shit!
May 20th, 2009 at 5:37 pmripe red strawberries
May 20th, 2009 at 5:38 pmswim in vanilla ice cream.
instant summer bliss.
moving far away
new neighbors need impressing
ice cream fits the bill
or
I need mommy friends
new home, new state, new neighbors
ice cream to fit in
I can’t enter the larger contest, as we’re moving in a little over a month and don’t yet have an address in our new city. boo hoo. So, I need ice cream as a pick me up.
May 20th, 2009 at 6:48 pmice cream
May 20th, 2009 at 7:22 pmrocky road cone
melting, dripping, running
down my chin, onto my shirt
messy
Georgia summer’s here,
May 20th, 2009 at 7:44 pmIce cream weather. Oh, Edy’s…
I don’t want to share!
Ice cream rocks all summer
May 20th, 2009 at 8:02 pmlong melting in places it doesn’t belong
on the concrete of houses
i scream you scream we all screem for ice cream. oh thats right i forgot i do not like ice cream. but my family does and my neighbors most likley are normal and love ice cream so yes i think our neighborhood needs a nice ice cream party.
May 20th, 2009 at 8:22 pmYour neighborhood describes most of the people of Austin, and why we just fell in love with that wonderful place we left. You have no idea how much I miss the sense of community we had there. And if you like ice cream, have you tried Amy’s? The one on Burnett was blocks from our house and has a playground, and a tasty burger joint next door. Yummy!
May 20th, 2009 at 8:37 pmIce cream is yummy
May 20th, 2009 at 8:47 pmEvery pregnant loves to eat
I love it the most
How I love ice cream.
May 20th, 2009 at 8:55 pmWhat’s my favorite flavor?
Please, don’t make me choose.
Here’s your ice cream. Quick!
May 20th, 2009 at 8:56 pmEat it before it melts!
May I have more, please?
I confess, I’m a little confused. I already entered the contest at the Edy’s website. Are you having one here, too?
May 20th, 2009 at 8:58 pmwe just moved to this neighborhood 1.5 years ago, and were welcomed into it with gusto. The adult women invited me to join their book club, the guys invited my guy to go out on mens nights (eating ribs at a local rib joint), and we, as family have been invited to a zillion smoked rib cookouts all summer long. The kids all run around from house to house, from sprinkler to sprinkler, and from “picnic” to “picnic, “(what they call it when they eat food outside…and they LOVE to do it).
May 20th, 2009 at 9:22 pmWe would like to win this so we can have a whole ‘hood ice cream party, only themed “thank you for welcoming us to a hood that seemed only real on TV!”
Cold on a hot day
May 20th, 2009 at 9:49 pmMelts all over the children
Couldn’t be better
ice cream at breakfast
May 20th, 2009 at 10:02 pmmelting into the oatmeal
is simply heaven
strawberry ice cream
May 20th, 2009 at 11:06 pmmuch better than all the rest
keep your vanilla
My neighborhood doesn’t deserve an ice cream party, but dang we NEED one! You see, our neighborhood consists of either upwardly mobile, two income, middle aged people OR retirees. We are the only family with young children. Therefore, we have very little in common, that we know of.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:20 amIt would be so nice to know these people’s names after year of living here. Truly, this is THE most unfriendly neighborhood I’ve ever seen.
Please Dryers, pick us. We need you!
I Love Ice Cream. Yeah!
May 21st, 2009 at 3:04 amVanilla with Hot Fudge Sauce
Creamy, Yummy, Cool!
We are moving to Columbia, SC in a few weeks (from Houston, TX). I can’t think of a better way to get to know our new neighbors than hosting a huge icecream party. Apparently, there are several families with children the same age as ours, several with older kids and a few empty nesters. We’d love to host an ice cream party at our new home and make some new friends!
May 21st, 2009 at 7:37 amWe love to entertain casually. This would be a great way to introduce our new neighbors and their kids to our community!
May 21st, 2009 at 10:58 amMy kids love ice cream
They like to share with their friends
They have too many friends
Man! I don’t think I’ve attempted to write a haiku since 5th grade! I love that they have alot of friends and really don’t mind them sharing, but a free tub ‘o ice cream would certainly give the pocketbook a break!
May 21st, 2009 at 11:14 amCool, sweet, creamy treats
May 21st, 2009 at 11:37 amFor my great neighbors to share
Gosh I hope I win.
Mk, throwing my hat into the ring. I live in a really large neighborhood, (over 2000 homes, welcome to the burbs baby) so this would be more a block thing. We have had several new families move in over the past few months, this would be a rawkin’ way to intro them to all the hipness in which they now belong.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:41 amMmmmm…I love ice cream. I can’t think of any reason why my neighborhood deserves a party. (We live in an apartment complex that we’ll be moving out of when our lease is up because we just aren’t loving it.) So I’ll just have to enter to win some for me!
Here’s my haiku:
Ice cream fills my soul -
And hips! with sweet cream goodness.
Comfort at it’s best!
Pick me!
May 21st, 2009 at 11:57 amWow, that is awesome - thanks!
May 21st, 2009 at 12:01 pmneighborhood is lame
May 21st, 2009 at 2:34 pmeveryone left for summer
ice cream by myself
I just had my wisdom teeth out and ice cream is all I can eat. At least that is what I told my Wife to explain the purcahse of 3 gallons in one shopping trip!
May 21st, 2009 at 2:48 pmIce cream is my friend.
May 21st, 2009 at 3:18 pmBut not really my rear ends.
We fight about it.
do not know neighbors
May 21st, 2009 at 4:46 pmit would be good to meet them
ice cream soothes the soul
Ack, I so dislike haikus
but this is too sweet an offer
though I’d prefer some booze.
(Hmm - beer or wine floats! ;-D)
Thanks, Chris
You have surely found Texas. Our neighborhoods in Texas were as wonderful as what you describe. Where we live now (well, not at this moment, but usually…) people pull their car into the garage and that is that. I hope to do my part to change that…(that is a lot of thats! LONG, but wonderful day.)
May 21st, 2009 at 5:20 pmRaw cookie dough chunks
May 21st, 2009 at 5:58 pmFloating in white creaminess
I am in heaven
Ice cream for breakfast.
May 21st, 2009 at 6:45 pmA great way to start the day.
And to end it, too.
ice cream is welcome here
May 21st, 2009 at 8:44 pmhigh mountain desert is very hot, indeed
relief come in any form
Ice cream on my tongue
May 21st, 2009 at 9:02 pmits creamy deliciousness
always makes me smile
Root beer floats are a
May 22nd, 2009 at 4:01 pmfavorite treat in our house
sweet and cold desserts
Drip, drip on your shirt
May 23rd, 2009 at 8:26 amDidn’t I just wash that yesterday?
Who’s got the wet-wipes?
Since I live on SoCal we eat ice cream here year round. We now have lot of kids on the street so they’d love to have a ice cream party
May 25th, 2009 at 4:43 pmI’ve always wanted to hold a block party - having grown up in the middle-of-no-where, having neighbors now is really exciting. I have a little one, and so do many of the families on our block. It would be fun for everyone to share ice cream (and frankly a lot easier than me having to organize a pot-luck!)
May 26th, 2009 at 10:51 amcolumbia street
May 26th, 2009 at 1:00 pmhot as hell in the summer
we need some ice cream
This is kind of an amazing post all in itself. I want to come live in your neighborhood!
May 26th, 2009 at 1:02 pmMy neighborhood is the long-term mental health in the hospital where I work in Mt Clemens Michigan. Most patients have lived in the hospital for 3+ months and will be going to group homes. The treat of a real ice cream party would bring smiles and make their day!
May 26th, 2009 at 7:41 pma tart mango summer
May 27th, 2009 at 6:46 pmkeeps my prego tummy happy!
hubby’s saving grace!
If you are looking for a neighborhood that puts a premium on doing “good stuff” then here we are!!!! In our neighborhood if anyone has a rocky road we help them to make “ice cream of it”, kind of like making lemons into lemonade. We have raised bake sales and neighborhood yard sales to help out with a neighbor’s medical bills. Our neighbors have raised money to help find the cure for breast cancer and the March of Dimes. The benefit of community service helps us to grow closer together.
You might think living out in the country you might miss a few things. Heck no! We are rich in friendships and family ties. Our neighborhood is a portrait of wholesome goodness. We care about each other because we understand how important each person is to our neighborhood family.
May 28th, 2009 at 5:25 pmFamilies, singles, new babies born,
May 28th, 2009 at 6:01 pmnewbies, oldies, here for years,
Still love to party together.
Mmmmm I need some now
May 28th, 2009 at 9:48 pmFrozen treat, once in awhile
Just bite after bite.
My family and I live paycheck to paycheck (my husband’s paychecks). I am disabled. It is so frustrating not to be able to do things for your kids. Just for fun. No other reason than that. Just to see them smile. So, an ice cream party for my kids and their friends would be a warm (oops, cool
) addition to our somewhat boring summer.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:33 pmPerfect Ice Cream Cone
May 29th, 2009 at 12:42 pmGlistening in the hot sun
Oops! It’s in the sand!
My husband and I recently moved into an apartment complex through a non-profit organization that seeks to build community in multi-unit housing communities. We plan 70 hours of community events and resident care/appreciation events each month. We have a small budget and 314 units to serve. It would be an incredible gift for us to be able to provide a delicious ice cream block party for our neighbors!
May 29th, 2009 at 1:58 pmKid with a g-tube.
May 29th, 2009 at 3:19 pmLearning to eat orally.
Will work for ice cream.