In our previous life, we worked for my parents…they own 8 Cold Stone Creamery ice cream franchises in the Midwest. Cold Stone is headquartered in Scottsdale, so we have been there many, many times in the past for business meetings and other such nonsense 
So as we rolled into town, it was all very familiar. And that is a VERY good feeling to have. It was about to get even more familiar…because my parents were flying in from Des Moines for Cold Stone meetings and we aligned our schedules so we could all be there at the same time, and have 4 days of relaxing before the meetings began!
We picked them up, right on schedule and headed to our hotel in Scottsdale. We had a 2BR suite with a kitchen…so we parked the RV in the hotel parking lot, and moved in with my parents for a week! It was weird to leave our house behind, but we thoroughly enjoyed all the amenities the hotel offered! And when we opened the door…my little brother Daniel was there too! He had flown in from Denver for a few days and it was so fun to have him take part in the festivities. Bella adores him, as you can see in the photos!
We spent the bulk of every day laying around the pool and swimming. The weather cooperated very nicely…it was in the 90′s the entire time we were there. Aaaaaaahhhhh…. The hotel was in a really nice retail/restaurant area, so we all went out to eat several times. We rode the trolly to Old Town, went out for Thai food, coffee, and saw some amazing art! I also made them several raw meals throughout our time there. My mom was pretty much eating all raw for the entire time…I was so proud of her! Bella was able to have a SECOND birthday party with Nana and Papa too…we strung up streamers and balloons in the hotel and surprised her with it when she woke up. She got a Razor scooter and a new princess dress. So much fun!
While we were there, we had a demo at the Kahala/Cold Stone Creamery headquarters, in conjunction with the kick-off of their “green initiative”. They had just written an article about us for their internal magazine…so it aligned perfectly with our visit. We started off the day with an EARLY morning (5:00 a.m.!) live interview with KNXV-15. We’ve done a lot of interviews…but none of them have been live. Now that’s nerve wracking! You can see the media clip here. We had a great time chatting with everyone that came out…including many of the Cold Stone employees who we had done our initial training with back in 2004, etc. My parents had several days of meetings after that, and during that time we took care of two adorable little girls (one who is Bella’s age) who belong to some old Cold Stone friends of ours. They had a great time tearing up the hotel room and swimming, swimming, swimming. They also took a special liking to the hotel luggage carriers!
The highlight of our visit was when my dad realized that they had only booked one way tickets to Phoenix, and had no tickets to get home! So of course, I said, “COME TO SAN DIEGO!!” So they did. The next day, we all packed into the RV and headed off across Arizona and Southern California…to have more 4 more days of adventures together. I’m so glad my family is just as spontaneous as we are!
Photo album here.
Sara & Matt,
What you and your young family are doing is so very admirable. It is all about being considerate and respectful–considerate to the generations of families who will follow us on this earth and respectful to our tender environment. However, I disagree with your efforts to paint Kahala/Cold Stone in a similar light.
Though I understand that your family is personally involved in Kahala/Cold Stone, it would be useful to recognize that the company’s interests are likely largely profit driven. Do they really care so much about the environment but not about the people who live within it? I think they are the antithesis of the sacrifice that your young family has undertaken.
I will continue to follow your sojourn while praying for the safety and well being of your family. I will continue to pray that you have an extraordinary impact on the habits and lifestyle of the world so that we can begin to undue some of the negative effects that we as humans have had on this planet. However, in your future writings, I for one would respectfully appreciate incorporating the efforts of those who are genuine in their consideration for the planet and the people who grace it.
God bless you!
Comment by S. Frogg — July 4, 2008 @ 10:03 am
S. Frogg: Thank you for your concern. Yes, Cold Stone is largely profit driven. As is EVERY other business in this entire country. And in answer to your question…yes, they do care about the environment. But without you knowing the people within the company personally, I don’t think that you can judge whether or not they are “genuine in their consideration for the planet”. They may not be as far along in their journey as we are (or as you seem to be)…but they are taking steps in the right direction and we are happy for that.
If we only spoke with and inspired people who were already on a “perfect path” with their care of creation, what good would that do? By doing the demo at Kahala…we are fanning the flame of their new concern for the environment and hope that they will continue to make even more choices that benefit the earth.
Thanks for reading!
Comment by livelightly2 — July 4, 2008 @ 10:31 am