Sweet Slade's Creamery & Blades is such a hidden gem in Lakeside. The ice cream is great, but the…read morereal standout is everything they've created for families -- a full indoor kids' mini town, a cozy game room, and even axe throwing upstairs for adults. It's clean, fun, and exactly what our small town needed. I also want to compliment the staff. Ady and Airivyne were both wonderful so kind, welcoming, and genuinely good at what they do. As a small business owner myself, I know how hard it is to find employees who show up with that level of care and professionalism, but Sweet Slade's absolutely did. Ady especially went above and beyond and really made us feel taken care of. It makes such a difference. For a small town with very few year-round indoor options for kids, this place is a blessing. More people need to know about it. We'll definitely be back.

We went up to Pinetop for New Year's and actually had time to explore this trip. We've been wanting…read moreto try this ice cream shop for a while, and I don't think it's been open very long. They were out of a lot of flavors, both in their to-go freezer and in the shop, so we settled on a few options. The prices were great for what you get, and the flavors were so good. We tried Mint Brownie, Vanilla with sprinkles, and one of their signatures Canyon Land (vanilla with Reese's and Butterfinger). We didn't take any pictures of the ice cream because we were too busy inhaling it. While talking to the girls, I learned they've also started making hot chocolate. It looked really good churning in the machine, but we didn't try it this time. I do wish they had more flavor options, I was a bit disappointed by that, but what we did have was excellent. Considering it was a holiday weekend and they were out of a lot, our experience was still great. My critique would be that they expand their menu to include floats and drinks, even bottled drinks. The space is huge, and they could even serve simple coffee from local roasters. I'd also love to see a candy wall, even just for decor. It would give Willy Wonka vibes and would be so cute.