That stop we made for ice cream at the Eiffel Tower couldn’t have come at a better time.

This was two years ago, when my husband, three young daughters and I spent a couple weeks in France for the summer. After a really long, really hot afternoon of exploring Paris on foot, there was a lot of complaining and whining, even a wee bit of crying from exhaustion and hunger. (I’m not talking about my daughters.)

But after savoring that cool treat — I had coconut ice cream — while taking a much-needed break from walking, all was well. Tummies were satisfied. Feet were rested. Happiness was restored. The Eiffel Tower was enjoyable. It was amazing.

That sweet moment together, right before we went up the tower, stands out as one of my favorite summer travel memories with my family. Note: Many of my fond summer memories involve ice cream.

As summer quickly winds down, I find myself reflecting on what makes summer break memorable for my family, especially for my daughters.

Aside from the one summer in France, my family has also spent many summers abroad in Sweden, where my husband is from and where his family lives. This summer, traveling just wasn’t in the cards for us — and by “cards,” I mean “budget.”

So we tried something new this year: Each member of the family got one weekend to pick an activity for everyone to do — any activity they desired (within a reasonable budget), no questions asked.

My husband kicked things off with his pick for a mini-golf outing. It’s something we did once when we were dating, but this was a first for our family of five. We had a lot of fun not following any rules and just cheering each other on throughout all 18 holes. We ended the night with ice cream, of course.

Up next was my oldest daughter’s choice, an evening at a roller rink. We’ve been ice skating before, but roller skating together was another family first for us. We spent hours going round and round the arena, taking turns holding hands with each other and dancing to music under a light show.

My youngest chose a day at the water park, where we played in pools, slid down slides, relaxed on inner tubes and just floated our troubles away. My middle asked if we could go hiking, so we took on a beautiful nature trail. We kept an easy pace, enjoying both the scenery and the serenity of it all.

In the end, a successful summer break, whether spent in another country or here at home, simply involves quality time together as a family — talking, laughing and reconnecting. Maybe devouring something sickeningly sweet or disgustingly deep-fried, too.

And summer break isn’t quite over for us yet, since my two older daughters start middle school Wednesday. So this is officially our last weekend of summer break and it’s my turn to pick an activity.

As I type this column, I have yet to decide what exactly we’ll do; perhaps have a lazy beach day or spend the morning at a museum.

But whatever it is I choose, I already know it will include a stop for ice cream.

“She Speaks” is a column by women writers of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@staradvertiser.com.