Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 14-20, 2026 post!
Big Family Food and Fun: June 14-20, 2026
Our week started with Breakfast Cookie Bars, of course. :)
We had a wonderful morning of worship, followed by a big gathering of 35 people at our house for lunch.
We feasted on Smoked Pork Loin, Beef Sausage, and Rotisserie Chicken along with a buffet of wonderful sides.
Friends brought a variety of cookies and desserts, and we ate them with Homemade Ice Cream.
Our Community Group wasn’t able to meet that afternoon. The weather was gorgeous, so we took our kids to a nearby park. After about an hour of playing there, much to our surprise, friends from church showed up to play too! We ended up staying and visiting for over three hours. It was so much fun!
We got home in time to bake some pizza then get to bed.
On Monday morning, Matt stayed home with Auggie for ABA therapy while I drove all the other kids to the first day of this week’s activities. Brayden got to go to an Archery Camp at Turpin Outdoor Education Center. He has been so brave this summer going to new places where he doesn’t know anyone yet. We are very proud of him!
I drove the other six kids to a VBS that they’d attended last year and loved. Finding everyone’s groups in a big room full of people? Phew. But with help from volunteers, we figured it out!
Sam’s and Wal-Mart were close by, so I used the time by myself to grocery shop. Every week as I fill our cart, I think that surely I won’t need to buy as much food next week. Silly me. I truly love that I get to feed so many people every day. :)
The kids had made bird feeders at VBS and Acacia hopped out of the van right away when we got home and found a tree so she could hang hers up. She was so proud!
We ate Meat and Cheese Burritos for lunch, then took the kids to Mahoney Park for about an hour before time to pick up Brayden from his camp.
I had packed applesauce for kids to snack on at the park, plus grabbed peanut butter and graham crackers to make little sandwiches. Had I just fed them lunch? Yes. Did they still need snacks? Yes. Hearty ones.
We made it home with everyone in time for four kids to have ABA therapy sessions all evening. We made two Sam’s sized boxes of Orange Chicken for dinner with Broccoli and Watermelon.
We were out of easy-to-grab protein snacks, so I made a double batch of Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups to get us through the next few days.
Keith got to try something super fun that night! Knowing his love for our marine friend Sam – Christina had brought over two MREs for Keith to try so that he’d understand more about what Sam had eaten while he was at Boot Camp. Matt and Keith’s ABA therapy technician helped him read through the package and prepare some of the food. It was very sweet to watch him experience this! Notice that he had to put on the correct attire for this project.
On Tuesday morning, Matt took kids to camp and VBS. That left me at home with Auggie and his ABA therapist. So I took advantage of the couple hours of work time and baked 6-pounds of Bacon plus Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars and Banana Bread.
When we got all the kids home from VBS, we had leftovers for lunch. This photo shows that there was peaceful chaos in the kitchen during that time. The chaos is not always peaceful. But this moment was sweet while everyone filled their bellies.
We played outside for a while, then loaded up for an adventure.
We took the kids to a nearby school playground that was open for public play. This was fun and different than going to a “regular park” so the kids were very excited about this!
Keith and Bonus Buddy took advantage of time on the turf with a soccer ball.
We dropped everyone at home, then Kiya, Acacia, and I went to pick up Brayden from his Archery Camp. We headed directly over to our weekly Food Distribution to hand out food to the community and wash coolers as they emptied out. Acacia was so very happy to take a turn going with us! She took her job very seriously as clients came through the line.
Matt held down the fort at home with ABA therapy sessions and dinner (leftover Smoked Pork Loin from Sunday). We were outside most of the evening before bedtime. The boys have been smashing empty water bottles to put into their bike tires so that when they ride, it sounds like a motor. Auggie is now a big boy, so he needed to do it too. Big Brother Keith helped get Auggie’s water bottle situated for him. :)
Matt drove Brayden to Archery Camp and the other kids to VBS on Wednesday morning. Auggie started his ABA therapy session and I got some baking done to try and get ahead. But wait, you say. Didn’t you just bake Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars and Banana Bread the day before plus Crustless Cheesecakes and Spinach Cupcakes last week? Yes, indeed I did. And we’d eaten our way through much of it already. Therefore, we needed another round of baking done while I had time. :)
We needed a sack lunch for the kids that day, so after baking I worked on bagging up grapes, carrots, and cheese cubes and started to prep sacks. I put together a few Meat and Cheese Burritos to warm up just before heading out, and added meat sticks to bags of the kids who wouldn’t eat the burritos.
Then Arrow got dropped off and we went outside to play!
No matter how much he mows, that grass keeps growing.
At 11:40, we loaded up Auggie and Arrow and went to pick up six kids from VBS. They ate their sack lunches in the car as we drove across town to drop them off at Eva’s and Kelsey’s for the afternoon. We have the BEST daughters-in-law who are willing to give Matt and me a chance for respite. The kids all had such a fun time!
We picked up all the kids and headed home for four ABA therapy sessions, playtime, and dinner. We ate Smoked Sausages, Pineapple Fluff, Baked Beans, and Pickles – plus Spinach Cupcakes throughout the night when kids needed snacks.
On Thursday morning, we got kids settled in with camp, VBS, and ABA therapy – then I got to work in the kitchen again. I packed both lunch and dinner for a big day ahead.
We kept seven out of eight of the kids busy after VBS by going straight to a park to have a picnic lunch and play for the afternoon.
Lunch was simple: meat sticks, fruit cups, spinach cupcakes, avocado cups, and almonds.
Then we picked up Brayden from his final day at Archery Camp and drove to York for the evening. Everyone munched on their sack dinner on the way there: turkey sandwiches, chips, applesauce, and a variety of other things based on what each kid eats well.
We spent several hours at Soul Quest, a camp on the York University campus that we have enjoyed for years and years. Malachi had been there all week with his Sideline Media crew filming and editing videos to feature each night after worship. It was great to see him and give him big hugs – and we were so blessed to see so many people that we know and love!
We didn’t load up to head home until long after our kids’ normal bedtime. But staying long enough to watch Malachi’s video feature was worth it!
Friday morning was fun! I dropped six kids at their final morning of VBS. Then Brayden, Auggie and I went to Michaels for some craft supplies and to Trader Joes to pick up a special snack.
We had two and a half hours before we needed to be back for VBS pick up, so we took our time and enjoyed the outing.
We took our snack to Holmes Lake where we enjoyed walking, playing, and talking to the ducks. It was truly lovely.
Matt had lunch ready for all of us when we got home. Then we attempted to watch the USA vs. Australia World Cup game.
Dinner that night was Slider Burgers with Tator Tots and Cucumbers.
Daddy spent time outside that evening pitching balls to kids who took turns at bat.
We packed a big picnic plus snacks on Saturday morning before heading out.
Our first stop was Library Storytime. I was completely distracted the entire time we were there because a friend we met at this storytime over a year ago was there this time with her baby twins!! I had no choice but to snuggle one of them.
After this, we loaded up and went to Prairie Pines Nature Preserve for a special event. Friends had let us know about this great nature center and we will definitely go back sometime! We learned about plants and pollination, then we walked to various other areas to explore.
Besides the friends we met up with there, Asa, Arrow, Kelsey, and Hopelyn joined us!
A favorite area of the park was a ninja course that the kids all enjoyed!
We ate our picnic lunch of Tuna Salad or Cheese with Crackers plus lots of Fruit options – just in time to beat the rain that started to fall. After being there for about three hours, we headed home.
That afternoon, we watched some soccer, cleaned, ate leftovers, and gave everyone baths – AFTER giving everyone a thorough tick check after being at the nature center!
And that was our week!
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