Big Family Food and Fun: June 30-July 6, 2024

Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 30-July 6, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: June 30-July 6, 2024

We started our week with a special Family Worship morning at church. The kids had been working on a fun song to share for us on stage. Four of our littles felt brave enough that day to get up there with their buddies. :)

For lunch that day I had put the last of our $5 hams into our large roaster to “bake” during church. We came home to a delicious Ham Dinner with Buttered Peas and Corn, Watermelon, Rolls, and Pineapple Fluff. We had brought home a pan of Cinnamon Rolls my nieces made after our weekend trip so it was great to enjoy those for dessert!

You can always tell when Elias’ girlfriend, Malorie, is here visiting by looking at our little girls’ hair. I have time for ponytails and that’s about it. Malorie takes time to create all kinds of adorable hair styles for them!

Matt and I have started to meet with three other couples on Sunday afternoons for a time of Bible study and sharpening/encouraging. I can’t express how grateful I am for this time. AND how thankful we are that Elias has been willing to help with the kids so that we can do this. He and Malorie kept them downstairs for a movie then took them outside. One of the guys here for our Bible study captured this photo through our living room window of Elias with Keith and Josie. So sweet.

That afternoon, Brayden and Kiya entertained themselves for a long time making “crafts with nature.” We loved how this activity helped them to be calm and engaged.

One of the couples who had come over that afternoon handed us two FREE PIZZA coupons that were going to expire that day. He’d picked up a bunch at his work place and they’d used all they wanted so we got the final two. Perfect! I guess we’d just have to eat pizza that night!

We got to order whatever variety we wanted as the coupons were for any pizza on the menu. Elias and Malorie went to pick them up for us while we fed the kids fruit to hold them over.

Elias helped me get them baked, cut, and served. And that was dinner that night.

Monday morning it rained and rained and rained. This was good except for it seemed that all morning the kids took turns (or sometimes joined together) screaming for a variety of reasons. Matt wasn’t feeling great that day so between that and the rain, we decided against an outing. Oy, usually outings stop the screaming, so now what?

We headed to the kitchen to bake. Kids helped me measure and pour as we put together a double batch of Breakfast Cookies.

While the cookies baked, we made some Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. The kids were so excited about this!

The rain stopped so that the kids could play outside that afternoon. Dinner that night was Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot with Sunday’s Ham, Peas, and Corn on top or on the side.

Later that night I got this text and photo from my friend Tasha who was out at church camp where Malachi was serving for the week: “He’s like a celebrity. He’s doing a lovely job running evening activities.” Awww. I needed that.

Tuesday morning we prepped for a big day ahead, eating the Breakfast Cookies we’d made the day before. I packed up Peanut Butter/Honey Sandwiches, Guacamole and Chips, Carrots, Peach and Pear Cups, Applesauce, and a bag of Apples to take to the zoo where we were planning to meet up with friends. I watered down a bottle of juice and packed cups to give the kids a fun treat with lunch.

It ended up raining off and on during most of our zoo time, but we still had a lot of fun!

We watched the penguins eat their lunch, then stayed to let the zoo keepers share more about the penguins. There was even a baby penguin to enjoy!

All throughout the morning before lunch the kids munched on apples as they got hungry. I have learned to always grab a bag of apples or pears for the kids to eat when we are out like this. It helps prevent hangry meltdowns and as you can see from my once full bag that now contained only one half eaten apple – we needed these.

About the time we were going to set up a picnic to enjoy our lunch, the rain started to come down harder. So we went instead to the (very loud) indoor Spider Monkey play area to play and eat. There are no tables in there but we sat along a wall and I handed out food there.

After lunch, we loaded up and I dropped off Matt and five kids at home, then headed to drop off Acacia and Josie to have fun at Ms. Kathi’s. From there I went to hang out with Eva and Arrow (and bonus, Kelsey was there too!). I enjoyed an entire hour and a half of baby snuggles before heading back to pick up the girls. :)

Back at home, I dropped off the girls and picked up Brayden and Kiya to had out food at our weekly Food Distribution.

That morning, I had used some pre-cooked hamburger meat to make a pot of Sloppy Joes for Elias to warm up for dinner.

We spent the rest of the evening playing outside, going up and down our sidewalk on cars or pushing carts.

Wednesday morning we had Make-Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches that had been tucked away in the freezer. The girls ate with their baby dolls. :)

We packed up a lunch and headed out to Walmart and to Tierra Park for the morning. I attempted making Chicken Sandwiches before we left and put them into an insulated bag to see if they’d still be hot two hours later at lunch time.

It worked pretty well!

On our outing, I first ran into Walmart while Matt stayed in the van with the kids so I could get some fresh fruit and veggies for the upcoming days. I found and grabbed a roast and a bunch of coconut water marked down!

I love a cart full of fruits and vegetables!

We love Tierra Park because there is a skate park area plus a fun route the kids can ride their bikes around. Matt had loaded up all of their bikes and Keith’s skateboard for this outing. Phew!

Keith is so proud of his skills. :)

At lunchtime, we enjoyed our Chicken Sandwiches with Popcorn, Applesauce, and Chocolate Milk (there was a lot of extra milk at Food Distribution the day before so they sent some home with us!).

Afterward, we headed home to drop off five kids, then I dropped Acacia and Josie off at Josalyn’s for two hours. Off I went to get some more Arrow snuggles during that time. I was thrilled that Eva was able to nap while I was there and of course, I LOVED my time with Arrow.

Meanwhile, Elias and Malorie had taken Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to a library-hosted Heavy Equipment Encounter so they could see and climb on lots of emergency and work vehicles. After that, they stopped at a fire works tent to pick up some kid-friendly items for us to enjoy the next day.

We couldn’t wait for the 4th for all of them so we enjoyed a few that afternoon too.

We had plans to go to a dinner party that didn’t begin until 6:00 and I knew our kids couldn’t wait that long to eat. So I made them two plates of Corn Dog Bites, sliced a pound of Cheese, and got out the Watermelon. They ate and ate and ate (and were still hungry at the party later).

The party was hosted by a couple of young men that grew up with our kids. It’s so fun to see everyone in their adult world! Asa, Eva, and Arrow were there too so I got a few extra baby snuggles. :)

There was an amazing spread of food and we got to catch up with people we hadn’t seen in years!

The morning of the fourth, I made a skillet full of Scrambled Cheesy Eggs and Sausage Gravy to go with Biscuits we’d brought back home with us after our family reunion last weekend.

Malorie fixed Acacia, Josie, and Kiya’s hair SO CUTE for the holiday!

I was preparing a big family lunch but I also felt like cleaning out the fridge. So I used the rest of Sunday’s ham to make two Breakfast Casseroles and two Ham and Hashbrown Casseroles for the freezer.

Our kids were all coming over for lunch (except for Malachi who was serving out at church camp all week). I had planned to make Smoked Chicken Legs, Corn on the Cob, Watermelon, Caesar Salad, and Homemade Ice Cream.

HOWEVER, for some reason our smoker would not heat up for me. After messing with it for way too long, I ran out of time to cook the chicken. So I quickly switched gears and cooked Brats and Hotdogs (which I had thawed to make that night). Brats and dogs on the stove saved the day and I quickly made Baked Beans to go with our meal.

Asa, Eva, and Arrow arrived plus Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart. Our friend Ascha came too, plus one of our housemates, so we had a great crowd of 19! Just before time to eat, I found this crew in our living room watching some of our big boys’ old videos they’d made as kids. :)

Auntie Josie got her first turn at holding Baby Arrow. So sweet.

We enjoyed our feast of Brats, Hotdogs, Baked Beans, Corn on the Cob, Pickles, Watermelon, and Homemade Ice Cream. Elias and Malorie also made a pitcher of sweet tea for everyone.

After lunch, we headed outside to do just a few fireworks with the kids.

While BabyBoy#11 napped, Anna, Acacia, and I made Strawberry Shortcake Muffins for dinner.

After they were finished baking, Anna “gave me permission” to cut her hair. She does NOT like having her hair brushed and it causes a lot of fights that ain’t nobody got time for. :/ She was excited about it and it turned out very cute!!!

But don’t look too close. I don’t know what I’m doing, ha.

We got the smoker working so we could have our lunch chicken legs at dinnertime!

We had our BBQ Chicken Legs with Caesar Salad, Green Beans, and Rolls.

Then we followed our meal with Strawberry Shortcake!

We headed out to enjoy sparklers and simple fireworks with the kids. Our friend Dallas came over to enjoy the evening with us and he was so sweet with the little ones.

At bedtime, we put Anna, Acacia, Josie, and BabyBoy#11 to bed but the others had rested in the afternoon so that they could stay up late. They were so excited about this privilege!

Friday morning the weather was beautiful so we took a walk to Sunken Gardens.

When we got home I made six boxes of Mac and Cheese, cut up leftover Hotdogs from the day before and warmed up leftover Peas for lunch.

Late afternoon I made a big plate of Chicken Strips to hold everyone over because there was an outing opportunity we were excited to experience. Back story: Brayden had a chance to go to Lincoln’s Quilt Museum for a field trip during last school year and he really wanted all of us to go sometime. I had found a FREE event hosted this night at the Quilt Museum with a Storytime, Craft, and Cookie – so off we all went.

Oy, the kids were a challenge the entire time. The event itself was great and well put together. But most of our kids had a very hard time being calm, listening, or obeying while we were there. Hey, but here are some photos in which you can’t tell that anything is amiss.

Storytime:

Craft time:

Cookie time:

Ah, and after we looked at some of the amazing quilts through the museum (there was a scavenger hunt that we tried to enjoy with the kids), we discovered a children’s room! At least it was ok to touch stuff in here…

Truly, the Quilt Museum is very cool, just tough when you have seven high-needs kids to manage. We made it home and fed them loads of strawberries and cheese before bed. Phew.

Saturday morning the kids ate cereal while I baked a double batch of Bran Muffins to try and get ahead.

Then I drank my daily smoothie while I made a huge batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs for easy snacks.

We loaded up and went to our favorite Sensory Friendly Storytime. This was a MUCH BETTER outing compared to the night before. The kids know what to expect here and it is geared toward kids who need a calm environment. Even our timid Josie happily gets involved!

On our way home, we made a planned trip to Antelope park where we ate some buttered muffins, bananas, and milk before playing for about an hour.

Kelsey and Little Sweetheart were at our house when we got home so she helped me make pizzas for our lunch. We decided to cook the pizzas on our smoker, which caught on fire – not a great week for us and our smoker, ha. So Matt took care of the smoker while I baked the pizzas in the house in the boring ol’ oven,