Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: July 5-11, 2026 post!
July 3-4
Before I share about this week, I’ll back up and share a few from last weekend that I didn’t have time to include in my past post.
My dad’s side of the family has a tradition to meet together over a weekend close to the Fourth of July each year. We traveled to Wichita for this last Friday – a huge effort with our kids – but worth it so we could see so many loved ones!
We stayed in a hotel, which the kids loved so much that it was difficult for them to wind down and sleep. :) We played with cousins and shared special time with aunts and uncles. I loved this conversation between Anna and my Aunt Rosalee. Anna had a loose tooth and was very excited to show it off!
A highlight of this reunion is a homemade pinata for the kids to break open. Here, we are all gathered outside to let them take turns taking whacks at it, from youngest to oldest.
We traveled back home Saturday afternoon. The four driving hours felt extra long because guess what?! WE HAD A NEW GRANDBABY TO GET HOME TO!!!
Asa and Eva had their baby over the weekend and Lolli and Pop were very excited to meet her. We came up with a plan to drive directly to the hospital as we pulled into Lincoln. Matt dropped me off at the hospital to run upstairs and grab some sweet newborn baby snuggles while he took the kids to do a mobile pickup at McDonalds for dinner. Eighty nuggets and three large orders of fries kept the kids occupied for these extra car seat minutes. I came back down and hung with the kids in the parking lot while Matt took a turn meeting our sweetest new granddaughter. :)
Was the day over at that point? Oh no. It was the Fourth of July, after all. We had some fireworks to light up before we could go to bed.
PHEW!
Big Family Food and Fun: July 5-11, 2026
On Sunday morning, we ate Breakfast Cookie Bars and got tired kids ready for worship.
Big Brother Arrow had been spending the weekend at Eva’s parent’s house and at Justus and Kelsey’s house while his parents were at the hospital with Baby Sister. Now it was Lolli and Pop’s turn to spend some extra Arrow time! He went home with us after church that day, enjoying a fruit/veggie pouch as we drove.
We were joined by our friends, Don and Rochelle, for lunch that day and had a lovely time with just these two extras around our tables. I had smoked Chicken Thighs and Brats the week before and froze them in preparation for this meal. They warmed in the crock pot while we were at church and I made Green Beans and Cream Cheese Corn as sides. Rochelle brought delicious Mac and Cheese, which rounded out the meal perfectly!
Feeding Anna is a job that takes a village, and Rochelle was so sweet to take on the task that day. She was able to get Anna to eat a plateful of corn. This was a big win!
Lunch was quiet and sweet, though Don teased us when we commented on our small lunch crowd of “only” 17 people that day.
The best part of the day: Arrow’s Dada showed up to spend some time with him while Eva (hopefully) rested at the hospital. Their reunion was pretty precious.
We watched a soccer game, played outside, warmed up leftovers for dinner, and settled kids in to bed that night – but not before part of the ceiling in the boys room fell in just a bit and we had to put an emergency band aid on it it until Matt can get around to fixing it. We LOVE our big old house that God provided for our family!!!! But it comes with constant maintenance needs. I’m so thankful that Matt knows so much and is so handy.
On Monday morning, I knew I needed to get some baking done because I didn’t have anything quick/easy on hand to give kids to fill their bellies. So I asked Auggie to open some butter sticks for me. He was happy to do it…
Alrighty, bud. Eating the butter stick was not in the job description.
Eventually, I was able to get batches of Crustless Cheesecakes and Nutella Oat Bars made.
That morning, we dropped five kids off at day camps. Emma came over to stay with the youngest three, then Matt and I headed to Holmes Lake where we spent a lovely, quite morning walking and talking.
Just before we headed home, we asked Emma to help girls potty and get shoes on. Then we grabbed the kids up and headed to Costco. We completely filled two carts, getting lots and lots of fresh produce plus sale items and essentials.
It was quite a feat to get everything unloaded and put away. Then we got kids home from camps, started evening ABA therapy sessions, and made dinner: Rotisserie Chicken with Caesar Salad with Strawberry Parfaits. This was all SO GOOD! We ate our way through almost 6-pounds of strawberries that night!
I had picked up a few groceries for Asa and Eva’s family while at Costco, so I had the huge privilege of taking the goods to their house that evening and hanging with the littles and with them for a while. :)
On Tuesday morning, the kids ate Egg Casserole or Nutella Oat Bars while getting ready for camps and therapies for the day.
Acacia and Josie were very excited to have a turn at going to a camp this week! A friend had told us about a free Little but Fierce Shakespeare Summer Camp, so off they went to learn about acting. :)
Matt took Auggie to pick up Arrow and hang out at a park while the girls were at their camp. I was home having an attachment therapy session with one of our kids, then dropped that kid off at camp and headed to pick up these two.
Arrow came over for playtime, lunch, and nap. Acacia was very entertaining while Arrow enjoyed an Uncrustable.
That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and Anna went with me to serve at our weekly Food Distribution. Anna usually has ABA therapy during this time and feels sad that she never gets to go with us to Food Net. With her ABA behavior technician on vacation, it freed her up to join us. She was thrilled and did a great job helping wash coolers!
Dinner was super good – Smothered Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans. Why yes, I did overfill the crock pot and it did leak out all over the countertop. :)
I was very blessed to spend a little over an hour that night at a fun Bunco night with ladies from Heartlands Church. There was a great turnout and lots of joy in that room!
On Wednesday, I made a batch of Moist Chocolate Muffins with Hidden Spinach for breakfast and to take to Arrow.
I also baked 24 eggs so we could put together a bunch of Breakfast Sandwiches. I took a few of them to Arrow’s parents so they could have something quick to warm up for breakfast the next few days.
After breakfast, I dropped six kids off to their camps then headed over to spend time at Asa and Eva’s. Arrow and I went outside to play in their back yard.
After he moved all the sand from one place to another, he watered his Mommy’s garden.
We got hot in the sun, so we went back inside to cool off. Arrow’s daddy read him some books while Lolli held Baby Sister! It was a glorious two hours!
Back at home, our friend Pasha came to hang out while his mom was at a meeting.
For dinner that night, we had Grilled Burgers, Fries, and Watermelon.
We had ABA sessions then went to Popsicles in the Park with our church family.
Somewhere in there, we all finally got the call from Elias we’d been waiting for!! Guess what had happened that afternoon?!?!?!
We are so joyful to officially add Malorie to our family!
Amazing – a new granddaughter and a new daughter-in-law all in the same week! It feels a little weird to go right back into talking about food again. However…
I had bananas that needed to be used up, so on Thursday morning I made a batch of Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins. I made them with gluten free oats, which meant that they were safe for our GF housemate to eat!
Both Hopelyn and Arrow came over for the day, so they enjoyed sweet cousin time! Did you know that if you pick up handfuls of tiny rocks and put them through the holes in this metal bench, it makes a very fun noise?!
We ate leftovers for lunch at the picnic table.
Then Pop stayed home with napping Hopelyn and Arrow while I took Acacia, Josie, and Auggie to the zoo for a little afternoon outing. They did a great job hanging with me!
Back at home, we snacked on some muffins while Acacia made the babies giggle.
The rest of the night was very full of ABA therapy for five kids. Having so many hours of therapy in our home is a HUGE gift and we see the long term rewards of this effort for the future. However, in the midst of it – phew! Matt and I fed the kids leftovers, and went from one kid/therapist to another helping execute treatment plans, putting out “fires,” finding kids who had escaped their therapist to avoid having to do a task – it’s an intense four hours. Truly, we are so thankful for the intervention God has provided and the goodness of all of our therapists!
On Friday morning, we ate a Low Sugar Peanut Butter Cake that I had made the night before to enjoy at breakfast time.
As we got the kids ready for camps that morning, I shredded Salsa Shredded Beef that had slow cooked all night. I packaged it up and tucked it away to have ready for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.
Matt stayed home with Auggie to help get Brayden off to his camp. I dropped off all the others then had about an hour and a half before needing to be back to Acacia and Josie’s camp for their Friday performance. Holmes Lake was just a few minutes away so I drove over and enjoyed a lovely walk around the lake. I am so very thankful for every chance I have to do something like this. It is healing for my body and soul.
I had a few extra minutes, so I went to Hy-Vee and took advantage of a 1-day sale they had on eggs – $0.77/dozen, no limit. I bought 12 dozen. But I forgot to get a picture because I was trying to hurry!
Acacia and Josie had a little program to showcase what they’d been learning at their Little But Fierce Shakespeare Camp. They were both pretty hesitant to join in, but they did finally join the circle here to participate.
We ate leftovers for lunch, then Matt and I took the three youngest to a park to play before all of our evening activities. They played in the sand before we headed home, with landed them all in the tub at home for a good soak and scrub.
Brayden had been enjoying a Performing Arts Camp all week, so the four girls and I went to his performance late that afternoon while Matt stayed home with the other boys and their ABA therapy sessions. Brayden sang a lot of songs with the entire group, did some special drumming, plus acted in a skit they had worked on all week.
I got home much later than expected. Matt had gotten dinner going and I helped finish up: Sausage Cheese Eggs, Sweet Peppers, Mandarins, and Cinnamon Toast.
We finished out our evening of ABA therapy, then the kids enjoyed a very fun Writing Skills kit that Matt’s mom had ordered and sent to the kids. They were all very proud of their work!
On Saturday, we took the kids to Sensory Storytime at the Library. Asa brought Arrow to hand off to us there, then went home so he and Eva could rest with Baby. Kelsey and Hopelyn met us there and enjoyed story time. It is so sweet to see Arrow and Hopelyn join along with all of the songs and activities now!
From there, we went to UNL East Campus for a Discovery Day. This is such a cool event with many booths set up with learning activities for the kids to do. Arrow truly thought he was one of the big kids on this outing as he led the way.
We listened to live music, blew bubbles, painted with Kool-Aid paint, made fancy magnets, learned about bacteria and fungi, and even made soybean oil by pouring soybeans into a machine. The stations available for learning are so cool!
Somewhere in there, we found a shady spot and ate a picnic lunch. This was the best/only picture I got from my spot on the ground – and I missed capturing the fancy cheese I’d splurged on to enjoy this summer. But this. This is the cheese we ate with sliced apples and it was SO GOOD. If you’re ever at Whole Foods (or Hy-Vee if you live in the Nebraska/Iowa area), grab yourself some of this cheese in the gourmet cheese aisle. It makes your healthy snack taste like you’re eating Caramel Apples! We also enjoyed little Turkey Sandwiches on rolls and Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Sandwiches.
After packing up our lunch and enjoying a few more of the Discover Stations, we headed home to get the littlest ones down for naps. Kids ate popsicles and played in the sprinkler. I made a pan of No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars for our Sunday Lunch dessert.
And that was our week!
