Popsicles

So, on Thursday night we decided to let the kids have a Popsicle before bed. I recall asking JJ or Tori to go and get some out of the deep freezer for everyone, as always with the automatic and gentle reminder to please make sure the freezer door is shut. There have been a few times in the past when they haven't given it quite enough pressure and then it is left open a tiny bit, causing the freezer to run extra hard to retain the temperature. Apparently they were busy and so the job got sent down the ranks. It is not known who actually retrieved the Popsicles, but most likely it was our Ashlee or Cameron. It was not until the next morning( Friday) when Braxton comes upstairs to wake me up saying, " Dad needs your help unloading the freezer." I knew this was not good and it actually immediately occurred to me what had probably happened. When I came downstairs, this is what I saw. At first I'm thinking to myself , well, maybe the freezer was just left open slightly and maybe most of it is still frozen. But sadly, this was not the case. A few of the freezer jams, a package of hamburgers, a bag of vegetables and some sliced onions, all of which were lining the very back of the freezer were the only things that were mostly frozen. These things were transferred to a cooler because there was absolutely no room in the freezer in the house. That is what makes the story even more fun! You see, we had been gone on vacation for two and a half weeks and you can't leave much in the fridge and expect it to survive that long. So we had to seriously restock upon returning home. I, for one, do not find grocery shopping with children to be that enjoyable,especially during these wonderful summer months when I have to take all six of them! That being said, when we do make these crazy trips to the store, I buy as much as I can, in hopes of delaying the next trip. So, I had stocked up at Walmart the previous weekend and then on Wednesday I had taken the crew to Sams Club to get the Frozen stuff and such. I should have been good to go for a while! But that is when tragedy struck. John said that when he went out to the garage in the morning, the freezer door was opened all the way! That is why not much was able to stay frozen. Because it continued to run all night and it wasn't too hot, a lot of things were still cold and therefore safe to eat, that is if we could actually consume it that fast. So John said, " Figure out a menu for the next three days that will use this stuff and find a way to keep it cold.",then gave me a kiss and was on his way to work. I began to shift things in my fridge to try and fit anything that I could in there and the words of a wise friend and experienced blogger came to my mind, "Always take pictures!" Thank you Kelly!! And so I did, quickly, and then puzzle packed things where I could. I had a box of thirty corn dogs and TWO Sams size pkgs. of chicken nuggets that were too big to fit anywhere, the ultimate in kid fare. The thought struck me, " Why not call up some friends with little kids and tell them I've got lunch at my house today?" And so that is what I did! There were about 10 or 11 women and well over 20 children running around by noon. We had a very fun impromptu lunch and everyone got a good laugh at the events that inspired our meeting. I ended up only having to throw out about 7 things, so it could have been a lot worse in the end. Now at least I have some fun memories with friends to tie with it!

We took the opportunity to let our freezer thaw out and left only the Popsicles in the bottom. We have also, naturally, instated the binding rule that only the adults are allowed to open the freezer door. We'll see how long that lasts.....