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Sixers, Seconds and Sloppy Joes
As soon as she was dropped off at home by Raina after the Brownie meeting, Angie bounced out to the deck with a huge smile on her face. "Mommy! Daddy! DJ! Guess what? I get to work on my Make It, Eat It Try-It Badge!" she exclaimed, waving a paper in the air.
Steve looked up from the salad he was making. "That's great, baby girl. What are you going to make?"
Catherine chuckled, placing a kiss on Angie's head. "Is that the recipe you chose?" she asked.
Angie nodded, holding up a sheet of paper with an ear to ear smile. "It's a recipe and the 'structions for you and Daddy to read. I get to make sloppy joes! Can I do it tonight, pleeeease?" She steepled her fingers.
Steve chuckled, wiping his hands on a towel. "Of course. Let's get started. DJ, why don't you help your sister grab the ingredients?" he suggested, glancing over at his son who was looking at the recipe Catherine was holding.
DJ glanced up with a smile. "I'm on it. I'll get everything ready with you, c'mon, Angie." He took the offered paper and headed for the kitchen with her in tow.
Steve and Catherine followed both kids inside, with Cammie bringing up the rear.
As they gathered the ingredients, Angie hopped in place. "I can't wait to start. I love cooking with everybody," she exclaimed, her eyes bright as she looked between the recipe and the items they were placing on the counter.
Catherine ruffled her hair. "We love cooking with you too, sweetheart. Let's make the best sloppy joes ever," she said, looking up to see DJ grinning.
The ingredients were brought to the outdoor kitchen counter, ready for Angie to begin. Steve stood by, reading the badge requirements, while Catherine leaned against the railing, watching Cammie make a quick potty run.
Angie surveyed the set up with an expression that made Steve smile at how very much she looked like her mother in mission prep mode. "Okay, I'm very ready. First, I have to brown the meat in the skillet. That means cook it, right, Daddy?" she asked, her eyes flicking between the recipe and her father's face.
Steve nodded. "That's right. You put the beef in the pan and let DJ help you with the stove," he said, giving her cheek a kiss.
With her brother ready to help if needed, the six year old began stirring the browning ground beef. Her nose scrunched up as she worked, her focus reminiscent of Steve's.
DJ stood by assisting when she asked, while Catherine pulled out her phone to take a few pictures of Angie in action.
As the meat cooked, DJ carefully held the strainer over a container, ready to drain off the excess fat. He poured the contents of the skillet into the strainer, watching as the fat dripped away, leaving behind the cooked meat.
Steve and Catherine exchanged a proud glance watching the siblings work together.
Once the meat was drained and back in the skillet, Angie added a can of tomato soup and a little ketchup, before she said, "a doll…up of mustard" before looking at Catherine. "What's a doll-up?"
"Dollup. It's about a tablespoon," she said with a smile as Angie picked up the mustard, measured it and dropped it in, mixing all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon.
The smell of simmering meat and sauce wafted from the outdoor stove, making Cammie look up from her casa and reposition herself near the table. Her littlest human's expression was one of complete concentration as she focused on getting the recipe just right.
DJ leaned in, peeking over his sister's shoulder. "That looks awesome. I can't wait to try it," he said, "I'm starving."
Angie grinned. "Thanks, I hope it tastes yummy." She glanced at her father. "I think it's cooked. Is it, Daddy?"
With a peek and nod from Steve, the sloppy joe mixture was deemed ready. While he lifted the skillet, Angie had Catherine help her toast hamburger buns on the grill.
Once everything was set, DJ put the salad on the table while Steve carried the skillet of sloppy joe mixture and placed it on a hot plate.
As they sat down to eat, all eyes fell on the very happy Brownie Scout when she took a bite of sloppy joe. "Mmm, it's very, very good! Thank you DJ, Mommy and Daddy for helping me get my badge!" she said, beaming.
Steve grinned. "You did great, baby girl. According to your badge sheet, you earned your Make It, Eat It Try-It Badge."
Catherine raised her glass of lemonade in a toast. "To Angie's first badge. We're proud of you, baby girl," she said, clinking her glass with each of the kids' and Steve's.
DJ smiled and said, "Great job, Angie, I think you're the best sloppy joe maker on Oahu," echoing his father's oft-repeated phrase. "We did step side shuffle and base running drills at practice. It was cool. We had to run to first base as fast as we could and focus on running through it without slowing down. Then keep running towards second, third and home in case the ball gets overthrown. It was fun but pretty tiring. What did you do at your Brownie meeting?"
"Oh!" Her hands flew to cover her mouth. "I got so excited about the recipe part for home I almost forgot!" She was bouncing in her seat and Steve, Catherine and DJ exchanged a grin as she excitedly filled them in on her meeting.
"Me and Ashae got picked to be Sixer and Second! Everybody voted and our six is called the Tinkerbells!" She was vibrating with excitement. "The other two sixes are the Floras and Tulips."
Steve and Catherine knew from the handbook that Brownie troops are often broken up into groups of six for projects. The leader of each group is called the Six and she gets a deputy of sorts called the Second. Each group is named after a fairy or woodland creature.
"We made ice box cake and put it in the 'frigerator and by snack time it was done. It was very very good and we put sprinkles and cherries on top! I helped pass it out to thank everybody for voting me Sixer for the project."
When Steve said, "That's my girl," with a proud smile that lit his face Catherine leaned over and kissed his cheek.
After cleaning up dinner and loading the dishwasher, they watched an episode on Disney Plus. When it was over, Steve stood. "Time for stories. It's getting late."
Angie looked up. "Already?" she sighed. "Can we read Ratatouille?"
Catherine chuckled, shaking her head. "Yes, but two chapters. Brownies with cooking badges need their sleep."
Steve scooped Angie up, making her giggle. "Come on, Sixer Angie. Story, then bed," he said, carrying her towards the stairs.
DJ followed, yawning slightly. "I'm kinda tired from practice. We did a lot of drills, right, Dad?"
"We did, and you guys did great, I'm really proud of you."
Catherine smiled softly, watching them head upstairs.
When Angie settled into bed, her tummy full, and happy about her badge, she thought about the day. From getting voted Sixer and Second with Ashae and making ice box cake with her troop to earning her badge cooking sloppy joes with her family, it had been a very very good day. She snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes.
DJ was asleep almost before he hit the pillow, dreams of the Cubbies having a winning season dancing behind his closed eyelids.
In the master bedroom, Catherine held up the sheet for Steve as he climbed into bed. Noticing her smirk, he kissed her and pulled back to say, "What?"
"I see what you're thinking…" she chuckled. He was grinning ear to ear.
"Of course you can. What am I thinking?"
"That Brownie Sixer is a step away from platoon leader. You're totally picturing Ensign Angie McGarrett leading a platoon."
Barking a laugh, he shrugged. "That's our girl."
# End thanks for reading!
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