Why do they eat so much???

Summer is upon us and my grocery budget is doubling...anyone else with children notice this phenomenon in their house? As you know me and the hubby have five children- three bigs and then two littles. Now here is the fun part; my pantry is rather large and stays stocked thanks to my savvy shopping and my mother and father who buy certain items the littles like in bulk at the commissary on the base.  When our basketball team is at school, the pantry stays rather stocked, since they aren't home all day to eat everything in sight.

H probably eats the most out of all the team. He is 13 now, and he plays sports, so I guess it only makes since that if I want him to surpass his father in height, I better feed him as much food as his body can handle for the human growth hormone to kick in. (I plan on retiring once he gets drafted for whatever sport he settles on after college-so I have to keep him strong!) While my sister and her husband were visiting, my sister pointed out that the littles, K and Z just kind of pick at their food. Now, Z will eat mini muffins that g-ma brings like there is no tomorrow. K and Z love milk, cheese, and yogurt, so that is always on the ready for them. C and M eat, but for the most part they are pretty picky eaters too. So, I have a lot going with this little team of mine. I have to keep the house stocked with certain foods that everyone will eat. Now, again let me stress that when school is in session, this is not a problem.

I went to the store the other day with the intent on just getting CARROTS. Why in the hell did I walk out of the store with a cart full of food? I must have been doing an inventory in my head of the pantry and thinking to myself, we need that, because C likes it and eats it all day, or H needs this for when he is at practice, and then M and the littles love this as well...WTF! There are five mouths but they eat like we have 15 children in the house. I try to send them to their friend's house so they can eat their food, but they keep coming back home and eating everything! I just keep telling myself, H only has to eat food in this house for five more years and then he will only be back on holidays and breaks from college. M is right around the same time frame as H. But then I think about C, Z and K-I can't even count how many years left that they will be consuming vast amounts of food from this house. I just know that I need to start putting a few dollars back each school year so I am ready for the summer food extravaganza!