Full Disclosure: Char-Broil has compensated me for this post; however, the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I sat there in my lawn chair, watching all of the neighborhood kids play in the street. I couldn’t help but think about the memories of my youth doing the exact same thing. Whether it was bike-riding, playing baseball in the street yelling “CAR” any time someone would turn down our street, these kids own this particular block.

The kids get along so well that at times, it can be challenging to get our boys to come in for dinner. There is always the begging for one more ride on the bike down the hill to impress one of the neighborhood girls or the, “I’m not hungry!” as the water gun fight continues to spray on.

But, there is one thing that we have learned that can bring our kids in faster than they can turn the hose on again to fill up said water guns.

Pizza

On this particular night, when I yelled out the front door that it was time to come in for dinner, the groans were louder than usual. Loud enough to be heard from 3 houses down, I let them know that pizza was for dinner. Almost instantly, they came running down the street.

Worn out and exhausted, they sat at the table, “Dad… where is the pizza?”

“I thought it would be fun if we ate outside.”

It was as if it was some sort of major inconvenience as they shoved the chairs away from the table. As they slide the glass door opened they were greeted with a spread of pizza making ingredients: the crust, sauce, pepperoni, and of course cheese (and dairy-free cheese for our youngest).

That minor inconvenience of having to go BACK outside from the table was soon forgotten as they were able to create their own pizza masterpieces.

Making Pizza On The Grill

The sight of the Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Grill preheating in the background. And with a little help from dad, the sauce was spread out evenly, the pepperonis were spread on my youngest’s but my oldest wanted to put cheese first, and then the opposite ingredients were applied soon after.

As I turned the burners of the grill down, the pizzas were soon slid onto the grates. Closing the lid, I was able to sit back and think about the memories I just made with my kids. It almost happens too quickly, luckily we have the pictures to prove that kneeling down on the deck next to my boys making pizzas really did just happen.

One of the things about cooking for kids is that they seem to be some of the pickiest eaters and if there is even the hint of something burned, the entire meal is a disaster. Rotating the pizzas every so often helped with preventing the bottom crust to burn. After all, we didn’t want this whole plan to spend time as a family to be ruined by a burned piece of pizza. Also, I knew I was covered with my Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Grill since it eliminates flare-ups and prevents hot and cold spots.

As the pizzas reached maximum cheesiness (or was that the dad joke I told them about pizza… it was really cheesy), they were pulled from the grill, sliced and served. As a blogger and a father, this was one of those moments that happened so quickly that pictures were hard to come by. Everyone was enjoying the pizzas and the time we were spending together as a family, so the camera sat next to me the entire time. I couldn’t tell you how fast the pizzas were devoured, or how much we all enjoyed the conversations we had–I’m sure some of it was talking about our oldest’s summer camp. But it was a moment that I was able to enjoy with my kids.

It’s those moments, making pizzas on the back deck, that we are going to talk about for years to come. It’s going to be a nugget I talk about at my boy’s rehearsal dinners, along with some of the more embarrassing moments of their lives. But as we sat there talking about the weekend and the busy week ahead, I sat there hoping that my kids would be as forgiving for me as a dad as this grill was on those pizzas.