My DH doesn't get home from work until usually 7ish so I am very strict with routine.
I quite often plan our meals in advance and do the chopping and get ingredients ready or have our dinner sitting in the oven to turn on when he lets me know he is leaving work.
The kids eat 5pm (DD included now) then it's usually 30min giggle and hoot time.
6pm is bath for all of them together. I get the two boys out first and dress DS2 and DS1 can dress himself and then it's DD's turn.
DD feed and bed at 6:30pm while boys play quietly or noisily
Then I get a move on with dinner after DD is in bed and the boys play.
Most of the time dinner is ready to go and will only take 10mins or so to throw together and cook or if it's an oven dish it will be ready at 7:15pm. Sometimes I actually leave dinner up to DH altogether and we eat around 8ish.
DH usually does stories for DS2 at 7pm when he gets home and then bed for DS2. If he doesn't get home in time or DS2 is particularly tired I put DS2 to bed at 6:45-7pm.
Then DS1 has stories and bed at 7:30pm on a school night.
From 4:30pm for me it's go time (I cook kids dinner at around that time).
While the boys eat dinner and DD chews on some bread I do the dishes and then they all sit down and watch a little bit of giggle and hoot night time before bath. As thegoodnight song plays I am running the bath and getting DD undressed. Boys can undress themselves.
I love 4:30pm as it's busy, in a very good way. Kids are always happy after dinner and love bath time and a little play after.