Cute Charlie Pictures and Videos, June and July

These were all taken between June 3 and July 27.

June

Sweet Charlie giggling in his exersaucer

July

Jonny's First Day of School

This is my Facebook post from today:

We have lived here for 11 years and school has always started early with our modified year-round schedule, but this year is by far the earliest. This is how Jonny feels about starting school today.

Junior year!

I finally got him to smile.

Our Wonderful Visit with Nathaniel, Audrey, and Charlie!

July 9, Wednesday

I'm so glad Nathaniel, Audrey, and Charlie are here! I spent the morning getting ready for the day and getting Jonny's room ready for them and washing the bedding and everything. I set up the pack and play and got the luggage rack out. I brought some diapers upstairs and a towel to make it easier for them to change him. Jonny is going to stay in Andrew's room. Their flight was actually early but it worked out fine. Jonny and I went to pick them up and then we came back to the house so we could drop off some of their things so they don't sit in the hot car while we go to lunch. Michael had worked out and he wasn't ready when we left so we picked him up and I changed Charlie's diaper and we left to go to lunch. We wanted to go to Oasis Bay and I had looked it up on Apple Maps and it says it was open but it turns out it's closed and being rebranded again so I felt bad about that. We went to Pacific Seafood Buffet instead. 

Everyone seemed to enjoy the lunch and then we drove back home. Audrey took my car to take Charlie to go visit her friend. Nathaniel and Jonny played some video games and I got some tasks done on the computer. Then Audrey and Charlie came home and we played with Charlie for a bit. 

He loves the toys I got out for him, especially the little happy apple. 

By about 6:30 PM, Charlie was ready for bed because that's 7:30 PM Utah time. Audrey fed him and got him ready for bed but he woke up quite a few more times. I had made roast in the crockpot for dinner so I made some sides to go with that. Once Daniel got home, he and Jonny and Nathaniel and Audrey all played Smash Bros for a little while. They actually made me play for a few minutes when Audrey had to go upstairs to take care of Charlie. Once Michael got home, we all decided to play a game. We played Taboo, then we had a family prayer and everyone went to bed. 

July 10, Thursday

We had a wonderful day today! Charlie had been up since 5 AM and Michael and Jonny had already had some time with him this morning. 

I got the ham in the crockpot and did a few chores. Michael wanted to go to the gym so I asked if we could please do scriptures first so we did that. Nathaniel and Audrey were busy with Charlie but then they joined us later. I stayed downstairs and played with Charlie for a little while and then I finally went up to shower and get ready for the day. 

They wanted to go swimming before lunch so we did that. Charlie looks so cute in his dinosaur swimsuit.

After the pool, Charlie took a nap. I played Five Crowns with Nathaniel and Audrey. Charlie woke up in the middle and I held him for a little while and then after a little bit we put him in the highchair seat and Audrey fed him some golden kiwis. 

I had so much fun playing with Charlie today! Erin and Rich didn't come over until 7 PM and by the time they got here, Charlie was almost ready for bed. They got to play with him for a little bit and then Audrey put him to bed and we ate pizza. 

They stayed and we talked for a long time. They were all talking about missions. Jonny went to hang out with friends and later Daniel got home from work. Eventually Rich and Erin left and we said goodbye to them. By then it was almost 9:30 PM. Audrey had already gone to bed. Michael and the boys played some video games and then I got ready for bed, too. Jonny went to San Tan mall and then to the house of one of the girls from FSY and Nathan drove him so that was very nice. 

July 11, Friday

I'm so grateful that I got to have some Grandma time with Charlie today! We had so much fun! I told Betsy she could come between 10 AM and noon and it was close to 11:30 AM by the time they got here. We talked for a few minutes and then Audrey bought Charlie down because he just woke up from his nap. They had fun playing with him. Spencer and Sara especially loved playing with Charlie.

Michael and I got lunch together and out on the counter for everybody. We had a prayer and everyone seemed to enjoy the food. Michael and the kids were trying to leave by 12:30 PM to get to the movies and they did pretty well. Michael helped me get all cleaned up and I got the dishes done and the dishwasher running before they left so that I could focus on Charlie. They all left to go to the movies. The Akers stayed and visited a little bit longer and then I think they left around 1:15 PM. I played with Charlie for a little bit and then I gave him his bottle. I snuggled with him on the chair for a little while and I thought he was going to go to sleep and then he wanted to keep playing so we did. Then when he seemed to be tired, I laid down with him on the couch and snuggled him until he fell asleep. 

Nathaniel texted me after the movie and asked how things were going and I said that Charlie was perfect and sent him a picture of him sleeping. They came home and Audrey fed him again and then we got ready to go to Osaka. 

The food was wonderful! I had so much left over. Charlie almost started crying after he saw the fire but he did OK. This guy threw broccoli instead of zucchini. I was the only one who missed. Everyone else caught it so I broke the streak. We had a good laugh about it. After dinner, we stopped at Menchie's and then went home. Charlie went right to bed. The boys played some Smash Bros. Then we played Soundtrack Trivia. Nathaniel won, of course. Then the boys went back to their game and then eventually Michael played Call of Duty with them. 

 

July 12, Saturday

As sad as I am that Nathaniel, Audrey, and Charlie had to leave, I'm so glad that they were here. It was a wonderful visit! Honestly, we didn't do a whole lot. We mostly hung out at home and played with Charlie and had fun together. I got to play with him a little bit this morning and then when he went down for his nap I went to get ready for the day. 

We had a family prayer and had leftover Osaka and pizza for lunch. 

We played another round of Taboo with the same teams. After the game, Nathaniel and Audrey packed. Michael and I played with Charlie.

Then we all took them to the airport. It was so wonderful to see them, but so hard to say goodbye! It was such a fun visit! 

Michael's Birthday

July 8, Tuesday

I'm so glad we got to celebrate Michael's birthday today! He went to the temple like normal. I went to the Rise Up Bakery to get a Texas sheet cake for Michael. We opened presents with Michael and then I had 5 and 2 candles to put on the cake and we sang to him and had Texas sheet cake and it was delicious. 

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

The Fourth of July

July 4, Friday

It was great to sleep in today. We went to lunch at Moreno's. 

Afterwards, we stopped at the storage unit and we were able to get a couple boxes of toys and some of Nathaniel's boxes. Then we stopped at Dairy Queen. Jonny got a Superman Blizzard and he let me have some of it and it was really good. Michael and I got a cherry dip. Michael said let's just take it home which was a mistake because it was a melted mess by the time we got two miles down the road to our house. Daniel went to the Diamondbacks baseball game with Ryan and Kevin. Jonny played Fortnite and then watched Shazam tonight. Andrew called around 5 PM and we talked to him for a while. Nathaniel and Emily were on for most of the time. It was a wonderful, relaxing day together!

Disney World with Dad and Sherriff's Youth Ranch Kids

June 29, Sunday

I am so exhausted but I'm so grateful to be in the condo in Orlando! Michael took me to the airport and I made it in plenty of time. I got off the plane and took the little tram and as soon as I came out Dad was there waiting for me. He never got the door code or any of the information from the Summerville resort people. He had tried calling but nobody answered. We drove around the resort trying to find somebody to talk to but never could. We called and called and selected the emergency option repeatedly for 45 minutes and nobody answered. Dad sent an email asking for help at their info email address. We finally gave up and went to dinner at Bonefish Grill. Before we went in, I said a prayer for us to bless the food and asked to please help us get this resolved otherwise we're going to be staying at some random hotel for tonight. While we were eating dinner, somebody from Casago who rents condos for the resort (that's who the reservation was through) reached out and we thankfully got all the information we needed for today and for tomorrow. For some reason he's not getting the emails from them. Anyway, we were so relieved to get that taken care of. I think the dinner tasted even better after that. We finished our dinner and came over to the condo and got right in and it's perfect. Dad's downstairs and I'm upstairs and it's the same kind of cute condo that we usually stay in here. 

Condo at Summerville Resort

Cute little table if you have small children

My bedroom and bathroom all to myself

June 30, Monday

Today was stressful but also wonderful but also exhausting. I'm glad I'm here to help. Dad and I are having such a fun time. 

Dad kept shouting, "We're going to Disney World!" He was more excited than the kids! 

Hollywood Studios!

I can't share any pictures of the kids because of privacy reasons, but we were definitely a sight all dressed up in our green Ken's Kids t-shirts!

We pulled into the parking lot and they were just getting out of the van so that was perfect timing. Khadijah and Kaiden were excited and raring to go but the others were pretty tired. We went to the ticket windows so everybody could show their Florida resident drivers licenses. I asked the lady for First Visit pins and Kaiden and Khadijah were excited to get those. They opened up some new lines on the far side so we got into those and got in quickly. We used the bathrooms and took a minute to figure out what we wanted to do because the lightning lanes didn't start till later in the afternoon. Actually, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was in the morning but most of the lightning lanes were in the afternoon. Star Tours had only a five-minute wait so I suggested we do that since Kaiden was excited to see Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. Everyone had fun on Star Tours except Dad didn't go on it. I'm glad he didn't because it really does jerk you around quite a bit. Then we headed to Galaxy's Edge. The Smuggler’s Run wait was only 35 minutes so we did that next. On the way, we were able to see Grogu and baby Yoda. That's what Kaiden had said he wanted to see the most today and I'm thrilled that he got to. Everyone seemed to love the ride. When we got off of Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, it was raining. By then, it was time for the big kids to go off to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster so they split off. Pam, Kevin, Dad, and I went with Khadijah and Kaiden back to the spot where the Mandalorian was. We got some pictures and they were excited about that. I gave advice on where I thought we should go for lunch. I told them I thought Backlot Express would be best so that's where we went. I was having an issue trying to get lightning lanes for a different group of people for the same ride. I thought it was because we hadn't scanned Dad in for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster so he walked all the way over there to scan in. After that, he met up with the big kids and they came over to meet me. While Pam and Kevin ate with the kids, Dad and I went to talk to guest services. We needed help because Dad and Faith didn’t have a lightning lane for Safari but everyone else did. A cast member named Phoebe helped us and she didn’t hesitate to get us those lightning lanes. She also showed me how to book a lightning lane for the same ride for other people in the group. It turns out that Dad didn’t need to scan into Rock 'n' Roller Coaster after all. Dad wanted to give her a tip but she said she couldn’t accept one but he could give her a cast compliment and she showed him how. Pam and Kevin took the little kids to their first lightning lane of Alien Flying Saucers. Dad kept asking if I wanted a Num Num cookie and I couldn't resist. 

We met up with Kevin and Pam and the little kids. I walked them over to Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. Later, I got them a new lightning lane for the Frozen Ever After show so they did that after Mickey and Minnie, which they loved. Especially Pam. They really wanted to ride Slinky Dog Dash but I had to explain to them that we couldn't get a lightning line because they were already sold out and if they wanted to ride it today they would have to wait in line. They ended up doing that later, which was great. When they got out of Frozen, we all met up and went to the Indiana Jones show together. That's when Kevin and Pam decided to take the kids to Slinky. I had told them they could go see the Beauty and the Beast show, the Little Mermaid show, or wait in the Slinky line and they chose Slinky which worked out great. The kids loved it! I went with the big kids on Tower of Terror. Dad and Hallie didn't want to go so I went with the others. We had a fun time.

There weren't many more lightning lanes to get so I got everyone Smugglers Run as a lightning lane and they all went on that. Dad and I waited for them. After they got off the ride, we saw Rey walking around so they went over to say hi to Rey and Chewbacca also came out so we all had fun interacting with them and getting a picture. I was going to take the picture and then Chewbacca motioned to me to join everyone so that was cute. After that, we went to our lightning lane for Rise of the Resistance. I wanted to make sure they all got scanned in OK since we had paid for everyone and they started at different times. They all scanned in and Dad and I waved and said, "Bye, have fun!" They asked if we were going we said no we didn't get passes for us. The cast member was so sweet. His name is Miguel which I need to remember so I can do a cast compliment. (I did.) He said, "It's just you two that aren't going?" I said, "Yes." He's motioned for us to come on through. I said, "That is so sweet, are you sure?" He said, "Yeah," and he waved us through and everyone was happy that we could join them. That was so nice. Plus, it was so sweet of the cast member to do that for us. We had fun riding it together. Kaiden absolutely loved it! Afterwards I said to him, "Did you love it or did you really love it?" And he said he really loved it. I'm so glad that he loves Star Wars because we got to do all the Star Wars things.

Quick photo op with a grumpy stormtrooper 

After that, we took a bathroom break and headed to Toy Story Mania. We all had fun on Toy story Mania. Dad didn't go on it with us because it jerks you around quite a bit, but the kids all had fun. I sat next to Lexi. I gave her some tips and she did great. After that, Pam and Kevin said they were done and they needed to get the little kids home and in bed. So, we said goodbye to them. Dad and I stood there with the big kids wondering what we should do. We decided that there wasn't anything else we wanted to do at the park because we had already done it all and we may as well go so we can get some rest. Plus, we wanted to stop at the store and get a couple of things. We stood in line at Woody's lunchbox so everybody could get an ice water and then we were going to go. Then it was funny because Faith answered the phone and it turns out it was Pam telling her that they're coming back and wondering where they were because the kids begged to stay and they agreed to do it. Dad and I said our goodbyes and headed back to the condo. First, we went to Publix. Then we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner. That was a nice break. Then we headed back to the condo and went to bed. 

 

July 1, Tuesday

We were pretty sure that the kids weren't going to go to the park early but we really wanted to go to Tron so we did. We left the condo about 8:45 AM and got to Magic Kingdom by about 9:30 AM. 

Our obligatory picture at the Magic Kingdom entrance from the parking lot

We decided to take the railroad and get off at Fantasyland which is right next to the Tron ride. The wait time for Tron was about 70 minutes and it went pretty quickly. 

Tron is the best!

Once we got off the ride we asked where they were so we could meet them and they said they were at the entrance so we met them at the castle and got a picture. 

Fun fact, because the cost of a four-day ticket was only a few dollars more than a three-day, Dad bought all the kids and chaperones a four-day ticket and then they came back to Magic Kingdom to use it later. So this picture wasn't taken when I was there, but it's the only one of the kids that I can post.

The first thing we did was walk over to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Dad was able to surprise Khadijah and tell her about it. She smiled so big and looked up at him and said, “I get to be a princess?” It was so sweet. It was tricky for him to even get the appointment, and he was so grateful it worked out. We were waiting a few more minutes till it was time to check her in. The big kids we're debating if they wanted to go to Tron. I told them that this was the perfect time because in the afternoon we have back-to-back lightning lanes and right now we're kind of just killing time so it was perfect. It turns out that was great advice because it was pouring rain in the evening so I'm glad they went. They took Kaiden with them. I was concerned that Khadijah would feel bad but when we asked her if she wanted to do the ride or the princess makeover she said, "I want to be a princess." So that was settled. So, Kaiden joined the big kid group and they all went on it and he loved it. Dad and I got some food because apparently it's a 90 minute experience. We got him a mobile order at Pinocchio Village Haus. Then I went to get my cheeseburger spring rolls finally and I got a waffle at Sleepy Hollow and met him over there. That Pinocchio Village Haus was packed. We sat there enjoying our lunch and then by the time we were done eating they were done with the princess experience so we met everybody at Peter Pan.

Then I got a lightning lane for the tea cups and they loved that. They liked Peter Pan, too. Then we had to get to Pirates so I suggested that we take the train to save us some walking so that's what we did. Pirates was fun. Their next lightning lane was for Space Mountain and we had been trying to figure out when to have lunch and I told them that it's probably best to go to Space Mountain before lunch and everyone agreed so that's what we did. I had them give me their order for Cosmic Rays and then they went to Space Mountain and then the rest of us got on the train and we all met at Cosmic Rays. Lunch was a little chaotic but we were able to find three tables together so that was nice. Andrew called but I only had a couple minutes to talk to him and he had to get off anyway. Next, we took Kaiden and Khadijah on Buzz Lightyear and then on Tomorrowland Speedway. I really didn't want to ride that ride but Khadijah begged me to go with her so I did. Kevin went with Kaiden.

Dad and Pam were sitting over by the Starlite Café so we went and join them and we sat around trying to figure out what to do. Next thing we know, it started to rain. I had set up lightning lanes for everybody, like it's a small world and the Little Mermaid for the little kids and they could've also gone to Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor or we could've gone on the People Mover but the rain ruined all that. I also set up some lightning lanes for the bigger kids while we sat there. There weren't very many lightning lanes left, actually. By 6 PM, we decided to brave the rain and walk over to Mickey’s Philharmagic. The kids loved it! They kept trying to reach out at the 3-D images. It was so cute. When we came out of that, it was still pouring rain and everybody was putting their ponchos back on. By then, they were just done and we walked out of the park. It was so cute today how both Khadijah and Kaiden kept looking at me and saying I want to ride with you! They also enjoyed riding with Dad. We said goodbye to them and headed for the monorail. We had thought about some takeout options but we figured Olive Garden wouldn't take too long so we went there and enjoyed our food. Then we headed back to the condo and got out of our wet clothes and got ready for bed. 

 

July 2, Wednesday

This morning, we got up and ready and cleaned everything up and packed up the truck. It was a little before 9 AM when we left. We drove over to the other condo and the sedan was already gone so Faith and Hallie and the three older kids were already there doing their Expedition Everest lightning lane. We waited for Kevin and Pam who were still packing up when we saw them. At Animal Kingdom, we all met up together and headed over to the Safari. 

We got a picture in front of the Tree of Life. The Safari was amazing! 

The lion is laying on the second rock from the left.

We saw two lions laying there and then another lion standing regally so I got a picture. The kids got to see so many animals and it was really cool. Afterwards, I suggested they might like to go on the gorilla trail since we were right by it. The little kids were pretty excited about that. When they came in and we were first headed towards the Safari, there was a wilderness explorer station and they stopped and got a little booklet of things to find in the park and they were so excited about it. It was so cute. So Kaiden kept asking if he could go see all the things on the map. I told him he needed to find them as we go places and he found quite a few while we were there. After that, all the kids went on the Kali River Rapids ride with their lightning lane. We held their bags for them and I got all of their lunch orders before they left. Then we went over to Flame Tree Barbecue to reserve some seats and they met us over there. We had a nice little area in the shade and it was pretty quiet and there was a place for everyone to sit and it was nice. It was nice for them to have something other than chicken and fries. Next it was time to head over to Avatar Flight of Passage. Everyone but Pam rode Flight of Passage and the kids loved it! It was so fun! Even the big kids who had been to Disney World before had never ridden it so that was fun to experience with them. After that, they shopped in the store just outside the ride for quite a while. By then, it was getting close to 2:30 PM and I was getting nervous that we should probably leave so I could get to the airport. I suggested that the younger kids could start their lightning lane for Na’vi River journey and Hallie had figured out that if they waited until 12:45 PM that everyone could go on it together and I said yes that's true so that's what we did. We all rode Na'vi River Journey and then after that we headed out. Dad took me to the airport and we got there around 4 PM. As we were driving, I got a notification that my flight was delayed. It ended up being delayed two hours. It was absolutely pouring outside. I know I was very tired today because I was able to sleep for about two hours on the flight. I was on the plane for about five hours so that was a long day but I'm glad to be home. I've never been so relieved to have Michael come pick me up at the airport because that would've been awful to have to take the Skytrain, find the car, and drive all the way home. I was glad to see the boys. We had a family prayer and I went to bed. It's been a wonderful trip but I'm completely mentally and physically exhausted and glad to be home for the next month. 

I'm so glad I was able to go on this trip! It was wonderful to help with the kids, but even better to have some one-on-one time with Dad!