California Trip

Last week we traveled to LA and San Diego California for my cousin Scott's wedding. He married a lovely girl named Adrian. The wedding was July 25, but we went a couple of days earlier in order to hit Disneyland and spend a little time with family.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at around 10:30 pm. Believe it or not, we were almost at the airport at 8:30 when I got a call from American Airlines telling me our flight had been delayed until just after midnight. Because we were plenty early we decided to pull off and eat dinner. We took our time and ended up at the airport at around 11:00. When we walked in with our 6 kids and piles of luggage, we were disturbed to find the airport nearly empty.

Helms family kids and gear ready for lift off.

Empty airport. No American Airlines agents in site and no way to get our luggage checked.

There were a few other people standing around including an older gentleman in a uniform. I asked him what was going on and he told me that because the TSA was not getting paid overtime, they left when the last flight was originally scheduled to leave. That was before 11:00. With the security check-point closed, all the American Airlines agents apparently went home as well. I told him I was confirmed on a flight to LA for just after 12:00. He said - "Me too - I am the pilot of the flight!" Therefore, not even the pilot could get through without TSA security. Eventually the pilot had a special escort drive him directly to the plane. The flight ended up taking off at around 12:30 am. Unfortunately, we had no way to get our luggage checked or get on the flight. After talking to American Airlines for almost an hour, they told me that they could get me on the next flight to LA, but the only option was a 6:15 am flight. By this time it was almost 1:00 am. That meant we had about 4 hours until we needed to be back at the airport. After contemplating what to do with our piles of gear and 6 kids, we decided to just sleep at the airport. I know - crazy!

As we settled into a corner of the airport, Shawn Jr. asks "Where is my Colts bag?" We all look at each other. Shawn Jr. then says "I think I left it at home." Unbelievable! Shawn Jr. left his bag containing everything at home. He had no clothes, no tooth brush - nothing. What a start to the trip.

Morning came fast. I actually stayed up and got some work done.

Sleeping at the airport

The kids sleeping on the floor at the airport.

We were originally schedule to be at Disneyland the next day. After catching the flight early the next morning we arrived in California at around 9:30 am. The decision was - do we try to do Disneyland on a few hours of bad sleep with all the kids. Disneyland is a hard trip even if everyone is plenty rested. However, because of our schedule, we decided to do it.

Surprisingly, it turned out to be a wonderful trip. The kids were in good spirits. The older kids really helped out and the younger kids slept or were in a good mood. We did not do too much, but we ended up staying until after 11:00 - through the fireworks show.

The family at Disneyland

Misty, Sky and Triniti on Dumbo.

Brittany took the younger girls to see Mickey.

Skylin with her glowing Mickey balloon that she had to have. She was totally beat by this point.

A couple days later we were in Santee, CA (near San Diego) for my cousin's wedding. It was a nice ceremony.

The "I do"s

Sky with the ring barrier in the background.

Triniti and Sky playing in the fountain.

Josh liking the grass.

Triniti and Sky with Scott and Adrian.

The Helms crew with the bride and groom.

Sky looking cute.

The wedding party.

Another family picture. I think we have taken more this month than at all times in the past year.

Grandma Sherry (my mom) with her newest grandchild.

This is Josh William with his namesake - William (Bill) Lindeen.

The next day Misty, Brittany, Shawn Jr. and I went to a Dodgers game. The Dodgers lost, but it was a good game. It was fun to see Joe Torre and Don Mattingly in the dugout. It was odd to see Mattingly with Manny - talk about 2 people that could not be more different.

Shawn and Misty at Dodger's Stadium.

That night we stayed at a great Hilton hotel right on Mission Bay.

We went to Mission beach the next day.

Another family picture. Man - I feel old.

These are the name tags from the wedding on the beach. Neat picture opportunity.

All and all it was a great trip. It is always hard to travel when you have a big family. But I am thankful we had the opportunity to go. We created some great memories.