Helms Family Staycation 2013 - Day 1 to 3

Our family has been traveling a lot this year. Therefore, we decided to have a staycation (where you have a vacation but stay at home and do things around the area). We scheduled a 7 day staycation. The way we organized it was that each kid got to pick what we did for one day.  That is 6 days where the kids decide all events of the day and 1 extra day.

Day 1 - Saturday - Skylin's Day

The first day of the staycation was Skylin's day.  She had big plans.  They were:

• Breakfast of French Toast (made by Noelle)
• Play Silent Football for 2 rounds (Mom and Dad lost)
• Go Hawaiian Falls (a local water park)
• Dinner at On the Border
• Go to Bahama Bucks for dessert
• Watch a family Movie (Nancy Drew)

Below are a few pics from the day . . .

One of the kids areas at Hawaiian Falls

Water slides.

They has some food stands that served ice cream, shaved ice, and cotton candy.

Hawaiian Falls is a Christian company, as is evident by the signage around the park.

The big yellow side.

More water slides.

Here is Shawn Jr. in the cabana.

Dinner was at On the Boarder

Dessert was Bahama Bucks

The family movie was Nancy Drew

Day 2 - Sunday - Parents Day

The second day of the staycation was Sunday.  No kid had this day.  Therefore Misty and I executed a very laid back day.  We did the following:

• Got up late and watched Lake Pointe church service over the internet.
• We ate lunch at Olive Garden
• Played a couple of family board games (Apples-to-Apples and Break the Safe)
• Went to Dairy Queen for dessert

Below are a few pics from the day . . .

Lunch at the kids "new favorite restaurant" - Olive Garden.

For some reason Noelle has a seat in the middle of the waiting area.

Here we are playing Break the Safe.  This is a cooperative game where we are working as a team against the clock.

That night we had ice cream at DQ - "That's what I like about Texas."

Day 3 - Monday - Noelle's Day

The third day of the staycation was Monday and was Noelle's day.  We did the following:

• We had breakfast at Waffle House (because the Fatted Calf is closed on Mondays)
• Shopping at Sports Authority and Dick's Sporting Goods
• Went to Ham Orchards (in Terrell Texas) for ice cream.  This is a peach orchard in the middle of nowhere that has a terrific little country store with produce, jams and ice cream.  
• Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse for lunch/dinner.  Kyoto is a cool hibachi grill in Rockwall.
• Played Top Golf that night
• Finished the night with a rousing game of Apples-to-Apples.

Below are a few pics from the day . . .

Breakfast a Waffle House.

Shopping at Sports Authority and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Next stop was Ham Orchards.

A view inside Ham's.

Here are the girls eating some terrific ice cream.  

Lunch/dinner was at Kyoto Japanese Steak House.

Our cook had some skills.

Below is a picture of the entire crew at Kyoto.

Our next stop was TopGolf in Allen, Texas.  Top Golf is like darts with a golf ball.  The balls are tracked with a computer chip and you get points for hitting into different targets.

This is a picture of a facility at night.  Very cool.

Brittany taking her hacks.

Noelle looking good on the box.  She did not hit good, but she looked like she should be good.  :)

Shawn Jr. hitting off the tee.  Shawn and Reese were the best. 

Here is Josh taking a few swings early in the day.  Believe it or not, he was one of the better players.  Kind of embarrassing.

Josh taking his hits.

Here is Triniti hitting late that night.

Then we came back and played Apples-to-Apples - one of our family's favorite games

Location:Dallas, Texas

Sherry Helms and Walt Disney

I will get the story on this from my mother, but this is a picture of my mother (Sherry Helms) and Walt Disney from 1959 at Disneyland.  Walt would not sign autographs but he would take pictures.  Very cool!

#Hashtags

Reese Wilson plays for a softball team of boys in his grade called the #Hashtags. Below is a picture of him and Brittany after their game last week.

Love the old fashion look.




Related question - when did a "number sign," become a "pound," become a "hashtag"?

Two Incredible Rangers Angles Games

Over the past 2 nights our family has went to the Texas Rangers games against the Anaheim Angles. These were two of the best games ever.  In both of the games, the Rangers won in the bottom of the last inning with walk off home runs!  They were just terrific.  Seriously, maybe the two best baseball game I have ever seen - certainly two of the best I have been to in person.

Game 1 - July 29th

The Monday night game was broadcast on ESPN - Monday Night Baseball.

The Rangers went into the bottom of the 9th down by 1 run - 2 to 3 Angles. With one out, A.J. Pierzynski hit a game tying solo home run. Then with two out, down to his last strike, the offensively challenged Geovany Soto (hitting a strong .202) hit a game winning home run! Rangers win in walk-off fashion 4 to 3.

The kids had a great time.

The older kids had fun with Captain.

Josh got his first MLB baseball. It was thrown to a person behind him who gave it to Josh.

Getting ready for the game.

This is Brittany and Reese. As you can see, we have terrific seats. Just a few rows back right behind the visiting team's on-deck circle.

Mike Trout - maybe the best player in baseball.

Josh Hamilton getting booed by the Rangers crowd. It is a long story but he was formerly with the Rangers and got traded to the Angles. As he left he said some negative things about Dallas - including saying it was not a "baseball town." That did not go over well with a team and city that was in the World Series two years in a row! So, when he is around you can often hear the chant "Baseball Town, Baseball Town!" Josh is batting a pathetic .22X this year. :)

Trout getting a hit as Hamilton watches from the on-deck circle.

Game 2 - July 30th

The second game was, believe it or not, just as good.  Certainly not a pitchers duel, but a long, offensively loaded game.  For the second straight night, the Rangers celebrated a walk-off victory against the Angels. This time, Leonys Martin came through with the game-winning home run in the 10th to defeat the Angels, 14-11, at Rangers Ballpark.

This was the kids.  Noelle and Shawn each brought a friend.

This was cool - when Leonys Martin hit the final home run, the Angles had  moved Kole Calhoun from right field into the right side of the infield - resulting in 5 infielders and 2 outfielders (Collin Cowgill and Mike Trout).

This was the final home run by Leonys Martin.  It was a three run line drive home run that barely cleared the left-field wall.  Martin went opposite field on a 1-2 count.  Watch the crazy celebration.