iPhones

I set up my new iPhone 5s tonight. It is a nice device.

Below is a picture of the boxes to every iPhone ever made. I have purchased every one of these on the first day the device was available. It is crazy people like me that keep driving the Apple stock.

Just Another Crazy Helms Family Saturday

Yesterday was just another busy Helms Family Saturday. We had basketball, volleyball, track, soccer, tests and a birthday party. We made it to some events and missed others. This was our schedule and day:

• 6:30 - Wake up.
• 7:15 - Shawn Jr. has a cross-country track meet at Harry Meyers Park.
• 8:00 - Brittany starts the SAT test.
• 9:00 - Triniti has a volleyball clinic at MadFrog. She does not go because of a conflicting basketball game.
• 9:15 - Triniti is picked up from her friend's house.
• 10:00 - Triniti has her first basketball game of the day at the RISE in Rockwall.
• 12:00 - Skylin has a soccer game at Lake Pointe Church.
• 1:30 - We head out to Sam's Day to North Park Mall (running late).
• 2:00 - Triniti has a basketball game back at the RISE but we miss it because we are still at Sam's Day.
• 3:00 - Noelle has a volleyball clinic at MadFrog in Plano. We miss that too.
• 5:00 - Triniti has her last basketball game of to day back in Rockwall at the RISE.
• 6:30 - We get home and debrief with Brittany and Reese about their SAT test.
• 7:00 - We go to eat at Palios.
• 8:00 - Brittany and Reese leave for Reese's house and his surprise birthday party.
• 8:30 - Reese's surprise birthday party.
• 9:00 - Noelle goes over to her friend Katie's house.
• 11:30 - Go to sleep.

Sam's Day

Yesterday our family went to an event called Sam's Day at North Park Mall in Dallas. The event is dedicated to raising money to help cure a disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). DMD a degenerative disease that will cause the muscles throughout one's body to break down over time. The event is named after one of our friends - Sam Killian. Sam is 11 and is a fun-loving kid inflicted with DMD.




When Sam was diagnosed with DMD, in 2005, his family (our friends, the Killians) looked for an organization that could help them make sense of this disease and hopefully help find better treatments and eventually a cure – they found Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD). Sam's Day is a big event every year used to raise money for PPMD.

Here is Noelle with Sam.

Balloon at Sam's Day.

Triniti with a snow cone.

Emily Ford and Skylin with their face paint.

Sam on the mic thanking everyone for coming out to the event.

Location:Dallas, TX

Dallas Morning News Story About Reese Wilson

Today the Dallas Morning News (Matt Wixon) ran a story about Reese Wilson.  Below is an excerpt, but you can read the entire story by clicking http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/high-schools/matt-wixon/20131002-wixon-former-barney-star-reese-wilson-now-starting-in-rockwall-heath-secondary.ece

ROCKWALL – Reese Wilson turned 18 on Tuesday, but he didn’t have big party plans. The Rockwall-Heath cornerback planned to take it easy, which is something he doesn’t do very often.

“I can’t stand being idle,” he said. “I get bored.”

That’s obvious in what the senior accomplished in his first 17 years and 364 days. He climbed to No. 1 in the Rockwall-Heath Class of 2014, earned a perfect score on the math section of the SAT and was named a National Merit Semifinalist. He was selected as the class president and the homecoming king, he was a standout delegate in the statewide Youth and Government program, and he went on nearly a dozen church mission trips.

And that was after Wilson, who has 14 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup this season for Rockwall-Heath (4-1), decided to slow down a bit. A couple of years ago, he told his parents that he was ready to retire from modeling and acting.

Wilson, whose older brother Charlie played safety for Rockwall-Heath and is a now a medical student at UT-Houston, did modeling work for companies such as Dillard’s and J.C. Penney. He was also in several commercials, but his biggest acting credit is his three-year run as Ryan, in which he went on adventures with a famous purple dinosaur.

Yeah, Wilson was on “Barney & Friends.” So was his older sister, Molly, who is now a freshman at Dallas Baptist."

The writer also posted a video of Reese on Barney.

Fun stuff . . .

Trip to Lausanne, Switzerland

Misty and I completed our Europe trip with a couple of days in Lausanne, Switzerland.  Lausanne is a city on the shores of Lake Geneva in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.   Lake Geneva separates Switzerland from France.

With its cobblestone roads, narrow alleyways, ivy covered buildings, the surrounding vineyards, and views of Lake Geneva - it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

To get to Lausanne we took a train from Munich.  The train ride was relaxing and very scenic.

These are a few pictures from the train. 

 Vineyards in Switzerland.

A view from the train. 

Another view very close to Lausanne. 

 We stayed in a terrific hotel called Le Bourg 7.  I did not know anything about the hotel before I booked a room through Priceline.com.  It was a terrific surprise.  One of the nicest places I have stayed.  Very charming hotel with a terrific staff.

 This is a picture of the outside of the hotel.

 The lobby of Le Bourg.

 The view out our window in the hotel room at night.

 One of the alleys by the hotel.  

 The view out our window the next morning.

 Flowers outside one of the buildings.

A view from inside the Le Bourg 7 lobby. 

Another picture inside the Le Bourg 7 lobby. 

A picture of a nearby church. 

 Notice the grapes vines above.

With ripe grapes. 

One of the many old world streets. 

 This is a terrific little Italian cafe that we had 3 meals at.  It was right on the water.

This is a view of the country side from the shores of Lake Geneva.

A view of the lake.

More pictures of the lake and surrounding countryside.

This is a picture from one of the little children's play areas right on the lake.

A duck.

This is a picture of the homes and vineyards around the lake.

I am not exactly sure what this is.  Maybe a diving board?  However, the water is very shallow so I am not sure if this can be used as a diving board.  I have no idea.

A rock beach.

This is a little cafe where people we enjoying a lunch beside the lake.

Some people playing ping-pong.

Paddle boarding.

These flowers attracted a huge number of bees.

This was our lunch.  A burger and chicken salad.  I know, I know - very American.  

This was a cool little book store.

Another view of the church just outside our hotel.

There were so many neat views in the city.

I was amazed to see candy cigarettes.  Something you just don't see anymore in the United States.  

The bus system in Lausanne was very good.  I was amazed that they ran on electricity (see the lines above).

This is a man swimming in Lake Geneva. 

A swan sunbathing.

This was a fairy that took people from one side of the lake (in Switzerland) to the other side (into France).  

Local kids playing on a halfpipe.  

a soccer field just outside a school on the shores of Lake Geneva.

One of the statues at the school.

One of the many streams that flowed from the hillside into Lake Geneva.  

The old buildings were incredible.  

Another example of the incredible sites around town.  

Misty loved these flowers.

One of several water wells around town.

Views of the lake at night.

This was the floor of a restroom (i.e., WC) at our hotel.  It had a lighted cannel containing personal photos of the hotel owners family and friends.

This is a picture of a giant wine rack / storage in a hotel lobby connected to the Zurich airport.