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| One of the butterflies we saw. I was amazed by how clear this photo came out on my phone. |
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| Nolan found a giant pumpkin "tree-house" at Reiman Garden's today. |
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Sunday, June 28th, 2015
Today I took Nolan over to Reiman Gardens to let Elizabeth have a little peace and quiet at home. We had fun looking at the butterfly exhibit, and then we spent a little time running around outside and exploring Reiman Gardens.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Friday, June 26th, 2015
Today marks a historic day for our country, and I just wanted to recognize this on my blog. The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote that the constitution of the United States guarantees a right to same-sex marriage! It makes me so happy to think that all of the gay and lesbian couples of the country that had been discriminated against and denied the equal rights of marriage now have justice. Whether you are homosexual, straight, black, white, male, female, etc, we should all be considered equals and treated that way. Today really is a joyful day for this country!
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Sunday, June 21st, 2015
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
Tonight we just got back to Ames after a memorable weekend in Minneapolis. Elizabeth, Nolan, and I headed up there after we were done with work on Friday. We stayed at the Marriott hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Saturday we ate breakfast at Hell's Kitchen before we went off to explore at the Mall of America. We ended up buying Nolan a Buzz Lightyear and Woody dolls at the Disney store. We had only planned to buy on or the other, but he basically clung to both of them and wouldn't let use take either away! Then I took Nolan on a small roller coaster called the Barnyard Hayride. He was really upset at first because we made him put down his new toys. After the ride started though, he really started to smile and enjoy himself. He was saying "Fun" and "Whoa" between smiles :) For lunch on Saturday we met up with Amy, Grandpa Eben, Shannon, and Terry at Lucky's 13 Pub in Bloomington. I had a Walleye sandwich that was really tasty, and we shared some good news with Amy and the family... after lunch we took Amy and Eben back to the Mall of America for more rides and shopping before heading back to the Marriott for the evening.
Today we had a nice breakfast buffet at the hotel before once again heading back to the Mall of America. This time, though, we checked out the Sea Life Aquarium at the mall. It's crazy how big the Mall of America is when it has it's own amusement park and aquarium! The aquarium was a lot of fun to see. We say Jellyfish, sting rays, sea horses, and there was a large walk-through area where the fish tank went over the top of the walkway. It was filled with larger fish like small sharks, sawfish, and sea turtles.
After that we headed to Target Field to watch the Twins take on the Chicago Cubs, the same match-up that we saw in 2012. Unfortunately, this time the Cubs dominated the game. Jake Arrieta pitched a complete game shutout while giving up only 4 hits and striking out seven. Anthony Rizzo hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, and Dexter Fowler hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to break the game open. The only extra base hit for the Twins was a double to left by Joe Mauer. We did see rookie Byron Buxton steal his first base in the major leagues which was kind of neat.
Tonight we just got back to Ames after a memorable weekend in Minneapolis. Elizabeth, Nolan, and I headed up there after we were done with work on Friday. We stayed at the Marriott hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Saturday we ate breakfast at Hell's Kitchen before we went off to explore at the Mall of America. We ended up buying Nolan a Buzz Lightyear and Woody dolls at the Disney store. We had only planned to buy on or the other, but he basically clung to both of them and wouldn't let use take either away! Then I took Nolan on a small roller coaster called the Barnyard Hayride. He was really upset at first because we made him put down his new toys. After the ride started though, he really started to smile and enjoy himself. He was saying "Fun" and "Whoa" between smiles :) For lunch on Saturday we met up with Amy, Grandpa Eben, Shannon, and Terry at Lucky's 13 Pub in Bloomington. I had a Walleye sandwich that was really tasty, and we shared some good news with Amy and the family... after lunch we took Amy and Eben back to the Mall of America for more rides and shopping before heading back to the Marriott for the evening.
Today we had a nice breakfast buffet at the hotel before once again heading back to the Mall of America. This time, though, we checked out the Sea Life Aquarium at the mall. It's crazy how big the Mall of America is when it has it's own amusement park and aquarium! The aquarium was a lot of fun to see. We say Jellyfish, sting rays, sea horses, and there was a large walk-through area where the fish tank went over the top of the walkway. It was filled with larger fish like small sharks, sawfish, and sea turtles.
After that we headed to Target Field to watch the Twins take on the Chicago Cubs, the same match-up that we saw in 2012. Unfortunately, this time the Cubs dominated the game. Jake Arrieta pitched a complete game shutout while giving up only 4 hits and striking out seven. Anthony Rizzo hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, and Dexter Fowler hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to break the game open. The only extra base hit for the Twins was a double to left by Joe Mauer. We did see rookie Byron Buxton steal his first base in the major leagues which was kind of neat.
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| Amy poses with a Lego stormtrooper at the Mall of America. |
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| Nolan was able to meet Sponge Bob at the Mall! |
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| ...and he met Dora and Boots! |
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| First pitch between the Twins and Cubs. |
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| Group picture! |
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| Nolan was a pretty good sport at the game, even though it was really hot sitting in the sun all day. |
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| Like father, like son :) |
Monday, June 15, 2015
Monday, June 15th, 2015
I just finished watching the Chicago Blackhawks win their third Stanley Cup championship in the last 6 seasons by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0. Ever since Elizabeth and I spent a few years in Chicago, I've enjoyed watching this team play. I had never really followed the sport before that, but it has been a lot of fun watching this team, and it is cool to see the crowds of people celebrating in Chicago right now.
Here is a list of the teams that the Blackhawks defeated in the playoffs during their three championship runs:
- 2015:
- Defeated the Nashville Predators in 6 games
- Defeated the Minnesota Wild in 4 games
- Defeated the Anaheim Ducks in 7 games
- Defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 games
- 2013:
- Defeated the Minnesota Wild in 5 games
- Defeated the Detroit Red Wings in 7 games
- Defeated the Los Angeles Kings in 5 games
- Defeated the Boston Bruins in 6 games
- 2010:
- Defeated the Nashville Predators in 6 games
- Defeated the Vancouver Canucks in 6 games
- Defeated the San Jose Sharks in 4 games
- Defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015
Oh, man... today marks the end of a happy era for Iowa State basketball. Our beloved coach Fread Hoiberg accepted a deal to become the new coach of the Chicago Bulls today. His deal is worth about $25 million over the next 5 seasons. There were rumors that this could happen for weeks, but I was always hoping that it wouldn't end up this way. Hoiberg was an awesome coach for Iowa State over the past 5 seasons, and I'm glad that I was able to attend quite a few of the games during his time as coach at ISU. The Cyclones won 115 games and lost 56 during the Hoiberg era. This made me think... what were my top 5 favorite basketball games that I attended during that time??
1. ISU 77, Michigan 70. Sunday, November 17th, 2013: I would have to say that the Michigan game was my favorite one of the Hoiberg era. It was special because before the game Coach Johnny Orr was honored, and it turned out to be one final goodbye as he would tragically pass away about a month and a half later. Orr was not the only famous basketball personality in attendance that day; it was also the first time that Dick Vitale attended a game at Hilton Coliseum. The game itself was a big upset as ISU was unranked at the time, and Michigan was #7 in the country. The win helped put the Cyclones basketball program on the map.
2. ISU 86, Kansas 81. Sunday, January 18th, 2015: My second favorite Hoiberg era game was this past season's victory over Kansas. The Jayhawks were ranked #9 in the country, and the Cyclones were ranked #11. Of the 8 top-25 match-ups that I have seen at Hilton Coliseum, this was the highest-ranked game. It was also a special day for Iowa State because it was the first time that College Gameday was in Ames to highlight a game.
3. ISU 85, Iowa 82. Friday, December 13th, 2013: Ranking third was the Iowa game two years ago. This was a huge game in the state of Iowa as this was the first time in years that both teams had been ranked at the same time (ISU was #17, Iowa #23). This was also the first time that I had attended a ISU-Iowa basketball game, and of course that makes it special since the Hawkeyes are the team that I love to hate, so to speak. George Niang hit a go-ahead layup in the final minute, and Mike Gesell missed two key free throws in the end that could have put the Hawkeyes in front.
4. ISU 84, TCU 69. Saturday, February 8th, 2014: The Melvin Ejim game. It was an honor to witness Ejim go berzerk against the Horned Frogs. He scored a Big 12 record 48 points and collected 18 rebounds. Ejim made 20 of 24 field goal attempts, including 2 for 2 from three point range, and 6 for 6 from the free throw line. Another special part of this game for me was that I was able to bring Elizabeth and Nolan with me. This was the first Big 12 conference game that Nolan was in attendance for, and it turned out to be a memorable one.
5. ISU 77, Oklahoma 70. Monday, March 2nd, 2015: The senior night comeback against Oklahoma was a memorable game, and as it turned out it was coach Hoiberg's last game at Hilton Coliseum. I almost didn't include it in my top five because the first half was so disappointing and so terrible to watch as an ISU fan. The Cyclones trailed by a score of 18 to 37 at halftime. The second half was so incredible though that it had to make the list. For a large part of the second half, the crowd was the loudest that I have ever heard in Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State erased a 21-point second half deficit.
It was honestly hard to trim my list of favorite games to five, but I feel like all of the above had to be included for one reason or another.
Ok, so what else have I been up to today besides being sad about Hoiberg? Elizabeth and I took Nolan to the Ames High School pool today for a parent & child swimming class. I basically held him in the water for 30 minutes and let him splash around and get used to the water.
1. ISU 77, Michigan 70. Sunday, November 17th, 2013: I would have to say that the Michigan game was my favorite one of the Hoiberg era. It was special because before the game Coach Johnny Orr was honored, and it turned out to be one final goodbye as he would tragically pass away about a month and a half later. Orr was not the only famous basketball personality in attendance that day; it was also the first time that Dick Vitale attended a game at Hilton Coliseum. The game itself was a big upset as ISU was unranked at the time, and Michigan was #7 in the country. The win helped put the Cyclones basketball program on the map.
2. ISU 86, Kansas 81. Sunday, January 18th, 2015: My second favorite Hoiberg era game was this past season's victory over Kansas. The Jayhawks were ranked #9 in the country, and the Cyclones were ranked #11. Of the 8 top-25 match-ups that I have seen at Hilton Coliseum, this was the highest-ranked game. It was also a special day for Iowa State because it was the first time that College Gameday was in Ames to highlight a game.
3. ISU 85, Iowa 82. Friday, December 13th, 2013: Ranking third was the Iowa game two years ago. This was a huge game in the state of Iowa as this was the first time in years that both teams had been ranked at the same time (ISU was #17, Iowa #23). This was also the first time that I had attended a ISU-Iowa basketball game, and of course that makes it special since the Hawkeyes are the team that I love to hate, so to speak. George Niang hit a go-ahead layup in the final minute, and Mike Gesell missed two key free throws in the end that could have put the Hawkeyes in front.
4. ISU 84, TCU 69. Saturday, February 8th, 2014: The Melvin Ejim game. It was an honor to witness Ejim go berzerk against the Horned Frogs. He scored a Big 12 record 48 points and collected 18 rebounds. Ejim made 20 of 24 field goal attempts, including 2 for 2 from three point range, and 6 for 6 from the free throw line. Another special part of this game for me was that I was able to bring Elizabeth and Nolan with me. This was the first Big 12 conference game that Nolan was in attendance for, and it turned out to be a memorable one.
5. ISU 77, Oklahoma 70. Monday, March 2nd, 2015: The senior night comeback against Oklahoma was a memorable game, and as it turned out it was coach Hoiberg's last game at Hilton Coliseum. I almost didn't include it in my top five because the first half was so disappointing and so terrible to watch as an ISU fan. The Cyclones trailed by a score of 18 to 37 at halftime. The second half was so incredible though that it had to make the list. For a large part of the second half, the crowd was the loudest that I have ever heard in Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State erased a 21-point second half deficit.
It was honestly hard to trim my list of favorite games to five, but I feel like all of the above had to be included for one reason or another.
Ok, so what else have I been up to today besides being sad about Hoiberg? Elizabeth and I took Nolan to the Ames High School pool today for a parent & child swimming class. I basically held him in the water for 30 minutes and let him splash around and get used to the water.
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