Sunday, December 19th, 2021

 This weekend Amy & Brandon brought Logan & Emma over to visit, and to attend today's ISU men's basketball game against Southeastern Louisiana.  The Cyclones cruised to an easy win against the Lions, 77-54.  Along with the the Shostak family, I also brought Maxwell to the game, and we were all able to sit together in section 215.  Emma was such a cutie, and she wanted to sit on my lap for basically the whole game.  Today was the 16th time that I have taken Maxwell to a game.  The previous time was against Grambling State earlier this year.  

Caleb Grill was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 20 points (including 6 three pointers).  Grill was joined in double figures scoring by Izaiah Brockington (17) and Aljaz Kunc (13).  It is worth noting that Iowa State came into the game ranked as the number 11 team in the country, and they are still undefeated on the season at 11-0!  

Iowa State 77, Southeastern Louisiana 54.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

 Today I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum for a noon tipoff between Iowa State and Jackson State.  The Cyclones won a defensive battle over the Tigers, 47-37.  Jackson State is a member of the SWAC conference, and their university is located in Jackson, Mississippi.  

The game itself was fairly boring to watch.  The 47 points that the Cyclones scored was definitely the lowest total that I have ever seen them score in a win.  Aljaz Kunc was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 12 points.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Gabe Kalscheur (11).  Nolan did help me keep track of the stats on the back of a program today, which he seemed to enjoy.

Today marks the 23rd basketball game that I have taken Nolan to.  The previous game was against Alabama State.  

Go Cyclones!

Thursday, December 9th, 2021

 YEAH BABY!!  Tonight it is a CYCLONE STATE once again!!

This evening I took my cousin David with me over to Hilton, where we witnessed Iowa State's dominant win over the Iowa Hawkeyes, 73-53.  What really stood out to me about this game was the great defensive energy, hustle, and physicality that Iowa State played with.  Iowa State worked extremely hard on the defensive end, and they out rebounded the Hawkeyes 50-32.  The Hawks used a full court press for literaly the entire game, even with under a minute when they were down 20.  What a jackass move by their coach.  Classless all the way.

Izaiah Brockington was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led all scorers with 29 points, and he collected 10 rebounds.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Tyrese Hunter (11).

Tonight was my fifth time watching Iowa State play Iowa in basketball (and fourth win).  The previous times included a loss in 2019, and victories in 2017, 2015, and 2013.  

GO CYCLONES!

Sunday, November 28th 2021

 This year we hosted Thanksgiving for the Salton side of the family in Ames.  Amy & Brandon brought over their kids from Omaha, and Eben came down from the farm on Thusday.  We had our big Thanksgiving meal that night.  I ordered a smoked turkey breast from Whatcha Smokin, Amy made stuffing, cranberry sause, broccoli / rice / cheese casserole, pumpkin pie, and apple pie.  I also made some scalloped cord.  The smoked turkey was very good, and it was nice not to have to prepare the turkey myself.  Dad left yesterday, while the Shostaks stayed until today.  The cousins had plenty of time to play together, which was nice.

On Friday, I took Amy over to the ISU football game vs TCU.  The Cyclones ended up dominating the game, winning 48-14.  I will miss this year's group of seniors, including Brock Purdy, Mike Rose, Chase Allen, Charlie Kolar, Greg Eisworth, and others.  But the player who really stole the show (and propably played his last game at Jack Trice) was Breece Hall.  Hall had 242 rushing yards, three rushing TDs, and another receiving TD.  He even scored on an 80-yard run in the fourth quarter.  

This marked the fifth time that I had attended a football game between Iowa State and TCU.  The Cyclones also won in 2019 and 2017, while TCU was victorious in 2015 and in 2005.  It had also been 10 years since Amy had gone to a football game with me, the last time being the UNI game in 2011.  She really needs to make it to games more often!

Our seats for the game were in section 25 row 31.

Sunday, November 21st, 2021

 Maxwell and I just got back from Hilton Coliseum, where we saw the Cyclones dominate the Grambling State Tigers, 82-47.  Grambling State is a member of the SWAC conference, the same conference as last game's opponent, Alabama State.  

The Cyclones played well overall today.  They shot 13-25 from three point land, and they out-rebounded the Tigers, 46-22.  Aljaz "Jaz" Kunc was the player of the game for Iowa State.  He scored 21 points on a perfect 7-7 field goals, including 5-5 from three.  Kunc was joined in double figures scoring by teammates Tristan Enaruna (15), Tyrese Hunter (12), Tre Jackson (12), and Caleb Grill (10).  

Tonight was the 15th men's basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to.  The previous time was against Kansas State in 2020.  

"Maxwell, smile nice..."

Tuesday, November 16th, 2021

 Tonight I took Nolan with me to Hilton, where we watched Iowa State defeat the Hornets of Alabama State, 68-60.

The game itself was pretty ugly.  The Cyclones shot an icy-cold 1-20 from three-point range.  Despite the cold shooting, Iowa State's defense kept them in the game, as they forced 23 turnovers by the Hornets.  Izaiah Brockington was the player of the game for Iowa State.  He led the team in scoring (23 points) and rebounds (13).  Tyrese Hunter was the only other Cyclone in double figures, with 19 points.  

Tonight was the 22nd men's basketball game that Nolan has been to, and it was the second game he has seen this season (the first was vs Kennesaw State).  This was the second time that I have seen the Cyclones defeat Alabama State.  The previous time was back in 2018.  

Go Cyclones!

Friday, November 12th, 2021

 Tonight I went by myself to watch Iowa State's defensive battle with Oregon State.  The Cyclones wound up defeating the Beavers, 60-50.  

Coming into tonight's game, Oregon State was favored to win.  They were an NCAA tournament team last year (that actually made the Elite 8).  So it was nice to see the Cyclones play well and come away with a hard fought victory.

I would say that Izaiah Brockington was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.  The only other player (for either team) in double figures was Gabe Kalscheur, who had 15 points.  Iowa State did a good job of boxing out and rebounding, as they won the rebounding battle 39-34, over a team that had a size advantage on the Cyclones.  It seems like coach Otz has the team playing tough defense and focusing on rebounding and hustle.  Even if this team does not end up winning a lot of games this year, they will be fun to watch and easy to root for.

Tuesday, November 9th, 2021

Tonight I was able to take Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched ISU's season opener, a 84-73 victory over the Owls of Kennesaw State.  The Owls are members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. 

This game marks the start of T.J. Otzelberger's era as head coach of the Cyclones.  It was nice to finally get to watch a basketball game in Hilton again, since I was unable to attend any games last year due to covid.  The game itself was not perfect, and there were a total of 57 fouls called in the game, which made it last about 30 minutes longer than usual.  Anyways, the Cyclones did play with a lot of defensive effort, which was nice to see.

I would say that Gabe Kalscheur was the player of the game for ISU, as he led the team in scoring with 19 points.  He also put in a lot of work on the defensive end.  Gabe was joined in double figures scoring for ISU by Izaiah Brockington (18), Tyrese Hunter (11), Caleb Grill (11), and Tre Jackson (10).  

I believe that tonight is the 21st ISU men's basketball game that Nolan has attended.  The last time I took him to a game was ISU's victory over Texas in 2020.  

Here I am with Nolan before the game.  He really wanted a Dr. Pepper to drink.

84-73, Cyclones!

Sunday, Novermer 7th, 2021

Yesterday was quite the day filled with tailgating and football, and I am happy to say that I was able to watch as the Iowa State Cyclones dominated the Texas Longhorns, 30-7.

The first half of the game was fairly uneventful, as the Longhorns led 7-3 at halftime.  However, in the third quarter Iowa State was able to score 3 touchdowns and completely took control of the game.  Breece Hall took an option play around the left end and scampered 47 yards for a TD.  Then Iowa State really took control of the game on a trick play, where Xavier Hutchinson threw a 49-yard TD pass to Tarique Milton.  Iowa State's defence played well all game, as they held Texas to just 205 yards of total offense.  

For our tailgate we had a "beef" theme.  Ryan Butler smoked some beef ribs, and Kyle Perkins made some picanha.  My contribution was just some dried beef, pickle, and cream cheese dip with crackers.  

This was the fourth time that I have attended a football game between Texas and Iowa State, and now that Texas is set to join the SEC, it may be the last time that I see them play.  It was great to send them out of the conference with a loss!  The previous years that I have seen ISU and Texas play were ISU victories in 2019 and 2015, while the Longhorns prevailed in 2011.  

Here was my view of the game in section T.  You can see lots of people with the flashlights of their phones on in this picture.  Go Cyclones!

Another fun thing that happened yesterday is that Maxwell and Nolan received their first covid vaccinations!  Originally I had planned to take Nolan to the football game with me today, but those plans changed once we were able to schedule their shots.  So the boys stayed home with Elizabeth and enjoyed a relaxing day watching videos while I was at the tailgate / game.

Saturday, October 23rd, 2021

 Happy Homecoming Cyclone Nation!!

I am happy to say that today I was able to attend Iowa State's 24-21 victory over the Cowboys of Oklahoma State!  I have now seen ISU defeat every Big 12 conference foe in person, with the exception of the Oklahoma Sooners.  Today was the fourth time that I had attended an ISU/OSU football game.  Previous times were in 2019, 2015, and in 2013.  

Since it was homecoming today, I also helped to push LaVonne in her wheelchair while she performed with the Alumni Band.  That included the usual practice at the Bergstrom facility, taking pictures with the band, lunch at the Scheman building, marching to the field, and then doing the halftime show.  This was the seventh time that I have helped LaVonne with this (we did not do it last year due to Covid).

Elizabeth brought Nolan and Maxwell out to the tailgate lots to hang with out friends from Chicago (Sara, Mike, their kids, and some of their friends).  After the game we all went out to Hickory Park for a nice meal.  It was really nice to see some old friends again.

Here was our view of the game.  Instead of sitting along the sidelines like in past years, they had us sit in handicap accessible seats about the rest of the band.

Here I am helping LaVonne with rehearsal before the game.  

Sunday, October 17th, 2021

This weekend I took Elizabeth and the boys down to Manhattan, Kansas, for a little adventure.  I'm glad to say that we were able to watch a very well played game by the Cyclones, as they defeated Kansas State on the road for the first time since 2004!  

We actually headed over to Omaha on Friday (we took the day off from work / school), and we grabbed lunch with Amy at Benson Brewery.  The cousins were able to hang out and play with each other that afternoon.  After spending the night in Omaha, we drove down early to Manhattan.  Our plan was to grab lunch at the So Long Saloon, which opened at 11:00.  We arrived around 11:05, and the place was completely full and had an hour wait for a table!  We ended up grabbing what seemed like the last table at Tanner's Bar & Grill, just across the street.  Aggieville was sure a busy place.  After lunch we had the boys play at a local park, we swam at the hotel pool, and then we headed over for some tailgaiting.  

As for the game, Breece Hall took the opening play for the Cyclones 75 yards for a touchdown, and Iowa State seemed to be in control from there on out.  Andrew Mevis connected on 4 field goals, and the Cyclones went on to win by a score of 33-20.  Kickoff for the game was 6:30, so it was a pretty late night for the boys.

This was Nolan's 6th football game that he has attended.  The last game that I took him to was earlier this year against UNI.

This was only the second game that Maxwell has attended.  His first was in 2019 vs UNI.  

As for myself, this marks the fourth time that I have seen Iowa State play Kansas State in football.  The previous times were a win in 2018, and losses in 2016 and 2014.  This was also the first conference road game that I have attended.

Here we are having lunch at Tanner's

I'm not sure it I approve of the glassware

Myself and the boys at Bill Snyder Family Stadium

The view from our seats (section 430, row 10, seats 7-10).

Sunday, October 10th, 2021

 This weekend I took the boys up to grandpa Eben's place so that they could ride around in the combine.  We spent most of yesterday helping him with the corn harvest at "Brinkley's" farm, which is about 3/4 of a mile north on N14 from Eben's place, on the East side of the road.  I drove the grain cart while Eben combined, and the boys took turns riding with each of us.  I think that the boys enjoyed helping out on the farm.  We also stopped by his hired man's farm (Bryan Sundall's place), and the boys especially enjoyed playing with his little black kitten.  

Tuesday, October 5th, 2021

 This past Satuday I took my cousin David with me to watch Iowa State's dominant victory over the Kansas Jayhawks, 59-7.  I believe that the 59 points scored by Iowa State are the most that I have seen them score in person at a football game.  

Before the game we enjoyed an "Oktoberfest" themed tailgate in the G7 lot.  I brought some bratwurst that I had simmered in Old Milwaukee the night prior.  People also brought homemade pretzles, homemade mustard, and a variety of other German foods.  I also brought some tasty German Oktoberfest beers from Weihenstephaner, Paulaner, and Ayinger.  

The game itself was a complete blowout from the start.  Brock Purdy threw for 4 touchdowns... in the first quarter!  Xavier Hutchinson, Charlie Kolar, Joe Scates, and Jirehl Brock were the recipients of those TD passes.  Anyways, this marked the seventh time that I have watched ISU play (and defeat) Kansas in football.  The previous years were in 2019, 2017, 2015, 2013, 2011, and back in 2002.  

David and I sat way up in Section A for the game.  

I am looking forward to the weekend of October 16th, when I will take Elizabeth and both of the boys down to the game at Kansas State.  Go Cyclones!

Saturday, September 4th, 2021

 Today I took Nolan with me to watch Iowa State's season opening victory over the UNI Panthers, 16-10.

I arrived at the G7 tailgate lot around 7 this morning, and we tailgated with the usual people, including Ryan Butler, Dan & Anne Becker (they also brought their two kids), Tim & Lydia Nevins, Kyle Perkins, and others.  Elizabeth brought both of our boys over to the tailgate after lunch.  I enjoyed some fancy trappist beers for today's tailgate.  I figured that since ISU is a top-10 ranked team (they came in to today ranked #7), we should have a "five-star tailgate".  So I enjoyed some Rochefort, Achel, Orval, and Chimay beers.  

The game itself left a little to be desired, but at least Iowa State played well enough to win.  Breece Hall had a 2-yard TD run in the second quarter, which was the only Cyclone touchdown today.  Today marks the fifth time that Nolan has been able to see a Cyclone football game.  The previous games that he saw include Texas Tech in 2020, Oklahoma in 2018, UNI in 2017, and UNI in 2015.  The Cyclones are 3-0 against UNI when Nolan has attended the game!

Here I am with Elizabeth at today's tailgate.  

Nolan was excited to be at the game!

Saturday, August 28th, 2021

Well, it is officially "back to school" season now.  Classes for the fall semester began at Iowa State this past Monday.  More importantly though, is that Nolan had his first day of THIRD GRADE on Wednesday, and Maxwell started KINDERGARTEN yesterday.  It seems odd to me that they start on a Friday, but whatever.  My boys are getting to be so big it's crazy!

Nolan posing on his first day of third grade.  

Nolan picked out his own outfit for the first day of school.

Maxwell on his first day of Kindergarten.

As for today, we had a fairly relaxing day at home.  I took Nolan to the Iowa State creamery on campus for a treat (Maxwell insisted that he wanted to stay home with mommy).  Anyways, Nolan enjoyed a vanilla ice cream cone, and I had a "Legacy" cone.  This is peanut butter and butterscotch ice cream with chocolate covered rice crisps.  I was very happy with my choice.  

Friday, July 2nd, 2021

 Today Elizabeth, the boys, and myself returned home after a week-long stay at in Estes Park, at YMCA of the Rockies.  We took the Amtrak from Osceola to Denver last Wednesday night (arriving Thursday morning).  We then met up with the whole GLEKS gang (Gleasons, Lacinas, Easleys, Kyhl, and Saltons).  We did quite a few activities during that time, including taking the boys trout fishing (Trout Haven), going on a mountain coaster (Mustang Mountain Coaster), going on rides at Fun City, taking the whole GLEKS crew for a hike around Bear Lake, playing kickball, BINGO, trivia, making tie dye shirts, and lots more.  

Hiking the 0.8 miles around Bear Lake turned out to be enough of a hike for our boys, but I was also able to go on a longer hike to Ouzel Falls and the Calypso Cascades with just Christian, Emily, and myself one morning, which was a lot of fun.  During our trip, we were able to see quite a bit of wildlife, including a moose that walked past our cabin, multiple elk (once there was a group of 6 that walked by our cabin), deer, and other smaller critters.  

After checking out of Estes Park yesterday, we took the boys to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.  It was fun checking out dinosaur fossils, the kids enjoyed playing in a water table at a discovery center, and we watched a IMAX movie about the Austrailian Great Coral Reef.  

Nolan holding up one of the trout that he caught.  For bait we used red worms or pieced of shrimp.

Nolan, Maxwell, and Oscar being all cute and what-not.

Getting ready to hike around Bear Lake.

Family pic at Bear Lake.

Here I am at Ouzel Falls.

Nolan holding a female Lesser Goldfinch.

Christian at Calypso Cascades.

Here are the elk that wandered past our cabin.

Sunday, May 23rd, 2021

 Today we drove home from Yellow River, where Elizabeth, the boys, and myself had a fun family weekend camping, fishing, and exploring Harpers Ferry.  

Elizabeth and the boys sitting around the campfire at Little Paint Campground.

This was the rainbow trout that Nolan reeled in all by himself.  

Elizabeth and the boys at the Harper's Ferry boat sign.

The weekend was a lot of fun, and it included a couple of odd events.  First, during our drive up there, we saw a really fancy car... a Lotus.  It was a yellow sports car, and according to our quick google search they start around $96,000.  The guy driving had his top down, and the funny thing about it was that while we were driving with it a heavy rain started to come down, and this poor guy was getting soaked in his fancy car.

The other odd thing that happened was on Saturday night after Elizabeth put the kids to bed.  We were looking up at the stars, and when we saw this strange line of lights moving across the sky.  I thought maybe they were a bunch of military planes flying, but it was strange that they were all in a perfect line.  The strange thing was how many there were... probably 60 or more.  We were concerned enough that we walked over to a neighbor's campsite and asked them what they thought.  It turns out that they knew about them... it is a group of satelites owned by Elon Musk called Starlink.  So we were relieved that we were not under attack by aliens or something!

As for our camping trip, we stayed at campsite #123.  Friday night we built camp, had a fire, and roasted hot dogs & marshmallows.  I brought some Nutella along instead of Hershey's chocolate bars for the smoores, and that was a hit.  I did try a little fishing at the hole close to camp, but no luck.

Saturday morning I got up early (around 6:15) and went fishing by myself while Elizabeth and the boy slept in.  I headed down the trail at Little Paint, and I took a left at the first fork and tried my luck down by the rock wall.  I had a couple of nibbles but nothing to show for it, so then I headed a little further down the trail (straight at the first fork, and then immediately to the left).  I had a couple of nibbles on my first two casts, had about 10 minutes of nothing, and then caught 2 nice rainbow trout on back to back casts.  I headed home after about 1 hour and 20 minutes total of fishing, and I had a nice trout breakfast.  

Saturday afternoon, after Elizabeth had taken the boys into Harpers Ferry to explore a little, I took everyone on what turned out to be a quick fishing trip.  We walked to the same spot that I had caught the two trout that morning.  I rigged up Nolan's fishing pole, casted it out, and handed him the pole.  Before I could even get a work on Maxwell's pole, Nolan says "I think I've got a nibble".  I turn around and saw that his bobber was a couple of feet underwater.  Lol.  So I told him to reel it in!  He reeled in a really nice rainbow trout, and I helped net it for him.  His was probably a couple of inches bigger than the ones I had caught earlier that day.  After that both boys just wanted to play with the trout, and we were basically done fishing.  That turned out to be all of the fishing Nolan even tried for the trip, so he caught one fish on a single cast, in probably 30 seconds of total time.  Pretty efficient!

I did try my luck again Saturday night at my three usual spots (by the campsite, first left by the rock wall, straight at the fork then immediately left).  Alas, I had no luck after about an hour of trying.  In total I probably spent two and a half hours fishing to get two trout, while Nolan caught one in less than a minute!  

This was Nolan's second time at Yellow River, and it was Maxwell's first trip.  I'm not sure how many times I have been there, but here are some previous trips: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2014, 2013, and 2012.  This was the first time I have been up there without one of the Seagos.  Matthew and his wife are expecting twins this month, so that is why they did not come up.  

Sunday, March 21st, 2021

This weekend I took Nolan and Maxwell over to Omaha to visit Amy, Brandon, Logan, and Emma.

Yesterday we took the kids over to the Henry Doorly Zoo for a little fun.  It was surprisingly busy, but I suppose since it was a weekend, the weather has started too get warm, and most people have been cooped up for over a year now from Covid, it makes sense.  Some of the exhibits were closed due to construction (like the gorillas).  Still, I think the kids had a fun time.  We were able to see the lions, cheetahs, giraffes, elephants, sea lions, and go through the aquarium.  It was pretty cool walking through the tunnel in the aquarium where fish can swim all around you.  Nolan said that his favorite part was the cheetahs because they are the fastest.

Afterwards, we went back to Amy & Brandon's house.  We had the kids play in the back yard for quite a while, and we played a game with plastic throwing axes that would stick to a target.  Then we went inside and watched Iron Man.  After the kids went to bed, Amy, Brandon, and myself had some drinks while we played Oregon Trail, the board game.

It was fun just to get to see the cousins playing together.  Emma is getting so big... she will be 2 on May 11th.  

Wednesday, January 20th, 2021

 HAPPY INAUGURATION DAY!!

Today marks an important day in this nation's history, where the worst president in our lifetime has stepped aside and has been replaced by our new president... Joe Biden!!  I've been looking forward to this day for a long time, and I really just want to stop hearing about Trump.  

Of course two weeks ago on January 6th, Trump's supporters raided the capitol building, which ended up killing 5 people (including one police officer).  Trump was clearly responsible for stirring up this mob of terrorists.  

There has also been the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which was horribly respoded to by Trump's administration.  As of now, there has been about 406 THOUSAND Americans that have died from this disease.  It was such a disappointment to watch Trump and his followers downplay and deny the danger of this pandemic for months, until it was too late.  

There are so many other reasons why Trump has been a terrible, terrible leader for our country.  I'm just glad now that Joe Biden will give us a chance to try and heal and build back to being a great nation once again.  

To celebrate, Elizabeth and I shared some champagne after work today :)