Saturday, December 31st, 2022

 Well, 2022 was a pretty fun year I would say.  In February we took the family to Orlando, where we enjoyed a week at Universal Studios.  In June, Elizabeth and I enjoyed an adventure in Europe, where we spent time in Belgium and the Netherlands.  Of course, I always enjoy the ISU sports season, which is why I am blogging today...

Eben came down to today's game with me, and we witnessed the Cyclones convincing 77-62 triumph over the #12 ranked Baylor Bears! It had been quite a while since dad has come down to a basketball game with me.  The previous game was ISU's victory over TCU in 2020.  I haven't exactly kept track of the conference basketball games that Eben has attended with me as closely as I have tracked my kids' games.  I know that dad has also seen wins against Kansas in 2019, Texas in 2017, and Texas Tech in 2016 and 2015. 

As for today's game, Gabe Kalscheur was the player of the game, as he led the team with 23 points and connected on 5 threes.  He was joined in double-figures scoring by Caleb Grill (18) and Jaren Holmes (10).  Today's game was a sell-out, and it got pretty loud in the second half when ISU started to put the game away.  

This was the seventh time that I have seen ISU play Baylor in basketball, and it was the 4th win.  Iowa State was also victorious in 2018, 2017, and in 2013.  The Bears ended up winning in 2022, 2019, and 2015.  

Go Cyclones!!

Sunday, December 18th, 2022

 We are now down to 7 days until Christmas!

Today I was able to take Maxwell over to Hilton, where we watched the Iowa State Cyclones defeat the Broncos of Western Michigan, 73-57.  This marks the 21st time that I have taken Maxwell to a men's basketball game.  This was the third game that Maxwell has been to so far this year (Milwaukee and North Carolina A&T were the others). Western Michigan is a university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and they compete in the MAC (Mid-American Conference).  

As for the game, it is worth noting that this was the first game that Tre King was eligible to play as a Cyclone.  King transferred from Georgetown during the middle of last year, so he had to sit out the first semester this year.  I would say that Caleb Grill was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 14 points.  Grill was joined in double-figures scoring by Tre King (11), Gabe Kalscheur (11), Jaren Holmes (10), and Robert Jones (10).  

Iowa State 73, Western Michigan 57.  

Sunday, December 4th, 2022

 Today I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Iowa State Cyclones defeat the St. John's Red Storm, 71-60.  St. John's plays in the Big East Conference, and today's game was part of the Big 12 / Big East Challenge.

The Cyclones never trailed in the game, as they got out to a 22-5 lead with about 8 and a half minutes left to play in the first half.  St. John's actually did not make a field goal for the first 10 minutes of the game!  Coming into the game today, Iowa State was ranked #23 in the country.  St. John's was not ranked, but they were undefeated at 8-0 before today.  

I would say that Caleb Grill was the player of the game for ISU.  He only scored 7 points, but he added 10 rebounds and 5 steals, and he played 34 minutes of solid defense for the Cyclones.  The double-figure scorers for ISU were Jaren Holmes (14), Aljaz Kunc (12), and Robert Jones (11).  

Today was the 28th time that Nolan has been to a men's basketball game.  

I had to make a lovely edit to this picture, because the scoreboard lights did not show in the original picture.  

Wednesday, November 30th, 2022

 Iowa State 63, North Dakota 44

Tonight I went by myself to Hilton, where I watched the Cyclones take down the Fighting Sioux Hawks of North Dakota.  North Dakota is a member of the Summit League in basketball, and they are located in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The first half of the game displayed some rather uninspiring basketball by the Cyclones, as they only led by a score of 26-24 at halftime.  The Cyclones did find their shooting touch in the second half, and that was largely due to Caleb Grill, who connected on 4/5 three-pointers and led all scorers with 16 points.  Grill was joined in double figures scoring by Tamin Lipsey (11) and Robert Jones (10).  I enjoyed watching Lipsey finally break into double figures scoring, as he has not been much of an offensive threat thus far this year.  

Sunday, November 20th, 2022

 Tonight I brought Maxwell over the Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Cyclones defeat the Panthers of UW-Milwaukee, 68-53.  Iowa State came out tonight with great defensive intensity, and they ended up forcing 27 Panther turnovers.  Jaren Holmes was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 19 points.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Caleb Grill (11), Aljaz Kunc (10), and Robert Jones (10).  UW-Milwaukee is a member of the Horizon League.  

Tonight was the 20th men's basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to.  This was the second time that I have witnessed the Cyclones play against UW-Milwaukee, and I must say that tonight was much more enjoyable of a game to watch.  The Panthers had defeated ISU in the season-opener back in 2017, which was one of the more disappointing games that I have been to.  

I also wanted to mention that we had our Salton Thanksgiving this weekend.  Amy & Brandon brought their kids over from Omaha, and Eben drove down from the farm.  I ordered a smoked turkey breast from Watcha Smokin, and we made a bunch of sides to go with it (scalloped corn, mashed potatoes & gravy, Brussels sprouts, a relish tray, cornbread stuffing, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin bars).  It is always nice having the chance to spend some time with family.

ISU 68, UW-Milwaukee 53.

Nolan, Logan, Emma, and Maxwell with grandpa Eben.  

Sunday, November 13th 2022

 Today Maxwell and I went over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Cyclones defeat the Aggies of North Carolina A&T, 80-43.  

I gave Maxwell the option to pick whatever he wanted from the concession stand today, and instead of pop or a Clone Cone he decided to grab a package of gummy bears.  Today marks the 19th time I have taken him to see a men's basketball game.  Today was much more entertaining than the last game I took Maxwell to, which was an embarrassing loss to Oklahoma State last year.

 As for today's game, Aljaz Kunc was the player of the game for the Cyclones, as he finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.  He was joined in double figures scoring for Iowa State by Osunniyi (16), Holmes (13), and Tamin Lipsey (10).  It was nice to see Lipsey play well, as he is a hometown favorite who grew up in Ames.

Go Cyclones!

Monday, November 7th, 2022

 Tonight I am happy because college basketball season has officially tipped-off.  I took Nolan over to Hilton to watch the Cyclones open their 2022-23 season with a convincing 88-39 victory over the IUPUI Jaguars.  

In case you are wondering, IUPUI stands for Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.  I'm not sure who thought that one up, but what a dumb name.  The Jaguars compete in the Horizon league.  

Anyways, the game was not very competitive from the start, but it was fun to see all of the new faces on this years team.  One of the new faces, Jaren Holmes, led the Cyclones with 23 points.  He was joined in double-figures scoring by Gabe Kalscheur (16), and Osun Osunniyi (10).  Both Holmes and Osunniyi are transfers from St. Bonaventure.  Osunniyi seems to be a nice defensive presence on the inside, as he had a couple of blocks today.

This was Nolan's 27th men's basketball game that I have taken him to.  The last men's game that he attended was the win against West Virginia last year.  

Iowa State 88, IUPUI 39.

The Clone Cones are huge!

Saturday, November 5th, 2022

 THAT'S ANOTHER CYCLONE... VICTORY! 

Today was the 2022 homecoming football game for Iowa State, and I'm glad to say that the Cyclones were able to play well and defeat the West Virginia Mountaineers, 31-14.  

Since it was homecoming, I helped push my aunt LaVonne in her wheelchair like usual, for the ISU alumni band.  We started the day at the Bergstrom practice facility, where the alumni band and the regular ISU varsity band practiced formations and how they would enter / exit the field for halftime.  At the start of the day, we were not even sure if we would be performing during the halftime show, since it was raining so much that there was some thought that the halftime show would be cancelled in order to not tear up the field if it was too wet.  The rain eventually subsided, and the sun came out enough to let us perform.  

As for the game, Hunter Dekkers threw 2 TD passes, and the ISU defense came up big quite a few times.  The defense held West Virginia to 200 yards of total offense (some of that coming in garbage time), and they forced seven 3-and-outs.  Anthony Johnson also had an interception for the ISU defence.

Today is the second time that I have seen the Cyclones defeat West Virginia in football (2018 was the other).  Besides those two wins, the only other time that I had attended an ISU/WV game was a West Virginia win back in 2012.  

Go Cyclones!

A view of the action in the second half.

Saturday, October 29th, 2022

 This morning I woke up early so I could be out at the tailgate lots by 7:30, to have some fun before the Cyclones kicked off against Oklahoma at 11:00.  Unfortunately, as has been the case most of the season, the Cyclones ended up on the wrong end of the scoreboard, 27-13.  

The tailgate was fun at least.  We set up under the southwest corner of the Scheman building, so we did not have to worry about putting up any tents.  Dan had his blackstone griddle, and he fried up bacon, hash browns, and eggs, and we made breakfast bowls.  

As for the game, the Cyclone offense just could not get anything going.  Hunter Dekkers unfortunately threw 3 interceptions, and our running game was mostly non-existent.  I believe that today was the fourth time that I have attended an ISU football game vs Oklahoma (2018, 2014, and 2012 were the others).  The Sooners are the only Big 12 team that I have not seen the Cyclones defeat in person, and with the Sooners set to leave for the SEC in a few years, I might just be out of luck with that.  

Another fun thing to note today was that Maxwell was able to ride a bicycle without training wheels for the first time today!  Elizabeth had him practicing, and he was able to ride all the way over the Daley park by himself.  

Sunday, October 2nd, 2022

 Well, it certainly feels like fall around here.  Eben called me today and said that he just finished combining soybeans.  What really made it feel like fall though was taking the family to Center Grove Orchard.  We took a nice family photo, the kids got to play on a variety of things, and we picked out some pumpkins.  The big white pumpkin that we bought ended up weighing just over 53 pounds!  I weighed Maxwell while I had the scale out, and he weighs 54 pounds... pretty darn close to the pumpkin.  

Saturday. September 24th, 2022

Today I woke up early and brought both kids out to the tailgate lots by 7:00 for a fun day of tailgating and football.  Well, at least the tailgating was fun.  We set up camp under the SW corner overhang of the Scheman building to stay out of the sun.  The kids had plenty of grassy area just to the south to run around and play catch with a football.  I brought some Casey's breakfast pizzas, and others brought biscuits and gravy.  

As for the game, well, it was not as much fun.  Baylor ended up defeating Iowa State, 31-24. The first touchdown drive for Baylor was especially painful to watch, as there was a complete BS targeting penalty called on ISU, which caused Beau Freyler to miss the rest of the game.  That was one of about three terrible 15 yard penalties called on the Cyclones today.  Baylor still made the plays to win the game, but poor officiating definitely adds some frustration to watching games like this.  

Anyways, it was nice to have both of the boys get to watch a game with me at Jack Trice.  Today was the fourth time that I have seen Iowa State play Baylor in football.  The other years were wins in 2018 and 2012, and a loss back when I was an undergrad student in 2005.    This was the 8th football game that Nolan has been to, and his 4th conference game (Oklahoma 2018, Texas Tech 2020, and Kansas State 2021 were the others).  As for Maxwell, this was his 4th football game and second conference game that he has attended (the other was Kansas State 2021).  

Maxwell and Nolan with the view from our seated in section G.

Monday, September 5th, 2022

 Happy Labor Day everyone.  Today I did something that I haven’t done since early 2006… donate plasma.  I remember that when I first started to blog it was something I would talk about.  I went back to the same place I used to donate as a college student, BioLife.  I sat in the “Red” section today and gave from my left arm.  It all went pretty smoothly for me, although there was another person there that was having a bad reaction to it.  Anyways, if I can occasionally donate plasma it could be a nice way to help chip in for a vacation that we have planned in over a year…

Saturday, September 3rd, 2022

I am feeling a bit exhausted at the moment after being outside in the sun all day, but it was well worth it to enjoy Iowa State's season-opening football game against Southeast Missouri State.  The Cyclones rolled over the Redhawks, 42-10.

This year we are parking in the B1 lot, which is just north of the Scheman building.  We had to move away from the G7 lot that had always been our tailgate home, as that was converted to RV lots.  I think that the kids had a lot of fun at the tailgate.  Maxwell and Glenn were inseparable.  Nolan hung out with Bash most of the time, and we played catch with the nerf football quite a bit.  I brought a bunch of Fareway pork burgers to grill, and Dan made some smoked chicken wings that were very good.

As for the game itself, Xavier Hutchinson had three receiving touchdowns.  Hunter Dekkers looked solid for his first career start.  There was not much drama in the game, as SEMO was not very good.

Our whole family was able to attend today's game.  Nolan sat with me (with our mobile pass tickets), while Maxwell and Elizabeth used some free tickets that she got from work.  The weather was very nice for a home opener - kickoff was 74 degrees and sunny.  I believe that this was Nolan's 7th ISU football game, and it was Maxwell's 3rd game.  

Go Cyclones!!

  

Thursday, July 14th, 2022

 Today is a special day, as Nolan is now NINE YEARS OLD!!  It's incredible how fast the boys are growing up.

To recap today, both of the boys stayed home from day camp while Elizabeth worked from home.  They had lots of time to relax and play.  After I got home from work, Nolan was able to open a few presents.  The main present that he got was a rock tumbler, to help polish rocks that he collects.  He also received a Minecraft-themed Uno card game, which we played with him tonight (Nolan won by the way).  

Then we took the boys over to Edwards, where a Kona Ice truck was there serving shaved ice.  After Nolan and Maxwell finished those treats, we all went out to Hickory Park to celebrate.  Nolan actually ordered off of the adult menu instead of the kids menu... which I believe is a first time ever.  I guess that is just another sign that he is getting big!  Anyways, he ordered a pork steak (basically two 4-oz smoked pork chops) dinner with a side of fries and a side of cottage cheese.  Maxwell had a hot dog kid's meal with mac & cheese, Elizabeth had a side of fries, and I had a pork tenderloin sandwich.  Of course, they came and sang happy birthday to Nolan, and the kids got ice cream for dessert.  

When we got home from supper, the boys got to stay up later than usual to have videos in bed.  I'd say they had a pretty good day today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOLAN!!

Here we are playing Nolan's new Uno card game.

Tuesday, June 14th, 2022

 Today I am feeling pretty exhausted following the trip that Elizabeth and I just went on to EUROPE!  That's right, we just returned home this morning after spending about 11 days in Europe.  We left for our trip on Friday, June 3rd, from Chicago.  We had a layover in Lisbon, Portugal for 4 hours, before flying to Brussels.  We spent about 4 days in Brussels, 3 days in Bruges, and 2 in Amsterdam before flying home from Amsterdam.  This was my first ever trip to Europe.

You could say that the "theme" of our trip was to find the best Belgian beers that we could.  We were able to drink at the famus Delirium bar in Brussels, we toured the Lindemans lambic beer factory, we toured "De Halve Maan" brewery in Bruge, the Heineken brewery in Amsterdam, and we even rented a car and drove to the Westvleteren monastary where monks make what may people have called "the best beer in the world".  As for that, Elizabeth and I both decided that the Westvleteren 12 was good but definitly not the "best in the world".  I actually thought that the Westvleteren 8 was better.  In total, I enjoyed 47 beers while on our trip.  However, I was not what I would call "drunk" at any point during out trip.  We mainly spaced out our beer consumption to a couple during lunch, some with supper, and then maybe one or two each evening.  Of all the beers that I tried, I would say that the St. Bernardus 12 was my favorite.  My top 5 would probably be: 1) St. Bernardus 12, 2) Leffe Brune, 3) Gouden Carolus Classic, 4) St. Bernardus Xmas, and 5) Westvleteren 8.

There were many things, good and bad, that I learned about Belgium and the Netherlands while we were there.  Some things that I did not like as much were the super narrow steps that were typical to find in the Air B&Bs that we stayed at, having to pay to use public restrooms, paying for water at most restaurants, and the fact that manual transmission cars are the norm.  Since it had been probably 20 years since I had driven a manual car, I was not the best at driving them when we rented a car to drive to Westvleteren.  I think that in the future I will not be renting cars if they are not automatic.

Of course the good things heavily outweighed the "bad" things during out trip.  It was amazing to see all of the old architecture in the cities that we visited.  I think that Grand Place in Brussels was my favorite of all of them.  Bruge did have a lot of charm with beautiful buildings basically wherever you looked.  The Bruge Belfry and the Church of Our Lady were both very beautiful buildings to see.  Speaking of the Church of Our Lady, I had no idea that it housed a sculpture from Michelangelo until we wandered into the church to take a look around.  Other landmarks that we were able to see include Atomium, manneken pis, Cinquantenaire Arch, a torture meuseum, a beer meuseum, and the Anne Frank house, among others.

We also enjoyed a bunch of good food while on our trip.  My favorite food was the Flemish beef stew that I had in Belgium.  It was basically a beef pot roast with the richest, most flavorful gravy that I've every had.  Of course we had our share of street food, from Belgian waffles, frites, herring, and stroopwaffles.  All in all, it was a good but exhausting trip, and now I am happy to be back home with the boys.

Elizabeth with the Grand Place lit up green.

Here I am outside fo Atomium.

This is the Bruge canal, and we were able to board a boat for a canal cruise ride at this location.

Here I am with the statue "Modonna" that was created by Michelangelo.

Saturday, March 19th, 2022

 The past couple of days have been my favorite time in sports all year.  That's right, it's March Maddness time!  

Last night I took Nolan with me to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Iowa State Cyclone women's basketball team defeat the University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks 78-71 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  UT Arlington is a member of the Sun Belt Conference.  The Mavericks actually played well to start the game, and they led the Cyclones by as many as 12 points in the first half.  Thankfully, Ashley Joens was there to lead the comeback for Iowa State.  She scored a season-high 36 points for the Cyclones.  

The game did not tip-off until 9:00, so it was way past Nolan's bedtime by the time it was over.  He actually stayed awake for the entire game, and he did a good job cheering for the Cyclones.  The Iowa State women will now play Georgia tomorrow for a chance to move onto the sweet 16.  This was the fourth time that I have seen the ISU women play in the NCAA tournament.  The previous times were in 2019 when they defeated New Mexico State, a 2014 loss to Florida State, and a victory over Florida State in 2001.  

Of course, the women were not the only Cyclone team that came up big last night.  The men opened the first round of the NCAA tournament with a victory of their own, defeating the LSU Tigers by a score of 59-54.  Tyrese Hunter was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he connected on 7 threes, including a pair of huge triples at the end of the game.  The ISU men will face-off with Wisconsin tomorrow.  It's always a lot more fun to follow the NCAA tournament when your team is still playing!  

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022

 Oof.  I just got back from Hilton Coliseum, where Maxwell and I watched a stinker of a game by the Cyclones, as they fell to the Oklahoma State Cowboys on senior night, 53-36.  I don't care to go back and look, but the 36 points has to be the worst offensive showing that I have ever seen from Iowa State.  The Cyclones shot only 28% for the game, and they were 2-17 from three.  Izaiah Brockington led the Cyclones with 13 points, and Tyrese Hunter chipped in 12.  They were the only players for Iowa State with a pulse tonight.  There's not much else to say except that was horrible.

Tonight was the 18th time that I have taken Maxwell to an ISU basketball game.  Sadly, he's had poor luck with conference games lately, as the last game I brought him to was a loss to Kansas State in February.  This was also the second time that he has seen the Cowboys defeat ISU (2018 was the other).  At least he got to enjoy a clone cone tonight.  

This was the eighth time that I have seen the Cyclones play the Cowboys in basketball.  Iowa State has won six of those meetings (2020, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013), while Oklahoma State came out on top tonight and in 2018.  

Overall this year I was able to attend 13 men's basketball games, with the Cyclones going 10-3 in those games.  Really this year has been a pleasant surprise considering the low expectations that everyone had going into the season.  To recap the season:

Wins:

• Kennesaw State
• Oregon State
• Alabama State
• Grambling State
• Iowa
• Jackson State
• Southeastern Louisiana
• Texas Tech
• Oklahoma
• West Virginia

Losses:

• Baylor
• Kansas State
• Oklahoma State

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022

 WOW.  That was one heck of a finish that Nolan and I just witnessed at Hilton Coliseum.  The Cyclones overcame a 12-point second half deficit to defeat West Virginia, 84-81.

Izaiah Brockington was the hero for Iowa State, as he poured in a career high 35 points.  He also made the biggest play of the game.  Iowa State was down one point, and it looked like they would be forced to foul.  Instead, Brockington stole the inbound pass and immediately scored a short jumper with 22 seconds left to give Iowa State the lead.  West Virginia would miss a shot, and Gabe Kalscher secured the rebound.  He went on to make two free throws to help seal the game.  

Brockington was joined in double figures scoring for Iowa State by Kalscher (17) and Tyrese Hunter (10).  This was a big win for the Cyclones, as it greatly helped their NCAA tournament hopes.  The Cyclones now own a 19-9 record with three regular season games left to play.

Today's game was the 26th game that I have taken Nolan to, and it was his tenth conference game.  After today's game, the only Big 12 teams that Nolan has not seen Iowa State defeat are Kansas and Oklahoma State.  As for myself, this was the sixth time that I have seen ISU play the Mountaineers.  The Cyclones have won four of those meetings: tonight, 2019, 2018, and back in 2013.  West Virginia came out on top in 2020 and in 2017.

This game was a good lesson for Nolan that you should never give up.  At halftime he was pretty bummed that Iowa State was trailing by 10 points.  There was also a time late in the game where he declared "Iowa State is going to lose". 

Way to go STATE!

Saturday, February 19th, 2022

 Today I brought Nolan with me to Hilton Coliseum, where we attended Iowa State's convincing victory over the Oklahoma Sooners, 75-54.  Both teams came into today's game somewhere close to the NCAA tournament "bubble", so this was an important step for the Cyclones to help play their way into the tournament.

The game did not start out very well for Iowa State, as Oklahoma jumped out to an early 8-0 lead behind a pair of three-pointers from Jacob Groves.  However, Iowa State found a hot shooting touch in the first half, and managed to lead 40-25 at halftime.  In the second half, the Sooners would get as close as 5 points, but Iowa State managed to go on a 15-0 run down the stretch to put the game away.

Izaiah Brockington was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 22 points. He was joined in double figures scoring by Tyrese Hunter (14) and Aljaz Kunc (11). 

Today's game was the 25th men's basketball game that I have taken Nolan to, and it was his ninth conference game.  Eventually, I would like to take both kids to see Iowa State defeat every conference foe in basketball.  I'm not sure if that's possible with the current make-up of the Big 12, as Texas and Oklahoma will likely be leaving soon for the SEC.  Anyways, as of today, Nolan has attended victories against Oklahoma, Texas (2020), Baylor (2018), Texas Tech (2017), Kansas State (2016), and TCU (2014). 

As for myself, today was the eighth time that I have seen the Cyclones play Oklahoma in basketball (and the seventh victory).  Those victories include today, 2020, 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013.  The lone win for Oklahoma came back in 2003.  

Go Cyclones!

I wore a white shirt for today's game, as the crowd was supposed to be a "white out". 

Saturday, February 12th, 2022

 This afternoon I took Maxwell with me to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Cyclones lose a heartbreaker to the Kansas State wildcats, 75-69 in overtime.  Iowa State started off hot and led 13-0 early on, which included 11 points from Aljaz Kunc.  The Cyclones led by as many as 15 points early in the second half, only to watch their lead slip away due to costly turnovers and hot shooting from K-State in the second half.  In overtime, Markquis Nowell made a big three pointer to put the Wildcats up 5 with about a minute to play, which was the dagger for ISU.

Izaiah Brockington was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he scored a game-high 27 points.  Aljaz Kunc was the only other Cyclone in double figures, with 19.  

I believe that today's game was the 17th ISU basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to, and it was the third time that he has seen ISU play K-State.  The last game I took Maxwell to was against Southeastern Louisiana.  Tonight was the eighth time that I have seen the Cyclones play Kansas State.  That includes victories in 2020, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2012, and 2003.  Kansas State won in 2019 and today.  

Friday, February 11th, 2022

 Today we are all a little worn out, as we flew back from our family vacation to Orlando this morning.  We spent a week down in Orlando (from Friday the 4th until today), where we spent the whole time exploring Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  I'm not sure where to start in describing all of the fun.  So I'll sum up:

Last Friday we were able to pick up an interactive wand for Maxwell (of course he wanted a Harry Potter wand, the same as Nolan's).  After a brief trip to the parks that day, we enjoyed dinner reservations at Cowfish.  This was probably my favorite restraunt that we dined at for the entire trip.  I ordered the calamari for an appetizer, a spicy tuna roll for my entree, and a "Buffalos and bacon" drink (an old fashioned made with Buffalo Trace bourbon and garnished with a piece of candied bacon).  It was all delicious.

During our trip we stayed at the Loews Royal Pacific resort.  One of the perks about staying there is that it gave us an express pass that we could use for shorter lines for all of the rides.  There is no way that I would go down there without the express pass.  It saved us a ton of time waiting in lines (which we still did plenty of anyways).  I can't remember which rides we did each day, but over the course of the week we ended up riding pretty much everything (usually multiple times).  Maxwell loved the Spiderman ride.  Of course he was too small to go on some of the bigger rides.  Nolan was very brave and actually went on the Velocicoaster (which was almost too scary for me to be honest).  I would say that my favorite ride was Hagrid's.  The first time that I rode Hagrid's motorbike ride, I sat with Nolan in the very front row.  It was amazing.

In general, we enjoyed the Harry Potter areas the most.  It was so much fun being immersed in the Harry Potter wizarding world.  Drinking butter beer, doing "magic" with interactive wands, riding the Hogwarts Express, walking around Diagon Alley (and seeing the dragon breathe fire).  It was so much fun.  

One funny moment that I wanted to mention came at the Cat in the Hat ride.  Now, this ride was pretty lame, but we thought that maybe the kids would enjoy it.  Not the case.  While we were still seated in the ride towards the end of it, Maxwell commented that the ride "was not even exciting", and then he started to loudly boo the ride!  Lol.  He was just saying BOO, BOO!!  It was so funny.

Anyways, we are back in Iowa now, and it is back to reality for us.  

Elizabeth and the boys at the Universal Studios globe.

Nolan and Maxwell in front of the Spiderman ride.

Cool kids don't look at explosions.  Lol.  This was my favorite picture that I took of the trip.

I was impressed at how well Nolan did on the Velocicoaster ride!

Tuesday, February 1st, 2022

It's crazy to think that our little boy is now a SIX year old.  It's not every day that you turn six!  I think that he had a good birthday.  Elizabeth brought him a happy meal at school for lunch.  After school, I picked up a giant sugar cookie from Cookies, etc.  The boys each had a happy meal for supper... so yeah, Maxwell had two happy meals today!  

Maxwell got to open birthday cards from quite a few people that he received in the mail, and he proclaimed that he is now "rich" from all the birthday $$.  We got him a cool Spiderman costume and some Lego blind bags that had Jack Skellington, Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas, and some Ninjago characters.  Then he was able to Facetime with Grandma Becky and Amy & Brandon.  He was excited to show them all how fast he was now that he is 6.  

We didn't go out of the house to do anything fun for his birthday because we are trying to lay low and minimize our chances for catching Covid prior to our big trip coming up.  In just a few days we will be leaving for Orlando, Florida!  It is going to be so much fun to take the boys to Universal Studios and to Harry Potter World!

Here Maxwell propbably thinks he is Spiderman, while he poses with his giant cookie.

Happy birthday Maxwell!

Wednesday, January 5th, 2022

 Woof.  I guess they say a win is a win, but tonight's game between #11 Iowa State and #25 Texas Tech sure did not look like a battle of top-25 teams.  At least not on offense.  The Cyclones managed to claw out a 51-47 win over the Red Raiders, mostly with defense.  The Cyclones shot only 15 percent from the field in the second half, but Izaiah Brockington made a huge four point play with just a couple of minutes remaining to regain the lead for ISU.  The Cyclones then managed to make their free throws to eek out the win.  The second half tonight is one of the ugliest halves of basketball that I have seen at Hilton.

Brockington (14) and Aljaz Kunc (13) were the only Cyclones that scored in double figures today.  I would say that Brockington was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team in scoring, rebounds (9), and he made the big shot at the end.  

Tonight was the seventh time that I have seen Iowa State play Texas Tech in basketball, and I am happy to say that Iowa State has won all seven of those meetings.  The previous games were in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, and 2012.  

Saturday, January 1st, 2022

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today I took Nolan with me to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the #8 ranked Cyclones fight hard but eventually fall to the #1 ranked Baylor Bears, 77-72.  The Cyclones held their own and kept the game close, in spite of the fact that Iowa State shot only 1-14 from three point land.  Tristan Enaruna was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 23 points and collected 8 rebounds.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Izaiah Brockington (18) and Tyrese Hunter (12).  Despite their loss, I still feel good about the prospects of this team for the rest of the season.

The crowd today was roudy, and it was fun to be back in that type of atmosphere in Hilton, since the past couple of years that has been lacking.  The last time I attended a game against the #1 ranked team in the country, the Cyclones defeated Oklahoma in 2016.  

Today's game was the 24th that Nolan has been to.  The last game I took him to was against Jackson State.  This was also the second time that Nolan has seen Iowa State play Baylor (2018 was the first).

As for myself, this was the sixth time that I have watched ISU play Baylor in basketball.  The previous times were losses in 2019 and 2015, and victories in 2018, 2017, and 2013.