Sunday, December 15th, 2024

Today I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the #3 Iowa State Cyclones defeat the Omaha Mavericks, 83-51.  The #3 ranking is tied for the highest ranking that the Cyclones have ever had!  

I would say that Keshon Gilbert was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 16 points and had 4 assists.  He was one of 5 Cyclones in double figures scoring, as he was joined by Milan Momcilovic (13), Joshua Jefferson (13), Tamin Lipsey (11), and Nate Heise (10).  The Cyclones started out the game kind of sloppy, and midway through the first half the game was tied at 21.  However, the Cyclones would close out the first half on a 20-2 run that helped to decide the game.  

Today marks the fourth time that I have seen the Cyclones play (and defeat) Omaha.  The previous times were in 2018, 2016, and back in 2012.  As for Nolan, this was the second time he has been to a game against Omaha (2016), and it was his 39th men's basketball game overall.  

Iowa State 83, Omaha 51.

Sunday, December 8th, 2024

 Today I took Maxwell over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the #6 Iowa State men's basketball team completely overwhelm the Jackson State Tigers, 100-58.  Jackson State is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), and they are from Jackson, Mississippi.  

Today's game was the 33rd that Maxwell has attended.  One fun thing about today's game is that Maxwell was able to take a nice picture with Cy!  As for myself, this is the second time that I have seen ISU play Jackson State (2021 was the other time).  

I would say that Curtis Jones was the player of the game for the Cyclones, as he led the team with 19 points.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Milan Momcilovic (18), Dishon Jackson (17), Keshon Gilbert (16), and Joshua Jefferson (10).  The Cyclones forced Jackson State into 24 turnovers.  

Maxwell and Cy!

 

Wednesday, December 4th, 2024

 Tonight Nolan and I enjoyed watching the #6 Iowa State Cyclones win a showdown against #5 Marquette, 81-70.  Tonight marks the TENTH time that I have witnessed the Cyclones defeat a top-10 ranked opponent.  The previous games were:

• #7 Kansas in 2024
• #7 Texas in 2023
• #8 Kansas in 2023
• #5 Kansas in 2019
• #8 Texas Tech in 2018
• #9 Baylor in 2017
• #1 Oklahoma in 2016
• #9 Kansas in 2015
• #7 Michigan in 2013

As for Nolan, today's game is the 38th men's basketball game that he has attended.  This was the third time that he has seen ISU play a top-25 ranked team.  The previous times were the win against #8 Kansas in 2023 and a loss to #1 Baylor in 2022.  Nolan did a good job of paying attention during the game, and he wanted to do a cute little handshake with me every time Iowa State made a basket.  We even made it onto the jumbotron in Hilton thanks to Nolan, as he was able to scan the QR code and take a video of us on his phone!

Today's game was great.  There was a sold-out crowd that packed into Hilton, and it was a "white out", where everyone was encouraged to wear white.  Iowa State started out strong in the first half and led 46-37 at halftime.  Marquette did battle back to tie the game at 61 before the Cyclones went on a 14-0 run that took control of the game in the second half.  The player of the game for Iowa State was Keshon Gilbert, who scored 24 points and dished out 7 assists.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Joshua Jefferson (15), Curtis Jones (14), and Dishon Jackson (11).  This win should come in handy for ISU's resume on Selection Sunday.  

GO STATE!

Saturday, November 16th, 2024

 Today Nolan and I had a fun day filled with tailgating and the ISU football game, where we witnessed the Cyclones defeat the Cincinnati Bearcats, 34-17.

Although the final score was a bit lopsided, Iowa State only had a 3 point lead with about 4 minutes to play, when Rocco Becht collected a high snap and turned a broken play into a 15-yard touchdown run to give the Cyclones a 10 point advantage.  My favorite play of the game came in the 3rd quarter, when Stevo Klotz picked up a 1st down on a fake punt.  It was 4th down and 9 to go, and Klotz took a direct snap and rumbled 22 yards.  With the win, Iowa State improves to 8-2 on the season.

Today's game was Nolan's 12th football game, and it was the 4th time that he has seen ISU defeat a conference opponent.  The previous Big 12 victories that he has seen were UCF this year, at Kansas State in 2021, and Texas Tech in 2020.  Today's game was a night game, as kickoff was at 7:00.  By the time game was over and we were back home, it was almost 11:00... so it was a late night for us!  

GO CYCLONES!

Monday, November 11th, 2024

 Tonight I was able to take Nolan to the Iowa State men's basketball game, where the #7 Cyclones defeated the UMKC Kangaroos, 82-56. UMKC is a public university that had 15,327 students (as of 2023), and the Roos are members of the Summit League. 

Today's game was actually the fourth time that Nolan has seem Iowa State play UMKC.  The previous times were in 2019, 2014, and way back in 2013 (which was Nolan's first ever basketball game).  Overall, this was the 37th time that Nolan has been to a men's basketball game.  One fun part about today's game was that Nolan got his picture taken with Cy!

As for the game, Curtis Jones was the player of the game for the Cyclones.  He led the team with 20 points to go along with 5 assists and 5 rebounds.  The other double-digit scorers for Iowa State were Milan Momcilovic (16) and Dishon Jackson (13).  

CY!

Iowa State 82, UMKC 56.

Monday, November 4th, 2024

Tonight Maxwell and I went over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the season opening game for Iowa State, as the #5 ranked Cyclones defeated the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils, 83-44.

As with most season opening games, there are a number of new faces to get used to on the team.  A pair of transfers started the game for Iowa State, including Joshua Jefferson (transfer from Saint Mary's) and Dishon Jackson (transfer from Charlotte).  I thought they both looked good in their first action as Cyclones.  I would say that Tamin Lipsey was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he had 16 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals.  Lipsey was joined in double figures scoring by Keshon Gilbert (17), Joshua Jefferson (10), and Milan Momcilovic (10).  

Tonight marks the 32nd time that Maxwell has attended an Iowa State men's basketball game.  Recently I had looked back on previous blog posts and discovered that I had actually been off on my count of Maxwell's basketball games, so after double checking this is number 32 for him.  I gave him the choice today of getting a clone cone, a soda, candy, or popcorn to enjoy at the game... and he went with popcorn.

As for myself, this is the 5th time that I have watched the Cyclones take on the Delta Devils.  Previous games were: 2019, 2016, 2014, and 2011.  Another thing that I would like to note is that they updated the jumbotron and ribbon boards inside of Hilton.  It all looks very nice, but they did take out the old corner scoreboards that I liked to take pictures beside at the end of games.  I settled for a different scoreboard picture today...

Our selfie at our seats in section 216 before the game.  

Cyclones 83, Delta Devils 44.  

Saturday, November 2nd, 2024

Well, it's homecoming for the Iowa State Cyclones, but unfortunately it was not a "happy homecoming" this year, as Iowa State lost a close one to Texas Tech, 23-22.  

Like usual, I pushed Lavonne around in her wheelchair for the homecoming football game.  We got out the the Bergstrom practice facility around 8:45 this morning, and we spent a good amount of time practicing the songs and formations for the halftime show with the Alumni Band and Varsity Band.  Between the two bands, there was over 700 people on the field for halftime.

After the band practice and some photos, I pushed LaVonne over to the Scheman building where the Alumni Band had lunch and their annual meeting.  After that the band gathered outside of the building and marched into the stadium.  I believe that this was the 10th year that I have helped LaVonne for the homecoming halftime show.  The other years were: 2023 vs Kansas, 2022 vs West Virginia, 2021 vs Oklahoma State, 2019 vs Oklahoma State, 2018 vs Texas Tech, 2017 vs TCU, 2016 vs Kansas State, 2015 vs Texas, and 2014 vs Toledo.  

Today's game came right down to the wire.  Iowa State actually took the lead with 2:11 left in the 4th quarter, when Rocco Becht found Carson Brown for a 44-yard touchdown pass.  However, the Iowa State defense could not hold onto the lead, as Tahj Brooks scored for the Red Raiders on a 5-yard touchdown run with only 20 seconds left on the clock.  Today's game is the 5th time that I have seen Iowa State play Texas Tech in football.  The previous games were Cyclone wins in 2020, 2018, and 2002.  Texas Tech also won back in 2012.  

I am also anxiously awaiting the 2024 presidential election that will take place in just a few days.  I sure hope that we can finally put an end to this Donald Trump nonsense that has plagued the country since he was first elected in 2016.  

Saturday, October 19th, 2024

 Oh wow.  I am feeling a mixture of excitement and exhaustion right now after a long day of tailgating and a stressful football game.  The #9 Iowa State Cyclones came from 14 points down in the second half to defeat the UCF Knights, 38-35.  

It really did not seem to be Iowa State's day, but somehow the team found a way to win.  Iowa State gave up over 350 rushing yards, and Rocco Becht threw two interceptions which each resulted in a touchdown for UCF.  Still, the Cyclones kept fighting and were able to finally go ahead on a Rocco Becht 1 yard TD run with only 30 seconds left to play.  It was SO STRESSFUL.  With the win, ISU improves to 7-0, which is tied for their best start to a season ever!  

I took Nolan with me to the game, and this was his 11th ISU football game.  He has now seen the Cyclones defeat 3 conference foes, including UCF today, Kansas State in 2021, and Texas Tech in 2020.

Of course this was also my first football game against UCF, as they are in only their second season in the Big 12.  

During the halftime show today there was a fun drone show, which kept displaying different ISU logos.  

Nolan with the drone show in the background

Saturday, October 5th, 2024

 I'm pretty worn out right now, but I'm also pretty excited.  I took Maxwell over to Jack Trice Stadium today, where we watched an exciting win for Iowa State, 43-21 over the Baylor Bears.  

Baylor got out to an early 14-3 lead in the game, thanks to a pair of touchdown passes from Sawyer Robertson.  The Cyclones would bounce back to take a 19-14 halftime lead, after Caden Matson recovered a blocked punt and took it in for the score.  Iowa State pretty much dominated the second half, as Jaylon Jackson had a pair of rushing touchdowns.  With the win, Iowa State improves to 5-0 on the season, and it is their first 5-0 start since 1980!

Today's game was a "white out", where the fans were encouraged to wear white.  It was also a sellout crowd and a night game, so it was a very fun atmosphere.  One fun thing that happened during the game was I caught a shirt from the t-shirt cannon!  We were seated in the 11th row of section Y, so they really had to launch the shirt quite a ways to get it that far into the upper deck!

Today's game was the 9th football game that Maxwell has been to, and it was the second time that he has seen a game vs Baylor (2022 was the other).  This was the fifth time that I have seen Iowa State play Baylor.  That includes wins today, 2018, and in 2012.  Baylor came out on top in 2022 and 2005.  

Maxwell enjoying the game.

Here I have the shirt that I caught!

Saturday, September 21st, 2024

 Today I took Maxwell over to Jack Trice Stadium, where we watched the #20 Iowa State Cyclones absolutely destroy the Arkansas State Red Wolves, 52-7.  

Today was the eighth time that Maxwell has been to an ISU football game, and the 52 points was the highest point total that he has seen for Iowa State.  The previous game that Maxwell attended was last year vs. Kansas.  

Today's game was a blowout from the start.  Carson Hansen and Rocco Becht each ran for a touchdown in the first quarter, and the Cyclones led at halftime by a score of 31-0.  Maxwell and I ended up leaving in the third quarter, after Iowa State had scored again to go up 38-0.  He was getting a little board of the blowout game.  I am happy that the Cyclones were able to finish off the nonconference portion of their schedule a perfect 3-0 this year!

Thursday, September 5th, 2024

 Today after work I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Iowa State volleyball home opening game.  The Cyclones would go on to defeat the Toledo Rockets in straight sets,  25-20, 28-26, and 25-17.  The second set was particularly entertaining, as both teams had chances at a couple of set points.

Nolan really enjoyed himself at the game.  He was on the jumbotron early in the match during a "dance cam", which he was quite proud about.  He got his picture taken with Cy.  I bought him a Clone Cone.  Then he also ended up grabbing one of the little souvenir volleyballs that they throw out to the crowd.  

It had been quite a while since I've taken one of the boys to a volleyball game.  As best as I can remember, the previous time was way back in 2019, when Iowa State defeated TCU.  I can't believe that we haven't been to a volleyball game since before Covid!

Nolan with his Clone Cone before the game.

Nolan posing with Cy... while holding the little volleyball that he got at the game.

Saturday, August 31st, 2024

 After the long wait of the offseason, I can finally say that it is Cyclone football season again!

Today our family all enjoyed a nice tailgate, just north of the Scheman building.  It was a nice but fairly warm day,  so we tried to stay in the shade for most of the tailgate.  

I took Nolan with me to the game, where we watched Iowa State defeat the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, 21-3.  The first two plays of the game were quite exciting.  On Iowa State's first offensive play of the day, Rocco Becht connected with Jaylin Noel on a 54 yard bomb into double coverage.  Then on the next play Becht found Jayden Higgins for a 21 yard TD.  The Iowa State defense did have some troubles getting off of the field on 3rd downs today, and it seems like they have a lot that they need to work on.  Our linebacker Caleb Bacon did get injured early in the game, which did not help.

Today was the 10th football game that I have taken Nolan to.  He seemed to enjoy the game, and he was continuously asking how many yards each team needed to gain for a first down, so it seems like he is understanding the game better.  The previous game that I took Nolan to was last year's UNI game.  

Here Nolan is climbing inside the Jack Trice "Breaking Barriers" sculpture. 

Sunday, July 28th, 2024

 Today I took Eben, Nolan, and Maxwell down to Des Moines for an Iowa Cubs baseball game.  I'm sure that I have been to an I-Cubs game before, but it's been so long that I have no idea when exactly.

I think that the boys had fun at the game.  Nolan got to meet the mascot, "Cubbie".  I got the boys some "Dippin' Dots ice cream, which they were pretty excited about.  I also picked up a souvenir baseball for Maxwell.  As for the game, the Cubs ended up losing to the Indianapolis Indians, 9-8.  The Indians scored all 9 of their runs in a terrible 6th inning for the Cubs.  We ended up leaving in the 8th inning when the score was 9-3... but the Cubs would rally with 5 runs in the 9th that we missed!  That included a grand slam!  Oh well.  

It's become a bit of a tradition to take grandpa Eben to baseball games.  Last year we went to a Twins / Red Sox game, and in 2019 we went to a Royals / Twins game.  I'm thinking that next year I would like to take dad down to a St. Louis Cardinals game!  

Sunday, July 14th, 2024

 HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY NOLAN!!

Nolan is now old enough to be considered a "wizard", at least in the world of Harry Potter.  Right after breakfast (I made a We Will breakfast pizza), Nolan took the online sorting hat quiz to see which magical house he belongs to.  It turns out he is a Gryffindor, just like me!  

Yesterday while Elizabeth and Nolan were at Adventureland, it was up to me to bake him a cake.  I stayed with the Harry Potter theme and made a cake in the same fashion as Hagrid gave Harry in the movie.  "I baked it myself, words and all."  I had never tried to write with frosting on a cake before, so I'm afraid mine did not look quite as nice as Hagrid's!  

For his birthday lunch Nolan requested that we go to Blaze Pizza.  He had his regular order of pepperoni and mozzarella with a spicy red sauce.  

After lunch we took the kids down to Urban Air in Ankeny.  They probably played around there for a good two and a half hours.  Today was the first time that Maxwell actually tried the zip-line thing there.  He was nervous at first, but once he tried it he really enjoyed it!  He must have gone on it 8 to 10 times in a row.  

Then this evening a took the boys out for a movie.  Nolan chose to see Despicable Me 4.  The kids both got a kick out of the movie.  

Finally, one we got home from the movie, Nolan opened his presents.  He got a little nerf target practice thing, some sandals, some water balloons, and a "Kids Against Maturity" card game.  I think that he had a pretty good 11th birthday overall.

HAPPE BIRTHDAE NOLAN!

Thursday, June 20th, 2024

 Wow.  We just got home from an amazing vacation to Alaska!  We flew from Minneapolis direct to Anchorage on the 13th, and we flew home yesterday evening.  We didn't arrive back in Ames until after midnight, so really we got home this morning.  We went out there with the whole GLEKS group (Gleasons, Lacinas, Easleys, Kyhl, and Saltons).  Grandma Becky was very generous, as she paid for everyone's trip!

During our time in Alaska, we all stayed at two air B&B houses that are next to each other, and we took day trips out of Anchorage.  The Salton crew's day trips included hiking on Matanuska Glacier, riding the train from Anchorage to Seward and back, and driving to Whittier where we took a glacier cruise (or we were supposed to anyways).  We also spent a couple of days just checking out things to do in Anchorage.

For our glacier hike, we had to drive a couple of hours Northeast of Anchorage. During our drive it was a very clear day, and for a moment we were actually able to see the peak of Denali!  I would guess that we were about 120 miles away from Denali at the time we saw it, which is pretty crazy.  Once we got to the glacier tour, they had us all change into waterproof boots, helmets, and we strapped spikes onto our shoes.  The glacier was more muddy or silty than I expected.  We were able to break pieces of the glacier off and eat the ice, and we could drink the water that was melting off of it.  

During our train ride to Seward, we took the regular "Adventure class" on the way down, and we upgraded to the "Gold Star" service on the way back to Anchorage.  In Seward we mostly just walked around and checked out different shops and restaurants.  We enjoyed lunch at a nice seafood place called Ray's Waterfront.  We had a nice view of the harbor, and we were able to watch some sea otters while we ate lunch.  I had the Halibut and chips, which was yummy.  The fries were especially good.  We had great views of the scenery while on the train.  We also saw a grizzly bear during our train ride!  It was on the tracks, and as the train approached it jumped into the water and started swimming away.  

Our trip to Whittier did not go exactly as planned.  It was kind of cool to go through the two and a half mile long tunnel into Whittier.  We took a cruise from there, which was supposed to be a 4 hour cruise to see glaciers.  However, about an hour and a half into the trip our boat started having mechanical problems.  It was unable to steer, so we were kind of stuck in one spot.  It took a couple of hours for a mechanic to come out to the boat and get it working, and by that point our boat just returned to port.  They did give us a full refund of our cruise, but we missed quite a bit of what we would have normally seen.  After we got back to port, the Saltons went out to eat at a restaurant called the Swiftwater Seafood Cafe.  I had the Halibut and chips, and it was my favorite meal of the trip!  The fish had to be freshly caught that day.  It reminded me of walleye or perch that we would catch with my dad up in Minnesota during a fishing trip, just to fry them up and eat it the same day.

During our time in Anchorage we were able to check out the downtown area, we spent some time in Kincaid park, and we took the kids to the Alaska Museum of Science and Nature.  The kids and I enjoyed reindeer dogs from a food cart downtown.  Elizabeth, Christian, and myself took the kids to 49th State Brewing, where we enjoyed some good craft beers. My favorite was the Solstice IPA.  We also took the kids out for ice cream at Wild Scoops.  Maxwell enjoyed a birthday cake ice cream with a "baked Alaska" top of torched marshmallow fluff.  Nolan had his usual vanilla ice cream.  One day for dinner the GLEKS crew ordered pizza from Moose's Tooth Pizzeria.  We ordered about 9 different pizzas, but my favorite was some kind of Apricot pizza.  

It was fun to see the entire GLEKS crew, but it seemed like our time there went too quickly.  

Some of the mountains and their reflection that we saw during our train ride to Seward.

Nolan hiking on a glacier.

Maxwell enjoying his ice cream from Wild Scoops.

My favorite food of the trip - Halibut and chips from Swiftwater in Whittier.

Saturday, June 8th, 2024

 Today I drove Nolan up to Cedar Falls, where his Ames Soccer Club team went 2-0 to start their 11U soccer tournament this weekend.  

Their first game was against "CF Attacking Aliens", and Ames won by a score of 6-1.  I'm pretty sure the CF stands for Cedar Falls.

The second game was a close one, with Ames defeating Hudson 2-1.  

Nolan got to play quite a bit in each game.  He doesn't start, but he comes off the bench and plays as a back line defender.  In the second half of the second game, Nolan did a really good job of stopping about 3 or 4 advances that the other team made.  A couple of times he was able to collect the ball from the opposing team and kick it back down to the other end.  Another time he was battling for the ball and was fouled by the other team, stopping their attack.  Then another time they were getting close to the goal and he was able to kick the ball out of bounds.  Anyways, it was all helpful to preserve their one score lead.

This is the first season that Nolan has played club soccer, and he is doing a good job of keeping up with kids that have been playing quite a bit longer than he has.  

Between games we enjoyed Pizza Ranch for lunch.  

Tomorrow his team has two more games in Cedar Falls.  Hopefully they can keep up the good work and possibly win the tournament!

Monday, May 27th, 2024

 HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

This weekend our family drove over to Nebraska, and we spent Saturday & Sunday camping with the Shostaks at Platte River State Park.  

There were quite a few things that we were able to enjoy during our time there, including: playing at a splash pad, a playground with a small "zip line", climbing to the top of an observation tower, going on a hike to a small waterfall, going kayaking, checking out a nature center, and of course making a fire and having smores / hot dogs.  

At the nature center, the kids were able to pet a few animals such as a turtle and a snake.  

Anyways, it was nice to spend some time with Amy, Brandon, Logan, & Emma!

Sunday, May 5th, 2024

 Today Nolan and I came back home after a fun weekend camping and fishing at Yellow River.  We met up with Jon, Matt, Jeremy, and Tyler during the trip.  

Nolan was lucky because I took him out of school on Friday so we could drive up that morning.  We had sunny weather on Friday, but the stream was a little cloudy because it had been raining quite a bit earlier in the week.  We did try to fish at the spot right by camp and down a ways by the first fork in the path, but we did not have even a nibble at either place.  We blamed the bad luck on the cloudy water.  We had a nice campfire Friday night, and Nolan enjoyed making smore's. The sky was nice and clear so that we could see the stars easily.

Saturday morning I took Nolan to the handicap accessible fishing hole.  I had never actually tried this spot before, but it turned out to be pretty good!  I caught 2 rainbow trout, and we both had quite a few other bites.  Nolan was getting a bit frustrated because he was not having much luck setting the hook when he would get a bite.  We came back to camp after about an hour of fishing, and I cleaned the two trout.  Then it rained fairly hard for an hour and a half, so we hung out under the canopy tent to stay dry.   After the rain stopped Nolan wanted to try his luck fishing again, so we went back to the same handicap area.  He caught 2 rainbow trout all by himself!  At this point we decided that whoever catches the next trout would be the "winner", since our daily limit is 5 trout.  We tried a bit more fishing by the hole next to camp with no luck, only to head back to the handicap area once again.  I hooked a trout and got it right up to the water's edge before it got away, so I was close to "winning".  Then after a bit Nolan caught his third trout of the day, and he became the Salton fishing champion for the year.

After all of the fishing we relaxed back at camp with everyone else.  Jeremy and Matt had gone fishing at Big Paint, and Jeremy ended up catching 2 brown trout.  One of them was a big16-inch trout.  Saturday night also had clear skies that was good for star gazing.  

Nolan and I camped at site #120 this year, the same as last year.  However, everyone else had changed spots and were a ways away from us.  Next year I should try to reserve something like campsite #115 or #117.  

Here are a few other years that I have blogged about fishing at Yellow River: 2023, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2014, 2013, and 2012. 

Nolan posing with the Harpers Ferry sign.

Here is one of the rainbow trout that I caught Saturday morning.

Nolan with one of his rainbow trout.

Sunday, April 21st, 2024

 We had a fun weekend, as the Shostaks came over to visit, and Amy came with me to Cy's House of Trivia.

Our team name for this year's Cy's House of Trivia was "Rocco's Modern Life".  Our team members included Dan & Anne Becker, Tim & Lydia Nevins, Ryan Butler, Rob Haaland, and myself & Amy.  The trivia categories were: War Movies, Which/who came first, Cartoon characters, where in the world, stage names, sports photos, finish the lyrics, and super bowl commercials.  We definitely could have used Elizabeth on the team this year for the finish the lyrics category.  Overall, our team ended up 53rd out of 100.  Last year we had a better showing.

Today, the Shostaks stayed around to watch Nolan's soccer game.  His Ames Soccer Club team ended up in a tie game with Ankeny, 3-3.  It was fun to watch him run around and compete.  Nolan is playing as a defenseman.  

Sunday, March 31st, 2024

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

That's right.  Today I turned the big 4-0.  Mike Gundy would say that "I'm a man" now.  

To celebrate, I took Elizabeth and the boys up to Eben's farm for the weekend.  I had requested a birthday meal at Godfather's Pizza in Spencer.  The reason for this was because I could remember that Lynn had her 40th birthday there, so this way I could honor her.  Lynn's favorite pizza was pepperoni, but she also really enjoyed their taco pizza.

Our pizza party was yesterday evening at 6:30.  Prior to that, dad drove us up to Milford to enjoy some beers at the West O brewery.  Well, Elizabeth and I enjoyed some beers.  The kids had root beer / cream soda, and dad was fine without any of that.  Of course, I had to order an Ames Lager, which helps to support the We Will foundation for ISU athletes.  I also ordered the Coco stout nitro and the Lake Beast, which is a New England IPA.  Both of them were quite tasty.  

Another fun thing to note about today, other than it being my birthday (and Christian's), is that today happens to be Easter.  This is the fourth time during my lifetime that Easter has fallen on my birthday.  The previous times were in 1991, 2002, and 2013. It won't happen again until 2086... when I would be 102 years old!

Cheers to 40!

Wednesday, March 6th, 2024

 THE CYCLONES ARE UNDEFEATED AT HILTON!!

Today Amy drove over from Omaha and attended Iowa State's 68-63 senior night victory over the BYU Cougars with me.  With the win, the Cyclones finished off a perfect 18-0 season at home.  It was the first time they have accomplished the feat since the 2000-2001 season.  

Iowa State came into the game ranked #6, while BYU was ranked #20 in the country. The game itself was stressful to watch.  The Cougars led by 11 points at halftime, and with just under 16 minutes left to play they still led Iowa State by a score of 46-32.  The Cyclones mounted a spirited comeback behind Tamin Lipsey and Curtis Jones, along with a great defensive effort.  BYU was held scoreless for the last 4:24 of the game.  I would say that Tamin Lipsey was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 19 points and had 5 steals.  Curtis Jones was the only other Cyclone in double figures, with 18 points.

It had been 2 years since Amy attended a basketball game with me.  The last time she was at an ISU basketball game was against Southeastern Louisiana back in 2021. 

As for myself, this was the second time that I have watched a game between Iowa State and BYU.  The first time was a win back in 2012. 

I am excited to see how Iowa State wraps up the rest of the season.  They should be in position to have a great seed in the NCAA tournament, and it looks like they will be a 2 seed in the Big 12 tournament.

Here is a recap of the games I attended this year:

Wins:

• BYU
• Oklahoma
• West Virginia
• Texas Tech
• TCU
• Kansas
• Oklahoma State
• New Hampshire
• Eastern Illinois
• Florida A&M
• Prairie View A&M
• Iowa
• Idaho State
• Lindenwood

Losses: NONE!

LET'S GO STATE!

Wednesday, February 28th, 2024

 I'm excited right now, as Maxwell and I just got home from watching another fun win for Iowa State.

The #8 Cyclones took down the Oklahoma Sooners in the last meeting between the two schools as Big 12 opponents, 58-45.  I was nervous coming into the game, as this was Maxwell's last opportunity to watch the Cyclones knock off the Sooners before leaving to the SEC.  One of my goals was to take each kid to see a basketball win against each Big 12 school, and that could have been spoiled if Oklahoma won today... but thankfully the good guys came out on top!

As for the game, it was not pretty offensively.  None of Iowa State's starters managed to score in double figures.  The player of the game for ISU was Demarion Watson, who came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points and collect 9 rebounds.  The only other Cyclone in double figures was Curtis Jones (11).  

This was the 31st men's basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to.  He has now witnessed wins against each of the old Big 12 schools, except for Oklahoma State.  Of course he still needs to see wins against all of the new Big 12 schools.

Today's game was the tenth time that I have seen the Cyclones play the Sooners.  Iowa State has won eight of those, including today, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013.  Oklahoma won in 2023 and 2003.

GO CYCLONES!

Saturday, February 24th, 2024

 LET'S GO CYCLONES!!

Today I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the #6 Iowa State Cyclones survive a scare from the West Virginia Mountaineers, 71-64.  Coming into the game, I was expecting this to be an easy win for Iowa State.  West Virginia was last place in the Big 12 Conference, but give them credit for keeping the game close.  The Mountaineers opened up the game on fire, as they led 11-2.  Iowa State would respond to take a 40-30 lead at halftime.  In the second half West Virginia came back to take the lead 51-50 with about 9 minutes left to play.  Then Iowa State went on a 14-0 run that ended up putting the game away.  

I would say that Tamin Lipsey was the player of the game for the Cyclones, as he led the team with 14 points and 6 assists.  The only other player for Iowa State in double figures scoring was Curtis Jones (12).  

Today's game was the 36th men's basketball game that I have taken Nolan to.  It was the second time that he has witnessed a win vs West Virginia (2022).  As for myself, this was the seventh game that I have watched between the Cyclones and Mountaineers (and the fifth win).  Iowa State also came out on top in 2022, 2019, 2018, and in 2013.  West Virginia won in 2020 and 2017.  

Saturday, February 17th, 2024

 Another day, another win for ISU basketball.

Today I took Maxwell over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the #10 Iowa State Cyclones defeat the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 82-74.  

This was the first time that Maxwell has attended a game vs Texas Tech, and it was nice to have him cross one more conference opponent off of the list.  Besides today, he has also witnessed Cyclone victories against: Kansas (2024), Texas (2023), Kansas State (2020), West Virginia (2018), TCU (2017), and Baylor (2017).  This was the 30th men's basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to.  

Today's win was the 20th of the season for Iowa State, and it is one more notch in their belt that will come in handy on Selection Sunday.  Expectations are that the Cyclones should be at least a 4 seed or better in the NCAA tournament.  As for today's game, Keshon Gilbert was the player of the game.  He led the Cyclones with 24 points and 8 rebounds.  Gilbert was joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Curtis Jones (12), Robert Jones (10), Tamin Lipsey (10), and Milan Momcilovic (10).  There was a fun halftime show today, as the Red Panda performed.  She is an acrobat riding a tall unicycle that will flip bowls from her foot and catch them on top of her head!

For myself, this is the eighth time that I have watched Iowa State play the Red Raiders in basketball.  I am happy to say that the Cyclones have won all eight of those games!  The previous games were in 2022, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, and 2012.  

Iowa State 82, Texas Tech 74.

Saturday, February 10th, 2024

 LET'S GO STATE!

Today I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the #14 ranked Iowa State Cyclones take down the TCU Horned Frogs, 71-59.

The Cyclones played really well on defense in the first half, allowing them to build an early lead which they never gave up.  I would say that Keshon Gilbert was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he scored 13 points to go along with 7 assists.  Joining him in double figures for Iowa State was Tre King (15) and Curtis Jones (13).  

The highlight of the game for me was the fact that I won a t-shirt!  There was a trivia contest where the top 10 people win shirts, and I came in 8th place!  I was able to pick out what shirt I wanted, so I got a large gold "Juicy" t-shirt.  Today's game was "Gold Rules", where everyone was encouraged to wear gold clothing.  

Today was the third time that Nolan has been in attendance for an Iowa State basketball game vs TCU. We took him to a memorable game way back in 2014 when he was less than 1 year old.  In that game, Melvin Ejim scored a whopping 48 points!  I also took Nolan to the game in 2019, where TCU ended up winning.   Today's game was the 35th ISU men's basketball game that Nolan has been in attendance for. 

As for myself, this was the seventh time that I have attended an ISU / TCU basketball game.  The Cyclones have won 6 of those games (today, 2020, 2017, 2015, 2014, and 2013).  

I like how excited Nolan was for this picture!

Thursday, February 1st, 2024

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAXWELL!!

It's not every day your little dude turns 8!  According to Maxwell, today was (one of) his favorite days ever!  He decided that all of his birthdays are tied for best days ever.  

Anyways, for lunch today Elizabeth brought him a McDonald's happy meal at school.  Then after school today we gave him the option to go out for supper anywhere that he wanted.  I was really hoping that he would pick somewhere else (like last year when we went to Red Lobster for his birthday), but he wanted to go to McDonalds.  Ugh.  The heart wants what the heart wants I guess.  So he had another happy meal for supper.

After supper we all went out to Orange Leaf for some frozen yogurt.  Then we took the kids to Perfect Games for some arcade fun.  One fun moment there happened when Nolan and I were playing on the harpoon fishing game.  The special jellyfish came out, and Nolan shot it on his first attempt!  He won 750 tickets for this!  At basically the same time I shot the big shark, so that was fun.  Nolan had saved up enough tickets that he was able to get a big Spongebob Squarepants plushy.

Maxwell with a big slice of his birthday cake.

Nolan and I celebrating our arcade win.

Saturday, January 27th, 2024

 Wow.  I've got a lot on my mind after today's thrilling basketball game, where the #23 Cyclones defeated #7 Kansas, 79-75.  I just hope that I can remember it all here...

For starters, the atmosphere inside Hilton and the game itself were both top notch.  It was a sold-out crowd, and today's game was a "white out", where fans were encouraged to all wear white.  The crowd actually did a very good job of this.  Students had camped outside for DAYS just to be in line for the game.  It was loud.  We danced to Juicy Wiggle.  Tons of fun.  After the win, the crowd stormed the court to celebrate.

Tre King was the player of the game for Iowa State.  He scored a game-high 21 points and collected 9 rebounds.  King was joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Keshon Gilbert (16), Curtis Jones (15), and Tamin Lipsey (10).  Gilbert made a dagger 3-pointer with less than a minute to play that turned a 2-point Cyclone advantage into a 5-point lead that really helped put the game away.  As a team, Iowa State connected on 14 three pointers!

Maxwell was able to come along with me for today's game, which was the first time that he has witnessed the Cyclones play (and defeat) the Jayhawks.  Of course, one of my goals is to take both kids to see Iowa State wins against every team in the Big 12 conference.  For Maxwell, he has now seen them defeat Kansas, Texas in 2023, Kansas State in 2020, West Virginia in 2018, TCU in 2017, and Baylor in 2017. So, with regards to the "Old Big 12", Maxwell still needs to see wins vs Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech.  Of course the conference did expand this year to include BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF.  Next year the conference will add Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah.  So... there is plenty of work left to do!

With today's big win, it got me wondering what top-25 teams the kids have seen Iowa State play in basketball.  For Maxwell, the Cyclones have gone 4-0 in games against top-25 teams when he has been in attendance.  That includes today's game vs #7 Kansas, #7 Texas in 2023, #15 West Virginia in 2018, and #9 Baylor in 2017.  He's been a good luck charm for the Cyclones!

Nolan has only attended two games against top-25 competition.  That includes a win vs #8 Kansas last year and a loss to #1 Baylor in 2022.  

For myself, today marks the 8th time that I have attended a men's basketball game between Iowa State and Kansas.  The Cyclones have won four of those (today, 2023, 2019, and 2015).  The Jayhawks have won in 2020, 2018, 2017, and in 2013.

I also got to wondering how many times I have seen Iowa State defeat teams ranked in the top-10.  Well, the answer is NINE times so far.  That includes:

• Today's win vs #7 Kansas
• #7 Texas in 2023
• #8 Kansas in 2023
• #5 Kansas in 2019
• #8 Texas Tech in 2018
• #9 Baylor in 2017
• #1 Oklahoma in 2016
• #9 Kansas in 2015
• #7 Michigan in 2013

Saturday, January 13th, 2024

 Well, despite the terribly cold weather outside (as I'm typing this it's 16 degrees BELOW zero), it was a pretty good day.  What I'm happy about is that Nolan and I really had fun tonight watching the Cyclones defeat the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 66-42.

Tonight's game marks the 34th men's basketball game that Nolan has attended.  With today's win, Nolan has now seen Iowa State defeat all of the "old Big 12" teams.  That includes wins against Kansas (2023), West Virginia (2022), Oklahoma (2022), Texas (2020), Baylor (2018), Texas Tech (2017), Kansas State (2016), and TCU (2014).   Of course, the Big 12 Conference expanded this year to include BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF... so he still has a few more left to collect.  

The highlight of today's game was that Nolan was able to catch a t-shirt that they shoot out of a t-shirt cannon!  He was so excited about getting a shirt!

As for the game, Tamin Lipsey was the player of the game for the Cyclones.  He scored a game high 17 points.  He added 5 steals, 4 assists, and had 0 turnovers.  Lipsey was joined in double figures scoring by Milan Momcilovic (12), Hason Ward (12), and Tre King (11).  

For myself, this was the 10th time that I have attended an ISU / OSU basketball game.  The Cyclones have won 7 of those contests, including 2020, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2014, and 2013.  

Iowa State 66, Oklahoma State 42.

Nolan with the t-shirt that he caught!