Tuesday, July 14th, 2026

 HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY NOLAN!!

Today I took the day off from work to stay home and have fun with the kids.  I took Nolan and Maxwell over to Perfect Games, where they played arcade games for a good hour.  Next, we went to the Furman Aquatic Center, where we spent about three and a half hours.  We had lots of time going down the tube slides, the red drop slide, jumping from the spring board and high platform, and floating in the lazy river. For supper tonight Elizabeth and grandma Becky joined us at Nolan's favorite pizza place... Blaze.  Finally, we came home and Nolan opened presents. Hopefully it was a fun day for our newest TEENAGER!

Nolan and Maxwell with some of the prizes they won at Perfect Games.

Nolan with his birthday cake.

Saturday, June 27th, 2026

 Our family just got home from a great vacation down to Riviera Maya in Mexico!  

We flew out of Des Moines on Friday the 19th, and we had an overnight layover in Dallas.  We were lucky enough to get switched to a different flight, because the original flight we had booked was delayed for 5 hours and eventually was cancelled.

On Saturday we arrived to our resort around noon.  We stayed in the Iberostar Paraiso Maya Suites, which is a family friendly all-inclusive resort.  To make it even more fun, Amy & Brandon brought their kids down as well!  It was fun to be able to share a great vacation with them.

While we were at the resort, we enjoyed plenty of good food (both buffets and sit down restaurants), we enjoyed the swimming pools, wave simulator, water parks (complete with water slides and a lazy river), we played on the beach and in the ocean, Elizabeth and Brandon both sang karaoke, and we went to a variety of shows at night (there was a circus with aerial acrobats, a fire show, a Michael Jackson performer, and we watched a world cup match at a sports pub). 

The sit down restaurants that we tried included La Geisha (teppanyaki), Taki-to (taco stand in the shopping mall), Lemon & Spices (Greek), and El Museo (Italian). 

The Saltons went on an excursion on Monday, June 22nd. This included exploring the Mayan ruins at Coba, swimming in a cenote, and going to a local Mayan restaurant. I thought the Coba ruins were really neat to see.  We rented bicycles to ride around the site, and we were able to climb the main pyramid at Coba, Nohoch Mul. We also saw the ball courts where the ancient Mayans played their ball game.  Our guide told us that it is not clear if there were human sacrifices from these games or not.

Our flight home included a layover in Charlotte before returning to Des Moines on a late flight. It was about 1 AM this morning when our family got back to Ames.  Overall, it was a great vacation, and I think we are all pretty worn out from the long trip!  Here is a link to the last time our family went to an all-inclusive resort... Beaches Turks & Caicos in 2023.

Here is a nice picture of both families at the "snake bar" at our resort.

The Salton family by Nohoch Mul in Coba.

The kids had fun on the water slides!

Nolan jumping into the main pool at the resort. 

 

Sunday, May 24th, 2026

 Happy Memorial Day weekend!

This weekend our family went over to Platte River State Park in Nebraska to go camping with Amy, Brandon, Logan, and Emma. This was the second time that we have gone camping over there, as we did the same thing for Memorial Day in 2024.

It was a good time to have all of the cousins hang out. We went hiking to see a small waterfall, we climbed up a viewing tower, we sang karaoke and played games back at the cabin, and of course we had a campfire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.  

Today before driving home we all went out to eat at Ashland Brewing Company.  Overall it was a fun weekend with family, but I do think that I will sleep well in my own bed tonight!

I also wanted to mention that Nolan and Maxwell only have 4 more days of school!  They are looking forward to wrapping up the school year and having a fun summer. Who knows, maybe we will even see more of the Shostaks soon...

Here we are with the view from the observation tower at Platte River State Park.

Sunday, May 3rd, 2026

This weekend I took Nolan up to Yellow River for our annual camping and trout fishing trip.  He had a field trip on Friday, so instead of getting him out of school early like some years I waited until his regular school day was finished. Because of that, it was after 7:00 by the time we got into Harper's Ferry.  We had time to set up the tent, but we did not try to fish any on Friday. Friday night it was very chilly (lower 30s for temperature), and there was frost on the ground when we woke up on Saturday.

Saturday morning I had to stop into the store at Harper's Ferry to get a battery for the key fob for my car.  After that I drove Nolan over to the fishing hole by the Wexford church, but we did not even have a nibble there. Next, we tried our luck at the handicap area at Little Paint, but again we did not get a bite. Then we had an early lunch at camp before heading out fishing again. We stopped by the fishing hole close to camp, where Nolan caught a nice rainbow trout. After cleaning that fish, we took the trail back behind Little Paint. We ended up fishing at the rock wall, where you go left from the fork in the trail. There had been some people there that had their dog playing in the water, so you would think that the fish would have been spooked, but after they left I was actually able to catch a nice rainbow trout! Later that day we did try the handicap area one more time, but no luck. So we ended up making a fire, grilling hamburgers, and making smores. 

This morning before packing up camp we tried fishing at the spot next to camp, but we did not even get a nibble. So in total we caught 2 trout, one for each of us. It is worth noting that Little Paint campground seemed to be more busy than I had ever seen it before.  So all of our usual spots were getting fished pretty hard, and it was difficult to even find spots that did not already have people fishing.

This was the 6th time that Nolan has been fishing at Yellow River. Here are some previous times that I have blogged about being up there: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2014, 2013, and 2012.

Nolan with the trout he caught 

Nolan with the Harper's Ferry sign

Nolan with our tent.  This was the first time we had used this new tent.

Sunday, April 26th, 2026

 Last night Elizabeth and I had a fun time at Cy's House of Trivia.  We've gone to this event almost every year since 2012.  Our team this year had Tim & Lydia Nevins, Ryan Butler, Anne Becker, Rob Haaland, and his girlfriend Kate. We did well on the first trivia category (D in anatomy), as we got all 10 questions correct.  Some of the answers were deltoid, dura mater, distal, dorsal, dentin, and dimple.  After the first round, our team seemed to struggle. Oh well.  One notable thing from last night is that Ryan won another raffle prize!  He ended up winning the golf package, and I believe that is the third time he has won a raffle prize at Cy's House. 

There was a question about what day was the first of the 20th century, and Elizabeth knew the right answer (January 1st, 1901).  I thought it was 1900, so we went with that instead. So sorry to Elizabeth because we should have listened to her. 

One of the Cyclone celebrities that we had at our table was Jon Shaeffer.  His job title is Chief of Staff of the football team. 

Here are some previous blog posts from Cy's House of Trivia. 2024, 2023, 2019, 2017, 2014, 2013, and 2012. 

Sunday, April 19th, 2026

 This weekend I took Maxwell and Nolan up to dad's farm.  Friday night Nolan, dad, and I played The Farming Game for quite a long time (while Maxwell watched TV). We didn't even put the game away at bedtime, but instead we resumed playing in the morning. Eben ended up being the big winner, and it seemed that fruit was a good investment for him.

On Saturday we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant in Spencer. After that we let the boys play at a playground for a while. On the way home we stopped by the Logan township cemetery briefly before heading back to the farm. Next, the boys rode on the go kart for a while, although that was cut short due to a flat tire.  They did still manage to have some fun with it though. This morning before driving back to Ames we helped tag a couple of newborn calves.

Sunday, March 29th, 2026

 This weekend I took Elizabeth and the kids up to Mason City to visit grandma Becky and to celebrate my birthday. 

Friday night after arriving in Mason City, Elizabeth and I went out for some drinks as Fat Hill Brewing.  They had some live music by a group called "The Sheet". After that, we stopped over to the Sports Page to watch the ISU basketball game. Unfortunately, the Cyclones ended up losing to Tennessee in the Sweet 16. 

On Saturday we hung out at grandma's house for a bit, we let the kids play at a nearby park, and then we went to the "No Kings" rally in Mason City. Grandma had made a funny poster that showed Trump peeing into a fan and back onto himself. There were lots of other fun posters that we saw with things like "Orange Lies Matter" and "You can't fix stupid, but you can vote it out". It was nice to see a bunch of Iowans with some common sense.  We did stop by Birdsall's that afternoon to enjoy some ice cream.

That night, we all went out to eat at Northwestern Steakhouse, which I picked as my birthday meal.  This was the kids' first time here.  Nolan, Maxwell, and grandma all ordered the fillet with spaghetti. I wanted to try something different, so I ordered the ribeye with spaghetti.  After comparing each, I would say that the fillet is definitely the best, but the ribeye was good too. 

Saturday, March 7th, 2026

 #6 Iowa State 86, Arizona State 65

Today Maxwell and I had a fun afternoon.  We went out for lunch at Culvers, we watched Iowa State's senior day win over Arizona State, and then we went over to Edwards Elementary so that we could play basketball. Maxwell had enjoyed the game so much that he felt that he needed to shoot some hoops.

As for the game, the Cyclones were trailing at halftime 41-37, but they went on a decisive 24-0 run in the second half to put the game away. Tamin Lipsey was the player of the game, as he had 16 points, 6 steals, and 6 assists. He was joined in double figures scoring for Iowa State by Joshua Jefferson (16), Milan Momcilovic (16), Jamarion Batemon (13), and Dominykas Pleta (11).  The Cyclones end the regular season with a record of 25-6. 

Today was the 43rd men's basketball game that Maxwell has attended, and this was the first time that he has witnessed a victory over the Sun Devils. Now, there are only 4 teams in the Big 12 that Maxwell has not seen the Cyclones beat (Arizona, BYU, Houston, and Utah). As for myself, this was the first time that I have seen Iowa State take down Arizona State.  I have now seen the Cyclones defeat every team in the Big 12!

To recap the season, here are the games that I attended:

Wins;

• Arizona State
• Houston
• Baylor
• Colorado
• UCF
• Oklahoma State
•  West Virginia
• Houston Christian
• Long Beach State
• Eastern Illinois
• Iowa
• Alcorn State
• Grambling State
• Fairleigh Dickinson

Losses:

• Texas Tech

Cyclones 86, Sun Devils 65

Maxwell had a bacon cheeseburger and onion rings at Culvers for lunch.

Saturday, February 28th, 2026

I'm a little bummed today because the #4 Cyclones lost to #16 Texas Tech, 73-82. This was the first home loss of the season for Iowa State, and I had hoped that the Cyclones could have been perfect at home this season... but it was not meant to be.

I took Maxwell with me to today's game.  This was the 42nd men's basketball game that he has attended, and it was his second game vs. Texas Tech (2024 was the first). As for myself, this was the ninth time that I have seen the Cyclones play the Red Raiders in basketball.  The Cyclones had won all of the previous 8 games before today (2024, 2022, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, and 2012). 

As for the game, Iowa State fell in a big hole in the first half and could never recover. Texas Tech led at halftime 45-29. For the game, Texas Tech made 14 of 29 from three point range. Joshua Jefferson led the Cyclones with 22 points. He was joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Milan Momcilovic (20) and Tamin Lipsey (13).  On the bright side, tomorrow is the start of my favorite month!  Here's hoping to better basketball from the Cyclones in March. 

Monday, February 16th, 2026

 #6 Iowa State 70, #2 Houston 67

WOW. Tonight I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched probably the most exciting basketball game that I have ever been to. From the opening tip to the final play, the crowd inside Hilton was probably the best that I have been a part of.  Just tons of energy.  Of course the game was of huge significance, as it was a battle of top-10 teams.  So, when Iowa State fell behind by a score of 63-53 with about seven minutes to play, the team (and the fans) really had to dig deep to come out on top.  The Cyclones were able to end the game on a 17-4 run after that. Each of the 8 players that played for the Cyclones today scored at least 6 points, and the bench players really stepped up.  Jamarion Batemon made a 3 with a little over 2 minutes to play that put Iowa State on top 66-65.  Houston scored on the next possession before Nate Heise made the play of the night for Iowa State. He sank a 3 from the corner as the shot clock expired to put ISU up for good. Tamin Lipsey had a huge rebound for ISU down the stretch as well.

So, I would say the player of the game tonight was Nate Heise, who scored 11 points (including the clutch 3 at the end).  He was joined in double figures scoring by Joshua Jefferson (12) and Blake Buchanan (10). 

Tonight's game is the 52nd men's basketball game that Nolan has attended.  After tonight, there are only 3 teams left in the Big 12 that he has not witnessed Iowa State defeat (Arizona State, BYU, and Cincinnati). I believe that this is the 4th time that Nolan has seen the Cyclones defeat a top-25 team.  The previous games were against #22 Arizona last year, #5 Marquette last year, and #8 Kansas in 2023. 

As for myself, tonight's game is the first meeting I have seen between the Cyclones and Houston.  It was also the 11th time that I have seen Iowa State knock off a top-10 team.  The previous games were:

• #5 Marquette last season
• #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

GO STATE!

Saturday, February 7th, 2026

 Happy 9th birthday Logan!

The main reason I wanted to blog today was because I was able to take Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the #7 Iowa State Cyclones hold off Baylor, 72-69.

While the final score ended up close, the Cyclones really were never in a position to lose the game.  They were leading by 14 points with just over 2 minutes to play, before Baylor went on an 11-0 run to end the game.  Milan Momcilovic was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 21 points. He was joined in double figures by Joshua Jefferson (15) and Tamin Lipsey (14).  Iowa State now has a record of 21-2, and things seem to be lining up nicely for them to be well-seeded in the NCAA tournament. 

Today's game marks the 51st time that Nolan has been to an ISU men's basketball game, and it was his third time watching the Cyclones play Baylor. The previous games he has attended between the Cyclones and Bears were in 2022 and 2018. As for myself, this was the ninth matchup between these teams that I have seen.  That includes Cyclone wins today as well as in 2025, 2023, 2018, 2017, and 2013. The Bears came out on top in 2022, 2019, and in 2015. 

Today's game was a "white out", and they had white pom poms on every seat.

Thursday, January 29th, 2026

#8 Iowa State Cyclones 97, Colorado Buffaloes 67.

Tonight Maxwell and I enjoyed watching the Cyclones cruise to an easy victory over Colorado.  The game really was a blowout from the start, as the Cyclones raced out to a 30-4 advantage to start the game. It was difficult to pick tonight's player of the game, but I will go with Tamin Lipsey, who scored 14 points and dished out 5 assists.  He was one of six Cyclones who were in double figures scoring.  The others were Jamarion Batemon (17), Milan Momcilovic (16), Joshua Jefferson (13), Killyan Toure (12), and Dominykas Pleta (12). 

I am always glad when one of the boys gets to cross off another conference opponent.  As of now, the only 5 Big 12 teams that Maxwell has not seen the Cyclones defeat are: Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Houston, and Utah.  Today's game was the 41st men's basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to.  It was the second time that I have watched the Cyclones play the Buffaloes (that I can remember anyways). The previous game was in 2025.  

Maxwell was happy that Colorado scored "6-7".

Tuesday, January 20th, 2026

 Well, I have a lot to blog about today...

First, our family just got back from a fun vacation to Seattle!  Our flight got back to Minneapolis around 11:30 PM last night, and then we drove all the way home (it was about 3:45 AM when we got back to Ames).  We flew out to Seattle on Friday morning, so we had over 3 days out there.  The main reason for the trip was to visit Christian & Emily's family, and to meet baby Ellis!  Right now Oscar is 6 years old, Arlo is 3, and Ellis is 6 months.  

In Seattle we were able to check out Pike Place Market, we stopped by to add to the gum wall, and we had the kids play at a few different parks (Gas Works park was one that the kids really enjoyed). We also had plenty of good food, but my favorite was making our own crab and shrimp boil at Christian & Emily's place.  We bought a bunch of Dungeness crab, some shrimp, Andouille sausage, potatoes, and corn on the cob, and Emily cooked it all in a big pot with some Old Bay seasoning.  Maxwell had really been looking forward to trying some crab, so I wanted to make sure that he had the chance.  Really the highlight of the trip was just letting all of the kids have some good time with their cousins.  

Elizabeth meeting Ellis for the first time!

The Salton family at Pike Place market.

All of the cousins at the gum wall.

 The other thing that I wanted to blog about today was #9 Iowa State's convincing 87-57 win over the UCF Knights.

The Cyclones really seemed to play well as a team, as five players scored in double figures.  The star of the show was Joshua Jefferson, who recorded another triple double!  Jefferson ended up with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists (and no turnovers). This was the 10th triple-double in Iowa State history, and I believe that Jefferson is now the first player in Big 12 history to record two triple-doubles in league play.  He was joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Milan Momcilovic (20), Jamarion Batemon (12), Killyan Toure (12), and Blake Buchanan (11). 

Another fun thing to note is that this was Nolan's 50th ISU men's basketball game that he has attended!  Plus, he was able to cross UCF off of the list of conference teams that he needs to see Iowa State defeat.  The only 4 teams left that he has not seen ISU beat are Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston. I believe that this is Nolan's 17th conference win.  Oh, and Nolan even managed to grab a t-shirt at today's game!

As for myself, this is the second time that I have witnessed the Cyclones play (and defeat) UCF in basketball.  The previous time was last year's game, where the Cyclones won 108-83. 

Iowa State 87, Central Florida 57.

Saturday, January 10th, 2026

 #3 Iowa State 83, Oklahoma State 71.

Tonight I am happy because Maxwell was finally able to cross Oklahoma State off of his list of conference foes that he has seen ISU defeat, which now means that he has seen the Cyclones beat all of the "Old Big 12" teams. Of course there are still 6 other "New Big 12" teams that he needs to collect.  That includes Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Houston, and Utah. Today's game was actually the third time that Maxwell has seen the Cyclones play against the Cowboys, including 2022 and 2018. This was the 40th men's basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to.

I believe that Oklahoma State is actually the conference opponent that I have seen play against the Cyclones the most, as today's game is the 11th meeting I have seen between the two teams. That includes Cyclone victories today and in 2024, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2014, and 2013. The Cowboys have won in 2022 and 2018. 

For today's game, I would say that Joshua Jefferson was the player of the game.  He led the team with 19 points.  He also chipped in 5 rebounds and 5 assists.  He was joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Milan Momcilovic (18), Killyan Toure (12), Tamin Lipsey (11), and Blake Buchanan (10). One thing about today's game was that there were tons of fouls called, and the teams combined to shoot 56 free throws.  That did make the game drag on longer than usual.

GO CYCLONES!!

Friday, January 2nd, 2026

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tonight I am excited because Nolan and I just got back from Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the 3rd-ranked Iowa State Cyclones defeat West Virginia, 80-59.

The most memorable part of today's game was seeing Joshua Jefferson record a triple-double!  He had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists!  Jefferson even added 3 steals and 2 blocks, so he really stuffed the stat sheet.  Milan Momcilovic also had quite the game for Iowa State, as he scored 26 points while shooting 8/10 from three.  They were joined in double figures scoring for ISU by Blake Buchanan (14) and Tamin Lipsey (12).  Jefferson's triple-double is only the 9th in team history for Iowa State. The Cyclones are a perfect 14-0 on the season, and 1-0 in Big 12 play.

Tonight's game was the 49th ISU men's basketball game that Nolan has attended, and it was the third time he has seen Iowa State take down the Mountaineers (2024 and 2022 were the others).  

As for myself, this was the eighth basketball game that I have seen between Iowa State and West Virginia.  That includes Cyclone wins in 2024, 2022, 2019, 2018, 2013, and tonight. the Mountaineers won in 2020 and in 2017. 

It is worth noting that I have also witnessed triple-doubles by Keshon Gilbert vs New Hampshire in 2023 and Monte Morris vs The Citadel in 2016. 

GO CYCLONES!