Tuesday, January 9th, 2018

Happy 34th birthday Elizabeth!!  Tonight we lined up a babysitter for the boys and had a little date night for her birthday.  Elizabeth really wanted sushi, so we went out to Fuji to eat. 

Elizabeth's order... a super crunchy roll and a pretty Alaska roll.  

I ordered some sashimi along with a California roll.  The tuna and the salmon sashimi were both really yummy!

Sunday December 31st, 2017

Today I got back to Ames after a fun trip down to Memphis to watch the Cyclones win the Liberty Bowl, 21-20 over the #19 ranked Memphis Tigers.  I drove down to O'Fallon, Missouri on Friday after work to meet up with my brother-in-law, Brian Gleason.  We left early the next morning and had a couple hours to tailgate prior to the 11:30 kickoff. 

The atmosphere for the bowl game was one of the best that I have been to for a live sporting event.  The game was a sell-out, and it was basically 50% Cyclone fans and 50% Memphis Tiger fans.  With every play there was one side of the stadium that cheered and one that booed.  Much different than the last time I was at the Liberty Bowl 5 years ago. 

The game was an exciting back-and-forth battle.  Iowa State scored on their opening drive via a 52-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Kempt to Hakeem Butler.  Later in the first quarter the Cyclones punter would bobble a snap and set the Tigers up with a short field, leading to their first score of the game.  In the second quarter, do-it-all player Joel Lanning came in to play QB and ran for a 2-yard touchdown.  Memphis would kick a field goal as time expired to make the score 14-10 in favor of Iowa State at halftime. 

In the second half, Memphis would take the lead on a 36-yard TD pass from Riley Ferguson to Phil Mayhue.  Iowa State would re-take the lead for good later in the third quarter when Allen Lazard made an amazing catch in the endzone after the ball was tipped by another ISU receiver.  Memphis tacked on a field goal late in the third quarter for the final score of the game, making it 21-20. 

There was plenty of stress in the fourth quarter.  Iowa State appeared to score another touchdown when David Montgomery clearly broke the plane of the goal line before fumbling the ball.  Somehow, the refs and replay officials managed to blow the call and ruled it a fumble and touchback for Memphis.  The Cyclones were able to overcome this adversity by stopping the Tiger's last chance drive.  After taking over on downs, Joel Lanning came in and ran the ball twice to get a first down, which was enough to then run out the clock. 

Lazard ended up with 10 catches for 142 yards and the one TD catch.  It was a heck of a performance in his last game as a Cyclone. 

After the game, we drove back up to St. Louis where Brian took me to a great BBQ place called Sugar Fire.  I ordered a combo of ribs and beef brisket, which came with two sides.  The brisket was probably the best I've ever had. 

The ISU band 

Panoramic picture from our seats in section 108

ISU 21, Memphis 20!

Our meal at Sugar Fire 

Wednesday, December 20th, 2017

Tonight I took Maxwell with me to Hilton Coliseum to watch the Iowa State Cyclones defeat the Maryland Eastern-Shore Hawks, 55-49.  In case you've never heard of UMES, it is an historically black university located in Princess Anne, Maryland.  The Hawks play in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). 

The game itself was not the most exciting one that I've ever seen, but I suppose a win is a win.  The Cyclones led 34-17 at half time, but then it seemed like they sleep-walked through the second half.  The outcome of the game was never in doubt, as the Cyclones led by double-figures almost all the way.  A couple of last-minute, garbage-time baskets by UMES made the final score look closer than the game really was.  Only two Cyclones scored in double figures... Cameron Lard scored 15 points and Donovan Jackson added 12. 

Maxwell was very well behaved for the entire game, and the people sitting behind us even congratulated him for being such a good boy at the end of the game.  As we left, Maxwell was loudly saying in his cute little voice "goodbye everybody" over and over to the crowd of people. 

 I believe that this was Maxwell's 6th men's basketball game at Hilton Coliseum.

Maxwell was all smiles at the start of the game.

Tip-off between ISU and UMES.

Saturday, December 16th, 2017

Today we had a fun little family trip down to Des Moines, where we visited the Blank Park Zoo.  We were able to get into the Christmas spirit by seeing real reindeer there!  Nolan also was able to write a letter to Santa Claus and mail it to him.  Nolan wished for a race car and a PJ Mask coloring book.  Santa was actually at the zoo, but because of a 45-minute line we decided to skip seeing him at the zoo and check out the animals instead.  There were X-mas decorations up around the zoo, and Nolan enjoyed looking for all of the hidden giant candy canes around the place.  

After the zoo, we headed over to Zombie Burger for lunch.  I had "The Walking Ched", which is a double bacon cheeseburger with deep-fried mac & cheese patties for "buns".  It also had extra mac & cheese and onions on the sandwich.  Wow... it was good but very messy.  

After getting back to Ames and "taking naps"... they really didn't nap... we went to the mall to have the kids sit on Santa's lap.  Of course Maxwell fell asleep during the drive to the mall, so the pictures of him with Santa were taken just seconds after he woke up.  

Reindeer!  I believe that this is the first time that I have seen reindeer in person before.

Elizabeth and Nolan pose with the reindeer.

Nolan with his wish list for Santa.

Nolan getting ready to mail his letter.

Maxwell with the sea lions at the zoo.

The boys pose in the Jeep next to the lion exhibit.

Santa!

Sunday, December 10th 2017

Tonight Elizabeth and I brought both boys over to Hilton to watch the Cyclones defeat Alcorn State, 78-58.  The boys seemed to have fun for the most part, but I'm not sure that they payed much attention to the game at all... mostly they were just being goof balls and playing in our row of seats.  Luckily there were a number of open seats next to us tonight, so they had a little space to roam around in.  We bought some cotton candy to help keep them happy.

As for the game, the Cyclones got off to a slow start and only led by 1 point at halftime, 33-32.  Donovan Jackson was the player of the game for ISU, as he led the team in scoring with 25 points.  He connected on 7 of 15 three-point attempts.  Lindell Wigginton (16) and Cameron Lard (15) also scored in double-digits for Iowa State. 

Tonight was Nolan's 12th basketball game that he has been to (previous games can be found here), and it was Maxwell's 5th (last year vs. The Citadel, Baylor, and TCU, and this year vs. Emporia State were the other games).  We didn't bother with my usual scoreboard picture after the game because we had to get the kids home and put them to bed at a reasonable hour.

It's hard to get both boys to look at the camera at the same time, let alone smile...

Thursday, December 7th, 2017

Once again, I am proud to say that... IT'S A CYCLONE STATE!!!

Tonight I was able to attend the Cyclones 84-78 triumph over that team out east, the miserable, no-good Hawkeyes.  This was the third time that I have watched the Cy-Hawk basketball game in person, and I am glad to say that the Cyclones are 3-0 in those games.  The previous games I have seen were back in 2015 and 2013.  It always makes my heart happy to defeat the hoks, especially since it means I will not have to hear any smack talk from them about basketball for the next year.

Lindell Wigginton was the player of the game for Iowa State.  I have a feeling that I will be typing that quite a bit this year.  Our phenomenal freshman guard scored a game-high 24 points, including going 4-8 from three point range.  He was joined in double-figures scoring by Nick Weiler-Babb (15) and Donovan Jackson (12).  The Hawkeyes actually led by 5 points at halftime (36-41), before the Cyclones outscored them by 11 in the second half.  One fun thing that I will remember about the game is that there were foam light sticks on every seat in the arena, which added to the fun atmosphere.

The Hawkeyes won the opening tip...

...but the Cyclones won the game!

Monday, December 4th, 2017

Today I spent the morning home with Nolan as he has been a little under the weather lately.  So we cuddled and watched cartoons on the couch most of the morning, I fed him some crackers & applesauce, and put him down for a nap.  Hopefully he will be feeling better soon.  Elizabeth came home in the afternoon so I could go to work for a bit.

The real reason I'm blogging tonight though is to document the ISU basketball game tonight, where the Cyclones defeated the Huskies of Northern Illinois, 94-80.  It was a much more enjoyable game to watch as an Iowa State fan as compared to the last time I was in Hilton...

Freshman Lindell Wigginton was the player of the game for Iowa State.  He led the team with 28 points, added 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.  He was very quick and athletic with the ball in his hands, and I am really looking forward to watching him develop as a Cyclone.  Donovan Jackson also had a great game for the Cyclones as he scored 24 points, including 6 made three-pointers.  Cameron Lard (14) and Nick Weiler-Babb (12) also scored in double-figures for ISU. 

I believe this was the second time that I have seen Iowa State play (and defeat) Northern Illinois.  The first time was a 99-63 victory back in 2013. 

Here Nick Weiler-Babb shot (and made) a three-pointer from the corner.  Yes, ISU was wearing gray jerseys for the game.

Iowa State 94, Northern Illinois 80.