Tuesday, December 31st, 2013

It's hard to believe that in a little over 3 hours it will already be 2014... it's definitely been a good year though!  The arrival of Nolan in July was the highlight of the year for sure! 

I just got back from another Iowa State men's basketball game, this time it was an easy 99-63 victory over the Huskies of Northern Illinois.  DeAndre Kane was the player of the game for Iowa State in my opinion.  He was only 2 rebounds away from a triple-double (16 points, 12 assist, 8 rebounds), and that was only in 28 minutes of playing time.  He was one of 6 Cyclones in double figures along with Ejim (17), Naz Long (17), Niang (14), Dustin Hogue (11), and Monte Morris (11).  The most exciting play was a transition alley-op from Kane to Ejim. 

Overall the atmosphere in Hilton was somber though and not as rowdy as usual.  Before the game today an Iowa State legend and longtime coach, Johnny Orr passed away at the age of 86.  There was a nice video tribute to him and a moment of silence before tip-off.   I'm glad that Orr was able to be honored this year for the Michigan game one last time in front of the crowd. 

Iowa State wins the opening tip.

So close to 100 points!

Wednesday, December 25th, 2013

Happy first X-Mas to Nolan :)

Here is a link to a video of Nolan opening his first Christmas presents...

What did Nolan get for Christmas then?  He got a Jumparoo (a big thing that he can jump in and play with toys that are mounted all around him), a high chair, some baby gates (to make the stairways safe for him), some clothes, a wooden puzzle of his name, and other practical items for him (bottle brush, etc).

Santa brought me a nice Shutterfly photo album of our wedding (lots of pictures from other people that we hadn't developed yet), a yellow Iowa State t-shirt, a flag pole for my ISU flag, and a beer can chicken holder. 

Santa brought Elizabeth some Iowa State sweatpants, a Iowa State t-shirt, a bottle of rum, a speaker that lets her listen to music in the shower, and then she had a scavenger hunt for her last gift.  She has been wanting to re-paint the kitchen, so the gift was a paintbrush and an "ok" from me to paint. 

Grandma Becky has been down sharing the day with us, and it has been very fun.  We just finished eating some "Northwest Steakhouse" style steaks that were cooked in butter.  Happy Holidays to all!

Saturday, December 14th, 2013

FIVE MONTHS!!  That's right!  Our little guy is a whole five months old today, and looking pretty good I might add (I did dress him of course).  I've been watching him myself for most of the day today as Elizabeth went down to Des Moines early this morning to run in a 5k race.  Brrrr.  December is way too cold of a time for that if you ask me!

Today I'm still pretty pumped up from the big Cyclone basketball victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes last night, 85-82.   The game was far too stressful for my taste, but thankfully at the end the good guys had prevailed.  For a majority of the game the Hawkeyes actually had the lead (they were up by 7 points at halftime), and it seemed like Iowa State just could not pull even.  The Cyclone's free throw shooting was pretty bad for most of the game as well (23 for 36) which was very frustrating.  Georges Niang was the player of the game for Iowa State in my mind.  He was their main source of offense in the first half which kept them in the game, and he hit the go-ahead reverse layup in the final minutes.  Mike Gesell did have two free throws for the Hawkeyes at the end which would have given them the lead, but somehow he missed both of them!  During those free throws, Hilton was as loud as I think I've ever heard it.  Dustin Hogue secured the rebound from Gesell's miss which ended up securing the win.

The crowd in Hilton before the game... almost no empty seats!

Jeremy Seago with the scoreboard (and a guy in a fat suit) after the game.

Good triumphs over evil.

Monday, December 2nd, 2013

I just got back from Hilton Coliseum where I was able to enjoy watching the ranked Iowa State Cyclones (#17 AP poll, #18 USA Today Coaches Poll) dominate in a 99-70 victory over the Auburn Tigers.  Now, I understand that Auburn is not very good this year, but it was still a solid victory over a team from the SEC.  It's starting to look like Iowa State will have a very good non-conference resume come selection Sunday in March :)

As for the game, Dustin Hogue was clearly the player of the game for the Cyclones.  He was a monster on the boards and had himself a double-double before halftime.  His final stats included 22 points (on 8 for 10 shooting), 16 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.  Other Cyclones in double figures scoring included Melvin Ejim (14), Matt Thomas (14), Monte Morris (12), and Naz Long (11).  It's nice to see so many different players for Iowa State are able to fill up the score sheet.

Gold uniforms again!

Cyclones win... almost 100 points!

Thursday, November 28th, 2013

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2013!!

I just thought that I needed to make sure and share the fact that Nolan just ate his first solid food!  On Thanksgiving no less :)  Elizabeth started to feed him some baby food squash, and surprisingly he really enjoyed it!  He probably ate a third of the little jar.  Last week our pediatrician told us that we could start to try and feed him a little bit of solid food.  We had tried to give him just a little bit of mashed up avocado or a little bit of mashed banana, but he spit those out right away and was not having it.  Apparently he loves squash though!  That's even a traditional Thanksgiving food :)

Earlier today we all went over to Chris & Marcia's place for a big family Thanksgiving.  Nolan got lots of face time with everyone, so he's pretty tired now...

He did have a good hour and a half nap where he cuddled with great grandma Natalie.

Grandpa Eben holding Nolan.

Like my goatee?

Brandon and I are goatee buddies now :)

Monday, November 25th, 2013

Tip-off between ISU and UMKC.

Today was Nolan's first time going to an Iowa State men's basketball game!!  We only stayed for the first half of the game because it was getting past his bedtime, but it was no longer a competitive game by that time anyways.  The Cyclones played against the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos, and the game was a blow-out from the start.  Iowa State led by a score of 52-17 at halftime, and they ended up winning 110-51.  It's worth noting that before the game Iowa State came in ranked #17 in the country by the AP (or #22 by the USA Today Coach's Poll).  I believe that this was the first time I've attended a men's game where Iowa State has been ranked at the time.  

We're also looking forward to Thanksgiving later this week!  Our plan is to head up to Eben & Lynn's place Wednesday night, stay there until Friday, then on Friday and Saturday we will have another Thanksgiving in Macon City with Elizabeth's side of the family.  It should be a fun time to see everyone!

Sunday, November 17th, 2013

WOW!  I just got back from seeing an amazing basketball game at Hilton Coliseum.  I would say that was definitely my favorite basketball game that I have seen in person to date!  It was quite the upset as un-ranked (for now) Iowa State defeated #7 Michigan, 77-70!

Melvin Ejim returned from a knee injury that has kept him out of our first two games of the season to lead five Cyclones in double figures.  Ejim ended up with 22 points and 9 rebounds.  Naz Long also had a nice game for Iowa State, scoring 16 points including 4 of 6 for three-point range.

After the game it was fun to watch the student section storm the court to celebrate!