Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

Tonight we were able to take Nolan to our first volleyball game of the season where we saw Iowa State defeat the Kansas Jayhawks in 5 sets (18-25, 25-16, 25-17, 21-25, 15-12).  We had to leave before the end of the match (it was past Nolan's bed time), but it was still fun to take Nolan to a game. 

In a funny coincidence, an ISU player named Nolan (Caitlin Nolan) set an ISU record and tied a Big 12 record with 43 digs.

Saturday, October 18th, 2014

Tonight Elizabeth and I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum to watch the first annual "Hilton Madness" event.  It showcased the men's & women's basketball teams as they get ready to start their seasons.  There were team introductions, unveiling of the NCAA tournament banners for each team, a 3-point contest, and a dunk contest.  Kourtlin Jackson was the winner of the dunk contest, although it seemed to me that Jameel McKay had the more exciting dunks.  Naz Long had the highest single round score in the 3-point contest (22 points in the semifinals), but he ended up losing to Brynn Williamson of the women's team in the finals.

Here was a little bit of the action that I was able to take with my cell phone:
Naz Long's first round of the 3-point contest
The ISU Men's team warming up
Jameel McKay dunks after bouncing the ball off the side of the backboard
Kourtlin Jackson's final dunk

Sunday, October 5th, 2014

Well, it's Sunday night... and I just wanted to share what we did on our fun weekend with Nolan. 

On Friday after work we went out to eat at Hickory Park.  We ordered some chicken strips for Nolan and also tried to feed him some macaroni & cheese, some of Elizabeth's grilled cheese sandwich, and some french fries... but he was being a very picky eater!  He ate a little macaroni, but he mainly wanted to eat plain ketchup that we were dipping his fries into. 

Then on Saturday we took Nolan to a pumpkin patch to pick out a big pumpkin and have a little fun.  The name of the place was Center Grove Orchard.  There was a big "corn pool" where kids could swim around in corn, lots of farm animals to see, some exhibits (like the houses of the three little pigs), a hay ride, and of course the pumpkin patch. 

Nolan found an outhouse that was just his size!

Elizabeth and Nolan found the perfect pumpkin for us!

Carrying our 76 pound pumpkin back to the hay ride.

Saturday, September 27th, 2014

Today I've been watching Nolan all by myself (since Elizabeth is visiting her friend Liz in Clinton), and he has been quite the stinker.  Normally, he takes two naps a day (one in the morning, and one in the afternoon).  However, he had so much energy this morning that there was no way he was going to take a nap.  I did try to put him down for a nap a couple of times in the morning, but he protested loudly...

Nolan had fun dragging the power cord for the computer all over the main floor...

...and he enjoyed throwing the pea rock all over by the swings in the park.

I was wondering if he was ever going to slow down and need a nap.  Around 3:00 I made him some chicken nuggets. He ate about two small bites and promptly passed out. 

Nolan's nap only lasted an hour, and he spent most of the afternoon continuing to have way too much energy!  Here is a video of him "helping" me fold his laundry...

Friday, September 26th, 2014

Here I am with Nolan and the statue of Cy outside of the Memorial Union.

I've had yesterday and today off from work to take care of Nolan because his daycare is closed for a week.  We had a Salton family get together yesterday with Eben, Lynn, and Amy all stopping by to visit.  It was fun having everyone over to spend some quality time with him!

Eben & Lynn had to leave to go back home early this morning, but Amy was able hang out until after lunch.  I took her and Nolan around campus... we stopped by the MU so Amy could go shopping, and we stopped by to see Elizabeth at work in her office.  For lunch we had some delicious but very greasy (and not so healthy) tacos at Estas.  It is an all-you-can-eat taco bar, and the tortillas are deep fried and very crispy.  You can pick the type of meat you want for each taco, and then you can add whatever toppings you like yourself.  I tried some steak, chicken, shrimp, and pork tacos... I think that the pork ones were my favorite... it was very tender shredded pork.  Honestly, they were all very good.  Amy liked the shrimp tacos the most.  

Saturday, August 30th, 2014

Part of being a sports fan is suffering through the disappointment of defeat .  You are not always able to enjoy victory.  You try to enjoy the big wins when you can, but you have to realize that losing is part of the game.

Having said that, today's loss by the Cyclones to North Dakota State was especially difficult.  Iowa State was dominated by an FCS team.  At home.  For a second year in a row.  It seems like this entire football season has basically finished before it ever began.  My prediction that the Cyclones would win 5 games?  It looks like a joke.  I hope they can win two...

I was able to capture a couple good videos early on in the game when it looked like Iowa State would have a good day... one is Allen Lazard's first career pass reception (48 yards), and the other is the 3 yard touchdown run by Aaron Wimberly that was set up by Lazard's big play.

I believe that I have been to 31 Iowa State football games so far.  In those games, Iowa State has won 18 and lost 13.  I would say that my top 5 most disappointing ISU football losses that I have attended are:
1) Today's 34-14 loss vs. NDSU.  Losing by 20 to an FCS team is unacceptable for ISU. 
2) Last year's home opening loss to UNI, 28-20. 
3) 2009 loss to Iowa, 35-3.  It always stinks to lose to the Hawkeyes, but this was a blowout and an embarrassment. 
4) 2011 loss to Texas, 37-14.  This one was 34-0 at halftime and never even close.
5) 2002 loss to Connecticut, 37-20.  Iowa State was actually good that year (we had Seneca Wallace), but they found a way to lose to underdog UConn by 17 points. 
Honorable mention disappointing losses: Houston Bowl loss vs TCU in 2005 (27-24), Liberty Bowl loss to Tulsa in 2012 (31-17).  It's always disappointing when you make along car trip to a bowl game just to see the team lose.

What are my 5 favorite wins for ISU football that I have attended?
1) 2005 win vs. Iowa, 23-3.  The Hawkeyes were rated #8 in the country.
2) 2007 win vs. Iowa, 15-13.  I always enjoy a win against the rival Hawks. 
3) 2002 win vs. Nebraska,  36-14.  It was the first ISU/Nebraska game that I went to, and it was a fun victory.
4) 2004 win vs. Nebraska, 34-27.  I'm happy to say that Iowa State is 2-0 against Nebraska when I have been there.
5) 2002 win vs. Texas Tech, 31-17.  This was Seneca Wallace's "The Run" game.

Monday, August 25th, 2014

Today I wanted to make a few predictions for how the ISU football team will do this year (since the first game is less than a week away), but before I get to that I need to say how cute Nolan is!  I was gone over this past weekend since I had a CEU course in Wisconsin, but Elizabeth and Nolan still managed to have a fun time without me...

Elizabeth gave him fresh blueberries for the first time... which he loved!

On Saturday they went to "Fan Fest" where Nolan was able to explore the court in Hilton Coliseum.

The cheerleaders thought he was adorable!

Even coach Rhoads was happy to meet Nolan!

I definitely missed out on a good time...
So now I will attempt to predict how the football team will do this season.  This is never easy to predict ahead of time, but the last time I did this in my blog (2012 season) I picked 8 of the 12 regular season games correctly. Last year I did not make predictions for the whole season, but I was definitely surprised by how poorly the team did last year (3 wins, 9 losses).  Let's see how well I do this time around...

Game 1: vs. North Dakota State: WIN - Iowa State 31, NDSU 24

Game 2: vs. Kansas State: Loss... Ok, so I don't feel like picking scores for each game.  I'll say I'm concerned ISU will have trouble stopping the run game against K-State.

Game 3: @ Iowa: Loss.  I feel like this game could go either way, but I'll pick against Iowa State for once since it is a road game.  Again, stopping the run may be an issue for the Cyclones. 

Game 4 : vs. Baylor: Loss.  After the embarrassing 71-7 loss last year to Baylor, I almost have to go against ISU in this one.

 Game 5: @ Oklahoma State: Loss.  This is a possible upset for Iowa State, but again I will pick against them for now and hope to be pleasantly surprised.  If there was an "upset" game that I would like to pick it would be this one.  I'll say OSU wins by 3 points.

Game 6: vs. Toledo: WIN.  Finally Iowa State gets back in the win column against Toledo for homecoming. 

Game 7: @ Texas: Loss.  It's not often that ISU beats Texas... I'm not guessing that this year will be any different.

Game 8: vs. Oklahoma: Loss.  Speaking of teams Iowa State rarely beats... yeah.  Is it basketball season yet?

Game 9: @ Kansas: WIN. Iowa State has won the last few meetings between these teams, and I don't think that will change this time around.

Game 10: vs. Texas Tech: WIN.  I will say that this November 22nd game in Ames with the boys from Lubbock, TX will be a little too cold for their liking.  Cyclones win a close game.

Game 11: vs. West Virginia: WIN.  A three game winning streak?  Why not?  Iowa State wins by 7.

Game 12: @ TCU: Loss.  I'm calling for a close loss in this game... a victory would have sent the Cyclones to a 6-6 record and a bowl game.  Alas, we come up just short.

Overall, I have the Cyclones winning two more games than they did last year and finishing at 5-7.
 I will keep my expectations relatively low for the football team for now and hope to be pleasantly surprised with a potential bowl game :)