Cyclone Tailgating

 

On Saturday we kicked off the Cyclone football season with our tailgate crew. It was a HOT one, with temperatures in the upper 90s. We all survived with the help of plenty of water, shade and resting.  

You also might notice we are tailgating in a different spot this year. We got booted to the grass lots due to more people upping their donation levels and we were not one of them. :o( It is a little harder to get in and out of but once you are there it is really nice. We backed up to a golf course so it was not busy and easy to keep an eye on kids.

 

It was Nick's 30th birthday so we celebrated by getting him a big handle of his favorite beverage and also birthday brownies.  Welcome to the 30 club, Nick!

 

Me and my pouty face boy! 

 

Just in case you were curious, here is what it takes to get a tailgate all ready to go. First up is our SUV:

1. Bucket game 

2. Kids games- balls, golf clubs, baseball set

3. Tailgating tent 

4. Bags game

5. Tailgating Chairs

6. Tailgate table

7. Cables and stuff for TV 

 

Tailgating bag:

1. Plastic cups (just in case for mixed drinks)

2. plastic utentsils

3. Cheese its (for the kids)

4. plastic plates

5. hot dog buns

6.Michael's hat and sunglasses

7. Table cloth 

8. Napkins 

 

I also took along an insulated bag for my cold foods since I didn't want them to get squished in the beverage cooler. I put the broccoli salad, watermelon and brownies in there along with some cool packs. 

In the cooler:

 Beers, lot of cold waters (some frozen which were awesome), Gatorade for the kids and some sparkling waters. 

Michael and I headed home after tailgating to cool down and watch the game on TV. Actually when we got home we popped in "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and I followed the game coverage on Twitter. It wasn't looking good and we ended up losing to an instate rival. I feel like I have only missed a handful of home games in the past 10 years- a few when Michael was born, when we lost Trace but this year I just didn't get a ticket at all. Our babysitter situation didn't line up well with my mom and I hate having our younger neighbor girl sitter be at our house for 12 hours until midnight- it just seems like a long time. Michael is still at an age where I don't think he'd do well at games even though it seems like lots of people take their preschoolers. So...maybe we will give it a try later but for this game it seemed to work out alright.  (and he hit the hay as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot--a tired boy!)

It was kind of a bummer we lost but we are still looking forward to a great season! Let's go Cyclones!

VEISHEA 2013

Our VEISHEA Saturday started out with a very fun birthday party for two of Michael's friends (they are twins) who turned 3! It was a great chance to celebrate and also watch the VEISHEA parade! They had a very cute Toy Story themed party which I loved....yay for all things Disney!



We saw lots of our favorites at the parade: Aunt Denise, the Cyclone bball tean (Haaaay Egim and Georges!!) and of course CY!!!!! Michael was so excited to see him the whole parade and when he finally came around it was like a celebrity sighting among the 3 year olds with screams for Cy!

 

Afterwards we did a quick tour of campus, enjoying the sunshine. The temperatures were in the 40s, hence the winter gear, but the sun felt good and it was a welcome change from the snow and rain we'd had earlier in the week. It was one of the nicest VEISHEA's I'd had in a long time. 

All the Cyclone spirit definitely got me excited for football season and also got me thinking I need to visit campus a little more often- maybe we'll plan a day trip this summer for some walking and photography. Stay tuned! 

Cy-Hawk Game

Hi friends...welcome to the post where I declare my love for all things Cyclone football. :o)

We beat Iowa!!!!

Woot Woot!! We beat the Hawks!! Just like last year!!!

Okay...I think I have it out of my system.

I'm not sure if this is a critical flaw in my personality or if I just take rivalries too seriously but it feels so good to beat Iowa. It feels so good to win. I love waking up in the morning knowing that all is right in the world of in-state rivalries.

I'm not going to lie, the game was ugly. But an ugly win is still a win and that is beautiful.

We had an absolutely beautiful day and had so much fun. We went to the game with Scott's parents who also invited their friends and their sons. We all got along great and spent the morning noshing on awesome treats and brats, visiting and playing some killer bags.

 

We got to the stadium 62 minutes before kickoff and had a fun time just taking in the sights and watching the place fill up. Usually we are super late and miss pregame so we were proud of ourselves. I was worried about the crowds getting in to the stadium and I also wanted to limit my interaction with any Hawkeye fans so I think it was a good call. 

 

The band always wins!!

Seriously, the band did win this game. We were pretty close to them and could hear everything and they were lots of fun to watch. We are so far away from them at Jack Trice that we can't hear them very well. :o( I heard from lots of Hawk fans around us how great they sounded and how awesome it was we had so many tubas. :o) 

The band played at Muscatine High School the night before and we went to watch them. It was a blast! It was so neat to see a college band on a high school field up close. They had a lot of alums in the band...that is good recruiting for sure! It brought back lots of memories from my time in the ISUCF"V"MB.

 

 

Our good guys in white. 

 

A bright spot in a sea of black and gold. For reals-- take a look at these funny pictures: 

It was a great game! I loved at the end how the team went over to the band and sang the fight song with them. Good job, boys!!

Even better was just the fabulous day we had also. Nice weather, nice family, friends, food and FOOTBALL!!!

Go Cyclones!!

Spring!!

I think it is safe to say we all have an extra dose of spring fever around here. Combine that with some crazy March Madness and wow!! Life is crazy.

Last night the ISU Cyclones beat the defending national champs UCONN and are now one of 32 teams left in the NCAA tournament. They play Kentucky Saturday. I am beyond excited. Watching ISU basketball at our house is always a crazy time....I swear, it turns my husband into a crazy person. He always says the funniest things and it is really entertaining for me. It has sure been a roller coaster ride for Cyclone athletics this year and last night was no exception. I love those boys!!


(photos from dmregister.com....haven't started my sports photography hobby yet!)


Go band! (Yes, I was in the men's pep band for a few years in college...and that makes me the nerdiest of the nerds!)

The weather has been outstanding this past week. Michael and I celebrated it by working outside in the yard and playing hard every day. It's so much fun and definitely a big mood-booster. We all need some of that now and then, don't we?





Some of the funny things he says at the park we go to:

-"Look! Big Spider!" (always says it when we go to Jester Park and see the spider sign)
-"Where did grass go?" (this week Jester Park was burned in preparation for spring)
-"Sit on your bottom!" (he tells himself to do this when he is playing train in the playhouse)
-"Elephant! Moose!" (said in reaction to the elk and buffalo that are at the park...haha)

My heart just sings with joy when I see Michael having so much fun playing.

Cyclones' Epic Win!

On Friday night, Cyclones had the biggest win in school history. We beat the number two ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys.
And it.....was.....AWESOME!!!

(photo source)

Seriously, it was a little unbelievable. I was pretty much in shock the entire game and in disbelief that it was actually happening, waiting for something to go wrong. Some things did go wrong but lots of things went right and we pulled out a victory in double overtime.


(photo source)

(I'm including this photo of the on-side kick because I was in the bathroom and missed it...what!?)

The stadium was wild. After regulation time was over and the score was tied, Jack Trice was so loud! It felt good to feel excited about something. It felt good to have hope...even if it was just the silly hope that your football team wins a big game.

(It also felt good to be the top story on Sports Center!)

Even when the stadium was so loud and rockin', I just so sad inside because I thought how could this be have the same spot where I stood just a few months earlier with my favorite little guy? How could life change that much in one football season? It may be a little weird to get so emotional over a football game but honestly.... it gives me a little hope that good things can still happen in this world. :o)

Epic Cyclone Win!!

How could I be so late in posting this??

On Satuday, the Iowa State Cyclones beat TEXAS!!!!

Woo!!

It was awesome. One of the biggest wins in Cyclone history!



And can you believe we beat them in front of over 100,000 Texas fans? That is a big stadium.



We had friends over to watch the game on TV and it was so much fun to watch. We never know if our game watch parties are going to be a hit or miss because usually the outcome of the game isn't so good!

Every time they panned to the Texas crowd on TV, they looked so shocked. Believe me, Texas fans....we've been there many times!

It's a great day to be a Cyclone!!

(photos from dmregister.com)