OK, its been way too long. This summer has to have gone by the fastest of any summer on record. Last I checked it was the beginning of May and now its September 1st! All in all, it was a good summer, minus how fast it went. Here is a recap of the summer.
In May Brianna graduated pre-school. Her ceremony was comical, because she is obviously not ours. She was placed in the middle of all the kids during songs, and we could hear her in the back the whole time. Then she was the last on to get her diploma in her class. What does she do when she receives her diploma? She walks up the platform and raises her arms like in celebration. No other kid did any thing like that. Just another sign she was a mix up in the hospital.
Then the month of June hit. Emily turned one and we took a trip to the zoo. She enjoyed it, but would much rather chase Brianna in the yard or the house. We made the mistake and bought her a little cake. The mistake was not necessarily the cake, but the frosting. She made a mess that basically stained her face, hands, and chest as she attempted to eat the cake. It wasnt a pretty scene changing the next couple days worth of diapers either.
Later on in June, we conducted our annual Kielly vacation to Okoboji. Lets just say, we walked into a bar full of former Iowa Hawkeye football players and we are so very lucky we, (I), do not have a permanent fist imprint in my face. Memory is fuzzy, but we had some unfavorable gestures and words thrown at us. We tried as hard as we could to get some good pictures, but nothing turned out.
After Okoboji, July came into the picture. Last year we went to Katie's neighborhood to participate in a 4th of July kiddie parade. Last year it rained, so fitting, this year was very hot and uncomfortable. We decorated Bri and Evan's bikes so they could ride the 5 or 6 blocks. This turned out to be a disaster. When either of these kids came to a slight decline in the sidewalk or road, they would freak out and stop their bikes. Then when they got to the straightaway part of the hill, they would pedal, very poorly, and not get very far. Then, of course, we had to push them up the hill. The general consensus is this was the last parade for these kids until they can pedal their own bikes!
Later on in July was the Baxter Fun Days Celebration. They have a really good set up for activities for the kids. The first thing they were setting up was a pie eating contest. Kristy's cousin Ashley asked if any of us wanted to be in it, and Brianna jumped right it. I had no idea she even knew what she was doing, but she enjoyed it.
One last comment before I get into some college football stuff, how in the hell do you keep a one year old out of the dog's water dish? Poor Reagan. The only time he gets to eat or drink is when the kids are in bed. Most of the time the dishes are on the counter, but Emily finds every chance to get a quick drink. At least she's not dipping her cup into the toilet. I guess time will tell.
To prepare for some football that starts in two days, we went to the Cyclone Tailgate Tour that made a stop at the Omaha Zoo. Last year Bri and I went just after Emma was born. She has a fascination with mascots, but freaks out every time she is close to one. Finally, times have changed! This year, she walked right up to Cy, put her hand on his knee and posed for a picture. Emily was cranky, so she is partially cropped out of the picture.
The college football season has begun and its time to leave all this talk of universities leaving sports conferences to the professionals that run the schools and the NCAA. At least we can watch live games and talk about what coaches did right or wrong from our ivory couches after each game.
This season is about as unpredictable for Iowa State as I can recall. Mainly because they have some decent players, but there are so many unknowns out there that prognosticators are not very kind to the Cyclones. Last year they were one feeble two point conversion pass against Nebraska to participating in a bowl game again. For us who follow Iowa State, we will take a couple bowl games and be happy. From my perspective 19 rows into the end zone, is the quarterback and wide receiver play was the key to a 5 win season. A lot of over and under thrown passes, dropped passes, and no one stepping up to make any big plays.
The reason for people to think it could be an awful year is those two positions have so much to prove. First, the quarterback has been in Iowa for 9 months and is a Junior College transfer who has not played at this type of level. Us Cyclone fans can only hope he turns out to be as good as the last Junior College quarterback, Seneca Wallace in 2001. I recall going to the season opener that year and Wallace jumped all over UNI to a 41-0 win. If Steele Jantz can produce anything similar to what Wallace did, then there is reason to be excited in Ames. Jantz cant throw the ball to himself, so hopefully the wide receivers step up and make a few plays. There is reason for hope due to Jantzs' teammate in Junior College, Aaron Horne, is now ISU's number one wide receiver. A lot depends on these two positions is the Cyclones will be in a bowl game or not.
This week is a huge game and one that I am partially neutral towards. I will wear UNI clothing, because I still owe them a boatload of money. I kind of have no choice, but I know this could be a very good game for both schools. UNI has a ton of returning talent, and if they lose to ISU, this could be their only loss all year. There is a very good possibility UNI finally brings back a football National Championship this year.
My gut tells me Iowa State wins this one, but it will be very close. Something like 24-21. The season prediction can be determined by this game alone. If ISU wins big, scores a lot of offense and shuts UNI down to less than 10 points, then they could win 6 or 7 games, if not more this year. If they win by a small margin, or even lose, then it could be a 3 win year in Ames.
24
21
No comments:
Post a Comment