3 a.m. chat and Football

It was a beautiful Friday night for football in Creston - Balloon Days weekend. Always love that.

Balloons over Panther Field

Paul rolled in at 3 a.m. Saturday morning. I thought I'd sleep until he rolled in - it was supposed to be at 2 a.m. But I woke up at 12:30 and thought the clock said 2:30 and thought he was late...so then I started to worry of course! And never really went back to sleep until he showed up. He forgot they had to drop one of the guys off in Fremont County.

Odie and I were so happy to see him! He immediately took a long shower (stinky hunter boy). Then we laid in bed and talked for an hour and a half - catching up on stuff. His trip, my week, the children, the pooch. Moving. Finally, at 4:30 a.m. we gave it up and fell asleep - until 7:15 anyway. Not much sleep for either of us old farts.

But we're Cyclones and it was game day. On the way to Ames, we took a spin through West Des Moines to look at a neighborhood. Then we hit University Bookstore before picking up ice on our way to tailgate in D2. It was perfect gameday weather! Diana had the beans I'd whipped up the day before cooking away. That girl's the bestest. Coach Ryan McKim was there for a few short minutes before he went off to do the coaching thing. Donnie grilled pork loins. Bobbie and Kimmy arrived - no Jeff - he's farming.

Jack in his uni and Olivia at right with Grandma Sharon - left

Every game is a little different. That day, Higgins brought grandkids Jack and Olivia along. Daughter Amanda and her husband Theran and baby boy Cash followed later. Our neighbors Nielsons and Neitzels came by before Luke Neitzel had a visit at ISU - he's being recruited. Good player. I remember when he was about 8 and had a crush and Amy and Stormy...

We walked over for the Spirit Walk again. The players must feel like rock stars during that time. It's fun. On the way back Paul and I stopped at some of his USDA pal's tailgate - they congratulated him, and were very complimentary. Plus we ran into to his new supervisor Larry Beeler during our walk. Lots of Clones in USDA.

Plenty of time to tailgate when the game is at 7 p.m. I didn't even take any liquor into the game. Decided I didn't need to drink after sipping all day. It was family day when kids could go on the field to welcome the team before the game. The crowd was fantastic! Fourth largest ever. Clones with 38 - 3.

Todd's shirt - a bit snarky...

Back in our seats, Todd Stofferahn had on this shirt...a Cyclone fan has to love it! The band marched up the bleachers to play by us.

A 7 p.m. game with wait time for the traffic to clear make for a late night. Especially when you got 3 hours of sleep. I confess I dozed a bit - we took the Ankeny route when I-35 looked blocked. Poor Paul and his coffee got us through. I woke up when we got to I-80 and kept him company the rest of the way. That will be one nice thing about moving - a shorter drive home from games!

Reality is hitting him now that he's back at work. They've scheduled a reception for him October 4th 1-4 p.m. Kinda gives me a nervous pit in my stomach! This is really happening...we're moving. Scary, exciting. Pray for us.

In the meantime...I'll go on vaca with my homegirls!