Hawkeye Visit Day

Captured in a rare dry moment today. Hawkeye Visit Day with Max! Although I work at University of Iowa it was a bit nostalgic to go thru a visit day with my kid! 💛🖤

(And on here I will write it - Please pick to be a Hawkeye, Maxwell Robert!)

Huge Hawkeye win

Yesterday may be the loudest and most electric I have ever seen Kinnick in 25+ years of going to games! #3 Iowa Hawkeyes 🖤💛 over #4 Penn State (23-20)! The boys and I were at the game and Pierce and I went on the field! Memorable day for sure!

Kristin

Pierce

Max and Ashlyn Yakish

Graham and Ryann Decker

Pierce and Evan O'Connor

Students

Surrounding myself with 23 amazing University of Iowa students is a perfect reminder of all that is great about being a Hawkeye, what I value about my job and why I love calling this place home. Occasionally (although not during the stress of finals week!) makes me want to go back to college, too!

I'm noticing myself to be a bit nostalgic lately when I'm at work and find myself on campus or surrounded by students, donors and board members who love the UI and hear talk of graduation. Phil's Day on April 24, the presentations and Board member reactions on Friday, dinner tonight, chats with Kaitlyn........ I am grateful for the UI and all it adds to my life.

Phil's Day

Loves when a lot of planning and hard work come together in a fantastic celebration. Today was Phil's Day on the UI Campus. Phil's Day is a day to celebrate (and thank) our generous alumni and friends whose donations make the UI experience remarkable. I am grateful for all the people who helped me make this day a reality - especially for Kaitlyn Kemna (the student who works with me), Lynette Marshall (the UI Foundation President and CEO who supported the vision and all the work), Gary Seamans (our special guest, UIF board member, generous donor, charismatic speaker and a personal inspiration) and Mitch (yes, my husband who supported me each day and all day today). The success came from a village.

Photos and more reflection to follow when I'm not exhausted!!!

Hawkeye basketball

Enjoyed a Hawkeye basketball game with my boys tonight! A great family outing and always a plus to see all of them in Hawkeye colors. Too bad Mitch dashed my idea of this being our holiday card!

First Hawkeye Basketball game of the season for the family!

My Hawkeyes, my family, my day

What a day. I got to by friend and sorority sister, Betsy Groene today as she was in town for the Iowa vs. Ohio State game. I received a ticket from Jim Dreusicke for the game today which was a treat. Mitch and the boys hung out all day so I could go tailgate to see Betsy and other friends (Erica and her parents, Chad, Amanda and met her parents, Jeff, Tracy, Debbie, Jim, Janice, Tad, Cathy, Jan, Todd, Stacey - probably forgot someone) and then go to the game. Now, if my Hawkeyes hadn't lost - I wanted a win and Mitch wanted a Hawkeye win to help the Badgers! I'm still a proud Hawkeye and thrilled I went to all the home games this year except Ball State (was a rainy day so glad we missed it plus spent the day taking the boys to a Wisconsin game for Mitch).

When I got home, after 7:00, the kids were happy and finishing dinner, Mitch had the house in pretty good shape, dishes from lunch were done, three loads of laundry were folded (except for the matching of socks), the load from the wash was done and folded, and a new load was drying. Nice! Men do sometimes surprise us. I take back telling Erica and Amanda that the boys would have a super day but probably have things in disarray. Nice. Men and boys do sometimes surprise!

I just snuggled with the boys watching football and part of 101 Dalmatians. Mitch is hanging out at the neighbors and now the house is quiet.  A good day with lots of smiles and happiness. I'm thankful and lucky.

Day #6 of thankful moments leading up to Thanksgiving Day.

Ready for some football!

Gump and Gamma came to spend time with the Beckman boys while Mom and Dad went to the Iowa/Minnesota game. We decided to all ride along to drop-off Mom at the stadium. Graham expressed a real fascination with seeing the stadium itself. So, because Gammas and Gumps always want to please their grandchildren as long as the activity is not totally against Mom and Dad's rules or dangerous, after Mommy was dropped off Gump proceeded into the depths of Hawkeye game day traffic right up to the entrance so Graham could get a glimpse of Hawkeye football! He looked through the entrance to the press boxes, the rows and rows of seats and even got a look at the scoreboard before Gump decided enough was enough and turned around in the hospital driveway. It was just enough to make Graham think about being INSIDE the stadium. We said "next year"! Get ready Mom and Dad. You won't be going alone next season!

Written by Gamma/Mary Loupee/Kristin's mom

A Perfect Hawkeye Homecoming Weekend

I'll keep this short and simple which will be hard for me, but I'll do it.

The weekend was fantastic for the 2009 University of Iowa Homecoming. We went to the parade in what seems to be our new tradition - park the car, walk to our spot, hang with our good friends the Thompsons and Syatas, pool our resources (snacks, drinks, bags for catching candy, blankets, wipes or other items for cleaning up) and realize that alone we'd struggle but together we have everything, marvel that we all have boys (we're now at 10 and will stay at that number), enjoy pizza from the Wedge, watch the boys throw around the football, make a couple of trips to the bathroom, laugh, smile, and love every minute of the parade (which was shorter than ever this year)! This year, I was without the boot and I think Pierce actually got to enjoy the parade instead of sleeping through it at just a few days old! My heart swells with black and gold when we're at Homecoming!

6-0 Let's hear it! That's the Hawkeyes' record as of last night! Mitch and I had the privilege of being at the game - ABC, 7:00 CST, Iowa vs. Michigan, 50 yard-line, 39 degrees and sun. We tailgated for just a bit and got to see a fantastic game with Iowa victorious 30-28. The atmosphere in Kinnick Stadium was unbelievable. Hats off to our friend, Shannon who watched the boys and Andrea for helping with the tickets. Shannon did something right last night - during the night Max got up to go to the bathroom and the only thing he said to me was - "Mom, Shannon was super fun tonight."

This post wouldn't be complete without the memory of the cold weekend! Not the coldest football game I've been to but by far the coldest I can remember in October. We had a dusting of snow yesterday morning to get us in the mood for the cold game time! It wasn't as cold as I'd expected though - didn't have to put my gloves on until the third quarter and my hand warmers until the fourth. It's amazing how the excitement of a game can make the cold go away and make it a Perfect Hawkeye Homecoming Weekend!

I failed with short in most people's book but not too bad for me!

Hawkeye victory

The Hawkeyes are 5-0 for the first time since 1995 which is the year I was a junior in college. Wow, makes me feel old since people are talking about this memorable accomplishment like it happened before most people can remember! We beat Arkansas State (24-21) today in not a pretty game. We'll have to look better than we have (except for against Penn State) to beat Michigan next week. I'm beginning to feel like a sideline fan having not been to a game this season or last. I am crossing my fingers and toes that I'll make one of this season's remaining games. Next year, we will figure out how to return to the game scene at least for a few games - especially if I have to continue to be the owner of University of Wisconsin Badgers football tickets.