Weekend Wrap Up with Chris Soules (9.19-9.21)

This past weekend seems like a blur. I think it appears that way because work has been extremely busy and the process of building a new home and packing is a bit stressful. Once we move into our new home, I'm going to make a commitment to be better about the weekend updates and post them on Sunday evening!

On Friday evening, I was in Iowa City to get ready for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series football game. Iowa Corn sponsors this major event and had a tailgate for 1,100 members. We needed to assure everything was ready to go on Friday evening for set-up. After we arrived to Iowa City, we checked out the Carver Hawkeye Arena where our tailgate would be held, then headed out for dinner. We couldn't stay out too late though since our morning started fairly early. I was thankful that my Mom came up to watch the kids so that Dave could come to Iowa City to enjoy the game as well. Plus, the kids love spending time with her and she loves spoiling them as much as she can.

Little-C enjoying Friday evening with Grandma Bruck.

On Saturday, Dave headed to Iowa City with his friend Matt, while I was busy setting up our large tailgate. The highlight of my Saturday was meeting and hanging out with "Chris Soules" the next Bachelor. The ABC hit show will air in January. Chris is an Iowa Corn Grower member and was in our I-LEAD program. The goal of the two-year program is to provide Iowa’s talented men and women with the tools they need to succeed as leaders and spokespeople.

Dave and Matt enjoying the Iowa Corn tailgate.

A few of you probably want to know a little more about Chris and what he's like. Here it goes - Chris is from Fayette county and is a corn and soybean farmer. He graduated from Iowa State University in 2004 with a degree in ag. He has three sisters, one of whom signed him up for the Bachelorette originally. The past five weeks, Cody Sattler has been living with him to help assure he is in shape for the Bachelor. Cody is a personal trainer and was on the Bachelorette with Andi Dorfman and Bachelor in Paradise. Cody did tell me that he is in love with Michelle from Bachelor in Paradise and he's extremely happy. I didn't watch the show, but after talking with Cody, I kind of wished I had watched the show. We invited Chris to attend our tailgate event and asked him to be our celebrity for 45-minutes in Krause Family Plaza to sign autographs and take photos. That 45-minutes turned into two hours, but he didn't seem to mind. After he was finished, we whisked him away up to the suite where he could watch the game with his Dad and Cody. I did enjoy the suite as well after being on the field for the pregame fesitvities. 

Chris is truly a genuine guy and you can tell he was raised in Iowa because he is so down to earth. He said he will leave around September 27 to begin filming his show. He will be gone for two months filming.  I don't think his Dad is happy about this because that is harvest season and he'll be gone for most if not all of it!  His show will begin airing in January and I can't wait to watch it after hanging out with him. I enjoyed talking to him about my parents farm and the true aspects of what I loved about growing up on the farm. Chris still seemed amazed that he can't go to Casey's or to the grocery store without someone asking to take their photo with him. I told him, I'm sure it'll get worse after you show airs, so be prepared! I certainly hope he finds the love of his live and hopefully the gal he chooses loves Iowa and farming as much as he does!

Chris Soules and I hanging out in the suite.

Cody Sattler and I hanging out in the suite.

Chris Soules with his Dad "Gary Soules" - He too was a nice guy and you can
see where he gets his looks.

Enjoying Kinnick before all the fans arrived.

Our Learfield Sports contacts with Mindy Williamson and I.

Around the third quarter of the game, I headed down to the field to get photos of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series trophy. If Iowa State University won, I wanted to make sure that I got photos of them with the trophy. It was kind of a nail biter game towards the end and I was glad to see the Cyclones make the kick to win the game. After the team came up to grab the trophy, I tried to get a good photo, but found it difficult. I followed the team hoping they'd hold it up, but it never happened. All of a sudden, I found myself in the middle of all of them!  I was scared because they are all 10x bigger than me and they kept pushing each other due to the excitement of the win. I got out of their huddle as fast as I could and headed for the sidelines. It was fun to see Chris and his Dad enjoying the action on the field as well. Chris wasn't happy about the win as he is a true Iowa fan. Yes, an Iowa fan! He graduated from ISU, but his entire family are die hard Hawkeye fans.

Cody, Chris and Gary enjoying the view of Kinnick Stadium

Proudly waiving the ISU flags at Kinnick Stadium.

Awesome view of Kinnick from the field.

Chris Soules and I enjoying the field at Kinnick.

Chris Soules and Cody Sattler guarding the trophy.

After the win, Dave, Matt and I headed home. The traffic was congested the entire way to Ankeny, but winning the game made the trip a lot better.

On Sunday, we packed a few boxes in our house and got caught up on meals for the week. Being gone one day on the weekend seems to make the week longer and more stressful because we're trying to cram everything into one day or in the evenings. I can't imagine what life will be like if our kids are in evening sports activities someday.

Grandma Bruck enjoying the kids before she headed home.