Author: jfwerth

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Activities

New Car!

After looking, testing, and researching for a number of months, we finally found the car we’ve been looking for.  We test drove a variety of cars (such as the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Chevy Cruze) but ultimately decided on the Hyundai Accent.  The car has really nice features that we were looking for (Bluetooth, hatchback, good mpg) and we much preferred the styling over other similar cars.  However, other people clearly did as well, since we could not find one of these cars in stock at any dealership within a 400 miles.  After putting out a couple of locate requests at nearby dealers, one finally arrived in Cedar Rapids in a color we wanted.  We have so far been very happy with our purchase and enjoy driving it around.

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Activities

Kalona Fall Festival

On September 23-24, Kalona had its annual fall festival.  The festivities were held on the grounds of the Kalona Village museum, where historic buildings have been placed and preserved for visitors to investigate.  Along with the museum and the many buildings, there was also a large number of tents containing anything from food and craft vendors to hobby or old-word trade demonstrations.  For example, one building held the process of removing corn from husks and grinding it to corn flour using belted wheels and machinery from the early 20th century.

The event also provided a number of food vendors – one in particular, being the grilled turkey legs often found at the MN Renaissance Festival (see picture).  We ate our turkey leg while listening to the sounds of a local folk band.  Altogether, it was a great time and until the very end, had excellent weather.

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Activities

Catch up and Mustard

After having quite the eventful September, I figured I should probably post something about the latest going-on’s of the Werth family:

The first weekend in September, Fred, Cathy, and Teresa drove down to Kalona to spend the weekend enjoying the beautiful weather and seeing the sites in our new (relatively) setting.  After going on a walking tour of the town and seeing the many quilt squares in the downtown sidewalks, we stopped by the local hang: Yotty’s ice cream shop.  On Sunday the family went to the Iowa Festival of Beers held in the Amana Colonies at Millstream Brewery.  As always, there was plenty of beer to be sampled, along with some delicious ciders and root beers.  On Monday – before heading out – all six of us went and toured a building downtown that was going up for auction on the 20th of this month.

The next two weeks brought many new items and interesting scenarios.  At the University of Iowa ITS (where Jon works PT as an IT Support Consultant as of Aug. 1), the Enterprise Services team had just been announced for a reorganization.  Many of my team were being moved to another area while mostly retaining our responsibilities.  However, there are a variety of concerns yet to be solved.  On Monday, Sept. 12th, I met with my supervisor who offered me an additional 20 hours, putting me as a temporary miscellaneous professional working 40 hours/week.  My responsibilities remained the same (now able to achieve the amount of work desired) working 50% in desktop support and 50% in managing the university’s Master Calendar.

At the end of that week, Elise, Jacob, and I drove up to Minnesota on Friday night to spend the weekend in Eden Prairie.  On Saturday, while the ladies had a bridal shower for Elise’s cousin, Larry, Fred, and I spent a beautiful afternoon golfing (which my back later paid dearly for).  After spending time with friends and brunch on Sunday, we headed back to Iowa to resume the next work week.  On Wednesday and Thursday, I took part in a Web Accessibility training seminar and will spend Friday at a Special Libraries Conference in Iowa City.  Meanwhile, Kalona is getting ready for its annual fall festival this  weekend.

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Activities

MLIS Degree

On July 29th, I finished my classes at the University of Iowa for my Library and Information Science degree.  Today I received the proof of my scholarly efforts: a piece of paper.  Time to celebrate!

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General Info

Subscribing to an RSS Feed

For an easier way to stay current on the Werth Family posts and news, try subscribing to our RSS Feed.  This feed will allow you to be notified when new material comes on to the site and provides a helpful link to the content.  For information on how to setup an RSS Feed, see my instructions.

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Parenting

Laughing & Eating

Here are some more videos of the little guy.  We have started introducing solid food for him to handle and put in his mouth.  Right now we are using Gerber Graduates Finger Foods.  They come in a variety of flavors, and just kind of melt in your mouth – making them a great introductory food.  Jacob has started to get the hang of grabbing these small pieces and getting them into his mouth.

Eating Wagon Wheels

Laughing at Mom

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Activities

Car Shopping, Kalona Revitalization, and Friends

The past week has been an enjoyable and event-filled one.  We have been shopping for a car for several months now and have renewed our efforts again.  Interested in the Hyundai Accent SE – a five door hatchback – we located one in Cedar Rapids.  On Saturday, we drove up to view the vehicle only to find it sold 20 minutes before we arrived.  The SE model has been particularly hard to find as it seems to disappear the moment it reaches a dealership.  After talking to a sales rep, we have an on-going search for the car and will hopefully come up with something soon.

Coming back to Kalona, the family went out to celebrate the Kalona downtown grand opening.  The downtown area of the town recently went through a major revitalization project and looks great!  It included new streets and sidewalks, lampposts, and hanging flower baskets.  Being famous for quilt square patterns, the downtown also has a walking tour of quilt square designs built into the sidewalk.  Saturday held events such as a fun run, bike ride, and street celebration with food vendors, beer garden, and live music, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

On Sunday, we attended church at St. Patrick’s on the eastern side of Iowa City.  The church had been hit by a tornado a number of years ago and built a beautiful new church, which also has LEED certification.  It has a very open feel, dark wood, and marble interior, giving it a very impressive look.  Afterward we ate brunch with our friend Mike and his girlfriend Erin.

Today finally brought much needed rain to the region, in a series of slow showers that lasted most of the afternoon.  Jacob had developed a slight cough, so the men hung out at home.  He is in good spirits and seems to be doing well.  We’re looking forward to this weekend as Jon’s family is coming down to visit.

Finally, I have been neglecting photo uploads, so here are a number to view (complements of my phone):

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Activities Parenting

7 Months and a Late Night Visit

Thursday, August 25th, marks Jacob being 7 months old.  This past Monday he has returned to daycare in Washington as Elise’s summer vacation ended.  All the kids and caretakers definitely enjoy Jacob’s presence.  He has unknowingly learned how to shake his head “no”, which is quite hilarious.  This most likely stemmed from Elise and I bobbing side to side in order to make him laugh.

This past weekend, we were also blessed with a surprise visit from Caitlin Kennedy.  On her way to Georgia with her roommate, the two spent the night at our apartment.  In the morning, they were able to get a quick tour of Kalona, a delicious roll from the bakery, and a cup of coffee before heading out again.

Elise has returned to Washington H.S. for her third year and will be teaching Biology and Kinesiology this fall.  Monday-Wednesday were reserved for teacher workshops, while the students will arrive on Thursday (the 25th).  She is experimenting with an online classroom resource utilizing Moodle (an open-source, online education management system).  While the system holds much potential, Elise’s site will be a listing of courses with assignments, lectures, and deadlines.  Check it out at EliseWerth.com and use the guest password: WHSscience.  If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below!

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Activities

Sand, Cell phones, and School

The past week has been an exciting one, full of new events and preparing for future ones.  This past weekend was Iowa City’s Sand in the City event where teams from the community come together a make massive sand sculptures.  The street is blocked-off from traffic and large amounts of sand are hauled in to give teams an opportunity to create a sand sculpture right downtown.  On that same day (Friday), Elise and I purchased new cell phones!  After looking for a while, we found a good deal and decided to make the plunge.  The unfortunate part: we did not get to keep our numbers.

In addition to the weekend’s events, plenty of young teenagers and their parents have swarmed to downtown Iowa City meaning one thing: the return of school.  As such, Elise is preparing for the fall term at Washington, where it will be her third year.  One new feature of her teaching this year will be an online curriculum resource for students to view assignments, deadlines, and presentations.  Meanwhile, I continue to fully enjoy my part time role at the UI as an IT Support Consultant.  My team’s office is undergoing a relocation this week, which will provide much-needed, additional space.

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Parenting

6 Month Checkup

On Tuesday, Jacob had his six-month checkup at the University of Iowa Clinic.  The doctor (and nurses) said Jacob looks great, is healthy, and continues to develop steadily.  Jacob weighed 19.5 lbs, which put him in the 72nd percentile for children his age.  His length was 26.5 inches and head circumference 18.1, placing him in the 31st and 96th percentile respectively.  In short, we have a short, fat baby with a massive head. 🙂

Along with all the measurements, Jacob received a number of vaccinations – several of which were the final in the series.  However, the immunizations resulted in a low-grade fever on Wednesday.  After some rest and baby Tylenol, he seemed to be doing better and the fever had subsided.  As always, Jacob loves to play with any paper he can get his hands on, shown in this video: Fun with Paper.