Today was the annual trek to Saint John’s University for homecoming. It was a bit chilly with the wind, but when the sun shone it was beautiful. We started off the day by visiting with our friends at the pottery studio. Afterward we picked up some Johnny bread at the bookstore before grabbing some lunch in Sexton.
The football game was a slam dunk in St. John’s favor. By the end of the first quarter, the Johnnies led Hamline 28-0. Since the boys were getting drowsy, we said goodbye and hopped back into the van for the trek home. Overall, it was a great day of visiting campus, friends, and family.
It’s the beginning of fall and the close of the first week back at school. A chill is in the air that makes it feel like mid to late fall, accentuating the smaller number of daylight hours and the fact that some of the trees have started to turn. It seemed like the perfect evening to get outside and go for a short walk.
On Monday we made use of the beautiful weather provided for us for Labor Day. We hadn’t made much use of the canoe since moving (make that no use), so we thought it was time to explore the Crow River. It also happened to be Henry’s very first canoe trip.
We settled on an 8 mile stretch of the Crow River starting in Rockford and floating northeast to Hanover. We were blessed to see many forms of wildlife, such as eagles, herons, turtles, and fish. The boys did very well and within two hours we were at our destination. Enjoy the photos from the trip:
This past week Elise and I had the opportunity to spend some time in Nashville, TN. I (Jon) flew down early in the morning on Saturday, July 12th. After a weather delay in Chicago, I made it to Nashville just after noon. As my work conference (D2L Fusion) wasn’t starting until Monday, this gave me the opportunity to see the sites. Despite the intense heat and humidity, I walked the town visiting Broadway, the Public Plaza, and the government area. Along with a visit to the Tennessee State Museum, these sites gave me a pretty good background on the history of the area. On Sunday, I rented a bike and enjoyed a scenic tour of the Nashville Greenway, riding along the Cumberland river.
My B-Cycle over the Cumberland River
Needing to cool off, I hopped into the rooftop pool of the hotel.
Later that day, I met up with my old coworkers from Iowa for dinner and a chance to catch up. Monday through Wednesday were filled with conference sessions, meetings, and events. Overall, it was a very good opportunity to meet with individuals from different schools, but also to build ties with individuals from D2L.
Elise arrived in Nashville on Wednesday afternoon and after grabbing a late lunch, we set off to find our hotel. After checking in to the hotel, we gave ourselves a walking tour of Vanderbilt along with the Centennial Gardens. The Centennial Gardens were built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the city and feature a full scale replica of the Greek Parthenon.
Thursday was spent exploring the town, starting off at Fort Negley where we learned about Nashville’s involvement in the Civil War. Afterward, we browsed the farmers market and ate some Cajun jumbo for lunch. We pedaled back to the hotel on bikes where we freshened up for a dinner at Jack’s BBQ followed by an amazing concert at the Ryman Auditorium: Dailey and Vincent. On Friday morning we pedaled around the northern side of the greenway, and enjoyed some great eats and live music in the evening. As I write, we are flying back to Minnesota, looking forward to being home and seeing the boys.
The Omni hotel
A look at the architecture of the Music City Center
To celebrate the unofficial start of summer, the Werth family decided to visit Lake Rebecca Park for some outdoor fun. It’s a beautiful park with a giant play area, miles of paved trails, and a lake complete with beach and boat ramp. The boys had fun exploring the play area and then wading in the water. Surprisingly, there weren’t too many people at the park, and the weather was pretty nice for mid-morning.
The two days prior had been filled with some pretty good work setting up the transported – and freshly painted – play set for the boys along with the deconstruction of Laura’s deck to make way for a new one. The installation of the play set involved all of the grandparents and went fairly smoothly. (Thankfully, we didn’t lose any of the pieces in the move from Iowa!) The boys were ecstatic and it made our house seem a little more like home.
This Saturday, the Werth family had an enjoyable day of fun activities. The weather was nice, so we started off with a bike ride to the “rock park”; the kids’ favorite park on the north end of town. After playing for a while, we headed to the Delano Marketplace housed in a recently renovated building next to the river, where artists and farmers were selling their crafts and goods.
Delano Marketplace - Can you find Henry and Elise?
After perusing the market, we walked across the street to the open house for the Delano Municipal Utilities, which was celebrating its 120th anniversary. The open house included a tour of the power plant, free goodies (CFL’s and baseball caps), and a ride on the bucket truck. To complete the event, we received a free lunch at the Legion across the street.
After our stomachs were filled, we biked back home. After putting the boys down for a nap, I dug out the brewing equipment and started my first batch of beer in over 3 years.
Twas a good day filled with new activities and fun events.
One of Jacob’s favorite parks in town is the “rock park”, named for the rock formations that create some of the play areas. Here are some pictures of Henry from our latest outing.
March was a rather uneventful month, as we waited for Spring to arrive but it unfortunately didn’t come. Days of warm sun were followed by days of snow, with a random 10 inches falling on April 4th. At the Werth household, it was a month of low-key activities interspersed with sickness (fevers, ear infections, etc.).
However, we did enjoy spending much time with family; which is a much lauded change from previous years. This included playing with Joey – TT’s new pet – and random visits to grandparents. When the weather was warm, we enjoyed walks outside with the sled or treks to the kid’s section if the library. Despite a rough week of sickness mid-month, it was an enjoyable few weeks.
Yesterday, Jon had a work conference where he enjoyed matching faces to names from his work within MnSCU, and Elise will be heading back to school on Monday after a week of Spring Break. We’re eagerly waiting for all the snow to disappear to start working on a new garden and some landscape work.
This past weekend we had the joy of traveling to the Deep Portage Learning Center near Hackensack, MN. The weekend was an opportunity for the staff of Rockford Middle School (and their families) to venture to the north woods. This is the site of the 6th grade field trip from earlier in the school year, but minus the students this time.
Deep Portage specializes in educating young and old alike about outdoor activities, nature, and conservation. They have some pretty amazing technology that I enjoyed learning about including solar panels, solar heating bays, and wood gasification. In addition to the technology, Deep Portage is situated among ponds, lakes, forest, and hills, making for some great scenery and ski/snowshoe trails.
It was one of those weekends that you play hard, eat a lot, and sleep extremely well because of it.
It’s been a great winter for snow, as Elise and I – well maybe just me – have been enjoying being back in the land of snow. As a result, we’ve had some good time outdoors (when it’s not too cold) cross-country skiing, tromping around, and last but not least, building snow tunnels/forts. Technically, the fort was built by ‘papa’ while everyone else was napping, but Jacob sure enjoyed it!
