Category: Activities

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Activities

Photo Booth

Saturday evening, Elise and I attended Andy & Rachel Perez’s wedding in Cedar Rapids.  The reception was held at Elm Crest in Cedar Rapids, home of famous golfer Zach Johnson. We particularly enjoyed the Tapas dinner, getting a variety of delicious foods such as lobster claws, prawn, and pork medallions wrapped in bacon. For their guest book, guests took pictures in the traveling photo booth (complete with fun costume items, if wanted) and pasted the photos into a guest book. It was definitely a fun-filled evening!

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Activities

Going for a bike ride

Last Friday, Elise and I picked up a Burley Solo bike trailer that we found on Craigslist.  Today (Sunday), we were able to take the trailer out for an extended spin.  We biked around Kalona and checked out the town.  Here are some pics from the adventure:

In the photos, you can see our newly acquired bikes also found on Craigslist.  We both sold our mountain bikes in favor of Trek hybrid bikes.  Both of us highly enjoy the hybrids, as they are quite comfortable, light, and work smoothly.

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Activities

Moving Day

Pictures from the move:

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Activities

Kalona Apartment

For those unable to make the trek to Kalona, we have put together a small photo tour of our new home.  After one week in the apartment, the boxes have finally disappeared:

A big thanks to Fred & Cathy who came down and helped us move.  They also celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary that weekend!

In other news, Jon has an interview Wednesday morning at the University of Iowa for an IT Support position.

 

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Activities

An Exciting 5 Days

Upon the setup of the computer this evening, I began to reflect on what went down in the past week.  Indeed, it has seemed much more time has passed since last Friday:

Friday was Elise’s last day of the school year at Washington.  Upon picking her up, the family (Jacob, Elise, and I) went out to Old Chicago to celebrate the end of the year.  Saturday morning we took off for Omaha to witness the beautiful wedding of Alex and Johna.  Arriving at noon, a few of us went out for lunch before heading to the ceremony at 2.  Afterwards, it was a quick trip out to view Camilla’s new residence and then on to pictures and the reception.

On Sunday Jacob was quite exhausted and caught up on much needed sleep while Elise and I traveled back to Coralville to meet my parents.  That evening we packed up the last remaining items in the house.  On Monday morning, I retrieved the U-Haul and we all began the move.  After an exhausting day we had our belongings moved down to our new apartment in Kalona, IA.  Tuesday I was off to work, followed by some cleaning up around the Coralville house and unpacking in Kalona.

Wednesday morning I left Kalona at 6:50 to arrive at Grinnell, IA before 8:30.  I had an interview for an Information Technology Support Services position at Grinnell College that lasted the entire morning.  I  was the third of three interviewees and we should find out the results next week.

All in all, it has been quite the exciting time for the Werth Family.  Jacob continues to grow and is now 16.8 lbs!!  Elise and I continue to unpack and settle in to the new residence.  Our new address is 505 11th St, Apt A2, Kalona, IA, 52247.

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Activities Parenting

School Year Ending, Moving, Closing

So you may have noticed the absence of posts lately…I apologize.  Things around the Werth household have been quite good, but quite busy.  Jacob continues to grow and be a delightful young guy.  At the beginning of May, Jacob was kicked out of his daycare due to another baby coming in (but we think it was his incessant flirting with the ladies).  Knowing that this would happen :), Mary, Teresa, and Cathy each took shifts in providing care for the young stud until his father completed school.  With only two days left, the end is rapidly approaching.

In the meantime, we have been searching for a place to live post-closing on June 3rd.  We found a very nice (but small) apartment in Kalona to rent for the next year (yes, year).  It is in between Washington (Elise’s work) and Iowa City (Jon’s work until the end of July), and cuts Elise’s commute from 40 to 18 minutes.  It is a quaint little town with many Mennonites, nice parks within a block, and even hitching posts downtown.

School will finish the last full week in May for Elise, followed by the move to our new residence. In the meantime, I (Jon) have one online course this summer and am continuing the job search, searching for positions relating to music, IT, or libraries.  Currently, two positions are looking hopeful and we will know more in the coming weeks.

Jacob has been quite active lately, growing much and exercising his voice and limbs.  We will post pictures soon. Best wishes…

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Activities

Farewell Ninja

Last Friday marked the end of the motorcycling days…for now.  To ready for the move ahead, Elise and I sold the motorcycle.  It went to a good guy, who is going to rip it down to the frame and engine and build a custom bike.  After many years, we shall miss you. That is until we get the Yamaha V Star.

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Activities

What a weekend! Selling the House

So you may notice the many posts placed on here all in one day…I apologize. However, there is good reason.

Last week we met with a realtor, and in preparation for a relocation, we decided to list our house. The listing went up on Thursday, and Dave (the realtor) decided to have an open house on Saturday. Three groups came to the open house and all seemed to like it, and there was another showing on Sunday morning. On Sunday morning, one couple who saw it on Saturday put in an offer. However, the couple who saw it Sunday morning were also impressed and placed an offer too. After much waiting, communication back and forth, and countering, the escapade stretched into Tuesday when one couple came for a second showing. After the showing, they revised their original offer, which then was too good to pass up. As of 8 pm tonight, we agreed to the offer.

A lot happened in a very short time frame and we are very happy with the results. The next few weeks will hopefully go smoothly with inspections and the like, with a final closing sometime in June. Elise and I are definitely excited, but also realize we are a long way from the closing.

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Activities

Lutsen Ski/Snowboard Trip

March 14th-18th was Spring Break at the University of Iowa, and so the Werth Family (Jon, Elise, and Jacob) made a trip up to Minnesota to hang out with family. It was the first long road trip for Jacob, and he handled it well by sleeping most of the way. We drove up Tuesday morning and arrived at Larry and Mary’s home before noon. Great-grandparents Jack and Pat drove in to Eden Prairie and spent lunch and the afternoon getting acquainted with Jacob. I spent some time later in the afternoon using Larry’s bench grinder to create a 2-octave set of pitched pipes made from 3/4″ conduit.

On Wednesday morning, Fred, Cathy, and Teresa drove in and picked us up and headed north to Lutsen. After a stop at Grandma’s in Duluth for lunch, we arrived in the early afternoon. After checking in to our lodge, Elise got a rough course in snowboarding and after performing quite well, decided to rent a snowboard for the next day. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning were spent on the slopes with rain on Thur., cold on Fri., and a gorgeous day on Saturday. All in all, it was great time and Cathy enjoyed spending a lot of time with Jacob while the others were on the slopes.

Saturday evening the trio was back in Eden Prairie and left on Sunday afternoon to return to Iowa. As we drove back, we continued to turn down the heater, until we finally had the windows open in Coralville (it was over 60 degrees).

Videos!

The following videos were filmed using the Flip camera (thanks T!). I apologize in advance for the bounciness. I try to keep steady and a good picture, but it’s quite the challenge at times!

Jacob with his ladies
Last run of the day
A beautiful Saturday run down Moose Mtn
Elise boarding on Mystery Mtn

(videos may take some time to load)

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Activities

Blizzard!

Iowa City received its first blizzard of the season. We received approximately 10-12” of snow. However, due to the blowing wind I shoveled approximately 8” of snow three times. In between our house and the neighbor’s house, the snow was 2 feet deep. I now can say with authority, that man can create a mountain range. Now to rest my back… oh yeah, all classes at the University are canceled and no buses are running. Oh wait, I hear the snow plow creating a three foot wall between my driveway and the world. Here we go again…