We switched our celebration mode from birthday to anniversary this week - the Arc of Abilities' 7th Anniversary, to be exact! We can hardly believe it was 7 years ago on March 16, 2016, that we started this program with 11 charter members. We have grown a lot, and in a lot of ways, since then! Celebrating our anniversary is always fun, but that's only part of the fantastic fun we had this week. There was more to celebrate than 7 years of us! Check it out...
Tuesday
Today we celebrated that we are fortunate to live in Virginia's Historic Triangle. We like to get out and about, and Tuesday has generally been our traditional day for "fun" field trips (as opposed to vocational and/or volunteer experiences). Living in close proximity to so much history makes it easy for us to enjoy a fun outing, and we have certainly made our share of visits to Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown over the years. Our trip today was to Jamestown Settlement.
The sun was shining brightly today, but Mother Nature decided to keep the temperature in the upper 40s and blow about quite a lot of wind! We decided to focus today's visit on the indoor galleries, and there was plenty to see. We'll be back soon to explore the fort and other outside exhibits.
Most of our time was spent in the new gallery called Reign and Rebellion, which highlights the impact of the Stuart monarchy on early America. We learned some things about King James I, who sent the colonists to Virginia in 1607. On his family tree, William and Mary were spotted...yes, the ones who are the namesake of our guys' favorite hometown college!
We have learned about the importance of tobacco to the economy of the Virginia colony as its "cash crop," but today Sam and Patrick learned that King James himself thought tobacco to be nasty and harmful to one's health! He even tried to discourage its use. In later years, when he realized how much money it brought in, he changed his attitude!
Liz, Michelle, and Kate were intrigued by the John Rolfe Family Bible, in this display. Wow...wasn't he married to Pocahontas?! Yes, ladies...but this bible is over 400 years old! 😀
Laura loves our blog, and likes to see both her friends and herself in the photos. She asked if we could take her picture "by this lady" and "put it in the blog." First things first...this "lady" is Charles II, and some (most) men wore their hair long back then, too! Now, smile, Laura!
James I's hair wasn't particularly long, but his outfit caught our guys' attention, especially what Sam called the "puffed up shorts" which all agreed would look funny on them today!
However, after Reign and Rebellion, we were ready for lunch. There were almost 1,000 visitors at the museum today, according to the front desk when we signed in. We felt fortunate to snag these 3 big booths which held exactly the amount of space we needed! Lunch was hot and tasty, and everyone was happy!!
Besides picking up a few history facts, we also came to Jamestown Settlement to get a good walk. It was chilly, but the wind wasn't too strong yet, so after lunch, we headed outside.
We walked from one end of the grounds to the other. It was a nice stretch and just what we needed after those yummy fries that came with our lunch!
There is a brick tower at Jamestown Settlement that has a huge bald eagle nest on top. On our way back to the building, we saw a white head peaking up, and suddenly another eagle flew in to land! We guessed it's a mom and pop, and either they have a baby (or two) in the nest, or they are preparing for one. We tried to get a picture with both heads looking at us. It was very cool to see!
Wednesday
Today was spectacular, to say the least! So here come a lot of pictures to back it up...
Michelle, Liz, Alexis, and Laura shelved books at the JRES Library this morning. They are a good team!
They also brought this cart full of books back to our room so we can prepare them for discarding. We love helping out in the library!
Look who came back this month - the therapy dogs and their handlers, our wonderful friends! They had to take a hiatus from visiting with us in January and February, and we are so happy to have them back on our monthly schedule!
Tomorrow is Leo's birthday, so Kent brought us mini-donuts and we had a mini-party for our favorite Chow!
Happy 2nd Birthday, Leo! We hope all your wishes come true! Thank you, Kent, for the donut treats. We enjoyed them very much!
Some of Leo's dog friends wore party hats, much to our delight! Marlo (with Lena), on the left, and Darby (with Carol "2"), on the right, look good in blue!
With Caroline smiling proudly, Pip is perfect in red!!
After celebrating Leo, we broke into small groups for a reading session. Here, Nan proudly looks on as Michelle, Kevin, and Kate take turns reading three books with Ava and Gunther.
Xavier and Adia read with Kent and Leo, the birthday pup! Kent told them that Leo is the fifth Chow he's had over the years. 💙
Annmarie and Dev B got to read with Carol, and our favorite "hider," Casey!
Darby was very relaxed as he and Carol "2" listened to Sam and Erik share their books.
With Liz and Laura waiting their turns, and Marlo listening closely, Lena read a favorite book about dogs to Drew.
We're so lucky to have several dog and handler pairs, so we can always have small groups for reading. In today's 6th group, Alexis, Patrick, and Sweet T cuddled with Pip while Caroline read aloud from a story about Franklin, the turtle.
After reading, we took our dogs and handler friends on a scavenger hunt to learn facts about birds. The facts are posted throughout the center, and it's fun to learn facts, like barn owls will eat up to 1,000 mice a year! Carol and Casey were learning with Drew, Liz, and Laura!
Caroline and Pip, along with Michelle, Kate, and Kevin just learned that hummingbirds are the only birds that can hover. They can also fly backwards!
Erik, Sam, Kent, and Leo learned about the elephant bird, which was much larger than an ostrich...and is now extinct! Thank you Kent, Caroline, Carol, Carol "2", Ava, and Lena for bringing the dogs and hanging out with us this morning. We had the best time and are truly thrilled that we're back together! 💜🐕
Wow! Look at our dear friends James, Kim, and Jorie from Eaton. When they realized that our 7th anniversary of working with Eaton was just a few weeks after our 7th anniversary of the AoA, they insisted on enhancing our celebration week with a beautiful pasta luncheon, including garlic knots and fresh salad!
We can't forget the adorable, and tasty, cupcakes! 🧁🧁🧁 Thank you, Jorie, James, and Kim, for your kind hearts and for treating us to a wonderful meal that included your company (the best part)! We can't tell you how much your partnership means to us, and how much we love working with you. Thank you for your part in our vocational development over the past 7 years. We have spread our wings with you, and we're so proud!
Wait...what?! There was more! Kim helped pass out goody bags from Eaton! Thanks so much, Eaton. We love you guys!! What a great day for us. 💚💜💛
Thursday
Happy 7th Anniversary to the Arc of Abilities today! It was another celebratory day, but we had work to do first. It's not all fun and games around here, even though lately it seems like it! 😜
First, we sent a crew to Pet Supplies Plus to see how we could help today. Erik and Laura helped with dusting. Such nice smiles on their faces!
Adia and Kevin got a good stretch as they stocked a top shelf!
Liz and Devin helped Scott clean cages today, and then they got to pet a bearded dragon!
Spread the word that Pet Supplies Plus is hiring! We can vouch for what a great environment it is at PSP, and what great bosses Scott and Roxanne are!
Adia and Devin want to spread the word that Scott would be happy to sell you this cute and cuddly chinchilla!
What a surprise when Kent and Leo popped in to see us! When we were hanging with the therapy dogs yesterday, Kent heard we would be working at PSP today, so he came to see us in action! Happy Birthday, again, Leo...today's the actual day! 🥳
Meanwhile, back at the center, this was the end result of the cooking and decorating crew's hard work this morning! Sam, Dev T, Michelle, Annmarie, Drew, Xavier, Kate, Patrick, and Alexis assisted each other and Lisa and Nan in so many ways to get lunch on the table and festive anniversary decorations on the walls. Great team effort this morning!
Kate tried a new task today. She cut the grape bunches into smaller, more managable sections to make us a nice fruit tray.
Alexis shredded chicken for our Caesar salad.
Once we had lunch and decorations done, Alexis led us in a Disney trivia quiz while we waited for the PSP crew to return and help us with decorating our tables. We were guessing which Disney villians fit each clue! (We know our Disney movies!)
Soon, we were celebrating! We would not be enjoying our 7th anniversary if it weren't for JCC Parks and Rec partnering with us so we can use the AFCC, and the vans! We thank them, and Tracy and Karryna, who work diligently to make sure we have everything we need!
Greg Kline, stopped by as well. He's on The Arc's Board of Directors, and we would like to thank them for the guidance and support they provide that leads to our success . Greg is also Liz's dad, so we could say he represented the AoA's incredible families, too. We can't thank our families enough for cheering us on and supporting us in so many ways! They are simply the best!
Can you spot our fantastic and hard-working executive director, Pam, in the middle of this spectacular group?! We thank her for dedicated leadership to The Arc of Greater Williamsburg, and for all she does to support our AoA program. In addition, we send a shout-out to Anna, Kellie, and Sue at the Arc office, who likewise support us in countless ways. We LOVE all of our Arc staff!!
After lunch, we looked back on the first few months of the AoA. We began the program on March 16, 2016, with 11 charter members. Of those 11, these 7 are still with us: Liz, Dev T, Patrick, Drew, Alexis, Kevin, and Sam. Over the years we have had 25 different friends come through our doors for varying amounts of time. We're currently up to 16 members, but we love each and every one that has ever been part of the Arc of Abilities!
In a bittersweet moment at the end of the day, UVA superfan Liz, with the support of her buddies Alexis, Drew, and Dev B, was catching the end of UVA's first round game in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. It was a close game at the end, and UVA could not hang on for the win. Liz received a lot of loving comfort from her friends after the game. 'Cause that's how we roll at the Arc of Abilities. 💗💗💗
Friday
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Best buds Sweet T and Drew teamed up to be the "Lucky Charms," and aren't they handsome?! They are posing alongside our Pizza Pizzazz machine, which is the first appliance we got for our program. Drew's family donated it on Day 2 in 2016, which was St. Patrick's Day. We didn't heat any pizzas in it that day, but we made cookies...and we've been using it on St. Patrick's Day ever since. It's one of a few traditions that we have. Read more about our cookies below!
We watched a lesson with Mystery Doug today on how rainbows are made. We learned that Isaac Newton had the idea to use a prism held up to sunlight in order to prove that the sun's "white" light is actually lots of colors that form a rainbow when separated by the prism's glass.
After that, we went outside to chase rainbows, but found there was not enough sunlight today. We'll try again next week!
As our Pizza Pizzazz warmed up, Liz and Adia volunteered to mix up our Blarney Stone Cookie Dough. These are the cookies we made on our second day of operation, back on March 17, 2016, when we used the Pizzazz as an oven. Each St. Patrick's Day, we bake cookies this way, because we like traditions.
We forgot to take a picture of the cookies baking on the Pizzazz, but they turned out great, as can be seen in this picture. Unfortunately, they are not gluten-free, but we always have GF cookies on hand so Xavier doesn't miss out on the sweet treats! (His were chocolate today.)
There is going to be a St. Patrick's Day craft program at AFCC in our room this evening. We decided to make a few decorations to leave up so the room would look festive. Alexis and Drew had just finished these colorful rainbows!
Sweet T, Michelle, and Annmarie made rainbows and then worked on coloring pages. Sweet T's was going to be cut out and turned into a dancing leprechaun!
Here are some of the decorations we will leave up for the night program. Cute dancing leprechauns!
We're always happy when Ms. Vallone (JRES Assistant Principal) stops by for a visit. Today, she had some news - she's engaged!! Congratulations, Ms. Vallone! We're so happy for you!!
For today's lunch, we enjoyed leftover pasta from our delicious luncheon with Jorie, James, and Kim on Wednesday. What a treat that was, and to have leftovers on a Friday was extra special! Thanks again, Eaton friends. We really appreciate you!! 😋
After lunch, Lisa read a few chapters from our March read-aloud called Hello, Universe. It's starting to get really good! Well, except for the fact that one of our favorite characters is stranded at the bottom of an abandoned well, where he found himself after he attempted to rescue his pet guinea pig who was tossed in there by a bully...
We stepped outside to take our official St. Patrick's Day group photo. We wear green very well!
Here we are stretching and relaxing with Jaime's version of rainbow yoga. As always, a great way to end another busy week at the Arc of Abilities!
We will slow things down just a little next week, as we don't really have any "official" celebrations. That's not to say we won't find something to celebrate, though. We're looking forward to welcoming spring! Here's our agenda for next week:
Tuesday: We're going to visit the Army Transportation Museum at Ft. Eustis today. It's been a while since our last visit, so we will enjoy checking it out again. The weather looks hopeful for a stop at Newport News Park for lunch and a walk, so bring a bagged lunch. We would like everyone to wear Arc shirts today AND tomorrow. 😊
Wednesday: Today will be fun! It's National Goof Off Day, but we're going to balance it with a good dose of service. We will divide into two groups and take turns volunteering at GCOC. When we're at the center, we'll have fun with games and other "goof off" types of activities. Lunch on your own. JRES Cafeteria will be available and has Chicken Sandwich or Hot Dog on the menu. Wear Arc shirts, too!
Thursday: Today we are welcoming Wisteria, Erika, and Amanda from The Mariners' Museum, and they are going to teach us how to prepare a couple of Mediterranean pasta dishes for lunch! In other activities, we have thank you notes to write and a final Winter Corn Hole Challenge game, even though it's the third day of spring!
Friday: We are tentatively scheduled to work at Eaton today, so wear Eaton shirts and bring a bagged lunch. We may end up doing the work at AFCC, and if so, we'll head out after lunch for a visit to New Quarter Park to kick off a Spring Bocce Challenge!
Enjoy the weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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