Believe It or Not!

The Arc of Abilities gang worked hard and played hard this week!  From volunteering in the school to a lively game of musical chairs to a visit to a local tourist spot...Believe It or Not, our week was great!

Even though Tuesday brought another day of rain for our area, we made it to Freedom Park and the Botanical Garden for our time with the Master Gardeners.  They were able to bring the activities indoors while keeping them fun and engaging.  We made plant pots out of newspaper, learned about dill (and sampled "dilly bread"), and made new friends as a group from Colonial Behavioral Health joined us.  It may have been dreary outside, but our Master Gardener friends made it cheery on the inside!

Since it was rainy, we headed back to AFCC after our gardening class instead of taking a walk.  That gave us some time to prepare a Jello, fresh strawberry, and pretzel salad that would need to chill overnight so we could celebrate National Pretzel Day on Wednesday! We crushed pretzels and sliced strawberries before using our "oven" (aka Pizzaz Pizza Machine) to bake the crust and then top it with the Jello, whipped cream, and strawberries.

And while we enjoyed our pretzel salad on Wednesday, and found it tasty and refreshing, it turns out the Pizazz Pizza Machine isn't very good at baking a crispy crust.  The pretzel crust was soft, but the flavor was there and we decided we would have to try the recipe again later in the summer...when we have fresh blueberries!  

Not to be deterred, we knew from previous experience that our Pizzaz Pizza Machine could bake up a perfect hot dog wrapped in biscuit dough...so on Wednesday we also celebrated Pigs in a Blanket Day (a few days late...but we don't mind)!

And even though we had gotten a good workout that morning with our Tai Chi class...

...we knew a rousing game of musical chairs would give us a little more exercise (when the music director keeps the music playing...and playing...).  This is another case of finding our "inner child" to be worthy of tapping.  So much fun!

 In the end, it came down to Chris and Nancy, and Chris prevailed!

Thursday is our day to volunteer for JRES.  Everyone was involved this week on tasks including working with students, filing papers, shelving books, organizing the clothes closet, and a new task - preparing discarded library books to be given away.  All associates and staff members were BUSY and we didn't get any photos of the new task...actually we didn't get many photos at all.  (Sometimes we wish we had a dedicated photographer!)  Here are a couple of shots of the guys helping to organize donated uniform clothes.

Volunteering each week in the school is something we look forward to because it's fun, and it gives us a wonderful sense of purpose. Each week we find more and more staff members taking note of our efforts and complimenting and thanking us.  But more than being fun and purposeful, this work also gives our associates training in tasks that could be transferable to potential employment opportunities in the future.  Volunteering at JRES fits well with the AoA's goal of providing pre-vocational training!

After a morning of working hard, we made time in the afternoon on Thursday for a game of Bingo.  Our guys love Bingo and this week we finally got to introduce some recently donated prizes.  In our version, everyone wins! 

Without a doubt, the most fun we had this week was on Friday when we were treated to a visit to Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum!  Carol's son Matt works there and he lobbied with his manager. Bill, to give us a complimentary visit.  We met and thanked Bill...and had a great time not only in the museum (the "Odditorium"), but also on the mini-golf course after lunch!  Thanks. Matt and Bill!

Posing with the world's tallest man...

...or the world's largest man!

Inside this frame are portraits of the US presidents that are painted on gull feathers!

Drew and Chloe aren't sure what to think about the "Junk Art Mother and Child" but Sam seems to like it!

Here, Josie, Drew, and Alexis play a memory game.  Working together, they found all the matches before time ran out!

By far the most popular attraction in the whole museum was this fake bathroom.  When the door was pushed open, the backside of a "man" became visible and a voice boomed out, "HEY! Shut that door!"  Our guys could not get enough of this!

About to watch a movie in 4D - we experienced being sprayed with water, snowed upon, tickled, and treated to interesting odors!  If you look closely, that's Matt on the top row in the green jacket.  He provided plenty of expertise about all things at the museum!

 Believe it or not, there was an artist there who made "masterpieces" out of dryer lint!

And of course, we made new friends along the way!

After lunch at nearby Kiwanis Park, we returned to the museum's mini-golf where we enjoyed ourselves in spite of the very warm temperatures.  Everyone cheered for each other...and everyone won!  :-) 

Devin golfs with his Daddy...check out this form!

Chris was about to make a hole in one!

And Alexis was surprised when she made one, too!

We traveled in Arc style on Friday!  The Parks & Rec vans were not available, so we used The Arc's recently acquired new vehicle.  Several of our friends were not able to join us on Friday, so it worked out that everyone could fit in this beautiful 15 passenger van (Nan met us at the museum) which has...much to our great comfort...excellent air-conditioning!  

Finally, we want to show off our Zumba girls!  Alexis, Meghan, and Kacie joined the fun last Saturday during the Zumbathon at New Town and they report it was, "so much FUN!"  Don't they make it look easy?!

There is a lot to look forward to in the upcoming week.  Here's what you need to know...

Sunday:  Several of us will be at Veterans Park (Kidsburg) at 2:00 for Tai Chi with Michael.  Join us if you can!

Tuesday:  Bowling and pizza lunch!  Please wear Arc shirts!

Wednesday:  Dress for Tai Chi!  Lunch on your own.

Thursday:  Lunch on your own.  Afternoon trip to CW's Abby Aldrich Folk Art Museum.  Wear Arc shirts!

Friday:  Cinco de Mayo will be celebrated as we prepare our own Mexican fiesta! 

Sunday, May 7th:  Dream Logic performance at 2:00 at the Kimball Theater.  If you haven't already, let Lisa know by Monday if you would like free tickets!

Everyone have a great weekend!

Lisa, Carol, and Nan