We welcomed the month of June and our latest associate, Laura, this week! We also completed a "Wilderness Challenge," made ice cream from scratch, and prepared our own lunch on Friday...and that's for starters. Here's our week in review:
Bowling and pizza on Tuesday! This is an outing we always enjoy, as Laura found out very quickly!
Devin was excited when Patrick made another strike. On this day Patrick scored the highest game any of them has ever had...a "striking" 173!
Chris was excited to point out to Bo that Josie got a strike!
After bowling, it was a sunny but not-too warm afternoon, so we headed to Freedom Park to hike the "Bunny Trail." One of the rangers had told us a few weeks ago that the Bunny Trail was an "easy trail" that was mostly flat and well laid out at .7 mile in length. Well, .7 mile is not too far for our group of regular walkers, so we decided to go for it. And while it was technically an "easy" trail, for our willing (unwitting?) gang of 16, it posed a few challenges since it wasn't a paved trail, as we are used to. At first steps were very cautious, avoiding roots and loose pieces of limbs. But we persevered, helped each other along, and about one hour after we started, we successfully completed our first (and hopefully not last) "Wilderness Challenge!" It was a great bonding experience...
Drew and Nan leading a group. Don't they have smiles on their faces?
Meghan and Josie catching up to the front of the pack!
Here, Carol and Laura climb the one part of the trail that was a little bit steep.
Here's our team...before the hike! Tuesday was the first day in forever that we had everyone in attendance!
And while we didn't get a picture, everyone looked just as good after the hike...well, maybe a little sweatier, but very proud of completing the Bunny Trail turned Wilderness Challenge!
After such a great hike on Tuesday, we were definitely deserving of celebrating Chocolate Ice Cream Day on Wednesday! Thanks to Laura's family for letting us borrow their easy-peasy ice cream maker!
It was creamy, chocolate-y, and yummy!
Earlier on Wednesday we were able to get outside and really play for the first time since JRES began SOL testing a few weeks ago. We missed shooting hoops so this was a welcome activity, despite the clouds.
Sam can jump!
Another highlight on Wednesday was seeing Chloe step up to be Michael's self-appointed Tai Chi assistant!
With Thursday being National Best Friends Day, we had a discussion about the nature of our friendships with each other at the Arc of Abilities, and had fun taking an interest inventory of our friendship skills.
Good friends Devin and Drew head out to find a hoop...
After lunch we took a short drive over to NN Park where we found the Discovery Center to be closed...even though the website said it's open Wednesday-Sunday during the summer (is it not "summer" yet?!) While disappointed, it gave us extra time to explore a trail and learn a little about the Civil War history that took place in and around the park. A return trip to visit the Discovery Center will be in our future.
Everyone was excited to see turtles of all sizes swimming right up to the bridge. It's hard to see them in the photo, but there were a lot of them. Maybe they wanted us to feed them, as they seemed to extend their necks way above the water and look at us with pleading eyes!
Enough turtle watching, now we're off to see what's on the trail. Another hiker told us he had seen a black snake...but we chose to go anyway...
We never saw any snakes, but there were squirrels, birds, and butterflies. There were a lot of places to relax and take in the nature, and here you see that there's always room for one more on a park bench! Yay for Friends Day!
Bo loves to read and he enjoys history, so finding informational signs was a bonus for him. He found out that one of the battles during the Peninsula Campaign of the Civil War took place on his birthday...128 years before he was born!
Here, Becky (who used to teach 4th grade and her favorite subject was Virginia History!) and some of the guys take a look at a picture depicting a battle and found that as the Union soldiers retreated across the water, "muskets fell like hail" around them. We tried to understand the poignancy of the scene.
On Friday we missed Bo, Sam, Chris, and Liz as all were out to attend other events. Since we only had 12 and it was cooking day, we decided to make everyone a sous-chef in order to make our pasta salad. Some of the girls prepared veggies...
Kacie sauteed the chicken.
These guys whipped up our dressing of Greek yogurt, Ranch seasoning, and milk. We opted for a low-fat, no mayonnaise option...and it was great!
Laura helped "cut the cheese" for the salad! Hee-hee!
Thank you to the clean up crew!
In other Friday action, this group went to help the PTA pack up the Book Fair books!
We also spent time in the garden just looking around at how lush it's become and discovering more than what was growing. Here, we spot a bug in the process of laying eggs on a squash plant leaf.
Turns out, this is probably what is called a squash bug, and it's not good for the plant. From www.almanac.com: Squash bugs are the bane of a gardener’s existence! They are very difficult to kill and cause havoc. Squash bugs are most commonly found on squash plants (hence the name), but they also often appear on pumpkins. Their damage is limited to the cucurbit family. Other pests that are commonly found on squash include squash vine borers.
Squash bugs are often mistaken for stink bugs, as they are similar in appearance and both have a foul odor when squashed. However, stink bugs are wider and rounder than squash bugs.
The Grove Community Garden is full of beautiful growth now. We have been amazed at its transformation over the past few weeks.
Friday afternoon's Choice Time was quieter than usual, probably because our resident pool players, Sam and Chris, were off in Richmond for the Special Olympic games! We had several friends who decided to work on puzzles. Here, Chloe and Xavier work side by side on different ones, while Meghan, Alexis and Patrick collaborate on a challenging puzzle of the USA. Over on the sofa, Kate and Devin enjoy looking at a book together.
Over on the other side of the room, Kevin worked on a puzzle and Devin had switched from looking at a book to building with Legos. In the background, Nan and Laura also worked on a puzzle together. (We didn't get a picture of Kacie crafting with pipe cleaners and Josie surfing the web...but they were happily enjoying quiet Choice Time, too!)
Finally, we would like to offer this little nugget of dancing wisdom...from CNN News, of why dancing may be good for our brains! Our associates haven't seen this yet, as Lisa just caught it herself on Saturday morning...but we will share this with them next week! Dance on, everyone!
Thus ends another great week at the AoA. Here's what's up for next week:
Tuesday: We travel to Freedom Park for our last session with the Master Gardeners. Since we anticipate the weather to be hot and humid, we will come back to AFCC for lunch and will prepare the Arc's July mailing. It's the last week to order school lunches...and the menu includes pizza. So anyone who wishes, can order school lunch today! Please wear Arc shirts!
Wednesday: Some of our associates will assist the school with serving refreshments at the 5th Grade Graduation Ceremony, and others may help in other ways. This is an exciting culmination to our volunteer experiences with the school! Lunch is on your own, and on the school menu is Buffalo Mac and Cheese. Remember, this is the last week to order school lunches. :-(
Thursday: Lunch on your own. The main thing you need to know about today is it's the last day to order from the school cafeteria! The menu is "Special of the Day." Take a chance!
Friday: It's National Flip-Flop Day so flip-flops are OK today! (Might want to bring sneakers as well...in case the weather is reasonable and we can go outside...) We will prepare a lunch of hot dogs with chips, and try our hands at making deviled eggs!
Reminder: T-shirt ordering will close on Monday. All shirts that have been ordered will hopefully be ready before the end of the week. We will pick them up from the vendor and send them home via the associates.
http://thearcdaysupport.deco-shirts.com/
Have a great weekend!
Lisa, Carol, and Nan
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