BIG Week Went Well!

Our BIG week began on Tuesday when the site visit for the Impact 100 grant took place.  Several members of the Impact 100 team met Pam M. at the AFCC and spent a couple of hours having questions answered, observing operations, and chatting with staff and associates.  From our perspective, it went very well!

We set up several stations to give the visitors a sampling of what we do on a typical day.  Liz, Devin, and Drew were in the kitchen helping to prepare our lunch of lemon chicken and garden salad.

  

In the main room, we had Carol and volunteer Nancy working with several associates on Eaton tasks.  Nan was working with a group showing community service as they sorted clothing for the JRES clothes closet.  And our volunteer Becky had yet another group demonstrating a continuing education activity.  ALL of these groups were focused on their work and we didn't get any pictures, but you can imagine the buzz going on in that room!  We would like to thank Nancy and Becky for being on hand to help us provide a well-balanced representation of what we do at the Arc of Abilities.  We are pretty sure the site visitors left with a thorough understanding of our program.  Now, we wait a week or so with fingers crossed to see if we make it to the "final five."  

Besides being the Impact 100 site visit day, Tuesday was also Lemon Meringue Pie Day so we actually began the day (after our morning dance session) by making a lemon meringue pie...from scratch!  We learned it really isn't that hard and the toughest part is waiting for it to chill so it can be cut and eaten!  A lot of our friends didn't seem to have a solid grasp of the fact that eggs have yolks and whites, which had to be separated for the recipe.  We decided we will revisit eggs next week and let our guys try their hands at cracking and separating them.  We will be sure to get pictures of that!

Alexis and Kacie juiced lemons.

The aroma of the filling freshened up our room!

Becky taught us how to "peak" the meringue before popping it in the oven.

Yum!

Knowing that our morning dance wasn't enough movement to justify the pie...we hit the gym later in the day for an encore of Friday's Four Corners game.  We played several rounds!

We had a big day Wednesday when we traveled to Sam's neighborhood pool for some wet and wild fun!  It was warm and sunny, and not very crowded.  Perfect conditions for a pool party!

Xavier, Drew, and Devin weren't sure about the water temperature at first, but they were soon soaked and in for the long haul...or at least until lunch time!

Here, Alexis and Devin enjoy tossing the football.

Carol, Drew, Josie, and Devin had their eyes on some action across the pool, but Laura gave the photographer a smile!

Sam and Kacie enjoyed hanging out together on the ice cream float!

Xavier spent more time in the water than anyone and did a lot of jumping and splashing.  We know he must have slept well that night!

Others preferred to show us how to take it easy...here's Sam after a couple of hours in the water.

Patrick and Josie found some shade after their swim.

As did Chloe and Kevin!

We had a delicious lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, chips, and baked beans graciously provided by Teri and it really hit the spot!  She also surprised us with ice cream treats which were the perfect ending to an awesome lunch.  THANK YOU, Teri, for sponsoring this very fun and relaxing outing.  We truly appreciate your hospitality!

It was a big surprise when Michael had to reschedule this week's Tai Chi class from Wednesday to Thursday.  We were happy to see him, and our class was light and fun, with lots of giggles as we tried to get our arms and legs going in opposite directions! 

Bo found a semi-private spot and focused on slow and steady movements.

We ended the class with a little stretch Michael calls "Hug Yourself!"

Turns out it was a big week for getting active, with swimming, Tai Chi, dancing, and many trips to the gym.  We're going to miss having anytime access to the gym when the school kids come back...

Mr. Howard enjoys stopping by the gym when we're in there.  Kacie challenged him to some hoop shooting and it looks like she did pretty well!

Since we were sort of on a lemon theme this week, we tried writing "invisible and secret messages" with lemon juice and then warming them up over a small flame (staff and volunteers only!) to see what they said.  Here, Chloe gets her message on the paper.

Looks like we got someone's message a little too close to the flame, but Chloe's shout out to her mother took shape very nicely.

It took Becky a few tries to realize she needed to get that secret message a lot closer to the heat source...Patrick told her to take her time!

Guess you had to be there to really read them, but surely you can tell Devin's secret message is no secret at all...we know how much he loves a Frosty!

Suddenly it was Friday and we realized we needed to have a big work session!  We got busy on Eaton parts...

 and organizing math manipulatives (for the JRES math resource teacher)...

and slicing up lots of peppers and onions for our fajitas, which were yummy!

We even sneaked a picture of Nancy working on Eaton parts.  She's a whiz at this!

We also squeezed in some math during our small groups.  Nan's group worked on patterns.

Becky's group completed a mathematical crossword puzzle.  We love her joy here as Chloe really thinks something through and gets it.  Becky's a retired teacher...but do teachers ever really retire?

Lisa's group raced each other in a matching game.

Carol and Drew worked on fine motor skills.

Later, the gang loved getting into small groups and creating an original story using some randomly assigned words.

We also spent some time Thursday and Friday discussing the upcoming eclipse and we look forward to hearing our friends tell of their experiences with it.  Be safe observers, everyone!

We ended Friday with a chopstick and lemon relay.  Harder than it looks since the oddly shaped lemons don't roll the way you want them to!

Thus ended one of our "biggest" weeks ever!  Stay tuned to see how it goes with our quest to make the Impact 100 "final five!"

Actually, for some of us, the week will continue Friday and Saturday nights as we help our friends at the Williamsburg Moose Lodge with their after-golf tournament banquets.  MANY THANKS to Kevin, Chloe, Sam, Chris, Alexis, Josie, Laura, and Patrick for being able to help us with this annual community service project.  Photos in next week's update!

Meanwhile, here's what's up for next week:

Tuesday:  It's back to bowling with pizza for lunch.  Please wear Arc shirts...and be prepared for a surprise stop (or two) after bowling!

Wednesday:  It's birthday time!!  We will celebrate Laura with a lunch of cheese quesadillas and watermelon...followed by homemade chocolate ice cream made in our very own machine which Laura's family is donating in honor of her birthday!  Aren't we lucky!  THANK YOU, Palmer Family!  It's also Tai Chi day so dress accordingly!

Thursday: It's National Peach Pie Day and we are planning to celebrate with a lighter and healthier "Peach Pie Boat."   It will also be Gym, Gym, and More Gym Day...and Dance Your Bottom Off Day, too!  Even healthy pie comes at a cost!  😉 Dress for action today!  Lunch on your own.

Friday:  It will be an "egg"-cellent day!  We will have lots of fun with eggs, including trying to walk on them!  (They are incredibly strong!) We will also try to master boiling and peeling them!   Lunch on your own, but hard-boiled eggs will be available! 

Coming soon...

Mark your calendars for the Jamestown Jams concert on Friday, September 1st at Jamestown Beach Park.  The band is "Party of Four" and they will rock you out with 90s music.  Admission is free, food trucks are onsite, and The Arc benefits from the beer sales!

Please remember that The Arc's 5K is coming up on October 7th and be sure to register if you haven't already.  We would like to extend our thanks to Patrick's dad, Charles, for being a sponsor!

Register Here for the 5K 

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT:  The Arc received a grant from the Williamsburg Rotary for around $9,000 which we will use to create a Learning/Technology Lab!  We are in the process of purchasing laptop computers and programs as well as needed equipment like printers, a copier, a camera, and storage cabinets.  We hope to have this in place by mid September and will honor our donors with a Rotary Appreciation Day!

Have a great weekend!

Lisa, Carol, and Nan