Happy New Year!

Welcome 2018 and Happy New Year to all of our AoA families and friends!  We appreciate the support of all of you and look forward to heading into our third year of the program in March!

All of our friends missed each other while we were on Winter Break...we could tell by the hugs and smiles they greeted each other with on Tuesday morning!  At the bowling center, it was a joyful and fun morning as they cheered for each other and seemed not to have lost their touch!

Here, Cameron and Patrick celebrate the first strikes (on their first rolls) of the year!

Drew dropped (by choice) onto the floor when his roll didn't go the way he hoped, but Kevin and Patrick prepared to rush to his side thinking he may have been hurt!  This got a good laugh out of everyone!

Lunchtime rolled around and brought this...

And Devin unveiled this:  his pudding cup turned snowman!  Seems he may have had some inside info... ☃❄☃❄

When Chloe wasn't feeling well, Sam stepped up to finish her turns, all the while finishing his own one lane over.

It was rather chilly outside, but after bowling we made a quick stop by the Rec Center on Longhill to scour the ground for pine cones.  Friday is National Bird Day and we plan to use the pine cones to make bird feeders.  It wasn't too bad in the sunshine!  And we've never seen "kids" pick up pine cones so quickly!

Wednesday began with our Dance Warm Up!  Here's our very own break dance instructor, Sam, giving Josie a lesson.  She's catching on pretty quickly!

In anticipation of the snowstorm, we decided to make pine cone bird feeders instead of waiting until Bird Day, which is Friday.

We made these several times last winter, but for Cameron, it was his first time.  He spread the peanut butter very neatly!

It was also Xavier's first time, but he needed some prodding from Carol to "stick" with it!  

Look at the concentration!

We've mentioned before that most of our friends aren't crazy about sticky, gooey projects.  So we are always excited to see them work beyond their comfort zone.  Here, Kevin and Drew roll their peanut butter covered pine cones in the seed mixture.

As usual, Sam is encouraging.  😊

There isn't a lot to do in the community garden during the colder months, so the bird feeders are our contribution!

We also put some extra feed in these bird feeders that were in the garden, but empty.  We hope the birds enjoy their extra food supply during the Snow Days!  

Hello from this group of computer lab geeks!

Wednesday is Yoga Day with Patti!  She brings a peaceful calmness to our otherwise busy, busy days, and we enjoy this!  Our guys have already established a great rapport with her.  We hope to have mats next week so we can practice on the floor!

Patti is teaching us more than just yoga moves.  We learned a bit of anatomy and some Sanskrit words.  Here, she teaches us that "tadasana" means "mountain" in English and the pose is standing upright, with our feet grounded and our arms/hands open by our sides...it's a strength pose that we can engage in when we need to ground ourselves!

We also learned that poses which incorporate hand motions are called "mudra."  We had reached up high to grab energy and were now pulling it close to our bodies via the lotus position with our hands.  Once we finished, Patti asked if we felt differently and the responses varied from "sleepy," "relaxed," and "energetic" to "breathing better."  Yay, yoga!

We left Wednesday afternoon still not sure we would see snow, as nothing was happening yet.  Here's the view from Lisa's deck on Thursday morning.  We're sure you all have a similar one!  Looks like we won't be back at AFCC until Tuesday, so enjoy the Snow Days and stay safe and warm!

We have a lot planned for next week, which includes making up for some things we missed due to the snow.  Here's what you need to know...

Tuesday:  It's Law Enforcement Appreciation Day so we are going to prepare a tray of cookies and some cards in the morning for our officers in blue.  After lunch, we will head over to JCC Police Headquarters for a tour!  🚓👮 Lunch on your own and please wear Arc shirts!

Wednesday:  We will mark Save the Eagles Day and also make-up for Bird Day which we missed due to snow.  Lots of educational activities today!  We will celebrate Spaghetti Day, which we also missed due to snow, by making spaghetti for lunch.  🍝  AND, it's Yoga with Patti today, so dress comfortably for movement! 

Thursday:  It's National Milk Day!  Lunch is on your own, but we will have various flavors of milk to sample, including lactose free!  We ran out of time last Wednesday to celebrate Drinking Straw Day since we had to make bird feeders ahead of the snowstorm, so we will take advantage of Milk Day to have a belated Drinking Straw Day celebration!  Only we can make this FUN!  Hehe! 🥛🥛🥛

Friday:  It's EATON Day!  Jorie and company have asked us to return to their site and spend a day working on various tasks!  Jorie seems to think this could become a weekly (or almost, depending on demand) opportunity for us.  Bring a lunch (no cafeteria orders) and wear your Arc shirts!  We will provide music to work by and a surprise treat on the way back to AFCC! 😲

Peace,

Lisa, Carol, and Nan