Nice Weather Week

We enjoyed some very nice weather this week so we got outside as often as possible.  It was also a busy week, with new visitors and many things on our to-do list. 

We began the week on Tuesday with bowling and pizza!  Special thanks to Laura's family for springing for our pizza today!  It was tasty, as usual! 

Everyone warmed up at the center before we left and it paid off at the lanes.  We had a LOT of spares and strikes today and Sam even bowled a 161!  
Check out this pic of Devin with Kacie and Pat as he showed them his new bowling ball!  He was excited today!

How did these 3 pins get left standing?!  This was a first for us and we thought it was cool!  And check out the action over on lane 1! 

It was warm enough to go to Freedom Park after bowling and take a walk on one of our favorite trails.  

These friends could be off to see the wizard.  Or maybe they are just enjoying walking together!

We headed over to the Botanical Garden and Kacie and Devin spotted this sign of what's to come...Spring!

Alexis checked out the progress of the onion and garlic bulbs we planted last October.  They look very healthy.

Carol pointed out new growth on many of the trees and bushes in the garden.  We will stop by again after bowling in two weeks to see more changes.

We don't know what this tree is, but it was covered in pinkish buds.  We're looking forward to April when we will start our Spring sessions with the master gardeners.

On the way back to the van we spotted the sun coming out!  Hope it sticks around a while!

It was a joyful day on Wednesday as we prepared to celebrate Heike's birthday!  Our guys always make thoughtful cards, but they put a little extra sweetness in these since Heike is such a sweetie herself!

Cameron took time to fill the cupcake pan with liners so we could bake birthday cupcakes.

Another thing we celebrated on Wednesday was our partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Williamsburg.  They generously provided us with a computer lab that we have been enjoying since last Fall.  Now, some of the members are going to volunteer to help our friends advance their skills in computer literacy, math, and reading!  Here, Dave works with Chris and Alexis on solving math problems ranging from addition and subtraction to telling time and working with money.  Thank you Williamsburg Rotary...we look forward to working with you each week!

The basketball courts have been missed this winter!  So we are thankful for a burst of springlike weather so we can get outside and shoot!

Kevin prefers to bounce his ball and Liz likes to walk.  

Our space at JRES allows us to spread out and participate in whatever activity suits us that day.

Yep, Xavier scored and Chris rebounded!

If you don't recognize the dude on the right, it's JRES principal, Mr. Stutt.  He joined us for some outside camaraderie!  

Here's Heike posing with some of us in front of her birthday board!  She was excited that we celebrated her with breakfast for lunch.  Thanks for your friendship and all you do to help us, Heike!

There was more fun to be had on Wednesday.  Yoga Patti was back!  As we settled onto our mats, she went to the board to explain what pose we would be learning today and how it would help us.

Wow!  Warrior II can do all that?

As usual, everyone participated to the their own comfort levels.  We are making great progress.

Patti says if we keep up the good work we will increase our flexibility, too.  This is good news for us, especially the younger ones among us who haven't started to stiffen up a bit! 😉

Thursday was our Eaton Day this week.  It was a productive day, as usual!  We are very proud of our work here and Jorie and the workers at Eaton are truly grateful for the contribution we make.  Jorie told us that coming to hang out and work with us is popular among her staff and many of them volunteer to do it.  She also said she can't wait to see what we can do next!!

We caught Laura in a happy shot this week!  She sticks with any task we give her and enjoys working very much.

We also made sure to get a nice picture of Patrick this week!  Recycling is a breeze for this tall fella!

In other action, Drew and Sam worked on unpacking with Delmar.

Chris, Sam, and Devin make a game out of unpacking by tossing the trash.  That's ok...Jorie fosters an environment of fun!

Devin uses his muscles to "mash the trash" and make room for more.  Don't fret - it's just plastic bags!

Chloe and Cameron worked well together unpacking very small parts.  They had to remove one piece from each bag and discard what was left in the bag, so focus was important here.

Liz, Meemaw, and Alexis

were all smiles as they unpacked 1,000 light bulbs this week!

Over at this production line, Laura, Kevin, Kate, and Bo assembled photocell plates and also sang along to our Disney music that was playing in the background.  (We should have videotaped this!)

How about girls with power tools?!  Kacie used an electric screwdriver to loosen four screws in each of these parts...and she did about 100 of them.  She enjoyed this new job!

Liz replaced Meemaw in using the electric screwdriver to work on the powerslide doors. Meemaw was working with a group on a new assembling task. 😊

We will take next week "off" as Jorie will be traveling again, but we look forward to our next trip to Eaton and the empowering adventure that awaits us!

First thing on Friday we were met with the news that Carol would not be with us.  Her son, and our friend, David, woke up with pain in his lower leg and after having it checked found out it was a blood clot.  Further testing revealed that part of it had broken off and traveled to his lung.  He was admitted to the hospital and is responding well to his treatment. 😊 Please keep Carol, David and their family in your thoughts!

Next up on Friday was preparing for our visitors.  Besides not seeing Carol on Friday, we also found out that Arc board member Erin was sick and wouldn't be able to come for lunch. 😷  Fortunately, the newest member of the board, Adam, was still able to make it.  So we made some cards to thank him for bringing us a tasty lunch of sub sandwiches. 😋

Adam, who is an attorney for James City County, also brought along a colleague of his, Max, and we posed with them after lunch. Thanks, Adam, for lunch, and for bringing Max and hanging out with us.  Everyone agreed that you guys are pretty cool!

Not to miss a photo op, Devin got his own with Adam and Max since he was in the restroom and we didn't realize it before taking our group shot!

Back in card mode, we worked on birthday cards for our executive director, Pam.  Here, Sam reads the sweet message he wrote, much to Becky's delight.  (Remember, she's a retired teacher so she loves this kind of stuff!)

Patrick, Kacie, Drew, and Kate show their cards, which were also filled with thoughtful sentiments. Happy Birthday, Pam!  We hope you have a great upcoming year!

Something else that was really SWEET on Friday was enjoying homemade Banana Bread sent in by Kevin's mom, Debbie!  She offered to make it so we could celebrate Banana Bread Day, and boy, was it good!  Our guests enjoyed it with us at lunch, but we didn't get a picture.  😢 Sometimes we just get caught up in the moment.  Thank you, Debbie!  It was very much appreciated! 

🍌🍌🍌

And with that, our week was over.  Here's what's up for next week:

Tuesday:  We've been planning a trip to Historic Jamestowne and the weather looks nice for Tuesday.  We would also like to eat lunch onsite at the Dale House Cafe.  It took us a while to access the menu, so we didn't get to share it with the gang before leaving on Friday, but we will discuss it before leaving on Tuesday.  We will order box lunches with choice of turkey, ham, PB&J, or BBQ sandwich.  So wear Arc shirts and please bring $10 for lunch! (Gluten free sandwiches are available.)

Wednesday:  It's Yoga Day!  Ahhhh!  Dress to reach and stretch and relax!  We'll also welcome another Rotary Club volunteer to work with us in the computer lab, and study polar bears...just for fun!  Lunch on your own.

Thursday:  Typically on the first Monday of the month (Hello, March!), we would visit with Christina at the CW Art Museums.  This month, we had to move the visit to next week, so we will stay at the center today and work on ideas for March and decorations for the room.  Lunch on your own.

Friday:  Time to celebrate Chris!!!  His birthday is on Sunday so we will enjoy spaghetti for lunch and of course, cupcakes!  There will also be some fun with Dr. Seuss for Read Across America Day.  Remember, no visit to Eaton this week!

Lisa, Carol, and Nan

Celebrate Good Times

What a fun week filled with celebrations and lots of fun.  Enjoy sharing in our week!

"We" forgot the camera on Tuesday

 so we just have a few pictures taken with Lisa's phone.  But that's ok because we made up for it on Wednesday and Thursday!

First up, Chloe, Alexis, and Liz helped prepare the Arc's March mailing.  Be sure and check your loved one's schedule and send the sign up sheet to Bette Faye at the Arc office.  There are many exciting activities in March...not the least of which is the Spring Carnival on the 24th!  This is HUGE and not to be missed!!

We made more decorations for our Valentine's Party. 

After an early lunch, we loaded up and headed to Studio South in Lightfoot.  Katy Henderson, who owns Studio South and is also Kate's cousin, invited us for a yoga and mindfulness session that complimented our lessons with Patti very beautifully.  Here, we are introducing ourselves to Katy and her associate, Kylie.

We are all (including staff and Becky) encouraged to participate so taking pictures is a little tricky and we don't get a lot, but in this one, Kacie and Kate practice stretching their core by pulling their chests up from a lying down position while also trying to raise their legs off the floor!

This is Kevin practicing breathing by slowly and deeply inhaling and exhaling so as to make the feather on his tummy rise and fall.

Just like with Patti, everyone practiced in a way that was comfortable for themselves.  This is truly an empowering and stress-free time.  After our session, we posed with Katy and Kylie for a group picture.  We made plans to return again in March.  We are into this!

Wednesday dawned and brought with it a lot of excitement about Valentine's Day.  We love how much our friends enjoy this celebration of love! 💖 Here, they were working on a family Valentine.  Umm, something "fishy" was going on...

Everyone worked on their bags before lunch.  We decorated white lunch sacks so everyone would have somewhere to put their Valentines.  But later, when all that love got passed out, we realized that next year we will have to have bigger bags! 💗

Stickers everywhere!

Our volunteer Pam W. joined us today!  She is an artist at heart and always inspires our guys to get creative.

We played games, too!  In this one, everyone had 1/2 of a "broken" heart and had to find the friend with the matching 1/2 so the heart could be mended. (Yes, cue the Bee Gees on YouTube at this point! 🎝𝆕🎜𝆔 )

This took a lot of comparing heart halves with each other!

We concentrated and eventually mended all the hearts!

After lunch it was finally time to pass out Valentines.  Bo was ready to receive one from Devin!

Chris, Kate, and Cameron matched the names on their Valentines to the names on the bags.

If it looks somewhat chaotic, it's because it was!  But still, lots of fun, and the bags were stuffed when they finished!

What a pretty table the cupcakes and punch made!  Many thanks to Cameron's family for the yummy cupcakes!!

With all those sweets we had to have an extra dance session!

Cupid Shuffle, of course!

We ended the day with a game of Valentine Pictionary.  Can you guess what Kacie drew?! (Yes, cue Sam Cooke on YouTube here! 🎶🎶)

Did you know the names of the tunes we played along with our games today?!  The Bee Gees "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" and Sam Cooke's "Cupid" were the answers.  Our guys appreciate oldies! 𝆕🎝𝆔🎜 

We hope you liked your "fishy" family Valentine!  Sending a sea of love from us to you!  

The partying kept going on Thursday when we celebrated Chinese New Year, which begins on Friday.  Here, Laura and Cameron worked on decorations for the lunchroom.

Sam was on the cooking crew.  He sauteed chicken like a professional! 😉

Alexis and Kacie chopped fresh veggies.

Wow...what a stir fry! This was the chicken dish.

Our substitute photographer, Liz, got a great shot of Chris stirring the pork dish...that is of Chris without his head! 😉

Here's a close up of our tasty lunch.

We were excited to have Ms. Teri visit and share the story of how the Chinese Zodiac came to be.

Her family lived in San Francisco when Sam was young and enjoyed being around the culture of Chinatown.  She brought these items to show us, including the Fortune Cookies, which we got to sample!

She explained that these were "starter" chopsticks.  (She also brought each of us a set of wooden chopsticks, but we did not have good luck using them with our lunch. 😞)

She taught us a game to play using the starter chopsticks.

The object was to be the first one to transfer your almonds from one bowl to the other!

What focus...and handling technique, Patrick!

Liz and Drew broke open the fortune cookies and found out they have some good luck coming!

Ms. Teri had more surprises!  Before leaving she gifted each of us with a red envelope filled with coins, which is a traditional gift given from elders to young folks during Chinese New Year.  Our coins were chocolate, but we loved them just the same!  Thank you, Teri, for sharing your time and talents with us!  It's always fun when you show up!

After all that celebrating, we needed a day of work to bring us back to the real world!  We went to Eaton on Friday and spent our time helping with tasks that would aid in the efficiency of Eaton's production line.  It was mostly unpacking parts, but we didn't mind.  Jorie said the production line is thrilled to not have to stop working and unpack parts all the time!  This was a great job for us.

The parts these girls and Sam worked on were in plastic bags so they had to tear open the bags first and then take out the parts.  

Laura and Patrick worked on a similar task, and the photographer apologizes for not getting their photo today.  They were tucked quietly away on the other side of the room, working diligently on their task, and were somehow overlooked.   They are Super⭐⭐!  

At this table, Kevin and Xavier took photocells out of boxes.  Kind of like opening gifts! 

Later, Bo and Kate put the photocells into the plates.

Bo also worked with Cameron to remove parts from bags.

Here, Jorie enlisted the help of Devin and Drew to help her remove larger parts from boxes.  Jorie worked with us all day and enjoyed getting to know the associates better.  They find her hip and funny!

When the boxes piled up, she showed these guys where the recycling bin was...

Later in the morning, Jorie brought boxes of light bulbs over and Liz and Alexis unpacked them.  Yes...light bulbs!  These girls have the touch. 💡

Alexis and Sam went with Jorie to another building at Eaton and helped with more unpacking.

At the end of the day we posed with Jorie and the gift she gave us.  Kacie is holding a "Mariner," which is a small pedestal that is used to light walkways.

Back at the center, we lit the Mariner and it looked like this!  What a nice keepsake for us!

Another week in the books.  My, they are flying by...

Here's what we're up to next week:

Tuesday:  Everyone's favorite...bowling and pizza for lunch!  We are thankful for pizza sponsorship from Laura's family today! 🍕 Please wear Arc shirts and walking shoes.  It's predicted to be warm enough for a post-bowling walk, but will it be dry enough?!⛅

Wednesday:  Time to celebrate our sweet custodian, Heike! 🎂  Her birthday is on the 17th and we couldn't fit her into our schedule until today, but she's cool with that! We'll prepare breakfast for lunch.  Today is also the first day of our partnership with the Rotary Club and some of their members volunteering in our computer lab. 💻 In addition, we will mark President's Day with  educational work.  AND...Yoga Patti is back so dress for yoga moves!  Busy day today!

Thursday:  We're going to Eaton today instead of Friday!  Please bring a bag lunch and wear Arc shirts.  Wonder what Jorie will have for us to do this time?  It's also Sweet Potato Day, so we will have sweet potato cookies for a treat after work!

Friday:  We're staying at the center today because some special visitors are coming.  We will welcome Arc Board members Erin and Adam who are also bringing sub sandwiches for lunch!  Other items on the agenda include reviewing dental health and celebrating Banana Bread Day.

See you next week!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Lisa, Carol, and Nan