Quiet Week

For the most part it was kind of quiet at the AoA this week.  Maybe that's because we are saving our excitement for next week...we have big plans for Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year!  More on that later.  Here's what we were up to this week:

It was exciting to find out on Tuesday morning that our friend Josie was coming to hang out with us at bowling AND that we would get to celebrate her birthday!  So instead of starting the week with a dance warm up, we made lovely birthday cards for her.  We have missed her since she moved a few weeks ago and we didn't get to have an "official" good bye because her last day fell on a snow day!

Chris and Kate looked over the cards with her.

Her parents joined us and brought this tasty treat!  

Wonder what she wished for?!

We had 🍕🍕🍕 before cake, though!  Thanks again to Kate's family for sponsoring our lunch this week!

We also bowled!  Here, Josie prepared to roll and Cameron watched his ball knock down the two pins he needed for a spare! 🎳

Devin had a couple of strikes today but in this shot, he was going for a spare.  He didn't make it this time, but his effort was stellar.  And the best part?  His ball didn't hit the bumpers!

Our dear friend Patti also surprised us with a pop in visit today.  She couldn't stay long, but it was great to see her!  She told us our friends at the Williamsburg Moose Lodge LOVED the thank you note we sent recently.  Remember the one with the golf theme?!  😍

We had time for a brisk (and it was brisk!) walk after bowling.  We only went a short distance since it wasn't as sunny or warm as the forecast had predicted.

But it was just enough to clear our minds and give us a boost of energy to finish the afternoon!

On Wednesday we celebrated Send a Card to a Friend Day by secretly exchanging names and making special notes for each other.  Everyone had to keep the name of the person they got a secret until the big reveal.  This led to a bit of excitement!

Kate put a creative touch on a message for Kacie.

Devin shared his message to Sam and then received a thank you hug!

Liz listened intently as Cameron read his sweet message saying what a kind friend and good helper she is.

Turns out Chris had Laura's name and she had his name, which pleased them both.  They go back a few years since they used to swim together for Special Olympics.  After Laura read her message to Chris they shared a warm and friendly hug.

Kacie read her note to Devin.  You can see the captive audience in the background.  

Bo had Alexis's name.  They go all the way back to middle school together.  You can see the effect of years of friendship in this picture of them, which delighted Patrick.  Our guys enjoyed this activity and were happy to both give and receive heartfelt messages to each other!

Since Yoga Patti was out for training, we practiced to a stretching video to keep ourselves limber until she returns!

Our Wednesday science lesson was about light and shadows.  These friends successfully completed an activity of matching figures with their shadows.

Xavier was our science model.  We wanted to show that if multiple light sources were used, we would see multiple shadows.

Becky reminisced about having fun with shadow plays while camping as a child.  That inspired our guys to create hand shadows!

Sam decided to project his shadow on the floor!

Look at Laura's butterfly!  Who knew shadows could be so much fun?  

We also watched some video clips about amazing hand shadow performances, including this one.

 Pretty cool, we thought!  It's fascinating what people can do with their hands!

We had a number of tasks to complete on Thursday morning.  With Valentine’s Day coming next week (can you believe that?), Sam and Kacie worked on creating a heart-inspired garland. 

There was some Eaton work that needed to be completed at AFCC so Nan worked with Chloe, Liz, Alexis, and Bo to get it done.

Cameron, Xavier, and Chris did a job that seemed very simple, but was a huge help.  They organized our construction paper into neat color-coded piles and then made a list of which colors we needed to purchase so we could move ahead with upcoming Springtime projects! 

 Down in the kitchen there was work to be done.  Patrick, Devin, and Drew prepared grapes to take to Eaton for our Pizza Lunch on Friday.

Laura and Kate prepared brownies for the Pizza Luncheon.  However, they wouldn’t be coming along with the grapes on Friday…

Our brownies didn't bake well!  Our over-sized toaster ovens are good for cookies, pigs in a blanket, garlic bread, and the like…but when it comes to baking cakes and casseroles, they don’t heat evenly enough to thoroughly cook the insides without burning the outsides.  We have tried changing the temperature, rotating the pans during baking, and changing the height of the rack, but we just can't get it right.  We aren’t complaining…we’ll continue to adapt because that’s what we do!  Meanwhile, Carol planned to stop by the store Thursday afternoon and pick up some dessert (already baked, of course) for our Friday Pizza Luncheon!😜

Many of our friends are looking forward to watching the Winter Olympics, so we postponed our plans for dental health lessons and went with Winter Olympics instead.  We brushed up on the facts by finding PyeongChang on the map and checking out the official Olympics website to see which countries were participating and how many athletes they were sending.  We also learned about some of the more unusual events like skeleton, luge, and curling.

Liz has a cousin who has been to Winter Olympics in years past and had given her some souvenirs.  Here, she showed pins her cousin collected.

During group time, we worked on Olympic themed lessons.  Becky looked on as Patrick and Chris used calculators to complete math problems.

These girls decided to not use calculators.  They did as well as the guys!  😊

Chole concentrated on finding coordinates on this grid picture.

We ended the day with a relay game.  There were lots of laughs as the friends tried to pass the ball quickly over their heads all the way down the line and then back to the front.  It got their hearts pumping, too!

We were a little short handed on Friday, with three friends out and one coming late from an appointment, but we got an early start and headed to Eaton.  With it being National Pizza Day, we were  anxious to get our morning work done!

First up, Carol coached Cameron, Alexis, and Kate on using two screws to attach small metal plates to a plastic part.  By the way, nice shirts, guys!

Here is a close up of Alexis working on one of them.  We completed almost 500 today.

Next, Carol got Drew, Chloe, Patrick, Devin, and Chris busy working on separating and sorting parts.

Soon, Patrick and Drew were reassigned to work on inventory.  Most of our friends are adept at multiple tasks!

Laura worked cheerfully as she ran parts from one table to another so her friends could work efficiently. 🏃  Xavier stayed focused on inserting the screws.

Happy National Pizza Day to us!!!  🍕🍕🍕  And a huge thank you to Devin and his family for sponsoring our lunch today!  A sure bet with this group is pizza!!🍕🍕🍕

Here we are in the Eaton break room with our full tummies...right before Carol said, "Back to work!"  (Just kidding...the gang enjoyed Choice Time before resuming our tasks!)

When it was really time to get back to work, Becky and Nan helped Alexis with labeling while Devin kept the tables free of trash and Kate moved parts to other tables.

Chris and Sam worked quickly to insert the nuts and bolts so Meemaw could have at it with her power tool!  Thanks to her and Becky for helping us today!

Chris and Sam also found time to help Delmar from Eaton load this bin.  Wow!  Our guys get around! 🗲🗲🗲

It was another successful Friday working on our internship at Eaton.  When we returned to AFCC we discussed all the skills we are building when we work there, including teamwork, focus, problem solving, accuracy, and specialized skills like assembly, classifying, sorting, and packing.  And that's just for starters!  Our guys have so much pride after a day at work. We are grateful for this opportunity!

We have a lot to look forward to next week.  Here's what's happening:

Tuesday:  We will spend the morning making final preparations for our Valentine's Party and assembling The Arc's March newsletter mailing.  After lunch on our own, we will visit with Kate's cousin, Katy, at Studio South in Lightfoot.  Katy visited us recently and invited us to come to her yoga studio where she will work with us to complement what Patti does with us on Yoga Wednesdays.  Katy plans to include some mindfulness activities and a few surprise challenges.  If this seems to be a good experience for us, it will become a regular outing!  Please wear Arc shirts and comfy pants!

Wednesday:  It's Valentine's Day and we will p-a-r-t-y!!!  Lunch on your own but we will make dessert and there are usually lots of treats when the friends exchange valentines.  We'll also have games, crafts, "brain" work, and of course...dancing!!!!  Feel free to be as "dressy" or "nondressy" as you please.  You don't want to miss this! 💖💗💘 (No yoga today as Patti is still at training.  We will do some stretching but you'll be ok in your Valentine outfits.)

Thursday:   It's Chinese New Year (tomorrow) and we are celebrating with a great day of cooking, art, and culture!  Ms. Teri is joining us and we hear she's got some surprises in store!  Chinese chicken and pork dishes for lunch, prepared by our associates themselves! You don't want to miss this, either!

Friday:  We will work at Eaton today.  It's also National Almond Day so we will incorporate that within our work day!  We have been saying that Arc shirts are optional, but now we've decided they look great on us and give us a more professional feel, so from here on out, please wear Arc shirts to Eaton!  Thank you!

The weather forecast for next week looks a bit dreary, but we will keep it bright and light at the AoA!  Looking foward to a fun week!

Until then, have a great weekend!

Lisa, Carol, and Nan