Happy Mother's Day 2018

Our busy week got off to a good start on Tuesday when we visited not one, but two lovely gardens.  We began at the Botanical Garden at Freedom Park with our MG friends for our biweekly "Therapeutic Tuesday" session.  We gathered around the tables as Karen reviewed what we did last time and gave us an overview of what to expect today.

We got to harvest fresh veggies.  These girls are pulling up onions!

Chloe picked spinach, and we also harvested some lettuce.  We planned to make a fresh green salad to go with our lunch on Wednesday!

There was planting to do as well.  Here, Laura digs a hole to plant some parsley.

Many hands make light work as Kate helps MG Carolyn and volunteer, Beverly, place tomato plants.  Couldn't get their faces because of the trellis being in the way!  We welcome Beverly T., whose son JD is an Arc friend of ours, as our newest volunteer.  We apologize for not getting a welcoming picture...we will fix that next time!

Sam planted marigolds in the corners of this bed.  At another bed, Chris also planted marigolds and Kacie and Xavier planted zinnia and nasturtium seeds.  We'll have big bursts of color in the garden soon.

The MGs always bring things from their own gardens to share with us.  Pat had some lovely Chinese ground orchids, which looked like mini-versions of regular orchids.  Very pretty!

When the MGs put their samples together, it makes for a colorful bunch.  We enjoy learning what these flowers are.  Among the flowers they brought this week were a bearded iris, larkspur, and a peony.  Later in the day, we spotted some of these same flowers at the garden we visited in CW.

While we were having lunch in the picnic area we ran into Tracy and Ellie.  They were stopping by with Maggie (brown shirt), the summer intern!  Yay, a new friend!

We also stopped by our favorite playground at WISC for a few minutes before heading to CW.  Laura got in on the action and tried to hide from us in this tunnel!

Devin, who mastered the rock wall last week, decided to master the curved ladder this week.

After a good workout on the playground, we went to CW where we met MG Barbara for a tour of the George Reid Garden.  She explained that the MGs volunteer here and at the Shields Tavern Garden three times a week.  No wonder these gardens are so beautiful!

Barbara showed Kate how the snapdragon petals seemed to "snap" at her finger if squeezed just the right way.

A few friends posed behind a cabbage patch and in front of colorful flowers!

On the way back to the vans we spotted sheep, but the photographer must have missed them...

We didn't have a Rotary volunteer this week, but we got our computers out on Wednesday morning and worked in small groups to write thank you notes to Barbara, our MG friend, who showed us around the Reid Garden at CW yesterday.  

Sam, Kacie, and Alexis put their heads together to compose a nice note.

Carol worked with Laura, Chris, Xavier, and Kevin to come up with a thoughtful note, too.

Liz was great working with Devin and Drew to get their input and incorporate it into a sweet note.

Cameron, Kate, Patrick, and Chloe took turns typing their gracious note.   

Each group worked with Lisa to edit and print and then with Nan to finalize their card.  Here are the finished products.  Great job, guys.  Barbara will love them!  (Update:  Alexis and Lisa dropped the cards at Barbara's front door since she wasn't home.  She sent an email message saying they were a very nice surprise when she got home and to let everyone know how much she enjoyed having us in the garden! ⚘⚘⚘)

Wednesday was Butterscotch Brownie Day.  We tried to celebrate last year but our brownies were mushy in the middle.  This year, Chloe and Kacie whipped up the ingredients and popped the pan into The Nina.

Here's what came out!  (Nuts on one-half.)  They were perfectly baked...moist and delicious!

Look at this GORGEOUS salad bar!  It's the lettuce, spinach, and onions we harvested at the Freedom Park garden on Tuesday.  We added strawberries and pecans and had a perfect side to go with our lunch!

Patti came for yoga and taught us another pose that is good for focusing on being mindful.  First, we stretched.  She was warming us up for a spider walk!

This is the spider walk.  Several of our friends did it with ease...wow!  It takes a lot of arm and back strength.

Others had fizzled by the time we took this picture, but Patti, Kacie, and Chris were still going!  Little by little, we are getting stronger.

At Jorie's request, we came to Eaton on Thursday this week, instead of Friday.  It didn't really matter to us.  We were ready to work!

Kevin and Patrick assembled photo cell plates.  Kevin is an old hand at this, but for Patrick, twisting the washers into place was a new skill.  He mastered it by mid-morning!

Bo worked on attaching gaskets.   He's using a wooden block Carol's husband Gene made that helps hold the plastic piece in place so the sticky gasket can be strategically placed.

Kacie and Kate made a good team as they worked on unpacking these parts.  Kate was appreciative of Kacie showing her a "three finger way" to rip open the plastic bag!  🖐

In the outer room, Meemaw had the her (😜) power tool and Cameron, Bo, Xavier, and Chris kept her in business.  They added nuts and bolts to the power slide doors so Meemaw could tighten them.

On the other side of the room, Sam unpacked power slide doors at just the right pace for Liz to insert windows and Chloe, Alexis, and Nan to add the labels.

Look at our assembly line!

Best buddies Drew and Devin were needed for their muscles today.  We had a number of tubs full of parts that needed to be relocated.  It took some practice, but they figured out the best way to maneuver without spilling any of the tubs!

A new task for Laura today was pulling a large piece of tape off of these parts.  She worked happily and sang along to the Disney tunes playing in the background.

Becky used the box cutter to open boxes that Devin helped empty out while Drew and Patrick took a turn taking other boxes out to the recycle bin.

It was a busy day at Eaton, with a multitude of tasks to be completed, but everyone worked diligently until we were done.  Jorie thanked us for all we have done over the past few weeks and said we had caught them up on power slide doors and unpacked parts.  So we will take a week (or maybe two) off until she gets a shipment in, then we will be back at work. 😊

Meemaw surprised us by treating us to Frosties from Wendy's on the way back to AFCC.  Time was running short, so Lisa's van went through the drive-thru and ordered 16 of them.  The crew at Wendy's, led by a fellow named Gary, cheerfully filled our order and said we made their day!  Thank you, Meemaw!  YOU made our day!

Friday was busy, but fun!  After our dance warm up we made thank you notes for Meemaw and the workers at Wendy's, all of whom were thoughtful in making sure we had Frosties yesterday.  

We also prepared The Arc's June mailing.  It's packed full of information this time, including a letter from our executive director and a list of ten ways to support The Arc.  Please take a moment to read!  For those wishing to sign up for June activities (including the Spring Dance!!!!), make sure to send your signup sheet to Bette Faye by the deadline date.

We finally got around to celebrating Cinco de Mayo, which gave us a chance to have Mexican food for lunch!  Cameron helped color some pictures to use for decorations.

Sam and Patrick mixed up the dough for churros, which we baked instead of fried. 

Kacie used a pastry bag to spread the dough on the baking sheets.  

 At the same time, we celebrated the birthday of our favorite Bocce Ball coach, Ms. Teri, who graciously treated us to soft tacos for lunch.  Here, she poses with our churros, which we rolled in cinnamon sugar after baking.  They were pretty tasty!  Thanks, Coach Teri, for a yummy lunch AND for always being willing to bring in the equipment and set us up for fun Bocce Ball times! 

It was quite warm outside, and the field was a little muddy after last night's storm, but our guys played Bocce with enthusiasm and showed Coach Teri that they haven't lost their touch!

We had several different winners this time!  

After Bocce, we finished up our Mother's Day keepsakes, the ones we worked on last week with Christina at the CW Art Museums.  We hope the moms and grandmoms like them. We aren't publishing a picture of the final product, as our guys want to surprise their moms and grandmoms on Sunday, but here's a picture of some of them with a paper flower we made!

Before we knew it, we were at the end of another whirlwind week! 

 Here's what's coming up next week:

Tuesday:  Time for bowling and pizza for lunch!  Hopefully the weather will be comfortable enough for a walk after bowling.  It's looking kind of warm. 🌞😎 Wear Arc shirts!

Wednesday:  It's Tree Day so we will learn some fun facts about trees, and continue working on our attempts to attract birds to the area outside our room by making more bird feeders.  (No hummingbirds have found our feeder yet. 😕)  It's also Yoga Day, so dress comfortably.  Lunch on your own.

Thursday:  We're going to start working on painting the rocks we collected along the parkway recently, and talk about places around town we could place them for others to find.  It's Cherry Cobbler Day so we will bake today and learn about cherries, too!  Lunch on your own.

Friday:  It's Xavier's birthday so we will celebrate his special day with cupcakes at lunch time. 🎂🎈 We'll also finish painting our rocks.  Please bring a bag lunch AND wear your Arc shirt.  Weather permitting, we will picnic at Newport News Park and then visit their Discovery Center for a look at nature and historical exhibits.

Wait, there's more: 

Plan ahead!  We will be going to Kingsmill on Tuesday, May 29th for our first pool outing of the season, courtesy of Kate's family.  More details to come, but get your swimsuits ready! 🏊

The Zumbathon fundraiser is May 28th from 10:00-11:30 at Iron Bound Gym in Newtown!  We welcome, and very much appreciate, your support of The Arc of Greater Williamsburg!

Save the date:  Saturday, August 4th - The Women of the Moose are sponsoring a golf tournament at the Kingsmill River Course that will benefit The Arc!!  This has potential to be a HUGE fundraiser for us, so please consider signing up or being a sponsor.  ALSO, we will need some of our AoA associates to volunteer on that day.  More details coming in an email next week.

WOW - this is a lot to digest.  Feel free to reread!!  🔎

💙💛 Thank you for enduring support!! 💚💜

Happy Mother's Day to our fabulous moms, grandmoms, aunts, and friends who are like moms! 🌺🌼🌹

Lisa, Carol, and Nan