We Kind of Like the Clouds!

What a lot of rain we saw this week!  While some people were probably wishing it would go away, we were kind of happy to see all the cloud cover because the air conditioning in AFCC was on the fritz until Thursday afternoon!  The overcast skies helped keep the sun from making it unbearable in our rooms, where we spent as little time as possible.  We hung out in the gym a lot, where the AC was blasting, and we were thankful for that!  We are also thankful for the many donations of paper products that came in this week! Thank you, families! We are in great shape for quite a while!

Here's what we were up to during this warm week:

Our friend and former associate, Meghan, and her mom, Susan gave us a couple of bird feeders and poles! We set them out on Tuesday before leaving for bowling.  Good teamwork pouring the food into the narrow opening!

We have three hummingbirds now, but really want to see other birds.  Meghan and Susan also included some bird books in their donation, so we will be able to figure out what we're spotting!

Thanks, Meghan and Susan!  We will enjoy watching for new birds!

Everyone helped created a thank you note.  Aren't those birdies on the poster cute?!

It was great to have Pam W. back to volunteer at bowling!  She's had a busy summer and we have missed her.  Here, she and some friends are all smiles because we were enjoying pizza that we earned by making the posters last week for Coach Teri's neighborhood picnic.  Thanks, Teri!  The pizza was "super delish" (to quote her son, Sam), as usual!

Liz and Sam joined Kacie in cheering for her strike! It was so steamy and rainy outside, but a bit chilly in the bowling center, as you can see from them wearing jackets!

It was a big day for Kate!  Look at that score of 147!  She had 140 in her second game.  WOW!

After bowling we went to Studio South for yoga with Katey.  The studio is close to the bowling center, and it felt good to stretch and relax after bowling.  We tried something new this time:  using blocks.  Here, Chloe demonstrates how we sat on the block.  From here, we could cross our legs and the block would allow some of the pressure on our hips to be alleviated.  There was an element of balance involved, too!

It really is hard to get good yoga pics.  In this one, we were feeling our heart beats after doing some arm stretches.  We think the best way to show how much we enjoy yoga, is to invite our readers to come join us sometime!  

The AC was still out on Wednesday, so we had our dance warm up in the gym.  There's so much space in there, we get swallowed up!

We even moved our tables to the gym so we could work on Mr. Howard's birthday cards in the cooler area.

Don't tell Mr. Howard (😜), but we also prepared our no-bake cookies (for his birthday) in the gym!  We measured carefully and didn't spill much sugar or cocoa, and we cleaned up after ourselves!

No-bake cookies are easy and our friends were able to make them without much help from staff.  The sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa had to be brought to a boil, but we reviewed safety procedures before using our burners. 

Once we added oats, peanut butter, and vanilla, we were ready to drop the cookies by the spoonful onto wax paper to cool.

Of course we had to get some more activity before eating our cookies, so a game of dodge ball took place!

Can you spot the one who's not a regular?  It's Lexi's Gdad, who brought us freshly prepared pork bbq to make sandwiches for Mr. Howard's birthday lunch!  Thanks, Gdad and Nan (for the cole slaw).  Those sandwiches were so tasty!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Howard!

He made a wish and blew out the candle on his no-bake cookies!

By the time Patti arrived for yoga, it was raining buckets and had gotten quite dark outside.  No worries, though.  She led us through sun salutations and all was bright in our world!

We are working on strengthening our core all the time.  Here, we tried to raise our legs off the floor.

Alexis assisted Patti in leading us through the tree pose.  We think the trees outside were pretty happy with all the rain that came on Wednesday!

We welcomed a new friend on Thursday!  Devin B. (Devin #2 for us) visited the AoA for a couple of days to see if he'd be a good fit for our program.  He is!  He will be joining us in September.  No complaints from him when we had to do our continuing education work, either!  (He's a good reader!)

Lots of smiles from this group who worked on counting and spelling.

It was Amelia Earhart Day earlier this week (she would have been 121 years old on Tuesday), so we read about her accomplishments and put into perspective how significant it was for a woman to accomplish what she did in the 1930s.  These three amigos are happy because they got all the quiz answers correct!

We thought Amelia Earhart would approve of us celebrating her by playing with paper airplanes.  Here are Carol's swift hands making some planes, as a few of our friends needed help with the folding.  

No one needed help with the flying!  

We may or may not have had a few crash landings!

These dudes were serious about flying their planes...

We had time for kickball and the gym was refreshingly cool, so why not?

Kevin waited patiently for a kicker to launch the ball toward second base.

Look at these great sports!

Chris cheerfully decided to do a crossword puzzle during Choice Time so Dev B. could have a turn at playing pool with Sam!  Once Dev realized our guys make their own rules, he got right with it. 😉

We were active on Thursday, and we included Eaton work in the afternoon.  We had brought some Power Slide doors back to AFCC and they needed to be assembled.  By now, the AC had been repaired and the room was starting to cool off!

Dev B. has a good work ethic, which is necessary when working with our gang!  Here, he applied the small window piece to the door frame.  Patrick and Nan were impressed!

This jolly trio was sorting and organizing craft beads.  Laura kept them amused with some silly chit-chat, but they got the job done!

Just for fun, we reviewed states and capitals on Friday morning.  We watched a catchy sing-a-long video clip and tried to remember all the capitals, and then played a trivia game.  After that, we colored in a map to show where we live, where we have traveled, and where we would like to go.  Speaking of states and traveling, our buddy Kevin will be out next week while he travels to Alaska with his family!  Wow!

Next, it was time for open gym and that usually means basketballs flying all over the place!

Devin looked on as Chris helped Kevin with his free throw.

Sam and Dev B. hit quite a few of their shots.

Before lunch we had time to celebrate National Dance Day, which is Saturday.  We dance all the time, but today, Carol tried to teach us a basic waltz step.

At first, our guys poo-pooed the idea of dancing a waltz, and we only had four girls here today, so we had to take turns making partners.  But you can see from their smiles how much they ended up enjoying themselves!

Once we "tell" them what they are going to try, they are usually up to the challenge, and it always ends up being fun.

Still, their favorite way to dance is free-style, as this video clip makes evident!

After lunch we painted rocks.  Sam forgot to hold his pizza rock up for the camera, but Dev B. proudly showed off his Clemson paw print!

Some of our friends chose pictures from magazines, which they  decoupaged to their rocks, like we had done with the master gardeners in the Spring.  Devin does well with this technique. 

Patrick and Alexis painted sports-themed rocks.

This is a sampling of what we finished.  We're hoping for a nice weather day soon so we can hide again out in the community!

July is almost over!  Here's what's on our agenda for next week:

Tuesday:  We're traveling to the Mariners' Museum today!  We went last summer and there was so much that interested us, we couldn't resist going again, since admission is only $1.  Today we are also being treated to lunch in the cafe, courtesy of Drew's family!  Thank you so much.  This is a generous gift and we are thankful for it!  The menu consists of sandwiches, salads, and pizza.  We explored it last week and everyone will make their selection before we leave on Tuesday morning.  Let Lisa know if you have any questions about lunch!  We also plan to attend the 3D movie about the oceans, so please bring $6 for that.  AND, wear your Arc shirts!

Wednesday:  It's the first day of August so we will plan our calendar for the month.  We will use our computer lab to help us catch up on thank you notes.  Dress to stretch because it's also Yoga with Patti Day!  We'll make chili dogs and quinoa salad for lunch.

Thursday:  We're on call for Eaton so we may have an onsite work day.  😊  If not, we will celebrate Friendship Day, which is Sunday.  It's also Ice Cream Sandwich Day, so we will make homemade minis for an afternoon treat (if we are at AFCC).  Lunch on your own!

Friday:  It's time for this year's 2nd pool party!  We'll head to Sam's neighborhood for a fun day with Coach Teri who's providing a lunch of subs, chips, and watermelon!  This is our 3rd summer visiting Sam's pool and it's always a great day!  Hope for sunny weather!  Wear your suits, bring sunscreen and towel, and a change of clothes if you'd like.  Thanks Coach Teri!  This is going to be a lot of fun and we appreciate you for inviting us and providing our lunch!

🏌🏌🏌Saturday, August 4th:  It's finally here, the Women of the Moose sponsored golf tournament!  We need volunteers, wearing their Arc shirts, so please let Lisa know (if you haven't already) if you're able to help.  We have two primary shifts:  1) 7:45-11:30 and 2) 8:45-11:30.  (We need early birds at 7:45 to help with registration and then they, along with the 8:45 shift, will hit the greens to help on the holes.)  If you can volunteer somewhere in that window (for example 10:00), let Lisa know and we will try to work it out.  We should be finished around 11:30.  Patti will provide subs as a snack around 10:00 and there will be water and Gatorade on the premises.  Feel free to bring a water bottle, too.  You'll want to stay hydrated.  She suggests each person bring sunscreen and a chair, if you think you'll want to sit while waiting for golfers to come to your hole.  There will also be golf carts to move us around.  Patti hopes every golfer will have a positive interaction with several Arc friends!  We're asking caregivers to stay and help, too.  Upon entering Kingsmill, let the folks at the gate know you are going to the River Course and they will give you directions.  Carol, Nan, and Lisa will be on the lookout for you...and will have their phones with them!  THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT!  Looking forward to seeing Kacie's brother, Charlie, and Liz's dad, Greg (and friends) representing the AoA as players!!!!🏌🏌🏌

🦋🦋🦋Saturday and Sunday, August 4th and 5th:  Our Master Gardener Friends wish to remind everyone that The Butterfly Festival runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days at the Botanical Garden at Freedom Park!  There will be a butterfly release at 3:30 on Sunday!  Lots of potted plants for sale, too!  Admission is free.  For more information, visit: 

Williamsburg Botanical Garden !🦋🦋🦋

  Have a great weekend,

Lisa, Carol, and Nan