August Fun

This was a fun week for several reasons:  We changed it up at bowling lunch on Tuesday! We met an adorable 4 month old AND a college friend and both were pretty cool!  We got to practice yoga and listen to a retelling of our favorite Disney movie at the same time!  Our 4th Pool Party of the summer rocked! And Becky came back!  Here's a look at our memorable week.

Tuesday was a good day to go bowling because it was so hot and muggy outside, we would have been miserable anywhere else.  The AC was working very well, as usual, and we had a great time.  For lunch, Kate's family sponsored a "change up" and we got to choose between chicken, hot dog, or pizza...and all included fries and soda!  Doesn't it look good?

Kate's friends had no complaints about the "change up" menu!  When we got back to AFCC they happily created thank you notes.  We appreciate your generosity, Thompson Family!

We thought this was a neat shot of Drew's ball whizzing down the lane.  He has a lot of power in his roll!

Showdown!  Umm, Alexis...where's your ball?!

We had surprise visitors when Lexi's cousin Kelly stopped by with baby Haley.  Everyone has been hearing stories and seeing pictures of Haley since she was born in April, (😮) so it was nice for them to get to meet her in person!

Haley knows which one is her cuz, Alexis!

We get very excited when our friends make strikes and spares and score well!  Last time we bowled, Kate scored a group high 147.  Her record didn't last long, as Cameron got 163 today!  It's a friendly competition between all of them, and we are happy about that.  Congrats to Cameron, this week!

Tuesday was National Lighthouse Day and we missed it while bowling, so marked it on Wednesday.  After learning facts about lighthouses, such as there are more in the United States than any other country and there are more in Michigan than any other state, we created our own using Styrofoam cups.  

We also watched the video clip at this link, about a project in Chicago where adults with disabilities decorated lighthouse displays, in order to show that disabilities do not mean inabilities.

Shedding Light on Artists with Disabilities

This gave our artists inspiration for decorating their lighthouses!  Alexis chose to make a "girly" one, and Liz chose to make an "Arc" one! 

We added a little light and aren't they beautiful?  Chicago would be proud!

We tried a game where we used pool noodles as sticks and tried to keep the balls on the opponents' side of the gym.

Looks like Kevin was trying to hit two balls at the same time!  See someone new in this pic?  On the left is Courtney, a college student (studying at Liberty online for her Masters!) who was hanging out with us!  She said she was a soccer player and it was challenging not to use her feet!

It was girls vs. boys, but the balls were so fast we lost track of the score!  Everyone who played won...it was great exercise!

One of our small group activities was writing thank you notes to Sam's mom for hosting us at their pool last Friday.  Alexis was writing as fast as Sam and Chris came up with thoughts!

Representatives from each group shared the cards with us.  Everyone did a great job!  Thanks again, Teri, for a great time last Friday!

We always enjoy having guests, and our friends make them feel welcome.  At lunch, Patrick, Chloe, and Kate enjoyed getting to know Courtney.  

It had been about a month since Becky broke her foot and had to take some time off to recuperate.  We were very happy to have her back!  In fact, we were so happy giving her hugs and asking how she feels, that we didn't get a picture...until Thursday, so keep reading!  😕

Patti had to miss yoga with us on Wednesday, so we found "Frozen Yoga" on You Tube and got a good stretch and workout anyway.

We were highly engaged as the woman on the video told the story of Elsa and Anna, while having us get into various yoga positions.  She called them names like "Olaf" or "Snowflakes" or "Fast Moving Sled" and they were fun.

She also had a pleasing Australian accent!  We were engrossed and getting a great workout at the same time!  

In this yoga adventure, we were up and down a lot.  We were pleased with how active everyone was!  Courtney said she enjoys yoga, and it showed!

Fun!

On Thursday we welcomed Courtney back, and we had a busy morning dancing, reading, and preparing our lunch. 

Laura and Courtney enjoyed dancing to "Life is a Highway" during our morning warm up. 

Thursday was also Book Lovers Day so we took time to share our favorite books and enjoy reading!

Devin and Kevin traded books and read side-by-side.

Books about Arthur the Aardvark were popular.  Chloe enjoyed reading one.  Under her purse you see what she usually reads...extra thick books from the public library!  Sam and Courtney enjoyed looking through Sam's book about his recent vacation in the Outer Banks.  

Alexis and Patrick also enjoyed an Arthur book.

Laura brought a book her family created called Day Support Program and shared it with Nan.  They enjoyed seeing some of our memories from the past year.

Chris brought a huge book about the Titanic (of course!), and Cameron looked at it with him.  Kate and Drew read a book about Pooh Bear.

We couldn't resist getting a video of our guys enjoying the books!  (Courtney is seen scrolling on her phone, but she was showing us her digital books!  She's currently reading a Harry Potter book!)

After reading it was time to prepare lunch.  We were making Chicken Caesar Salad with homemade croutons and rice pudding today.  It was Rice Pudding Day!  We find it works well to divide the work among our groups and cross our fingers that everything turns out well by lunchtime!

Drew and his team of ladies worked on rice pudding.

This group made the croutons.

These guys meticulously tore lettuce leaves into bite sized pieces for the salad.

Bo grilled the chicken!

You'll have to take our word for it that lunch turned out spectacularly!  We were so busy eating, we forgot to get pictures.  The Chicken Caesar Salad with a side of Rice Pudding was as beautiful as it was delicious!  Our guys were very proud of their combined efforts!

😋😋😋

Our friends at the JRES library had left us a cart of books that needed to be prepared for discarding.  We thought Book Lovers Day would be a good time to complete that volunteer project!  Chloe, Chris, and Cameron worked diligently to remove labels from the spines of the books.

We marked Dollar Day on Thursday by working in small groups on money skills.  Even though many people use debit and credit cards these days, it's important to keep up with counting money and making change!

This group encouraged each other to count the correct amount of money needed to complete the question, and helped each other when needed. 

Carol worked with this group as they budgeted a day with $100!

Here's Becky!  After working with this group on counting money and making change, she said, "That was fun!"  She told us she missed her time with us, and we know she meant it.  We sure missed having her around, too!

Nan's group didn't practice counting money, but they still enjoyed working together on a tricky matching game.

Friday was National Lazy Day!  So we decided to chill, play Bingo, and have a Pool Party!  Here are a few pictures from our laid back day...the perfect way to end a memorable week!

Our friends love Bingo, and we love that they help each other!

Looks like Kevin and Devin are searching and Xavier almost has a Bingo!

After Bingo and an early lunch, we headed to the pool at Ford's Colony where Liz and her mom hosted us for an afternoon swim.  The shallow part of the pool at the walk-in entrance is covered, and made for a shady gathering spot!  That cutie sitting next to Drew is his sister, Alex, who hung out with us!

The sign said "Lap Lane" so Chris and Sam swam laps in opposite directions, and they didn't even collide!

It was very warm and very sunny.  The water felt great!

Sam and Kate enjoyed chatting with Alex and Drew!  Alex is heading off to Florida next week for grad school.  Yay, Alex, but we think Drew might miss her just a little!  😍

Chloe and Carol relaxed with silly Laura!

Here, Alexis and Kevin swam toward each other.  They didn't collide, either!

Looks like Chris was trying to get away from Xavier and Devin, but Devin had a plan to catch his friend!  He swims pretty fast underwater!

Kacie knows how to spend Lazy Day!  Look how chill she is!

Someone likes to splash!

Playing in the pool made us ready for a snack.  Thanks, Mrs. Kline, for the chips and Popsicles!  The cold water hit the spot, too!

We ALSO thank the Kline Family for our very own Corn Hole Game!  WOW!  What fun this will be! We will have a better picture next week, but you can see the colors are Arc blue and orange.  It also says "Arc of Abilities" near the bottom!  Devin, Chris, and Patrick were the first to play.  There may be a tournament in our future!  (note:  We had already taken the other board to the van by the time we took the photo!)

The expression on this fish's face says it all!  What a fun afternoon! Thanks Liz and Mom; we loved ending our week at your fabulous pool! 

Next week will probably be a little less memorable, as it's shaping up to be rather "quiet" as our weeks go.  But, you never know what it may turn into!  Here's what you need to know:

Tuesday:  We don't have access to transportation this week, so we're staying in today.  We will have fun repeating an experience we had last year around this time, "eggs-periments!"  (Be prepared to get "eggy wit it.")  It's also Left-Handers Day, so we will celebrate the few lefties in our group and learn about handedness.  Lunch on your own, but we will have a side of boiled eggs.  Yum. 😜

Wednesday:  Today is National Relaxation Day and that's perfect, because we have Yoga w/ Patti!  (Dress comfortably.)  It's also Lemon Meringue Pie Day, so we will have a bake-off!  Lunch on your own, with pie for dessert.

Thursday:  It's Fajita Day!  Need we say more?  We will have a Mexican themed-lunch that our associates will prepare.  It's also Tell a Joke Day...again, need we say more?!  Today will be fun!

Friday:  We will "celebrate" feet today, since it's Love Your FEET Day!  Hmmm, should be interesting!  Saturday is World Honeybee Day, so we will revisit the topic of bees, which is always interesting.  For fun, we will also observe Black Cat Appreciation Day!  We will be busy!  Lunch on your own.

Upcoming Events!  Hope to see you at some of them!

Friday, August 31:  Jamestown Jams featuring The Deloreans!  It's 80s Night with America's favorite 80s showband!  

Join us at Jamestown Beach Event Park - gates open at 5:30 and the music kicks off at 6:30!  Free event!  Bring a picnic or buy from the onsite food truck!  The Arc of GW benefits from beer and water sales, so drink up (responsibly, of course)!




Saturday, October 6 - Williamsburg Landing 5K for The Arc!  This is our biggest FUNdraiser of the year, so please come out and support us!  Walk or run, there is something for everyone!  Register here:

5K Registration




Have a great weekend!

Lisa, Carol, and Nan