We began the week on a super warm and muggy Tuesday! Once again, we're thankful for our location at the Abram Frink Community Center where it is nice and cool! We enjoyed our dance "warm up" (but the room is cool so we didn't get too warm!) and then got to work making thank you notes for Devin's Grandma Sarah and Grandpa Mike. We were still talking about how much we enjoyed meeting them last Friday and how much fun it was to make Toll House cookies and play board games with them. Our thank you notes looked like chocolate chip cookies! Thanks again, Grandma Sarah and Grandpa Mike! We truly enjoyed our time with you!
We were also grateful to be bowling on Tuesday as it is ALWAYS cool...make that chilly...at AMF Lanes Williamsburg! We are considered a league, so once again, we had to switch from one lane to another during play, in order to facilitate the timing. Here, some of our guys are trying to figure out which side they bowl on for their next turn! Haha! Just kidding; they actually do very well with the changes!
Xavier and Drew hoped for spares and they both got them! In fact, Xavier got several spares during his game!
Patrick looks anguished in this picture, but he was actually very ecstatic because he just got a strike! This is his game face!
Annmarie's game face can't be seen, but every time she rolls, she leans forward intently, and wills her ball to hit the pins!
Pizza makes a yummy game "face" and our guys are all smiles when these show up! We would like to thank Melinda, a friend of the AoA whom we met through Drew, for treating us to lunch today. Wish you could have been with us, Melinda...they were delicious! Thanks for the sponsorship!!
When all was said and done, today's highest score was 124 which went to Cameron, but Devin pointed out to Drew that Drew's 119 was today's second highest score!
It was too steamy outside to go for a walk. Instead, we came back to the center and read last week's blog post, something we enjoy doing each week. After that, we watched a Mystery Doug episode that asked the question: Why do we yawn?
According to Doug, scientists say it's not because we need more air or oxygen, and it's not because we're bored or tired, although that is when we often see yawning take place. It is true that yawning is "contagious," but they really don't know why our bodies need to yawn. However, since animals also yawn, it's clearly something important for living bodies to do!
After our Mystery Doug episode, we still had time before dismissal, so we enjoyed Choice Time. It was one of the quietest Choice Time sessions we've ever had. Maybe the yawning lesson wore us out...or maybe it was the heat? It was probably a combination of both!
Last Saturday was World Honeybee Day and we think it's important to understand the role honeybees play in providing a whopping 1/3 of our food supply! So we spent part of our continuing education time on Wednesday working out just how much 1/3 represents.
We simplified things and decided that if we count on honeybee pollination for 1/3 of the fruits and veggies we eat, then we would run out of those healthy foods each year around August were it not for the bees. So we want to encourage everyone to plant honeybee friendly flowers and reduce the use of pesticides so we can do our part to save the honeybees!
We also put our heads together with our group mates and answered these challenging questions about bees! We're pretty smart!!
With our free use gym days winding down, we made time to play a rousing game of Red Light, Green Light...one of our guys' favorites!
We should have videotaped this so we could see who was still moving after Kacie yelled, "Red Light!"
As usual, we had a busy morning. We made birthday cards for Laura (for Friday), and we also had time to make a big group thank you card for our friend, Melinda, who sponsored our pizza at bowling yesterday!
Stretching during yoga!
We lengthen our spine by reaching overhead. It's challenging at times!
Cameron is great at downward dog position, and he can walk his feet up to his hands, too!
After yoga, we finished our Honeybee Day activities with a honey tasting! We had 3 samples: "regular" (store bought), alfalfa, and mesquite, which came from our local Silver Hand Meadery.
Everyone got a small biscuit and a dab of each sample.
A couple of us said the alfalfa was the sweetest, and several of us liked the mesquite. But in the end, most of us couldn't tell much difference between the flavors. We just liked them all! 🍯🍯🍯
We enjoy starting our day with music and dancing. The guys have a lot of requests and we try to play a variety of songs each day so that everyone feels included. The selections range from today's pop and country hits, to classic rock, to R&B, to EVERY Disney song ever recorded...and even music from The Wiggles. What's funny is we get the most energetic dance moves out of our guys when we play The Wiggles! Here's a clip from Thursday morning.
After our dance warm up, we began our study of state number 7, Maryland. We learned that it is well-known for crabs, which are caught in America's largest bay, the Chesapeake Bay. For our recipe this week, we made hot crab dip. Our "dip teams" had the recipe, and they got right on it!
One of the key ingredients is Old Bay Seasoning. Old Bay was introduced to Maryland in 1939 by a German refugee. It's now made in Baltimore and the recipe has not changed in 80 years.
We used canned crab meat, and it was good. We were surprised at how meaty it was, and that it wasn't "fishy" smelling.
We also had a "bread team" and here are Kevin and Drew working with Nan to cut slices of French bread into smaller pieces before toasting. These boys are making progress with tasks like this!
Here's our hot crab dip (we made a small serving for each table), along with "Crab Chips" which taste a lot like the Old Bay Seasoning. The dip was great! Almost everyone tried it. We're so proud of them!
In what is probably our last game of kickball until next summer, we burned off a few calories in a boys vs. girls game.
We have never played boys vs. girls before, but it was a friendly competition! We discussed our goals of having fun, everyone being involved, and having more fun!
Cameron tried to get Laura out as she headed for third.
With the girls up 4-0, the boys sent Kevin to the line. He almost made it to first base but was tagged out by Alexis. Eventually, the boys made 1 run, but the girls won, 4-1.
During calmer periods of the day, we worked on our Maryland bags. They were filled with interesting facts and our map skills work! We also learned about therapy dogs and completed some worksheets related to that topic.
Every group is involved in the learning tasks. Our guys are getting smarter all the time!
Oh, beautiful Friday morning! The sun was out and there was a slight breeze and we got to swim!! It was Laura's Birthday Pool Party and it was nice! Look at us with the pool to ourselves! (We are getting spoiled!)
Kate, Kacie, Cameron, Sam, and Devin spent the most time in the water. We were able to gather them up for this quick shot.
Bo enjoys swimming by himself in the far lane. He did several laps and said the water felt great!
Kevin, Chloe, Alexis, and Xavier chilled for a few minutes after lunch.
Kevin is another one who enjoys swimming in a lane by himself, but he likes knowing his friends are nearby.
Here's the birthday girl, Laura, and her friend Annmarie, "peacing out" in the pool, but do they know that Laura's cute little niece Olivia is coming after them?
Later, Olivia had a conversation with Alexis. Maybe she was telling her it's Laura's birthday!
Recognize these legs and arms? We're pretty sure they belong to Devin and Kate!
Here are Devin and Sam having a backstroke race! They had so much fun together!
Laura's dad, Tom, snagged the camera and got Carol, Kacie, Alexis, and Lisa kicking back and chatting with Laura about our fun time at her pool party!
Drew wasn't in the mood for the pool today, so his friends Chloe and Alexis spent some time chatting with him on the sidelines!
Yum! Birthday lunch subs from Jimmy John's hit the spot after all that pool time! We got Grandma and Grandpa in this picture, but didn't get one of Laura's mom and dad. We wish to thank all of them for throwing Laura a fun party! We appreciate the lunch, cupcakes, beautiful pool, and GREAT company!
We got Laura to smile when we gathered around the cupcakes and cards and sang "Happy Birthday!"
Happy Birthday, Laura! We loved celebrating with you and hope you had as much fun as we did! Thanks for inviting us to your pool!!
We always love ending our weeks on high notes, and getting our final pool party of the season in without rain, was definitely a high note!
Here's some news to know:
SAVE THE DATES!!
There is a music (and beer) festival coming up on September 7 called Coddiwomple! Weird name, but sounds like a lot of fun if you love LOCAL music! It takes place on the grounds of the Art Museums of CW, so a great venue! Check it out here...tickets on sale now! The proceeds benefit The Arc of Greater Williamsburg!
Of course, our Williamsburg Landing 5K for the Arc is coming up, too! Remember to register by September 1 for the lower fee!! You know you want one of our cool t-shirts!
AND, this Friday night, August 30th, is JAMESTOWN JAMS! Good Shot Judy is the band and they are great! Check it out! The Arc of GW benefits from beer and water sales!
Here's what our AoA families need to know for the week of August 27:
Tuesday: We'll visit the Mariners Museum today and take in their summer double feature at the Explorers Theater. Movie admission is a gift from Meemaw! We are thankful for this special treat! After the movie, we'll purchase lunch in the museum cafe, so please bring $10 for lunch. If the weather cooperates, we'll also enjoy a walk on the Noland Trail.
Wednesday: Today we'll have fun with Power Rangers Day, and we will work in the computer lab on some thank you notes. Dress to stretch for Yoga w/ Patti, too. Lunch on your own.
Thursday: We're headed to Eaton for a work day. Jorie and company are gearing up for inventory season, so our services and great work ethic are in demand! Please bring a bag lunch.
Friday: Our state of the week is #8, South Carolina! We've scored a shrimp sale at Harris-Teeter, so we're going to try Shrimp and Grits for lunch! We'll also learn fun facts, history, and geography as related to South Carolina. Plus, it's College Colors Day - so feel free to wear your favorite college fashions!
It's going to be a fun and busy week! Our favorite kind!
Enjoy the weekend,
Lisa, Carol, and Nan
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