COVID-19 Pandemic

Who could have imagined when we said good-bye on March 13, thinking we would be closed for 1-2 weeks, that it would become  longer than that?   Now, here we are, having been in home-quarantine for two weeks and wondering what is next?  While none of us knows what's next, we do know that all of us are following the guidelines for protecting ourselves and others.

That means washing our hands a lot, staying home as much as we can, and keeping a safe social distance from others if we must be out in public, such as for grocery shopping.  So, what are some of us doing to pass the time?!  We've gotten a few pictures, and are happy to share them here!

Cameron has been in the hot tub!

Here he is with his dad on a sunny afternoon!  Looks very relaxing, Cam!

He also spends time taking his dog for a walk.  It's important for all of us to be outside getting fresh air and sunshne! 🌞

After a bit of excercise, Cameron enjoyed one of his favorite snacks, French fries!  

Over at Sam's house, he spent some time helping his Dad put shelves up in his Mom's closet!  Putting your work skills to good use, Sam!

Sam is also listening to stories on the Audible app.  He's enjoyed stories about pirates and Ninjas.  No surprise, there!  We love seeing your focus, Sam!

On Saturday, Sam and his mom made a trip to the post office!  We probably don't take little outings like this for granted these days...

Meanwhile, our friends in Newport News, Kacie and Kevin, are lucky to live close to the Mariners' Museum, which means long walks on the Noland Trail!  (The museum is closed, of course.)

They are trying to keep a safe distance from each other, which is hard, Kacie says.  We know it is a challenge, Kacie and Kevin.  Just do your best and make sure you keep your hands away from your face and wash them as soon as you can!  (Hand sanitizer or wipes are OK, too!)  We're glad to see your smiling faces!

Kevin and Kacie knew we would have been excited to see these sunbathing turtles!  Thanks for the picture!

Over at Patrick's house, he spent some of his time working a Toy Story puzzle.  We see Woody is there for support, too!  What a perfect activity for you, Patrick!

And voila!  In just a few days, Patrick was done!  That looks like it took a lot of patience, Patrick.  We are proud of you for sticking with it!

Lisa and Alexis have been on a lot of walks.  We have so many nice trails in our area.  They probably should try not to touch the signs, though! 

There is a basketball net across the street in Nan's neighborhood.  Alexis got to shoot a few hoops one day last week when no one else was there.

Drew was happy to receive a card from Carol, Lisa, Nan, and Becky in the mail!  Thumbs up to Carol for sending them out to everyone!!

Drew and his dad Andy got out on a pretty Saturday and played corn hole.  According to Drew's mom, he's pretty serious about the competition, too.  You go, Drew! 

Nan got together with Alexis and Haley on St. Patrick's Day and they baked Blarney Stone cookies and made rainbow necklaces out of colored pasta.  Very cute!

We were SUPER EXCITED on Thursday when the AoA gang got together on this thing called "Zoom" for a video conference with each other!  It was perfectly crazy!  Everyone saying "hi" to each other, lots of big smiles, and feeling together again!

Coach Teri got a couple of pictures, and we're so glad she did!  Here's Sam checking in with everyone, and even from the back, we can see his big smile at getting to see his friends!

Here is a screen shot of most of the gang.  Kate couldn't make it, Drew was being bashful (we see his mom, Donna), and when this picture was taken Annmarie and Becky hadn't yet connected, but they made it later!  We also see Lisa, Carol, Nan, Pam, Bette Faye, Liz's mom, Lise, and Cameron's mom, Stacey.  How awesome!  

Here's another shot we got from Cam's mom that was taken before we all got connected.  We're so proud that everyone figured it out, especially Lisa and Carol!  HeHe! We will definitely do this again (on Tuesday, in fact), and Lisa and Carol have some ideas to make it a regular thing during our time away from the center. 

Those are all the pictures we've gathered so far.  Lisa would love to keep getting them so we can post blog updates every now and then.  Let's keep the blog going during quarantine!

In the meantime, everyone stay safe!  Families, look for an email with information about Zooming on Tuesday.  We hope all of our friends can join us again!

Peace,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang