This was a fun week! We got to see our AoA friends every day! We kicked the wonderful week off with an Arc 5k FUN MILE followed by lunch at the Warhill Sports Complex on our "day off," Monday!
Eight of our families were able to join us and we hustled along the path, chatting and catching up along the way! Oh, and goofing off, too! Sam and Devin had big sponge fingers that they tried to bop Drew with. Just like old times!
We picked what was the prettiest day of the week for our walk. It was absolutely gorgeous outside!
The Arc's Executive Director, Pam, joined us. Here, she and Carol were ahead of the pack as we spread out to be socially distant.
We heard Drew had been practicing for this "race" and look at him getting it! So proud of Drew and all of our walkers! Up ahead of Drew are Alexis, Kevin, Kevin's mom, Debbie, Liz and her dad, Greg, and their pup, Miss Rose! It was nice to see her! Thanks to Drew's mom for some of these great photos, too!
Patrick and his mom, Sue, joined us. Kate was here, too, but we missed an action shot of her.
Pam gave everyone a medal for completing the Fun Mile, and also a coupon for a free Frosty. Kevin didn't waste any time taking advantage of that deal!!
We are very grateful to all of our AoA families and friends who supported the Arc's virtual walk this year! During challenging times, we know it isn't always easy, and we truly appreciate everyone's support!
Here is how the rest of our week went:
TUESDAY
Tuesday is the first of two Zoom days with our friends who are at home, and this week we began our session with a dance video from one of our favorite websites, Go Noodle. In this one, the dancer on the left has a prosthetic leg! We were inspired by her dance moves, despite her being "different" than most dancers we see.
In our lesson, we learned the good and not so good things about salt. It's necessary for our bodies to make energy, send signals to our brains, and keep our hearts beating. But too much of it and the opposite of those things happens! It's best to watch the amount of extra salt we add to our foods, since a lot of the food we eat already has plenty of salt in it, and it's important to drink a lot of water to help wash out the extra salt our bodies don't need!
We also learned from an episode of "Mystery Doug" that salt comes from underground, and is also present in the oceans. He shared some cool artwork with us that was inspired by salt, including drawings of neat things like tigers and hot dogs (which disappear if wiped by a hand, blown in the wind, or if the paper is tilted). We were most impressed with the salt block carving of characters from the movie Frozen.
After Zoom, the gang at the center had a belated celebration of National Johnny Appleseed Day (Sept. 26). He was a real-life folk hero who helped foster the growth of apple and pear orchards throughout the midwest. We sampled apple slices with 3 different dips: peanut butter, caramel, and vanilla yogurt mixed with cinnamon. We also watched the 1948 Disney version of the Johnny Appleseed story.
By now, it was raining outside, something the Tuesday / Wednesday group hasn't seen much of! So, we worked out with a video dance/fitness instructor we enjoy named Paul Eugene. He can't hear music without dancing, and his motto is, "Dance your way to fitness." We tried a video of his we had never done before, and it was only 10 1/2 minutes long, but it got our legs burning! Don't worry, we survived! 😂
This week we are beginning a new read aloud. New Kid is a graphic novel about a kid whose parents send him to an elite private school, so he will have more "opportunities," even though he wants to attend a school that promotes art. He is disappointed to find out there isn't much diversity (our word of the day) at his new school. We will have to read to find out how he fares.
This is one that we're reading together from Lisa's Kindle. We enjoy the illustrations in graphic novels this way!
Our last activity on Tuesday was to begin work on our October calendar. Can you believe it's October already?! Patrick, Sam, and Cameron were working on various steps in our calendar process, all focused and getting the job done!
Liz and Alexis were equally focused, and all of them would have gladly finished the entire calendar, but we saved some of the work for the Thursday / Friday group!
WEDNESDAY
After we did a bit of work learning about Colorado, and getting our Cowboy Churro Beans on the stove, we spent time outside enjoying a perfect fall morning.
During the quarantine, the outdoor basketball courts were updated. There is fresh paint on the boards and court, along with new nets, which Patrick appreciated as he shot lots of baskets.
The rest of the crew opted for stretching their legs around the extensive blacktop area. Here's Sam walking past the Grove Community Garden.
Alexis said she and Liz "talked their mouths off" while they walked numerous laps. 😁😁
Some interesting things we learned about "Colorful Colorado" included that the lark bunting is the state bird, blue columbine is the state flower, and the beautiful Rocky Mountains spread across the entire state.
We also learned that Colorado is a hip and modern state, but they cherish ties to their western heritage. The world's largest western stock show is held each January in Denver, lasts all month, and includes rodeos, bbq competitions, parades, and more. We enjoyed the Cowboy Churro Beans recipe from our United Tastes of America cookbook, too, as Sam will attest!
This is us practicing a lockdown drill, something we hope we never have to do for real. 😨
For this week's yoga session with Jaime, we really got into her "Fairy Floss" dance and yoga adventure!
Thursday
We always love to see James and his van from Eaton! He brought us lots of work to complete over the next week!
Thank you, James, Jorie, and our friends at Eaton for keeping us busy with real-world work. We are so proud to work for you!
Here's a group picture of the Thursday / Friday group during our Zoom session. We learned about dalmatians because today was National Fire Pup Day!
And here is a shot of our friends at home, including Becky! Arc intern Lilly had to go to another Zoom meeting before we took this picture, but we always enjoy having her join us, too!
Devin said he was creating a "combo plate" when we gave him apples and three kinds of "dip" for our celebration of Johnny Appleseed Day! He mixed together peanut butter, caramel, and vanilla yogurt so he could have a taste of each at the same time on his apple slices. Also shown on Dev's table is a gift of tasty salt-water taffy that he brought all the way from the Outer Banks to share with us! That was super thoughtful of you, Devin. Many thanks to you and your family!
Socially distant basketball shooting works for these friends!
This way with Abraham and Kevin works too, but Kevin, you need to throw your ball a little higher. Keep practicing! 👏👏 UPDATE: He persevered on Friday! Got that ball much higher!
Our last task today was to finish our October calendar. Kevin helped take down the letters for September.
Kate printed pictures that represent the days we celebrate or activities we have planned.
Alexis put it all together and voila! October is booked!
FRIDAY
Today flew by! We had fun learning about Colorado, working on PowerSlide Doors for Eaton, and enjoying yoga with Jaime. We didn't get a lot of pictures, but that doesn't mean we weren't busy!
We learned that the flag of Colorado is fairly simple, with the blue stripes representing their blue skies (over 300 days of sunshine each year), the white stripe representing snow, the yellow disc representing the sun, and red representing the red rocks and Colorado River.
Kevin selected one of our new puzzles for Choice Time. It's Mickey and Minnie at a skate park. He worked it, and then went back to get his old favorite, Toy Story!
Xavier enjoyed our new SpongeBob SquarePants puzzle. This one is two-sided so he has to be sure to flip all pieces to the correct side before starting. He caught on very quickly and loved the new scene on the puzzle!
We started on the PowerSlide Doors that James brought us from Eaton yesterday. We made a dent and completed 7 boxes. That's 84 doors today!
After cleaning and putting the tables away, it was time once again for yoga. This group also liked Jaime's Fairy Floss Yoga session.
In this pose, called "telephone," everyone tries to talk to their foot! We giggle a lot with this pose!
IN OTHER AoA NEWS
While we continue to meet for our AoA in split groups and on only two days each, our friends at home are busy, too. Here are some pictures and a fun video showing what they are up to!
On a recent trip to the Outer Banks, Devin visited the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. He made the climb all the way to the top! Wow!
Dev and his family went on a tour to see the wild horses in Corolla.
Aren't they beautiful? The wild horses enjoy roaming the beach and seeing them like this, even on a tour, is exciting!
It was chilly the week Dev's family visited. He and little sister Hailey had their jackets on even though they were sitting in the sun! Thanks for sharing your family's fun with us, Devin!
On one of Sam's "home" days (Th/Fri), he helped his mom set up and take down tables in the neighborhood clubhouse. Their neighborhood had conducted another food drive for our community!
Coach Teri said Sam did a great job, and we're happy to see the table training he gets at the center coming in handy elsewhere!
Drew and his mom were out walking recently and spotted this cute little snail taking a walk, too. Maybe it was completing the Arc 5k!! How fun to spot this, and we bet Drew thought it was cool!
We love sharing our adventures, whether at the center or away! We hope you enjoy reading about them, too!
Have a great weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
Here's what's coming up next week for the AoA:
Tuesday / Thursday: We're excited for this week because we are taking a road trip!! We'll take the vans to Freedom Park, where we will check on the Botanical Garden, take a walk, and enjoy a picnic outside! On the vans, we will sit one to a seat, wear our face coverings, and wipe down the seats before and after traveling. NO ZOOM this week, but ALL AoA friends/families are invited to meet us at Freedom Park at 11:00 on either or both days (as applicable). Bring a bag lunch! Upon returning to the AFCC, we will work in the computer lab, make a couple of birthday cards, and enjoy Choice Time.
Wednesday / Friday: We'll continue to be busy with Eaton work, and we'll also study the 39th state, North Dakota. For FUN, we will celebrate Mad Hatter's Day, so feel free to wear a "silly" (or regular) hat all day! Plus, we'll celebrate Lisa's birthday on Wednesday, and Abraham's on Friday! YAY for more birthdays! 🎂🎈 Birthday pizza for lunch with a side of fruit, and cupcakes (Wednesday) / ice cream (Friday) for the birthday celebrations! Also, wear your workout shoes for sure, and also dress to stretch, for yoga! We will be extra active today!
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