This week we got to venture out for a field trip for the first time since March! We were excited to get to partake in something that reminded us of "normal" times. Following strict Covid-rules, we borrowed the Parks & Rec vans, and headed to Freedom Park. We wore face coverings, sat one to a seat, and wiped down the van seats, door handles, and steering column with disinfecting wipes when we were done. Thanks, Tracy, and Parks & Rec, for getting us back on the road again!
Every Tuesday (and now Thursday), after our dance warm up, we check the previous week's blog. We love to see ourselves and our friends in all the pictures, and as we go through, Lisa asks us questions about things we did the week before. We enjoy this bonding activity, and oftentimes we will "get to reminiscing" and have to go back to past blog entries to figure something out! Lately, we've had to go back to recall what dish we prepared when studying a certain state! (It's not like our guys to forget food!)
After our blog check and before leaving for the park, we made cards for Abraham's birthday celebration, which will be on Friday. This group won't be here for Abraham's party, but they wouldn't have dreamed of not making him beautiful cards! They take it seriously, too!
We continue to be proud of Kevin for taking his time on coloring projects, like Abraham's card. He's made so much progress filling in parts of the pictures!!
Before departing for the park, we got this shot of Patrick, Alexis, and Kevin sitting in their separate seats on the van. They still chatted and had a great time on the ride, and if truth be told, enjoyed their extra space!
We were thrilled to see that Devin and his dad Scott, and Drew and his mom, Donna (the photographer here) were able to meet us at Freedom Park! Behind the masks, there were so many smiles at seeing friends...and making a new one: In the orange shirt behind Lisa is Lilly, our Arc intern! While we've "met" her on Zoom, today was the first day we got to see her in person! She's just as sweet as we thought she'd be!
We digressed from our plan to walk over to the garden so we could check out this cool classic car! It's a 1955 Chevy Bel Air and happens to belong to Devin's dad, Scott! Anyone who knows our gang knows they love to talk about "back then," so Scott told us all about this beauty, and let us look inside, too. He's got it in tip-top shape and says Devin loves cruising around in it. We bet! So cool, Scott!
In the garden we showed Lilly the Fairy Garden we worked on last year around this time with our master gardener friends. The succulents have spread a lot and provide a very pretty ground cover. It's a lovely display!
We checked out the trellis bed looking for the tiny cabbage plants our MG friend Karen had planted.
We had seen pictures of little plants last week...but this week, look how much the cabbage has grown!
Here's the pineapple sage we are harvesting so we can make bread next week! MG Pat sent us the recipe she used last year to make pineapple sage bread for one of our snack times. It was so delicious! We're excited to make our own!
We took another group shot in front of the butterfly bed. The butterflies are gone now, but we saw a lot of bees! This bed is just gorgeous right now.
Don't you agree?! Our master gardener friends have done an excellent job keeping the garden well-cared for during Covid. We've said it before, but it's really worth a visit!!
After lunch, we planned to walk our usual path down to the bridge, but it was closed so new asphalt could be put down. Instead, we walked around the Interpretive Center.
We did a couple of laps. It wasn't as strenuos as our usual walk, but it did in a pinch! We enjoyed gorgeous weather and chatting with each other, and Lilly!
We wiped down the vans upon returning to AFCC, and again when they were returned to the Rec Center at the end of the day. Lisa and Carol also had a disinfectant spray they applied!
We had Choice Time when we got back to the center. Cameron tried the new SpongeBob SquarePants puzzle and found it challenging, because it's two-sided and you must pay attention to which side of the pieces you're dealing with. He stuck with it and was proud to finish!
We also made birthday cards for Lisa, and then had free time on the laptops. Alexis went to the DigiPuzzles page and tried some of the Halloween activities like this jigsaw puzzle.
Wednesday
We celebrated Lisa's birthday today, and it was the first one we've had "live" since March. It wasn't the same, without all of our gang here, but we still made it special. Liz is our DJ during the morning dance warm-up, and she kicked off the day with an oldie, but goodie from Lisa's fave, Bob Seger! Lisa loves that the AoA gang doesn't just tolerate, but appreciates, her taste in music!
During our lesson on North Dakota, we learned that they were the first state to complete their portion of the interstate highway system! We also learned that not far off of interstate 94, near Regent, is a two-lane road called the Enchanted Highway, where very cool sculptures made from scrap metal can be seen! The story behind these pieces of "art" is interesting. Click on the picture below if you'd like to hear it! 👇
Lisa had changed into her Teddy Roosevelt shirt by mid-morning when we were learning that he loved the Dakotas and spent much time there. There is a beautiful national park named for him in western North Dakota. As we were wrapping up our map skills portion of the North Dakota lesson, Pam stopped by to wish Lisa a "Happy Birthday" and TREAT us all to mini-muffins! YUM! Pam also brought activity books for everyone! Thank you, Pam! We love suprises!!
What a great birthday lunch, which will be repeated for Abraham on Friday! Some of Lisa's friends donated funds to us for a pizza party, in honor of the husband of a friend of theirs who recently passed away. The friend, Gerri, has sponsored pizza for us before on bowling days, and she insisted that her husband would have wanted the friends to treat us to a pizza party! Thank you, Gerri, we are touched by your kindness, and extend our condolences to you on the loss of your beloved husband.
And on a personal note, Lisa would like to thank Nan and Carol for setting up such a beautiful luncheon. 💜
Carol finally made us stop with all the partying, and put us to work on the PowerSlide doors for Eaton! Cameron and Kevin looked great in their Arc masks and shirts as they completed their part of the task!
Alexis worked the label table...or is this someone else in disguise?!
For Sam, it was a chance to try a new task: folding the table cloth! He did it cheerfully, even though we told him to straighten out those edges! Good job, Sam! (Hope your mom is paying attention! One more chore you can help her with!)
Liz also tried something different, using the power tools! She said her dad would be proud to see her using the electric screwdriver to tighten things up on the doors. 😍 💪
As usual, yoga felt good at the end of a busy day. Kevin and Cameron agree!
Liz, Alexis, and Sam agree, too. Our guys look forward to yoga afternoons!
Thursday
It was another perfectly gorgeous day when we returned to Freedom Park with the Thursday / Friday group! Intern Lilly joined us again and so did Tuesday / Wednesday friend Sam, and his mom, Teri!
We decided to bring our Bingo game to the park this time. Lilly was given the task of caller, and she did a fantastic job!
Next thing we knew, Xavier had another Bingo! But in the end, everyone won and lots of fun was had by all. Outside Bingo was easy, but we were glad it wasn't too breezy. It was nice to see Coach Teri, too!
The freshly paved trails were open on Thursday, so we walked Lilly over to see our favorite path. We're glad to hear she likes to take walks!
Back at the center, we had Choice Time. Devin chose a Trolls movie activity book from the ones Pam brought us on Wednesday, and he enjoyed working the variety of puzzles in it.
Kate worked on coloring witch legs/hats for our garland decoration. She was waiting patiently for us to vote on which of the Halloween DVDs we would watch (on the 30th!) from the ones she brought in from her personal collection. 👻
Finally! It was time for Kate to pitch her movies, and let us vote. We decided we will watch one called Zombies (a Disney movie) during our Halloween celebration with this group on the 30th. Thanks for helping us plan ahead, Kate!
Here's a close-up of our garland decoration for October. The witchy legs and hats are not as big as they appear! It's a cute decoration!
Friday
We're so excited to be celebrating birthdays in person with our friends again! Today, it was Abraham's turn to be honored! We began the day with one of his favorite activities...
Kate brought a hand-held disco light and Xavier and Devin got down to the beat!
This group got into the Mad Hatter Day celebration! We learned that many years ago, hatters made hats out of felt, and the glue they used contained mercury...which can cause one to act "mad" if inhaled! No worries. No one in this group is "mad as a hatter!"
Devin was in the spirit of North Dakota today! He wore a t-shirt that pays tribute to Carson Wentz, the quarterback of his favorite NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles. As Devin pointed out to us, Carson Wentz is a native of North Dakota's capital city, Bismarck, and went to college at North Dakota State University!
Abraham enjoyed a few rounds of "birthday basketball" with his friends! That shot went through the net, too!
Friends from both groups made cards for the birthday boy, and wrote very thoughtful messages inside!
We couldn't resist a group picture with Laz E. Bones, who was saying, "Hip-hip, hooray! It's Abraham's birthday today!"
We enjoyed birthday pizza for lunch from Domino's, courtesy of Lisa's friends. Our friend Xavier, however, eats a gluten and dairy-free diet. His mom gave us the "recipe" for a gluten free pizza, and we made it for him. He was so happy with his extra pepperoni pizza, and his friends, who enjoyed their traditional pizza, were excited to see him enjoy his non-traditional one!
For dessert, Abraham's mom provided ice cream and LOTS of toppings! It's hard to see in the white bowls and covered with whipped cream, but Alexis and the birthday boy had beautiful and tasty sundaes! We send his mom, Mona`, our thanks for the delightful treat! Abraham, and all of us, had a wonderful day!
Yoga at the end of a busy day feels really good! Since Abraham loves to dance, we chose "Dance Party Yoga" with our online teacher, Jaime, and it was actually a very active session, which was probably better, considering we had such a filling birthday lunch!
Finally, we'd like to share a message from Annmarie's mom, Teresa. As you know, she recently underwent open heart surgery, and while she's had a couple of setbacks, she's making steady progress each day with her therapies! Our AoA families sent Teresa and her family a cheer package recently, and Teresa would like us to share this message. 💜
Tuesday / Thursday: We will Zoom with our at home friends. Tuesday's topic deals with how balloons are made and on Thursday, we'll "travel" to the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg for a lesson on owls with our friend, Christina! We will also talk about the fact that October 12th was Columbus Day, and discuss the fact that some states recognize that date as Native American Day, instead. Plus, we'll make a fun Halloween craft and bake pineapple sage bread! Lunch on your own. AND, we will welcome Arc intern and CNU student Lilly as she joins us for onsite experience at the AoA. Welcome, Lilly!
Wednesday / Friday: Time to learn about the 40th state to enter the union, South Dakota! Both North and South Dakota were home to many immigrants from Scandinavia who, of course, introduced their favorite foods. For lunch, we will prepare Norwegian meatballs with sides of noodles and green beans. For fun, we'll also throw in Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day (for real?!), so feel free to bring your favorite bear, and Lisa will get to talk about her favorite president again, too! Finally, dress to stretch for yoga!
Thanks for reading! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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