Spring Arrives, 2022!

We welcomed spring with a beautiful day on Tuesday, and it wasn't too bad the rest of the week...well, except for that rain, but spring is a good time for rain!  The picture above is of one of our "mystery" bulb pots.  We planted the bulbs back in October with our master gardener friends, and we now know, that there were some pretty hyacinths included in the mystery!   We'll be joining our master gardener friends in less than 3 weeks for our spring sessions and we can't wait!  Meanwhile, here's a look at how we spent this week.

Tuesday

Our plan today was to visit Jamestowne Island, but we stayed at AFCC for a while before heading that way.  We wanted to make sure the sun came out, and we needed to do some "brain work" to warm up our thinking before getting our history on at the island!

Carol and Nan's group worked on phonics skills.  The coloring was a way to self-check their answers.

This group went to the kitchen area to work on addition skills.  They were allowed calculators, but Lisa went around and helped each one try "mental math," too.

When we arrived at Jamestowne Island we met Laura's parents, Tom and Lisa, who joined us for a picnic lunch.  It was a glorious day and perfect for eating outside!  Thanks for hanging out with us, Tom and Lisa.  We enjoyed catching up with you!

After checking in for free admission with some of our friends' National Park Access Passes (thanks for sharing), we made our way to the bridge that links the Visitor Center to the historic area.  We saw turtles, both "parent" and "baby" sized!  They were well camouflaged in the swampy water, so our pictures of them didn't turn out well, but we saw a lot!

Today we mainly visited the "New Towne" area on the island, as we wanted to get a good walk.  This is the area east of the fort where the settlers expanded in the years following 1607.  

We learned that Jamestown eventually developed into a bustling port town fueled by the thriving tobacco industry.

As we made our way along a path beside the James River, we spotted a heron standing as still as a statue.  We watched it for a while, but it never budged.  Maybe it saw us out of the corner of its eye and decided to stay put!

With the beautiful river in the background, we paused for a group picture before moving on to visit John Smith's statue...something we always check out when we come to Historic Jamestowne!

The gang was into group pictures today!  As they sat here and relaxed, small waves from the river could be heard lapping ashore.  Someone said, "I could sit here all day."  Someone else added, "This would be a great place for yoga!"  Both good points!  Note:  We missed our friend Annmarie all week as she wasn't feeling well.  We hope she'll be back with us next week.  Take care, Annmarie!  😍

On our way out, we asked these archaeologists what they were working on and they explained that within this small area, they saw different colors of dirt and/or things in the dirt.  One of them told us that different colors like that can mean that they have found things that were left behind over a period of several years, and that the remains had formed layers of different colors.  Very interesting!

After a lengthy walk and some historical education, we were ready to head back over the bridge to our vans.  It was a great day and the perfect way to welcome spring!

Wednesday

Happy National Goof Off Day!  Lisa wasn't with us today, but we managed to goof off without her!  She's the author of the blog, so here's what she thinks happened today, based on the pictures we took...

Kate wore a perfect hat for Goof Off Day!

We enjoyed watching the movie UP and had a popcorn treat, too!

Our workout was led by Joe, an online coach that we jokingly refer to as "The Man Bun Guy" because of his hair style!  He gets us moving, though!

Yummy!  PB&J on whole grain bread, a banana, and chips for lunch and celebrating National Chip and Dip Day!

The afternoon was filled with funny poetry readings, a game of Hangman, and our old favorite for Goof Off Day - the Pie in the Face game!  Looks like we may not have had a lot of volunteers this time, but Devin stepped up to challenge the takers!  Wonder who got the pie between him and Patrick?!

Drew took a turn, but we have no picture revealing who got this pie in this round, either?!?!

Alexis informed the blog writer that she got the pie in this round!  

Hey!  It's Kevin vs. Devin in the pie in the face battle between the guys with rhyming names!

We got a picture of the "loser" this time!

Sam and Abraham were brave in this round.  Look at the seriousness on their faces.  The object of the game is to press your button fast enough to send the hand over to your opponent's side before he or she gets it to your side!

Sam had was the faster button pusher, but Abraham was a great sport!  What fun!

Alexis also reported that everyone was demanding a matchup between Nan and Carol!  "Nan and Carol!  Nan and Carol!  Nan and Carol!"  (Can't you hear them now?!)  Apparently, Carol was the "loser" in this round...and maybe the picture got deleted by mistake?!   Another Goof Off Day in the books...and be warned, Lisa comes back tomorrow!  LOL!

Thursday

What a downpour we had this morning!  Most of us arrived as the rain was really coming down, and it didn't let up until almost lunch time, only to start again around dismissal time.  Abraham was enjoying our dance warm up when he noticed the rainwater pouring off the gutters outside like a waterfall!

The best thing about dark and rainy days is that our disco ball lights up the room and Liz plays "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees!

We made "art" out of old packing peanuts today!  Can you tell what springtime animal Kevin is creating by gluing the packing peanuts on the paper?

Little lambs!  We're going to save these to use as part of our April room decorations.  Next week we will find ourselves in Colonial Williamsburg where we hear lambs are out in the pastures.  What a great sign of spring!

Several of us are dealing with seasonal allergies as the pollen is already out with a vengeance!  So, we had a lesson about why pollen is important.  We listened to a story about a sneezing bear who learns that pollen is important not only for pollinating plants (many of which provide food for us), but it's also packed with protein and is a food source for many insects and animals!  Spiders and ladybugs eat pollen, as do bees, so they can make "beebread" to feed their larvae.  Even deer, bears, and other animals eat pollen because it can be frozen in snow!  Wow, we didn't know that!

We followed the story with a Mystery Doug episode that explained what happens when we have allergic reactions like sneezing, coughing, itching eyes, and runny noses.  He said our bodies think pollen is kind of like a germ...even though it isn't a germ.  Our bodies react in ways similar to how they react when real germs invade, and that helps us deal with the pollen, even though it may make us feel miserable.  So, we learned today that pollen has something in common with plastic:  It's both good and bad!

The rain kept us inside today so we walked laps in the hallways.

Once we get going, there is plenty of room to space ourselves out, and even pass if we need to. 

We finished the morning by making some celebratory posters for a special "day" that's coming up next week.   Next, we had lunch and Choice Time, and then tuned in for a webinar being presented by our friend, Wisteria, at The Mariners' Museum.  It was about female pirates, and it was very interesting (in parts).  Some of these gals were quite ruthless!  We always enjoy seeing Wisteria, even if it's online!

After sitting for a while during the pirate presentation, we had to get moving again, so we found a pirate workout on Go Noodle!  After that, we ended the day with a game of "Guess in 10" where we get clues one at a time until we figure out an answer.  We did a lot today!

Friday

It was great to see the sun this morning!  It was PSP day, so we were splitting the group into two teams and were thankful that our store workers wouldn't get wet on their travels.  When they arrived, Liz worked alongside DiDi to place product on the top shelf.  It helps that Liz is tall! 

Karryna and Devin handled cat food duty.  They had a full cart to unload onto the shelves!

Xavier assisted Scott in arranging dog products on this shelf.  Scott didn't have to get up and down with Xavier in place to hand him things!

Laura, Sam, and Devin worked as a team to find spaces for these animal crates!

Looks like Erik knew what mission he was on, and we're sure he accomplished it!

Tracy was on hand to help with coaching our guys, too!  Thanks, Tracy!  We appreciate the asssitance.

Before leaving, our team presented Scott with a letter of congratulations from the AoA for being a successful small business owner...and we also thanked him and Roxanne for giving us this worthwhile vocational opportunity.  Tuesday, March 29th, is National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day, and we were happy to acknowledge it for them!

 

Back at the center, our Cooking Crew was learning how super-nutritious spinach is because tomorrow is National Spinach Day, and we were having it for lunch!  Alexis, Abraham, and Drew used their senses to check out spinach leaves, and then nibbled on them!  

We already knew spinach is very nutritious, but in our video, Tasi and Zac introduced us to what they call the "fix-it workers."  That's what they call things in foods that are good for us, like antioxidants and phytonutrients, which are words we can't easily pronounce, but which work to help our bodies' natural defense systems work.

Movement helps our bodies work better, too.  Today's activities included bopping balloons again with the pool noodles while being on our feet in the hallway.

After the balloons both popped early into our workout, we got the beachball out and played our own version of hockey!  It was fun!

We call the gang that stays at the center on PSP days the "Cooking Crew" because they prepare lunch for us all while the other guys are at the store.  Here's today's crew with their finished product of pasta with ground turkey meat sauce and fresh garden salads loaded with spinach!

Knowing we were going to finish our story about the donkey named Winslow, Michelle brought in a stuffed donkey who looks just like him!  Thanks, Michelle!  It helped bring the ending of our story to life!

If we're on mats and stretching, it must be yoga time!  We enjoy yoga any day of the week, but it's really nice to wrap up the week all relaxed and stress-free!

We were happily interrupted between yoga segments by a special delivery.  We would like to send a huge thank you to Devin's family for sending us a few goodies this week, in honor of our anniversary.  Amazon delivered paper products, printer ink, and this yummy-looking box of healthy snack bars, too!  Thanks Scott and Roxanne, for your generosity.  Your kindness is much appreciated!

The first week of spring was an awesome week at the AoA!  It seemed to fly by, too.  Here's what we will be doing next week:

Tuesday:  This will be another Tuesday where we aren't traveling, because we have a chance to visit somewhere new tomorrow.  So we will stay at AFCC for a brain work morning that will include a lesson to help us prepare for Friday's trip to Yorktown.  After lunch, we will use the computer lab to work on the April calendar, and we'll  welcome visitors from the Isle of Wight Parks and Recreation Department, who are interested in how our program works.  We'll also begin a new read-aloud about a mystery surrounding a treasure that may have belonged to Thomas Jefferson!  Lunch on your own; JRES cafeteria is offering Taco or Pizza (school made).

Wednesday:  Carol will be on an adventure in Mexico the rest of this week (and next week), but we're off on an adventure today, too!  It's a surprise and somewhere we haven't been before, and it involves our friend Christina from the Art Museums of CW...but it's not a museum!  We're not giving any more details, just wear your Arc shirts, bring a bagged lunch, and be prepared for a special treat!  It's also National Take a Walk in the Park Day, one of Lisa's faves, so wear your walking shoes for sure!

Thursday:  It's National Tater Day so we're going to celebrate with potato lessons and games, and we'll prepare a twice-baked potato casserole, along with grilled chicken and green beans, for lunch!  We'll have another lesson to help prepare for tomorrow's trip to Yorktown, and since we will be traveling tomorrow, we'll also have YOGA TODAY!  Dress to stretch!

Friday:  Today we'll welcome Patrick's mom, Sue, to assist us in Carol's absence.  We're going to travel to the American Revolution Museum in Yorktown for a self-guided tour and, weather permitting, we'll ride the trolley over to the picnic area and enjoy lunch by the river.  Wear your Arc shirts and bring a bagged lunch.  Thanks, Sue, for helping us today.  We're looking forward to hanging with you!

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang

 

Happy 6th Anniversary, Arc of Abilities!

Happy Anniversary to the Arc of Abilities as we mark 6 marvelous years!  It's only fitting that we opened on the day before St. Patrick's Day in 2016, as the "luck of the Irish" has been with us ever since.  

In fact, our Arc of Greater Williamsburg's dedicated leader is IRISH!  Yep!  Pam McGregor, Executive Director of the Arc of GW, is a proud Irish gal (96%), and we are grateful for her leadership and support.  In addition to Pam, we are so appreciative of the staff at The Arc.  Bette Faye, Anna, and Carrie provide additional love and support.  

We are equally thankful for our wonderful Arc Board of Directors, our extremely supportive families, and our many loyal friends, all of whom have been here for us along this amazing journey.  

We have come a long way over these years, and are a thriving and vibrant program that hopes to keep evolving and growing!  Here's a look at our celebratory week.

Tuesday

We had a busy morning before going to visit Christina at the Art Museums.  Check out this house made from used plastic bottles!  After our dance warm up and blog check, we watched Mystery Doug's lesson about how plastic is made.  We learned it is made from parts of oil combined with acid!  Mystery Doug said plastic has a "good side and a bad side," and we agree.  Inside this house is plastic furniture!  We're not sure we would find that very comfortable!

We needed a few more decorations so our room would be colorful for tomorrow's anniversary celebration, so we colored shamrocks by using different shades of green and different textured backgrounds when we colored them.  Alexis and Patrick found the metal on the cart gave their shamrocks a unique textured look after they placed the paper on the cart and colored in the picture.

  

Liz found the cabinet door to be a unique texture.  We did this project a few years ago, too.  

These are Kate's hands as she tries the pool table top as a textured background.  She also shows how we used many shades of green.

After adding some St. Patrick's Day stickers, the shamrocks turned out like this, and will make a nice addition to our decorations!

Of course, we had to make sweet birthday cards for our beloved Meemaw, aka, Drew's grandmother.  She was a dedicated volunteer before Covid, and we miss her!  

Here's a picture of Meemaw's birthday celebration from our VERY FIRST BLOG POST in March, 2017.  You'll spot a few of our current members, along with some other friends we've had in the AoA along the way!  Happy Birthday on Monday to you, Meemaw!  We wish you a happy year to come!  🎈🥳🎉🎂

After an early lunch, it was time to meet Christina at the Art Museums of CW.  Our lesson today had us learning about the "stories" behind a few of the pictures.  We began by learning that Edward Hicks, known for his "Peaceable Kingdom" paintings and someone we have learned about over the years with Christina, got his start painting carriages and signs, such as the one shown near Christina depicting the business of a carpenter and joiner, who had you covered from beginning to end...he could build anything from baby cradles to coffins!

We learned that the artist who painted this beautiful scene called "Summertime" was a Polish immigrant who settled in New York.  His name was Karol Kozlowski, and he loved to use simple, patterned forms and muted pastels to create his colorful pieces.  He also probably had autism, and we found that to be both interesting and not really all that interesting.  He was simply a very good artist!

Do you know who this lad is?  He is Prince William, also known as, the Duke of Gloucester, for whom DoG Street is named in Colonial Williamsburg!  He was one of Queen Anne's children in the late 1600s.  She had 18 children and they all died before birth or in infancy, except for William, who lived to the age of 11.  What a sad and tragic story, that we could not really imagine, except when we remembered that "modern medicine" didn't exist yet.  When Prince William died in 1700, Williamsburg was just becoming a Colonial town, and the street was named for him at that time.  Now you know!

This is Issac Barre.  He was a member of the English Parliment, who had served in the British army during the French and Indian War, during which time he came to respect the work-ethic of the colonists.  Afterward, he became a member of Parliment, and when King George decided to impose the Stamp Act on the colonists (one event that subsequently led to the Revolutionary War), Barre spoke up in support of them.  He even coined the term, "Sons of Liberty" to refer to the colonists, and told England that it was not fair to tax them as they were working hard to create a lasting and strong country.  Wow...he was brave to speak out in support of the British colonists who went on to win the Revolutionary War and become independent Americans! 

Inside the Education Studio, Christina gave each of us a small, blank book and told us we could tell our own stories on its pages.  Sam, Laura, Cameron, and Xavier got busy designing their covers.

Christina sat with Michelle, Patrick, Devin, and Drew and helped inspire them with ideas!  Thank you, Christina, for always inspiring us all!  We love the stories and tidbits you share with us about the beautiful art within the walls of the museums.  We have learned so much in the almost 5 years we've been visiting with you!  💙💚💛💜

Before we left, Erik shared part of his work with Alexis, Devin, and Patrick!

UPDATE:  Patrick was proud to show us on Wednesday that he had added to his story when he got home.  He added pictures of his favorite player, Chipper Jones, to his baseball story!  Great job, Pat!

We had time after our visit with Christina to stop by Parkway Printshop and pick up our new AoA t-shirts.  Lisa introduced us to Anthony, who got approval from everyone when he showed us the new shirt!  

Wednesday

Today's the day we reflect upon our AoA "story" and celebrate our 6 years together!  We planned to celebrate all day, starting with our dance warm up!  Happy 6th Anniversary to us!

We spent time reminiscing about "the old days" by checking past blog posts.  The blog wasn't started until one year after we began, in March of 2017, so for the first year, we only have pictures.  Lisa put some of them in a PowerPoint presentation a few years ago, and today we enjoyed looking at pictures from our beginning.  We have had a lot of friends pass through the AoA, and we are grateful for having known all of them!  As of this week's blog post, we have 14 participants...and are expecting number 15 within a few weeks!  😉

We ran short on time while reminiscing, so we didn't get to learn about pandas for Panda Day.  We'll squeeze it in next week.  After sharing some of our favorite memories, it was time to party!  Annmarie and friends helped get the tables ready.

Soon, we were ready and Liz's mom and dad, Lise and Greg, had arrived along with the lunch of salad and baked ziti from Sal's they were treating us to for our anniversary!   

Thank you so much, Lise and Greg, for our delicious lunch!  It hit the spot for sure, and we enjoyed it.  We're so glad you could join us.  Thank you also for sharing your daughter, Liz, with us.  She is a kind friend to all, and a very good helper to Lisa, Carol, and Nan!  AND, thank you, Greg, for your work on behalf of The Arc of Greater Williamsburg in your role as a board member.  We appreciate your dedication! 

(Note to the curiously observant:  That is not a black snake on the table...it is three pairs of black tongs that were randomly placed on the table in that configuration! 🐍)

After lunch, we got a surprise.  Liz and her mom had selected a gift for us!  Lise said it was Liz's idea, and we're not surprised!  Liz has a knack for thinking of nifty things that we need.  💝  It was in this bag and Liz told Devin to try to guess what it was!  We don't think he, or any of us, would have ever guessed what it was...

It's a balloon air pump and it inflates balloons speedy quick!  Liz delighted in showing surprise visitor Tracy how this amazing electric gizmo works.  It's a cute little red pig, wearing sunglasses, that we named "Anni" (short for "Anniversary.")

Before we continue talking about Anni, we must thank Tracy and JCC Parks and Recreation for the many things they do in support of the AoA.  We truly appreciate that we have the use of AFCC for our program site, the county vans for our travels, and so many friends at Parks and Rec who make sure we are comfortable and able to thrive at this location!  Thank you, one and all!  👏👏

Liz delighted further in training Alexis to use Anni!  Anni is going to be lots of fun, and much needed as we gear up for April's birthday season!  Thank you, Liz, and Lise, for this useful and fun gift!!! 🎈🎈🎈🐖🎈🎈🎈

Our next surprise visitor was Ms. Washington, principal at JRES.  She had hoped that assistant principal, Ms. Vallone, would be able to come with her, but a naughty child disrupted those plans!  Hopefully, Ms. Vallone will be able to stop by soon.  Meanwhile, Ms. Washington spent several minutes chatting with us, getting to know us better, and promising to be a more frequent visitor in the future.  We hope so!  She also told us that it is ok to start thinking about getting back into the library to volunteer!  Yay!  Also, we look smashing in our new "Arc of Abilities" shirts in heather navy!

Even though we had danced and taken part in a video workout this morning, a nice walk to the outdoor classroom near the end of the day felt good, too!  Thank you JRES, for sharing your campus with us!  We appreciate being able to access the outdoor areas for movement and fresh air!

Thank you from the Arc of Abilities to ALL of our family members, friends, and the entire staff and Board of Directors of The Arc of Greater Williamsburg.  You are here for us and we deeply appreciate your loyal and enduring support!

Thursday

What comes after our anniversary date of March 16?  Why, St. Patrick's Day, of course!  That luckiest of days that coincides with the beginning of our AoA, and we love to celebrate it each year.  The gang was the greenest ever this year!

Not long after she arrived, we noticed Michelle was using a pair of scissors to tighten a loose screw on the air hockey table.  She did a great job (though we don't recommend using scissors!!), and proudly announced, "I learned it from my grandpa!"  💗

We received more surprises today.  Laura brought an anniversary gift which Xavier revealed to be a small, but powerful, Bluetooth speaker.  This is perfect for us, as Liz usually has to bring her speaker from home so we can listen to music at Eaton.  We gave this one to Liz to test, and she gave it a big thumbs up!  Thank you, Palmer Family, for thinking of this for us!  We will use it often and it will bring us lots of joy, as we love our tunes!!

When Nan arrived today, she had another surprise for us!  Patti had left an envelope at Nan's house when she cleaned yesterday, and it held a generous donation for us!  Patti and a lot of Moose Lodge members have game nights on Monday, and they decided to donate a portion of the proceeds to the AoA this week.  They ask that we use it for something fun. 😍  We'll be thinking, and will let them know what we get to do, thanks to their generosity!  

Alexis and Lisa stopped by the Moose Lodge on the way home to give Patti our thank you notes.  She was there getting ready to cook a St. Patrick's Day meal for the members.  Thank you, Patti and Williamsburg Moose 757.  We are truly blessed by your loving friendship!

We also made thank you notes for Liz's parents for the delicious lunch they treated us to yesterday.  Abraham and Erik did a nice job of expressing our appreciation!

We put our new balloon pump, Anni, to use today so we could play a St. Paddy's Day version of pool noodle volleyball.  Liz inflated green and gold balloons in a jiffy!

This game got kind of loud, as the green balloon became a leprechaun chasing the gold one, which was....gold!  Everyone used their noodles effectively so neither the leprechaun nor the gold would get popped.  This went on for a long time!

Soon, we decided to take it to the hallway so we could stand up and play.  This is really a fun game, and it gives us a fair cardio workout, especially when we play with two balloons.  Eventually, the gold balloon popped, and our game ended with the disappointed "leprechaun" being popped by Sam and put in the trash!  Better luck next year!

This picture represents us continuing a tradition that began on the AoA's second day, March 17, 2016.  We had none of the many useful gadgets and appliances that we've acquired since, but Drew's mom sent us a "rotating oven" called Pizzaz Plus.  Since it was St. Patrick's Day, we decided we would bake Blarney Stone Cookies and we've been using the Pizzaz Plus for this very thing ever since! Drew got the first sample of today's cookies, and gave them a thumb's up!

  

We played St. Patrick's Day Bingo before lunch.  Kate was the first lucky winner!

Devin and his family sent us some beautiful cookies for St. Patrick's Day, and Kevin was happy to try one.  We decided to save our Blarney Stone Cookies for tomorrow so we could enjoy these tasty gems.  Thanks, Dev and family!  That was very thoughtful of you!

With tomorrow being an Eaton day, we moved yoga to this afternoon.  Look at our cute yogis!!  Green is their color!

Friday 

Our team had another productive day at Eaton.  Our camera battery died and had to be put on the charger, but we got a few pictures of the day.  We really enjoyed listening to music with the new Bluetooth speaker we got from Laura's family, but we forgot to get a picture of that.  Trust us, it sounded fantastic!  🎶🎶🎶

Kesha had to bring over more labels for the PowerSlide Door Team because we were cranking out the product today!  Sam handled unpacking and Michelle inserted lenses, while Alexis, Nan, Carol, and Liz added labels.

Next, the doors went to Xavier, Devin, and Kevin who loaded them up with nuts and bolts before giving them to Erik who used the electric screwdriver to tighten them up.  Altogether, our team assembled 231 doors today!

Annmarie and Laura were so happy to see the camera that they blew the photographer a kiss!  They worked diligently to unpack many packages of assorted parts.

Kate and Patrick encouraged Drew today as he stuck with the challenging task of counting 25 screws by placing each one upright on the counting sheet, so they wouldn't roll off the table.  It didn't take Drew long to get in the groove, and together, these 3 quickly filled bags with 100 screws in each!

Jorie was excited for Drew's accomplishment!

Back at AFCC, Ms. Vallone finally caught up with us!  She had been trying all week to come down and wish us a "Happy Anniversary."  She's the assistant principal at JRES, and we have been friends with her the entire 6 years we've been here!

It's been a couple of Covid years since we have played pool, but Devin and Erik got it going today.  They weren't really competitive.  They were happy cheering for each other!

Spring begins on Sunday.  We noticed hyacinths blooming in our master gardener pots outside the window, and right on time.  Welcome, Spring!

We're hoping for nice weather as spring begins next week.  We'll be busy with these activities:

Tuesday:  We're going to try to enjoy a picnic and walk around Jamestowne Island again as it was too chilly the last time we planned it.  Please bring a bagged lunch and wear your Arc shirt!  Also, if you have an Access Pass (National Park Service), please bring it.  Thanks!  We will welcome spring with some brain work in the morning while we wait for the sun to, hopefully, come out!

Wednesday:  Lisa will not be here today, but Nan and Carol will keep us busy as we celebrate National Goof Off Day, which was yesterday!  We will finally have Panda Day, which we kept running out of time for last week, play a silly game, watch a movie, and make a lunch of PB&J sandwiches, fresh fruit, and chips and dip.  It's National Chip and Dip Day! 

Thursday:  Today we will have a lesson with Mystery Doug, make a spring craft, have a lesson on the Revolutionary War to prepare for next week's trip to Yorktown, and make cards for some special family members as we look ahead to Tuesday being Mom and Pop Business Owners Day! 😉  Lunch on your own.  JRES Cafeteria is serving Domino's Pizza or Sub of the Day.

Friday:  We will send a group to Pet Supplies Plus today, so please wear your PSP shirts!  The Cooking Crew will stay at AFCC and  prepare a lunch of pasta with tomato sauce and a spinach side salad so we can celebrate National Spinach Day, which is tomorrow!  We will introduce our gang to J.R.R. Tolkien today, too, as we see what National Tolkien Reading Day is about.  We'll end our week with yoga, so wear comfy pants with your PSP shirts!

Happy Spring,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang

P.S.

We have a couple of FUNdraisers coming up that will benefit The Arc of Greater Williamsburg!  Click on the images below for more info about each event.  Hope to see you there!

April 23 - High Street

May 14-21 and May 22 - various locations