Friday, December 22, 2023

Merry Christmas, 2023!


Monday, December 18

We were excited to be heading to Carol's in-home theater today for a special holiday outing.  Thank you very much for your hospitality, Carol!  We all decided you have enough room for us to move in so we can watch movies all the time on your awesome huge screen!  Besides the movie, we played games, enjoyed subs from Jersey Mike's for lunch, decorated brownies to look like Christmas trees, finished our read-aloud, and visited with a special guest!


Can you spot our special guest?  It's Moose Patti!  She's behind Patrick and beside Liz.  She had just enough time before work to pop in and see us since she lives near Carol.  It was wonderful to see you, Patti!  It's been too long!   


Laura, Kevin, and Tessa chose to watch The Wiggles on the big screen tv in the room adjacent to the theater room.  Thanks for bringing your DVDs, Kevin!  


Carol provided popcorn for everyone, too!  We watched a couple of episodes of a Disney holiday series called Prep & Landing that our friend Mike, at the Watermen's Museum, recommended.  They were great!  Moose Patti watched, too!  Thanks again, Carol, for sharing your in-home theater with us.  What a fun experience!



Thank you to the "Monday Party Families" who sponsored our delicious lunch!  We enjoyed subs from Jersey Mike's along with chips and fruit!


Lunch in Carol's sunroom with a lovely view of the pond!




Dessert was Christmas tree brownies, which we decorated ourselves!






We will be talking about our delightful day at Carol's for a long time!  It was so nice to enjoy each other's company in a different setting.  We appreciate Carol for sharing her home with us!


Tuesday, December 19

We celebrated our friend Christina's birthday with Party #2 this week!  We usually visit with her each month at The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, but in December, we invite her to our center instead!


Christina always brings us a special project to work on, even if it's her birthday we're celebrating!  Crafting makes her happy.  💖  Today, she helped us make these beautiful Christmas trees that will make a lovely gift for our families.


Annmarie demonstrates how we used pipe cleaners and beads.  Simple, but elegant!


Liz and Kevin carefully spaced out the beads so they would look like ornaments.


Michelle demonstrates how we pulled the bottom of each pipe cleaner through a small hole to help straighten the tree branches.


Christina's hand-sewn stars were the finishing touches.  Aren't they gorgeous?!


We topped off Christina's party with a fun round of Christmas Carol Charades, breakfast casserole for lunch, and birthday cupcakes!




Christina shared this funny...not so funny (if you're Mom) video clip from Saturday Night Live with us.  It had us laughing, but also pausing to think about everything moms do for our families at this time of year (and always, really).  If you haven't seen it, click on the pic for a link and enjoy...and be sure to thank the moms you know for all they do for everyone!



Thank you for another wonderful year visiting you at The Art Museums, Christina.  We look forward to more wonderful times with you next year!  It was a blast celebrating your birthday today.  We hope all your wishes come true!!


We finished the day with a scavenger hunt for Christmas facts and making birthday cards for Karryna, who used to work with Tracy and us, but now works in Richmond.  We stay in touch with her, and she volunteers at Arc events when she can.  Her birthday is December 29, and we want her to know we haven't forgotten her!




Did you know that no two reindeer antlers are the same?  Like human fingerprints, every antler has its own shape and design!




Wednesday, December 20

Time to get this week's Party #3 started!  (Photo courtesy of Andy Dayton)

We had our biggest party of the year today!  It was a great time spent dancing, playing games, enjoying a potluck lunch, visiting with special guests, and exchanging our Secret Santa gifts.  Here are lots and lots and lots of photos so we can remember this day forever!

Custodians Luis and Heike stopped by and we gave them gifts!  Sevarina was out today, but she got hers yesterday.

Thank you to our thoughtful families for these beautiful gifts for Lisa, Carol, and Nan.  ðŸ’–

Nan was happy to see special guests Haley and Jordan stop by!  They had fun playing BINGO with us!

Tessa and Devin enjoying the BINGO game!             

More BINGO fun!

               Laura and Kate brought cards for everyone.

Tessa brought goodie bags for everyone!

Time for a holiday sing-along!             



Lilly spent most of the day with us!  She's on break from grad school at Vanderbilt.  It was awesome seeing her, and she helped with several of our activities, too!



                   Thank you to our "Wednesday Party Families" for this delicious potluck luncheon!

A toast to our wonderful 2023 year!




After dancing, singing, games, brain work, lunch, and selfie fun with Lilly, we had our Secret Santa gift exchange.  We got pictures of everyone as they were being both a giver and a receiver!  Enjoy our joyful gift exchange photos.  They are great!  Thank you families, for the thought that went into selecting the gifts our guys exchanged with each other.  They were perfect!

















The camera needed a break after the gift exchange so we didn't get any more pictures!  Our day ended with a bit more socializing and then saying our goodbyes for 2023.  We'll resume regular AoA operations on Wednesday, January 3rd.  Here's a look at our plans, and until then...

Image by Freepik


Wednesday, January 3:  We'll welcome 2024 by updating our calendar and room decorations.  We will have a lesson on why we celebrate New Year's Day, and we'll talk about New Year's Resolutions.  Lunch on your own.  JRES Cafeteria is available and is offering Popcorn Chicken Bowl or Hot Dog.

Thursday:  Today is National Spaghetti Day, and Erik's mom Diane is providing baked spaghetti for our lunch!  We'll add side salads and breaksticks.  Thanks so much, Diane!  We love your baked spaghetti!  We will also have a lesson for National Braille Day, and we'll end the day with trivia fun to celebrate National Trivia Day! 

Friday:  We'll kick off our vocational work for the year at Pet Supplies Plus, so please wear your PSP shirts. It's National Bean Day tomorrow, so the cooking crew will make a batch of bean and ham soup with cornbread for lunch.  Tomorrow is also National Bobblehead Day and we have a fun lesson planned for that, too!  We'll also kick off the year with a relaxing yoga session, so dress to stretch!

Image by pikisuperstar on Freepik


Thanks, Everyone, for your enduring support,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang