In another week when we were on the go, go, go, there were many experiences and opportunities to keep us busy. Of course, the main highlight this week was celebrating our friend Michelle's birthday! (We love spring...birthdays almost every week!) We are grateful for these wonderful times!
Tuesday
After our dance warm up this morning, we planted sunflower seeds in the ice cream cone containers we brought back from our last visit with the master gardeners. The ice cream cones will break down quickly in the soil, but for now, they are great little plant pots! We're going to leave them in a sunny window, and watch for them to sprout. Then, we will transplant them outside of our window and watch them grow as summer comes! 🌻🌻🌻🤞🤞🤞
Next, we headed to the Williamsburg Botancial Garden and Freedom Park Arboretum (its official name now) for today's session with our MG friends. We were delighted to find out we were going to decorate small glass vases and fill them with beautiful cut flowers to give our moms, or any other special person in our lives, for an early Mother's Day surprise! We got this shot of MG Rich, who is never in our pictures because he's always taking pictures! Of course, he's taking a picture of us in this picture, too!
Our flower arrangements are gorgeous, and we know our moms or other special folks will love them! We had a lot of colorful cut flowers to choose from, and no matter how we arranged them, they were so pretty! Thank you, MGs, for providing us with the materials to make such a thoughtful gift! We know these flowers will bring smiles to some special faces! 💕💕💕
We also split into small groups so we could do some planting with the MGs. Karen's group consisted of Nan, Patrick, Kate, Liz, and Erik. They planted cherry tomatoes, basil, and oregano in a pot for us to bring back to the center...just like last year. Yep, it's a Pizza Pot! We can't wait to harvest tomatoes, basil, and oregano and use them on homemade pizzas. We had a pizza pot last year, too, and the pizzas were so good! 🍕🍕🍕
Carolyn worked with a group that included Kevin and Xavier. Here, she was helping Xavier plant sunflower seeds at the end of the trellis bed.
Sorry, Barb! We got a nice shot of your beautiful hair... We thought you were looking but in the sun's glare, we didn't realize that you weren't! 😯 Anyway, we hope you got help from Adia, Alexis, Laura, and Michelle in planting tomato and basil in this bed! (And that's photographer Rich looking on, too!)
We always enjoying seeing what the MGs showcase from their own gardens. This week, Barb, who we heard has a beautiful front yard, shared blue star flowers, blanket flowers, irises, and peonies. There were a few more, but we forgot their names! Such a colorful and pretty arrangement, and we got to bring it back to the center! Thank you, Barb! We're going to cruise by your house on our way back to the center so we can see your blooming yard!
We took our chances and went to Jamestown Beach for lunch, even though the clouds were hiding the sun, and we got lucky. The sun peeked in and out the entire time we were there, and no raindrops fell!
Karen had told us to look for gum trees, maybe on the campus at JRES, so we could collect the pointy gumballs to place in our Pizza Pot. She said the gumballs may serve as a deterrent to squirrels, who like to eat our cherry tomatoes. We were pleasantly surprised to see a lot of gum trees at Jamestown Beach Event Park, so we collected gumballs today!
While we were still at Freedom Park, we found a pretty painted shell that had been hidden near the footbridge. We decided to rehide it at Jamestown Beach. Liz and friends placed it on the pier, and we saw some folks finding it before we left!
With the weather still on our side, we played bocce on sand for the first time. We discussed how the sand would probably cause more friction than grass, which would slow the ball faster, and encouraged the players to test the theory by rolling the ball a little harder than usual. After a couple of rounds, we realized we needed to use more force when playing in sand!
Congrats to the Cavaliers, who won today!
Did we mention we also got a pretty good walk as the parking lot is a ways from where we played bocce? The return trip is at a slight incline, too!
Here's MG Barb's lovely front yard, and this picture does NOT do it justice! We rode by and saw so many colorful flowers and other pretty plants. If we were judges, this would be the "Yard of Spring!"
Look at Carolyn's beautiful journal page for today's session! As always, she takes Rich's photos and tells the story of our fun and engaging time with the MGs. Great job, Carolyn...and Rich!
Wednesday
Today was a beautiful day to volutneer at Grove Christian Outreach Center, and we were ready! Carol's group went first, and before starting to work, they dropped off another 35 pounds of food donated for the Aktion Club's April Food Drive, which AoA was happily assisting with! Thank you, AoA families, for your generous donations!
As usual on Wednesday mornings, a delivery truck arrives at GCOC, and we help unload and then pack it into distribution bags. Here, Dev B, Liz, and Erik help volunteer Peggy get the assembly line set up!
When Lisa's group took a turn, they got to work outside! It was a perfect day to help tidy up the grounds. Annmarie, Patrick, and Abraham picked up trash that was scattered about, mostly along the sidewalk area. Later, Lisa accompanied them as they carefully picked up trash along the entry drive. We don't mind working, but wouldn't it be nice if people didn't litter their water bottles, soda cans, and chip bags as they walk (or drive) along Rt. 60? 😔
Alexis and Sam pulled weeds. There were a lot of loose vines that had overtaken the groundcover.
Most of what filled the bags were vines we pulled, but a good portion of it was trash. We were proud of how we spruced up the front area of Grove Christian Outreach! (We also missed Drew, Sweet T, and Michelle, who were absent today. Our group was small, but mighty, without them!)
Of course, it wouldn't be Wednesday if we didn't volunteer at the JRES Library, where the girls thought they were just showing sports books they checked out...unaware that Mr. Nonnemacher was photobombing them! 😃
After lunch, we worked on a special gift for our wonderful mothers! This year, we made rose and heart shaped soaps for them. We used goats milk glycerin soap base, so it is gentle and fragrance free. We added glycerin soap colors to make the soaps slightly tinted, and they are very pretty! Kevin, Patrick, and Laura helped measure the ingredients and prepare the silicone molds.
After we melted the soap base in the microwave, Abraham added purple coloring, and gave it a good stir. We then poured in into the molds and let it set for about an hour.
We also had Erik test a sample, to make sure it worked! Liz couldn't believe it was really soap, but Erik had the bubbles to prove it. He added that it rinsed nicely, and left his hands feeling clean and soft!
We also created pretty Mother's Day cards. Sam, Kate, and Annmarie were happy with theirs!
Here is what our soaps look like. We used our recently acquired silicone molds (from when we melted crayon fragments). This is one of our cards up close, too. We're pretty sure our wonderful moms are going to love this!
Meanwhile, look who's having a blast visiting his sister in Florida this week! You look very happy, Drew, and we hope your family is enjoying a wonderful time hanging with Alex and Scott! We miss you!
Thursday
What a beautiful day to be outside! When we got to the Watermen's Museum, Mike was waiting for us out front. His theme today was Mother's Day, so he asked us what kinds of gifts are good to give moms? Flowers was a top answer, which led Mike to tell us about these heirloom irises that grow abundantly in front of the museum. He cut a few so we could make an arrangement.
When Mike asked what else would be pretty in the arrangement, we said something green. Alexis suggested mint, because it would smell good, and Mike sent Liz up in the yard where mint was growing! She snipped several sprigs for us!
Once inside the Carriage House, Mike arranged the irises, mint, and also some spiderwort we gathered. It was very pretty, and with Laura's enthusiastic approval, Mike presented it to Nan...who has been a mom the longest of anyone in the room! 😍
The next part of our lesson brought out our creativity. Mike had a table filled with a variety of materials, and he tasked each group with decorating a large poster board so it would look like a Mother's Day card. He also gave each of us materials to make a Mother's Day "cake" on a plate! Erik, Kate, Annmarie, and Adia got right to work!
Devin B, Liz, and Patrick made some large tissue paper flowers to use on their cards and cakes.
After a half hour of work time, Mike took each group's card and put them together to make a large, colorful, sweet, and very beautiful Mother's Day card! It came together so nicely. We put our cake plates on the table with it and took a group shot with Mike. Looking good, aren't we?!
Here's a closeup of our collaborative card. It's really lovely!!
We took our corn hole game today. For fun, we had the van riders play against each other. Lisa's van (on the right) started out with several unanswered points against Carol's van (on the left).
Carol's van riders warmed up by Round 3, and came back to win the game! Congrats today to Liz, Kate, Kevin, Adia, Laura, Xavier, and Abraham!
We had time for a walk along the riverwalk before heading back to the center. We think the round trip was close to a mile, and it only took us 16 minutes!
We weren't the only ones enjoying the Yorktown Riverfront today!
Back at the center, we added the gumballs we collected at Jamestown on Tuesday to the "Pizza Pot" we planted with the MGs. Xavier, Adia, Sweet T, and Patrick surrounded the basil, oregano, and tomato plants with gumballs, and we all hope it will keep the critters away!
Friday
Happy Birthday, Michelle! We waited all week to celebrate her, but we got nervous when she wasn't feeling feel on Wednesday and Thursday and had to stay home to rest. Luckily, she was all better by Friday! But it was also an Eaton Day, so, before we partied, we worked!
There were hundreds of small packages to be opened so the contents could be removed. This makes it easy for workers on the assembly line to grab what they need and keep working, only more efficiently! Laura, Patrick, Annmarie, and Kate were happy to remove the needed parts and throw away the wrappers. (They also helped set up birthday decorations!)
There were 14 boxes of PowerSlide Doors that needed to be assembled today, which comes out to 168 doors in all! Alexis, Carol, Adia, Michelle, Dev B, and Liz were on the first and second stages of the process.
The third stage is inserting the nuts and bolts, which Xavier, Kevin, and Abraham handled, while Erik and his electric screwdriver finished the job by tightening the screws! By the way, all 168 doors were assembled in two hours!
Birthday Girl Michelle tried to get out of working, much like Dev B had tried a couple of weeks ago on his birthday! It didn't work. Haha! We're kidding! Just like Dev B, Michelle is one of the best workers on the floor, and is always willing to do what is needed!
We want to thank Michelle's Mom, Susan, and her sister, Meagan, for treating us to a fabulous pizza luncheon, complete with shark themed cupcakes! We were almost too afraid to eat them! Michelle, we hope all of your wishes come true! May you have a wonderful year ahead!
Susan and Meagan, we really appreciate you coming all the way to Eaton with the pizzas and cupcakes, and for staying to celebrate with us. We enjoyed visiting with you! By the way, CONGRATULATIONS to Meagan on her graduation from UVA this weekend! 🎓👏💡🌸
After the party, we finished today's Eaton work, and then voted to take a walk instead of returning to the center for yoga with Jaime. It was quite warm outside, but not too humid (yet), so we ended up at New Quarter Park for a nice walk to end our week!
Yikes! We spotted this fella just trying to take a "walk" himself! We were in the vans heading out and Carol was able to snap this picture. We're really glad we didn't see him while we were not in the vans! We know he's a good guy and all that...but still, he's a snake!
We arrived safely back to our center, and the last thing we had to do was gather our Mother's Day gifts. Hopefully, no one will forget to give it to their moms when they get home (or on Sunday)!
🌷🌹🌸🌻 As we end this week, we want to wish the amazing moms, stepmoms, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, and special friends who serve as loving caregivers to our AoA members a very, very Happy Mother's Day! ALL of you mean the world to our guys, and we hope you know how important you are to each and every one of them! 💙💚💛💜
Here is our schedule for next week:
Tuesday: We'll be at the center this morning catching up on appreciation notes for a number of folks who mean a lot to us. We'll also experiment in the kitchen to create a dessert that combines items that were recently donated to us...should be interesting! We'll spend the afternoon at The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg with our friend Christina, so please wear Arc shirts. Lunch on your own. The JRES Cafeteria is available and is offering Chicken Fajita, Chef Salad, or Pizza (school made, not Dominos).
Wednesday: It's time for a visit from our Therapy Dog friends! 🐶 We'll enjoy reading with them, and also enlist their help for an early Memorial Day activity. It's National Pack Rat Day, so first we will clean out a few cluttered storage areas, and then we'll have a fun lesson on actual rats! Lunch on your own. JRES Cafeteria is available and your choices are Cheesy Pasta Supreme or Sub of the Day.
Thursday: We're celebrating Xavier's Birthday (Part 1) today and National Pizza Party Day (a day early)! We'll make homemade pizzas for lunch (including GF for Xavier), and Xavier's mom, Leah, is treating us to cupcakes, too! Next Thursday, Leah will return with Steve for Xavier's Birthday (Part 2) when they will do art with us and make pancakes for lunch, another one of our favorite traditions! OH, IT'S ALSO PET SUPPLIES PLUS DAY, so please wear your PSP shirts!
Friday: This morning we will welcome Arc Board President, Sue Hassan, for a visit. A couple of other board members may join her, and we say, "The more, the merrier!" We'll set up stations to demonstrate how versatile we are at life skills, vocational tasks, continuing education, arts/crafts, and recreation. Later, we'll celebrate Nascar Day and Endangered Species Day with lessons and activities. We'll end the week with yoga with Jaime, so dress to stretch. Lunch on your own. JRES Cafeteria is available and is serving Corn Dog Nuggets or Cheeseburger.
Enjoy the weekend!
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and The AoA Gang
Just to make sure they know we love them:
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