This week we celebrated two awesome occasions with Michelle's birthday and the 7th anniversary of our partnership with Christina at The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg! Both of them were special, but felt just a little off because we were missing many of our friends since The Arc of Abilities was visited by the Covid virus!
Our friend Drew was first to test positive on Monday, followed by Carol and Patrick on Tuesday afternoon. Fortunately, no one else became infected as our week ended, and we are grateful for that! Our friend Abraham was also out this week, getting better after some tummy troubles, and a few other friends opted to stay home to be on the safe side. We had to change a plan or two and make other adjustments, but all in all, we had a good week, even though it's never the same when friends aren't with us! We missed them and hope they are all back with us next week.
Tuesday, May 7
Since we weren't certain how the Covid virus might be affecting our group, we decided to postpone Devin's birthday celebration until sometime after his family returns from their cruise to Alaska at the end of the month. We wanted to be sure his family members weren't exposed if any of us were contagious and didn't know it. We were still able to go bowling, and enjoy pizza for lunch, courtesy of Sam's grandmother, and our friend, Nina. She gifted us Domino's gift cards last Christmas, and we still had funds to use! Thanks so much, Nina. The pizzas hit the spot, as usual! Your gift has meant a lot to us. 🍕💖😋
We didn't get many pictures today, but here's what we have!
Everyone just hanging around, waiting for their turns!
Devin pointing out that he had just made a strike, and it was probably because he was wearing his "lucky shirt" from Best Buddies!
Annmarie with her signature pose, whether she's working at Eaton or just scored a spare in bowling!
Sam was excited to have picked up a spare after his first roll resulted in a split. We all know that's not easy!
A group photo taken outside of the lanes. Everyone was ready to pick up the pizzas by now!
Thanks again, Nina! We are grateful for the gift cards you gave us, and for having your grandson Sam for a friend!
After lunch and Choice Time, we got outside for fresh air and a walk.
We checked the sunflower seeds we transplanted to a pot last week.
They look very good, with a lot more leaves today.
Wednesday, May 8
We had a low-key day, deciding to cancel our work session in the library and our volunteer time at GCOC. While no one seemed to be experiencing symptoms, we felt it best to hang around "home" just in case we might be carriers. We didn't want to unknowingly share germs with anyone who might be more vulnerable than we are.
Each week we enjoy looking at the previous week's blog post. Today we got a kick out of seeing ourselves dancing in preparation for the Cinco de Mayo celebration with Sam's mom.
We had cards to create, too! Michelle's birthday is tomorrow, and our friend Bette Faye, who used to plan many of the Arc's fun activities, has one next week!
The insides are just as beautiful as the outsides!
Tracy visited to tell us about an exciting adventure called "Bellyaking on the Bay" that will take place on June 13!
Check out the email Lisa sent with all the info. Space is limited, so sign up quickly if you're interested!
Today was National Have a Coke Day! We decided to do science experments, and have samples!
Erik helped set up our experiment so we could test the effect of different liquids, including Coke, on cleaning old pennies.
Many of us predicted the bleach will clean the dingy pennies best, but a couple of us picked alcohol and one person picked lime juice. Nan picked Coke! Hmmm....we'll check tomorrow.
Liz compared shiny pennies to older, dirtier ones before we put them in the liquids.
Bryan dropped one old, dirty penny in each liquid. We also put an egg in a jar and covered it with Coke. The egg's shell is similar to the enamel in our teeth and bones, so we want to see what "too much Coke" might do to it! We predicted it will stain the egg's shell...but we didn't know what else might happen. We'll get a picture of that one tomorrow.
Science is kind of interesting...but tasting regular and Cherry Coke is really fun!
Our final experiment was to make a "soda fountain" by adding Mentos candy to a bottle of Coke. We learned that carbonation (from carbon dioxide gas) is what makes soda fizzy. When the Mentos enter the beverage, the bonds between the carbon dioxide gas and water are broken, and since the top is also off of the bottle, the gas bubbles escape with an eruption! It was fun to see, but we thought it would be more dramatic! Sooo....
We were surprised that over 1/2 of the Coke escaped during the eruption!
Thursday, May 9
We also observed that the ones we left in the cotton balls are still growing, and the roots are pushing through the cotton. A few of them seem to have not made it. We are thinking we might need to plant more of the ones with roots in soil!
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Lexi and Emma documented their observations in their journals.
Next we checked the Coke experiments we set up yesterday. We were "grossed out" by how badly the egg looked after soaking overnight in Coke. Now, no one wants to put too much soda or sugar on their teeth, and that was the point! We also checked to see which liquid would clean dirty pennies the best and were surprised that the Coke made the dirty penny look like new! Nan was correct! The bleach and lime juice also did a good job of cleaning. We completely overlooked taking a picture showing how the pennies looked...but it's been that kind of week!
We're also gearing up for Mother's Day, but shh...it's a surprise. We will share that Emma was working on assembling one of the card kits we got from Krafty Karen.
This year's cards are so pretty, as shown by Liz! Thanks so much, Krafty Karen!
Michelle asked for a Movie Morning to celebrate her special day, and she chose to share Land Before Time with us. It was a throwback for a few of us, but enjoyable all the same. There's that sad part in the middle...but it ends happily!
We set up our little theater. Liz and Bryan handled the Popcorn Cart!
Finally, lunch time arrived! We really enjoyed the chicken nuggets, fresh fruit, chips, lemonade, and cupcakes that Michelle's mom and sister brought for us. It smelled so good as soon as they entered the room! Thank you very much, Susan and Meagan, for this delicious treat. We enjoyed hanging out with you, and hearing all about Meagan's plans for grad school!
Happy Birthday (on Sunday), Michelle! We hope all your wishes come true. Enjoy your "day off" tomorrow, too! 😉
Friday, May 10
Well, it has certainly been a while since we only had 10 of our members in attendance, but today was it! Our Covid-influenced week finally came to an end, and it was a great ending...more on that below. First, our attendance clerk, Laura, couldn't believe all the absences she had to mark on the roster today! We sure hope everyone is back next week. We miss our friends. 😦
We had a couple of hours before we needed to head out to meet Christina, so we made her a thank you card for today's Pizza Picnic, and then stretched with Jaime during a yoga segment. Soon, it was time to meet Christina at the CW Visitor Center picnic area!
It was a one-van day!
Since it's on the way, we stopped by Master Gardener Barbara's house to see her beautiful front yard. (She told us to stop by anytime...but unfortunately, she wasn't home today.) A few of us got out of the van for a closer look.
We recognized many of the flowers that Barb brings to our MG sessions to share with us. These pictures don't do justice to her lovely and colorful yard!
Happy 7th Anniversary to Christina and us! We first met her at a visit to The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg on May 4, 2017. We've had a lot of fun times with her over these seven years, and can't thank her enough for how much she has taught us. We are also grateful for her friendship. Today, she treated us to a Pizza Picnic and, while we were sad to miss many of our friends, and Carol, it was a very nice outing.
Dirt cups with worms for dessert! 😋
Thank you for this wonderful celebration lunch, Christina. On behalf of all of us, Laura's "speech" says it all. (Great job, Laura.)
Our gift to Christina was this collage called "Through the Years with Christina." There are a lot of great memories depicted on it! We're excited about making more memories with you, Christina!
After our picnic, we went to the museums to work on a special art project. Christina helped us make pretty flower art for Mother's Day!
First, we made our canvas by covering cardboard with pieces of paper cut from copies of the Virginia Gazette from the Colonial period.
Next, we put a few strokes of colorful paint down for a background.
The next step involved using a sponge/bubble wrap "stamp" to highlight the background with a bright yellow color.
We selected flower petals, leaves, and stems that Christina had cut from decorative craft paper.
Finally, we assembled the flower and signed our work!
Happy Mother's Day to all of our moms and stepmoms! Happy Mother's Day to you, too, Christina! Thanks for guiding us in the creation of another masterpiece!
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With that, our week was done. Here's hoping everyone is back to 100% next week. We have an engaging and fun one planned!
Tuesday: Double the fun today! First, we travel to Freedom Park for a session with the master gardeners. We'll plant corn and give them updates about our sunflower seed experiment! Please wear Arc shirts. When we return to the center, Xavier's mom and Steve will be here to celebrate his birthday with us. They are providing a hot dog luncheon! Thanks so much, Leah and Steve!! It's going to be an epic day!
Wednesday: It's time for a visit from our therapy dog friends! We will enjoy reading with them and play a game, too. Later, we'll have a lesson about this spring's cicada emergence that includes a lesson from Mystery Science. Lunch on your own. The JRES Cafeteria is available for Popcorn Chicken Bowl or Hot Dog.
Thursday: We'll be busy this morning as we welcome several volunteers from Williamsburg United Methodist Church to paint rocks and play Bingo. They asked to visit us for their "Hands on Mission Week" and we're looking forward to their help! After lunch we'll have a lesson for Endangered Species Day (it's tomorrow) and play a game of corn hole. Lunch on your own. The JRES Cafeteria is available for Domino's Pizza, Deli Sub, or Chef Salad.
Friday: We're going to Eaton for a work day so please wear Eaton shirts and bring a bagged lunch. We'll keep our eye on the weather and decide as a group whether we want to take a walk at the park or return to AFCC for yoga with Jaime after we finish our work.
Enjoy the weekend! Happy Mother's Day to our beloved mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and friends!
Image by Freepik
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