Happy Birthday, Devin!

Yes, it was another week, another birthday celebration!  Spring is a great time to have a birthday and we are happy to have so many in the Arc of Abilities to celebrate!  This week we honored Devin on Wednesday, and welcomed his parents and grandparents to the celebration, which was very nice!  We visited Bluebird Gap Farm on Tuesday, and had a bonus trip with Tracy to York River State Park on Thursday. We also completed our Wednesday service work with the flowers and at GCOC, and worked at Pet Supplies Plus this week.  It was a great ending to the month of April!

Tuesday, April 29

We first visited Bluebird Gap Farm last year in April, and it was so much fun, we had to visit again.  The weather was perfect and our day was delightful.  Several of our friends were out today due to traveling and not feeling well, so we only had 13 on today's adventure.  We missed our other friends!

Liz enjoyed watching the sheep, who were taking advantage of the shade.  A perfect weather day to us must still feel warm when you're wearing a wool coat!

Kevin got up close with a donkey!  Two of them were inside the shady barn and one was outside in the sunshine.

We saw a lot of fowl today, which we were reminded includes chickens, geese, ducks, and peacocks.

As we walked one of the trails, we saw a sign that said "Davis Cemetery."  We wondered why a farm/park would include a cemetery until it was explained that the graves were here before the farm, and they were respectfully left alone.  Most of the markers indicated the people had passed away in the early 1900s.

We saw many flowers, plants, and trees, but it seemed there were fewer animals out this year than last year.  The gardens are beautiful at Bluebird Gap Farm, with many areas dedicated to helping the pollinators.

Lunch was enjoyed at picnic tables, but we had to split up our group since the tables at the large pavilion area were reserved for a larger group.  We didn't mind!

We ended our visit with a walk through the Hampton Master Gardeners garden, which is very pretty!  We met a gardener who said she loves our garden at Freedom Park!  We relaxed for a while in the gazebo, and then walked through the barn with lots of old equipment inside, like washing machines, refrigerators, and stoves.  We also got to see art on display from students in Hampton Public Schools, which was a nice surprise!

What a great way to kick off our week!

Wednesday, April 30

This morning we welcomed Allison back from her vacation in Florida.  We were happy for her help with the flower arrangements.  Annmarie picked some pretty flowers for her jar.

Kate and Liz also arranged some of the flowers.  We know the residents of Commonwealth Senior Living enjoy the bursts of color in their dining room.

We also worked on our May calendar today, since tomorrow is May 1st.  Sam was under the weather so Michelle handled his job of gluing the labels to the squares for each date.

Kevin helped insert the new squares into the correct spots on the calendar.

The group that volunteered at Grove this morning was so busy, that we only remembered to take one picture.  What a great assembly line it was!  Our sweet friend, Ursula, who isn't in this picture, brought us a treat of tasty meringue cookies, and even included some with gluten-free sprinkles for Xavier!  Thanks for caring so much, Ursula, and for your always yummy treats!

All morning we did our service work and calendar update because we knew the fun was coming.  Devin turned 29 on Monday, but we celebrated his birthday today!  While we waited for his family to arrive...and prepare lunch for us...we played a great game of Birthday Cornhole!  Devin is from the Philadelphia area, and he's a huge sports fan, so today's teams were Eagles vs. Phillies!  Devin was on the Eagles, and they squeaked out a win, 31-30!  (The gentleman in the red shirt is Dev's Grandpa Michael, and he filled in for our absent friends today!)

We had a special treat for Devin's birthday.  His parents and grandparents came and cooked Philly cheesesteaks for us!  This is the first time we've ever had cheesesteaks, and they were a hit!  Here, Grandma Mary Ann assisted her son Scott (can you tell? 💖) with the buns while he cooked steak in one of the skillets.

Roxanne manned the other skillet and it didn't take long for our room to smell great!  Roxanne also brought a beautiful salad, and Grandma Mary Ann cooked peppers and onions, too.  😋

Once we added chips and a dill pickle, lunch was served.  The Birthday Boy very patiently posed for a picture with this delicious lunch!  

Scott and Roxanne, we can't thank you enough for today's lunch.  What a fun way to celebrate Devin, with the signature sandwich from his beloved Philly!  Thank you for your dedication to working with us at Pet Supplies Plus, too.  We have learned many worthwhile skills through our partnership with you, and we look forward to learning more!

What a fun afternoon we had hanging with Grandma Mary Ann, Scott, Roxanne, Grandpa Michael, and Grandma Sarah.  Devin, thanks for sharing your family with us on your special day!

Here's to the last year of your 20's, Dev!  We hope all your wishes come true!

Thursday, May 1

Spring is rolling along and today we brought in the month of May with our first ever trip to York River State Park.  Tracy arranged it for us, and it was one of our best trips yet!  We learned a lot about the water, wildlife, and plants in our area.  Our guide, Ranger John, was excellent.  He was very knowledgeable, and explained everything in ways that kept us listening and engaged.  We loved that he had a quick wit, and he threw in a few personal stories...which our guys always find interesting!  Did we mention he sang, too?! 

We really enjoyed our day at YRSP, and what follows is basically a photo and video dump with a few captions.  We highly recommend a visit, and if you can meet and spend a few minutes with Ranger John Gresham, you won't be disappointed!

John explained that the York River is actually an estuary.  Freshwater from the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers joins with saltwater from the Chesapeake Bay around the West Point area, and what we call the York River flows from there for about 35 miles to the Chesapeake Bay.

We were just walking along, headed to the marsh overlook, when what should come across the path but a black ratsnake!  John took the opportunity to teach us how beneficial ratsnakes are, as they are immune to diseases in mice and rats, so they help control the population of those rodents by eating them.  They are also immune to copperhead venom, and can eat them, too!  John said all the black ratsnake wants to do is be on his way to find his next meal.

At the marsh overlook, we learned that a marsh is different from a swamp because a marsh doesn't have trees.  Marshes often have lots of grassy plants, while swamps are more like a forest, with trees that provide a canopy.  The main grass growing in this marsh is cord grass, which the colonists used to make rope.

On the way down to Taskinas Creek, John pointed out wax myrtle trees.  In this case, they signify where freshwater meets up with saltwater to make a mixture called brackish, which is what the creek water is.  He said wax myrtles are also known as bayberry trees, and their berries are used in making candles and soaps, as well as providing food for birds.

With a couple of swipes with his net at Taskinas Creek, John had a fascinating catch!  We observed baby blue crabs, tiny grass shrimp, and mud minnows which have no scales and are almost see-through.  He also told us the "mud" around the marsh is called detritus, which is composed of sand, silt, and decomposing organisms.  

In this video John explains that detritus is good for the skin, kind of like a spa treatment.  Before we began filming, he also mentioned that colonists and Native Americans would have used it for sunscreen and to soothe bug bite itches.

We made many stops on our hike around the park (it was a great walk), but these were some of the highlights.  One of our last stops was down by the river's edge, where John told us that Virginia has a state soil!  Gail is showing the sandy loam known as Pamunkey soil!  John also spotted a blue crab shell and showed it to us up close so we could see how the crab had shed it, gills and all.  The crab that was inside is now known as a softshell crab, and will hide in the marshes or other vegetation along the river's edge for about 3 days until it's new, and larger shell, hardens.

A final sight we saw was a tall pine tree across this pond.  It's hard to see, but it's leaning a little to the left.  In the top of the tree are several blue heron nests.  The blue herons nest and lays eggs up high because snakes don't usually bother to climb that high.  The baby herons will hatch in early May, and they will not fly off on their own until around the middle of July.  John said there are a lot of blue herons in the park, and we saw quite a few today!

On one part of the hike, we passed by a bit of poison ivy!  (We kept our distance.)  Later, John entertained us with a song about it.  He was so much fun and we can tell he must love his job as Ranger and Education Support Specialist at York River State Park.  His enthusiasm was contagious.  Thank you, John, for a wonderful experience today!  We enjoyed it very much!

Lunch was enjoyed at the shelter near the marsh.  There were a few mayflies, but it wasn't too bad.

Whenever Tracy, Katrina, and JaVante are able to join us, or just visit at AFCC, we're happy.  They are great friends who enrich our Arc of Abilities program in many ways.  Many of our members go on the "Exceptional Expedition" trips provided by Tracy, with Katrina and JaVante, on Mondays in fall, winter, and spring.  They are truly a part of our AoA family.  That's why when JaVante announced that he's off to the University of Tennessee for grad school, we were both sad (for us) and happy (for him).  JaVante, we wish you the very best, and we are so happy that you are pursuing a future in Adaptive Sports.  We can say without hesitation that you were made for this!  Please stay in touch, and come back to Virginia to share your amazing talents!! Meanwhile, we hope to see a lot more of you before you head to Knoxville in August.

Friday, May 2

We have enjoyed the first 3 days of this week, but today, we had to get to work!  Of course, we enjoy that, too, whether it's at Pet Supplies Plus, or the center.  While Carol and a crew of 7 headed to the pet store, Lisa, Nan, and a crew of 8 remained at the center to prepare lunch.

Drew, Patrick, and Xavier were our Salad Superheroes today, making each one to perfection with colorful veggies!

We love grilled cheese sandwiches, and today we decided to take them up a notch and add ham.  We also decided to bake them in the Nina, instead of trying to use the griddle to flip 20 sandwiches without losing the contents or burning them!  Nan, Kate, and Michelle carefully assembled the sandwiches for us.

When we noticed we had some leftover canned frosting in the fridge, we decided to add a little dab, along with sprinkles, to the store bought cookies we had for today's dessert.  Alexis, Annmarie, and Laura were very focused cookie decorators!

Our friends at Pet Supplies Plus were working up an appetite as they cleaned and stocked shelves today.  Erik, Kevin, Devin, Liz, Bryan, Thomas, and Gail worked efficiently.  Roxanne and manager Thomas approved of everyone's hard work!

Devin and Liz have a friendly rivalry when it comes to baseball.  Devin is a Phillies fan, while Liz cheers for the Nationals.  They were excited to find canine fashions for both teams at the store!

It's time to check out the Cinco de Mayo accessories on sale at Pet Supplies Plus!  Hurry in before Monday to get your furry friends all-decked out in some very colorful sombreros!

Once everyone was back together at the center, we had a quick lesson about the Cinco de Mayo holiday, which we will celebrate with lunch at a restaurant on Tuesday.  Next, we turned our attention to our simple, but very tasty lunch for today!

Laura returned today following a trip to Savannah, Georgia and Congaree National Park in South Carolina.  She read the postcard she brought back for our collection which said she took a walk on a trail and had a picnic lunch.  Hey Laura, that's what we were doing at York River State Park while you were away!  Laura also gave everyone a sea turtle trading card depicting one of five different sea turtles that visit the Georgia coast.  Thanks for the cool cards, Laura!  We enjoyed reading the facts about the different kinds of sea turtles!

When the end of the day arrived, we cleared the tables and set out mats for yoga with Jaime.  We enjoyed a new segment today called "Pixie Patch" and by 2:30, we were all stretched out, relaxed, and ready for the weekend!

We're sure everyone will be ready for next week, too!  Here are our plans:

Tuesday:  This morning we'll go bowling since it's the first Tuesday of the month, but instead of pizza for lunch, we're going to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with lunch at Los Paisanos Mexican Restaurant.  Please bring $12 to contribute toward your meal, which is a bit more expensive than our usual meals out.  When we return to the center, we'll work on a project for Mother's Day. 💗 

Wednesday:  This morning we will volunteer at Grove and prepare the flower arrangements for Commonwealth Senior Living.  Please wear Arc shirts.  Other activities today will include a make up for Bugs Bunny Day (April 30) and card games.  Lunch on your own.  JRES Cafeteria is available for Asian Chicken with Rice or BBQ Flatbread.

Thursday:  Today we are headed to The Mariners' Museum for a twice-delayed (snow days) visit with Wisteria and friends!  We haven't seen them since last year!  The forecast looks questionable for a picnic and walk on the Noland Trail, but please bring a bagged lunch in case we get lucky!

Friday:  We will work at Eaton this morning, so please wear Eaton shirts and bring a bagged lunch.  It's time for Spring Birthday celebration #5 this afternoon...hooray for Michelle!  Her mom will join us for a cupcake and ice cream celebration.  Thanks so much, Susan! 🥳

Saturday and Sunday:  Stop by and say "HI" to support The Arc!

Families - Head's Up - Our annual Summer Break will be July 1-4 this year.  The Arc of Abilities will be closed that week. 

Have a great weekend,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang

Happy Birthday, Kate!

 

In case you've lost track, we celebrated Spring Birthday #3 this week!  It was Kate's turn and she turned the big 3-0!  We had a party for her after our visit to the master gardeners on Tuesday morning.  On Wednesday, we were back at Grove to volunteer in the Food Pantry, and we also added a new weekly project of arranging flowers donated by Trader Joe's that we will deliver to Commonwealth Senior Living.  We spent Thursday at AFCC celebrating a couple of food "holidays" that you'll have to read about to believe... It was all business on Friday morning when when we worked at Eaton, followed by lunch at the park... with the mayflies! We are enjoying the warmer weather, but hoping it doesn't get too much buggier, hotter, or humid too soon!  Here's a look at our week:

Tuesday, April 22

Our day began with a visit to Freedom Park for a session with the master gardeners.  Today, we checked on the seeds and bulbs we planted two weeks ago, learned about the herb of the day, chives, and made something called flower seed bombs!  (But they are a surprise for Mother's Day, so don't tell the moms! 😆)

We checked on the veggies we planted two weeks ago, and the potatoes that Karen and Steve planted before that.  A couple of potato plants have flowers about to bloom which means the potatoes will be growing underground!  The onions are growing, as are the carrots, beets, radish, and lettuce.  There was only one small spinach plant popping up through the soil, so we are hopeful the spinach will take off soon.  Bryan assisted Barb in planting kale, too!

 

We tried something new today!  Karen had air dry clay, soil, and wildflower seeds.  We combined it all into a ball that will harden and become a "flower seed bomb."  Once they are hard, you toss them into an empty area (where there is soil) and they "explode" releasing the seeds which will disperse, and hopefully take root and grow into pretty flowers!  The clay will break down and wash away, after it's protected the seeds until conditions are right for germination.  (We're going to include the flower bombs in our Mother's Day gift, but that's a secret! 😜)

The herb of the day was chives, which we learned have an oniony/garlicky flavor, and are often served on baked potatoes.  Krafty Karen made a tasty chive dip which the MGs served us with carrots and lemonade for a snack.  It was so tasty!   At the end of the session, the gardeners shared cut flowers that are growing in their yards at home.  Barb and Joanne showed a variety of irises, and Karen had beautiful azaleas.  In a touching moment, the MGs showed us a small oakleaf hydrangea they planted in remembrance of our late friend, Beka.  Beka always loved our time with the master gardeners.  We miss her. 💚💙

Enjoy Carolyn's lovely Journal Update for today's visit!

We were excited to get back to the center so we cold celebrate Kate's 30th birthday!  Her parents, Elizabeth and Mark, and our friend, Sandra, were bringing lunch.  Sandra provided her delicious pork and rice with salsa verde, and Elizabeth and Mark brought cupcakes and sodas!  Lunch was delicious!  Sandra, we are so happy when you cook for us, and somehow it's even tastier when we have it for Kate's birthday!  Thank you, and Elizabeth and Mark, for making today very special for Kate, and fun for us all!

We are grateful to Kate and her family for introducing us to Sandra, who is from Colombia, many years ago.  We have lost count of the many times she has prepared her delicious dish for us.  

We appreciate her kindness and love when she calls us her angels!

Kate, we hope all your wishes come true and you begin your 30s with a great first year!

T

Wednesday, April 23

Today we spent the morning doing service projects and the afternoon learning about Shakespeare!  How cool is that?!

Devin, Cameron, Emma, Bryan, Laura, Annmarie, Erik, Kevin, and Xavier worked at GCOC filling food distribution bags with our favorite volunteers, Joel and Thom (show here), and Tom, Peggy, and Ursula (shown in the 3rd pic).

Our group also helped unpack several boxes of donated Easter treats and get them ready to go on the shelves at GCOC's market, The Gathering Place.

Many thanks, Ursula, for the delicious brownies!  We appreciate the treats very much. 💖

While our Grove group was busy with canned goods, the AFCC group was busy with flowers!  How, and why, did we go from this...

 

...to this???

We began a new service project today.  Trader Joe's donates unsold flowers to the Arc, and we will be learning to make small arrangements with them which will be delivered to the residents at Commonwealth Senior Living.  We have a learning curve, as flowers must be handled with care, and gently placed in the jars, but we will persevere!  

Some of the gang rides back to the Rec Center in the afternoon when we return the vans, and their families pick them up from there.  They will be delivering the flowers on Wednesday afternoons when we stop at Commonwealth Senior Living.  Today, Patrick and Gail made the connection.  In addition to the small arrangements we made, we also gave them the leftover flowers to share with the residents.

After our busy morning of service work, we enjoyed perfect weather for a nice walk around the back of the school.  It was a sunny 65 degrees and the humidity was low.  After the walk, we took a group photo on the bleachers.  Don't we look great in our Arc shirts?! 

After lunch and Choice Time, we read to an exciting part in our read-aloud, The Wild Robot Escapes.  We think the author, Peter Brown, writes very well, and we are enjoying his series about Roz, the robot.  

Our next lesson was about one of the greatest English writers of all time, William Shakespeare, since today is Talk Like Shakespeare Day.  We learned from our video that he is credited with adding over 1,700 words to the English language.

We also learned that Shakespeare was the first to use phrases such as "wild goose chase," "good riddance," and "in a pickle."  Emma said she thought they sounded more "modern" and was surprised they were coined over 400 years ago.  We ended our lesson with a fun game called Is It Shakespeare or Taylor Swift?  We read quotes and had to decide if they were written by Shakespeare or Taylor Swift, and it was not easy!  It was fun, though!

We got another exciting and encouraging update from Tessa's mom today!  Tessa is able to get up and down steps, with support, so she is able to be outside more and take rides in the car.  Watch as she swings her legs around, something we take for granted!!  She's making such good progress!

Thursday, April 24

When we have a day at the center with no traveling, we have to keep busy and today, we did that with cooking and cleaning to cornhole and counting (money)!

We celebrated Pigs in a Blanket Day, which is today, and Lima Bean Respect Day, which was Sunday.  It made for an easy, and tasty, lunch menu.  Xavier, Devin, and Kevin had two important tasks:  first, clean the microwave and the Nina, and second, get the lima beans seasoned (we used chicken bouillon) and on the burner to simmer until they were soft and creamy! 

Kate and Patrick were bakers today.  They prepared a simple recipe for cake mix cookies which we topped with a dab of frosting and colorful sprinkles.  Sam, Lexi, and Erik made napkin rings with an adorable pig in a blanket on the outside!

 

Speaking of pigs in a blanket, we had Drew and Bryan work with Nan to grill the "pigs" before Laura, Thomas, and Michelle wrapped them in doughy blankets so we could bake them in the Nina.  We think they taste better if we grill them first.  Lately, we have been enjoying clementines with our lunches, and Annmarie and Emma made a great team peeling them for us today.

While we waited for time to eat, we enjoyed another gorgeous weather day with a cornhole game.  Annmarie was about to score a point for her team, the Wienies! 

Next up was Thomas, who was scoring for the Beanies today.  

In today's Wienies vs. Beanies game, we had two 1st place winners!  The score was tied at the end, 22-22!!

The actual beanies and wienies we were waiting for!  Yum!

We're halfway through The Wild Robot Escapes.  Roz was briefly reunited with her adopted gosling son, Brightbill, but he had to continue his migration south.  He will return in the spring to help her escape the farm where she works, and where the children know her secret and have vowed to help her.  (Roz is a defective robot because she has developed human emotions.  If the farmer finds out she's not just a machine, he might send her back to the factory to be destroyed...)

Our last activity of the day was in recognition of Teach Children to Save Day.  We watched a video that explained the importance of saving for emergencies as well as dreams and goals.  We discussed that any money can be saved, whether it's earned from employment/allowance, or received as a gift.  Our brain work consisted of counting money for a shopping game, and matching coins with their values.  

Friday, April 25

First thing this morning, Laura trained Bryan on how to take attendance, in case she ever needs a substitute!

It's been a month since we last worked at Eaton, so we were looking forward to today's experience.

We are very good at unpacking and transferring parts from the large boxes to the smaller tubs.  It takes a while, but teamwork gets it done.  The group at the table was using clippers to snip small plastic pieces off of the white plates.

After a two hour shift, we had emptied all the big boxes and filled these tubs and tall boxes!  We are good at packing the tubs neatly so lots of parts fit in, and after we finished today, we had 4 empty tubs that we didn't need to use.  

Our next stop was New Quarter Park, where we stayed long enough to eat and take a short walk.  If you're wondering why we didn't stay longer, play the video that follows this picture!

Before returning to the center, we stopped by MG Barb's house since we were in the area.  She has the most enchanted front and back yards.  When she moved into the house 6 years ago, the yard was overgrown grass.  Now, it looks like a beautiful park!  Things are starting to bloom, and the color will only pick up as the spring and summer progress.  Barb told us to knock on her door if we had a chance to stop by, and she was home today!  We thoroughly enjoyed a tour of her enchanted yard!  It's just gorgeous!  Thanks for showing us your lovely plants and flowers, Barb!  What a lot of work you have done!

After visiting with Barb, we returned to the center for Choice Time, and then it was time to go home.  Here comes the weekend, and we are ready for a few days to chill.  We'll be back next week, and here are our plans:

Tuesday:  We're going to visit Bluebird Gap Farm in Hampton today.  We had a very enjoyable visit there last year, so we want to go again before it gets too hot or crowded with summertime visitors!  Please bring a bagged lunch.

Wednesday:  We will volunteer at GCOC today so please wear Arc shirts.  We'll also arrange flowers for delivery to Commonwealth Senior Living, begin our Mother's Day gift project, and welcome visitors from the Arc Board of Directors.  The HIGHLIGHT of today, however, will be celebrating Devin's birthday, Spring Birthday #4!  His family is treating us to cheesesteak sandwiches for lunch!  Thanks, Scott and Roxanne!!

Thursday:  Today we will visit York River State Park for a ranger-led program that Tracy arranged for us.  It will include a hike, too!  Thanks, Tracy.  We look forward to hanging out with you today!  The forecast looks promising, so bring a bagged lunch for a picnic after the program.

Friday:  It's a Pet Supplies Plus work day, so please wear your PSP shirt.  The Cooking Crew will prepare Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Side Salads, and Chips for lunch.  We'll end the week with yoga with Jaime.

Enjoy the last weekend of April!

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang