Our week got off to a reworked start when we had to "pivot" on Tuesday due to Lisa, Nan, and Lexi being out with the flu. We also had several others who were under the weather that day, so we called on Sue to substitute and she and Carol had a great day with only 12 in attendance! Attendance remained down the rest of the week, with a few not feeling well and others having appointments or traveling. On Wednesday, we volunteered at Grove and made preparations for a combination St. Patrick's Day / AoA Anniversary party which we held on Thursday. We finished the week with a work day at Eaton on Friday. Cheers to our AmAzInG Arc of Abilities group for being flexible and stepping up to unexpected adjustments to our routine! HAPPY 9th ANNIVERSARY to us, and here's to a fabulous 10th year to come!
🥳🎉🎈🥳🎉🎈
Tuesday, March 11
End of winter illness hit us this week. On Tuesday, we only had 12 members in attendance as the rest of us, including Lisa and Nan, were either under the weather with flu and other respiratory symptoms, or attending appointments. While we always miss friends when they are absent, we also carry on and keep ourselves active and engaged! Today, our morning began with a statewide tornado drill. Off to the locker room for us!
Filling in today was our buddy Sue, aka, Patrick's mom! She was excited to join us on a trip to Newport News Park, as she had never visited there before. (We will reschedule our trip to The Mariners' Museum because Lisa did not want to miss being with us as we provided feedback to museum staff about our experiences when we visit!)
Thanks, Sue, for substituting today! We appreciate your help. It's always fun to hang out with you!
We showed Sue around the park and pointed out the trails, playgrounds, and picnic areas. She enjoyed the walk across the bridge, and we spotted lots of turtles who were sunning themselves on this slightly cool March afternoon! The sunshine was wonderful!
Lunchtime! Luckily the tables weren't covered with pollen yet...
A game of cornhole is always fun on a beautiful day!
And of course, time on a playground brings out our inner 6 year olds! We had a great day! Thanks, Carol and Sue, for capturing it in these photos!
We got this video from Tessa's mom today, and we are so encouraged by Tessa's steps as she works with her stepfather, Chris. Her perseverance is paying off! Go, Tessa! Keep up the great work! 💖
Wednesday, March 12
Lisa and Alexis returned today, but Nan ended up taking it easy the rest of the week. We still had only 12 members today! No worries...we can all step up and work it out. Case in point: It was Lisa's week to take the Grove group, but Carol took them instead, so Lisa wouldn't overexert herself on her first day back. Liz stepped in for Alexis for the same reason. PLUS, several of Carol's group members went as well, since some of Lisa's group members were absent. Aren't we the best?! When we got to Grove, we learned that both Peggy and Ursula were under the weather, so we really had to step it up to help Joel, Tom, and Thom unload, organize, and pack 168 bags of food!
We want to thank Peggy, who had baked "Mammaw's Homemade Sugar Cookies" which she sent to to us via Joel. They were so tasty, and glistened with sugar sprinkles on top! Peggy and Ursula really spoil us. 💕
Back at the center, we prepared for our combo St. Patrick's Day/Anniversary party to be held tomorrow. Laura, Devin, and Drew comprised Team Green JELL-O! They added pineapple, and it's going to be good!
We're glad Laura loves to color bubble letters. It's really one of her specialties! With Carol having most of us at Grove, there weren't too many left to get this job done!
Lexi and Devin hung the bubble letters on the wall, once they figured out how to correctly spell "ANNIVERSARY." 😉
After Grove and party prep, we took a walk around the school, and also checked on our herb garden. Carol and Laura pulled a few weeds, and it looks good. They said chives are starting to come back!
Did you know the renovations to the Muscarelle Museum of Art were recently completed and they have reopened? This is a museum we have never visited, but it is on our to-do list now! Liz visited over the weekend and got to experience their Michelangelo exhibit, which is there for a limited time through May 28. Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Liz. It sounds like you were very impressed by this museum. We can't wait to check it out!
Thursday, March 13
Today was a day of celebration, but with some changes. Our friend Mike, from the Watermen's Museum, had to cancel his visit due to illness in his family, and we missed him. We'll reschedule as soon as he is able. Our attendance dropped again today, and despite only having 10 members, we moved forward with our St. Patrick's Day and 9th anniversary celebration since we had done so much prep work for it yesterday, including some cooking.
First, we danced!
The Arc of Abilities opened on March 16, 2016 with 11 charter members. Drew was one of them, and his family donated this machine called Pizzazz Plus to us, thinking we could heat pizzas on it since we didn't have any cooking equipment yet. Since the next day was St. Patrick's Day, we decided to try baking cookies on it. (Pizzas came later!) We still use the Pizzazz Plus to bake our St. Patty's Day/Anniversary cookies each year, and it's a tradition we hold dear.
Final party preparations continued this morning with all 10 sets of hands on deck!
Lexi, Laura, and Devin got our silverware ready with an anniversary edition of our napkin rings. (Check out the mural on the board behind them. That was a team effort this week, too!)
Allison volunteered today for our celebration. She, Liz, and Bryan were on Blarney Stone cookie duty!
Green food was our theme, so Kevin, Xavier, and Carol got lettuce and spinach ready for our Chicken Pasta Caesar Salad.
Patrick and Erik were on decoration set up, along with Drew, who must have been running an errand when we took this picture.
On our St. Patrick's Day scavenger hunt we learned that folks in Chicago dye their river green while the ones in Seattle paint a green stripe down the street. We also learned there are no snakes in Ireland due to it's cool climate, and it's the only country with a musical instrument for a symbol - the harp!
It was fun to look back at our beginnings in 2016. We didn't have the blog back then, but we have a slideshow that we always enjoy looking at that highlights our first several months.
Here we are on our 9th anniversary! We missed Nan, Annmarie, Thomas, Abraham, Emma, Michelle, Sam, Kate, and Tessa. Our group is not the same without them, and we hope all will be back for next week!
We ended the day with a game of Guess the Disney Song trivia. We dug way back in You Tube to find the very first version of this game we ever played at the end of our first week in 2016! Out of the 11 charter members we had in 2016, these 5 plus Sam are still with us nine years later. Many others have been part of our program over the years, and some of them have moved on while others remain. As of today, we have a 18 members, and we're grateful for each one of them. Happy Anniversary to Us!
Friday, March 14
Work called today so we headed to Eaton. We welcomed Heike's daughter Destiny to volunteer, which was great timing since Nan, and 6 of our members, were out today!
We were waiting for a delivery from Ethan and then we would set up to assemble PowerSlide Doors.
Patrick, Drew, and Laura had hundreds of small packages to open today since most of our crew was assigned to PowerSlide Doors. They stuck with it and did a great job!
Bryan got the door assembly line started by unpacking boxes. Emma popped in the amber lenses, and then sent the doors to the label table.
Destiny was meticulous in applying labels thanks to the great training from Liz and Alexis! Devin was our runner today, and he made sure the doors moved from table to table in an efficient manner.
Kevin, Xavier, and Kate inserted hundreds of nuts and bolts to hold the amber lenses in place. Each door gets 4 sets!
Erik likewise tightened hundreds of nuts and bolts with the electric screwdriver. In total, we assembled 156 doors today!
We returned to AFCC for lunch and then we enjoyed an extended amount of Choice Time. 😊 We listened to a couple of chapters from our read-aloud, The Wild Robot, and ended the week with corn hole.
Liz and Lexi tallied the scores. And the winners were...
Team St. Patrick's Day!
💕💔💕
We end this week's post on a sad note. Our beloved former volunteer, Becky, lost her husband over the weekend. As we celebrated our 9th anniversary this week, we remembered Becky as our first dedicated volunteer. She was a former colleague of Lisa's from her teaching days, as well as Lexi's 4th grade teacher. Becky volunteered daily for several years, beginning our first summer in 2016. After the pandemic, she had to remain home as a caregiver for her husband, Rick. She was able to join us a few more times, but eventually remained full-time with Rick. She kept in touch and always followed our blog. Becky, our hearts are with you during this heartbreaking time. We send lots of love to you and your family, including your sweet granddaughter Emmy, who was our junior volunteer one summer! Please accept our most sincere condolences.
Here's a throwback to an Eaton work day with Becky from 2019!
Here is our schedule for next week:
Tuesday: It's time for an afternoon visit with Christina at The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, so we will have a lesson for National Panda Day in the morning, followed by an early lunch on your own. JRES Cafeteria is offering Beef Soft Taco, Pizza, or Taco Salad. We'll also welcome a new friend, Julia, who will be visiting for the week to see what the Arc of Abilities is all about. Welcome, Julia!
Wednesday: We'll get to see our therapy dog friends for the first time this year! We missed them in January when we were cautious not to be around them since some of us were dealing with a stomach virus, and in February the snow closed us on their scheduled day. We have really missed them, so today will be extra special! Due to illness last week, we rescheduled our Girl Scout Cookie Taste Test to today, so we will welcome Haley and her sister/assistant Jordan for a delightful presentation this afternoon! Lunch on your own. JRES is offering Popcorn Chicken Bowl or Yogurt Combo.
Thursday: Today is the first day of spring, so we are watching the weather and hoping for a trip to Freedom Park to see how the garden is looking after winter. We'll enjoy lunch outside, take a walk, and top off the day with a stop by Rita's for a free Italian ice! Please bring a bagged lunch...and send positive thoughts for sunshine!
Friday: We had to make a switch in the schedule so we will be going to Eaton again this week. Please wear Eaton shirts and bring a bagged lunch. The weather forecast doesn't look too great (or warm) for a stop at the park, but it might change. If not, we will return to AFCC for lunch, Choice Time, and yoga with Jaime after our Eaton work.
Have a nice weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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