What a great week! We met new friends, enjoyed time with "old" friends, celebrated birthdays for Xavier and Tracy, and worked at Eaton. We are lucky to have so many varied, unique, and always fun opportunities. Check out our awesome week!
Tuesday, May 20
Since we are quite busy, we have learned the value of planning ahead so as not to have too much on our plates at one time. So this morning, Gail and Erik browned chopped onions and ground beef that we will use to make Thursday's lunch.
Pam was able to arrange for us to get flowers from Trader Joe's today instead of tomorrow, which was helpful because on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, the therapy dogs visit, and we would not have had time in the morning to do the flower arrangements for CSL. (No GCOC on the 3rd Wednesday.) Also helpful is that on the 3rd Tuesday (today) we usually visit with Christina at the Art Museums after lunch, so we have our mornings free! There were fewer flowers than usual this week, but the arrangements still looked pretty. Thanks, Pam, for tweaking the pick up day so we would be able to relax with our therapy dog friends tomorrow morning. 😘
Speaking of Pam, when she brought us the flowers, she also brought a new friend!! We were thrilled to meet The Arc's new Programs and Vocational Training Assistant, Kasey! Some of our guys met Kasey last week at Arc's evening events. We all like her already! She spent the day with us, and got to know everyone a little better. Welcome to The Arc, Kasey!
This afternoon was spent at The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg with Christina, who told us we were going to learn about celebrities from the 18th century! She asked us who our favorite celebrities were, and we mostly named singers, actors, and athletes. Christina said those types of celebrities were around in the 1700s (maybe not so many athletes), and she added that politicians and members of royalty were also popular "celebrities."
One of the newer galleries at the museums is "Celebrity in Print." Christina told interesting stories about people who were considered celebrities in the 1700s, including George Washington and Benedict Arnold (things didn't end well for Benedict), and members of the British Royalty. Christina explained that King William III and Queen Mary II are the namesakes of the College of William and Mary, and that King William also put the "William in Williamsburg!" She told us about another "celebrity" who was made famous in the tabloids of the time! Her name was Eliza and the story goes that she said she was kidnapped, but the alleged kidnappers said she ran away with them voluntarily, so they sued her for slander and when found guilty, she was banished from England to Connecticut!
We recommend a visit the the art museums to check out this gallery if you want to learn more of the celebrity stories, which are too many for us to include in the blog. They are really interesting and it's fun to think that even back then, folks who were well known would have their pictures made on things like plates and silverware that were sold as keepsakes. Prints would also be made of their likeness, and people would display them, kind of like we do with celebrity posters today.
Our project with Christina today was creating a "step by step" drawing of George Washington! We enjoy when Christina does this type of activity with us because it gives those of us who don't consider ourselves artistic a chance to feel confident, while also allowing others a chance to be creative.
Thank you for an engaging and interesting experience today, Christina! It was cool to learn that some people who lived in the 18th century were considered what we would call "celebrities" today, even though they didn't have television, radio, or internet to spread their fame. We wonder what they would think of our 21st century celebrities?!
Wednesday, May 21
Our therapy dog friends visited today, and we appreciate them coming out on a rainy day! Yesterday was National Dog Rescue Day, so we were inspired to make our theme "Dogs" for today! Our library volunteer group checked out a nice variety of books about dogs for us to use during our reading rotations.
Kent, with Leo and Tavish, was reading with Abraham, Devin, and Laura. Laura was reading a book about Clifford, the big red dog. Kent was heard saying that even he had heard of Clifford!
Marisol and Tucker joined Nan, Annmarie, Erik, and Michelle. Tucker learned a thing or two about beagles when Erik read!
Aja got some attention from Kevin, Emma, Kate, and Gail this morning. We learned she is a toy schnauzer. So cuddly!
Drew, Liz, and Bryan read with Carol and Darby. Darby can be spotted between Drew and Liz. Carol was reading a book Drew picked called Dog Breath, which was quite funny!
Carol S. enjoyed time with Sam, Xavier, Thomas, and Alexis. They all got a kick out of Lisa tempting Casey with a treat so he would pose for the camera!
After a couple of reading rounds, we wrapped things up with a fun game of Dog Bingo. Many thanks to our handler friends and the dogs for their continued visits, and especially their friendship. There were so many great conversations taking place during the reading rotations (sometimes reading isn't the only thing), and we really enjoy the social time with them!
As soon as we said farewell to our dog friends, we shifted into birthday mode to celebrate Xavier! Leah and Steve arrived to cook for us, so we too to the hallway for a jammin' walk!
Meanwhile, Leah and Steve prepared a lunch of grilled hot dogs, watermelon, carrots and celery, and chips for us. They came in and got everything set up in no time! As we were finishing up our jammin' walk, the aroma coming out of the room was sooo good!
Much to our SURPRISE, Steve cooked hand cut French fries for us! He had a gizmo that cut the potatoes into perfect slices, and he even brought his deep fryer for cooking and sea salt for seasoning. The fries were very tasty!! You spoiled us, Steve!
Leah also provided delicious cupcakes so we could sing Xavier into his 30th year! Xavier, we hope all your wishes come true. Welcome to your 30's!! You look so handsome!
Thank you, Leah and Steve, for today's wonderful celebration for Xavier. We always enjoy your visits, and appreciate the lunch you made for us today. We look forward to the tradition of dancing with you, too. But this picture doesn't do justice to the dance party...
What a great time!
Thursday, May 22
This morning we were blessed by a visit from Williamsburg United Methodist Church's Women in Faith group, who were here to volunteer as part of their Hands on Mission project. We welcomed Grace, shown here with the rocks, and Jeannie and Gayle who were sitting at the table behind her. Last year when the WUMC group came, we painted kindness rocks to hide around town. Grace wasn't able to join us because she was traveling in Germany...but she found two kindness rocks while hiking there. She saved them all year and brought them to us today! Thank you, Grace! That's really special to us, and all the more so because you will be moving to Tennessee soon, and we won't see you anymore!
This year we painted rocks again with our WUMC friends, but we were painting them to use in our Father's Day gifts. We added some other "parts" to the painted rocks to make something special for the dads and other special father figures in our lives, but shhh!!! It's a surprise!
With the help of Grace, Jeannie, and Gayle, as well as Allison, Nan, Carol, and Lisa, we were able to work in small groups and get plenty of assistance with creating our masterpieces.
Works in progress!
We also assembled the Father's Day card kits Krafty Karen prepared for us. Karen provides cards and several pieces of decoration that we glue to the cards, and then we write loving messages on the inside. It was a busy morning and we were so happy to get the Father's Day projects finished!
After a morning of helping us with crafting and creating, Grace, Jeannie, and Gayle joined us in a game of Spring Bingo. They also brought us some very cool prizes to add to our collection. Today, we also had new prizes that had been donated by Lexi's cousin, Kelly. She sent us a nice collection of items she acquired on her recent Disney cruise. Kate added a few things that she no longer needed, too. It was one of the best Bingo prize "stores" we've ever had!
Erik got first dibs because he had the first "BINGO!"
Kate and others had a hard time deciding from among all of the great choices. We had everything from stuffed Peeps to art kits to socks to candy to giant Disney character pens to fun Disney character socks and so much more!
Abraham was thrilled with his Mickey ears baseball cap!
Like yesterday, we had a double the fun kind of day again today! We said good-bye to Grace, Jeannie, and Gayle just as Tracy, her new intern Charlotte, and JaVante were arriving so we could celebrate Tracy's birthday! We had been prepping all week, so we were ready with a tasty lunch of baked ziti, salad, and toasty garlic bread!
That's Charlotte, Tracy's summer intern, on the left. She's a rising senior at James Madison University. Welcome, Charlotte! We look forward to getting to know you this summer!
Drew and Tracy go waaaayyyy back and they are good buddies! He couldn't resist bringing a book of knock-knock jokes for Tracy and we got a lot of laughs out of them!!
Drew even wore his "Knock-Knock" shirt just for Tracy's special day! Thanks for putting some extra joy into the party, Drew!!
We had delicious ice cream sundaes as we helped Tracy kick off her next year! Katrina had joined the party by now; that's her on the right end. We're glad you could make it after being in a training session all morning, Katrina!
Thanks again to Michelle's mom, Susan, for leaving us ice cream leftovers and sprinkles a couple of weeks ago when we celebrated Michelle's birthday. We have enjoyed them very much! 😍Tracy, we hope all your wishes come true! You are a very important member of our team, and a very special friend. Happy, Happy Birthday!
Friday, May 23
It was time for another Eaton work day, and this time, we were joined by the Arc's newest staff member, Kasey. Since she's the Programs and Vocational Training Assistant, it seemed like a good idea to introduce her to one of our vocational experiences.
Our Eaton friend, David, is a Marine Corps veteran, and he put up a beautiful Memorial Day Wall and a Missing Man Table in the room where we work. After we finished our tasks, we took advantage of the opportunity these displays presented to have our Memorial Day lesson. We reviewed the meaning of this solemn holiday, and added two names to David's wall. Liz's Uncle Stephen was lost during a plane crash in WWII, and the husband of one of Lisa's friends was killed in an explosion while serving in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. During lunch at Waller Mill Park, we walked along their "Memorial Mile" and read about the lives of many fallen heroes.
It was a little chilly in the shade at the shelter, so we moved the cornhole game to a sunny spot.
Drew was picked up early, and four of our friends were absent, so by cornhole time, we were down to just 13 players! Our rounds went quickly today.
Victory signs from today's winning team!
It was 2:00 when we got back to AFCC, so we ended the week with Choice Time...which was more like Chill Time! We deserved it, though. Our week was action-packed!
We're all looking forward to the holiday weekend. When we return next week, our schedule is set. Here's what we will be doing:
Tuesday: We are watching the forecast and hoping it will cooperate for our visit with the master gardeners at Freedom Park. Rick is planning to take us on a tree walk, which is always fun! We'll remain at the park for lunch and a walk if it's nice, and then return to the center for Choice Time. Please bring a bagged lunch.
Wednesday: Today's plans include making flower arrangements for CSL and volunteering at GCOC, so please wear Arc shirts. It's also National Flip Flop Day so we'll have fun with our annual Flip Flop Olympics! (If you can, bring a pair of flip flops or sandals to add to our game activities, but wear your regular sneakers.) Lunch on your own. JRES Cafeteria is serving Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce and Breadstick or "Manager's Choice."
Thursday: We'll have a Movie Morning today and also celebrate National Paper Clip Day (lol)! We missed Tap Dance Day over the weekend, so we'll celebrate that, too (always fun with this group). Lunch on your own. JRES Cafeteria is offering Domino's Pizza or Meatball Sub (tough choice!).
Friday: Today we will work at Pet Supplies Plus, so please wear your PSP shirts! The Cooking Crew will make burgers, chips, and fruit for lunch as we celebrate National Hamburger Day, which was Wednesday. We'll also update our calendar for June! We'll end the week with a yoga session with Jaime, so dress to stretch.
Reminder: The Arc of Abilities will be closed July 1-4 for Summer Break.
We hope everyone has a nice weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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