It was a beautiful, sunny Monday morning as several residents came out for Card Club after breakfast. They played several hands of Euchre while Stacey and Noel decorated the dining room in celebration of the day’s Cinco de Mayo activities! The weather was so warm and pleasant that many folks spent time outside before lunch, soaking up the sun and blowing bubbles. There were taco salads for lunch and then in the afternoon, everyone gathered in the dining room to play Taco Toss while sipping on margaritas! Herb Tschumperlin came in fourth place; Yvonne Sinz was third and Carol Bauer (Seasons) placed second. Dorothy Pfaffe, Goldie Helwig and Jeff Halverson shared the first-place win! Afterwards, we split the group of Taco Toss players into teams of two and played Brain Games for the rest of the afternoon. Our two teams battled it out over word puzzles until it ended with a tiebreaker which was won by Team Two: Sharon Gingras, Goldie Helwig, Wanda Traynor, Kay George, Shirley Klinski, Barb Holmstadt, Kevin Bauer, Herb Tschumperlin and Yvonne Sinz! Supper brought an end to the game play and then it was on to Monday night Bingo with Pat Frion and Teresa Fedie. Thank you for all the help, ladies!   

Father Jojo and Terry Pelzel greeted residents with warm smiles as they arrived at the care center Tuesday morning for Mass. Folks attended the prayer and communion service until it was time for lunch and once the meal was enjoyed and cleaned up, everyone made their way out to the backyard patio to enjoy the beautiful spring afternoon! Stacey wheeled the popcorn machine outside and residents came out for Popcorn Social on the patio. They gobbled up bowls of freshly made popcorn while listening to tunes on our outdoor “jukebox” via a small speaker and Spotify! Once every kernel was claimed, folks made their way inside for afternoon church with Pastor Darren from Lund Mission Covenant. A huge crowd gathered for the service and listened to pastor’s great message before it was time for supper. 

By the middle of the week, everyone was ready for our weekly Wednesday morning Bowling game! Ave Maria students Dahlia and Gabe were here to help with scorekeeping and pin setting as a huge crowd of 17 residents played three rounds in which Yvonne Sinz won fourth, Shirley Klinski placed third and Goldie Helwig, Janet Robelia and Kevin Bauer all scored second. We had three first-place winners this week: Sharon Gingras, Jeff Halverson and Ivan Mason! A special “congratulations” goes out to Sharon Gingras for scoring the only two strikes of the game! Lunch and mail pass began the afternoon and then it was time to get the tables set for Fruit Bingo. We had quite a crowd as eight Ave Maria students came to play with residents, resulting in 30 players seated at eight tables! Thankfully we had Harriet Rothe and Wanda Ebensperger here to lend a helping hand with the game. This week’s Blackout Bingo winner was Alice Brantner! Once the cards and chips were cleared, Noel brought out Orange Creamsicles for our Mid-Week Social. It was a deliciously cool treat on a warm spring day!      

On Thursday morning, Stacey sat with residents and read them the newest headlines at our Local News and Coffee group. It may have been a small group, but it was big on laughs as the group lingered to chat, joke and reminisce with each other! Everyone else came out to the dining room once lunch was served and then Noel arrived in the afternoon for manicures. There were plenty of ladies ready for a new nail color and some chose really bright and cheery colors with fun names such as “Boom Boom” and “Swing of Things.” It was a beautiful day Thursday so many folks were outside in the afternoon, soaking up the sunshine and admiring the spring flowers and budding trees before it was time for supper.        

We ended the week with plenty of sunshine, warm temperatures and a game of Dart Ball Friday morning! We had time for four rounds and by the end of our game Jeff Halverson was in fourth place, Ivan Mason claimed third and Kevin Bauer was in second. Carol Bauer (Seasons) and Yvonne Sinz were our first-place winners of the morning with each scoring 1,000 points! After lunch and mail delivery, it was just too nice to be inside, so several residents headed outside to bask in the sun and enjoy the fresh air. Before too long, Craig Morton arrived for Happy Hour and everyone happily made their way to the dining room for an hour of upbeat tunes while enjoying snacks of chocolate Chex mix and plenty of cold drinks! Once supper came and went, Noel pulled the blinds for Movie Night where residents stayed up to watch the Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau comedy “Out to Sea!”