Our week began by shaking off the cobwebs of the weekend with Monday Movers exercise group! Noel led a fun-loving group of residents through 30 minutes of seated exercise and everyone worked up quite a sweat. After cooling down Stacey tuned her guitar for Sing Along and many folks flocked to the dining room to join their voices in song! Lunch followed and once the meal was cleaned up and the mail delivered, Chef Jeff assisted Noel at Kitchen Corner, making a cool and fruity Ice Box Cake for our upcoming Mid-Week Social. Our afternoon continued with a game of Tic Tac Toss; after 16 residents played four rounds, Milda Bautch and Yvonne Sinz tied for fourth place, Nancy Bishop scored third and Goldie Helwig tied with Dorothy Pfaffe for second. Kevin Bauer secured the first place win this week! Supper brought the game to an end and then it was time for Monday night Bingo. A huge THANK YOU to Kathy Luebker for all her help with the well-attended game!  

Tuesday morning began with Father Jojo and Terry Pelzel here for Catholic Mass; what a peaceful and uplifting way for folks to start the day! Lunch followed, as well as mail pass, and pretty soon we smelled the delicious scent of fresh-popped popcorn coming from the dining room. Willow had arrived to help residents scoop up bowlfuls of the savory and salty snack at our afternoon Popcorn Social! Once the last kernel was crunched, there was time to cuddle some cute bunnies, as one of our CNAs brought in her furry friends for the residents to play with. Later on, Pastor Phil from Evangelical Free Church arrived for afternoon services. The easygoing day ended with supper and an evening of games with Willow in the dining room!

The temperature was climbing outside just as the competition was starting to heat up inside as we began Wednesday with bowling! We had a big group of 15 bowlers ready to test their skills on the lane; it was so much fun to see them cheer each other on! By the end of three rounds, Shirley Klinski had placed fourth, Judy Thorn came in third and second place went to Barb Holmstadt. First place was awarded to Milda Bautch! As the day marched on and the sun shone warmly outside, it was soon time for Fruit Bingo. Thank you to Kathy Shingledecker and Marlene Zimmer for helping with set up, prize delivery and clean up; we don’t know what we would do without our volunteers! No sooner was bingo done then it was time for our Mid-Week Social; residents stayed after the game to snack on slices of cool and delicious Ice Box Cake. What a refreshing treat to enjoy on a hot summer day!

On Thursday we began the day with a delicious cup of coffee and the local news being read to residents by the one and only Harriet Rothe! She always has a lot of fun stories and tidbits to share with the group; this time, she and the residents reminisced about 4^th of July celebrations and fireworks displays from yesteryear. We always appreciate everyone who stops by for a chat and keeps us informed on what is happening in our community! Lunch followed and then we had a few ladies lined up for manicures with Willow and once everyone’s nails were dry, there was a cute gray kitten here for cuddles and pets! After an afternoon of pampering and pleasant conversation, supper was ready and then it was an evening of Pokeno fun with Willow!

The Fourth of July came in hot and humid Friday morning, but we tried our best to keep cool all day long. The morning began with decking ourselves out in our patriotic best (red, white & blue sunglasses, necklaces, headbands and leis) and playing Yankee Doodle Dice to pass the time---congrats to Jeff Halverson for winning the game! After the midday meal and some visiting with friends, we beat the heat with cold and delicious popsicles which were a hit with everyone! Most people stayed inside to enjoy the icy treat because sitting outside was just too uncomfortable. The afternoon ended with an “Oh My Stars” Target Shoot; congrats to Wanda Traynor for scoring fourth, Shirley Klinski and Carol Bauer (Seasons) for tying third, Ivan Mason for coming in second and Yvonne Sinz for placing first! We hope everyone had a safe and happy 4^th of July!