Monday was made for Monday Movers and Noel and Stacey led a great group of exercisers through a 30-minute workout to get everyone’s blood pumping! Once everyone cooled down, Stacey brought out her guitar and many fun songs were sung at the morning Sing Along, followed by a delicious lunch. The afternoon began with Noel and Chef Jeff (Halverson) in the activity office for Kitchen Corner, mixing up a gooey and decadent batch of Caramel Apple Rice Krispie treats. Alice Brantner was sitting in on the baking adventure as “supervisor” and marshmallow taste tester! The treats were cooling as a game of Tic Tac Toss commenced. After five rounds, Nancy Bishop and Milda Bautch tied for fourth place, Herb Tschumperlin and Carol Campbell tied for third and Dorothy Pfaffe and Yvonne Sinz tied for second. The one and only first-place winner this week was Jeff Halverson, due in part to the astounding triple three-in-a-row he scored in the fourth round for 50 points! Once supper came and went, Kathy Luebker and Pat Frion arrived to help with Monday night Bingo; thank you so much ladies!       

Father Jojo and Terry Pelzel brought their smiling faces to the care center Tuesday morning for Mass and residents welcomed the positive and peaceful service after breakfast. A little lunch and then as the afternoon began, Stacey fired up the popcorn machine to make oodles of yummy popcorn for the eager residents! Our Popcorn Social always draws a crowd as the delicious aroma lures folks into the dining room; it is hard to resist. Once the last buttery and salty kernel is devoured, chairs and tables are rearranged for afternoon church; this week, we welcomed Pastor Dave from Durand Methodist to lead the service. After church and supper, Willow was here for an evening filled with fun games!  

We hit the middle of the week with gusto as folks came out for our weekly bowling game Wednesday morning! There was some strong competition as Milda Bautch and Yvonne Sinz scored fourth place, Ivan Mason came in third and Janet Robelia placed second. Jeff Halverson was the big winner of the morning with first place! A pleasant lunch was enjoyed and then the afternoon began with Fruit Bingo, where it was a big group again with 26 players seated at seven tables. Thank you to Wanda Ebensperger and Monica Krings for all their wonderful help with the game! This week we had three Blackout Bingo winners: Carol Campbell, Mary Matzek and visitor Kathy Unser! Afterwards, everyone hung around in anticipation of our Mid-Week Social treat. We finally had the chance to tuck into the sinfully sweet Caramel Apple Rice Krispie treats and we enjoyed every bite of them!      

It’s said that the “news never stops” and that is certainly true! Marlene Zimmer stopped by Thursday morning to catch residents up on all the latest in the newspapers at our Local News and Coffee group. She read the headlines and beyond, as well as sharing tidbits and stories that had residents laughing and engaged! After lunchtime, there were ladies waiting for manicures with Stacey, leaving time in the afternoon for meaningful and entertaining one-on-one visits with folks. Before we knew it, it was suppertime, followed by an evening game of Pokeno with Willow!    

Friday came fast and Noel was back in the dining room with residents for a friendly game of Dart Ball in the morning! It was a close game, but in the end, Joann Hubbard placed fourth, Jeff Halverson won third and Nancy Bishop and Herb Tschumperlin tied for second place. Our first-place winner for the morning was Kay George! Once lunch came and went, eight students from Ave Maria Academy arrived for Book Buddies, and they were able to practice their reading alongside their attentive resident audience. It is so much fun to see the different generations interact with each other and our residents love to visit with the students! We continued the afternoon with Happy Hour and Jim Sexton was the main event for the party, along with his accordion and guitar. It was our monthly birthday celebration Happy Hour and we wished those with a September birthday a “Happy Birthday!” while enjoying vanilla cupcakes with whipped cream frosting and sprinkles! Supper was served after the party and then folks settled in for the Friday night movie “Sixteen Wishes!”