Friday, May 28

Fun Friday


Check out this week's Fun Friday picture! Mary is having a blast at the tea party!

Friday, May 21

Fun Friday!


Enjoy our picture of the week! Above is Arlene Marshall who was caught playing lawn darts this afternoon.

Tuesday, May 18

Mother-Daughter Tea and Father-Son Toast


Today the Other Hat Club held its Mother-Daughter Tea and Father-Son Toast at Serenity! Roni, Michele and Marilyn hosted the event; and they did a terrific job! They served coffee, tea, brownies, cookies and so many other fun tea time treats – and let me tell you, the goodies were delicious!

Not a thing was missed – the tables were decorated with the neatest tea sets and fresh flowers. Even the men’s table was decorated with handkerchiefs and denim tablecloths!

Here’s the best part – it was a blast to see all of our relatives come for a visit! It’s always nice to give them a fun reason to come over and see what’s going on at Serenity!

Take a look at these pictures to see all of the fun we had at our Mother-Daughter Tea and Father-Son Toast. Pictured above is Simone who is enjoying the afternoon and to the right is a shot of the dining room.

Thursday, May 13

Welcome to the World!


Welcome to the World,
Brooklyn Grubb!


Brooklyn is the granddaughter
to John Grubb!
She is certainly beautiful!

Monday, May 10

“Do You Believe In Magic?”


If we were skeptic before, we certainly all believe in magic after today’s events! This afternoon Magician Jeffrey Salveson paid us a visit and showed us a thing or two about magic.

There were many highlights of the performance, but one of the favorites was the fact that Magician Jeffrey Salveson actually had a rabbit, Sherman, which we all had a chance to pet! But once the show began we were all mesmerized by a number of different things – even the fact that Sherman could read minds!

The show was complete with rope and card tricks, and Magician Jeffrey Salveson even made water disappear! It’s a good thing or else he would have poured it all over Hubert’s head!

Bonnie was especially puzzled by the magic ring tricks. Take a look at the picture above at Bonnie as she tries to figure out how that ring could intersect with another.

After the show, Magician Jeffrey Salveson decided to make us a few fun things out of balloons. Take a look to the right at a very happy Flo and her balloon humming bird!

Saturday, May 8

Hats, Hats, Hats


Despite common beliefs, hats can be worn for other reasons than to cover up a bad hair day! Today we took the time to decorate some beautiful hats especially for our Other Hat Club.

On May 18th Serenity is hosting a Mother-Daughter Tea or Father-Son Toast. Coffee, tea and other goodies will be served. As this is a celebration by the Other Hat Club, everyone is encouraged to wear their favorite hats – and we specifically made these hats with this event in mind!

Take a look at a couple of the fun hats we made today. Pictured above is Leona who is enjoying her creation. To the right is Arlene Tangen who had a blast making her new favorite hat!

Wednesday, May 5

Happy Cinco de Mayo!


To celebrate Cinco de Mayo all of us here at Serenity decided to have a fiesta! But before we continue, let’s have another lesson.

Many people think that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence Day, but it really commemorates the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla. After the Mexican-American war, Mexico was in major debt to France but had no money to repay the debts when France wanted them. Despite the Mexican president’s compromise to pay the debts back two years later, France invaded.

At this time France had one of the greatest armies in the world and wasn’t worried about being defeated in the least; the nearest country was the United States which was involved in its own civil war. France hoped to invade and rule Mexico with the main objective to halt the growth of the United States.

When the French decided to attack at Puebla, the French army numbered nearly 6,000 whereas the Mexican army only had approximately 4,000 makeshift soldiers (many were simple farmers who were not prepared with the proper equipment for such a battle). Due to the French general’s arrogance, the French army was ordered to attack at the Mexican army’s strongest point. The Mexican army used guerilla warfare tactics and defeated the French army in a major victory.

This story is what is celebrated on May 5th! And our fiesta today was a ton of fun. It was a blast to eat all the different Mexican style food that was prepared for the festive occasion. Take a look at these photos to get a glimpse of the tasty food we enjoyed today – pictured above is Texas Caviar and to the right is a Mexican flag dessert!

Tuesday, May 4

Piñata Lesson 101


Here at Serenity, we’re never too old for a history lesson; and it’s always fun to find a reason to celebrate. Tomorrow is May 5, but sometimes it is better known in Spanish – Cinco de Mayo! For the festive occasion we decided to make typical Mexican pieces of art – piñatas.

Though they are famous in Mexico now, piñatas did not originate from this country. These interesting artworks were probably first made in China and then spread through Europe. Once they reached Spain they gained popularity and the people there used them to celebrate religious holidays such as Lent.

In the 16th century, Spanish missionaries attempted to use piñatas to convert Mayans to their religion. As it turned out, the Mayans had a similar tradition in which they would take clubs and sticks and break large feather-covered pots filled with trinkets. These pots were suspended by a string in front of an image of a god. When the pots would break the trinkets would fall to the feet of the gods as an offering. The two cultures mixed together to form the types of piñatas that are famous in Mexico today.

Now that we’ve had our history lesson, take a look at the piñatas we made today! We started by blowing up balloons and mixing together flour and water to make a paste. Once this was done we took strips of newspaper, dunked them in the paste and wrapped them around the balloon.

Once the whole balloon was covered and left to dry for an entire day, we finished by paining them festive colors. Take a look at these pictures to see all the fun we had! Pictured above is Arlene Tangen who is working diligently to make her piñata. To the right is Alice who is also hard at work!

Monday, May 3

A Minnesotan Delight!


Living in Minnesota has taught us all a thing or two: winter is cold, the Twins are great, and hot dish is a delight! Yes, we Minnesotans stick together when it comes to hot dish (what is casserole, anyway?); and today Tim whipped up a delicious hot dish just for us! Take a look at this picture just to see the scrumptious meal we enjoyed today!

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday Everyone!

For a beginning of the week pick-me-up...check out this funny video!

Sunday, May 2

Evening Stroll

Jackie Perkins & Elaine Anderson go out for
an evening stroll before all
this rain hit the valley.
The took the scooters off into the sunset!

Saturday, May 1

Busy, Busy, Busy!


Chinese Taoist philosopher, Lao Tzu, said it best, “Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.” And we’re sure that Mary Joan would agree! She’s been a busy helper lately, and even took the time to help set up the kitchen tables for supper tonight. Just take a peak at this picture of Mary helping dish out part of the meal!