Fly Me to the Moon 7.24.14

We love the idea of going to the moon, seeing the stars sparkle in the sky, and celebrating all the marvelous and magical things that happen in the evenings (lightening bugs…although they have them in Colorado they don’t glow here…or so the internet has led me to believe). Either way, there is something magical about the evening when the starts are glistening, and the moon is bright, and we wanted to celebrate that with our residents…and the fact that this is the month that we celebrate first landing on the moon so many years ago.

One might question how an event like this should be celebrated, and we’re happy to tell you that we’ve figured it out.  First, and most importantly, MOON PIES must be consumed, because they’re delightful, they have the word “moon” in their name, and lastly they bring us to a calmer time, when the world was less busy with electronics, and gadgets that never put our minds to rest, and we wanted to channel that time in history. Next, we made a rocket ship cut out, and took cheesy pictures (because frankly, why wouldn’t we!) And some people associate cheese to look like the moon, so taking cheesy pictures isn’t too far a stretch (is it?) We played some moon games (like mounds of foil, which we referred to as moon rocks and trying to get it in the rocket ship windows)…then we also had a musician who played moon music (or at least that’s how we’re going to refer to it this time, because it fits our theme). Either way, we had fun because we believe that we can make things fun and with that mindset, we can! Come see the Juniper Difference!

Superhero Slurpee Salute Take 2 7.11.14

Last year we tried out hosting a Superhero Slurpee Salute…and it was a huge success; so, we thought, let’s do it again! Frankly,  any excuse to celebrate our local superheroes and dress up like one is a great idea for an event.

We invited our local EMT’s, Police Department, and Fire Department to say thank you for all of the work they do. For those of you who have not worked with any of these departments, they are truly amazing, and we’re really thankful to have such wonderful and caring professionals in this area. So, a couple of times a year, we try to host events as a thank you to them for all the work they do and the help they provide to us here at the community. We broke out the grills and made all our favorite BBQ fixings, along with watermelon and popsicles on the side; we had an excellent afternoon party…oh, and did I forget to mention that we had slurpees? We did, and they were amazing to drink on such a hot day!

Please join us in October when we host our local heroes for a Chili Cook-off in which they decide the winners!

Father’s Day with our Dads and Donuts 6/7/14

I have a pre-conceived idea of what Father’s Day is all about. As a kid I never celebrated this holiday, and honestly thought it was something that churches developed. I remember that for Mother’s Day, the ladies got flowers (which as a kid I thought was terribly boring…and let’s be honest, I probably still wouldn’t be that excited to get a geranium…there’s nothing special about that). But Father’s Day, on the other hand, is when they broke out the chocolate candy bars and gave them to all of the guys…and that hands down was the best, no competition. So in the spirit of that idea, we really wanted to celebrate the fathers in our community (and, of course, any who would be willing to come celebrate that status were welcome too!). So how best do we do that…well with candy bars setting the tone, and the concept of what my weekends looked like as a child (I’ll be honest, my mom went shopping with my sister and I would stay home with my brother and dad). Oddly enough, I can say that my dad was never a morning person, so that’s why our Dads and Donuts event started at 10AM…although frankly getting up and getting somewhere by 10AM on the weekend might have been a stretch…it still was later as opposed to being too early. So we broke out all of the breakfast foods, that frankly Dad’s love…Donuts, Eggs, Bacon, Sausages…a relaxed morning hanging out in the Courtyard…this is the substance of which all Saturday mornings should consist of for our dads, our heroes…the people who are so incredibly laid back in their approach to life, enjoy a relaxing day. Happy Father’s Day Dads!

Excellence in Care Celebration 6.5.14

We know…we already posted on this…but again we want to take a few minutes to talk about this momentous occasion and how we celebrated it with our staff, vendors, and family because we think it’s a pretty big deal!

So how do you emphasize how incredibly proud of your staff that you are…well, you have a big party with presents and a food truck (because food trucks are AWESOME!). So we got our local ice cream store to come over and park in our circle drive to celebrate our accomplishments (and have some ice cream…because that’s what hot days are for). Needless to say this was a huge success with vendors, staff, and families alike…let us know what you think…and we of course are always open to new suggestions on how to celebrate accomplishments such as these, so let us know what we should do next!

Be Boppin’ Around Town with 50’s Flare

Every year in March we put on a good ol’ fashioned sock hop. The staff here gets decked out in our car hop apparel and we dance through the afternoon until we serve burgers, fries, and shakes. Of course, as a special treat, we also have a cotton candy machine (because cotton candy is the best, and if we can find a reason to make it for an event, we will!)

What do we do during our sock hop…well, that’s a good question, because there are a variety of things to do. Perhaps a visit to the sweet shop would be on the list of must do’s…as we have someone spinning up old fashioned shakes. In Town Hall, we can be found dancing around to the favorite songs from the 50’s, like be-bop-a-lula. While some of us actually know the steps to dances from the 50’s, others of us just jump around enthusiastically and consider that dancing (at least that can be said and is true of this writer). Over in the gym, you will find that we’ve converted the area into a backdrop for 50’s style pictures, props are there as well as costumes, including wigs that can be used to really make the pictures seem more authentic (or at the very least…much more fun). And, of course, outside in the courtyard is where we can be found spinning cotton candy.

This is always a really fun event for everyone around. Check out our pictures, and feel free to join us for any of our fun-filled events!

Tea House Celebration in Honor of Mom’s

The weekend of Mother’s Day is always a special event. We at Juniper like to think that our Mothers appreciate the type of setting that you would traditionally find in a tea house. The style is a little bit eclectic, the food is delicate, yet simple.

So, this year, we, again, hosted our famous Mother’s Day Tea event to celebrate the ladies in our lives who have helped develop us into the wonderful people that we are today.  Doily Banners were hung to honor mom, and we all broke out our tablecloths and vintage hankies to decorate the tables in true traditional tea house style.

Our cooks prepared wonderful pastries and finger sandwiches that were quickly snatched up, and we enjoyed a variety of drinks (not just tea).

Please make sure to visit us for any of our wonderful upcoming events. We love to have people join with us for any of our festivities!

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Excellence in Care Award

Juniper Village at Louisville recently went through the survey process to re-qualify for the Excellence in Care Award through the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. We are excited to announce that we were able to re-qualify for this prestigious award!

The Excellence in Care Award is an honor as there aren't that many communities nation-wide who have qualified and passed this rigorous test. There are a number of criteria that is involved in qualifying for this award. Staff involvement and interactions with residents in the community is a large piece, as is ongoing training of staff and available activities for residents living in our community.

Juniper Village at Louisville is committed to providing the best care possible for our residents. We have high standards and really believe in nurturing the spirit of life in each individual. We have historically had an excellent record with our state surveys and continue to strive for improvement in every area because to us it’s more than just a job, it’s our livelihood.

Please join us as we celebrate this tremendous honor on June 5th at 2PM...we don’t know how we’re going to celebrate, but we do know that we are going to celebrate big with the staff and residents of our community; we are exceptionally proud of their work and we love our residents!