The Owen’s Creek

We met up with friends (Hanbergs, Fuhrimans, Spears, Saumwebers, Owens, and some Clivelings) at a playgroup gathering at the Owen’s house last week. The creek runs right through their backyard acres along the picturesque Ford Springs road and it’s just dreamy. THIS is summer in Arkansas. Thanks Laura for sharing this beautiful place with us! 

Pre Twinkle

Ever walk into a store and lose all sense of reality? Like after a certain amount of time, your identity us gone, budgeting is not a thing, and neither is self control, and suddenly you’re like “I totally need everything in here! Shut up and take all my money!” 

Some people it’s clothing, for others it’s furniture, dance lessons, craft or home decor stores, target, or the donut shop. “I’ll take one of everything!”

Yeah I went into Palmer violin shop to pay for Reese’s violin and rent Quincy’s cello for another year. 

And then I saw the tinyest violin I’ve ever seen in my life. It was so cute my brain exploded and my pupils became heart shaped. And then Sloane squealed, “ooooh loook at this tiny one mommy! Is that “vine-a-lin” for me?!” 

Yes. Yes it is. 

Within an hour I had three tiny Willardsons enrolled in shared pre-twinkle classes with our friend, Mrs Jenny. 

Suzuki is so great. The children begin by saying “i am ready to learn.” And end with taking a bow and “thank you for teaching me.”  

It was the cutest thing I’ve ever ever ever seen. Ever. 
It’s probably a good thing I can only post one of the three because all of them together would surely crack the internet by breaking some kind of adorableness barrier. 

 It was so good for them to practice being still, supporting each other, waiting for their turn, listening to directions, learning a new pattern and new little songs to sing. They loved it. And those 1/32 size violins?! They come with free heart eyes. 

So we will see where this goes. 

While the cats are away

These cute mice got to play! I asked Corbin and Soren what kind of “boy fun” we might do while the big girls were away and the request was that we hit up Chuck E. Cheese to use up some free token credits they earned. 

Jill, Dean, and Rachel joined us there. 

Of course, Soren hit a jackpot twice. Corbin was determined to not be “beaten” in what was now a self induced fierce competition of who’s best at...being lucky, I guess.  Aaron joined us for pizza rich as Jill’s crowd was headed out. In the end, Corbin had more tickets than Soren and he was satisfied. Soren politely pointed out that if he had just had a better attitude about it, he could have been satisfied the whole time, instead of just waiting for the count up at the end. Touché Brother! They hugged it out and cane home with a loot of junk trinkets and candy. 

Girls Camp 2019

Reese and Quincy spent Tuesday-Thursday at Stake Young Women’s Camp.  The theme was Stand Up, Speak Out, Be Different. The girls camped by age, this year, which was wonderful because they had opportunities to build relationships with their peers in the stake. The girls also went to a new location, which had “cabins”, electricity, and a lodge space for indoor dining and activities during the super hot hours and rainy hours. I was fortunate to drive up a van load of these bright beauties and help settle them in.  Reese’s year theme was Spider-[wo]man and Quincy’s year was Wonder Woman. Due to the age change this year, there were 35 first year girls at camp! Quincy settled right in next to pals Annalisa G, Baylee G, and Avery D and Sarah H. 

I really missed my besties while they were gone. The house was not the same without my big girls, but I know they were building wonderful memories. I loved girls camp more than anything as a youth. I wish I could have with them been up at camp all week witnessing their relationships and testimonies grow stronger.  I’m grateful for friends who texted me pics and updates on my girls all week. And for friends who kept them well stuffed with yummy things to eat. That’s a Mother’s Love!  

Both girls came home filthy and in cute girls camp-y French braids, and headed straight to the kitchen for debriefing over soup and sandwiches, and now both are sound asleep in the basement at 2pm.  Looks like they had a perfect time! Thanks, Rogers Stake Youth Leaders for a great week for my daughters! 

House “progress”

Summer break is just not going to be long enough. I can already tell 😂. But LOOK at all that beautiful blank space! Saturdays with NOTHING on them. That is a dream long long awaited for, my friends. Today, we are going to go make a small attack at the neglected yard and try to mow/weed whack where we can. There is still debris everywhere, so it will be tricky to work around, but I’m worried that if we don’t do a little recon work, we will never be able to get it back. 

We will hopefully add “MOVING DAY” somewhere in there in late July. To be honest, right now, “I can’t see  it from my porch” as they say here in Arkansas. 

As of today, the house is still in studs with no drywall. The siding guys are currently pulling the last 2.5 weeks of siding abd starting over. Again. Also, the wrong kind of cedar siding arrived, so it will be another week before that gets here. Three exterior doors are shimmed and hung, but two are the wrong kind of door. 

Above: new bedroom wall, moved over 18 inches to allow for a linen cabinet by the door. 

Above: basement French doors (these are the correct doors) framed in. Yay! Doors! 

Above: my basement classroom, the food storage room   And twins’ bedroom to the left, bathroom straight ahead, and Corbin and Soren’s bedroom right. 

Looking into my kitchen (see the hole in the floor about 9 o’clock?) and the loft exterior wall that once had my beautiful new bookcase above. Notice the hvac ductwork fixed to the cape cod slanted wall up there instead of the floor or ceiling, so you have a straight visual up to an air vent when you walk in the front door. Why???? That’s getting moved, too. You can see that better in the pic below. 



New chimney flue and fireplace insert. Aaron fought hard for this one and his and Beau’s tenacity with insurance made it happen. 

Kitchen. There were EIGHTY GALLONS of KILZ applied to the soda blasted studs of the house. Anywhere that is not treated is either new construction, or has a clear coat KILZ treatment on it. This is where the restoration company knocked it out of the park. Insurance wanted to only repkacebroof shingles on the back of the house. They replaced the entire roof cap, new timbers and boards and blasted and treated the entire house. Way above and beyond, but I feel at peace knowing it was done and done correctly. 



This above view is from the guest room by the front door, looking into that huge closet it has on the right, and the main level bathroom on the left. New tubs and plumbing are roughed in, all new wiring, switch boxes, and electrical work, and lights are also in. 

The HVAC guys put a random hole with flashed duct work going to it in the center of my kitchen floor, and no one can answer why it’s there, or what it goes to..but there is no plan to have an air register hanging halfway out from under my kitchen island, so it needs to go before floors can go in....which I haven’t picked out, because insurance is only giving us just less than $2/sqft to spend on flooring... which is basically impossible, and nothing close to what I had before.  I think the rebuild is just at that paralyzed state where progress for everything is waiting on completion or correction of something else.

I met with the cabinetry company this week for the first time since the 2 weeks after the fire when he took measurements before demolition. We mapped out the kitchen and bathroom and bedroom cabinetry.  This was my first time in his shop.  It was kind of like going to Disneyland. It smelled soooo good like freshly mulled lumber, was full of toys, and  the sound of thrill (hammers and aircompressors) roared in the background.  Right off the bat, he complimented my husband’s beautiful handiwork in the kitchen remodel and on the built ins upstairs.  Beau, our contractor cringed audibly, for me abd about fell out of his chair ( he had made the same mistake/assumption) complimenting the “company” I “hired” to lay our kitchen tile. Also me. So the meeting started off with a good laugh. But then we sped right through as he realized he could speak carpentry with me and I wouldn’t fall behind.  I’m not making a ton of changes because I’m trying to stay within the perameter of free. But a few things will change. First, everything is new so that’s huge. I’m moving the microwave around the corner so it’s disguised a bit behind the fridge, and putting a pretty hood built in above the cooking range. I’m adding some length to the island, and they’re building a custom unit, instead of screwing a bunch of pre fab stock cabinets together. There were useless, unaccessible drawers under the island overhang that will now be purposefully taller storage cabinets for larger appliances like the waffle irons and crock pot. And making the island longer will allow us to fit 7 stools around it, instead of 6, so all of the children will have a spot up there. The built in beds in Sloane’s bedroom will have 6 drawers instead of 3, and a set of 4 drawers in between them, with shelving above. 

The master bathroom vanity will be counter height, which I’m excited about. The basement vanity will be a wall to wall unit with drawers and a cool open shelf for towels. My bookshelves on the loft will be just like they were before, AND someone else will paint them, this time. ;) Everything is custom built. Cabinets will be shaker style with a very slight bullnose to smooth sharp edges and corners. 

Ok lots more to come, but here’s where we are for now. 

Memorial Day: The Wall That Heals: Vietnam Memorial Wall

Bentonville was fortunate to have a 3/4 scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The Wall That Heals travels around the US, displaying names of 58,207 soldiers who’s sacrifices for freedom tragically left lives and families behind. It was a humbling experience for all of us. Thank you Veteras! 

Memorial Day: Picnics

The Metfield Ward held a breakfast at Lake Ann on Memorial Day. Everything about it was wonderful. Our unit boundaries recently realigned and we are now in the Metfield Ward.  Everyone has been very warm and genuinely happy and welcoming to all of us newcomers pulled over from Sugar Creek. I’ve learned never to get too comfortable. The Church in NWA is growing and new units are forming. While on the one hand my family is feeling completely maxed out on change these days, and I am also pretty sad about losing a regular meetup opportunity with friends, Sunday Worship isn’t really about socialization anyway, so when I start feeling lonely, I say to myself, “All good things, all good things.” Because Ward splits are just that. A good thing that will fuel more good things. 

And it’s difficult to feel lonely for long. There is s LOT of love in this new unit and the children have transitioned from the tender caring leaders of sugar creek right into the watchful eyes of Metfield. They’ll be fine. 

The breakfast was so fun. I’m not a relaxed person when it comes to lots of young children around water (shocker!), but I was mostly ok. Not relaxed, like all the dads, laying out in the sun having a grand time, but I managed to stay at least as calm as the other mothers gathered at the edge of the lake, counting heads and reapplying sun screen. Haha! 

Really though, Lake Ann is great because it is so shallow. A slip n slide was set up and the kids loved it. We did not know people would be getting in the water, so my kids wore only street clothes, but eventually Corbin and the triplets stripped some of their layers, got soaked, and were loving life.  A few kids kayaked and my big girls hunted for crawfish and turtles with other YW on the little island.  

Our buddy Dan, brought his metal detector, and the idea of a treasure hunt excited Corbin very much. Within minutes, Dan had Corbin set up and searching with him.  It was adorable. I did what any parent would do and carefully tossed a handful of coins into a large patch of longer grass nearby and then watched Corbin’s delight every time they found something.  


Lake Ann is such a beautiful place. I spend less and less time in Bella Vista these past 2 years, that it’s beauty comes as a surprise...like an all new discovery every time we take advantage of the gorgeous amenities here. Or maybe I just need to go to the lake more. Or at least just be outside more. Or try to relax more. (That last ones a joke. Because relaxation is a joke right now...but someday! Sorry for the cynicism today, I think my brain is still recovering from May. And I had a caseworker come over today, so I’m feeling extra NOT relaxed haha!) but again, the lake party was so good. My kids just ran from place to place. There were so many friends for everyone. I loved watching the super extroverted sides of Aaron and Reese come out as theyfliated around  talking and talking and talking. So maybe I was a bit anxious about the water, but the rest of my family gave an exhibition show of felt safety. So like I said before. All good things, all good things, 

After the lake, swimming at the neighborhood pool, and an impromptu dinner and visiting at Valerie’s. I’m going to miss seeing those faces each week so much. 

We probably caused the home to break some kind of fire code with our party of 9.  Aaron and Reese retreated back to their introverted states and I caught up with girlfriends in between stuffing my face with really delicious food and tracking my feral tiny humans and emotional big humans. 

Memorial Day, what are you without the lake and a last minute massive casual gathering or two? It was a beautiful day to be together.