Here we go with some blog confetti for y’all.
January is a really long year 🤣
1) Chamber orchestra has some tough music to learn for competitions and assessment, this spring. The cello part is particularly challenging and Quincy has been plucking away at it for a week. Last week, Millie, Lance, and Lily came over and put in a few hours preparing for an upcoming playing test. At one point, one of Q’s friends who really is an excellent musician said, “No more! I give up for today. I’m having my mom check me out of school if there’s a test before I can work on it some more.” Quincy is having the group back over soon to practice until they get it down. These pieces are hard…but since I know they’ll get it eventually, I am already excited for their spring assessment concerts.
2) speaking of cellos, a huge CONGRATS to our Soren made the junior high Honors Orchestra! He is the only middle schooler in the district who got in, and while his chair placement is closer to the back, there are still a handful behind him, and nearly a dozen 8th graders who did not get in at all. The director, Cami Austin, stopped by to drop off his music and congratulate him. She did not choose the cellos who made it, but she pulled up his audition video and said he sounds great.
Corbin also made the high school honors orchestra and the boys have been practicing their music all week. They had a rehearsal Tuesday night and will have a clinic Friday afternoon-evening and Saturday morning, with a concert Saturday afternoon.
3) inspired by Davey and Brody Saumweber, Bear joined the Cooper Cheer Crew! They had an after school practice, and are set to cheer at three wrestling meet/tournaments. Cousin Lochlan also joined so it’s something fun they can do together. Bear was disappointed that he did not get to wrestle, lift other people in the air, or get swole abs from the activity. But he loved cheering and the BHS wrestling team loved their cheer crew!
4) am I falling apart? Kind of. I’m trying to train for the Bentonville half marathon, and am running into some physical obstacles. I’ve recently had a few Hashimoto’s flares that were worse than I’ve had in several years. Extreme fatigue and painful swelling in my under arms, fingers, and neck that lasts several days up to two weeks, and joint pain that makes my body very stiff, especially when I’m trying to get moving in the morning. I started using the Walmart fitness center because running indoors is easier on my sensitive nerves than extreme temps outdoors. I’m trying to take it easy to baby the knee that had the little meniscus tear. Some knee trouble, some pain in the foot that had the stress fracture a few years ago, and some lower back pain that was debilitating. With all of that going on I feel like I am not getting the required training for the race time I hoped for. So I decided to try something new.
It’s been many years since I did pool exercise, but here I am, joining the retired ladies for aqua fit water aerobics. After class I swam laps for 40 minutes, then sat in the sauna, and got a hydro massage for my pathetic back. All the stretching in the pool and the masssage bed have been great. I ran an easy 2 miles today. I hope that means I’m back in commission for longer distances.
5) on MLK day we were party crashers at Grover’s for an hour or so. The kids were SO happy. The boys joined the switch party and the girls joined Chloe, Piper, and Emma in their games. I visited with Britney’s during her workout and heard about some of the fun trips she’s going on.
6) our favorite missionary hit the 1 year mark. She plans to be home at the very end of May/beginning of June.
6) our favorite missionary hit the 1 year mark. She plans to be home at the very end of May/beginning of June.
7) Wrapper Not Rapper Meg gets more friends every week.
8) The Mission Prep teacher asked us to host the January class here at Fort Willy, and to give a 15 minute demo on how to use clippers. I included a little message about why it’s important to follow missionary grooming standards.
There was a crazy big turnout for mission prep! We had a few kids from Metfield Ward and one from Bentonville Stake pull up, too. I made a few big loaves of French bread and they were devoured in minutesz
Fancy volunteered for a haircut and I was happy to line him up with a nice fade. He recently had cut off his highlights and wanted to feel a little more in style than sporting the same cut he had in jr high. Lance is the most easy going kid. I hope he likes his cut, but I really don’t know if he’d say so if he didn’t. He’s too polite. Ammon J, Neal R, and Josh T got on the docket for cuts soon. I promised I would do those when I don’t have an audience of 25 teens staring at me 😅.
9)Ammon came over yesterday and wanted a full on mullet. Oh it goes against everything in me. Here’s a pic of where we started, but I ended up taking a good inch off the top and cleaning up the back and it looked better than it does here. Mullets for straight hair are not my favorite trend, but Ammon loves it. There’s something to be said about the confidence boost a kid gets when they walk away loving their cut. I also hope he comes back next week for a fade. D
10) the Spears family invited us for dinner and games and it was a riot. Pablo, Gerson jr and Sr were there, which was great. Pablo was one of my Sunday school kids as a young teenager. He is a freshman in college now and I have not seen him since his mother passed died a few years ago. Gerson and Quincy were buddies and caught up talking medical school and about Gersons recent wedding. We played the most competitive game of Pictionary in my life and we all died laughing as the teen/young adults became increasingly intense. The more they wanted to win, the more the 6-9 year olds team succeeed in destroying us. Great fun, yummy food, awesome company.
11) he hates to admit it, but Corbin is the snuggliest of Willardsons. His wife will be so happy someday to have such a cuddly husband. Corbins recent routine after coming home is to snuggle up and chat until Quincy gets home. Q is always out much later and he claims he loves the one on one time, but I think he really just likes staying up late.
12) the kids are loving Bishop Blake. He stopped by to visit with Q and extended calling and they talked and talked and talked. Brady is so fun, he’s a true blue byu cougar fan, and he shows up to all the sports and choir and orchestra things to champion his youth. I know this matters a lot-or at least it does to my kids. They feel the love and love him right back.
14) I wish I could post videos because they’re so much better than the in-progress photos we got, but here are a couple before and “during” pics Corbin’s buddy Rhett’s haircut. He got my number from Ammon and Corbin and texted, “I’ve seen your work and I’m ready for a cut. I’ll take a low taper fade with a flip in the back.” The finished result looks so good and Rhett is really happy.
And the “during”…I need to make it a habit to get more pics after the cuts are blended and done. Rhett looks so fresh he said few people didn’t recognize him when he walked up at the basketball game.
15) I live with three 9-10 year old pack rats.
We gutted their room the other day the carpet already looks like a junk drawer. I don’t get it, their rooms are practically empty! Where does all this garbage come from? I kid you not, just last night there was an actual poop on the bathroom floor. Like a full on log! What is the story here? How did they miss? How did it get ignored and left there?! If I had pets I would have 100% believed one of them had done it. But no. It was my child.
16) Soren’s Sugar Creek deacons quorum minus a few.
16) Soren’s Sugar Creek deacons quorum minus a few.
17) Reese and Quincy’s 2nd grade teacher stopped me at the gym last week. I love her and I love that she follows Reese’s mission adventures. She retired fairly recently and we talked and caught up for nearly an hour.
18) Shef invited Q to an MLK celebration at Crystal Bridges Monday. He said “you won’t mind going somewhere with my parents, and you’re into culture and diversity. He is correct. She was very excited about this event. The Shefchicks ended up with several extra tickets and said “bring friends!” Quincy and Brightyn were together cheering on the Zack’s, Josh, and Gigi at the swim meet beforehand, so they brought Ryan M, Zach V (ZVan), Parker O and Elle R to the event. They loved it! There was great food, a DJ, and a live band. The highlight of Quincy’s night was when they started playing some Bob Marley songs.
19) it was 2 degrees outside when I left the pool the other day. My hair froze in the very short walk to my car. Wild stuff!
20) all of the children had overlapping activities outside the home for about 3 hours on a Saturday. Quincy and I took the opportunity for a date. We planned to begin the hunt for a prom dress, which if you know Q is quite a process to find something unique, but ended up checking out two amazing thrift emporiums in Fayetteville instead. Cheap Thrills is ALL curated vintage goods. Huge win. Quincy found an adorable terry cloth top from the 60’s, a cute floral yellow cotton dress, and some 1980’s acid washed ditto jeans. I talked her out of some vintage new balance sneakers because even though the style is very trendy right now, this pair looked just a little too crusty. I found some legit 1971 wide leg Levi’s that I Quincy has already “borrowed” from my closet. They’re sooo cute and $20 for vintage Levi’s is like a thrifting unicorn.
21) speaking of thrifted goods, remember this cute wool top Q found at a boutique in Paris? She wore it on the first day of jr year at BHS. I accidentally used hot water to hand wash it and now it is Esme’s. Major shrinkage! Oopsie! Good thing E is so cute! Sorry Q. Let’s go back to Europe and make it right.
22) oh how I love having a temple so close!!!! I took some additional time after inituatories last week to just sit for an exceptionally long time. Long enough that after an hour or so, my parents walked in. I didn’t know they were planning to attend the temple that morning, but it was a lovely surprise to sit between my parents for a spell in the celestial room. I am very grateful to them for the blessing of having parents who continue to teach me by example the importance of worship.
Aaron and I went the other night and the sky was incredible!
23) Last night, Quincy was buried in her 3 inch EMT text book. This course is so intense. There is a quiz every day over the lecture and textbook content, and an exam every weekend. Above 94% is an A and she must score above 80% to pass the course. The WiFi was wonky and not loading her quiz. After it timed out during her exam last weekend, resulting in a few questions left unanswered at the end, Q was feeling anxious about the reliability of both the internet and her patience. Seeking refuge, she found 4 open spots at an 8pm temple appointment and booked it. She doubled down on studying for 90 minutes, then texted Ethan V, Gavin F, and Kate K, picked up a stack of names from my dad, and the 4 friends met up on super short notice at the temple for baptisms and ice cream after. She got home at 10:30, tried the quiz again and nailed it! She skipped preparation for a cello test (and paid for it in chamber today 😅) but said it was worth it to feel immediate peace and turn off the school part of her brain for a couple hours on a school night. We also talked about the big picture of one cello playing test vs 25 ancestors who received saving ordinances last night because she chose the better part. The group has more names to do, so they made a plan to return in 2 weeks. I cannot describe the joy I feel that my children have the opportunity to attend the temple so conveniently and independently.
23) Last night, Quincy was buried in her 3 inch EMT text book. This course is so intense. There is a quiz every day over the lecture and textbook content, and an exam every weekend. Above 94% is an A and she must score above 80% to pass the course. The WiFi was wonky and not loading her quiz. After it timed out during her exam last weekend, resulting in a few questions left unanswered at the end, Q was feeling anxious about the reliability of both the internet and her patience. Seeking refuge, she found 4 open spots at an 8pm temple appointment and booked it. She doubled down on studying for 90 minutes, then texted Ethan V, Gavin F, and Kate K, picked up a stack of names from my dad, and the 4 friends met up on super short notice at the temple for baptisms and ice cream after. She got home at 10:30, tried the quiz again and nailed it! She skipped preparation for a cello test (and paid for it in chamber today 😅) but said it was worth it to feel immediate peace and turn off the school part of her brain for a couple hours on a school night. We also talked about the big picture of one cello playing test vs 25 ancestors who received saving ordinances last night because she chose the better part. The group has more names to do, so they made a plan to return in 2 weeks. I cannot describe the joy I feel that my children have the opportunity to attend the temple so conveniently and independently.
No pics of them at the temple, but here’s Ethan and Gavin solving a brain puzzle at Braums 😂.
24) red light therapy. It sounds like a sham, but there’s science to back it up so I’ll give it a try,
25) valentine mantle
26) I laughed at this comic for so long that it’s part of my personality now.
27) I love teaching Sunday school! I love the long time friendships with the youth and supporting them in developing a testimony as they become adults. They are also just so dang funny, creative, and smart. I love their insight to the gospel, how accepting they are, and the energy and light they carry with them. I ran into a former student working at peddlers pub last week and he excitedly told me he is working on mission papers. I love this. On Sunday, recent convert Avery in Metfield Ward ran up to me to give me a hug in the hallway and excitedly told me she received her first calling and was about to be set apart in a class presidency. She was full of light. 1 year ago, she was coming to sacrament meeting with her boyfriend on occasion and the girls in our Sunday school class invited her to be taught at the mini mission. Amazing.
Here is lovely Gisele G, who finds me an every Sunday and gives me a hug. I look forward to seeing her each week and was even more excited to discover I get to teach her class. Getting to know a new class is so great.
28) Steezy boys have game 3 tonight. They are 0-2 this season with a very tough team to play tonight. Even without wins, they are playing better than ever, putting up points, and really only lost Monday night out of bad luck. Tate came home with a sick black eye though and some technicals were thrown. It was an exciting night for my favorite boys.
Q stopped by after work to give Corbin some support.
Speaking of support, look at that crowd. With or without a win, Steezy boys brought out the fans.
Speaking of support, look at that crowd. With or without a win, Steezy boys brought out the fans.
