The Williams Family

Barbie loves books

2010-06-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

Since we started reading books every night to the kids, the change in them is amazing and they really love it. Samantha thought Barbie needed some of her good fortune so she set her up for bed and read her one of her favorites just so she could sleep better.

Andy's 4!!!

2010-06-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

Well as you can see we had a cowboy themed Birthday party this year and the kids loved it!!! Jeremy had a great guy from work come out with his great horse and all the kids got to ride! It was great fun.

Andy really loved posing for the pictures.

And Sammie loved riding too!! And thank goodness Mom was here to help me with the cake this year. She is a great froster!!!

We all had a reallly good time!

Stair Sledding!

2010-05-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

So Jer taught the kids how to stair sled.....I couldn't even watch until he got there helmets on.

And even though this one looks bad and is not for the faint of heart...the crazy kids with rugs burns and bumped heads did it over and over and over

They loved it!! Seriously!

Easter!

2010-04-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Before the hunt...........

After the hunt.................

The beautiful Easter outfits that Grams got!

I am an angel.......LOL LOL

Posing for family pictures.

And more Family pictures

And more Family pictures! We had a great relaxing day for Easter. Thanks Grams for the Easter outfits, they fit great! The only way Sammie would get out of her dress was a bribe of candy!

Our first trip to Yellowstone!!

2010-02-23T17:42:00.001-08:00

We had such a great time at Yellowstone! We went to see the wolves and bears twice and they absolutely loved it! The wolves loved them too, as you can see they were bowing down to the kids (maybe saying a prayer before lunch?) LOL

Sammie loves to hug things but seriously? LOL

Andy is growing up so fast, he had a great time in the snow.

Wolves still following us around the park...

Still following....

Still following...

The Worldmark resort we stayed at had an indoor pool, a wading pool, and 2 hot tubs...it was fabulous, of course we had to swim alot! The resort itself was really beautiful and the town was so great.

This was one of the wolf caves, the kids loved it after they realized there were no monsters or wolves in there.

Posing for pictures, finally!

A really nice man took this one for us! What a great family vacation, were doing it again next year for sure. We got to relax and just enjoy each other. Life gets so busy sometimes you just forget to stop and smell the roses you know?

The poopin dance!

2010-01-31T05:36:00.000-08:00

So you think its time to start potty training when Sammie has made up her own poopin dance????

Andy is a sunbeam!

2010-01-31T05:29:00.000-08:00

Andy is really enjoying being a sunbeam this year and is so proud to show all of his accomplishments! BRING ON THE MACARONI NECKLACES!!

He is learning so much and even had his first primary event in which I forgot to take my camera! He also had his very first evaluation for preschool and his teacher says he is doing very good!

Andy's Christmas Program

2009-12-22T21:16:00.000-08:00

This is quick and dirty just to get it posted.
I am so proud of my little guy, he did so good for his first time in front of a crowd.
He listened and participated so well.....We were such proud parents.

P.S. This video really showed me, how much Andy looks like me when I was his age....poor kid.

Sam turns 2!!!

2009-12-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

We had such a good time over Thanksgiving with the family. Of course even though we were traveling the day of Sam's Birthday. Grandma made sure we celebrated a little bit with donuts and princess hats!

And of course we had to have a double birthday so we could have icecream cake and Janelle and Quinn's house!!!! (it was fabulous!)

He's got grandmas good hair!!!

2009-12-11T19:22:00.001-08:00

Couldn't help but posts these pics....cause Jer has hair!!! I love you honey! Happy Anniversary!

Our last trip to Moms until spring (probably)

2009-10-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to get to my moms one more time before we got snowed in here so we decided to go on her birthday. The kids helped me bake a LEMON CAKE (thanks for the recipe Goldia!!!) so we could wish Grandma happy birthday the right way.
Lisa my bestest friend and my sis and her kids all made it!! We had so much fun. Lisa helped out with the kids so much my mom was like "COME BACK EVERYTIME TAMI COMES!" LOL

Andy got to play games on her iphone and Sami got to put on lots of lips (chapstick). We had alot of fun and just in time too! As we just got snow in the mountains on Wednesday.

We even got to lock the kids up for awhile LOL I'm just kidding..they got in their all by themselves. Thanks mom for a great weekend and thanks Lisa and Theresa for coming!

Our trip to Billings!

2009-09-12T15:52:00.001-07:00

We had such a great time in our travels to Billings. Jer had to travel for work and we actually got to go this time and it was a blast! We stayed in a hotel that had a water park attached to it!! Indoors even! They had a perfect part for the TODDLERS!! Andy went down the slide about 1000 times by himself. Here is a couple pictures and video of that :)

Then Jer had to work all day Friday so I took the kids to a TOYS' R US which we don't have here and A MALL!!!! I miss the mall!

They had a play structure there for the kids so we played there until they couldn't take it anymore then we just browsed around the mall! I didn't get to go into any of the stores but who cares! I got to WINDOW SHOP and it was AWESOME! The little things in life right?

Here is just a couple of the pictures of them playing at the mall.

Then of course...andybody that knows our family, also knows we can't make it through any adventure without an injury of some sort (sheesh!) So here is our injury of the trip.

Andy fell at the water park running not walking through the slide area :)

All in all GOOD TIMES TO BE HAD BY ALL!!

Andy's First Day of Preschool

2009-09-12T12:58:00.001-07:00

Look at me....I'm in PRESCHOOL!

Andy was so dang cute on his first day of preschool!

He has one other little boy to play with and lots of girls. After looking and looking through all the preschools here we decided on this one and are very excited about it!

Andys 3rd Birthday!!

2009-07-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry its been so long since my last post! Here is Andy's Birthday party pictures! We had such a good time. Just enough kids showed up to make it so fun!

The Birthday Boy!!

Road trip to Grandmas!!

2009-05-27T04:49:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun this weekend with the cousins!! But getting there was great fun too!

I gotta go MOM!

Everyone out!

We played so hard, did lots of yard work, played lots of games, loved our cousins, and just had a great time!

Skipbo anyone?

We want our waffles Dad!

I even got a chance to practice for Andy's birthday, and with Janelle there to help me I got a lot of great tips, thank you!!

Everyone was exhausted even the dog! We had so much fun we cant wait til next time!

HE PLAYED!!!

2009-05-08T19:32:00.001-07:00

Well I hate it when Jeremy is right but...........HE WAS RIGHT!

We had to have Jeremy take Andy to his game last Saturday and I had to hide out of sight with Sam for Andy to play soccer but, he was AWESOME! Here are a few pictures.

Andy smiled great for his team pictures

Little stretching before the game!

Here is some video of him getting ready for the game!! He runs so fast!

And look at him kick that ball!!

The new Soccer Jersey!

2009-04-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to show everyone how awesome Andy looks in his new Soccer shirt! There is no video of Andy playing soccer though because.....he wouldn't get on the field :(

We will try again next week to see if he will play. Maybe more pictures to come of our not yet disccovered soccer star LOL

The bunny was good to us this year!

2009-04-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

What can we say it was a great Easter Weekend! Andy was so excited to see his cousins! He just loves his Nate and Brit!

The Easter Bunny hid so many eggs for the kids he was even doing it past midnight while on a break from Guitar Hero of course.

And of course we all had to go to the Easter Egg hunt on Easter Sunday. Andy and Sam had it easy in the 0-2 year old group. But boy oh boy it got a little dicey for the 3-5 year olds and holy smokes Brit had it tough in the 6 year old and older group! But all in all everyone had a good time, with cotton candy and sno cones to eat who wouldn't? LOL

Sam did really quite well for her first Easter Egg hunt after she figured out that you open the eggs after the hunt is over. Here is just a peek at Andy and Sam!
Thank you Snelders Family for making our Easter so great!

Lions, Tigers, and Bears....not really.

2009-04-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

Jer had to go out of town for work last week so the kids and I decided it was time to see Montana. A very nice lady from the YMCA (my pilates teacher) owns a really great farm with lots of animals and we had to pet everyone of them.

These are only a few of the animals, she also had pigs (stinky), baby chicks, baby turkeys, dogs, cats, the kids had just a great time! They even got to feed the horses and they didn't even get bit! LOL

Grammy's and Poppa's house

2009-04-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

Well we did it! I drove all the way to Grammy's house with 2 kids and a dog and didn't even get lost!

Jeremy had to travel for business last week to Chicago so me and the kids decided it was time to make the drive to Gram's house. The first part was pretty tough with the snow and I almost turned back just a half hour into our drive but....we went really slow and forged ahead. As Janelle always says "Enjoy the journey" and we did! We saw every rest area all the way to Washington, watched lots of movies, ate lots of snacks, and looked for tractors all the way there. :)

When we first got there we were very impressed with all the new toys Grammy got off of Craig's list what a deal!! Andy was very excited about all the cool new toys!

Then low and behold the Easter Bunny stopped by Gram's house EARLY! Wow go Easter Bunny! He knew exactly what to get the kids for sure.Lots of bubbles, kites, baseball bat and ball, coloring books, playdoh! Andy especially loved his bubbles and went through the whole thing by the time we left because one little blow made sooooooo many bubbles. We had a great time visiting and had lots of fun hangin' with Gramma and poppa. Thanks mom for the great time! And here are some pictures of Andy flying his kite since we didn't get to fly it before leaving Grammy's.

Sam's First BIG Fall!

2009-03-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post...Sam was outside playing yesterday and decided to crawl up into a table structure we had. She then proceeded to lean back, fall out backwards, and then have the table land on top of her as she was sprawled out on the ground. I gotta say she has done way better with the bruises and bumps then her brother EVER did. As this is her first big one and she is almost 18 months. Andy on the other hand...well did we ever have a full week without some bruise or bump from the time he was a year til he was over 2? I don't think so :)Love you all!!!
Take care.

Let it snow!

2009-03-07T19:13:00.000-08:00

Talk about crazy weather, snows, then its 60 degrees here in Montana! Sheesh! Here are just a couple of pictures of the kids. It doesn't really matter how cold it is outside they still want to be out in it!

We are still going to the YMCA everyday to have mommy and me time and have also joined a group called MOPS which is a great time for me and the kids. Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying their GYM time.

And finally here are a couple of pictures of the kids just being crazy. I also am including a video of Sam walking in the snow finally as the first couple times she wouldn't put her feet down! She looks alot like her Grandmas walking but she did it! LOL! Hopefully it will load right because we still don't have internet and are still using Jeremy's phone for our connection LOL

We love and miss everyone!

What's Happening?

2009-02-14T18:43:00.000-08:00

The Williams household has been pretty quiet, well as quiet as it can be with 2 kids under 3 :) Some news:

We had to put our great dog Jake down this past month. He was pretty sick and not doing very good. Andy still asks "Wheres Jake, Mom?" We explained that he was up in heaven and was much happier now. But he still misses him. Coda our other dog still misses him too but is slowly getting used to the idea of being alone.

We had an offer on our house in Oregon and everything was going well until the home inspection. The guy just ripped the house apart, almost made it sound like a drug house sheesh! The prospective buyer backed out, who wouldn't? LOL after the way he made it sound. We are keeping our hopes up that someone else will offer us something soon.

Some good news:

I got my very first calling at church and am now the proud assistant to the Webelos scout troop! It's very exciting as this way I can learn all about the scouts before Andy gets in!

We are doing the blue and gold dinner in March and I am very excited to be helping out with the skit so they can get their "SHOWMAN" badge. It's great fun and I am so blessed to have such a great group of women at the church.

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids just so everyone can see how fast they are growing...it's going by so fast! We miss everyone tremendously!

GRANDMA AND POPPA pictures

2009-02-04T18:26:00.001-08:00

Well Grandma and poppa came to stay with us for over a week and it was so much fun! We did Dinners Done right which is a cool place you go and put together a bunch of meals for the family but you don't worry about the shopping or cleaning up. Me and mom did that and it was a blast! We also had a girls day and went and got hair cuts and that was pretty great too! Here are some pictures of the week:

Grandma and Andy chillin' on the couch!

Grandma, Andy and Sam all playin'

Nothing like having poppa playing with the trains and dancing to Thomas the Tank Engine theme song.

Swing me more Grandma!!! (seriously like 20 minutes of swinging) :)

Are you done with the comics yet Poppa??

Me and Jer even took advantage and went out on a date night, we had a great time! Thanks Grandma and Poppa for coming to stay with us, after you left for the next two days all I heard from Andy is, "where's Grandma and poppa?" I am hoping to come stay in March with you guys so I thought I would prepare you early, THE CIRCUS WILL BE COMING TO TOWN soon. :)

Our first visitors!

2009-01-24T19:07:00.001-08:00

Grandma Gog sent me pictures of their visit (as I was having so much fun I didn't even remember to take any) and I had to share. Andy had such a wonderful time playing trains with Grandpa Beard and even Sam got in on the action.Poor Grandpa didn't get to sleep in at our house as Andy just couldn't wait for him to get up so he just climbed in bed and woke him up. (Sorry Brent) I was very excited to have visitors while Jeremy was away and they helped sooooo much.

It's been fun so far......

2009-01-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

Well Montana is still treating us great, and we still love it here. It has been a full month for us, getting moved in, arranging the house, getting routines down, and just being a family. I have finally adjusted to being a full-time mom (I think) and am very happy to be at home with my kids watching every little new and exciting thing that happens in their life. And the trick to getting them to do whatever I want? SUCKERS!!

They are having a great time meeting new friends at the YMCA, (they now have mommy and me stuff to do every day) and just having a great time hanging out in the yard. We had a couple of really beautiful days here so I had to take a picture, record highs even! This picture was taken from our back yard! Big Sky Montana! I love the sunrises here!

They are finally old enough to give them bath together (Andy doesn't try to drown her anymore :) ) thank goodness because it definitely saves on the back pain LOL

Grandma Gog and Grandpa Beard came over this last weekend to keep me company because Jeremy went back to Oregon to pick up all the rest of our stuff. BIG THANKS TO HUGH AND LOREN, AND GEOFF for helping Jeremy. I have no idea what he would have done without you guys!!

The kids had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa this weekend and boy were they life savers!! Goldia even taught me how to make bread in my bread maker woohooo!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP THIS WEEKEND!! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!

I just had to learn how to make cinnamon rolls as we no longer live next door to the Hales and Jeremy is missing Jeanettas' cinnamon rolls. I can't make them quite as good as her but maybe with a little practice.. We love you all and will keep in touch.

Grandma Sandy and Poppa are coming this weekend so I will be sure and post all the adventures. I will leave you all with one last image...ANDY IS SO STRONG!! AND GETTING SO BIG! :)

Christmas in our new home!!

2009-01-04T20:53:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas in our new home. We were only missing two things, a real Christmas tree and lights for our artificial tree :) other than that everything was absolutely perfect!

The kids really enjoyed opening all of their presents and loved playing with them even more!

Sam definitely loved opening her presents, maybe more than playing with them this year.

Andy got to play with his Thomas the Train all day long!!

And Sam got some music toys so she can really get down and boogie!

We all had a wonderful day, We are so blessed. Thank you!!

WE MOVE IN TOMORROW!!

2008-12-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

Well we were supposed to close on our house today, but with the horrible weather in Portland the lady from Key Bank didn't even come to work let alone get all the paperwork sent in for our closing soooooooo....we will be signing tomorrow instead. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

The picture is kind of dark, so I will get some better ones after we move in, but it's finished!!

We are so excited to spend Christmas time in the new house and can't wait for VISITORS!!! Grandma Gog will hopefully be coming very soon, and Grandma Sandy and Poppa will be coming the end of January!! Woohooo!

WE ARE SO BLESSED!!! Merry Christmas Everyone!

Sam is walking!!!!

2008-12-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know Sam is walking!! Here are a couple of pictures for proof. :)

Oh and her hair is finally long enough to put in pig tails!!!!! wooohooo!! Here is a little video here of her walking too! We love and miss everyone!

Winter is here!

2008-12-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

We had our first snow storm a week ago and the snow is still on the ground...burrr! I took some pictures of Andy because Samantha wouldn't stand or sit in the snow yet, (she cried) LOL.

That is the only snow thus far but this weekend the high on Sunday is supposed to be -5 so we will keep the hot chocolate handy. :)

Thanksgiving (Finally)

2008-12-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, I am finally getting around to blogging our wonderful trip to Grandma Gog's! We had such a wonderful time, even with all the people I can't remember the last time I felt so relaxed, we are so blessed to have such wonderful family. When we first got there of course Jeremy had to pull out the riding lawn mower and give the kids a ride....

Sam just taking in the scenery!

Andy just had to steer!

Then it was time to start fixing stuff because as we all know Jeremy can't sit still for too long! So Scott, Jer, and even Quinn got in the action. First, trying to fix the toilet then installing a new kitchen faucet. Jeremy loved every second of it, because he loves his family so much.

All because he couldn't sit still!

This is what TEAMWORK is all about!

Cousin Pictures!!! Andy was so excited to share this time with his cousins, especially Nate whom he didn't let out of his site for almost 5 days.

From the moment Sam saw Brittanie she couldn't stop hugging her....

We had a great time at the Festival of Lights, it was Andy's first time and boy was he excited. What great memories!

And last but not least, Grandma Gog made sure we had a REAL party for Sam's 1st birthday with cupcakes, frosting, and lots of fun.

Lots of fun, LOTS of food, lots of games, lots of family. We had such a wonderful time and are looking forward to so many more fun times now that we are a little closer. I am so lucky that I married into such a wonderful, fun, loving, and close knit family! Thank you so much for everything Grandma Gog!

Sammie is #1

2008-11-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

We had a little birthday party for Sam tonight.
She got a "baby" from Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Hugh.

She loved it so much, she was talking and jabbering up a storm.

She has never cared when Andy takes the toys that she has.
She has never cared when we take the toys that she has away.

Andy tried to take her baby....she threw a holy FIT.
Andy tried to give her other toys (look, something shiney :D) she threw a fit.

She loved her baby very much. Good choice Grandma!!!!

We are going to do a full party during Thanksgiving and will update soon with those pictures and stories.

I HATE THIS HOUSE!!!!!

2008-11-25T19:53:00.000-08:00

We cannot wait until this stage of our housing project is over.
Our little house is ok for a stage, and I don't want to sound spoiled, but I want to unpack our stuff.
We go out to the new house daily and have taken a few pictures along the way and wanted to share the progress with everyone.

Foundation poured and the basement framed

Main Floor joists layed and foundation back filled Saturday 22nd

Total framed, plumbing roughed in, electrician was starting 11/25 9:30am

roofing sheeting going on.

roof felt down, totally sheeted, electrical done, plumbing completed. garage framing starting11/25 4:30 pm

I am very excited for the house to be done. I just want to be able to get dressed without waking Sam(cause she is sleeping in the masterbed room walk-in closet). Be able to shower without waking a child cause this house is so small. Walk to the bathroom without waking someone (cause EVERY DAMN BOARD IN THIS HOUSE CREAKS.....ARRRRRGGGGGGG). Be able to eat dinner and see what I'm eating.(cause it is so dark in this house). Be able to watch TV in the masterbed room.

I didn't think that these were that important. But they are.

I am so excited that we are going to have enough room for Grandma's and Grandpa's to come and visit and not have to sleep in the garage.

Hope to see you all soon.

Weekends are always the Best!

2008-11-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun this last weekend! We relaxed, we watched movies, and then me and the kids decided we wanted to show Jer some of the cool stuff we do during the week, so....we started off at the kids museum. (So Jer could be a kid) and then we went to the carousel for a ride and some ice cream. Andy and Jeremy had a blast!

Sunday rolled around and I didn't feel like making lunch for everyone (who really ever feels like cooking on a Sunday? or is it just me?) So it was all about the Wendy's $1 menu for lunch. FRENCH FRIES should be a food group, really it should. We had a wonderful lunch of nuggets and fries, I think Sam ate a whole order by herself. And then my boys decided it was time to be members of the GREAT POOBAH!

Since we had a buzz from all the grease from our fries we decided it was time to go for a ride in the living room on the cardboard box EXPRESS! Thomas the Train has nothing on Jer!!

Truly this is what weekends should always be like!

Like Father, Like Son

2008-11-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

Wow he is just like his dad! Today Andy kept looking at his rocket saying "me work momma, me work" I was like what???

I finally figured out he needed a tool to fix his rocket. Just like his dad. Wow!

Of course Samantha had to get in on that action!

He fixed his rocket and was very proud of himself. Good job Andy!! I miss you guys already, be safe this weekend and have fun with Grandma Gog and Aunt Nat!! I LOVE YOU!

What to do in Helena?

2008-11-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

Well Jeremy always usually does the posts cause he says, "It's man scrapbooking" but I thought since I am now a "stay at home mom" and have more time on my hands I would do a post with just a little peek at what me and the kids do during the day.

When we first got here to Helena I got some really good advice from some friends about being a stay at home mom that I am taking to heart.

1.) Be consistent, don't give in when it is something important.
2.) Routines are very important, nap at the same time everyday, eat lunch at the same time, etc.
3.) Get out the pens, coloring books, paints, games, puzzles, books and PLAY PLAY PLAY.

4.)Take some time for yourself...you will be a much better mom

(Thanks Nikki and Lisa)
I gotta say that first week, I was seriously ready to go back to work. 40 hours a week at a new job would be cake. But, with some good advice and a little creativity I really love being a mom. What more could I ask for...we are so blessed as a family and I have a wonderful husband who is giving me this opportunity. I LOVE YOU JER!

We are now proud members of the local Childrens Museum and go to activities two times a week, Crafts on Tuesdays, and story hour on Thursdays. We have also found a local carousel that the kids love (pictures to come) and lots of play structures that have lots of slides.

We did a tour of the local YMCA today and hope to join there soon for swim class, mommy and me tumbling and YOGA for the kids LOL. They have a really great facility here that we are very excited about.

I went to my very first Enrichment class last week and enjoyed some wonderful home made soup and WATCHED everyone else sew lol, but was able to help with some humanitarian hygiene kits. (at least I helped a little) Everyone at the church is super friendly and made me feel at home, it was a blast!

Anyways, I guess I should wrap it up. I just gotta say that even though I do miss friends and family this opportunity has been wonderful and I really am the most luckiest woman alive.

Jer, I hope you know that although I don't say it all the time, I am so very proud of you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me this time with my precious babies. They grow up so fast and I get to see it all! I don't know what I would do without you. You are my rock and I will treasure you always.

I will end with a video of what the kids really think of this strange place that we have traveled too. :)

Hiking in Helena

2008-11-02T16:45:00.001-08:00

We had a great time hiking on Saturday, it was a wonderful 65 degrees and we just had to get out and enjoy the weather. It only took us 2 weeks but we made it hiking on Mount Helena. I gotta say Montana is better than we could have hoped for so far.

Halloween

2008-10-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

After seeing all the comments posted I realized that this is more than just fun. People actually care about what is going on with our little family. So I need to quit being selfish and share!!!!!

After being "released" from work in Portland early, I got to spend some time with Andy and the daycare at the local pumpkin patch. It was so fun being able to spend some time with my little man. I cannot believe how fast he has grown up. He has a strong personality and a great sense of humor (you have to, to be a Williams :D)

We got Andy a little pumpkin and drew this face on it. If you didn't know better you would think it was his best friend. I wanna bath with it, I wanna sleep with it, I wanna eat with it. I didn't think you could "love" vegetables. HA HA

We got a pumpkin to carve too and we enjoy'd carving it as a family. We tried to get Andy to clean it out, but it was "ka ka poo'y" so Mom had to clean it. I had cut the top hole too small and I couldn't get my hand into it.
We got all dressed up to Trunk or Treat at the church. They loved it and Andy ran around and was so polite. He would walk up to someone and say Trick or Treat, then look what was put in his bucket, and then would say thank you without even prompting him, I was so proud of him.
I was a rough Trick or Treating outing, we were done by 6:30pm. The kids were done at 6:31pm. We let them sleep on the way home, but we still had to do baths and get them ready for bed. It was tough waking them up but they fell asleep way too early and it was only for a few minutes from the church....so then it was bath time!!!!

End result: We should have let them sleep and just put them to bed. I love my kids too much, I love night night time!!!!!

Love you all.

I have to share

2008-10-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

Tami and I flew to Montana for Tami to see the area and give a thumbs up on moving here. I had to make sure that she was on board 150%.

Guys, we all know that "if Mommy's not happy, NO ONE IS HAPPY".

We left the kids for the first time together. Tami had a really hard time with that (she cried the whole drive to the airport). When we got here she gave the thumbs up and the journey began.

Her mom watched the kids for saturday, but the had to leave early Sunday. Our favorite neighbors and best friends in Portland stepped up for us and watched the kids for a the day on Conference Sunday. With the Hales, we KNEW that they were having more fun than they would with us and it lightened our hearts.

We got back and the kids were happy to have mom and dad home, but we're not nearly as much fun as Lindsey and Colby are.

They posed the kids for picture time and we got sent the most precious pricture and I had to share it.

We are so sad that we had to leave this wonderful family behind, having neighbors that are so wonderful is so hard to come by. I know that we have friends forever.

I SUCK!!!!!!

2008-10-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

I would love to say that I'm on top of life, but I think that I got ran over by it.

For all that don't know, I accepted a new job in Helena Montana and we moved the family here. What an experience!!!!!

First things first...once the trailer was loaded up, it was WAY too heavy. Instead of leaving things in Portland, I decided that we would buy bigger better tires and give it a shot. We stopped half way (ha) at Tami's Mom's in Pasco Washington. Tami left at 9:00 am and had both kids and Jake, and the cat in her car. She called me at 2:00 pm that afternoon and I had just barely gotten on the road from the tire store. (geez!!!!).

The truck was overloaded and so I decided that better safe than sorry and I would only go 50 MPH through the gorge and even on the flat's it was just too squirly so only 55 MPH period.

It took forever to get there. I rolled in about 8:00 pm and Tami was fit to be tied.

The cat was giving the "in heat" meow the whole time in the car. Tami told me that if she had passed a humane society, we wouldn't have a cat.

So everyone got a good nights sleep and we hit the road on saturday morning at 8:00 am.

Mapquest said that the trip would take 6:32 minutes from there...Cake walk.

Well....that number is driving the speed limit or more (ha ha)....so after stopping for potty breaks and snack and lunch and snack and dinner and more potty....we finally got here at 9:00 PM saturday night.

The kids were beat, Tami was frusterated and exhausted, I was anxious and stressed out.

There is a huge pass right before town that is a winding road 6% grade, and it's raining, and dark, and the suggested truck speed is 25mph (if that explains anything). I was so scared not to burn up the brakes, I tried to keep it slow, but the trailer and the truck were so heavy that it would try to run on me. I thought I was a pretty good driver, but it was all i could do to get it down that mountain safely. It was the last obstacle to our new life and we tackled it head on...successfully....together as a family.

We called the Bishop of our new ward here in Helena and even though it was late when we got here, there were members waiting here to help us get uploaded. What took me 2 weeks to load, they unloaded in less than an hour. I am so grateful for that, it would have killed me to do it alone. It is just another sign to us that this is where we are supposed to be.

I started work on Monday and Tami started her new life as a stay at home Mommy. I feel so blessed to atleast give her the opportunity to be home with the kids. (it is tough, I will recognize that). She has been a trooper through this whole transition. I have flipped her life upside down and she keeps on coming back for more. (I love my wife so much).

Week one was fairly relaxed, alot of meetings to get ramped up on the new project. I think that we will be successful here as a family.

We took some pics of the House that we are staying in and will take some of the new house as it is being built.

We love you all.

Andy 2nd Birthday Party

2008-06-01T20:15:00.001-07:00

The full circus rides again.

2008-06-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

Janelle and Natalie packed up their kids and came for a visit for a few days. It was so wonderful that they took the time out of their busy schedules to make the trek to Oregon to see us.

We wish that we lived closer together so that the kids could know each other better and that we could talk more often.

It was so cute to see them all together again.

Quiet time was far and few between, but the little voices were great.

Movie time afford a time for a little casual conversion for the adults. (Jeremy took control and the Mom's watched Survivor.

When it was time to wrap up the visit there were kisses and hugs that everyone was willing to share.

All in all it was a great trip for the Williams Family and we enjoyed having everyone come for a visit. No one got hurt and everyone played well together , for the most part. (short of sand throwing).

Love you all.

Redmond Vacation

2008-06-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on this.

We took a little vacation over MT Hood to Redmond OR for a few day of R&R(if that's possible with 2yr and 6mos old kids)

The trip was so nice, and these two kids travel so well. Andy watched a movie in the truck and Sam sleeps the time away.

While we were there Andy got a early B-day present and we got him a little trike for him to start learning. We did some swimming and played with playdoh (not my house, not my mess ha ha).

Andy really enjoy'd using his imagination on the playdoh. Everything with a hole in it is glass, don't ya know. Tami and Andy help me get over my fear of "mixing colors" and we really enjoy'd the time.

Andy is getting really good with Sam and she likes to watch him do whatever he is doing. She is going to be one tough kid cause he mauls her so bad, but he ususally is pretty soft.

While there we had a accident and had a tough choice of wether to go to the hospital or not for a hard whack Andy took on the head and alomst split his head open on a dresser.

All in All it was a nice get away from home and the responsibilties that come with being home.

Love you all.

Easter

2008-04-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

Easter came and went without a hitch. The kids got new outfits and they got all dressed up and we all went to church. They were yelling and crying and throwing fits. We really wanted to get a family picture, but it just wasn;t in the cards for us that day.

I told Tami that we will get them in their outfits again and we'll pretend it was Easter.

We'll upload additional pictures here later.

Andy did his first Easter egg hunt down at the high school. They separated it out by age, so we were able to help him, however, he didn't want any help so we let him do it on his own and he really enjoyed it.

Andy took his time and at least didn't shove anyone. I though that he was gonna be his usual wild man. I was very proud of him.

More to come shortly, but I don't know where the pictures are. Love you all.

Spring Time in Oregon

2008-02-17T20:23:00.000-08:00

Today was Stake conference so we took the oportunity to sluff church today.

It was a sunny day and couldn't stand to stay inside and waste a beautiful day. That is one thing that living in Oregon has taught me, if it's sunny....ENJOY IT.

We gathered up the circus and went to West Moreland Park to feed the ducks (we forgot the camera). We took some stale hotdog buns and drove down to the park and when we got there it was a little windy but we braved the elements. The video's that you see on TV are real, the geese are aggressive. I was a little scared for Andy's fingers cause he wasn't doling out the goods fast enough. So we quickly went through our buns and headed for the swings, That was more fun for Andy anyway. Out trip was short lived cause the wind was blowing and it was cold so we came home. When we got home, NO WIND. So went went to the back yard and played around a little bit.

The older couple that lives behind us, caught us at the fence for a little chat and they handed a little swing to Andy that can be hung in the tree's. (Tami got another point in her belt for "not cutting the tree's down"). I looked at the trees and there isn't a single branch that is horizontal. I took a length of climbing rope that I had and strung it between two trees, hammock style, and hung the swing on that. Not only does the swing go back and forth, but it also bonces up and down a little bit.

After lunch and naps, and we all take naps, we decided to get a little yard work done. Again, when it's sunny....ENJOY IT. Tami weeded the flower beds and Sam sat in her little bouncy seat in the shade and just watched Mom move around. She got all the flower beds weeded. I decided that it was time to wash the moss off the cars so I got the shop vac out and vacumed both cars. I had just finished Tami's car and Andy woke up from his nap. So Andy came out and wanted to help wash Dad's truck. I tell ya, it's like trying to corral a cat, keeping a toddler where you want him. I figured the best way to keep him where I wanted him, other then strapping him to something, was to give him the hose to hold. HA HA HA.

He held the hose while I washed, rinse, and then I would give him the hose back. All in all it worked out pretty good, till he got bored of standing there with the hose. (5 min tops).

However, washing cars does do 1 thing...makes puddles. What do little boys love to do....SPLASH PUDDLES.

Tami has the best attitude and I agree. Clothes wash and shoes dry out, why fight it.

Sam is getting big. We took the circus to Target for the basics (diapers and baby bath) and she sent us to get the diapers. I know what size Andy uses, but I came back with newborns for Sam. Tami laughed at me and then told me to go back and get two sizes bigger. I started to argue that SHE was wrong and then decided that I didn't know what I was talking about and went back and got the size that she needed. (FYI....I was wrong).

She jabbers away. For the most part she is really dependant still. Tami does great with her.

I bought something off craigslist the other day and while i was talking with the guy, he had grandkids that were getting bigger and I was talking about Andy and he said that he had the perfect thing and that for a few bucks I could have it. So he climbed up in the attic and rummaged around for a bit and then came down with the coolest power wheels 3-wheeler. I had considered getting one for Andy but he's still pretty small and the one that I had seen are for bigger kids and I didn't get one cause he couldn't touch the pedals anyway. When he came down with this little toy, I couldn't say no. He said that it needed a battery and some cleaning but it was worth it. I had put off doing anything with it cause it's been raining and he couldn't ride it anyway, so I put it in the shed for later. Andy and I were getting something from the shed and he saw it up on the workbench and pointed and all he said was OOOHHHHHH!!!!! and squeeled. At that point I knew that I needed to get it running for him to ride. It's older and they don't make battery's for it anymore, so I went to the autoparts store and got a motorcycle battery for it and changed some of the wiring and the thing is great and he loves it. Best thing about it is that it's low to the ground so he can't hurt himself.

Simple Pleasures

2008-01-27T17:52:00.000-08:00

Ya know, you forget the simple pleasures that life can bring until you see them again, through "little" eye's. A stick, a piece of paper, a cardboard box. We bought a new TV and while Andy was sleeping, we set it up. I wasn't sure what to do with the box.

I grabbed a knife and cut a door and a window in it and we had ourselves a "fort".

It is the simple pleasures that keep life exciting and fun.

Andy shows us how to stay young and to enjoy the simple peasures in life. No matter how much they hurt(and sometimes they do). Andy does love his fort. We also came to find out it's the poop house. He can go in there and "collect his thoughts". It seems like everytime he goes in it he poops his pants. He is always willing to share his fort, but it really isn;t that big. He invited dad inside, it was interesting.

Samantha is starting to get big and moving around. Watching the personality differences between the two is amazing to watch. She is smiling on command and as long as she has a full tummy she is more than willing to share her little smile.

She has yet to laugh but she talks a little bit and the words are so delicate and light that you can't help but love her more and more.

We had to go to Lowes this morning and since we are "crack of dawn" wakers we wandered in the store around 7am on Saturday morning. We were getting a few items and a boisterous older gentleman comes up to us and starts rambling on about how a "little helper" needs safety glasses and an apron if he's gonna be helping Dad with projects and gave Andy some gifts.

He really didn't want to take them off once he had them. We had to distract him with "something shiney" so that we could hide them till we got home, so he wasn;t throwing a fit.

He loves them though, perfect spot for a sippy cup and some crackers in the pockets.

Christmas Day

2008-01-18T19:35:00.001-08:00

We had so much fun when Mom came to visit. She brought Santa hats for all to have. Andy is such a cheeser. I can't believe that he is only 18 mos old.

We all got dressed up for Christmas Eve for a dinner with Tami's Grandparent's. Andy enjoy's getting dolled up, but it only lasts from the bathroom to the living room. The only way for the hair to stay combed was to give him a little spritz of hairspray. He is really starting to be quite the little man

Andy had fun helping with the Christmas tree. It was fun to see his face and his excitement when the tree finally came in the house. I don't think that he was sure about having a tree in the house, but he figured it out quickly.

We were very lucky this year. We got snow on Christmas morning. We were all very excited to go out and be in the snow.

Andy is a little mimic and was running around catching snowflakes on his tongue. We don't get to see the white stuff here very often, it was quite a treat, and especially on Christmas.

All my love to my family

Christmas 2007

2008-01-13T21:09:00.000-08:00

This is the first christmas that Andy was really able to enjoy and know what was going on for Christmas. It was enjoyable and stressful for us all. We drove around town and looked and the "aats". He is fascinated with christmas lights and the decorations.Andy was very frightened of Santa at first. (Dad was Santa). After hearing my voice and getting a few gifts out of the way, he thinks Santa is an OK guy. He was still a little confused as to why Santa sounds like my dad. It was the only way we could get pictures for the holidays.