Reminding me of my Youth!

Remember reading books as a child with your parent or siblings? I do. The excitement in finding characters like "Goldbug" from Richard Story's book Cars and Trucks and Things that Go remains with me as I read that book to Ty. I love his sweet voice sharing the excitement saying things like, "What's that?" and "WOW!"  Then there are the silly things that I get to be part of with Ty and Byron such as peek a boo, laughing at the movie Toy Story 1 and 2 over and over again, being curious, playing with bubbles and exploring new things and answering all the why questions that seem to be continuous.

Recently our family enjoyed the weekend around Sun River, OR. It was there we relaxed, enjoyed the outdoors and being a family with minimal interruptions or the daily grind of work or house related chores staring us in the face. We were able to just nap if we wanted to, play in the hot tub, go for walks, play golf, teach Ty to cast a fishing pole and laugh with him when he shared the excitement of "looky mama I wishing" (meaning I am fishing!) A much needed time away from all responsibilities as well as time to get to build our family time.   Byron and I have found we don't often get our family time with all the request we are faced with. So this was a treat!


We are in the month of June with little time to get our summer plans together. High on the list is to potty train completely with Ty, a few family excursions and relaxing times as well. Time to scale back and cherish each day with each other. I will be winding down with my work responsibilities soon and I am thankful for that. This year has been an interesting one and one that has come with lots of hard decisions to make. Recently had to lay off a few teachers and make over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cuts. Byron's work too has been in similar situations making tough decisions regarding staff and cutting back on over time. We both are thankful to have our jobs and income.


So with all of that said, Byron and I are constantly reminded of our youthful years with having Ty around. We so enjoy him. He has so much energy, is very intelligent and the light with language continues to click surprising us at every turn.

It is great being a Mother. Ty has provided Byron and I (among many others) joy and laughter. Recently I received a mother's day gift that I have begun playing around with.  I received a very special digital camera with several lenses. I feel like paparazzi now but fun none-the- less... So with that here are some pics that I would like to share. 

 Ty and Byron enjoying time at the park behind our home. Throwing rocks into the pond and watching the splash and ripples seem to be a favorite of Ty, relaxing for Byron and gives me time to play around with my toys. 

What a big boy now. No fear for sure. Ty has become a huge fan of the park and playing on the structures. He watches the other kids and pretends. His favorite is to climb and slide down the circular slide. Ready , set, go!


Peek a boo... Ty is on the Jordan Bridge peeking over the edge to see the water. What I was unable to capture is the almost head first fall in.. Whoops.  All is well.

Oh yeah, TY LOVES to GOLF... Ladies and gentleman, Golfer Ty Williams! More on the golfing scene soon.

So as you can see being a mother, parent and wife has fulfilled my life in ways unimaginable. I love my family! I love my new toy as well. I love watching Ty grow up. I love watching Byron be a wonderful father to Ty and he is definitely a wonderful husband to myself. What more could I ask for? Answer: Nothing!

WOW Mother's Day has come and gone! Ty has been ill and is better now. So there is much to be thankful for. I am blessed with a wonderful son and wonderful husband. Both have surprised me with a huge digital camera with multiple lenses and all the accessories.  I have begun to fiddle with this new gift, loving every minute of it for sure. I hope to in the near future take a digital photography course and maybe even an advanced one as well. I will be posting new photos soon onto the family blog! Can't wait for sure.

Boy in the bubble!

Just had to share the picture of Ty at the AC Gilbert House in Salem. This is like our version of the Children's Museum and yes they have a bubble room.  Hard to get Ty out of that room to explore other things but this is one picture that says it all.. Look at that bubble. 


We discovered other rooms too. We found the motion wall, the large rocking chair, the toddler room, played outside, the grocery store, and dinosaur slide room. So much fun. We were tuckered out after this visit!

Contemplation....

Time for self reflection and contemplation about my family's life. I have often thought about Ty, Byron and I and how we are making a wonderful life together. I am consistently amazed at the growth and development that Ty is demonstrating which of course makes me oh so proud.  But not just that.... Our family is growing in ways unimaginable. I certainly can't complain nor ask for more. It is a humbling experience to be a mother and a wife.  A juggling act for sure but more importantly, being a mother and a wife has brought new meaning to my life.  I now have many more opinions about how Ty should be raised, more than I ever dreamed prior to being a mother. I have many more ideas about relationships and the family values that I  instill and want for us. Byron is great. He is my best friend, partner in crime and supporter of all things Williams Family!  This juggling act we call life has been a wonderful, crazy, hard at times, but I wouldn't change it for the world. 


This upcoming weekend is Mother's Day. My third one as a mother! I am preparing for a relaxing weekend with my boys and plan to enjoy every minute of time with them! Though I feel it is a Hallmark holiday it certainly is a great time for us to enjoy what we have together. I have great appreciation for  all mother's and what they continue to accomplish in each of their lives. 

We are exploring all sorts of new things this year such as going to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, OR.  As I take a look at this photo of our beautiful "tulip family" I am amazed how the years have flown by. Ty is 2, talking, running, playing imaginative play and Byron and I sit back and enjoy all the new things he shares with us. 

Recent Family Trip to the ZOO!

Friday, Ty and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and met Byron up at the Portland Zoo. Byron's work retreit was located at the ZOO where he recieved some behind the scene treatment such as being able to feed a Giraffe! CRAZY. Ty and I were able to take a tour of the Vet hospital there and see some spiders and snakes behind the scenes. It was interesting at best. However, because we missed the train ride and didn't see many animals that day we decided to go back to the Zoo Sunday! See Ty wore his conductors hat (which I might add was the topic of discussion for many kids and dad's Sunday while we were riding the train!)