Meet the Williams Family: A Full House of Fun

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Photo by Kim Lind Photography

Story by Megan Scott, Blackhawk resident since 2010

While on a routine flight returning to Los Angeles after visiting her boyfriend in the Bay Area, Tara Williams settled down in her seat on Southwest Airlines aisle 25 and settled in to close her eyes for the flight. She was about to fall asleep when she saw a man in a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses slowly walking down the main aisle. The man suddenly stopped in front of her and she almost jumped out of her seat. Then she realized it was her boyfriend, Rob holding out a ring. He had sneaked onto her flight to propose before she headed back to Los Angeles.

Rob and Tara met through mutual friends while they were both working in San Jose. Tara says she knew she wanted to marry Rob after their second date. “On our second date Rob told me that his mom’s birthday is May 15th. My father, grandfather, godfather AND twin brothers are all born on May 15th. It was a sign that he was the one!”

Growing up not far from Blackhawk, in Alamo, Rob attended college at the University of Saint Mary in Kansas, earning a degree in business. He has worked in wealth management since he graduated, and recently joined Fidelity. “I have a passion for helping families and small businesses plan for and achieve their financial goals. I feel blessed that my new role with Fidelity reduced my commute time from over an hour to just 15 minutes. Now there is more time for family and golf after work,” Rob says.

Tara grew up in Wakefield, MA just outside of Boston. She graduated from Bentley University in Waltham, MA with a degree in finance. After spending 10 years working in medical device sales and market development, Tara has recently started her own business, Dreamland Baby. Dreamland Baby is a premier line of wearable weighted blankets designed for babies 0-12 months. Tara says the idea for the business came from their youngest son, Luke. “At almost six months old Luke was still waking up every hour and a half. Like so many other new parents we were desperate for sleep. One night we placed him under a heavy throw blanket and noticed he immediately calmed down. A light bulb went off in my head: he needs a weighted blanket! With the help of my mother-in-law, together we sewed a prototype. The first night wearing the weighted sleep sack, Luke slept 12 hours! We couldn’t believe how immediately his sleep was improved. The idea to bring Dreamland Baby to families everywhere was born! Dreamland Baby is currently live via Kickstarter, so it is a very exciting time for our family and business.”

If anyone knows a thing about sleepless nights, it’s Tara and Rob. They have four children under the age of six, which keeps them very busy. Six-year-old Brooklyn just finished Kindergarten at Tassajara Hills Elementary and is thriving in competitive soccer with Mustangs. Five-year-old Lydia is enjoying dancing at Next Step, and both girls love tennis at Blackhawk Country Club with coach Jason and are Daisy Girl Scouts. Four-year-old Beckett loves playing mini hawks golf at Blackhawk Country Club and one-year-old Luke enjoys spending time with mom while the older kids are at school. He also loves baby story time at the library. “Brooklyn, Lydia and Beckett are super close in age. Brooklyn and Lydia are 14 months apart and Lydia and Beckett are 17 months apart,” says Tara. We needed a three year break before we welcomed Luke to the family.

The Williamses are very involved in their church and community activities. Tara is involved with the Iron Horse Mother’s Club the girls and Tara are part of a Daisy Girl Scout troop and Mustang soccer.

Tara and Rob both played sports in college; Tara played soccer and ran track and Rob played basketball. Rob always joked he didn’t care how many children they had, he just needed one boy because he knew they would have a star athlete. Rob plays guitar, piano and sings in a band.

If you were to ask Tara and Rob their favorite way to invest in their family, it’s traveling says Tara, “We travel to Boston every year for Christmas to visit my parents, four siblings and extended family. It’s one of our favorite weeks of the year! We also make it a point to take one week-long family trip and one “dad and mom only” trip each year.” In 2019 they will be traveling as a family to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Rob and Tara plan to visit China. “Our greatest currency is our time and we cannot save it. Making memories together and unplugging from every-day, crazy life is the best gift we could gift our children and ourselves.”

Blackhawk was a perfect match for the Williams family. Rob’s parents live in Blackhawk and after visiting them for years for family dinners, Tara says she fell in love with the neighborhood. “We were living in San Jose at the time and it was so hard to leave Blackhawk at the end of a visit. It was easy to convince Rob to move to Blackhawk because he loves to golf, so no convincing needed there.” Rob says they found the perfect home to meet everyone’s needs. “We live just inside the East Gate on Deer Hollow Drive. We purchased our home December 2016 and embarked on a nine-month renovation. We officially moved in August 2017. Tara has been talking about building a house since we were first married, but we could never find the right lot. Purchasing a home that needed to be torn down to the studs was the next closest thing.”

Tara says it’s the people that make Blackhawk so special. “We absolutely love living in Blackhawk! We felt so welcomed by our neighbors and the Country Club as soon as we moved in. We have met some of our best friends through golf and bocce. Rob loves golfing, and I love spending time at the gym. Wednesday night at Falls Club is one of our children’s favorite night of the week. They also love going to the neighborhood playground. We enjoy playing tennis as a family and hanging out at the pool with friends in the summer.”