Christmas 2011 (at the end of january...oops)

Hey everyone...we're still here! And we did have a wonderful Christmas. I think about blogging it everyday but I'm always able to come up with an excuse why I can't that day. But it's just a little too lame now so I really need to do get it done. Here goes:

We really missed all of our Doolittle family this year. We were glad to trade a week and a half visit for a month long one in the summer though and we can't wait to see everyone in June.

Here are our Christmas festivities:

Samuel was the official tree topper this year and was very proud to be so

In between our day-after-Thanksgiving decorating and actual Christmas day, Tim hit an important milestone... 5 years at Rackspace! I told the kids about it when I picked them up after school and they wanted to do something special. We made a 5 layer cookie "cake" with 5 candles. The kids took charge and decorated the kitchen and front entryway with red, black, and white streamers and pictures. When Tim came home we all hid and then jumped out and yelled "surprise!" Cheesy, but super fun. And, we are so proud of Tim and all of his hard work.

Now...back to Christmas.

Here are the kids on Christmas Eve spreading the reindeer food on the lawn

Christmas Day, right before we let the kids in

Well, the boys were excited but we actually had to wake Lillie up this year so we could open presents and still make it to church in time. She perked up pretty quickly though.

Lillie's present from Santa this year was a kitten. She was floored! Yes, an actual, alive kitten. Her name is Gracie and she is wonderful! Leave it to Santa to find the perfect pet for our family. And, I might add, a kitten might be a long term investment, but taking care of Gracie for the next 15 years if much more desirable than dealing with what Lillie originally asked Santa for: an electronic dog that eats through batteries like nobody's business and barks at the slightest movement. We love you Gracie!

Thank you Harry and Dianne for my new sewing machine.... it sews beautifully!

I got Tim a ROKU for Christmas so we can turn our regular TV into a smart TV.

Randomly, I found the game "Hot Hoops" at a garage sale in November for only 25 cents. It was the hit of Christmas. Just think, if I stick to garage sales only next year I can do all of Christmas for under $23! I'm all over it!

Tim cooked the entire Burwell/Doolittle Christmas dinner....

...and my mom sat in a chair and watched him do it... yeah right! But what a funny picture!

Grant loves golf. He got a golf game for Christmas and was in love with it. He's cheering here with my sister Katie. He managed to talk someone into playing with him for the entire day.

Lillie and Samuel got roller skates from my parents. They have done really well on them. Lillie already knew how to ice skate so she flied down the sidewalk now. Samuel couldn't even stand up straight the first time he put them on but he has really come a long way and can now stomp down the hall or sidewalk and keep his balance pretty well. Lillie skates everywhere in our house and wants to be a drive-in waitress when she turns 16 so she can skate at work. I love that girl!

Da na na na na na na na Da na na na na na na na BAT MAN!

POW! CRASH! KA ZAM!

These pj's from my sister Allison and they never even make it into the drawer after the laundry is done. Also, I think Grant is willing Samuel to grow faster so they can be past on to him sooner.

Samuel's Wall Tracks from Santa. Coolest. Idea. Ever.

Lillie lovin' Gracie. She is such a cuddly kitten and loves to snuggle every member of the family. Plus, she's way good with the whole litter box thing so I love her even more!

I love food and had to restrain myself from posting pictures of all the things I made because, well, I figured you all probably don't care to see multiple pictures of pies and cranberry sauce. But here is one: Peppermint Pie. I love you, and so do my hips!

Lastly, Tim bought me a bread maker for Christmas. I secretly think he actually wanted it because he made 5 bready type things before I even chanced one. I do love the machine though. Here is Tim with some of his yummy cinnamon rolls. What a great guy I have!

We had a wonderful Christmas together. I love all the magic of the season, especially when you have little kiddos. My favorite part of the day however was going to church. At first, I secretly felt that it was an inconvenience having to stop our activities mid-morning and get everyone ready for church. But once we got there, the spirit filled my heart so much and I realized something: while I had been having a happy Christmas season, it was kind of a hollow one. I really let all of the gift buying and giving take over this year and because of that I missed out on feeling the real spirit that is Christmas. Going to church on Christmas day and hearing the beautiful music and testimonies that were prepared reminded me what the season is truly about. I am so grateful for my Savior and His entrance into this world. I know that because He came to this earth, lived and died here, for me and for all of us, that I can live with Him, my Heavenly Father, and all of my family for eternity. I hope to keep this lesson in my heart so that when next Christmas rolls around I can worry a lot more about people and a lot less about what I'm going to give to people.

I love you all and I hope that you had a wonderful and joyous Christmas Season!

Father/ Daughter Dance, Kids Rock Marathon, and Warrior Dash

Lillie and Tim went to a Father/ Daughter dance for Lillie's girl scout unit. Tim made a really big deal out of it for her and they had a wonderful time. She was completely entranced by the idea of a corsage and she even wore it to church on Sunday.

The word in the Girl Scout world is that Tim was the best dad there. He was first on the dance floor and last off. He had Lillie flying all around the room and she was on cloud 9 the entire night. She is lucky to have such a great dad. I think they both had a really great night!

Samuel and Lillie both participated in the ING Kids Rock Marathon from September to November. It's a marathon designed for kids. You complete it in 8 weeks where you run in increasing amounts each day. On the final day they ran one final mile downtown by the zoo to complete the full 26.2 miles. They had a lot of fun training with their coach and I was so proud of them on race day!

Here they are with their coach Lisa Waughtal

Lillie - about to cross the finish line

One amazing girl!

Samuel about to cross the finish line - he wanted Tim to run with him

The coolest dude I know!

Here they are with their race sponsors (teachers and staff from their school) There were 11 kids in all from their elementary who ran in it but a lot of them had already left.

And I ran the Warrior Dash on 11/19. This was my first 5k plus the course had 15 different obstacles, some of them very muddy. I ran the race with my good friends Kelli and Andrea. The entire thing was Andrea's crazy idea but I'm glad we went along with it.

Here we are in our crazy lightning pants. Oh yeah, and our viking hats. You got those in your swag bag... along with a token for a free beer. Dang it! I totally forgot to turn that thing in!

Me towards the end of my race on top of one of the obstacles.

This was the last part of the course. After you get out it is ridiculously muddy so upon Tim's suggestion I slid into the finish instead of running. It was totally great!

There were over 6000 people who raced. I think I came in 117th in my age group of 30-35 y/o women and 495th overall. My total time 41:00:90. I was pretty proud of those #'s.

The entire thing was a blast. Thanks to Tim and Kelli's husband Robby for taking the pics and being our support! Now I just have to do one of these races with Tim!

MN Trip for Dallin's blessing and Halloween 2011

MN Trip -

Tim and I were able to go to Minnesota November 5-8 to visit Jason Becca, lots of other family, and most importantly meet little Dallin. He is adorable and we had such a wonderful visit. Thanks Jason and Becca for being such wonderful hosts! And it was great to see Harry, Dianne, Jennifer, and Aunt Mary as well. Hopefully we'll be able to get ou to UT for an extended visit this summer.

Okay, back to MN:

The weather was lovely just for me! With lows in the 30's and highs in the low 50's it will probably be the most winter Tim and I will see this season. I enjoyed it while I could. Tim and I were also able to make the visit sans children. We missed them but it was great to get a vacation to ourselves. Thanks to my mom and dad for doing a great job holding down the fort while we were away.

Here's Grandma with little Dallin right when everyone just got in to town. I love his Dallin face!

The first night we got in was Dallin's blessings and I know that we were both very grateful to be a part of it.

The next day we did some sight seeing. If I'm remembering correctly this is Mennehaha Falls. (Forgive my spelling as it is most likely wrong but I very much do not want to look it up right now.) Jason said the falls are much more spectacular in the summer but I thought this was quite picturesque as well.

Next we went down to the locks on the Mississippi. We didn't see any ships going through but it was still cool. And I totally loved this old/new building.

Aunt Mary and Dallin

Sorry if this is "too soon", but it just had to be captured! Four adults later we decided that it was probably easier to transport Dallin in the front pack. Why oh why do they make baby devices so complicated when the actual babies are already complicated enough?!?

This lego store was awesome! Lillie and Samuel totally loved these pics.

I apologize to anyone who doesn't want to look at Tim's butt, but I wanted to immortalize this shot! We had a lot of fun riding the bull at the Cadillac Bar and Grill on my b-day.

Jason looking like he came straight out of "8 seconds"

Audrey about to eat the floor. It was amazing how difficult it was to hang on even with the bull rotating so slowly!

Yum! My birthday cake at....ok Becca or Jason, please remind me what the name of this yummy place was... this cake was mah-velous!

Bye Dallin! We'll miss you! It was so fun meeting and getting to know this little guy.

Halloween:

The kiddos painting pumpkins

Lillie carved her very own for the first time and did a great job! Samuel painted his pumpkin like Iron Man. It was his own idea and I think he painted as close of a likeness as you can on a pumpkin...nice work dude!

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch/ working farm this fall which they thought was great. It had hay rides and mazes, and all sorts of old timey games. Here they are playing horse shoes. All the boys in our family really dug this game.

Catch and Release Fishing

Monster Trike Drag Races

Waiting for the Hay Ride

Samuel was a Ninja Turtle this year

Grant was a mouse. He picked this costume all on his own and told every stranger he saw all about it. He's also been talking a lot more and this year started saying "Happy Ween!", "I be mouse, ween" (I'm a mouse for Halloween), and "t or teet". Yay, speech progress!

Lillie doesn't have her mask in this pic but she was dressed like she was going to a masquerade ball.