1st Haircut, Turkey Plop, Temple Lights and Narnia!

Winston got his first haircut. I think it was about time! My mom trimmed his bangs a few months ago, but I didn't want to part with his few curls. He was starting to look a little homeless though, and they were affecting his vision, so I had to say good-bye. Robert's mom gave him a great haircut! I think he looks even cuter than he did before because I can see his big eyes again!
Peter Piper Pizza fun with friends!
We had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's house. Grandpa Dan got out the turkey costume again, and the kids played hide and seek in the dark and shot silly string through hula hoops. (Yes, that's the grafitti my mom did on her own trailer, so she could "get to it before the gangsters.")
She also had a Thanksgiving pinata for the kids. Winston even gave it a whack!
On Thanksgiving Day, Robert's mom and I cooked up a storm. Then after we all ate, we went to the movies. It was so fun!
Uncle Michael was in town, which we were all so happy about!
Two days after Thanksgiving, Robert decided to deep fry a turkey. Tim and Michael helped him. Robert called it "Turkey Plop 2011," which I think is a gross name.
We also tried deep frying bacon, which turned out good and cookie dough and cheese, which turned into an awful burnt sticky clump. Tim tried a bite of the charred lump and said it tasted like burnt toast.
This picture has nothing to do with turkey plops, but I just love it! Stanton and Noelle read books together every single day. I love coming in the room and finding them like this! It's even cuter when Winston is in the middle of them, but that usually doesn't last for too long cause he tries to eat the books or throw them on the floor.
While Winsotn was taking a long winter's nap one day, he stayed home with Grandma and Robert and I took the big kids to see Arthur Christmas in 3-D. (We also met the Chipmunks in the theatre lobby.)
Shortly after the movie started, Stanton said, "Mommy, since I was born with such a big head, can I get the adult 3-D glasses cause the kids ones hurt me." That made me laugh!
We had another zoo day with some of our buddies. You can get so close to the oranguntans now with the new exhibit. We love it!
I love this picture of Stanton and whatever monkey that is with the gross red bum. (If you've ever been to the zoo, you know which monkeys I'm talking about!)
We took some friends to Temple Lights the other night. We had such a great time!
My Mom and Dan came too!
It's so beautiful there, and the Luke 2 video is really nice too! You can really feel the Christmas spirit there!
The kids really love it too. They had such a good time showing their friends the giant manger outside with the huge star. They all starred at it for a long time!
One of my favorite things is all of the nativity scenes from all around the world that they have inside(although you can't see any cause my big head is in the way.)
My favorites this year were from Alaska and Indonesia.
It's so amazing there! Everyone should see it! i'd be happy to go again and again and again if anyone else wants to go!
This morning I found Stanton and Winston sword fighting. It was the cutest thing ever!
Winston won!
We got a culture pass from the library to go to The Desert Botanical Gardens for free, although it didn't turn out to be totally free, since when I checked it out I had to pay my $18 in library fines.
Since the pass only got two of us in for free, I went to the Mesa library and checked out another one so we could all be free. However, when I checked that one out, I had to pay my $24 in library fines to that library, so my Botanical Gardens trip actually ended up costing me $42. I should've just renewed my membership there. It would've been about the same price. Sheesh, I need to be more responsible about my late fees, Red Box included!
Anyway, we had the BEST time there. They had a new bug exhibit, where you can search all around the gardens for giant bugs. They were really cool looking, and the kids loved finding them!
They also gave us a Botanical bingo paper, that we filled out and got a cool prize.
Robert and I got our engagement pictures taken there 7 and a half years ago, so I asked some guy if he could take a picture of me and the kids in the same spot.
He did, but then he said, "Man you've been busy over the last 7 years."
I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that, so I just said, "Thank you."
While we were there, we discovered a trail that we'd never been on before. I don't think anyone had cause it was just us. It had, in Noelle's words, "a bubbling brook" and "hairy hot dog plants" (cat-tail reeds.)
It was really quiet and windy, and it didn't really look like Arizona anymore, so I told the kids we had discovered a magical place like Narnia, and that only we could see it and that's why noone else was there.
Then, they insisted that it was Narnia and that we were on an adventure, and we had SO MUCH fun pushing Winston in the stroller really fast and pretending we were running from the White Witch and talking to the goat man and finding the beaver's house. I think they (and maybe me a little too) were getting so into it, that we really felt like we were in some place magical, until I started roaring like Aslan and talking in a British accent like the kids on Narnia.
Then Stanton became a little suspicious. Noelle was convinced the entire time though, accent and all. She talked about it all day and all night, in much detail. On the way home Stanton said he thought about it, and he decided he believed me, and that it really was a magical place.
I'm glad he decided that because it may not have been Narnia, but it really was one of those magical Mommy moments for me! It was like we were just playing in our own world! I could not have had more fun anywhere on earth! I hope I never forget it!
Robert has lots of cute little jokes and games and traditions that he does with the kids, but this one is one of my favorites!
Last week, he started reading them Christmas books by candlelight, and he's done it every night since. They really love it and look forward to it, and I know he does too! He's such a great Dad! I love that man!