Christmas Eve night we got back from Deke's brothers house fairly early. Keeping the blinds shut so as not to reveal the new surprise we all got in jammies ate some goodies and watched Mickey's Christmas Carol all snuggled in blankets. After cookies, carrots and milk were set out and reindeer food had been sprinkled across the front yard it was time for bed. As we tucked the kids into bed they each reviewed with us their plans for the upcoming night. "Okay Mom, if I see Santa I will tell him to hold on I can't go on the sleigh with you until I tell my mom where I am going" Avery reviewed with me for the millionth time that day. "Then I will go in and wake up Hunter so he can go with us, and I will make sure that Santa knows to bring us back home." "But Mom I don't think that Santa is going to be able to fit a playhouse into his sleigh for us, and how will he get into our house tonight, maybe we should leave the back door unlocked." Reminding her that I have never see Santa myself I reminded her that he is magic and that he would find a way. "I'd better hurry and sleep mom so I am not sleepy to go on Santa's sleigh tonight" she added and then pulled her covers up and rolled over. I walked over to the crib. "Emma is Santa going to come to your house?" "Ho ho ho" she said and smiled up at me. "Is he going to bring you some toys?" I asked her. She nodded at me and then blew me a kiss giving me the hint that she was ready to sleep. As I headed to Hunter's room I could hear that he was already in deep discussion with Deke. Santa had told him in his letter that weather permitting he would be in Arizona between 3-4 am. Once his request to sleep out on the couch was denied, Hunter asked to set an alarm for 3 am and then have Deke or I wait up with him to see Santa. Knowing how anxious Hunter has been this year and his deep desire to see Santa Claus, we agreed and set the alarm for 3am. You know the line, "not a creature was stirring.." well that was the case at the Burch household until in the darkness right in my face I heard Hunter's voice. "Moooooom, Moooooooom, in an excited attempt at a whisper. "I was laying in bed and then I heard noises outside and then up on the roof and then a door AND THEN I heard someone say "Dash away, dash away, dash away all." He finally took a breath, then continued... "So I ran out to the tree and Santa already came, I think I just missed him!!!!" Trying to stay coherent enough to respond I sat up to find glasses and see the clock. 2:02 am he had woke up before the alarm and now having seen the presents that were around the tree he was too excited to sleep. After twenty minutes of excited discussion about what he had heard and what the packages looked like and guess what there is little couches out there under the tree etc. etc. I hope to remember these moments of Christmas and the magic of Santa for years to come. I finally made the decision to make a bed for him on the floor next to me and told him to go back to sleep. After much fidgeting he finally settled in until eight am when Deke and I then happily agreed to get the girls up and start Christmas morning. After all the excitement of the playhouse which made this year my favorite Christmas yet we headed inside to open other presents. Grandma Tobar had sent an adorable princess couch and chair set with a little ottoman. The girls are in love with them. They sat on them and opened all their presents.
We always have our kids open one at a time and watch each other and our kids are really good about being patient and actually get really excited to watch each other open. They will run over and hug each other or say "yay! you really wanted that" or other cute things to show excitement to each other. The kids had a really nice Christmas this year here are some of the things they got from Santa. Emma got some play food that you can cut and then it velcros back together....
A baby vaccum cleaner from Grandma Burch....
Hunter was floored when he opened his present from Grandma and Grandpa Burch and saw that it contained his very first real microscope!!!! It rocks.
It cracked us up when he opened it his eyes got wide and he looked it the camera and just kept shouting excitedly, "How did they know? how did they know?"
It is really cool, it has five prepared slides and a whole box of slides to be used, specimen jars and tools to dissect things. Different dyes to put on the slides to see different things, vials and tweezers and different magnifications and yes right up this scientists alley :) :) To see Hunter get this was really neat for Deke and I it was very special for him.
Hanging out stopping to play with present before going on to open more....
Emma got a puppy that when you pet it it barks and then starts walking towards you. She LOVES it. It is hilarious to watch her giggle when it starts walking towards her. She gets laughing so hard she can hardly breathe...
. Hunter's bow and arrow...
Avery's doll that she can hairstyle that is named Avery too according to the box to Ave's delight...
Hunter's CSI fingerprint analysis kit which includes actual fingerprint lifting powder and tape to lift prints, fingerprint cards and black light to find prints on surfaces. We are going to be having so much fun with this one. I see a mystery brewing at the Burch household..
Ave doing a little ironing with the new ironing board...
The kids driving Ave's new pet shop remote control car around the kitchen..
The kids spent all morning playing in the playhouse, shooting the bow and arrow, driving the remote control car and having fun with their toys. Deke made us some rockin pancakes for breakfast, he made little house pancakes for each of the kids...
he made me a penguin pancake..
then made himself an elk pancake, which is pretty sweet!
We seriously vegged and played with the kids until late afternoon when we headed over to Grandma's house. This year was definitely my favorite yet, with the playhouse for the kids especially the girls and the microscope for Hunter. With the biggest excitement over Santa yet and just a very very special Christmas morning with us only with the kids as our little family. My favorite one yet. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!!!
We now have neighbors. Quite the cute bunch, a mom that irons a dad that hunts with his bow and arrow and a baby that is a resident couch potato. I love the playhouse, the kids love the playhouse. They have been out there so much Deke and I have joked that we are the worlds youngest empty nesters. 
Christmas eve morning Deke and a whole bunch of family and friends put the house together again in the backyard while the kids and I went to his brother house. It was so great to have so many people willing to help and it went really smooth. We were gone all day at his brothers house and came home after dark. For awhile the kids were up and I was worrying that one of them were going to walk out back or peek out the blinds and see the surprise. 
Thank goodness of course none of them did and all three went to sleep not even knowing what lie right outside. Deke and I planned a whole mini skit as to what we were going to say to get them to look outside. Cheezy I know but of course as most things go it never ends up as planned. It is a tradition of ours to videotape the kids on our bed Christmas morning before they go out and open their gifts. We sort of interview them about their night last night, what they heard, what they are excited about etc. etc. We started to interview Avery about what she had seen under the tree when she walked to our room this morning. "I saw a big box under the tree and I think that inside there is stuff to build our own playhouse!!!!" she said wide eyed. Suddenly I could see Hunter's wheels turning as he slid off of the bed and went to our window. Avery continued to talk as in the background Hunter peeked through the blinds. "WHAT!!!! THERE'S A PLAYHOUSE OUTSIDE! THERE'S A PLAYHOUSE OUTSIDE!!!!" he started pointing and yelling. Avery flew to the window and peeked. Then more yelling and jumping up and down, "THERE'S A PLAYHOUSE OUTSIDE!!!!!" Deke and I at this point dying of happiness said, "Well, go outside and get it." In jammies, barefooted without socks or jackets they darted out back and started inspecting every inch of it. Ooooohhing, ahhhhhing and wowing at every little thing. "It's like a real brick house!!!!" Hunter admired. "A house of my very own!!!!" Ave squealed. Emma walking around smiling and touching everything. Hunter looked at the house numbers still not understanding until we pointed out that its numbers were their ages. "It has real windows!!" "Can we sleep in it?" on and on question and comments flying from them all at once. "I can't believe that Santa brought us a playhouse" Avery said and then I told them there was another surprise. I then told them that Santa hadn't brought this but that daddy had built it for them. That moment was the best. Big hugs, smiling faces of admiration. It was PERFECT. We went in to open the rest of the presents and pulled open the living room blinds to see it from the window. The kids kept going to the window and looking at it and pointing at it. "I just love my own house" Ave would say, Hunter quickly reminding her that it belonged to everybody. "Yep she said then added, but daddy built it just for me!!!" She also later asked Deke where she would park her Barbie car because there was no garage. Seriously kid :) :) After opening presents they piled everything that was going out to the playhouse in a pile by the back door they announced to us that today was moving day and began taking their furniture out and getting it all situated. 
It was so cute to listen to them figuring out the best arrangement for their room. Hunter came up and told us "Avery is the mom, I am the dad and you guys are the neighbors." It killed me. Technically we are now the neighbors. So for the rest of the day we kept getting knocks at our back door. We would open it to see the kids standing their inviting us to dinner or a magic show or to give us some cookies. Everytime we would open the door they would say, "Hi neighbors" or if we would come and knock on their door you would hear them inside saying, "honey can you get the door I think the neighbors are here. 
They played all day long in the house and have pretty much lived in it ever since. All day long you would hear little conversations coming from the house. "Okay Avery, you be the mom that irons the clothes and I will be the dad that hunts for food for dinner" Hunter said as he picked up his bow and arrow and headed out the door. "I am going to go get us an elk." Later that day I overheard Avery telling Emma how they needed to hurry and cut these vegetable for their dinner and she asked Emma to feed the baby real quick while she cooked. 
Avery was trying to vaccum the floor and started talking about all the things she had to get ready for their party. "Here honey, let me get that" Hunter said to her as he took the vaccum from her and started cleaning. It was precious. I hope he will someday talk to his real wife this way. 
It was everything I had hoped for them. It was so perfect, they loved it. They are going to have so many few years and memories in this little house. 
The next night with sleeping bags and a space heater we slept out in it together. We read a chapter from Hunter's first Hardy Boys mystery book by flashlight and then I told the kids it was time to go to sleep. I had just started to drift off when I heard Hunter's little voice singing "Have a holly jolly Christmas its the best time of the year..." then Avery and within a second we were all quietly singing together in the dark. I love spiritual moments like this with our children. The song ended and then the peace of the moment stayed, not another word was spoke and the kids fell asleep. It was heaven, the perfect end to a perfect Christmas day.
This project has been a lot of work, figuring out how to engineer the house so that it could be easily taken apart and put back together when we move. They have worked so hard on it. It looks awesome. 
I LOVE the brick siding. This is pictures of it before they got ready to take it apart and move it back home. I can't wait to start accessorizing it with curtains, little furniture, plants for the porch and add the doorbell. Christmas Eve morning I took the kids over to my sister in laws and Deke and a whole bunch of wonderful guys helped him put it together again in the back yard. 
Two hours later with the kids playing happily with cousins I headed over to see it for the first time finished and in our own yard. As I walked around the corner to the backyard I saw it sitting there, Deke was changing some of the door trim for me and as soon as I saw it I couldn't stop smiling. I'll admit I did cry because it looked so awesome and I was so amazed that Deke built it. He did such a great job. It is perfect and so cute. I guess it just really hit me how special it was not just for the kids, but for me that he built it for them. I had been the one three or four months ago that had been telling stories from my own childhood. Reminiscing about our playhouse when we were little girls and all the fun we had. 
Telling him how much I wanted our little girls to have that experience to have a real "little house" of their very own. To play baby dolls and sit on their little couches, to giggle with snacks and flashlights at nighttime having a slumber party inside, to invite their friends over for dress up days. Of course like always Deke goes above and beyond in making all my dreams become reality. I had to post this picture because I think it is so neat, I guess that is what happens when you do something really special for someone else. I love him so much. Thank you babe, you are amazing. :) :):) 
