Saturday, December 22, 2018

Merry Christmas 2018



Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas! We love this time of year when we reconnect with friends and remember the birth of our Savior. Here is what we've been up to this year: In February we had a fun vacation to FL visiting Disney World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and in July we took an overdue trip to Utah and Idaho to see family. In August we moved from Texas to Arizona. We miss our friends in Texas, but we enjoy the mountains and being closer to family.

After working as a PA for 10 years, Jared is changing his career to become a dentist. At the end of August he started school at Midwestern University. He was awarded a Navy HPSP scholarship, and commissioned as an officer in October. (The Navy pays for school and a small living stipend, and Jared will work as a Navy dentist for 4 years when he finishes school.)  

School doesn't leave Jared much free time, but he enjoys swimming, hiking, and serving as a cub scout leader. He is also working on building a 4th bedroom in our home.

Mary has been super busy moving, getting accustomed to a new area, homeschooling, and raising 5 kids. She spends her free time staying active swimming, hiking, and rollerblading, and participating in a monthly book group. She also teaches the 4 and 5 year olds in Primary at church.

Abby (12) started learning the flute, and she continues to excel at the piano. She enjoys sewing and crafts, playing with LEGOs, reading, and swimming. We love that Abby is finally old enough to babysit her siblings!


Maddy (11) was disappointed that she didn't get her letter to Hogwarts this year, but she was thrilled to get her very own harp. We love listening to her play the harp and piano. She works hard to get her school done early each day so she can do some of the things she loves most: drawing, sewing, reading, and LEGO building.

Nathan (9) loves anything Harry Potter or Star Wars. He stays busy building LEGOs, bike riding, hiking, and reading. He is learning new skills at cub scouts, and in homeschool he excels at creative writing, science and history.

Thomas (would be 6) We miss our sweet angel boy and think of him often.

Audrey (4) is potty trained! She is our cute, bossy, little sweetheart. She enjoys her co-op preschool twice a week and storytime on Fridays. Audrey is also making great progress on learning to read.  She loves playing at the park, riding her bike, and playing with dolls and My Little Ponies.

Brooklyn (21 months) is walking and getting into everything. She got ear tubes due to multiple ear infections, and she is working hard to catch up with her speech now that she can hear better. She enjoys her speech sessions with Miss Jenny, and we are proud of the progress she is making. Brooky loves storytime, animals, baby dolls, and mommy.

It's been a busy year full of change for our family. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas, and we wish you and your family the best in the coming year. We would love to hear from you.

Love, Jared, Mary, Abby, Maddy, Nathan, Audrey, and Brooklyn Collett

Maddy's 11th Birthday




Maddy worked hard and completed the Primer Alfred series on the piano, so after years of begging, she received a harp for her birthday. Actually we figure this counts for all the birthdays for the rest of her life.


Maddy got some nice gifts from her grandparents as well.
T


Maddy was happy that her Yuma cousins were able to come up and spend the day with her (unfortunately I missed getting pictures with them). They enjoyed playing games and eating cake.

MADELINE AT 11:
Favorite colors: purple and blue
Favorite book: Harry Potter series
Favorite movie: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Favorite food: chocolate
When I grow up I want to be: a harpist
Things I enjoy: hiking, reading, crafts, drawing, swimming, biking, rollerblading
Favorite animals: Pandas and dolphins

 Maddy is smart, funny, and kind. She is also very responsible. We can always count on Maddy to be on task. She is very sweet with her little sisters who know they can always get Maddy to give into their demands. Madeline is such a joy to have in our family.

Audrey's 4th Birthday

Out sweet little Audrey is starting to draw pictures.  Here is a picture she drew of Rapunzel.
Audrey wanted to have a Minnie Mouse party so of course her sisters went all out in planning and decorating for her.
Brooklyn wanted to be in the picture too.
Audrey was thrilled to get her first big kid LEGO set from Grandma C.

She got Minnie mouse cupcakes in Preschool and at home.

Maddy drew this Minnie mouse poster so that Audrey could play stick the bow on Minnie Mouse.  Maddy is getting to be quite the artist.  I don't think I could have done a better picture myself.

Audrey was ecstatic over her new Minnie mouse ears from her siblings, and her new Minnie Mouse doll from Mom and Dad.

Brooklyn decided that she liked Minnie mouse too and wanted her picture as well. We had to keep reminding her all day that Minnie was Audrey's doll, not hers.
If there is anything Audrey loves as much as Minnie mouse, it is princesses. Needless to say, she was thrilled to get this beautiful princess dress and crown from Grandma D.

AUDREY AT 4
Favorite colors: pink and purple
Favorite books: Fancy Nancy and Pinkalicious books
Favorite movie: Frozen,Tangled, and Pinocchio
Favorite food: tofu, pizza, chocolate
When I grow up I want to be: ballerina, violinist, tooth fairy dentist
Things I like to do: learning to read, drawing and crafts, playing with dolls, dress up, Legos, riding my bike, gymnastics, playing with my little sister, and chores
Favorite animal: baby panda

Audrey is enthusiastic and sweet.  She loves to cuddle me in bed every morning when she wakes up.  She enjoys preschool, storytime, and reading lessons with mom.  She is busy, crafty, and imaginative.  Audrey is such a joy to have in our family.

November 2018



BEARIZONA
November 1st was discount homeschool day at Bearizona. We loved seeing all the animals up close.
The birds of prey show was amazing. It was neat to have the birds swooping literally an inch or two over your head.

Brooklyn loved seeing all the animals, but she especially loved petting the baby goats.

Brooklyn loved the bus ride.  She kept saying "Bumpy bump" because of the part in the Wheels on the Bus song.



HARRY POTTER PARTY

It was great seeing my friend and former roommate Jamie. We hadn't seen each other for over 8 years, and we are now in AZ together. She invited us to one of her awesome Harry Potter parties.











HIKING
Now that it has cooled down, we are loving the beautiful weather. For date night Jared and enjoyed a nice hike just 5 minutes from our house.

I was proud of Audrey when I took her hiking. She made it to the top without being carried.  She kept repeating to herself, "I can do it! I think I can!" almost the whole way up.

NEW ROOM

Jared had a 2 week break from school so he started our remodel project.  We are turning a formal dining area into a 4th bedroom.  We really need another room in the house so we can sleep train Brooklyn.


Neal was nice enough to fly down from Idaho to help Jared for a week with all the framing and electrical work.  We really appreciate all his hard work and expertise.

FAMILY FUN




I love how Audrey and Brooklyn are such good friends.

Maddy agreed to not have a birthday party (I didn't want to do one with the remodel going on) if she could go to the Crimes of Gindelwald movie that came out shortly after her birthday.  The kids were excited about the cool reclining seats in the theater.
Brooklyn is always wanting to play the harp with Maddy.
The kids made a plant cell out of LEGOs for their biology class.

THANKSGIVING
Audrey's sisters helped her make a thankful turkey.
The kids all helped cook our Thanksgiving feast.
Jared of course helped with the pies.

Brooklyn didn't really like the food, except for the olives.
The olives were a big hit with Audrey as well.