I just have to say.... what an amazing, unforgettable Christmas Season this has been. I have learned a lot and I think I have changed in many ways. For the better. An explanation will have to wait for another day, but in the meantime, from our family to yours.... Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Collette Family Christmas Letter (I only sent out a handful of cards this year, for various reasons, so don't feel slighted if you didn't get one! I love you just the same, and you can read it here if you care to!)
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
A home that’s warm and cozy… We are still living in Fredericksburg, VA and loving it!
Two missing teeth… Daphne has lost her first two teeth and we can hardly believe how grown up she’s becoming. She started kindergarten this past fall, experienced her first year cheerleading (she loved it, of course!), and also joined a Girl Scout daisy troop. She loves life and makes everyone around her happy with her bubbly personality.
Three different jobs… This year has been quite a roller coaster ride as Andrew has gone from 1 to 2 to 3 different jobs. He thinks he has finally found one that he loves at AVS (still in the audio/visual industry) and we hope he’s happy and settled there for a long time.
Four weeks in Utah… We were privileged enough to be able to go see family and friends in Salt Lake for 4 weeks this past summer. While we were there, we were able to go from the top of the state to the bottom and back again. We visited St. George, and Bear Lake, and had a great time visiting, playing, and relaxing. It was a wonderful vacation.
Five sizes up and growing… Our little baby Magnus isn’t such a baby anymore. He has grown and grown and is now in size 2T, weighs 30 pounds, and is off of the growth chart for his age of 13 ½ months. He has been crawling for awhile, but has yet to make his walking debut (this has since changed! Yes, the chunkster is finally walking!... most of the time :). We all love and adore him and can’t ever seem to get enough of our chunky little monkey.
Six days in Las Vegas… Sarah was able to go and visit her sister in Las Vegas, NV while Andrew stayed home and played Mr. Mom for a week. She had a blast, but it was a long time coming, as Andrew has gone to visit family in Utah twice, and California once this year, for various reasons. They both enjoyed their time away, but were ecstatic to be back home with the family.
Seven years old and counting… Jonah was thrilled to turn 7 last summer just because then he’d only have one more year until he turned 8! He is really looking forward to Cub Scouts. He started 2nd grade this year, and he also played flag football in the fall. He starts basketball soon, and he cannot get enough of his Nintendo DS (even though mom forces him to put it away once in awhile!) Jonah always has everyone around him laughing with his hilarious jokes and quirky personality.
Eight is special and great… our Laylah girl turned 8 years old in May and was thrilled for 2 things: to get her ears pierced, and to be baptized. We were able to do it while visiting in Utah this past summer, and it was a wonderful occasion with family and friends surrounding us. Laylah started 3rd grade last fall, and loves to stay busy and have fun. Her many activities include piano lessons, Spanish club, Activity Day’s, and Girl Scouts. She was able to do cheerleading during the fall as well and loved every minute. Laylah is such a sweet spirit in our home and we all adore her.
Nine more months to go… Baron is counting down the days until he gets to go to preschool next fall. He will turn 4 in April and is just a tiny bit bored at home with only his mom and baby brother to keep him company. Luckily, he gets to go to playgroup twice a week, and has lots of friends to keep him busy. Bear continues to dote on his older brother and loves anything that Jonah loves. He likes to pass his days at home by reading books, playing games with mom (Go Fish is his favorite) and playing computer games. We love our big cuddly Bear.
Ten year old cub scouts… Andrew went from being the 10 year old scout leader in our ward to the 1st counselor in the Young Men’s presidency (for the second time since being in this ward!). He has enjoyed his calling there, and he fits right in with all of his 14 and 15 year old Teachers Quorum boys…
Eleven miles of biking… This past April Sarah took part in a sprint triathlon where she swam 1/3 mile, biked 11 miles, and ran a 5k. It was an intense experience, one that she thinks she just might like to have again. On top of enjoying exercising, Sarah has many hair clients that she tends to, and stays very busy with a home, a husband, 5 kids, and a dog to take care of. And of course, there’s the laundry. The never ending laundry…
Twelve months of joy… Even though this year has had many ups and downs, we are very grateful for our many blessings, especially all of the tender mercies our Heavenly Father sends us. Most importantly, we are ever blessed by the atoning sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas! Much Love, The Collette Family
Andrew, Sarah, Laylah, Jonah, Daphne, Baron, and Magnus
A home that’s warm and cozy… We are still living in Fredericksburg, VA and loving it!
Two missing teeth… Daphne has lost her first two teeth and we can hardly believe how grown up she’s becoming. She started kindergarten this past fall, experienced her first year cheerleading (she loved it, of course!), and also joined a Girl Scout daisy troop. She loves life and makes everyone around her happy with her bubbly personality.
Three different jobs… This year has been quite a roller coaster ride as Andrew has gone from 1 to 2 to 3 different jobs. He thinks he has finally found one that he loves at AVS (still in the audio/visual industry) and we hope he’s happy and settled there for a long time.
Four weeks in Utah… We were privileged enough to be able to go see family and friends in Salt Lake for 4 weeks this past summer. While we were there, we were able to go from the top of the state to the bottom and back again. We visited St. George, and Bear Lake, and had a great time visiting, playing, and relaxing. It was a wonderful vacation.
Five sizes up and growing… Our little baby Magnus isn’t such a baby anymore. He has grown and grown and is now in size 2T, weighs 30 pounds, and is off of the growth chart for his age of 13 ½ months. He has been crawling for awhile, but has yet to make his walking debut (this has since changed! Yes, the chunkster is finally walking!... most of the time :). We all love and adore him and can’t ever seem to get enough of our chunky little monkey.
Six days in Las Vegas… Sarah was able to go and visit her sister in Las Vegas, NV while Andrew stayed home and played Mr. Mom for a week. She had a blast, but it was a long time coming, as Andrew has gone to visit family in Utah twice, and California once this year, for various reasons. They both enjoyed their time away, but were ecstatic to be back home with the family.
Seven years old and counting… Jonah was thrilled to turn 7 last summer just because then he’d only have one more year until he turned 8! He is really looking forward to Cub Scouts. He started 2nd grade this year, and he also played flag football in the fall. He starts basketball soon, and he cannot get enough of his Nintendo DS (even though mom forces him to put it away once in awhile!) Jonah always has everyone around him laughing with his hilarious jokes and quirky personality.
Eight is special and great… our Laylah girl turned 8 years old in May and was thrilled for 2 things: to get her ears pierced, and to be baptized. We were able to do it while visiting in Utah this past summer, and it was a wonderful occasion with family and friends surrounding us. Laylah started 3rd grade last fall, and loves to stay busy and have fun. Her many activities include piano lessons, Spanish club, Activity Day’s, and Girl Scouts. She was able to do cheerleading during the fall as well and loved every minute. Laylah is such a sweet spirit in our home and we all adore her.
Nine more months to go… Baron is counting down the days until he gets to go to preschool next fall. He will turn 4 in April and is just a tiny bit bored at home with only his mom and baby brother to keep him company. Luckily, he gets to go to playgroup twice a week, and has lots of friends to keep him busy. Bear continues to dote on his older brother and loves anything that Jonah loves. He likes to pass his days at home by reading books, playing games with mom (Go Fish is his favorite) and playing computer games. We love our big cuddly Bear.
Ten year old cub scouts… Andrew went from being the 10 year old scout leader in our ward to the 1st counselor in the Young Men’s presidency (for the second time since being in this ward!). He has enjoyed his calling there, and he fits right in with all of his 14 and 15 year old Teachers Quorum boys…
Eleven miles of biking… This past April Sarah took part in a sprint triathlon where she swam 1/3 mile, biked 11 miles, and ran a 5k. It was an intense experience, one that she thinks she just might like to have again. On top of enjoying exercising, Sarah has many hair clients that she tends to, and stays very busy with a home, a husband, 5 kids, and a dog to take care of. And of course, there’s the laundry. The never ending laundry…
Twelve months of joy… Even though this year has had many ups and downs, we are very grateful for our many blessings, especially all of the tender mercies our Heavenly Father sends us. Most importantly, we are ever blessed by the atoning sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas! Much Love, The Collette Family
Andrew, Sarah, Laylah, Jonah, Daphne, Baron, and Magnus
We went and saw the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn the night it came out. We had SO much fun. It was only a few days after my sleep-deprived trip to Vegas, so I was pretty much a fixture in my bed that weekend catching up on lost sleep.
We were lucky enough to get Lauren to come as well (Lauren is the daughter of an old friend of Jean's who is living with her. She is also my main baby-sitter and my kids completely adore her. She's like a little sister to me)
We had SO much fun. We were out all night and could not stop laughing. That's about the only way I burn calories these days, so it's a very good thing that I laugh at anything and everything so easily...
Tired of waiting in lines...
We needed to stop for a re-fuel at Ihop where apparently, everyone else in town had the same idea. We had to wait for 20 minutes to get a table. By that point, we were a lost cause. The word "hysterical" comes to mind...
Do you see that girl glaring at us?! The one behind us with the long blonde hair? Hilarious.
Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays. I love the hustle and bustle of the day, the incredible smells of food roasting and baking. All of this work done for one special day in celebration of Thankfulness.
We had our feast with our dear friends the Sharp's. We dressed up, and went all out on each and every dish. It was such an enjoyable day. 
It's so nice to sit back and reflect, reflect on the goodness of God and to realize the daily tender mercies He is always sending us. Little things, along with the big things. He gives and gives, even when we aren't paying attention, or are completely oblivious to the special things in our lives. It's nice to celebrate.
I started in kindergarten with Daphne and we were able to work on a little art project together. I met her table friends and then we packed up for lunch.
We ate and then I got her a treat, an ice cream sandwich (seriously, the kids' school has ice cream available for purchase in the lunchroom. Whaaa..? Crazy to me)
Jonah and his best friend Jayden
Ethan and Ella were enthralled with the whole process, and they were also excellent "tasters".
We made 6 batches and it took a little over 4 hours from start to finish, and that's not counting grinding the nuts and grating the chocolate.
Don made fun of us for listening to Christmas music. We sure didn't care though :)
Uhhh, blurry much? Rachel was laughing at my happy "yogurt face".
We washed, we primed and we painted. From gold to dark grey she went. A masterpiece (except for the part where we got some paint on the actual mirror. Whoops. We're not the pros we thought. Did you ever figure out how to get that off Rach?)
It took me almost 2 hours to pack and I ended up having to borrow a suitcase from Rachel. I only had to leave one thing there that my mom will bring out to me in February when she comes to visit me for my birthday (which I'm already super excited about! Yay for visitors!). It was hard to say my goodbyes to everyone because I just love them and miss them all so much.
I got to see all of my cute nieces and nephews on Andy's side and all of my wonderful sibling and parent in-laws. It was so much fun and so good to see everyone. And the cookies were terrific. Jenny's shop is really great. If you're ever in St. George be sure to stop by, you won't be sorry!
After that we shopped some more (duh, what else?) and then we went to Pizza Factory for lunch.
WHO did we happen to meet there? Why, my best friend Cristan of course, who drove down to St. George from Salina JUST to see me. What a gal.
We laughed some more (seriously, I probably burned a million calories this weekend just from laughing) and recounted the good ol' highschool days and old boyfriends and funny experiences. I think my parents were enlightened to a few things I had done that they were unaware of. Hey, it's been 10 years. That's long enough, right? 
It was such a fun and fabulous weekend. Can I go back now?