Happy 2016!

Happy New Year!  I'm making another attempt to revive this blog!  This time, I'm setting a goal to post daily.  YEP!  DAILY!  So if there is a random weather report one day, you'll at least understand that I'm trying to keep my goal.  haha

We celebrated the end of 2015 last night with usual Collett pomp and circumstance.  It started with some selfies in the kitchen.

It was a tight enough fit before Nathan photobombed us with a wadded up shirt and blocked Daniel's face.

But Daniel recovered nicely and made up for it with a Maori-like exhibition of his tongue.  GROSS.

Oh, yeah.  These two are in charge of things around here.  That explains a lot!

We started our marathon of activities by giving our time (less than an hour) to wiping down all of the known hymn books in the church building.  Some disinfecting wipes from Target and we were set.

Did you know the current Hymns edition was first printed in 1985?  I can remember when they came out.  I have seen some books that are slightly different in format, but are still the same hymns and the same #'s.  The Church is still translating this 30-year-old version into other languages and has no plans for a newer edition at this time.

While were there with extra disinfecting wipes, we decided to wipe down the backs and sides of the benches in the chapel.  There has been a recent report of hand, foot, and mouth, so it seemed like a good idea.  I understand that Daniel went around wiping door knobs, too.  I'm just not sure if he made the whole trip with a single wipe.  (EEW!)

Joseph may not be approaching this in the easiest of ways!

We'd stopped for donuts on the way to the church and the lady gave me a free dozen.  So we had a donut BEFORE and AFTER we worked!

It looks like Rebekah is pouncing on another donut, but she's really reserving it for Daniel.  I am shocked since those two are usually at war!

After we returned from the church, we set about putting away Christmas decorations.  This activity took longer than the first!  Everyone worked here, and I worked at organizing everything into proper bins.

By the time the house was put back in order, it was after 9 PM.    Only three hours left to go!  Out came the snacks and games.

Daniel must always pose for the camera.  We're fortunate his tongue stayed in this time.

Do you watch Studio C?  We are the unofficial Titusville, Florida chapter of the Studio C fan club.  We added them to our list of party activities.

When we got out some glow sticks, strange things began to happen.

And don't forget the 2016 glasses that barely stay on your face.

This reminds me of that creepy Sesame Street segment where wavy, free-floating eyes and mouth helped you count to 10.  At least I don't have fears of nightmares after seeing these eyes!

I tortured some of the kids by making them fill out some reflections on the year past and coming.  Joseph nearly died of trauma.  But it was interesting to see how similar some of ours from last year to this year were.  It seems that I really want to have an organized and clean house!

And then came the traditional New Year's Eve photo.  Not everyone was willing to play along, so it will require more than one photo to see everyone's faces AND signs.

And that is how you ring in the new year in our family!  No one fell asleep early, but I can think of someone who should have.  Thankfully, we were able to sleep in and recover some of our cheery dispositions.

Happy New Year! (Good-bye 2011)

Did you notice that we're in a new year? No kidding, right? I almost feel silly posting about it over 2 weeks late. However, these are memories for our family more than a way to share pictures with friends and family, so here are the pictures and story.

Our New Year's Even party was typical...snacks, games, movies. We watched TWO movies from Netflix through the Wii. We played some games, we argued a bit. And everyone was up at midnight to bring in 2012. We did have to wake Rebekah up after the 2nd movie, and I tried really hard to fall asleep myself. :)

We had noise makers. We wore them out.


We also had some confetti poppers. They were pretty fun and mostly worked. Chad had to help a very cranky Rebekah with hers.

We think confetti is really fun to wear.


I didn't even mean to wear any!

Daniel is too cool to have fun. Did I mention he's a preteen?

I think Rebekah is making a tradition of crying during our New Year's Eve celebration. How fun it would be to get another picture like this next year!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope your year brings you good fortune and happy memories.

Ringing in 2011

I think I've recovered from the celebration enough to relive it now. :)

We started out the evening by passing out the hats and noise makers...which everyone had to try out right away. It's a good thing we got this shot, because Sarah went to bed at 9PM (a late night for her, too) and was only in this picture.


We put together a couple of easy puzzles...Joseph's choice.

Then we played a game of Whoonu? Nathan and Rebekah got into an altercation just before the game started and the punishment was to give the other a hug. Rebekah didn't love it, but she gave a rather cold hug to Nathan. But stubborn runs through Nathan's veins and he wasn't about to give in. He missed the whole game...that we played 3 times.

Then came out The Game of Life. This was enticing enough to Nathan that he gave Rebekah an equally unfriendly hug and joined in the party.

We didn't get much more than halfway through the board before the new year arrived and we had to celebrate. (I never even got to get married as I ran into the tornado that sent me back to start THREE times!)

We threw streamers, spun our little metal noise makers and shot off some party poppers. The poppers were less than stellar. But they made the room nice and smoky-smelling.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! (Rebekah's bouncing streamers caught the attention of the kitten who caught more of Rebekah's skin than Rebekah's streamer. And that is why Rebekah's first moments of the new year were not happy.)

We wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year!

Good-bye 2010!

Chad has gone to take the boys swimming in an effort to pass off the last requirement in Nathan's Wolf achievements. He earned his Wolf months ago, but if he does everything in the achievements, he earns a special reward. I am home updating the blog and trying to straighten up before we make a mess again. (Meanwhile, my fingers have turned to ice because it's so cold!)

This is my last post of the year (post # 271 of the year, #927 total). Where did it all go? And how in the world did we survive it?

Truthfully, it has been a wonderful year and I can't think of anything too horrible that happened. I'm glad that I have this blog and my journals to keep a record of events, both big and tiny.

We have been blessed to interact with and be touched by so many great people this year. We've cried, laughed, raged, prayed and meditated throughout the year. And so much of it because of all of you! ;)

I hope that whatever 2011 brings our family, we will have our faith and our families (this includes friends) to enjoy it or survive it with.

We have our traditional New Year's Eve planned for tonight. We will watch a movie, play games, eat snacks and count down until midnight. I will probably offer to let the kids celebrate early so we can all get to bed and the kids will turn me down. We will be in bed by 12:15 anyway.

So good luck to all of you in the new year. We want you to know that we are here for each of you and would feel honored to be thought of in a time of need.

New Year's Eve

Despite my headache and lack of enthusiasm, we still celebrated the new year and made it all the way to midnight (although I offered several times to help them celebrate early).

Here are pictures of our activities.

We painted many sun catchers. This was a surprisingly fun activity. We still have a ton of paint left, so I may get more sun catchers for future activities.

We ate snacks. Joseph enjoyed some chocolate.

We watched a movie. I've already mentioned what I thought of this movie. It won't be one we add to our DVD library (which we hardly add to at all anyway).

We played some games. Actually, "we" did not play games. I blogged the old year out and everyone else played games. That is why there are no pictures of that part of the night.

We watched the ball drop on TV and threw streamers.

This is when I told them to shout, "Happy New Year!" They did, but this is what I got out of it. They looked thrilled, don't they? That's what they get for insisting on staying up so late!

The next day the kids went out to play in the snow. This is Joseph's first time playing for very long at all. It sure didn't take him very long to figure out how to throw snowballs! Leah just ignored him. Either the aim was off or the throw wasn't very strong. He'll get better with practice!

He did practice a little on Nathan. :)

Happy New Year

It's about 45 minutes before the new year arrives. And it's not only a new year, but a new decade. I've survived another year. Some days that seems to be a bigger miracle than others.

Currently, we are having our traditional marathon of games, snacks and fun while we wait for the clock to strike twelve. This year I'm having a hard time feeling the excitement. I've had an unfriendly headache most of the day. I was unable to catch a nap and now the headache is including my sinuses. I feel a pulsation in my nose as my head throbs. Happy stinkin' New Year!

So far tonight, we've painted sun catchers (Christmas presents), watched Marley and Me (not thrilled with the language in it or some of the situations...hoping my kids are too clueless to catch much, but that may be too naive of me), had some snacks (now my stomach is wondering if that was a good move), and Chad is now playing In A Pickle with the kids. I'm wondering how much of a party pooper I'd be if I snuck off to bed!

I tried to suggest that we call it a night, since most places are already in 2010, but the kids would have none of it. Even Daniel who was crying because his back hurt every time he coughed (who ever heard of that one?) wanted to wait until MST midnight.

Both Leah and Rebekah threw up tonight after a little coughing attack. Yuck. And they did it within an hour of each other. Fabulous. Sarah has started coughing again and her blocked tear duct is back as of her most recent illness. So I expect that ending the old year on a low note only means we have better things to look forward to in the new year.

I look forward to the coming year and all the memories it will leave for us as so many years have done before. I know not all memories will be pleasant ones, but I hope that they will all be seen as blessings in some form. I hope my regrets will be few and my accomplishments will be worthy. I pray that my family (near and far) will be healthy and at peace in their lives. And I hope that each day I will find that I have become a better person than the day before. (I hope you'll forgive me when you discover I didn't quite make it.)

So Happy New Year, everyone! When you find yourself passing through our little spot on the map, pause at our doorstep and let us welcome you in, even if just for a moment!

Good-bye 2008

I know I've been MIA for a while. Honestly, I was getting ready for Christmas and then I was recovering from Christmas. And then I realized this afternoon that I hadn't finished blogging about the events of the month. Not only is the month nearly over, but the year too! Are you the type to be spurred on by deadlines? I inflict my own deadlines and the ending of the year seems pretty significant...so I'm sneaking this last post in for the year. We've begun our big New Year's Eve celebration and the kids are watching "Shrek 2" while I type. (Incidentally, they watched this exact same show last New Year's Eve. Doesn't the station have a budget for a new movie?)

Anyway...I've got a bunch of pictures to share with you. Some of you are groaning, but I hope at least 3 of you are excited!

Here are our 'decorating the Christmas tree' shots. I've only posted 3, so be grateful!

All of the kids (barely) by the tree. It's it beautiful? It's our $20 special from the Stop'n'Shop. We weren't into driving into the mountains this year. (Bah Humbug) It looked the best if you were standing by the front door - perfect for all those people delivering treats and getting a peek inside!

We had to get Chad involved for the star. (I did the lights while he was at work.) Daniel is still helping and Rebekah is...well...Rebekah is being herself.

Joseph was very excited to get his little fingers around so many shiny objects. He's also learned what the camera does and politely stops for his picture to be taken. Too bad we didn't wash his face after dinner. I learned this year to appreciate plastic ornaments. Joseph couldn't resist a small, blue glass ornament and bit right into it. Chad gave him a little sip of water which caused him to throw up some sparkly blue bits. I threw the glass ornaments in the trash when we cleaned up the Christmas stuff this week.

Rebekah REALLY wanted to vacuum one day. Here is her first experience as a homemaker. The vacuum is bigger than she is!

If you will recall my pathetic invitation to the TaVaci Christmas concert, you'll know the event has already passed. I'm glad no one actually came because a huge snowstorm blew in that evening. The roads were horrible and the van disappeared under 8" of snow in two hours.

But I did have my camera so you can see a tiny bit of what you missed. Here are both Leah and Daniel. How convenient that they were standing close enough to be in the same shot! (I have no idea who that other girl is.)

Here's Leah in some sunglasses for one of her songs. Funny!

Daniel had a speaking part this year. This was his joke. :)

Traditionally, Santa comes at the end of the concert every Christmas. Here are each of the kids sitting on his lap.

Joseph wasn't too sure he liked the man, but he didn't cry. He DID accept a candy cane. He's still too young to have the talk about taking candy from strangers.

While I was standing there getting pictures of the kids, Chad came up to me and asked me if I recognized the santa. I knew it was someone that knew our family because he always seemed to know when to look at me when one of my kids climbed on his knee. I thought he would be someone from our last ward, since the TaVaci director is in that ward. Turns out, it's Chad's 1st counselor in THIS ward. In small towns, you just never know how you're going to find yourself connected to other people!

We decorated gingerbread people one evening. How exciting that was! The kids REALLY liked shaking the sugar on.

Why is this boy licking the KNIFE?

I finally got the Christmas pajamas finished. Aren't they cute? Joseph's devilish smile is because every time we sat him down to get a picture, he started coming after me. He thought it was a great game. It's so hard to get 5 kids to pose for a picture!

He's trying to get away here, too. Nathan is holding him down for a half a second. Joseph was having the most fun of everyone.

After I got done yelling at the kids during the pictures and completely losing my patience, we decorated a gingerbread house. My poor kids, they're only going to have memories of their crazy mother yelling at them during times that were supposed to be fun. (I'm aware of the problem and working on it.)

'Twas the night before Christmas and the grinchy mother barely got the stockings out of the storage bin. They were never hung anywhere...just kept in a heap on the top of the bin. But you can see that we did HAVE stockings. I even put Joseph's name on his stocking...mere hours before this photo. (It was his 2nd Christmas after all. I should get the name on there so he doesn't see the pictures in 6 years and feel bad.) That's Nathan...right above his own stocking.

While I did get lots of video on Christmas morning, got zero pictures. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? Chad took this picture of the kids. He'd refinished an old chalkboard that's been hanging on the wall of the garage. It's now mounted on the wall of the toy room downstairs.

And Chad's gift had to come the day after Christmas as there was a huge storm we were waiting to see the end of. One of our friends was making a workbench for me (for Chad) and they'd left it for us in their garage when they left town for Christmas. They wouldn't let me pay for anything except the materials. It is a huge, sturdy beast. It was quite the challenge to get it loaded into the back of Chad's truck. I think he likes it! ;)

And that's the end of the our celebration update! The kids' movie is almost over and our fun and games will begin. It's none too soon as Rebekah is getting cranky and obviously tired of sitting on the bed for so long.

If I didn't actually say it, we had a really good Christmas. The kids were pleased with their gifts. They were up before 2 AM and finally got their sleepy parents out of bed at 5:15. We were opening the last gifts as the sky was barely beginning to lighten. We stayed warm and content inside while it snowed and blew outside. It was really nice to not have to think of packing up and driving anywhere.

We had 3 visitors last night (Chad's sisters - Monica and Pamela, and Pamela's fiance, John) and my mom and step-dad on Saturday. I guess if you're stubborn enough, people will come to you! he he

2008 was a really good year for our family. We had some trials, but nothing that left any scars. I look forward to the new year with anticipation. I expect struggles and sadness, but I hope that I will have enough trust and faith in God to maintain perspective and endure to the end. :) I have an awesome husband, 5 fabulous kids, good health, a warm home and good friends and family. I am so blessed!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!