2016 Year Review

The Collett Family spent 2016 finishing up their second year in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. It was a wonderful year of tennis, soccer, sun, song, burritos, and tacos.

In January, Daniel turned five, and we went on a trip to visit friends and family in Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah. 

In February, Pope Francis came to visit Juárez (a big deal!), and Alice turned three.

In March, Jeff’s parents, Laurie and Daryl, came to visit us in Mexico.

In April, Gordon turned one, Jill turned seven, and we fell in love with our neighbor’s dog, Mika. Throughout the year, we often pet-sat and pretended she was ours.

In May, Jeff got to spend a week in Washington DC for training, and Mimi’s parents, Phil and Vickie, came to visit us in Mexico.

In June, Mimi turned thirty-one, and we visited White Sands, New Mexico.

In July, we went to Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana to visit friends and family, and Jill was the flower girl in her Uncle Kyle’s wedding.

In August, Jill started second grade, Daniel started kindergarten, Alice returned to preschool, Gordon started preschool, and Mimi tried not to cry.

In September, Gordon stopped nursing, and we went to Pheonix, Arizona, to see friends and a BYU football game. 

In October, Jeff got to spend a week in Germany for a Facility Managment Conference. He also received a promotion and Honorable Mention POSHO of the Year!

In November, Mimi and the kids went with friends to explore the ruins of Paquimé and Casas Grandes, Jeff turned thirty-four, and we all went to see family in Houston and to a Collett Family reunion in Orlando, spending two days at Disney and one at Universal Studios.

In December, Mimi’s dad visited Mexico, the whole family attended a Boling Family Reunion at a ski resort in Wisconsin Dells, and we had to say good-bye to our beloved Juarez.

During our time in Mexico, Jill has become proficient in Spanish and a great reader. Daniel has worked hard in speech therapy and is now able to speak and be understood. Alice has grown into a very independent preschooler with a rich imagination. Gordon has become a toddler who is adored by everyone who meets him. Mimi has had her heart stolen from her by all of the children she taught at church and at the kids’ school. Jeff has forged strong friendships with the teenage boys he helped prepare for church missions.

We are now looking forward to 2017, which will bring us six months in Virginia learning French, and then it’s off to discover our new home in Libreville, Gabon, Africa.

Love, 

Jeffrey, Michelle, Jill, Daniel, Alice, and Gordon

Photography credit: Allison Mosley