Merry Christmas 2025!

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas! We rejoice in the birth of our Savior, and in this time that we reconnect with all of you. Here is a quick update on our family:

To make the most of our time left in Asia, we spent most of the year exploring Japan and the surrounding countries. In January we took a trip to Nagano to ski and see snow monkeys. In February and April we enjoyed showing family all our favorite places in Okinawa. In May we traveled to Taiwan, and in July we visited Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. We were impressed by each country’s rich culture and history, and we enjoyed many breathtaking sights. In September we moved from our beloved Japan to Bahrain. We miss Okinawa, but we are doing our best to adjust to life in the Middle East. 

Jared works hard as a Navy dentist. This year he earned FMF pin and was awarded both a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (kind of a big deal to get both in one year). When Jared isn’t working he can be found reading books to his little girls, serving at church, or taking another ski trip to mainland Japan.

Mary has been busy this year teaching, booking travel, coordinating an international move, and planning a wedding. In her free time she enjoys swimming, snorkeling, reading, and exploring nature. 

Abigail is at BYU studying for a business major and a music minor. In August she got engaged to her boyfriend Ayden Swain, and they were married on December 20th in Utah. We love Ayden, and we are thrilled to have him join our family..

Madeline graduated from high school in June and started at BYU in August. She is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in music. When Maddy isn’t busy working or going to school, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and attending BYU sporting events.

Nathanael had some great experiences at Kubasaki High School where he was able to participate in JROTC, Far East Choir, and a Far East Robotics competition. As part of his new school in Bahrain he has traveled to Germany twice to participate in Honor Choir and Stemposium. In his free time he enjoys reading and building LEGO sets. 

Audrey misses her friends and co-op from Okinawa, but she is making new friends in Bahrain and enjoys her new co-op and being involved in Camp Invention. Audrey enjoys swimming, crafting, reading, and playing the violin.

Brooklyn turned 8 and was baptized this year. She loves co-op, reading, swimming, and playing with Audrey. She discovered audiobooks this year and likes listening to Harry Potter books all day long. 

We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are thankful to have you in our lives.

Love,

The Colletts

Maddy's 18th Birthday!

We didn't get to celebrate with Maddy since she is at BYU, but here are a few pictures of our sweet girl. We have missed her terribly since she left for college. 

UNIV 101 CLASS

THE MERIDIAN TEMPLE

BYU FOOTBALL GAMES

BYU BASKETBALL

WORKING

FALL LEAVES

HALLOWEEN

Maddy dressed up with her roommates as the Kiss, Marry, Kill game

HALE CENTER THEATRE

PLAYING THE HARP

Maddy loves being able to take harp lessons in person again!

Audrey's 11th Birthday

Audrey was excited to get some LEGOs and yarn for her birthday. She is teaching herself to crochet from YouTube videos.

HARRY POTTER BIRTHDAY PARTY

Audrey hasn't had time to make many friends yet, but she was able to invite one friend from co-op and one from our ward to join her for her birthday party.
 

AUDREY AT 11:

Favorite Books: Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter, Little Women, and The Hobbit

Favorite Movies: Little Women and Harry Potter

When I grow up I want to be: I have no idea!

Favorite Color: Teal

Favorite Hobbies: Crafts and reading

Audrey is creative, fun, and kind. We fell blessed to have her in our family!

November 2025

 THANKSGIVING

It was tricky cooking a Thanksgiving dinner without all my cooking appliances and in a small oven, but we made it work! It was delicious, but we missed having Maddy and Abby with us. 

BALLET

We had a nice time attending a Russian ballet performance with new friends.

NEW HOUSE

Our favorite thing about our new house is backyard. We love the pool, the view, and being able to paddle board in the gulf anytime we want. 

STEM SATURDAY

The girls attended Camp Invention, and I worked as one of the instructors. The girls loved creating and learning more about science, and it was fun for me to go back to my classroom teaching role. 

October 2025

TREE OF LIFE

Went on our first real outing in Bahrain to the Tree of Life—a greater than 400 year old mesquite tree in the middle of the desert with no obvious source of water. We watched the sunset and saw a random camel caravan that added to the desert mystique.

THE NAVY BALL

Jared and I had a fun evening celebrating 250 years of victory from the sea. Happy Birthday Navy! 

THE BAHRAIN FORT

It was beautiful and impressive, especially at sunset. The fort was built by the Portuguese back in the 16th century, but excavations show that the site has been occupied for 4500+ years, and was the ancient capital of the Dilmun civilization.

HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween! Brooklyn was Ginny Weasley and  Audrey was a bookworm. Audrey was heartbroken when her Anne of Green Gables costume from Amazon didn’t arrive in time—despite us ordering it in September (I hope all of you in the US appreciate 2 day shipping), but she was creative and made her own costume and ended up winning a prize for best in show at the base Halloween party. Halloween isn’t celebrated in Bahrain, but various groups on base got together and decorated booths and handed out candy so the kids could have a trick or treating type experience. We also had a Primary costume fashion show and trunk or treat with our ward. Fun times!

NEW HOUSE

After spending 6 weeks in a hotel, we finally moved into our new home. We are excited to be out of the city and to get all of our own stuff. We love having 6 bathrooms and lots of space, a beautiful view, and a pool, but it's hard having to replace almost all our appliances because they don't work with the Bahraini electrical system. 

 

FUN WITH FRIENDS 

The girls did a LEGO challenge at the Library

Audrey and Brooklyn did a great presentation on Vietnam for the co-op.