winter wonderland

 The RiverWoods is such a fun place during the month of December. They deck the whole plaza out in beautiful lights and have fire pits and heat lamps scattered around. On top of that they have an awesome Santa to visit and people carving ice sculptures, give free horse carriage rides, and there's occasionally even a concert in the center. The night they turned on the lights they had John Schmidt doing a piano concert and I was totally amazed how good he is! He did some really cool covers of popular songs by Coldplay and Adele, I'll try to post a video.

Make sure to keep watching, Emmett will give you some hilarious entertainment! Love that guy :-)

The RiverWoods is also home to Provo Beach Resort - a really cool entertainment mecca that includes indoor surfing? Despite the frosty temperatures Emmett decided to brave the waves.

On a seperate visit I took him to meet, drumroll please... the man in red! It was the first time he's met the big man and he wasn't quite sure what to do. He was very excited... but also very intimidated. So he just froze up stiff as a board and stared at his own shoes the whole time. When Santa offered him a candy cane he forced himself to bring his eyes up to the peace offering, but still didn't dare look up at his face. PS this Santa was the real deal, he's probably the best one I've ever seen!

It's actually such a happening location - we happened to run into my sisters by coincidence!

(being mother hens to emmers)

I wanted to play with our new camera a little bit while we were there, and the following pictures are the result. Gives you a glimpse of the beautiful atmosphere! I love the lights strung across the top

I think we've found a new family tradition!

season's greetings

For anyone who missed our Christmas Card this year

Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse

With the baby asleep, and Jared well on his way

Cassie tried to reassemble the mess made that day.

Not before long Jared too went to bed

With visions of Cougars running routes in his head.

With a house full of silence, Cassie finally felt at ease

And allowed herself to revel in the hard-to-come-by peace.

But out in the parking lot there arose such clatter,

And Cassie crept to the window to see what was the matter.
 Lo and behold it was just a false alarm,

For surely that Chinese man meant her no harm.

Slowly she exhaled and returned to her task,

Maybe her article would get finished at last.

But once more she heard that mysterious sound

And louder and louder her heart started to pound.

All from the Chinese Man? It just could not be.

So Cassie stealthily hid behind the Christmas tree.

A thump sounded at the landing, there was jingling behind the door

And suddenly she understood not to fear anymore.

He nudged open the door, just as quiet as can be

And Cassie slunk even farther behind that big tree

Dressed in all fur from his head to his foot,

Cassie imagined what would happen if PETA got a look.

He went about his work, and divvyed out the goods,

And Cassie wondered if possibly…just maybe, she could…

She leaned out in attempt to get a clear view,

But that sly old man, of course he already knew.

He spoke not a word and went back to his work

(Good thing cause Cassie’s neck was starting to hurt)

He filled all the stockings and jumped to his feet,

Then snuck back out the door for his reindeer to meet.

He jumped in his sleigh and let out a roar,

And into the stars that great red sled soared.

But she heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!

And our annual newsletter:

We can't believe it's time for Christmas again already! This year has flown by and we’ve been completely blessed every single minute of it. Emmett continues to grow and soak up information like a sponge. He will forever be our little miracle, and we can’t say a prayer without expressing our gratitude. He has an incredible memory, learns things quickly, and adds a new word to his vocabulary every day. As he nears his second birthday, he is 100% caught up in both size and development. No one ever guesses our little tank had to fight his way into the world.

Jared is coming to the end of school - just months away from his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering! He has done a lot of great things this year. In March he travelled with BYU to Mexico, and had the opportunity to do a hands-on engineering project along with students from a University in Mexico. He also did a summer internship with an engineering company in Salt Lake, where he was able to learn a lot about the field. It is still up in the air whether we will be continuing on with grad school, or moving to the next phase in our life. We will keep you posted!

I spend my days hanging out with my best bud, and feel tremendously blessed because I wouldn’t trade my role for any title in the world. I’m extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to manage our apartments and do freelance writing from home. It can be a little hectic juggling multiple hats some days, but I love being kept busy (and having the world’s cutest co-worker alongside me)!

We love you all and keep you in our thoughts and prayers. You are what makes the season so enjoyable. Hope your holiday is wonderful and filled with Christmas spirit! Love to all!

Cassie, Jared, and Emmett

the curious case of the poopy screwdriver

Last week I had quite the experience... I doubt I'll ever forget this one, but it's goin down in the books just in case!

It started out a day just like any other - Emmett and I were going about our morning routine. I fed him breakfast, checked my email while he caught up on a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and did some quick picking up. Not too long after, Emmett did his business (if ya know what I mean), and I gathered the changing supplies. After the diaper had been changed, I set it right next to the door. *NOTE: I normally ALWAYS take poopy diapers outside immediately because I hate having that smell lingering around the house. But on this particular day it was freezing and I wasn't dressed - so I figured it would be okay for 10 minutes while I jumped in the shower

15 minutes later...

Emmett and I had finished showering/bathing. I threw a diaper on him and sent him back out to the living room to play and watch Disney while I got dressed.

3 minutes later...

I've thrown on some clothes and I walk back into the bathroom to get ready for the day. I hear Emmett yanking at something in the hallway and shrieking in escalating frustration. I find that he's dropped his toy screwdriver into a shapesorter toy and can't get it to come back out (imagine that). So I assuage his little outburst, explain that I'll get it out and everything will be okay, and pull it out for him. Only when I hand it back to him....I notice the tip of the screwdriver is covered in some type of brown substance. Is that chocolate? What is it? Where did it come from?  
Then I proceed to do what any mom of a toddler would do... bring it to my nose and sniff. Whoa. Definitely not chocolate. Definitely poop, and I'm feeling that rising wave of repulsion in my stomach. Had he touched it? Did he go the bathroom again? He must have. And he must have stuck the screwdriver down into it... I pull his diaper and take a peek in the back, only to find he's clean as a whistle.

Lightbulb!

Then I remember! I didn't set his diaper outside! I jump up and run back out to living room, where I'm stopped dead in my tracks. My entire living room floor is scattered with turds. I stand there calculating what this means: He definitely had touched it. Did he put any in his mouth? What should I do? ... Oh no! Emmett's walking back out here, I have to hurry and get this cleaned up before he steps on one and smashes it into my carpet!
I quickly grab a wipe and start using it to gather up the scattered pieces of poop. As I'm frantically picking them up, while simultaneously keeping on eye on Emmett's feet to avoid disaster - my eye catches something.

What is that?...

Emmett is constantly getting into the xbox drawer of our tv stand and playing with the controllers. He loves taking off the battery compartment and emptying out the batteries, then replacing them and closing it back up. Only today I notice the battery he's putting back in has poop smeared all down it.
Are you serious? I've already been on the verge of throwing up, and now this?
I get a new wipe and use it to take the battery and compartment from his hand. As I'm wiping the battery down a thought occurs to me. He was in the middle of the putting the battery in - had any poop gotten on the inside?

I peer down into the little compartment

Actual vomit. Rising up in my throat. The good news is the sides hadn't been streaked with poop as I was afraid of. The bad news is - the slots for batteries had been replaced with packed Emmett-poop. My mind reeled, picturing what had happened.
Emmett had taken out the batteries, picked up a turd (or two?) and dropped it down into the little cylinder. But apparently it didn't drop down as far as he pleased, because he then proceeded to take the aforementioned battery and ramrod it back down the cylinder - successfully packing his poop in the bottom half of the tube.

Jared was going to kill me.

"Sorry hunny, the controller doesn't work anymore. The battery compartment is packed with poop."

I swallowed down the bile that was rising in my throat, and forced myself to act. And by "act" I mean layed a paper towl on the counter, placed the poop compartment on it, then posted my dilemma on facebook asking other people I should do. (unfortunately out of the 15 comments I received, none offered any words of wisdom, but all found laughter in my traumatizing predicament). I couldn't even muster up a plan of action - How would I get it out of that little deep hole? Could the thing even get wet? Was it ruined?

So I made my own decision.

That poop compartment would remain there untouched until Jared got home from school. (Mostly because I didn't want to touch it, but also because I knew he would not fully understand my description of it being "packed with poop" until he saw it for himself.

* I also would like to note the my feelings during this whole scenario went like this: repulsion upon finding the screwdriver, despair and verge of tears when picking up the scattered poop from the living room, then hysterical laugh-out-loud laughter to point of actual tears while deliberating a plan of action for poop-pod. (It cannot be said whether the last stage was characterized more by the laughter or the tears).

Long story short

Jared returned home that evening, took a look at the specimin - and too started laughing until his eyes watered. What had inspired our baby to do this?! In a matter of minutes?!

24 hours later, after a long soak in hot water and some intervention with toothpicks and rubber gloves.... the compartment was rid of poop (for the record, Jared did the dirty work. That's how much he loves that xbox).

...Buuuut we still couldn't stand to think about it. So it sat on the counter for another 24 hours.

I'm glad to report - today the controller is poop-free and working like a champ. I, on the other hand, have learned Emmett is capable of even more than I gave him credit for in 3 minutes time (and that's saying a lot - I know this little rascal and stay on top of him like a hawk).

I will leave you with this:

The curious case of the poopy screwdriver?? Never solved. We will never know the fate that poor little Black & Decker suffered. But I will certainly have the aftermath ingrained into my memory forever. :-)

it's that time again...

We had family pictures taken back in October, and I just realized I haven't posted any yet! I love the way they turned out :) I couldn't narrow it down so you get the full shebang!

the day of thanks

We have so much to be thankful for this year. I am so grateful to live near my family - I love having them close by. I'm so thankful to have so many sisters close in age. Sisters really are the best friends you can ever have. I'm grateful for our health and (always & forever) for my sweet little Emmett. We're so blessed to have the gospel in our lives.
I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was as wonderful as ours.

The men hard at work - Dad on his traditional and Rusty on his deep fried turkey 

(and it looks like Jared might be directing haha)

Notice who's the head of the table :)

awol

Hello everyone. Yes, i'm alive (gasp!). Things have been a little ca-razy around here the past couple months, but I've decided it's time to return to blogging. It's my means of family history and recording memories of Emmett so I started feeling so guilty I've been neglecting it!

You guys have missed him starting to talk, going to nursery all by himself (and loving it!), and basically becoming a full-on little boy. I was peeking at him through the peephole in nursery on Sunday in between classes to see how he was doing, and he was walking around the center of the circle during singing time, holding his shirt up and showing everyone his bellybutton. So yeeeah, he was having a good time. By the way hes obsessed with belly buttons. And if you're near him watch out, cause yours is fair game. He will not hesitate to walk up, grab your shirt, lift it up, and poke your belly button ( its especially likely when you're sitting down in an unflattering position and your tummy is bulging over...) I guess thats what I get for buying "The Bellybutton Book" as his first book!

So in other news....I just bought a new camera!!! And I'm so excited about it! It's a Nikon D5000, my first SLR :) It's a little overwhelming trying to learn so much new information at once, but I've got a pretty good general grasp on things and I'm excited to become more skilled. No more missing all the shots I want to take because my camera's too slow! WooHoo!!! So I'm sure you'll be getting picture overload sooner rather than later...

Dumbo in all his glory. He learned to say "Tick Teet!"

I will leave you with our pictures from Halloween because posts with no pictures are boring, and I never blogged about it. Hope you're doing well (and hope someone still checks this since I've been so flaky these days!)

For those of you who arent familiar with LA Ink, I was Kat Von D. Google her.

LOVE the padded belly. My favorite part

               (yes, thats Jared in the background. Kendalls the Cholo, Kirsten's Leia, and Rufio is Yoda)

find your look

I've been reading a couple chapters of Tina Fey's autobiography Bossypants when I get in bed at night. I end up giggling to myself, by the light of my booklight, like a crazy person. Sounds a little creepy I know. But just let me just give you a tiny taste and you'll understand.

"It can't be said enough. Don't concern yourself with fashion; stick to simple pieces that flatter your body type. 
By 19, I had found my look. Oversize T-shirts, bike shorts, and wrestling shoes. To prevent the silhouette from being too baggy, I would cinch it at the waist with my fanny pack. I was pretty sure I would wear this look forever. The shirts allowed me to express myself with cool sayings like 'There's No Crying in Baseball' and 'Universtat Heidelberg', the bike shorts showed off my muscular calves, and the fanny pack held all my trolley tokens. I was nailing it on a daily basis. Find something like this for yourself as soon as possible." 

Do you see the type of invaluable information this book has to offer? Love it. That Tina Fey and I share our sense of fashion. However, when I went through that phase I was only about 8 years old. (Though I must say, thanks to the cycle of fashion, today's trends are not too far off the mark).

work is so much more fun when it's cute

Since I've started freelancing, I've discovered the need to have a desk back (I moved ours into storage when I turned our 2nd bedroom into the nursery). It just not optimal conditions to do all my research/writing on the couch, in front of the TV, with the laptop on my lap. Especially when Jared is watching something and does his signature high volume laugh, and tells me "watch this" every ten minutes. lol.
So I began scouring KSL for a tiny table/desk that would be appropriately sized for our little apartment, and possibly function as a decor piece as well. I was looking for little secretary desks, roll tops, "entry" type tables, brainstorming different options.

One morning I saw a new post for this:

I know it doesn't look all that amazing, but I saw potential in it! The size was just right. Plus I thought outside the box and figured with a cute mirror hung above it, and a little stool it was perfect to be used as a bedroom vanity as well! I have always wanted a vanity, but haven't come across one at the right price.

I loved that I wouldn't have to just throw it out when we have a bigger place someday, it will just get repurposed into my bedroom vanity! Of course it needed a makeover badly.

So off I went to Lowe's in search of supplies.

24 hours later, my $10 find looked like this:

Goodbye wooden knobs, hello victorian glass!

Here's a close up of the glaze

Of course the inside had to be cute as well

Can't you just envision it someday filled with makeup, my curling iron and blowdryer, and topped with bottles of perfume? And a big oval mirror will hang over it :-)

But in the meantime.... it makes me excited to do some work! And the BEST part? It's the exact dimensions of Emmett's changing table and the color matches his Dr. Seuss room! So out goes the changing table, and in comes the desk!

Now I have a place to go to when I need peace and quiet (well as much as our little shoebox offers anyway!)  

there's something in the air

I LOVE Fall. I have already equipped the house with a citrus spice plug-in and candle, and purchased a new palette of fall nail colors. I adore fall fashion. Layers and layers, chunky knits, warm boots. The air is charged with energy in autumn, and you can feel it stir your spirits when you walk outside. The wind smells like leaves and bonfires and begs you to come venturing up the canyons...

...And I can't refuse

Head on up the mountains and take in the beautiful world of colors before it's covered in snow!

growing like a weed

{18 months}

This miniature GQ model has just been growing up so fast lately. He is becoming so smart and independent (which sometimes can be a problem - he's VERY headstrong!!). He just does his own thing a lot of times.

He LOVES LOVES Elmo right now, but even when we're home he prefers to watch his dvds on our little travel dvd player rather than the TV. It makes him feel important - and I think he feels like it's his laptop.

He's also obsessed with ballons and balls. We can literally be like 50 yards away from a balloon and he'll start saying "boon....boon" and pointing. Sometimes Jared and I doubt him and are like, "sorry buddy, i dont see any balloons." But the joke's always on us. A few seconds later we'll realize there is a balloon in some obscure location only Emmett could spot.

Everything round is a "ball" and he wants to throw it or bounce it. Watch out.

He will now point to his body parts as you ask him to, which is adorable. He's got nose, eyes, teeth, belly button, hair, and toes down pat. Lips are a little confusing to him, and ears are a new addition. Jared keeps thinking it's funny to teach him where his "bum bum" is, but I always put the kabash on that. haha.

Its seems like he just decided one day he wanted to start talking, because he pretty much started saying all these words in a matter of days:

• dog (woof woof)
• tee tee (cat)
• bird (tweet tweet)
• roll
• snacks
• bebe (baby)
• more
• boon (balloon)
• ball
• what-what (we dont know exactly what this one means as he's used it in various contexts. Whatever it is he sure likes saying it though!)
• Mom, Dad, and Ba ba of course
• ha (hat but said without the t)
• NO - he's been really good at that one for a long time
• Hmmmm! (elephant noise) haha
• "Jake" and "Kenji" have both been said once (Jared's bro and my sister Kendall)

He's ridiculously into his shoes, and has certain ones that are his favorites. He picks out the pair he wants each morning and brings them to me, whining for me to put them on.

I have so much more I could say about this little munchkin, but I'll stop there for now and just leave you with this picture. It says it all.

he enjoys being a... boy?

The other morning I was curling my hair, and I gave in and took the cabinet lock off one of the lower cabinets for Emmett. This way I could actually have a solid 10 minutes to do my thing and Emmett would stay near so I could keep a close eye. This cabinet only holds harmless things like hair tools, accessories, and nailpolish (only semi-safe in Emmett's case) - so I figured it would be a great place for him to "organize".
Little did I know... organizing is exactly what he planned to do. I looked down a few minutes later and beheld this sight.

He had taken my nailpolishes out one by one and was arranging them in perfect order. Can't you just see his focus? Notice the headband as well. He loves his headbands. I thought it was so hilarious.

Yep, that's our boy. Macho enough to be hangin out shirtless with a skull-n-crossbones tattoo on his chest, yet confident enough to be sporting a nice hair accessory and organizing the beauty products. Perfection at its finest.

writing machine

Faithful readers (if I still have any - I wouldn't blame you if I don't!) ... I have not abandoned you! I have had an incredible opportunity fall into my lap and have been fully embracing it. Writing has always been my passion, and recently a friend needed some freelance articles done. I have been writing up a storm in the mornings, during Emmett's naptime, and late at night when both Jared and Emmett have gone to bed. It has been so wonderful to get the creative juices in my mind flowing again! (well i guess not so much creative, as they are pretty technical articles)

so maybe I don't have the luxury of writing on the beach, but this is where I mentally imagine myself when I go into the zone haha. How awesome would that be??

Any spare minute I have had has been dedicated to researching and writing - so needless to say I haven't quite had it in myself to get on the good ol' blog and write more.

However, I do want to keep up to date for my own purposes and there are some recent events I need to post about soon. I am so excited by the prospect of having a writing career from my own home! What could be more perfect for me? Stay tuned and I promise I'll be back soon with a more substantial post and lots of pictures!

25 random facts about yours truly

I wrote this about 2 1/2 years ago for a chain-letter type thing going around Facebook (was it really that long ago??) I came across it the other day and had a good time re-reading it. Check it out, you may just learn something about me you never knew :-)


1. My middle name is Farrell. No significance or meaning at all, but I like that it’s unique.


2. I have an obsession with Oreos and milk. Double stuffed oreo’s to be exact, and they must be eaten with milk. Oreo’s are kept stocked in our apartment as essentially as bread and milk.
* I must say, I've improved on this one. I had to force myself to stop buying Oreos so I could prevent binging


3. I am a scent-fanatic. I love everything to smell good, and live by aromatherapy.


4. I love books, and I read like crazy. I could easily spend an entire day inside a Barnes and Noble, and my dream is to someday have a huge library in my house (sliding ladder and all).


5. I am weirdly paranoid about food poisoning, but raw meat in particular. I don’t like touching it, cutting it, looking at… Raw meat in general just grosses me out.


6. I am also OCD about teeth. I brush mine several times a day…every time I leave the house, usually after every meal. I am addicted to the minty, fresh feeling but don’t like always chewing gum.


7. On that same note, I am a little bit of a tooth nazi in my judgments of others. To be honest I have a really hard time with people who have yellow teeth, or teeth with gaps in them. It’s hard to look past!


8. I was in the spelling bee for three years in elementary school.


9. I have an addictive personality. This can include people, working out, TV shows, books, hobbies etc. When I find something I like, it tends to become an obsession.


10. I think massages are the absolute greatest discovery of mankind. I could get one everyday. In fact I try… but Jared doesn’t go for it.


11. I love organization in every form. Day planners, Home décor, school work, calendars…I especially love when it involves buying new, cute things.


12. One of my biggest pet peeves is people bragging about the wildest, stupidest things they did “back in the day.” Grow up, move on, get over it.


13. I am a huge dog lover. I get attached to them as if they are part of the family. I can’t wait to finally live somewhere where I’m allowed to have one again!


14. Actually I have an abnormal affection for all animals (besides reptiles) and Jared teases me all the time that I should join PETA.


15. I get really annoyed by the complete lack of morality on TV.


16. Due to a hard snowboarding fall, I now have a dimple on my left cheek that did not used to be there. People just assume I was born with it, but apparently it’s a calcium deposit that will go away over time.


17. I am a major sweet tooth. I’d choose to sacrifice dinner for dessert any day.


18. I could speak French fluently, but doubt that I can anymore due to lack of practice. I am still dying to go to Europe.


19. I think I may legitimately suffer from seasonal affective disorder. I am significantly happier on warm, sunny days.


20. It freaks me out when my hearing is blocked and I’m alone. Examples: Vacuuming and showering while home alone both make me nervous because I can’t hear what’s going on around me.


21. I thrive off of human interaction. I have a really hard time and get depressed when I’m not genuinely connecting with people.


22. I am an eighth Filipino, though I’m usually told I look more.


23. I can be really indecisive about trivial things. Like spending 5 minutes deciding what dish soap I want to buy, then getting home and wondering if I made the wrong decision…haha


24. I miss my family a LOT, and it’s been really hard for me to adjust to not going home anymore.
* I FINALLY have my family near and don't have to be homesick anymore! Yay! It's so fun being able to get together with them on a regular basis.



25. There is nothing better than “Neopolitan Dynamite” ice cream by Ben & Jerry. (And Leatherby's ice cream of course)

There you have it! An indepth look at moi. Other than a couple corrections, I haven't

changed much in these past couple years! Now it's your turn to do one!

.

a world of discovery

For the holiday, I decided it would be fun for our family to go visit the Discovery Children's Museum. I'd heard how neat it was for little kids, and it well exceeded my expectations. To tell the truth, it just may have been the best day of Emmett's life!! I will let the pictures do most of the talking. Prepare to be amazed!!

 

(dropping balls down the tubes)

Oh and look, I finally accomplished my college dream of becoming a news reporter! And have the studliest co-anchor I've ever seen. Eat your heart out Ron Burgundy!

 

If you can't already tell, it wasn't just Emmett that had fun!! Here Jared is building a tower out of building blocks, which will eventually get knocked down by the earthquake simulator

  

Creating tunnels for the ping pong balls they would drop down



playing in the water

An Emmett sized Supermarket!! He even stopped and lifted out his bread here like  he was going to pay. LOL

And of course amidst this sea of amazingness, he found a vacuum (as if the day could get ANY better, that was the cherry on top!)

All in all an awesome Labor Day :-)  It sure wore Jared out, he's been asleep on the couch since about 9pm! Emmett and I will definitely be returning to the Discovery Museum this winter when we need to get out!