Good Bye Mullet, Hello Big Kid.

Scout is turning 2 on Sunday and I thought it was time to get her hair cut.  This was her first real haircut.  My mom took a turn at cutting her hair when she was about 1.  We have not returned to Salon Grandma! No, it wasn't that bad; it was only her bangs.   Scout will be an only child for 3 more months, so, I am determined to spoil her as much as possible.  When it came to choosing a salon she informed me it had to be fun, have cars, show Dora and have candy and balloons.  I thought, "well, that isn't over the top at all," and I made an appointment at a special kids salon. There was even a slide in the waiting area. It was actually worth it!  The girl was exceptional with kids and new just how to cut AND style the thin, static filled hair on my kids head.  The only rough part was informing Scout that is was time to go.

The stringy mullet.

This was her face as she saw the car!

 

The haircut it self.

The cut is done.  Just needs a bit of style.

 

The final look.

The front does not look too different.  She is growing out her bangs.  The whole look over all is nice and clean and she can still put most of it up in pony tails.

 

What has Scout been up to?

Scout's calander is always packed.  With the nice, mild weather we have been having she has been doing some last minute "good weather" activities.

                                            She loves Grandpa Andersons mower.

She got some kissing time in.

Scout was nice enough to take her parents to Sundance.

She even had the time to show her dad some of the mountain side.

October is over, but not forgoten

Here are some pictures from October that did not make it in another post.

               My mom came to visit and unfortunatley there are no pictures to prove it.  Cedric, my mom, Scout and I had a great time at Gardner Village.  The pony ride was a big hit.

Scout had her first dentist appointment.  It went really well.  She even had a couple of x-rays taken.

Tomato pie is delisious. Try Paula Deans recipe some time.

Cedric's cousin, Jessica, came for an impromptu visit and we had an apple picking party with Nigel and Camille.

Scout loves practicing for when she gets a real pony!  

This Halloween Was Awesome.

This year Cedric and I attended a party we are invited to every year by Nick and Julie Escobedo.  It is always way fun and one lucky person even wins $100.00 for best costume.  This year it was a transformer couple.  They put so much work in to thier costumes!

The Winners

Sarah, Cedric (zombies), Kolby (Alps hiker), Grant (pilot), Micah, Camille and Carly (Brothers Bloom)

I did not even have to do my make-up.  I just woke up, never got ready for the day and this is what I got!

Cedric?  Is that you?

The best part of Halloween was trick-or-treating with Scout!

Grandma and Grandpa Durand found a very cool dragon costume for Scout to wear.  She put her costume on at 8:00am and  would not take it off until it was time for a bath at 7:30pm.  That was Friday.  Saturday she put it on after her nap and took it off for her bath once again.   Scout had a great time getting treats and Cedric had a really fun time giving treats and a few scares!  He wore a gorilla costume he has had for a while, acted liked a stuffed gorilla, sat on the porch and scared the heck out of little treat seekers!  It was so fun for everyone.

Not too scary before dark.

Getting started.

Scout knocked every time, but it just wasn't loud enough.  I decided to knock too.

She asked so nicely for a treat and said thank you every time. After the 4th house she really got the hang of it and just wanted to keep getting treats.  So, that is what we did.

Checking out some loot.

All of the booty.  This kid was one lucky 23 month old!

Binging time.  Oh, the laundry is clean and was waiting for our maid to fold.

A toddler on her way to one serious candy hangover!

All in all, it was great.  Scout never got sick, she did have a bit of trouble falling to sleep though.  The next day was fine and she did not ask for a single piece of candy all day!  Good thing too, because it is all gone. 

Over the Halloween weekend we also attended a church costume/chili party and a family/friends party.  We look forward to next years festivities.

Halloween Poem

It's that time of year again! "What time of year?" you're thinking. Halloween, duh. Every Halloween for the last three years I have written a cute Halloween poem. So here's this year's:

Down the haunted gravel road
Across the haunted bridge.
Through the haunted pumpkin patch
Beyond the haunted ridge.

I walk to school each foggy morn
With no one else but me
And say "hello" to headless ghosts
And wave to haunted trees.

And with a grin upon my face,
I guess I'm pretty brave.
I'm not afraid of eyes that gaze
From far beyond the grave.

I'm not afraid of creepy ghouls
That lurk in murky ponds,
I'm not afraid of witches
Or their warts or magic wands.

I'm not afraid of screaming winds
I'm not afraid of lightning,
Cause if I'm late for class,
My teacher turns out much more frightening!

Happy Birthday Cedric

Cedric wanted a small get together at Tucano's for his birthday dinner, so, that is what he got.  We both ate way too much.  At least I have the excuse of eating for two!

Below are pictures of the festivites.  Hannah and Jeff, Andy, Kolby, Grant, Micah and Amanda and Jeremy were all there to celebrate.

 

 

 

Just for the Grandparents, Pictures of Scout

This picture is proof that she never slows down

                                           .

Bath time is the best time.  Second to bed time!

Looking cool in another "car."

Sneaking a snack.

Afternoon pudding.  She loves it, I hate it. Guess why!

The people under the stairs

As many of you know, we recently moved from Chez Wymount (BYU student family housing) to the Merrill and Enid Anderson Compound. We are in what are arguably the most coveted living circumstances known to the Anderson family. We get to hang out with grandma and grandpa every day and the digs downstairs are pretty sweet. It's especially nice to have a washer and dryer. The downstairs apartment at grandma and grandpa's hadn't been updated in awhile, so below are some home improvement pictures including Cedric, Amanda and Jeremy, and Sarah took the pictures, which is why she's not in any of them (taking down wall paper and replacing the drywall/tub-surround, etc). Also, Cedric delivered pizzas for a couple months after we got home from the internship in Reno. He got his old job back at the hospital and promptly burned his pizza delivery shirt.

A whole 35 minutes!

For those who don't already know this, Scout is extremely active! A couple of words people have used to describe her are "free", "spirited", "fun" and "independent." These are all very nice ways of reminding us how crazy she is. It should be obvious that church meetings aren't exactly her thing. That is a nice way of putting it. This Sunday was different. She sat on our lap or in her chair for 35 minutes with no freak outs! It was actually an enjoyable church service. Thanks Scout!

A Brief History

As many of you reading (including my parents- tisk, tisk) did not know, a few days ago was a time to celebrate for Sarah and me. That's right- it was National Penuche Day on the 22nd. It was also our third anniversary. Which is also good. We celebrated in high style by going out to dinner and watching the new Harry Potter movie. It was romantique. So, pictured below are some of the important events from our nuptials to the present day. Enjoy. Or else.

Anderson Family Reunion

Sarah and Scout are visiting the Durand side of the family in Sacramento, so it's my turn (in my loneliness and solitude) to update the web log. We recently enjoyed the Brad and Olivia Anderson Family Reunion in the picturesque hills of Sparks, NV. I can't believe that my parents' family is big enough to have a family reunion... it's just weird that we all are married with children. But I digress. So, the Anderson Reunion is a kind of mellow version of Woodstock (less live music, but just a much naked mud-romping). I don't want to write too much, but in order to explain the pictures below, I'll mention that the reunion included 1. An all-day, sunburn inducing trip to lovely Lake Tahoe 2. Making stilts out of cans (Boy Scout Handbook style) 3. A real pirate treasure hunt in the desert, including a real treasure chest, a real tombstone, a real map, a real Jolly Rogers flag, and real pirates 4. A variety show (or "talent show". The name was changed for the sake of political-correctness). There were also water-balloons and other such fun, random activities.

Thank you for farms....

For those of you that may pass Thanksgiving Point on a regular basis you may wonder, as you drive by, if there is anything really there or is it just a big building. Well Scout can tell you how much fun can actually be had there! We had a great time. The girl working the pony ride even let Scout ride for free. Thanks to her, it really made our day.

We're back, and we have A LOT of pictures !

We had a wonderful past six weeks. Cedric did an internship at his dad's law firm in Reno. While there we lived in his parents house and shared a space with Missionaries and even took them to Tahoe! Our good friends, Jeremy and Amanda Madsen, came for a visit. The four of use enjoyed Tahoe and late night Reno dinning. Scout and I frequented the library and even started making friends. My sister in-law came for an extended visit with her three girls and the experience was good for all of us. We were able to fit in all sorts of fun. Not only did Cedric work, but we were able to relax at my parents and enjoy the pool at their Sacramento home. We took a vacation for two to Santa Cruz (this is where Cedric proposed to me), and we stayed at night a Cedric's Grandma Dahl's Ranch in Starr Valley, NV. Please enjoy all of the pictures of our life the past six weeks. There are A LOT of them!



Four Friends.
They have the best milkshakes! The Banana Slugis the mascot of UCSC and are found all over the region.
Pleasure point, one of Cedric's favorite surf spots.
What feet look like in really cold tide.
Very squishy Sea Anemone.
Tons of Mussel.
Big and bright star fish.
The coast along HWY 1 in Santa Cruz.
A great campsite in Redwoods.

A happy two with the Sea Lions.

Our home for a couple nights.
Mom and Dad Durand's resort.

We're in the news...not even in handcuffs this time!

So, as some of you good folks may know, my brother Micah, our buddy Grant and I are in a wedding band together. We have played quite a few weddings, but have mostly done it as a hobby that pays. Well, since Grant is such an awesome dude, he contacted the Daily Universe of BYU/Provo fame and let them in on the secret that we are the tallest wedding band ever and they couldn't wait to interview us. So you should definitely read the article, which can be found by clicking here. After you're done reading that sweet article, check out our website at thegatsbys.com. Big thanks to Leo and Jon for always taking awesome pictures of us-

Scout's Easter Adventure Video (as promised)

Here's a short clip of Scout hunting Easter eggs.

Easter

Last night we planned a BBQ and egg dying party. Our BBQ got rained on, so we just moved it inside. Andy, Katie, her two boys, Jared, Kolby, Amanda and Jeremy were in attendance. Thanks to Amanda and Jeremy the egg dying was a great success. They supplied all 24 eggs and the coloring kit! The Matthews family was so kind to lend us their BBQ, but were unable to make it. Stay tuned for Scout's exciting Easter adventure!

Conference, Crepes, and Classiques

So, this was a red-letter conference weekend. We got to listen to every session of General Conference (daddy saw all the parts he didn't sleep through... non-drowsy cold medicine my eye!). We had crepes for a "brunch" (not quite breakfast, not quite lunch, but it comes with a piece of cantaloupe at the end) on Saturday. Sarah makes awesome crepes. Our friends from upstairs, the Madsens, came down and we all got our brunch on. It was festive. On Sunday, we continued to watch conference and enjoyed the great messages. Scout payed pretty good attention. Later on, she went out to the porch to work on my old Schwinn Stingray in her overalls and new Converse kicks. She's a classic.

It's my Anniversary

Today marks THREE WHOLE YEARS of me being a full fledged active Latter Day Saint! So, yes it is a latter day and I am a saint. A stained glass window replica of me is being made right now. If you would like to attend the unveiling ceremony let me know! Really though, I love being a part of this wonderful church. The decision I made three years ago to dip in to freezing cold water all dressed in white has truly changed my life for the better and I know there are even more blessing waiting to come to me and my family. I know with a surety that if my baptism would have never taken place, Samantha Scout would not be here today. Who could live without her? For sure, not my DAD! Scout loves her Grandpa 100%. Here are some pictures to prove it......
My dad is so nice, he is showing Scout her new home when the economy completely collapses.


He even showed her where the rats will be so she can be sure to have protein in her diet..

I love these two! Thanks, Dad, for supporting me and my family.

Smoke-signal me, dogg....

As is normally the case with us, money is tight. As a money-saving measure, we have decided to do away with such luxuries as our subscription to O magazine (all things 'Oprah') and toothpaste. One of the luxuries that we are getting rid of tomorrow is our cellular phone. We're going to Little House on the Prairie style. From now on, if you need to reach us, you can send a post by Pony Express, or a homing-pigeon with a note attached to its leg, or use smoke signals. Of course there's always our home phone- 801-378-5143 or our email- cedricwilford@gmail.com. See you all at the hoe down.

Fairytale Town

Scout and I went to Fairytale Town. It is a magical park where there are animals, gardens and fairytale stuff like big cheese and castles. The best thing was that is was only $4 for the both of us.

Cute

Sarah insists that I post new pictures so that when people look at our blog, they don't see my face and mustache from the previous post staring at them. She wants "cuter" pictures. Well, since we don't have any cuter pictures than me and my mustache, I'll post these ones of Scout getting ready for skateboarding season-

On Mustaches and Traveling Home

I went to visit Sarah and Scout at my mom and dad's house in Reno this weekend. Sarah has been recovering from her hand surgery and mom and dad have been helping her take care of the Scout and everything else. It had been two weeks since I had seen them so I decided to drive out for President's/Valentine's day weekend and be with the fam. Well, Sarah and Scout were supposed to stay another week in Reno, but they decided to drive home with me. Now maybe I will have a little direction to my life, instead of roaming aimlessly as a bachelor. I began to grow a mustache while they were gone (mostly to keep the ladies away), but I couldn't handle looking in the mirror because of the creepiness, so I shaved off the mustache a few days before I saw Sarah. It's too bad... I was really looking forward to creeping her out when I saw her; instead she was all happy to see me and stuff. Here's a handsome photo-

Who wants to play Hobo Stew?

Happy Hobo Give-Away!

So, as some of you may know, I recently started selling prints of my original artwork on Etsy.com. To introduce myself to the cyber world of commerce, I decided to give away three prints to one lucky person. All you need to do to win is come visit my blog at www.happyhobotradingpost.blogspot.com and follow the instructions.



Keep it Happy!

Good Times at Handless Manor

So, here's the four-one-one: Sarah had surgery on her right wrist again (she'd already had surgery on that hand last July). The doctor went in and cleared away some torn and loose ligament tissue that had been so painful for Sarah. This will hopefully do away with future problems regarding her hand. Of course, she refuses my idea of removing her pesky human hand and replacing it with an interchangeable hook hand. She could use a hook for cleaning, typing, changing Scout, etc.; change it out for sewing scissors, then exchange it for a remote control for watching TV, and then maybe a pipe for evening time. You get the idea. Anyway, since Sarah is one-handed for about a month, we called in some reinforcements in the form of Grandma Anderson (code name- "Mommy Bones") and our good family friend Lindsay (code name- "Lindsay Danger"). So for two weeks, Sarah has enjoyed help around the house with Scout etc., and our family has enjoyed some very nice visiting time with a couple of wild ladies. Thanks guys! Below are some pictures of the goings down-


Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures with grandma, but here's Scout wearing one of the super-cute aprons that grandma made for Scout whilst she eats and helps Sarah with the cooking. Thanks Mommy Bones!





I think Scout and Lindsay were born to be BFF's!

Family Pictures

We had the whole family together this last Christmas, which means all six kids, all their spouses and all the grand-kids. I think there were 26 people, give or take. A young lady that works at my dad's law office came by and took some great family pictures. She was also nice enough to do individual family portraits. Below, I have posted a few of the ones I liked-



Here's a nice one of the whole family. Little Calvin looks like Nosferatu.



For this one, Britta had the idea that we should do the Cosby Show ending, where we all wiggle our fingers in front of our parents' faces and then do the dramatic pull-away at the end... remember that?



Scouty-Lou-Who



I call this one- Happy Family with Fuzzy Borders



I call this one- Mom and Dad Kissing Scout with Fuzzy Borders



Here's one of Scout receiving lightning bolts of inspiration from her piggy tails.

My Cranium Hurts!

Christmas was so much fun. We ate, played and it was so fun seeing all the babies together! Tavan and his family gave us the game Cranium for Christmas and the whole famliy enjoyed it, well, at least for the most part. I am not sure if the girls love it anymore. The stinky boys beat us twice. There is just no explanation except for cheating! I have asked the makers of Cranium to start an investiation on how the boys could have possible won and hopefully us girls can get our pride back and be deemed the ultimate champions!

Christmas Come Early (For Scout)

We are taking a plane to Reno for Christmas and would not be able to fit Scout's presents in our luggage, so Scout's Christmas came early this year. We set out her presents last night and she got to open them this morning after a little breakfast and dragging mommy out of bed. We made a video, but for some reason we can't post it. So, below are some pictures of Scout enjoying her new toys.

Christmas Has Come

I will try to make this story brief, but I felt like I should post it to hopefully spread some Christmas cheer (without getting anyone drunk...). So, my record player stopped working about a month ago, which was really bad timing because we have a handful of great Christmas albums on vinyl that we enjoy listening to. This is the third Christmas Sarah and I have spent together and so far we have always listened to our records, so we thought this year would just be a bummer. Well, our home-teacher, the infamous brother Brian Phillips, is a graduate student in the electrical engineering program here at BYU so I thought I'd ask him if there was anything he could do to try and fix it. Well, to make a long story longer, he came over and we disassembled the record player and he told me the motor was shot. After finding out that in order to get a new motor, we would have to make a bulk order of at least a thousand motors, we felt a little helpless. Well, my calling-magnifying home-teacher is not easily daunted so he took the motor apart to see if he could fix it. He did indeed fix it. He came over tonight and we reassembled the record player and then stood in silence and listened to the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies from The Nutcracker. Brian didn't have to take time to do this for me, especially during finals week, but he did and I'm very grateful. Merry Christmas.

The Ward Christmas Party

This post may very well be an excuse to post more pictures of Scout for the Grandparents! Yesterday was our church Christmas party. It turned out so well. The food was good and the talent show was awesome. There was even juggling, unicycle riding,throwing of crazy objects, Chinese yo-yo and accordion playing (all by one guy!) Cedric played and sang Bing Crosby Christmas songs that he arranged so cleverly. Here are some pictures.

Our life is one big never ending party

I thought when I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints my crazy hectic life style would be done with. Almost three years latter I have come to the realization that "the party of life" it self is raging more than ever. Crazy and hectic don't even cut it. The past two weeks have been so busy. First our cars transmission went out. Out came my mom from Sacramento with my dad's Tacoma to the rescue! It was so nice to see her over the Thanksgiving weekend. I rented a bed from BYU and she stayed in our tiny apartment and was happy when it was time to go! That same weekend and all in one day we had Darin, Ross and Toby Tiner over for brunch and then the neighbors over for dinner and visited numerous times with our other neighbors Missy and her girls while somehow in there we managed to fit in a visit from Maria and Brookie! Then it was back to workout group, grocery's, work, and trying to be a good mom, friend, neighbor and wife. Anyway, I love my life and all the people and things that are a part of it. Here are a few pictures.

Scout Turns ONE!

That's right... Scout is now at the ripe old age of ONE. We got her some blocks to play with and as can be seen below, she loved them. We had a small party with Micah, Camille and Nigel, Uncle Andy, Ken, Missy, Elise and Addy and The Madsens (Jeremy and Amanda). As Jerry Seinfeld would say, your first birthday is a lot like your last- all your food has to be mashed up for you, you're probably wearing a diaper and people are assuring you that everyone at your party are in fact friends of yours.

Here's Scout snuggling with her new best friend- a wooden block.


they say these types of toys help your kids get smart fast- we didn't think they would have such quick results!



Party Time




Scout is about to destroy the beautiful cake that mommy and Missy made for her

She Walks!

Yes, we realize she's not wearing pants. She's a little hippie, but she's our little hippie. I love how it looks like she falls into a hole at the end of the video... she's fine, by the way.