Girls Night

Aunt MiMi gave Scarlett a first class mani and pedi at girls night. It was the first time to paint her fingers and boy was she proud!! She showed me her "pretties" a million times.

Cutest girl EVER in her leopard print jammies and glitter polish. She later made me add some of her nail stickers to add a lil something ;)

Crafts

So I found this little treasure at the thrift store for $2. I liked that is was made of a good wood and the little flower on the front was cute so I thought that it might turn out cute in Scarlett's room if I fixed it up a bit.

 

It had this unattractive mauve-ish color velvet on the inside.

Pay no attention to the covered bottom .... I had already started :)

After a coat of primer I painted it this pretty mint color that I have been trying to incorporate into Scarlett's mostly pink and white bedroom and bathroom.

I covered the inside with scrapbook paper in a mint/turquoise flower print. I used this same pattern in her bathroom on a different craft so I thought adding it to her room would help tie them together ?? :)

Here it is finished on her dresser. I am hoping to cover that empty space above her dresser with a really pretty ornate mirror that I think I will (try to) antique-ishly paint mint and white. That is as soon as a find that perfect mirror!! I have been scouring the thrift store and craigslist but have had no luck so far.

I also found this little doll chair at the thrift store for $1. I painted it in the same mint color and added a different flower print that I also used in the bathroom. I think it turned out pretty cute...

I think Scarlett does too because she has really been making all my hard work worthwhile.

(side note: her baby has no clothes on because she has been into Toy Story 3 lately and "big baby" doesn't wear any clothes so she decided her baby wouldn't either.... haha!! Lets just hope she doesn't think to cover her in pen ink too!)

Betty Crocker

This will be a random post.... I actually have started one with more of a journal type theme but this one is simply to brag on myself!

Scarlett LOVES bananas. And every time we hit the grocery store I try to avoid that particular fruit section. But Broulims, being very smart, has strategically placed displays of bananas throughout the store and we always end up with a bunch in our cart :/

So today, while cleaning up, I notice 4 very brown bananas ready for the trash. All of a sudden, though never before with all the others, it occurred to me that you can make banana bread with nasty bananas!!!

I am a terrible cook and reason that's why I never thought of it before but tried it today. While mixing up the ingredients I started to panic because it looked like too much for the pan. But I dumped it in, threw it in the oven, and one hour and a dirty oven pan later (from an overflowing banana bread pan) this beauty was born!!!

Now for the real test- I cut Aaron a piece. Hands on knees and 1 inch from his face I watched him take a bite. I was rewarded with a long "hmmmmmmm". So after a few heel clicks, air punches and a brief consideration of waking Scarlett to inform her to no longer call me mommy but Betty Crocker- I ate some myself!

Not as good as that Betsy Brannon Greens recipe but it was pretty delicious.

Go ME!!!

Happy Independence Day

We had a GREAT 4th of July this year! We like to think we are pretty patriotic and this being our 3rd favorite holiday we like to pack the day full of activities that help remind us of what a wonderful and blessed country we live in. We started off at the Rexburg parade...

God Bless America!

waiting for it to start

Getting candy

Face Painting

We decided to visit Jackson Hole Wyoming for their fabulous rodeo and fireworks.

What would we have done without Aunt MiMi to entertain on the trip up?

We pulled over in Victor to try their famous Huckleberry shake and across the street was a flee market... so of course we checked it out. Scarlett didn't find it that interesting.

We pulled over in the canyon to check out the views. It is so pretty this time of year!

Scarletts favorite view was from atop daddys shoulders.

My sweet girl picked me some wild mountain flowers!

So when we got to Jackson Hole we found out that the fireworks were canceled because of the fires and the rodeo sold out... but we strolled Main Street and had a delicious dinner at the Merry Piglet so we considered it worth it.

Scarlett found a souvenir that really added to her boots. She thinks she is super cute!

We got to ride the Snow King ski lift.

From the top.

We tried to make it back to Rexburg for their fireworks but barely missed it. Scarlett still got to wave some sparklers before bed.

It was a fabulous day and nothing made it better than knowing that it was all possible because of our founding fathers and their belief in a FREE and better world. We are so grateful to live in this beautiful country and take full advantage of all the freedoms that are available.

Side note: we also got to celebrate a certain fellows birthday.... What an equally great day in our eyes! Happy Birthday Aaron!

Yes it is.....

The best sale of the summer at one of our favorite stores! Scarlett was so excited (she loves clothes) and helped pick out some items for her winter wardrobe. It's a GREAT day when you score some seriously cute things for a crazy low price!!!!!

Scarlett's New Hobby

Scarlett is always running around with my phone- now I know why.

Apparently she is into blogging....

Ekk

Igbo

Oak B Weill. @&./2 cb

Lots of catching up

So much has happened and I need to dedicate some time to getting it all on here but for now I'll be brief! We are in rexburg and having a great time so far. It is cold and we are struggling to adapt but other than that we can't complain. Scarlett loves having her own room and getting to know her cousins. We are missing our families a lot still :(
Anyway here is a picture of Scarlett from last weekend on the drive out at one of our stops in Nebraska - she got this out of the quarter machine..... Ha!

April Fun

Scarlett and I have been having a blast the past week. Besides packing and cleaning we have been outside pretty much everyday. We both have terrible allergies and are suffering the consequences of our outdoor adventures but its worth it.

We had to pick Clay up from school one day and decided to take the mustang.. and yes we drove "topless" Scarlett loved it!

(before we left she reminded me that she needed her "at" .. hat)

We have been in the pool again and swinging.

 

Aaron ran in the rumpshaker a week ago - a 5k for colon cancer- and did really well. I did it with him last year but I decided to sit the sidelines with Scarlett this time.

Here she is waiting for Daddy to run by at the start line.

Aaron took her through the cancerous colon at the end and then got her an ice cream! She can't wait to do her first fun run!

 

While we were having a play date baby pool party on Friday I got this picture of what it looked like in Rexburg, Idaho ....

                           Alabama                                                               Rexburg

What were we thinking!?!?!?!

Big News

While at the Georgia Tough Mudder Course I lost my phone and since I hate to post without pictures I waited until they mailed it back to me to post ;)

SO here are some pictures of Aaron and some of the obstacles he had to do. The average finish time was 4 hours and they finished in 3 1/2!

Congrats baby!

Electric Shock.... I wish you could hear them screaming

Scarlett is a mess lately. I am starting to believe that she thinks me and her are the same person. She is bossy and stubborn like no kid I have ever seen and also the smartest! Here are a few of the things she has been up to.

Pics from our trip to the Birmingham Zoo

Our little family got some big news about a month ago. Aaron needed to switch from a community college to a University to finish his degree. So he picked which ones he thought would be best for our family and after praying (and being accepted) the Acker family has decided to move to

  We will head out in May and we are already praying that the gas prices will go down so it doesn't cost a small fortune to drive our moving truck!!

We are so excited ... and a little sad- we love our families so much- and feel so blessed to get this opportunity!!!! :)

(we will miss you white beaches)

I cannot wait to get there and start something new! Even more so to get to know my little nephews I never get to see!

We have a ton of really fun things happening this month and I am going to do my very best to blog as many as possible.

Big Girl!

My little lady has grown out of the crib and into.......

the TODDLER bed!!!

Scarlett would like for everyone to ignore her mismatched bedding- we havent quite figured out her style yet :)

Here she is giving it a try.

She is not asleep she just wouldn't stay still for a clear shot. Basically she loves it. It has given me a lot of anxiety worrying about her falling off during the night but so far so good.

This is my way of keeping her from roaming around the room or climbing the stairs while Im asleep. The front of the crib works great as a gate :)

She hasnt tried to get out of her bed without calling my name first but you know how it is... I tend to be a little bit paranoid.

She is so cute in that big girl bed.

Andy went through the Temple this past Sat. morning. It was my first time to go through with a pre-missionary- He was so cute and it was pretty special.

He leaves for the MTC on Tuesday and I am missing him just thinking about it. I have already purchased some things for a care package.... :(

Aaron is getting ready for his Tough Mudder run on Sat. in Georgia and Ill admit.. I am terrified. I am debating asking the ward to fast that he will come out of this ALIVE!

This is after Aaron and Craton ran their homemade obstacle course.

Thats about it. Hoping this next week goes smooth and everyone has a great week!

Time Flies!

I have started this post probably a hundred times and never had time to finish! So I know its been almost 2 weeks but I'm doing the best I can. So picking up where I left off- Scarlett and I went to a baby shower Sat morning and then that afternoon we had Masons baptism. He looked so cute and we are so proud of him ;)

I've now taught my new Sunday school class - the Valiant 10's twice and I love them. They are so smart and interested in everything I say. Aaron started back to school full-time on Tuesdays and Thursdays so we don't get to see him much those days but are so grateful he has the opportunity. Scarletts Mother Goose class has started back and she loves it! She gets to sing, dance, play with other kiddies her age and get a snack! It is so fun to watch her play.
Here she is dancing and shaking her bean bags! :)

Scarlett also had a virus and was working it out of her system this week and just when I thought it was over Aaron caught it.... so far I have not and I am praying it stays that way. Anyway so because he had this contagious virus he got to stay home from work on Fri. and Sat. and get babied by me and tortured by Scarlett- she was just so excited to have someone new to play with during the day. Since I had extra time on my hands those days I was able to get Scarletts baby bag done. My mother made me and my siblings these little bags that she put our special baby items in - come home from the hospital outfit, blessing outfit, my silver brush and comb, a handmade bib etc. etc. It is something that I have always cherished so I decided to make one for Scarlett.

         Here is Mine:           

This is the one I made for Scarlett:

Yes I am an amature but I think it turned out pretty cute.

The only other thing going on around here is diets. I am on a low carb and think I could literally die any minute. We have been exercising like crazy so not only am I suffering mentally but my body feels like I have been worked over with a baseball bat. If this doesn't work I swear I am going to just quit trying and live HAPPILY fat!

Hello 2012!

A new year means new goals for our little Family, well actually a renewed desire to try to accomplish last years goals along with a couple of new ones :)

This months FHE theme for the Acker's is on Family History and one of the lessons is on keeping a journal.... one of those things that seem so easy but is SOO hard. Looking over my 2011's journal entries (like 5) I decided that writing in a book with no "add picture" option or comments from those who know us best is just not giving me enough incentive to write often :(  Therefore I have decided to put my issues with google aside and try to keep up with my families memories here on blogger again... give me strength!

We have not technically gone over all our goals for 2012- that will be my next entry after our FHE on Monday- but I will go ahead and say that I make it MY personal goal to blog at least once a week on the happenings of our little family.

On to the first things of 2012 I would like to remember:

My wonderful parents decided that for Christmas they would give us the gift of togetherness. So over the New Year weekend they brought the whole family-  my 3 sisters, 4 brothers, in-laws, nieces and nephews from all over the U.S. here to Alabama to spend 4 days at Smith Lake. We had a fabulous time! Scarlett got to play with all her cousins and Aaron and I were able to visit and have fun with my siblings. I wish we had taken pictures of some of the crazy games we played but apparently none of us did to good of a job with our cameras. It was over too quick but hopefully the memories will stick forever.

All the cousins!

Going to get Fireworks!

Sparklies with the Kiddies... we did the big ones later :)

 I will also upload one of my 2 Favorite people who just happened to turn 1 a few weeks ago!!!

Happy Birthday Little Lady! Thank you for the best year of Me and Daddy's Life!