atherley crack ups

this unusual weather...

2012-01-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

has made for two happy kiddos.

I mean,what little nearly 18 month older, isn't thrilled to be outside, in January?

And what little 3 year old wouldn't try to soak up every opportunity to be outdoors, in January?

What little baby lets you swing them for nearly an hour straight, in January?

And what little guy, gets to say "higher, HIGHER!!!" in January?

And then slide nearly 50 times, in January?

And what little gal wouldn't be tickled to tag along with the hens, in January?

And what mom wouldn't give up a day of chores, to share in an adventure outdoors with their littlest loves?

That and try out their new lens on wintered plants?

Family for Christmas

2011-12-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

This season came and went so quickly. Maybe if it had snowed more frequently, time would have slowed down a bit. But between the everyday rush of things, life has been like pushing the fast forward button.
The week building up to Christmas was spent wrapping up that everyday stuff. Bayli had her 1st Grade Christmas Program, as cute as they usually are. Filled with yawners, nose pickers, skirt flippers, prop breakers (followed by sad facers), cheesers, "hi mom"-ers, hand actors, no front teeth-ers, and the list continues. If I ever finish editing the video, it should be pretty funny.

The Annual Atherley Christmas Eve Party, was a fun event. This years theme was The Great Outdoors. So we started off with a weenie roast.

Then it was on to building rockets.

Super proud of their rockets

And finally, the Launch!

Chase's rocket was pretty impressive, I am pretty sure his went the highest.


Jed and DJ were the designated retrievers. They were just as entertaining as watching the rockets.

Chase insisted on retrieving his own rocket. His screams were a sign to the men, "don't mess with me!"

They finally started pointing it out for him.


For a short while, Chase wanted to be like the men and catch the rockets. His efforts were unsuccessful.


So were his efforts in patiently waiting his turn.

As usual, Bayli was perfect at being beautiful and silly.

Everyone had a wonderful time


Even those who were at the repair station.

And Lily, well, she was content to muddle about being cute. She could care less about the rockets.

After rockets, it was gift time. Followed by treats and games. We had a fun time.

Chase showing his tummy.

Love that face

notice hands down his pants

Notice Chase's cute little bum.

Lily thought twice about having Uncle Nate help her open her gift.

She opted to sit with mom instead. I love her happy smile with the site of clothes, that's my girl.

No clue why Sheri and I are saying How to one another???

Lily loved her jammies. So did the other kiddos.

Christmas morning was met with 3 excited kiddos. They opened their stockings, Santa Mouse, and Santa gifts before readying themselves for Church. After church, we finished opening our family gifts.

Bayli's favorite gift was her Zooble Nursery from mom and dad. Chase loved his construction books from Santa and ambulance from mom and dad. Lily loved her kitty, books, and blue boots. I am super excited about my new camera lens, can't wait to photograph some bugs!!! And Jed loved everything he received (at least that is what I am speculating).

Then, we headed out for the Annual Christmas Breakfast at the Dixon's. Well, this year it was breakfast for lunch. And, as usual, DELICIOUS!!!

Lily loved her new baby and stroller.

She was leery about how to retrieve her back from Uncle Rob.


Bayli loved the Zooble collection and Teensies she received.

Chase loves his new helicopter.

And everyone had a good time kicking back after the crowded room emptied a bit.

They all look totally stoned. Love these kinds of pics.

cute girls.

Now that is a cheese.

Then it was off to Nona's for a visit. Unfortunately we didn't come home with any photos of the kids with Nona, Chase was too leery of her "owy nose" and more interested in the chickens throughout her home anyways. Instead, they each came home with a Christmas Bear from her collection. Thanks Nona!!!

Then finally, the kids got their wish of returning home to play with their loot.
It was wonderful spending the weekend surrounded by so many people that we love.

trim a tree

2011-12-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

We have had the same lame Christmas tree since the year Jed and I were married (purchased from Kmart for 10 bucks). We call him Charlie Brown. I despise him. Every time that this season comes around, I despise putting him up. Charlie Brown is short, bare, and thinning. Sure we have tried to dress him up a bit with new additions. But, our (my) efforts have barely merited. Mostly, I despise stringing the lights. The ornaments, although nothing to brag about, don't bother me. I refuse to purchase anything too fancy (I am cheap and a realist). I have little kids who love to play with the tree. I remember loving to play in my parents tree. Moving around my favorite ornaments, playing with the miniature nativity sets among the branches, bringing my favorite toys to have adventures at it's base. I want my children to be able to enjoy their tree as I did. So I let them play, to some degree, among it's branches. But that still doesnt' make me love Charlie.

Every year Jed hears my complaints about having to put up the tree. He is not a holiday loving type of person. Well, he likes the holidays, just not all of the chaos surrounding them. He hates shopping for gifts (at least that is what he says), he despises crowds (I don't blame him), he cringes with the thought of going to parties with our children in tow (mainly because he can't enjoy himself because he feels he has to worry about what they are getting into, every parents nightmare), he thinks Christmas lights on homes and buildings are a waste of energy and effort (although I know that he really appreciates a good light job when he sees one), but mostly he dislikes the commercialism surrounding this season (I very much agree with him on this point). You often here him proclaiming in October, "Merryhallowthanksgiving!!!" or "Happyhallowthankschristmas!!!"

With that said, in a nut shell, the tree trimming is left up to me.
So every year I complain, Jed refuses to help put up the tree, the kids pester us to get the job done, I complain some more, Jed goes down to the shop, and I put up Charlie in anger. And likewise every year, Jed sarcastically says "why don't you go tree shopping at one of these amazing sales?" Because he knows that I despise holiday shopping (to a small extent), crowds, and purchasing big ticket items that I only enjoy for one month of the year (there is always something that we come up with to replace a Christmas tree budget). Not to mention I am not a settler. I am more than willing to wait things out until I find the perfect tree, the perfect price, with very little effort involved (meaning you won't see me at a black Friday or day after Christmas sale).

Well, this year, my mom came up with a better plan to aid in not having to put up Charlie. My Aunt Mary is trying to clean out her basement and minimalize her home. So, she offered us her tree.

It is still not prelit, not quite tall enough, and not narrow enough (to sum it up it isn't the tree that I would love). But, it is definitely better than Charlie.

So, for four days, the new tree sat bare in our living room waiting for the annual festivites to occur. The kids begin to beg to decorate, mom sets a date so they stop begging, mom gets ill that day, the kids beg, mom says wait until dad gets home, dad gets home, the kids beg, dad tells them to wait until the next day because "mom will feel bad if she can't help" (but really we know mom would love dad to take on the efforts, and that dad does not want to do it at all). And inevitably the next day, mom puts up the tree with the kids and no dad.

And what happens a few days later? Dad asks mom to come put up Charlie at his office to make it look more festive. Oh, and surprisingly dad did put the lights up this time. Probably because everyone, including mom, was teasing him about being a Scrooge at Christmas time. That, and Lily screamed every time mom tried to put her down.

A mismatch November...

2011-12-06T11:36:00.001-07:00

Lily has been expressing her LOVE for shoes!!!

In more ways than one.

Lily had her first "real" snow adventure.

Chase had a great time showing his little sister how to roll in the snow.

Bayli decided to show her a bit more extreme snow fun. Too bad I didn't have enough hands to take pictures when it was Lily's turn.


By the end of her snow adventure, she looked like an abominable snow baby. I think we just might need to invest in a more snow friendly snowsuit.


Chase has been working on his engineering skills. Building a train and proceeding to ferry his little sis about the house. This has turned into one of their favorite activities.

Engineer Chase from Lisa Atherley on Vimeo.

Bayli has been super busy reading to Chase. He is finally starting to like story time. In fact one day, they read together for an entire hour. Not surprising for her, but a SHOCKER for him.

Bayli has also been busy being a RESPONSIBLE builder at her school. We are so proud of her and her eagerness to do so well in school. It was so exciting watching her receive her first school-wide award. On the other hand, she was a bit nervous standing in front of all of those people.

Halloween wrap up

2011-11-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

 It's been way too busy around here lately.  But here is our last bit of Halloween fun.

Our annual trip to see the witches at Gardener Village. 

(I need to remember to always go earlier in the month-it was nuts the day we went!) 

Not to mention we got stopped at least 50 times (not even exaggerating) with inquiries into the kids costumes.

The annual pumpkin carve-a-thon.

Lily, as usual, was just excited to stuff her face.

It may look like he is getting his hand dirty.

But we all know that he despises dirty hands. He absolutely would not touch pumpkin guts.

He stood and stared at his pumpkin for about 20 minutes after he was done. Pretty proud that boy was.

This little cutie dressed up for the occasion. No surprise there. She LOVES carving pumpkins.

Lily felt the need to work on the pumpkins as well.

She started getting really hands on, not like her brother at all. This girl wants to experience everything.

In fact, she claimed stakes on the pumpkin guts. And yes, she would have eaten every bit if we had let her.

I love this mischievous little imp!!!

Trick or treating was a splendid affair. The kids had a blast!

Bayli was able to have a fun filled day at school.

Chase on the other hand had to patiently wait ALL DAY LONG.

He was pretty eager to get his trick or treating on.

I think that I heard when are we going to Grandma's at least 20 times that day.

Lily was just excited to be a part of everything, including driving the car from one Grandma's to the other. (I promise we are good parents, they only live eight houses apart).


This was my favorite pic of the night. Chase loves his Grandpa.

After their visits to their Grandparents, the kids had a blast walking the streets in our neighborhood. It was so much fun sharing their joy.

three little birds (part 4 of 4)

2011-10-26T09:00:00.000-06:00

I had such a fun time creating my little birds. 

I knew that I wanted to make the memory even more special. 

So I videoed each little bird. 

Underwent some seriously painful editing. 

And set it to my favorite version of Bob Marley's song "Three Little Birds" (sung by Renee & Jeremy). 

I love you my little birds.
May you always have wings to help you fly.

Love, Momma

three little birds from Lisa Atherley on Vimeo.

three little birds (part 3 of 4)

2011-10-25T09:00:00.000-06:00

I may never say this again in my life, but thank-you Martha Stewart!
I found Lily's cute little bluebird costume online. It was part of Martha's Halloween costume segment.

I printed off the pattern and had Jed blow it up at his office.
Let me just say that the instructions were not user friendly.
I pretty much had to look at the pictures to figure things out, and I didn't like how they suggested fastening them together.

We headed to Hobby Lobby for felt and a feather boa (my own addition to the pattern. I didn't like the straight plain tail and beanie look).

I again had my mom crochet a hat, which was much cuter than the plain beanie that was suggested.

The best thing about my modifications (besides the cute fluff) is that everything is removable.
Because come on, she is one.
And honestly what one year old is going to sit still and keep their tail feathers and wings from getting ruffled?

She is the cutest little bluebird ever!

three little birds (part 2 of 4)

2011-10-24T09:00:00.000-06:00

In our quest for the perfect boy bird costume, we faced a lot of struggles.
Most of the ideas that I found online were chickens, cardinals, crows, etc.
Fluffy lameness for a rambunctious little guy.

And then it hit me. Swoop!!! Anyone that truly knows us, knows that we are die hard Ute fans.
What better way to express our love for our Utes than to dress up our little guy as Swoop, the Red-tailed Hawk?

I became the most excited about his costume the second that I thought of it.
We already had a Utes basketball jersey, all I needed was some Under Armour, a tail, wings, and a head dress.

Thanks to Hobby Lobby for all of our crafting desires!!!
And another big thanks to Grandma Carol for crocheting a hat and a pair of big eyes.

His beak didn't quite turn out how I had imagined it. I pretty much settled because I was sick of messing with it.

But overall I am happy with the results.

I love my little Swoop/Red-tailed Hawk!!!

His look pretty much says how he felt about getting his picture taken, at least initially.


He quickly changed his feelings about the situation. "Mommy I wike beind a bowdie!!!"

He had to keep checking his tail.

And his wings.

three little birds (part 1 of 4)

2011-10-23T15:47:00.000-06:00

We have had so much fun getting ready for Halloween this year.

Bayli decided that she wanted to be a bird family, clever girl.
She probably had some insight because I am always calling them my little birds.
That, and, she is obsessed with birds.

She decided right away that she wanted to be a Peacock.

It was a fun little project.
Thanks to Grandma Carol (and her neighbor) for rounding us up some feathers.
Seriously people want gold for those things!

I think that she is the most darling Peacock out there!

ninja baby

2011-10-18T15:01:00.002-06:00

Since she was pretty little (about the time when she first started waving like a mad man)
a few of our neighbor kids started calling her Ninja Baby. Her title has since spread.

We didn't know until now just how fitting that title was. She still has her karate chop wave but in addition to that she is super fast. Seriously, we will think we are in the okay when we enter a room, no Lily in sight. We freely walk in, feeling at ease. In a matter of seconds, we are no longer alone, gibberish blasting from a completely different corner in the room. She must have super keen hearing to know where we are at. Also, those little legs can move! I swear she is the secret weapon on Fighting Tiger Hidden Dragon, that girl can fly. And she is super cute ta-boot!!!

Ninja Lily from Lisa Atherley on Vimeo.

bubbles and stuff

2011-10-04T16:19:00.002-06:00

October? Really, October? Where did September go? My favorite season is here, but really October already?!!!
In September mom's head was filled with race fever. Bayli quickly reminded me that my place was here and that one weekend away couldn't change that.

She had too much back to school fun to pause life. And back to school fun means that mom has to get out the camera because Bayli likes everything documented in photo form. Can you blame her, she is so photogenic.

Crazy hair day, she was going for the mouse ears look.

Crazy socks day, one of her favorites.


Of course she had to pose a bit, never misses a photo opportunity. And yes she wears skirts/dresses every day to school. I think that she has only worn pants once (not counting leggings). Not to mention, scarves get played into the mix pretty regularly. Such a girl.

With her day filled with school, Bayli makes sure that her mornings and evenings are full of fun family time.
Mornings consist of cartoons with Chase until it is time to get ready for the day. And after school, she is either swimming or playing with Chase and Lily. She is turning into a wonderful swimmer, with hopes of joining the swim team in the near future.
"Mom, I only want to swim and bike race. Oh, and show Chase and Lily how to blow bubbles." She is a pretty talented little gal. If only mom and dad would jump onto the BMX train and take their little gal to the arena, she has only been asking for over a year now...

RRR

2011-09-28T10:42:00.000-06:00

I have been busy working on my run. Along with 11 other amazing gals, we kicked 187 miles of pavement can from Brianhead to Zion's, running the Red Rock Relay. It was life changing craziness wrapped up into 35 hours of girl power bonding. Truly one of the hardest yet most exhilarating things that I have ever done.

So amazing in fact, that I already signed up to do it again next year. In addition to Zion's, I am going to run on a 6 man team in Moab in May. I am super stoked!!!

I never saw myself as a runner. I loathed it in fact. But now, even though the last 6+ months have been filled with injuries galore (ITB, ACL, MCL, calf strain, foot strain), it is one of my favorite pass times. I can totally tell a difference in how I feel if I miss a run.

I am by no means a good runner. I still have much to improve on. My times are still pretty slow, but on a positive note, they are a heck of a lot faster than they were when I began training. To go from 0 to 6 miles in 6 months is a pretty great accomplishment in my book.

Van 2 at the first exchange

Van 2 L to R: Shanna, Chalese, Me, Josie, Michelle, Mindi

Van 1 L to R: Patty, Lauren, Jodi, Chelsie, Liberty, Jenny (here they are at the first van exchange, one run down)

I want to remember how I felt about the run this year, so I can see how much I improve by next year. My first run was my shortest, 2.9 miles (at about 2 in the afternoon). I wish that it had been longer because the temps were perfect post rainstorm downpour, and I had a lot of excitement built up. I think my average pace was about an 11 min mile (I said I was slow).

Van 2 run #1

my first run

we had a super fun group of girls

Shanna and I, rekindled friends for life.

Mindi and I. She drug me into this whole thing-love her!

Some fun from Van #1.

Obviously we had a fun time playing off our team name "That's What She said"

Jodi was our team inspiration. That girl rocks! She brought me to tears a few times. I had so many emotions when she handed off to me at the last van exchange.

My second run was a 5.2 miler (at around 1 A.M.). I loved it. Night running was so not what I imagined it would be. The temps were perfect and running with a head lamp didn't bother me at all. My average pace was around an 11.3 min mile.

My last run was 5 miles of pure torture. It was at 10:30 A.M. in hot St. George. I had barely had any sleep in over 24 hrs. I was super nauseous. My calf and foot were killing me (I was still nursing these injuries). The temp was already in or near the 90's. And I had some killer hills to climb. Up until this point I had not had to walk on any of my runs. I was completely out of gas and felt like I might pass out 2.5 miles in. So I had to walk, even walking was hard. I kept trying to get little surges of runs in, but my body wasn't letting me. I had to walk nearly half of my leg. I was pretty bummed to say the least. Not to mention, my pace was shut down to about a 14 min mile-yikes!!!

It was so exhilarating cheering on our runners. Especially when Mindi was on that last leg, and the home stretch. I was honored to bestow her last stripe on her (that totally sounds cheesy).

Nothing feels more amazing than knowing we made it to the finish. Not to mention our finish time was better than we had anticipated (this was the first race for many of us). Our time was 35 hours and 20 minutes. We plan to kill that time next year.

But the whole experience was great. I learned a lot about myself. It was so much fun being surrounded by so many runners who were excited to cheer you on. All the teams were so supportive of each other. And, my girlfriends are the best!!! My relationship with each grew immensely. What is better than that? I made some knew friends (fast legs Lauren and speedy Patty). And I rekindled friendship with one that I hadn't seen in years (we will be close friends for life-I love my Shannie).
Over two weeks later and I still am smiling!!!

if they had a spokes-model for corn...

2011-09-20T11:45:00.001-06:00

Lily would care less about the big bucks she would make from such a prestigious job. She'd be all, "Money? Who cares? Give me the corn!"

And you better give her the corn, or someone might get hurt.

M.I.A.

2011-09-15T14:47:00.001-06:00

We've been crazy BUSY lately.
Starting with back to school: Bayli loves her new school and new teachers. She is super excited about learning French and riding the bus.
I wasn't so excited because my baby is gone all day, her school was a bit hectic that first week, and the first day of school I was called in for jury duty. So, I missed all the firsts. Thank goodness Jed took a bazillion pictures.

Speaking of jury duty, that was interestingly lame. And yes I was picked as a juror. 4/25 really, what are the odds? Kind of one of those situations where you know without a doubt your number is going to be called, as much as you fight against it.

Jed realized how crazy my day can be while I was M.I.A. with the justice league.

Get everyone fed. Dressed. Send Bayli off on the bus (for the first time). Get Chase to preschool. What do we do with Lily? Send her to Grandma's (big thanks). Who picks up Chase? After school play-date with Macey (thanks wonderful friend). Who will see Bayli get off the bus? (have her walk home with the neighbors-thankfully court didn't last all day so I got to help with this one.) Off to swim lessons (I know Jed was most grateful that he didn't have to deal with this on his own). Oh crap, we forgot Bayli's swim gear. Leave a tearful 6 year old with a loving Grandma that surprised her with a swim lesson visit. Head back home for swim gear. Whoops, shut Chase's fingers in the door, the sacrifices everyone must bare. Grandma topped it off with providing dinner, much appreciated.
Thank goodness we have such wonderful friends and family!!!

Lily has been working on her super hero moves. She is blessed with speed, fearlessness, and her mommas tongue. If she isn't running around, you can bet she is either scrounging off the floor with her mighty tongue, investigating for criminals-typically in everyone's shoes, or practicing her dismount from the couch. Seriously we have determined that she will bare the first broken bone. We have yet to come up with her super hero title.

Chase has been busy with his love/hate relationship with school. He secretly loves it, he just doesn't like to do what others tell him to. So I have to threaten that I am going to school instead, works like a charm (at least for now).
He has also been busy practicing for trucking 101 complete with sound effects. He cracks us up with his broken stroller trailer. He can pile his "trailer" pretty high. And you better look out when he is on the road, no toes are spared. And shoot, chair in the way? Well he'll just plow on through it.

Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been all fun and games around these parts. We have been up to serious business. Our garden is crazy mad. We have had a constant influx of tomatos, corn, zucchini, carrots, peppers, and squash.

Also we have been trying to identify who our mysterious ghost is. Yeah, that dust print is legit. Poor lil feller, plum flew inna ar winder. We are pretty sure it was a dove. As evidenced by, dusty print (they do hang out on the ground quite a bit), too big to be one of the sparrows (they frequent the window enough that we would know), oh and biggest sign, we found a carcass under the tree.

I have been busy working on my run. Rather, overcoming injuries that I keep accruing while working up to this:

That in it's self, deserves it's own post.