Pattie's Place

Hiking Dog Lake and Mary’s Lake at Brighton Resort

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We are busy scouting out places for a whole family picture. We want to have some of the red maples, yellow aspen and green evergreen trees, rocky mountains and maybe some small lake in the background. I don’t ask for much do I?

So we’ve been out on hikes in our gorgeous Utah mountains surrounding the ski areas of Alta, Snowbird and Brighton Resorts. Here are a few great pics I got.

Here is the beginning of the trail…just to the right up is the ski lift at Brighton Ski Resort Hike….

It is weird that the hiking trail is all through a ski resort! So nice of them to let us do this! 

the first real landing we came to… it was hard hiking straight up for  most of it! 

Almost to the pasture area of  Dog Lake…This would be a perfect shot if there were more wildflowers or more color….

We saw a family of 4 moose on the  Dog Lake Hike…

On a rock at Dog Lake….that’s the first lake you come to…it’s tiny but picturesque 

PHOTO OP!  This is getting blown up to an 8 x 10 for sure! Beautiful Dog Lake Hiking…. 

You can see several of the moose we saw…a buck in the background…..they didn’t seem to mind us at all…..

The hubs and I…

A close up of the baby moose….so cute! 

There were a few wildflowers here and there….October would probably be  even prettier! 

We got close and took a shot of the mama right, and baby, left.  Then we got outta there!  We don’t want a charging moose mama marring our hike! Yeah…getting impaled by a moose? Not so fun….

Now if I could only get my whole family on top of this hill…what a great shot this would be! 

When I turned around to see how high we were I almost fell off the rock!  Scared of heights EEK! 

Can you see the waterfall just to the left of us….it was so loud! 

We saw 6 moose in all …this was a mom with a baby nearby we saw on the way back…..They were bedding down for the night under a tree….so sweet! 

We set up the tripod again at Mary’s Lake…. another good shot! 

Lots of granite rock everywhere….at Mary’s Lake in Utah….

Mary’s Lake….peaceful and rocky….

Last part of the trail down….it was sunset almost….everything was so cool…..

Some of the wildflowers we saw…..

We enjoyed hiking up Brighton’s Lake Mary trail. It was really beautiful. Hard on the knees coming down, but worth it. 
Brighton Ski Resort hiking in the summer…super fun half day trip!  Very easy too…..I think 5 year olds could do it….
It took us about 2 1/2 hours start to finish and we sat around the lake a half hour just enjoying it all…..Try it!  

Mickey Mouse Pancakes & Grandkids Bedroom

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My grand kids stayed overnight this past weekend and we sure had a lot of fun. They loved the new grand kid’s bedroom we made up with red iron bunk beds and lots of fun toys everywhere.

Notice the bear at the breakfast table for Mickey Mouse Pancakes

Bruce searching for the tennis ball….

Now you are probably asking yourself, “Why did she decorate the grandkid’s room like a construction zone when she has all girls?”  And I would answer you… I don’t freakin know…I thought they’d all be boys. Go figure.  I had 3 boys….. (plus I loved this rug from Tarjay). snicker…

I’m almost finished with this floor to ceiling green chalkboard for them….another half done summer project….Arg! .
Looks like Bruce found the tennis ball and won’t give it back….

We made some pancakes in the morning with blueberry eyes and chocolate chip smiles. They weren’t BEAR pancakes like my husband thought. They are supposed to be Mickey! Jeesh!

Blueberry eyes and nose, chocolate chip smile on Mickey Mouse Pancakes….

They were hilarious in the jacuzzi.  “Let’s dive!” my granddaughter says…..as I’m saying to the hubs, “I really don’t want to get my hair wet”.  SPLASH!  The hubs…. “awww, that’s too bad!” as he is trying to suffocate a laugh. Oh well. It was sure fun. They are such cute little munchkins.

Halloween Decorating…..

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Do you know how much I love Halloween? No, you probably can’t imagine. It’s my favorite holiday I can’t help myself when I start decorating the first week in September. It’s an illness….I know….

And I’m still lovin this Skeleton Bundt Cake I made….it was YUM! 

I got this basket last year with 2 cloth inserts, One is for Halloween,
the other one is for Thanksgiving….me likeee!

Here’s my spooky Halloween Decorating Dining room….

Tiffany got me the ball tree one year for my birthday…does my daughter KNOW ME? Oh yeah…she gets me! 

These spider salt and peppers were my latest and fav find! So cute! 

My crazy Halloween Decorating placemats….and this year I got BLACK PLATES!   Love them! 

I got this thick, felt, spiderweb runner from Pier 1 Imports…only  $10 bucks!  

My other favorite find from Pier 1 was these glass glittery  kabobs you spread all over the table…there were ghosts, black glass bats, orange pumpkins.. Pirate GOLD…..so cute! 

And my Skeletor runner from Kohls….snicker…..

You can never have too many ghosts or spiderwebs….can you? 

Poor John had to replace all the batteries in all my pumpkins…..I have a gazillion!  And I never turn them off!  
I changed out my summer flowers to October Halloweeny stuff…Love my witchy woman…..

The table looks cute all lit up with candles….

Frankie and his pals….

Witch Helga’s tin cousin….

I made John and I some caramel apples. This kit is THE BOMB! One minute in the microwave! So easy and yummy! 

Door hanger…It does get annoying hearing that jingle every time you go out….but it’s so cute! 
Close up of Skeletor….Halloween Decorating is so much FUN! 

I loved how this little corner turned out…..Helga the Witch…she’s ready with her bucket of treats…. 

My front entry table…full of my Halloween Stuff.

End tables….I got the glittery spider candle holders from Hobby Lobby for half off!  

Halloween Decor

I still have to go find some candy corn for my skeleton bowl….

Later I filled the spiderweb bowl with purple and orange mercury glass balls I got at Rodworks for 25 cents each!
I couldn’t believe the deals they had at the 50 % off blowout. Luckily 2 of my girls were with me! 

I’m not done with this table….it still needs some work….I’ve eaten half the candy pumpkins! Oh NO! 

I’ve got to get some fall flowers or something….

Stuff hanging here and there….

Need some fall flowers here too….I’ll have to go shopping…..snicker…..

Gotta find some more fun candies…well…I still have like 7 weeks…..maybe  I’ll wait…..

My cute Marisa….I bet I can find a cute Halloween frame for her cute mug! 

I have 2 more little plates somewhere  that go on this little rack….but I can’t find them yet….
I’ll have to work on that…In the meantime…..Have fun decorating for fall! 

Birthday Party Halloween Style!

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It was my oldest Son’s birthday. And I was seeing all the cute Halloween decor in the stores. And I could feel it coming on….the decorating bug. I NEED some skeletons, ghosts, and witches around here!

So I decorated. My bad. I know it ‘s early but really, who cares? I did my classroom all in Halloween too. I can’t help myself. I know…… I need a 12 step program or something.

Here’s some of the fun we had.  Jeff got a giant Machete knife from his dad. Maybe it’s a hunting knife….I dunno….. I don’t really understand guys and their knives and guns. Gee whiz! 

We used my new outdoor oil lamp I got from Pier 1 as his birthday candle…hehe…..It looked
kinda like a giant bomb or something!  Ka POW1  Oh…just kidding Jeff….snicker….

We made Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches and corn on the cob for dinner.. Everybody liked them. We had gone out for lunch Saturday at Jimmy Johns, a new place in Draper. So they had all these long, yummy, bread rolls for 50 cents on sale! Woopee! What a deal! So I took them home and froze them overnight to keep them as fresh as possible.

I got the cheese steak bread from Jimmy Johns for 50 cents each!  

Here I am in my kitchen frying up the thin sliced steak pieces….

I add grilled onions and mushrooms….So good! 

They were yummy too. I love Jimmy Johns. It’s a bit different from Subway but similar. It reminds me of New York City. Anyway, it’s a great place for lunch.

Marisa shopping with grandma…..

John joined us for lunch at Jimmy Johns….Megan and Wendy and Josie are  with us…

Megan loved Pier 1 Imports…such cute Halloween stuff! 

Shopping with Josie, Wendy, Marisa, Megan and Tiff on Saturday…./Rod Works had a 50% off sale….
Here’s the girls on Sunday,  helping me assemble the sandwiches….

Here’s my family all smiling for the shot....not again…..mom and her blog… grumble grumble….

My granddaughter Josie loves a good party! 

Marisa and Megan do too! 

Yum…this is good stuff grandma! 

Here’s Jeffrey’s cake.  It had a skeleton on it and a superball eyeball! Now too bad he’s not still 5 years old! He said, “mom my birthday cake is a Halloween cake!” Yeah. go figure. Your mom is a crazy lady. hehe.

It turned out cute though! 

So easy too! Just a bundt cake recipe! Here’s my favorite from  All Recipes.com.

Then I piped it with cream cheese icing….yummo! 

My recipe for cream cheese icing  is 1 brick of 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature. Then  I dump it in my mixer. Then I add a half cube of butter and about 1 1/2 cups of confectioner’s sugar, a teaspoon of lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix it up! That’s it!

I just used a zip lock baggie with a corner snipped off…so easy! 

Finished cake.  Kind of a dorky birthday cake…but a cute bundt cake! 

I got the cute decorations from Walmart for $1.29 each and the skeletons in a pack of 10! 

It was a fun party. Everybody had a good time.  Happy bday Jeffie.  I still remember making a figure 8 cake with little cars and a racetrack for this kid when he turned 2. Time flies when you’re having fun.

They went to Hawaii for Jeff’s birthday. Some present!!!  ( Hey, Honey, can I have that for my next birthday? Huh? What’s that you say? …..  Oh, bummer…..). 

from All Recipes.com.

Labor Day Weekend

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It feels like the true end of summer.  So we decided to play hard this weekend. It started with a trip out to Midway to see SWISS DAYS!  I got some jewelry and some Fall decorations for my house.

This whole barn was full of Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations….I think I was in decorator heaven…..

crafters were everywhere…..boatloads of jewelry, pottery, metalwork, handsewing and woodwork….

One of the Swiss Days Royalty……Swiss Miss! 

John took this blurry one….sorry! 

One of the crafters…..before I started shopping……

Then we drove on to Bear Lake to see the Parade of Homes there. I think my favorite was a $2,000,000 million dollar home on the water with its own dock. So beautiful! John’s fav was one high on the hill with a great view and fancy wood paneling and mouldings everywhere. Very mountain-rustic.

This house had 10 bedrooms….I couldn’t resist snapping pics of the cute bedding….

And cute color schemes….

Loved these cabinets….

and bath doo dads…so pretty with the weathered wooden mirror….

more cute bedding….

Yeah…more beds….

okay last pretty bed!  

This was a $2,000,000 million dollar house on the water….what a view from the bedroom!  sigh….

Loved these cabinets too…glazed and  sanded….

This was the house on the lake’s fireplace and mantle….so beautiful…..
Pretty shower….we need one like this….lots of steam and showerheads everywhere! 

Last cute bed….I like the headboard and the cute pillow! 
I finished the book The Help and we watched an old movie The Island and just hung out and relaxed at our cabin.

neato bathroom don’t ya think?  LOVED IT! 

I lied…more pretty bedding….hehe…..I’m a freak I know! 

John in a uber cool bathroom….

Loved this bedroom….

And this tile work….

I want this view from my bath tub!  sigh…..

more pretty beds….

and crafty baths….

 On Sunday 2 of my kids came with their families and we had a BBQ, rode quads and played board and card games.  And John is the resident ping pong champ.

Loved the architecture….

Last bed I promise this time! 
Pretty flowers….had to snap a pic…

I had fun. So did John.  Back to work tomorrow. 🙁  I loved sleeping in for 3 days)…..zzzzzz.

Cactus and Tropicals Wedding

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A darling girl we know got hitched a while ago. It was very beautiful reception. They had it at a place called “Cactus and Tropicals”. I had never been there before. But is is very pretty.

my cute husband holding our gift…And my friend Bethann….

Sign in book table….. Aren’t they a cute couple? I think so….

It’s kind of up on a hill in Draper. So you can see the hills of South Valley all the way to the West Hills of the Salt Lake City valley. It was a beautiful night too!

Cactus and Tropicals view of the valley…..

There was a lovely view off the upper deck….
It was a beautiful afternoon….

This young woman who was getting married I have a very soft spot in my heart for. She and her sister were the girls who spearheaded a Festival of Trees Christmas Tree for my son Danny after he was killed in a car accident one rainy October Day.

Some of her bridesmaids….hi girls! Aren’t you so cute! 

 She had all her friends in the young women’s organization at church make ornaments in Black and Red, the Alta High School colors. And she added hockey ornaments of every kind and had the Alta High Team Danny played on sign a hockey stick. Then they had Alta High Hawks flags on the tree too. It was such a beautiful thing.

Some of the boys in the ward who were Danny’s friends helped too. Then later somebody anonymously  bought the tree and had it delivered to our house the week before Christmas. It’s one of the nicest, sweetest things anyone has ever done for us,…… the Danny Tree. I love this young woman, her sister, and her family a lot.

Her name is Megan. She is beautiful inside and out…Remington is not too bad either …:D

We keep the Danny Tree up at our cabin at Bear Lake. It is a wonderful reminder to us to be as giving to others at Christmas as we felt others showered us with love and generosity, and their hearts. Maybe it’s something good to try to do all year?

Beautiful and unusual flowers were everywhere…..
BRIDAL PARTY….(don’t the guys always look just SO INTERESTED in receptions?) LOL ..
And lots of pretty statuary and pottery too…. I’ve gotta get one of these for my house! Love it! 
I wanted to take this one home with me!
Pretty tables….
FATHER OF THE BRIDE….

Me and the MOTHER OF THE BRIDE…  HEY!   WE LOOK PRETTY HOT! 

Her mom, Heidi is so much fun. We sometimes go away with a bunch of us girls for a weekend girls getaway and laugh and stay up talking and watching movies till the wee hours. And then of course there is the SHOPPING!

SISTER TESSA ON HER MISSION…. I.LOVE this DARLING girl too! Such a sweetie!  Hi Tessa! 

cUtE! bRo 
Hi Megan!   Give her a kiss….SMacK! 

Cute cake and fresh flowers… purple and yellow flowers were everywhere! 

Brother of the bride…. Her brothers are both so cute and so funny! 

O
 Our friend Aimee Ferre made this cute swag with their pictures hanging….

Fresh fruit and yummy cake…but I liked the chocolate truffle best….I’m a chocoholic tho….

Delicious treats…. Everything’s better with CHOCOLATE! 

yummy lemonades…

A happy girl on her happy day…

Lots of perfect orchids….one of my favorite flowers….

pretty stuff here and there….

Cute helpers…..I love these girls too! 

So cute….I loved her summer punch….

There were even interesting hanging plants on the ceiling…..

A lovely couple they are…..mhmmmm…

Mom of the groom…..and cute sis too….

Lots of good party goers…. Do we know how to party or what? 

Loved this pretty corner….

Family and friends….the most important thing in life…am I right?  

Interesting things everywhere you look….

The back of Cactus and Tropicals…..

Beautiful Bride….. Handsome Groom…who loves beautiful bride….

Beautiful ambiance….

and statuary…..
Beautiful Day….

Ah….don’t ya just love weddings?    Me too…

VMAs 2011

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Here are some of my favorite iconic music legends that were on the VMAs Sunday. I love the music these women write and sing. They have such heartfelt, haunting lyrics and their voices are kinda scratchy and deep. I like that kind of singer.  I loved this oil painting done to the song.

This artist is Adele from England. I’ve seen many of her videos and she is always awesome and can make me cry with her lyrics….this is one of those tear jerking melodies she wrote. Such an interesting, kind of raspy/deep voice she has. Love her.

It was fun to have Beyonce announce she’s going to have a baby just by unbuttoning her jacket at the end of her song and rubbing her baby bump tummy. I don’t think people knew. Her fans just went wild. That was so cute. I didn’t love the song tho.  All in all a great show.

Fun Utah Festivals 2011

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In UTAH they have lots of fruit festivals that I love. We just attended Raspberry Days at Bear Lake over this last weekend and it was a great arts and crafts exhibit. We also attended the Park City Art Festival (no fruit attached to this one LOL) and it was an array of amazingly talented artists. I love it!

Here’s a Link to the Onion Festival.

Next coming up is the Onion Festival in Payson, Utah which we have not attended but we might this year. It is September 2nd through the 5th. Here is a schedule of all the events.

Payson’s Onion Days
Payson
Sep 02 – Sep 05
Come enjoy a craft fair, carnival, live entertainment, and a parade on Labor Day.

Phone: (801) 465-5200
Event Hours: Varies
Admission: Free
Location: Memorial Park
Address: 250 South Main Street, Payson

Here’s a Link to Peach Days.

       

And the Peach Festival in Brigham City September 7th to the Saturday the 10th. John Schmidt is one of the free nightly entertainers. I love that guy. Here is a schedule of the Saturday activities which we will drive up to attend in Brigham City.

Saturday September 10th
All Day SCUBA Burgers, Activities, & Raffles – Main Street
Art/Crafts/Food Vendors – Main St./Comm. Center
Carnival and More Activities – Forest Street
6:30a.m. – 10:00a.m. Fire Department Breakfast – Fire Station on Forest St.
Softball Tournament – Pioneer Park
8:30 a.m. 10K – 6.2 Mile Road Race Starts – Brigham City Tabernacle
10:00 a.m. Peach Days Parade – Main St
10:00 a.m. Bonnevills Rod & Custom Car Club Show – Watkins & Pioneer Park
12:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Helicopter Rides at Box Elder High School Soccer Fields, $25.00 per person for reservations call 435-752-3828
12:00 – 6:00 p.m. Book Sale – Brigham Library
12:00 – 4:00 p.m. Peach Days Flower Show – Community Center
1:00 – 7:00 p.m. Entertainment – Main Street Stage
1:00 p.m. Motorcycle Show – Forest Street (400 – 500 West)
2:00 p.m. Art & Photography Contest Awards – Museum
3:00 p.m. Melodrama – Fine Arts Center
4:00 p.m. Writing Contest Awards – Museum
5:00 p.m. Melodrama – Fine Arts Center
7:00 p.m. Melodrama – Fine Arts Center
7:30 p.m. Jon Schmidt Concert – Main St. Stage

http://www.utahparade.com/bf/mem/

The other fun thing that happens in Utah in the summer is the Parade of Homes. I love going and seeing million dollar homes and all the beautiful landscaping and decorating they have done. My favorite is happening now; the Park City Parade of Homes going on this weekend, next weekend and Labor Day weekend. It is one way to get some great decorating ideas. The price is $12.00 and the online tickets can be purchased HERE.

Here’s a Link for Swiss Days.

The other few festivals I look forward to are the Swiss Days in Midway and Heber area. This is always on Labor Day weekend too and I have missed it the last few years. It is a fun one because everybody dresses up in Swiss garb and the music is playing and everything is decorated like a little Swiss village.

I love going to see the crafts, the fun festival food booths and games, the entertainment put on by the small communities and all the peaches and onions they have for sale at these festivals. I brought home some raspberry jam and fresh raspberries at Raspberry Days in Bear Lake, Utah and they were both delicious! I think it will be a fun time. I can’t wait for these upcoming fun festivals and parades.

The County Fair

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These lambs were my favorites…or are they goats? 

A few days ago John and I went over to see the Salt Lake County Fair. John has an old friend he worked with for years traveling all over the world together helping do automated robot machines in factories. His friend is named Wayne. He is a cowboy at heart. And he raises cows and pigs as well as being a fantastic mechanical engineer.

John and his good buddy Wayne

John’s favorite thing to do at these fairs is look at all the livestock. He loves to see goats and pigs and stuff like that. I am a city girl born and bred. I can’t really stand to be around stinky things like big beasts that snort and blow snot on you. I just missed being snotted on by a big, giant cow!

This big black cow wasn’t very friendly….maybe she was bored….
This was one of the prettier cows….I thought….

There were also goats and pigs.  They were having a goat auction when we got there. Did you know a goat will sell for between $250 and $300 bucks? Yeah I didn’t either. They must not make very much on goats. The cows were selling for $1800 to over $2000. I’d love to do that someday and get a freezer full of yummy steaks and stuff.

This cute littler girl was about to go into the judging arena with her pet lamb….I wished her luck. 
And these cute things are the blue ribbon piggies! 

Next we went over the auctioning and judging arena. It was fun to listen to the auctioneer talking so fast you can barely hear him. And to see the kids all lined up nervously petting their animals before bringing them into the ring for judging. My kids never did anything like that. It was fun to see how farmer families and the 4H Club do things.

Can’t forget the cute little goats….
Here’s the auctioneer babbling and a little guy getting judged….

Well after looking at all the booths of stuff for sale and walking around watching the horse race getting started we decided we had worked up an appetite. So we went over to my fav place Kneaders and had turkey and avocado on Foccacia Bread. Yummy.

Oops! I already took to bites outta this sandwich….snicker….

  But the best part of the day was this Blackberry cupcake. It was to die for.  Oh Heavenly Yum.   All in all a great day wasting away a summer day.  Fun times.

Sweet! 

Lovely Balloon Launch

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We got up early last Saturday to see something I’ve wanted to see my whole life; a HOT AIR BALLOON LAUNCH! And it was luckily practically in our backyard!

Here’s what it looked like when we arrived….lots of them on the ground getting fatter……

The balloons were launched in Sandy at the Storm Mountain Park. It was beautiful. And it was fun to see everybody in their quilts and jammy pants eating their Egg McMuffins.

Here’s me taking a picture of John taking a picture…LOL
I got close to this guy and could feel the heat as he cranked up the gas! 
First one to take off…..

We just rolled out of bed too. The thing was over by 7:15. Most of the balloons left between 7:05 and 7:10.

Then a few more…..up up and away! 
Then a few more were gone…..it happens so quick! 

Maybe if I keep my day job I can also train to be one of these….. the drivers who chase down the balloons. “Official Balloon Chase Vehicle”  now doesn’t that sound like a fun job?

This could be fun? 

Bye Bye Balloon Men….
Such an amazing sight isn’t it? 
So long guys! 

It was fun seeing people I know in my community coming together to  watch all the big colorful hot air balloons.  It was cool to see them all lift off one by one.  It was quiet and peaceful. Then everybody clapped. It was all over in 10 minutes start to finish.  I loved it.