My First Apple Pie

I have loved cooking my whole life because I was blessed with both of my parents being excellent chef's and they took much interest in teaching their children. Somehow I made it to almost 24 without making an apple pie from scratch though. I've made many other pies, but it's been a while and it was under the tutelage of my mother. It just so happened that it was the birthday of my favorite friend from the temple on my Wednesday shift, Debbie Murset, and she loves pies. Knowing that as a mom the likelihood of her getting a birthday cake (well...pie because she likes those more) was slim to none I determined that I would make her one. Below are some pictures of my adventure.

A little boy I watch, Logan, wanted to help, so he made a pie crust out of playdough.

Ok, pie in pan: check. Apples cut in slivers (this takes forever!): check.

Lots of sugar and other yummy things: check.

Lattice work was a must, I believe it's not just about how good it tastes, but presentation is very important too. Go big or go home is my policy.

And finished product.

I put some raw sugar on the crust for presentation and taste, but I still feel the crust was too bland. Sister Murset loved it and raved about it, and so it was a success because my goal was to make her happy. Next time I will not go with Betty Crocker's pie crust, she failed me this time.

Kenneth Bernard Smith (October 16, 1917-January 16, 2010)

I love my family. I don't know how I got so lucky to be blessed with them, but I did. Not only do I have an extraordinary nuclear family, but my extended family is likewise incredible. Shortly after starting college I wrote letters to my grandpa's and my father's father wrote back. For whatever reason I was impressed to call him instead of responding via post. That phone call was much longer then I anticipated it to be, and it was enlightening. I'd always liked my grandpa, but I had never known we were two peas in a pod. What followed were weekly phone calls and the blossoming of one of my sweetest friendships that we cherished. Last August we found out grandpa had an aneurysm by his heart, and in November it was discovered that it was leaking. I am grateful that we had a heads up and there was plenty of time for final words to be spoken. More then that I am grateful for the impression to write him, that he wrote me back, and for the further impression to call him so that for the years after our first phone call I could get to know him and seek his advice. Grandpa's famous words of counsel to me when I was fretting over what to do or pursue were: "Once you say 'can't' you're whipped." He was a hard worker, a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He was active in many charitable causes, very involved and valuable member in the local Mason Lodge, a natural learner, and fun loving.

When he passed I was blessed to have a family who was tenderly concerned with how I was doing, and friends who dropped much to comfort me. It was noticed and much appreciated. I really struggled at his death, not for him, but for me. I know where he is, I know he is with family who love him, and I am certain he is happy. I am so grateful I know I will get to be with him when I leave this moral existence. I struggled though because I was so very sad that he is not here, right now, with me. I was deeply saddened that my future husband won't know the great man he was, and that my children won't have the chance to know him in this life. All this being said, the comfort I feel from the gospel providing answers about death, where he is now, the fact that I will be with him again, and that we will continue to have a relationship throughout eternity is precious to me.

This is four generations of the Smith family. Grandpa, Jay, my pops, and my brother Christopher.

Grandpa, grandma Julie, me, Esther (my sister-in-law), Jay, Chis, pops, and mother.

(Hey check it out! With 3 inch heels and a slight hill I am almost as tall as Esther! I'm the runt of the littler...my mother feed my brother more, so naturally I got less...stunting my growth. She always said she gave him more because he was bigger then me, "DUH, he's bigger because you feed him more!" Without heels I'm 5'3" and he is 6'3"...account for that.) (Note: I am not bitter about this, there are many things I can do on account of my size...such as I never have to duck when walking under trees, I always win at hide-n-seek because I fit in the craziest places, and I can wear any heal and still be shorter then 95% of guys--greatly increasing my dating pool.)

My Halloween at Devil's Chasm

Arizona has some awesome hikes, and Devil's Chasm--in the Tonto National Forrest, part of Cherry Creek--I have heard is a really neat one.  In addition to being a beautiful and somewhat challenging hike, it holds a sweet cave, as well as cliff-dwelling ruins from the Salado Indians that is estimated to be 700 to 800 years old.  My bishop, some friends, and I planned this trip over labor day, and I have been looking forward to going ever since!  I know there are a lot of pictures here...and I tried to limit myself, but I just love all these pictures!

My friend Heidi took this picture the night before, and I am amazed at the stunning shot she got of the stars.  (You have to double click to really see how amazing it is.)

This is our group before we departed on our adventure: (front to back, left to right) Zack, Cimarron, Heidi, Bishop Nicholls, (on the rock) Marisa, me, Charlotte, & Justin.  Yes...it was cold, mid-40's out when we started.

I love this picture of us!

So fun to hike up!

I must admit, Arizona has some really pretty scenery when you look for it. 

Look closely, to the top left is 'an indian chief' with folded arms (2nd pillar rock on the left hand side), and the cliff-dwelling is nearly centered (just a little lower then the top half).

I love our faces in this one: Justin trying to explain the indian chief rock...Charlotte gets it, Zack is starting to, I'm completely lost (classic Sam face), and Heidi just doesn't care!

Pretty sweet, huh, just tucked in there.

The ruin is made out of stones and caliche, and you can still see the fingerprints in the caliche from when they pressed it in, this was a really clear shot (it might be helpful to double click it so you can see the picture bigger), SO COOL!

Another great shot of the fingerprints in the caliche, with Heidi's fingers helping illustrate.

In it's hay-day, it was 3-stories high, it's amazing it had preserved so well.

There were several rooms you could go through, and but if you're not skinny, you're not getting in!  (There were several metate's, and a significant amount of broken pottery in the rooms.)

What a perfect picture of an old metate, with a breathtaking scene just out the doorway.

Who say's Arizona doesn't have fall?  Look at those gorgeous colored leaves!

A doorway even I could hit my head on!  I rarely have to stoop.

Look mom, no hands!  Not exactly the place where I'd be thrilled to have my kids playing.

Us eating lunch on the edge of a cliff...the back patio if you will.

There were lots of fallen trees, and I was just in the mood to climb on them.

I even got Marisa into it.

Bishop, Marisa, and I all bush-whacked it a long way, till we made it to a dry river bed, and followed that to the end of the chasm, and this is it.  Zack and Cimmaron eventually made their way back too.

You see Marisa...but where am I?  I'm there...look closely in the dark...kinda creepy...kinda awesome, and if nothing else, totally hilarious!  (You'll have to double-click to see it.)

Eyes still glowing, I submerge from the dark shadows...

Everyone likes to pick on Sam because her short little legs just don't reach most of the time! :(

Pretty colored leaf instead of a flower, working with what I've got.

As I crawled across a fallen tree a few feet, Marisa suggested I be a sloth and I immediately complied, Bishop got there just in time to capture the moment!

This is the scenery we hiked along, isn't it beautiful!

After this intense dirt hill we literally CRAWLED up, we got to the cave, and in one part we found some bones...creepy...looked like part of a femur.

Not my most brilliant of moves, I was a little nervous here since it was about a 15-foot drop, and we had no rope should I have fallen.  But the thrill of cave exploration excited me to do it!

There was asbestus in the cave, and I just wanted to blow my nose before a picture was taken...Bishop wasn't honoring this request, and I was showing my displeasure of this fact on my face! (Marisa was smart enough to turn around).

See, I'm perfectly happy to smile if I could just have a moment.

Someone left a rope at this spot, which proved to be very helpful.

Yes, that is sheer panic on my face because I had lost all friction, and was sliding down a steep rock, mere feet from a 5 foot drop! (Which unfortunately you barely miss the edge of in the bottom of the photo, so you can't tell what a dramatic moment this was!)

All in a day of fun!  I love our unofficial hiking club!

But let us not forget my favorite part of hikes, Bishop and Justin skipping and singing 'Skip to My Lou', this makes any day cheerful!

My little get away!

I have a dear friend, Allison Richardson, who was one of my best friends in high school has been bugging me since last summer to go to Hawaii with her.  Given that tickets were so cheap this summer I just couldn't resist, and I invited my roommate, and best friend, Amanda Bluth to come as well.  Having decided it is always more fun to just disappear and have people find out later that you were at a wicked cool place, we didn't tell a soul.  Below are some of my favorite pictures from the secret extravaganza!

The day we got there we were walking down bikini beach, and i found this old school hut...I love that Amanda is in the background staring at the beach (it wasn't even planned, but it's perfect)!

The Hawaii Temple is currently under major renovations, but it was still beautiful to walk on the grounds.

You might think that your eyes are bigger then out stomaches...

...but we did finish it! (Though I'm not sure that was the most brilliant thing we've ever done.)

We were walking by this park and kept hearing a rooster, and for our lives could not see it...look closely...top third of the photo, and just right of the middle of the photo...maybe even double click this so you can better see that there is a rooster over 20 feet up in a tree!  Who knew they flew?

We really loved this statue at the Polynesian Cultural Center...no more explanation needed...

Be the statue...how'd we do?

I don't think we were trespassing here...there was no tape blocking it off! ;)

Prepping to go snorkeling, I love it!

Shark's Cove, sweet place for snorkeling...don't climb on the large coral rocks at the edge of cove...waves come, coral cuts...blood, pain...ouch! (bad, bad, bad idea!)

I love how touristy she looks! Don't you?

Just resting from a long day of beach hopping, enjoying a good acai bowl! YUM!

The next three photos are on Sunset beach at sunset...i think this one is so perfect!

Yes...I know my leg is not straight, that's why it's so funny!

Amanda and I in slow-motion, battling to the death...

Dole Pineapple Plantation...red pineapples!  I learned so many things in hawaii that I'd never before conceived in my simple mind!

Hitchhiking...it's a beautiful thing!  We did it quite a lot...(don't talk to my mom about it, she was NOT happy about this)...it was perfectly safe, we were traveling by 3!  (Plus I'm a black belt in karate...ok, so I'm not...but I'm a fighter if situation should require such!)

I love what a small world this world of ours is!  The second day we were there I look over, and see Cody Easterbrook (a good high school friend of Allison's older sister and my older sister)!  We ran into him throughout the whole week, and hung out some...here we turned him into a mermaid...an obese mermaid, haha.

I don't know why, but I felt a burning desire while I was there to play Moglie's girlfriend (ya know, the JungleBook?) and so I practiced balancing many different things on my head...not bad, eh?

I just felt like going around and kissing all sorts of men there too...I think this is such a classic, college vacation picture.

This was a real man, dressed entirely in newspaper...I couldn't resist, when he looked down I ran up, kissed him on the check, and then ran off.

The last couple of days we stayed with a family Allison is good friends with, and they live on a Marine base, super sweet place!  We went for a leisurely stroll, and I hid in the bush and felt like Jane of Tarzan!

Don't you love our floppy hats?!? SO CUTE!

This should be a greeting card...

It started raining, and Amanda and I danced in it...so tender, I know!

Eating the rain with my best friend...does life get better then this?  I submit that it does not!

Memorial Day we went boogie boarding on one of the Marine private beaches, and this huge cargo plane comes in to land at the airstrip right there!  SO COOL!

That's all folks!  Hope you enjoyed my photo's, I certainly enjoyed the vacation, it was in the top 5 of fav trips!