Adam's First Apple Pie

Adam wanted to make an apple pie. When I asked him why, he just said because he'd never made one before, and was in the mood for one. I bought him the ingredients, gave him my Fannie Farmer cookbook, and let him "have at it". He didn't want instruction, nor help. He said if he messed up, then he could learn from it. He did everything right, except he stood the apples up in a pile instead of laying them flat, so it looked kind of weird before baking. The inside had a juicy, caramel-type of filling between the apples that was so good! When it cooled off a little, he topped it with vanilla ice cream.

Snow for the First Time

My friend Monica "Moni" was born and raised in Yuma, AZ. For those who don't know, that's where AZ, CA and Mexico meet. Needless to say, Moni's never really played in the snow. Here in the valley, you can see snow on the mountains when there's a few inches on the ground in Payson. Moni and I had plans to go out together on a Sunday, but when I saw the snow on the mountain peaks, I called her and said, "We're going to Payson!" The drive's about an hour and a half, but basically, a straight line. We headed up in the afternoon and played in the 2 or 3 inches that had fallen in the big parking lot next to McDonald's. I brought Logan & Jordan along too, since they like to play in the snow and Logan loves the cold. We had a great time. I didn't play in the snow, but I'm happier taking the pictures, anyway. It was a lot of fun for Moni, she discovered things about snow she hadn't realized...like how it's powdery, and it's ice underneath, and you can do stuff in it because it holds it's shape, it has cool textures, it melts in strange patterns from the crystals, it looks pretty dusted in your hair, and it's fun to visit, but she wouldn't want to live in it all winter. To see the excitement and wonder on her face made the trip so worth it for me. I love to see people learn and experience new things.