Final pie week!!

My 45th birthday is coming very soon and we have one last pie trek planned to top it all off! I'm so excited! We leave on April 25th and fly to Orlando. From there we will drive to Alabama, Georgia, S. Carolina, N. Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey to find the rest of my pies. What an amazing husband I have to plan this trip with and for me. He is the absolute best! Pictures and descriptions will be updated in the next 2 weeks!!

Easter tradition continues...

It started when Jackson was just 1 years old. The Saturday night before Easter, we plant jelly beans. Overnight, they grow into lollipops! Twenty years later, the teens are still planting jelly beans and anticipating what lollipops will emerge in the morning. I love that they still enjoy it and we will continue to do it as long as they still like it. 

We added some big kids to this years planting...too bad they weren't around Sunday morning to reap the rewards! Thanks Cassie, Kyle, Kenley, and Kylie. 

Pictures of jelly beans past...

4 years ago we met...

We went back to the place where it all began!

 It's cliche to say it but "time flies"!

 I can't believe 4 years have passed since that first meeting at The Melting Pot. Four years later, my life is better than I could have dreamed. I am so grateful for this man in my life. We laugh everyday! He makes me feel like I am the most important person in his world and is even willing to give up a golf game or two to hang out with me. He gets me. He's patient with me. He loves me through all my crazy moments. He likes to kiss me and other stuff. I'm so grateful to have him in my life. There are moments that I am so overwhelmed with love that it frightens me. I can't imagine life without him. I am so very, very grateful for this man.

Seven Years...

After 7 long years, it happened! Zane has been re-baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was an amazing night and I am so grateful for his example and testimony. Through all of his personal struggles, Zane has never wavered in his testimony of Jesus Christ and the Atonement and it is one of the things I love about him. Our journey on Earth is filled with challenges and struggles and I believe God wants to see us come closer to Him through them. He requires us to have a broken heart and contrite spirit and we can develop that through our adversities as we lean on God for strength. Zane is an amazing man and I am so grateful he is my husband and spiritual partner. I am blessed to have him. 

More Utah pie...

Pie #40-41

We needed a weekend away and Zane needed to play golf! He is a very talented golfer and I love watching him. There was a 3-man scramble tournament at Palisade Golf Course in Sanpete County. It was a reason to get out of town and enjoy our gorgeous Utah weather we are having right now. We stayed in Fairview and on the way back from Palisade, we stopped in Mt. Pleasant to have dinner. This cute diner offered homemade pie so we asked our waiter for a recommendation on the best pie. Cute Simon was a young kid from Texas working at this diner in Mt. Pleasant. Of course he is going to recommend the Pecan Pie. But I am saving the Pecan Pie until I am in Georgia and I can experience the local best option. I opted for his second recommendation which was the German Chocolate pie. Chocolate pie is my least favorite pie. Admittedly, this was really good! The cream was good, the coconut flavor was good, but, my favorite part was the crunchy layer of chocolate that is on top of the chocolate cream and underneath that whipped cream. It was a little chocolate surprise that I enjoyed. It was good pie. I would stop there again if I am down that way again. Maybe after a trip to the Manti Temple...oooh, that's a good idea!

(I didn't play. I got to drive the cart and enjoy the sunshine. It was a pretty course in a pretty area. Congrats to Zane's team...they took 2nd!)

We had breakfast in Fairview at the Home Plate Cafe. The ladies at the Skyline Mountain Resort didn't recommend the place for dinner but I figured we were safe for breakfast. Who can screw up breakfast? What a fun surprise when we saw they offered homemade pie, as well. We got the Raspberry Peach that is made from the raspberries that are grown on the owner's property. The server told us they offer a good Strawberry Rhubarb in the summer, also made from the local gardens in town. I see a summer trip in the future. It was good pie that would be worth eating if you are already in the area. 

More homemade goodness...

Pie #39.5

I don't know that this truly qualifies as a piece of pie for my list. It's really just a sample since this is all that was left after Pi Day. My good friend, Craig, loves this pie quest and when I was telling him about it we talked about what would be the best pie combo. Why hasn't this been made before? It probably has but I haven't had it. I was thrilled when Craig brought me this nibble of Banana Coconut Cream pie! Two favorite pies in one!! His co-worker, Owen, from Big Brothers, Big Sisters made it for a Pi Day celebration. Craig snatched this last little morsel away from some poor, helpless old lady so that I could enjoy it. And enjoy it, I did! Thank you, my friend!

The real reason we went to Monterey...

Pie #37-39

Here is the real reason we went to California for Jalyn's birthday... Pie Number One on the Time Out top 17 pies in the US!! When Zane and I went to LA at New Year's to have Grapefruit pie, our original plan was to then head north to San Francisco and then across Nevada to get home to SLC. However, Mother Nature changed our plans for us. Donner Pass was shut down and there was a huge snowstorm that would have been miserable to drive through. I had to have that pie, though. Jalyn was kind enough and up for the adventure of having pie with me in San Francisco. 

We flew into San Jose and drove to Daly City to seek out Devil's Teeth Baking Company. The list recommended the Sweet Potato Pecan Pie as the number 8 pie in the US. I was excited for it. We found the bakery and we were extremely disappointed to find they had NO PIE!! I asked the counter help and was informed that they don't know how they got on the list. They only make pie at Thanksgiving and it has to be special ordered. I was deflated!! I traveled all that way for no pie!

I tried to take it in stride and move on to the next pie on the list. It was actually number ONE and I was ready to be cheered up after that sad, sad disappointment. We headed into San Francisco to find Tartine Bakery. On a Saturday. In San Francisco. During a protest of President Trump's travel ban on certain countries. Ugh! We weren't getting anywhere close to that place. I gave up and headed south to Santa Cruz and Monterey. I begged Jalyn to please leave Jacqui early so we could go back to San Francisco before our flight on Tuesday. Thankfully, she agreed and it was definitely, definitely worth the drive. 

We had no problem getting to Tartine's on Tuesday. The location is not well advertised but the Google Map got us there. Look at those pies!! The number one pie on the list is the Chocolate Banana Cream pie. The location was packed so we got it to go and took it back to the car. We picked up the Lemon Curd Tart, as well, because it looked, well...look at it...it looked amazing! I'm surprised we weren't cited for indecent public activity because of the sounds of deliciousness we were making in the car. The Banana Cream pie was so, so good! I was so sad not to have a cooler to bring the pie home. Zane would have loved it! The Lemon Curd was the perfect blend of tart and sweet and creamy. Thank you Jalyn, for sharing your birthday trip with my quest for pie. It was worth it!

After my initial disappointment in San Francisco, we went on a hunt for good pie in Monterey. The Google search took us to a little bakery and cafe in the middle of an industrial area. They did their best to make it look like a cozy cafe outside but it still seemed very out of place. However, the pie was worth it! When I did my 40 pies before 40 quest, I tried an Ollalieberry pie in 

Southern California. I have asked around for it since then but it seems to be a regional thing. I understand that it is a mix between an eastern blackberry and a western dewberry. I don't know what all that means but I do know that it means a deliciously sweet/tart berry pie for me. This cute bakery did a great job. Apparently, the have amazing quiche, as well. Next time we are out there, we will have pie and quiche.