Cherries, Cherries, and More Cherries

It has been a busy, busy few days around here! I just returned from the Cherry Festival parade -- Griffin fell asleep as soon as his Uncle Rex passed by (he was in the parade with the Idaho Army National Guard). Steve and Camden are still at the festival, riding on a few more rides before it all ends tonight. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of going to the Topsham fair with Mum, Dad, and Kevin when I was little, so I am really happy that we have the Cherry Festival each year, right on our front steps. Camden loved it this year, and I have a feeling he is going to be one tired boy when his head hits the pillow tonight.

So I was up until after 11:00 p.m. last night, furiously baking my heart out for the Cherry Bake-Off today. It turns out there was a total of 30 entrants, and some of those ladies weren't messing around, let me tell you. I will certainly be changing my strategy a little, next year. However, I'm happy to report that I came in 3rd place with my Fresh Cherry Tart, pictured below:The best part was, there was a tie for 3rd place, and I tied with my girlfriend Terri! She made cherry salsa, which I will have to get the recipe for - - it looked so good. We thought it was fitting, since we had both spent quite a bit of time together, going over recipes and talking incessantly about the Bake-Off. We agreed that coming in 3rd was pretty good, since this was just our first attempt. Next up is the Gem County Fair in August, and rumor has it there is a salsa competition. Here we are with our winning dishes. Terri is holding her son Brendon, and Terri's husband Stevan is holding our certificate:

I feel so lucky that I met Terri. She is such a good friend to me, and it seems we have endless interests in common. We are constantly chuckling about how funny it is that we met, because we are so "perfect" for each other. It is funny how things work out sometimes.

Must finish getting the house picked up, and get some gifts wrapped for Father's Day tomorrow!