4th of July = Cherry pie!

What's more American than cherry pie? Well...apple pie, you might say, but either way, fruit pies are a uniquely American invention. And, as the granddaughter of a Kansas farm girl, knowing how to make a good fruit pie is...well, a requirement!
Growing up we always had cherry pie on the 4th. Now, let me clarify, cherry pie in our household meant: a pie made with tart cherries (we actually called them sour cherries growing up). My parents were so serious about fresh sour cherries for pie that they planted a sour cherry tree in the front yard of our suburban neighborhood home! Yep, driving 45 min to the border of Oregon and into cherry country was just too far! I must say though, I have many great memories surrounding that tree in the front yard. One of my favorites is watching through the front window as people walked by and thought they could just (rudely!) help themselves to our cherries. I still chuckle remembering the looks on their faces as they popped one in their mouth. Ha!
So, every year for the 4th of July, I go hunting for sour cherries in the grocery store. Before the advent of children, I actually managed to make it up to Lancaster to pick fresh once in awhile but nowadays, canned just have to do. This morning I was up, as always, making my 'have to have it' cherry pie. Here it is:

YUMMY! Such a beauty! :)

Here are a couple of bonus pictures for ya...a new tradition in our family since moving to this neighborhood is the bike and wagon parade. Here we are with Big Brother's decorated bike!

And Little Brother's first 4th of July...born in the USA baby!!!

Happy birthday, America!!!