Homemade Cherry Pie

Our cherry trees are loaded this year. I only wish they weren't so tall so that I could get all the cherries at the top. This was my first attempt at a double crusted cherry pie. I must say after all the hard work of pitting the cherries, it paid off. My only mess up was that I forgot to take a picture of the pie when it came out of the oven. The only picture that mattered according to my husband. He thought it looked "awesome". I did snap a picture after 2 pieces had been cut out. Oops. Oh well. I froze 8 more cups of cherries so there will be opportunitys for more pictures. We didn't even make a dent in picking them. Jake swore they were turning ripe every time he turned to drop some in the bowl. He would say I just picked all the ripe ones here and now there is more! I posted a slideshow above for you to enjoy. It is a little bit tiny but you get the point. Also, here is a list of the things I learned while doing this process.

1. Have your children (if you have any) help with the picking process. It is very entertaining for them and less work for you. You will need your energy for number 2.
2. Pitting cherries sucks. It is the worse part of the whole process. It is extremely time consuming.
3. Wear an apron while pitting. Cherries can spray their juices pretty far and it stains your new yellow shorts.
4. Put a baking sheet under the pie in the oven while cooking. It will bubble over and cause a huge mess in your oven that was just cleaned a month ago.
5. Putting sugar on top of the crust before baking makes it even more yummy.
6. Have your spouse take your picture to capture the moment and the triumph of making your first successful double crusted pie. Having a picture of it after it has been cut just isn't the same.