Hymas Family Favorites Vol. 1

The Hymas Family Favorites Vol. 1 cookbook has officially been published.  This was a lot of work to put together, but now that it's done, I'm really glad I did it. It's chuck full of some of our favorite recipes, including the chocolate strawberry cake and Barb's Best chocolate chip cookies. Yummy!  Click on the picture below to download a pdf copy of it (I've reduced the file size from before, so now it's easy to download, and I corrected a couple of typos and a recipe):

Santa

The other day, I stopped at the mall while we were out and about for some sorely needed stuff.  It was suppose to be a quick in and out stop.  However, Santa was right next to the store we went to, AND there was no line, AND we had missed all of our opportunities to see the man himself.

Sadly, however, I did NOT have my camera with me.  But, I'm so glad we stopped.

In years past, Mackenzie has usually burst into tears when she sat on Santa's lap.  Not this year.  It was so fun to see her light up with the magic of Christmas.  I wish I had my video camera with me so you all could see.  Aiden was unusually shy and apprehensive about seeing the big man himself.  I think he was now a little intimidated and nervous about meeting him.   Good times!

Aiden

A few weeks ago, one of the other mom's of Aiden's kindergarten class stopped me when I was picking Aiden up from school.  She said she had a story for me from one of the days she had volunteered in class.  She was passing out the snacks to the class.  That particular day everyone got two cookies.  Aiden came up to her with one of his two cookies and held it out to her.  She wondered if he had dropped it on the floor or something and asked him what he needed.  He said, "no, it's for you."  She said she had a hard time not crying because of his thoughtfulness.

Lately he has become Mr. Helper around the house.  He's started making his bed, sometimes, without being asked.  He clears off the dishes from the table, and he tries to help me tidy up the house.  Tonight, he absolutely cracked me up.  He helped me out by putting toothpaste on my toothbrush, turning town the covers of my bed, and laying out my pajamas.

I guess that's what they mean when they talk about the "successes" of motherhood.  I sure do love my little guy.  He's growing up way too fast.

Sushi

Rich's brother and SIL, Clark and Katie, flew in for a visit on Friday, and we got to eat dinner with them Friday and Saturday.  Friday we went to Zupas (yummy).  We splurged on the chocolate fondue dessert.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE fondue?

Saturday, we went to Mikado for sushi with Clark and Katie, and Dustin and Madalyne (Rich's other brother and his brother's wife).  It was Dustin's birthday, and he picked sushi.  I think I was the only non-sushi person there.  Clark went to Japan on his mission.  I'm pretty convinced that not even two years in Japan would be long enough to get me to like sushi.  :)  I have a rather limited palate.  I had a beef noodle dish.

Anyway, it was a nice dinner and it was great to spend time with family.

Turkey, Tires, Gingerbread, and Werewolves

We spent Thanksgiving in Idaho with Rich's family this year.  We left on Tuesday to try to beat the storm (we failed) and so we could make it to a funeral on Wednesday (more about that in a minute).  The normal 4 hr drive there took us 6 1/2 hrs of white knuckle driving time.  Not fun!  But, we made it safe and sound.

The funeral was for my niece's dad, my SIL's ex.  He was killed in an auto accident the week before and his funeral was on Wednesday.  My niece is really doing well.  She has an AWESOME step-dad, and has tons of support.

We had the traditional Thanksgiving dinner and fare with Rich's family.  Everyone but Clark and Katie was able to make it.  Yummy!  And, I learned to actually like pumpkin pie.  Thank you, Costco.  The best $6 I ever spent.

That night, I finally got to play Werewolves of Miller's Hallow.  My friend, Britt, blogs about the fun her family has playing it, and I finally got my chance.  I was not disappointed.

The day after Thanksgiving, Grandma Hymas had a gingerbread house ready for each family to decorate.  The kids had a great time decorating their house.  Pictures to follow.

We ended up staying a day longer than planned due to the weather.  AND we bought a set of studded snow tires for the drive home. I gotta say that I LOVE them.  We did not want to repeat our driving experience on the way there.  I am happy to report that our drive home was very uneventful.

Autumn Scrapbook Kit

It's official.  I am Jessica Sprague Certified Digital Designer.  :)  Here is my first full digital scrapbook kit.  I used some of the elements for my blog.  Feel free to download it (click on the image for the link).   Please leave me a comment if you download it. I'd love to know what you think.

Connor

Chicken Enchilada Chowder

I've been feverishly working on the Hymas Family Favorites recipe book, Vol 1.  It is finished and a proof copy is on it's way.  So, keep your eyes open for a link for all the recipes.

My SIL, Katie, sent me this recipe for Chicken Enchilada Corn Chowder just as I finished volume 1, so it's going into volume 2.   We made it right away, and we all love it!  It's delicious and easy to make (a win win in my book).  Here is the recipe:

Chicken Enchilada Corn Chowder (easy crock pot recipe)

From the kitchen of Katie Hymas

In crock pot, combine:

4 chicken breasts (can even be frozen)

2 Cans cream of chicken soup

1 C. Sour cream

1 can red enchilada sauce

2 cans chicken broth

1 can corn

1 can black beans

Cook on high for 4-6 hours, remove chicken, shred and replace.  Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips, and top with shredded cheese.  A great meal to make and freeze the leftovers.  

Aiden's Birthday

At least once a week, I tell Aiden that he needs to stop growing up, to which he always replies, "I can't."  This week marks another milestone, his sixth birthday. To celebrate, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Baker's house and had a small family party (the other November birthdays also got celebrated).  His favorite gifts were a gun from his dad and grandpa, and Lego Star Wars for the Wii, which he hasn't stopped playing all week.

It's amazing to see how much he's grown.  School has been great for him!  He loves kindergarten.  He's already becoming an amazing reader and is one of the brightest kids in his class (this will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Aiden).  He just finished up his first season of tee ball, which he really liked.

He is so enthusiastic about life, and he's genuinely friendly to everyone.  I've always been really proud of this characteristic of his.  He befriends anyone who seems to need a friend and just accepts everyone.  I hope that life won't extinguish this amazing quality.  I'm grateful to get to watch him grow up.  I can't wait to see what he'll accomplish.

Here are some pics from his party...

Halloween

Despite having 5 sick little Hymases, we had a nice Halloween.  Friday, we went to our ward's Trunk or Treat activity.  It was a lot of fun.  There were lots of costumes, food, and candy.  The kids went as a soldier, princess, and pea in the pod.  Sadly, I did not take any pictures.  They got gobs of candy at the trunk or treat part of the activity.

Saturday, Aiden, Mackenzie, and I went to Grandma and Grandpa Baker's house to go trick or treating.  Aiden was a cowboy and Mackenzie was a ladybug (we have too many costumes for the kids to choose from).  We only got to go to about 3 of our neighbors houses before we got rained out.  But they still managed to have pretty full buckets because Grandma and Grandpa's neighbors made up some special sacks just for our kids.  They are spoiled, I know.


All in all, it was a really fun month full of Halloween activities here on campus.  Good times!

Photoshop

I love Photoshop!  And, I think I'm getting pretty good at it.  I've been using for 3-4 years now, and I learn more of what it'll do every week.  I took some pictures of a family about a month ago.  The conditions were not good for good photos.  The sun was very bright and harsh, and my choices were back lit subjects or squinty eyes.  Photoshop to the rescue.

I also edited some one of our family pictures that we took a couple weeks ago.  The sun was just sneaking into the lense, giving the photo a washed out look.

Here are the before and after edits:

Before

After

Before

After

This is the Place...

Aiden was off from school Thursday and Friday for UEA, and we took advantage of his time off and went to a fun Halloween activity at This is the Place Heritage Park.  Our neighbors got us two free passes, so I only had to buy mine.  It was a beautiful, warm autumn day.

The kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes.  Aiden was a cowboy, Mackenzie was a ladybug, and Connor was a pea in the pod.  The activities at the park included a trick-or-treat neighborhood, a story telling witch, kid friendly crafts, train rides, tractor pulls, pony rides, and panning for gold.  There was plenty of fun for everyone.  The kids had a GREAT time!

Our neighbors Andrew and Josh

Ride Em, Cowboy!

Future rodeo star

There's gold in them thar hills

Wagons, Ho!

Outlaw

Happy Halloween!

Family Pictures

At the beginning of the summer, Rich's cousin, Justin was able to get me killer deal on the newest version of Adobe Photoshop, so as a thank you, I offered to take his family pictures. So last Saturday evening, Oct 9, we headed off to Murray Park to take them.  Justin was kind enough to let our family tag along and take some of us too.

Justin and Becca

This year for our family pictures, we went with Rich's cousin Justin and his family.  I took pictures of him as a THANK YOU for getting me the employee discount on my favorite Adobe software.  He is also a photographer hobbyist and took family pictures for us.  Here are some of the highlights:

Scrapbook 2010

Here are a couple new scrapbook pages for this year's scrapbook.

Acknowledgments:

The layouts and papers came from JessicaSprague.com.

Mackenzie's papers came from the Shabby Princess Spring Breeze kit.

Connor and the Kids

Connor's personality is developing more each day. He likes to play with his siblings. He's sitting up and growing fast. He's eating solids, starting to roll over, and play with toys. We love our little guy.

Big Brother

Sweet Baby

Sitting Up

   

Big Sis

Blog Facelift

I just took another class at JessicaSprague.com (I heart JessicaSprague.com).  This one is a beginning blogger class.  Since I've been blogging for a while now, I really knew most of the stuff already.  There were one or two things I didn't know that I thought were very helpful, AND I got some great templates to use in designing my blog.  So, I hope you enjoy the new face lift.  I used a free scrapbook kit from http://www.shabbyprincess.com/ to design it.

Luv Sac and Prince Caspian

I have been trying to interest my kids in letting me read chapter books to them for years.  I've tried everything from Harry Potter to the Mouse and the Motorcycle with no success.  This fall something has changed.  We started reading Prince Caspian from the Chronicles of Narnia, and they can't get enough.  Every night, they like to cuddle up under a blanket on the Luv Sac downstairs and have me or Dad read to them.

Who wouldn't LOVE those little smiles?

Autumn Bounty

Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love the cooler weather, the fall colors, and that it's dark at bed time for the kids.  I'm also enjoying the beginning of the school year for Aiden. 

Another yummy part of the fall is the harvest.  On Labor Day, the kids and I met our friends Nathan and Brook in Brigham City for peach days.  We checked out all the road side stands and I picked up a half bushel of peaches. 

The next day, my father-in-law brought me some more peaches, tomatoes, and peppers.  I had a kitchen overflowing with fall's yummy goodness.  The bummer part for me was doing something with it.  Canning has never been something I enjoy.  This year I decided to make peach freezer jam, freeze the other peaches for smoothies, and make salsa with the tomatoes.

What goes with peach jam?  Homemade bread, of course.  A few weeks ago, a dear friend of mine, Becky Deppe, invited us over to her house and taught us how to make her mom's bread.  It was great to not only get the recipe, but for her to show us the "tricks." 


My kids now beg me to make "Becky Deppe" bread, like you'd say french bread or wheat bread. I can just my grandkids sometime in the distant future asking for beckydeppe bread.


I also got my salsa recipe from Becky.  Of course, Aiden also calls it "Becky Deppe" Salsa.  I finally got everything finished Saturday night at about 12:30am.  Sadly, I only got 3 quarts of Salsa.  Next year...

Hair Cuts!

Cutting their own hair seems to be something that every child does.  Unfortunately, the bug bit at my house, again.  The other day while I was making dinner, Aiden got the scissors out and clipped his and Mackenzie's hair and then Mackenzie finished the job.  Sadly they both have been grounded for the last 3 days.

Mackenzie LOVES to go to Cookie Cutters to get her hair cut.  So, I felt in a pickle because I know they are affordable, do a great job because they see it all the time, and they are convenient.  But we don't want to reward bad behavior.  In the end, I buzzed Aiden, and took Mackenzie to Cookie Cutters.  However, I didn't let her watch a movie (standard when they get a hair cut there), I didn't let her have a balloon, and I didn't take any pictures while we were there.  The worst thing about it is that she looks so stinking cute with her new little bob, but I can't tell her that.  I'm terribly afraid that the kids are going to do it again.

Before

Aiden After

Mackenzie After

Kindergarten

This week was Aiden's first week of school.  He loves it!  He really seems to be enjoying the experience.  His teacher is Mrs. McDonald, and she is Mary Poppins.  The creative things she has for the kids to do is amazing.  She started the week off with an introduction to monarch butterflies by having live catepillars for the kids to watch turn into butterflies.  The week ended with a cowboy dress up day, and they had lots of fun and learning in the mean time.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

I'm going to start sharing recipes for the foods we make that we really like.  Hope some of you enjoy them too!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

From the kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

2 acorn squash
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper
⅔ c. water
½ c. couscous
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb sausage
½ c. slivered almonds
¼ c. craisins

Preheat oven to 400° F. Cut squash in half crosswise and scoop out the pulp and the seeds. Place halves in a baking pan, flesh side up. Pour hot water into the pan until it covers the bottom half of the squash. Add ½ tbsp butter, 1 tbsp brown sugar, and salt, and pepper to each half. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Cook the sausage through in a frying pan and then remove from pan. In a sauce pan, bring lightly salted water to a boil. Add the couscous. Turn off heat, cover, and let stand.

Heat olive oil in frying pan and add almonds. Stir until almonds are toasted. Stir in sausage, couscous, and craisins. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the squash from the oven and transfer to a plate. Divide the couscous among the squash.

Bees Baseball

Mackenzie has been asking all summer to go to a Bees game.  Rich actually got the whole weekend off, so we took advantage of it and went.  We always like to watch the games, and this was no exception, but I must say it was LONG!  At 10pm, we were only at the bottom of the sixth, and Connor and Mackenzie were done.  Every time we plan what we think will be a nice family outing, I forget to factor in the baby.  Rich and Aiden thought about staying and riding the train home, but in the end, we all came home together. Sadly, that also meant that we missed the fireworks.  Aiden ended up getting a foul ball on the way out of the stadium though.  It just plopped right over the stadium wall, and Aiden and Rich chased it down.

Teeth!

I decided it was finally time to take the kids to the dentist. I took them to a Kids Place. Random pic of a pediatric dentist who accepts our insurance. Aiden got a clean bill of health, but the dentist said Mackenzie had 8 cavities. What? And, he wanted to knock her out the next day and fill the cavities. The total bill? $1250.

Now, I had felt a little uneasy from the moment we walked into the office, and I decided to hold off until I could get a second opinion, and I'm SO glad I did. Our friend Clint, who is a very awesome dentist if anyone is looking for one (Dr. Clint Blackwood), agreed to take a look at her for me. He said she had four small cavities and is treating her with fluoride and no filings for now. That sounds like a much more conservative treatment plan for a 3 year old.

My World

Milestones

Aiden lost his first tooth this week. He's so proud. He's also starting kindergarten in a week. Milestones. Seems like yesterday when... Parents, you know what I mean. One day you're bathing them in the baby bathtub, and the next they're off to college and having children of their own. Well, okay, so we're not there yet, but I know how fast we'll get there.

It's funny how we wish away so much of our lives and then wish for it back. For example, "I wish Rich was finished with school," or "it'll be nice when the baby sleeps through the night". While all that may be true, I miss my kids already. I'll just have to enjoy them while I can.

First Day of Internal Medicine

Today is Rich's first day of rotations. Specifically, he has the first six weeks of Internal Medicine. He is also on call today, which means he won't be home until tomorrow afternoon. Crazy! A classmate of his who was on this rotation the last six weeks said she didn't even know where the call rooms were because there was no time to sleep...30 hrs straight.

The Results Are In...

Today was a red letter day. I woke up this morning able to finally see out of my left eye. Of course my site kinds comes and goes a little as my eyes get tired and dried out throughout the day, but today was the first day I was finally able to see clearly out of my left eye since I got LASIK. I would venture at this point to say that if my eye site is as good as it was when I woke up this morning, I'm glad I did it.

The bigger news is that Rich got his test scores for Step 1 of the Boards this morning. He got the score he dreamed of getting, but was afraid to hope for, and tested above the mean for accepted radiation oncologists. He got a 241. So, once again, all of your faith and prayers have helped him achieve another success. A big THANK YOU from us! Congratulations Rich!!!!!!! I'm really proud of you.

Hymas Family Reunion 2010

Clark and Katie, Rich's brother and SIL, planned a family reunion at Katie's grandparents' cabin. Then, they moved to Missouri (see the post about Clark and Katie's farewell). Amazingly, they flew back for the reunion and went and bought all the food. Talk about troopers!

The reunion was so much fun. We got to get out of the city and into the beautiful outdoors. And enjoyed some good cooking and our wonderful family. We all took turns preparing a meal and just enjoyed hanging out. Madalyne, our SIL, even did glitter toes for the girls.

Thanks Clark and Kaite!!!!

Connor's Pants

When we got home from our trip to Yellowstone, Mackenzie was rummaging through her suitcase and closet looking for a clean pair of pants. She came downstairs with a pair of capris on and asked "Do Connor's pants fit me?" Yup, she was wearing the baby's pants. (I also love that her shoes are on backwards in this picture.)

Yellowstone

We went to Yellowstone National Park over the 24th of July weekend. We saw some beautiful scenery and animals, including two bears and a herd of buffalo. It was awesome. The hymn "For the Beauty Of the Earth" kept coming to mind; there is a reason why it's one of my favorite hymns.

We stayed at the Days Inn in West Yellowstone. I waited way too long to book a hotel, and so we ended up paying a king's ransom to stay there. It did, however, come with an excellent breakfast at the hotel restaurant.

The trip was a lot of driving for the kids, especially Connor. He was not a very happy baby. It reaffirmed to me that travel with a baby is something to be avoided. Our 5 hour drive there turned into 7, and things didn't get much better from there.

But, overall, we all really enjoyed what the park had to offer and look forward to going again when the kids are older.