Oops... forgot again

So I have been trying to blog more often to keep the fam back home, mostly dad, up to date on life and such. But Lynz and my mom have been complaining a bit about no pictures, which I must admit, I have been horrible at and I'm sure I will regret it in the future if I don't buck up.
So this weekend, our ward had a picnic at Seoul Grande Park and I made sure to pack my camera. Well I went to PJ and Lori's to drive with them from there and I decided last minute to leave my purse, cuz who wants to carry a purse to a picnic. So I forgot my camera in my purse and got no shots from the picnic :( my bad. But Saturday was still a lot of fun!! It kinda felt like we were going on a family trip to Waterton, cuz we had 2 big coolers and baskets of food and balls... the Rogers definately pack like Mom haha. PJ brought a football and another guy from the ward brought a softball and two mits! I was in heaven. Who woulda thought I'd miss playing catch with a football and softball as much as I do!! I almost forgot to eat because I was having so much fun playing catch :) The food was delicious too. We had 2 girls that had Mickey Mouse ears on that followed our ward around for about 45 minutes taking pictures with whoever they could. It was so nice to be outside and relax a bit.
Today (Sunday) was also a great day!! Church was amazing once again and then after church the YSA had a potluck and fireside. We had some taco salad and watermelon. I LOVE watermelon! It is so expensive here though, so I haven't bought my own yet, but man do I love it! The fireside was done by Brother Winterton and it was very good! He talked about being idol and how we use our time here in Korea. I didn't realize it before today, but I do idolize my time here. I come home after work and I usually dont' leave my apartment. I don't do much at home at night other than do some emailing, maybe a blog, look at pictures, and watch tv, so I'm going to try to do more productive things that will help me grow closer to my Heavenly Father. I mean, I love my chillaxin KHill time, but I think I've taken it to the extreme. Even just going for a walk would feel great. I'm gonna see if I can borrow some good books from friends from the ward, so we'll see what else I can come up with. One girl said she was started to crochet and another girl started doing some art. Now I'm no artist, but I think it'd be fun to maybe find some new talents that I have been hiding :) We'll see. It was a gorgeous weekend and I loved being outside to enjoy it!
I promise I will work on the picture situation and continue to blog more often!!

My weekend and first date in Korea

So school was a little stressful last week.... but I had an amazing weekend away from it all. It feels so nice to be able to leave Uijeongbu for the weekend and be around good friends for a weekend. On Friday I left right after work and headed over to PJ and Lori to do some babysitting for them. The girls and I watched a movie and Jaida and I played a few games while Amaya fell asleep on the couch. I was pretty exhausted Friday night so I hit the hay soon after PJ and Lori got home.
On Saturday I was, of course, woken up by PJ steamrolling me at 8 a.m. I was babysitting again while PJ and Lori went to a wedding at the temple. I made the girls some pancakes in a Mickey Mouse shape and they quite enjoyed that and then the girls watched cartoons while I did their hair in fun do. I've been a huge fan of the fish braid lately and I've found some fun ways to make it a little different too :) I think I've caught my momma's hair bug and will always have my own girls, if I have them, in fun lil hair-do's. Lori came back a little early and asked if I wanted to come with them to the reception. Well I've met the couple once, so sure right!?!? lol I quickly jumped into the shower and got ready in record time of course and we were off. PJ did the speaking and did a great job as usual. Then we had some food and headed home. PJ and Lori then went on base to get some groceries and since I'm not allowed in any stores on base, me and the girls stayed back and played some games. Dai and Michael came over to hang out too. I was even lucky enough to have PJ and Lori get me some delicious yogurt cuz I really don't like the yogurt that I've bought in grocery stores outside of the base. They can get any groceries I'd like or miss from back home, so yay for that.
Later Bob came over and Michael left and while PJ passed out in the bedroom, Lori, Dai, Bob and I played a new game called Fast Track and we had a lot of fun. We played on teams and sadly Bob and I got killed.... BUT no worries, we will take them in the second round for sure!! :)
Sunday church was great again!! Sunday's are just the best!! I love Sundays! We had some great lessons and speakers, which just makes the day even better. After church I went back to PJ and Lori's and we had some quadsadillas.... mmmmm delicious!! Then we just relaxed for a while. Bob and Dai came over later and we all just relaxed and watched a movie.
I also got asked on my first date over here in Korea by Bob on Sunday. He called me and asked if I had any plans on Monday night. I said no and he replied by saying " Well I was just wondering if you wanted to come to FHE tomorrow night with my family and I" "Sure, sounds fun" I said... now I thought he meant like his church family and then he was like "By family I mean me, myself and I" haha He's great. We ended up going to Tower 63 which is a very tall tower in South Korea that has a bunch of restaurants, a theatre, a flower garden thing on top and an aquarium... so it was a lot of fun!! We walked from PJ and Lori's to the building and had great conversation!!

School so far has been pretty good. My kids are stellar and they love skittles!! haha PJ and Lori are on a bit of a diet and so they gave all their candy to Dai and I. Well I'm trying to eat super healthy so my kids have been on a sugar high these last few days because I've been feeding them candy up the wazoo!! Now I know I could stash it nad give it to them next week or the week after, but as you all know... when it's around, I wanna eat it, so I got rid of it fast!! Plus it's good bargaining for the kids to listen VERY well in class!! :)

Gym Time and a Little Exhaustion

So my schedule right now at work is a little bit tiring at the time. My bed time has gotten much earlier and come 6 o'clock, I'm about ready to hit the hay.... BUT I also have started a new work out program that I have some sore muscles from already and it feels soooooo good. So I'm just gonna keep plugging on... and since I can't drag my hiney out of bed at 6 a.m. I've been forcing myself to walk towards the gym rather than home after work. It has felt so good to get a great workout in the last few days. I hope my energy level can boost up soon, so that I can continue having great workouts and good classes!! I'm going to continue to stay positive and keep praying for energy and determination to keep kicking butt over here in Korea!!

Strawberry Farm :)

Oh what an adventurous and crazy day this was!! haha Last Thursday we took the kids on a field trip to a strawberry farm. Now, normally I have a Korean helper with my Pooh Bear class, but for some reason they decided to leave me on my own with my 12 lil 'angels' haha. It was crazy... I was running around trying to find all my kids and keep them safe and organized. A couple hours into the adventure I decided to just let them run free and pray that nothing too serious happened to them. I was lucky.... the worst we had was a white shirt turn pink :) I was definately pooped by the time we got back to school and I still had 3 elementary classes to teach when we got back... oh fun times.

Mommy Love

I just have the bestest mommy ever. It's a little weird being all the way over here in South Korea and to not be able to go home to spend the day with her and the rest of my family. I've been trying to think of what I can buy to send to her for Mother's Day, but when I called and asked her she said "the best gift from you would be to talk to you on skype". She is too easy to please.. but that just isn't enough for me. Really I dont' think any gift would be enough to really show my momma how much I love and care for her!!

I was looking through some pics trying to pick out which ones I was gonna put on the blog and I have just been laughing and crying and smiling and loving my mom. My mom brings out the best in everyone. She never puts herself first, definately the best cook around, she loves her family more than anything in the world!!

I feel so blessed to have such an amazing mom who has followed and supported me throughout my whole life whether it be in sports, church, friends, family, work, school, or boys. She also is the biggest goof around. Lyndsey, Kait, and I love to get together with my momma in the kitchen and get dancing to some Shania Twain while cleaning up! Or watching her do the 'superstar' pose while laughing uncontrollablly. She is simply amazing!!

Mom... you are my best friend and I love you soooooo soooo much!! I wish I could be by your side today and give you lots of hugs and kisses, but instead I will smile a few extra times at some old Korean ladies that usually glare or stare blankly at me haha. You are truly amazing!!! Have a fantastic Mother's Day!

Long weekend in May!!!

Ok ok... here's an update on my long weekend and this weeks activities. So I decided to have a relaxed weekend. On Satuday I got up early and did a few things around my apartment and then headed into Seoul to help Dai prepare for a birthday party for 2 of our YSA members. Let me tell you.. I am becoming quite the chef over here. That's right mom and Granny Hill.. watch yourself!! :) We cooked a broccoli and chicken mix in some buns and it was delicious... then we made some cheesecake, rice, stew, beans, and a fun fruit drink. It was a really fun party and I'd say we were quite successful with the turnout.

I look like a real chef eh!?!?!? :)

This was at the lantern festival a week and a half ago.

Church was amazing on Sunday. I bore my testimony for the first time here in Korea and it felt amazing!! I love the church!! After church we headed over to the Knudson's for YSA break the fast and it also was yummy. We had a spiritual thought after and visited and then I headed home. I went for nice stroll on Sunday night. It turned green here so fast!! The weather is getting hotter and hotter!

Here's the whole YSA crew that was over for dinner.

On Monday I headed to Namdaemun Market. It's a huge outside market that I like to call "Bargain Baby" haha... I had some fun doin some bargaining. I only bought 2 things, but I bargained probably at least 50 times. For some reason, I had a lot of fun taking a price from $60.00 to $15.00.. it was fun. I met up with Gina and Brittany from church. We had plenty of laughs, got a lil lost, and enjoyed our relaxed Saturday afternoon.

So I was waiting for Gina and Britt at the subway station and this guy, who had to be about 70 or 75 years old... starting pulling out these kick moves. He went back and forth between poles kickin them until the subway came... I had to get a picture. I started laughing when I first saw it and got some mean glares from a few of the 'kind' Koreans that were around :) oops.

After shopping, we were starving. Now I understand that Korea is going to be different from America or Canada, but we all thought that there would be a foodcourt in a huge mall by the market we were at.... we were wrong. There were 10 floors of clothing and no foodcourt. No wonder all the women and men are the size of one of my legs.... geesh :) So finally we found this absolutely delicous place that was kinda like booster juice back home and we all got a small smoothie and a wrap. It was scrumdiddliumptious (good word eh!! :))

Mmmmmmm smoothies!!!! Sooooo good!!

Brittney, me, and Gina

I was trying on my new shirt in the restaurant and my head got stuck... oops :)

After eating, we went to a park for a bit and wandered around and then I said my goodbyes and headed over to PJ and Lori's to stay over for the night. Dai came and met up with us and for FHE we went out for dinner at an Indian restaurant. My first time eating Indian food and it was very good!! A little spicy, but I feel like I'm beginning to like the spicy side of food more and more while being over here. After dinner we started walking home and stopped by an ice cream shop. Then we headed back to the Rogers house. We all fell asleep in the living room. Jaida was cuddled up right next to me, so I had a bit of a hard time sneakin away to get in my own bed.. but it was cute!


So Tuesday, Lori had to work, but PJ, Jaida, Amaya, lil Leah, Dai and I headed to hike the Namsan tower. We decided to hike up the stair hike up to the top.. yah my calves are getting wickid ripped here haha It was a great hike and we had a ton of fun doing it!!

Dai, Amaya, Jaida, and I with the 'magic water'

Here's Leah, PJ, Amaya and Jaida half way up the hike!!

My 'lil sis' Amaya on my shoulders watching a dance!!

Awwwwww.... kinda home.. it's the closest thing to Alberta I could find in the tower!!

The hiking crew!!

View from the top

After our hike we headed back to PJ and Lori's and Bob came over and we all had dinner. I headed home quite late and was not excited at all about starting work again the next day!! :) I have to admit though, the next morning I saw my lil Dale and he was soooo excited to see me and I really did miss the lil squirts!! They're so stinking cute! I definately could do the 3 day work day I did this week!! It was awesome!!

It was Dai's birthday yesterday and so Bob, Mitch and I put our heads together along with PJ and Lori and had a lil shindig over at the Rogers house last night! It was a lot of fun!! Here's some pics from that too!! And that was my long weekend and week!! Things will prob be a lil more boring, but we'll see if I can get another blog up in the next week or so!! :)

Dai and Steve hanging out for her birthday!!! :)
This is the card I made for Dai during my lunch at school :) I'm so creative :)

Check out Lori in the back.. she has chocolate cake all over her teeth.. lil creeper haha

Well my long weekend has begun!!! WOOT WOOT!! I haven't done much of anything yet :) but I'm sure I'll find a few things to fill my long weekend. But we did have quite a successful Children's Day yesterday at school and boy was it draining, but a ton of fun. It was a day full of laughter, stress :), kids laughing and screaming, lots of good food and treats, and a few VERY happy teachers when 6 o'clock hit!!

Here is Annika and Ginna all dressed up for Children's Day. Annika actually had sparkles all over her hair and her chest and arms... Dad.. why couldn't we wear sparkles all over our body when we were that age!?!?!? haha Oh and Annika was also wearing lipstick! haha

We started the day with all of the foreign teachers meeting at the school at 8:30 to decorate the school with balloons and posters. It was actually a lot of fun. Once the children arrived we split into groups and my and Haley's class went outside to play with a parachute. It was a gorgeous day and I wished we could have just stayed outside all morning and just let them run around, but we were on a tight schedule and our director and his wife were keeping a close eye on the whole situation :) what's new... :) The kids had a lot of fun outside and were still running around lil little banshee's!

They were soooo crazy... like pulling the parachute from all angles, pulling kids down... good times for sure!! :)

Then we headed inside for a 'magic show'. The kids loved it and it was sooo cute to watch their faces throughout the show. I had two girls, Rachel and Camilla, who were just clinging to me and I think Haley got some pictures of it, so I'll try to get those.

Annika again being a goof... I just realized I have a lot of pics of her... he's just such a lil bundle of joy... such a goof and just hilariously cute haha.

After the magic show we headed upstairs for some pictures and lunch. We had a buffet. It was pretty good. Nothing like the buffet's at home :) After lunch we made mini pizza's and a mom from my class brought a cake, so we blew out some candles, but I didn't' give my kids any because it was time to go home and they definately had enough sugar for the day :) So I just gave it to the staff, who completely demolished it! The Korean's sure can eat!

My class with their presents and cards from me!! Dale in the front on the left is very excited about the present and day!! haha

It was a super fun and exhausting day. After we finished work, Mrs. Kim wanted to take us out for dinner and drinks, so we headed downstairs for a lil meal. I ate crab that was still in a shell... but it was soft and actually pretty stinkin good!! I also ate raw fish... yes Lynz I said raw and it wasn't too bad either... of course I had to put this tomato kind of sauce on it before it went in my mouth, but it was good. Anyway, it was a great day and I am happy it is over and now I can relax and do some hiking and play tourist for the weekend :)