Heavenly Hike

So this past weekend, Hayli and I decided to go on a hike. We asked around the school and heard about a hike in Seoul that was supposed to be really nice. So we met up at the subway station and weren't really sure which way to go or what bus to get on. The nice thing about Korea is you ALWAYS see older couple hikers all geared up to go hike, so we decided if we followed a group of intense looking hikers, we were bound to get to some kind of mountain! :)

At the beginning of our hike!!!


Hmmmm looks intense.. I'll do it!! :)

Oh just rockclimbing!!!

We got lucky and made it to the mountain we were trying to get to. Can't remember what it was called, but it was nice. So the whole set up was a little confusing for us foreigners because there were many different paths that you could take. Many of them were just places for families or couples to sit and have lunch, so we just tried to follow the most intense dressed hikers. We finally got to a place where there was only two paths to choose from. We tried to ask some a Korean couple which way it was to get to the top of the mountains. It didn't go so well. You see one of the hikes was more downhill and easy and the other... well the very beginning part of the hike was loose rocks that you had to hike up. They kept telling us to go the easy way, but we were determined to get to the very top of the mountain. Must of have our hiking gear. I was wearing my bball jersey and running shoes and Hayli was in some capris and running shoes. We started up the hike and I must say it was the most interesting hike I've ever been on. We actually were more rock climbing than hiking up a path and it was sure exciting and challenging. There was a group of 3 older ladies that kept trying to talk to us on the way up. They kept giving us fruit and snacks and were so nice and cute.

Our hiking friends!!!!

We got about half way up the mountain and I felt like I was back in Waterton at the top of Bears Hump just looking at the beautiful scenery around me!! I LOVED being on that mountain!! We just sat at that halfway point and enjoyed the heck out of the sunshine and beauty.

Some snacks from our friends!!

Loving life up there... :)

But the halfway point was not enough for us. We kept troopin on. We got pretty close to the top and all of sudden we see these ropes and some serious rock climbing to get up there. I was totally pumped!! Talk about an adventure and a half!!

The Ropes

We had a ton of fun and will definately be doing some more hiking while in the near future!! I was thinking on Sunday how the hike can be related to our lives. Satan always tried to get us to take the easier downhill paths and although the path can sometimes be very challenging and rocky, it is sooo worth it once we get to the top!!!

Chef KHilla.... Goodbye Rogers Fam for a Bit

So this past weekend was stellar. Pj and Lori left today to go back to the states.. PJ for 3-4 weeks and Lori and the girls are gone till August... so I decided I wanted to make dinner for them this past Sunday.

On Friday, I went to Lotte Deparment store with Hayli and Caitlin from school, then I jumped on the subway and headed to the Rogers house becaue PJ had called me earlier that day to ask if I would teach a class at Jaida's school on Saturday morning. Friday night, PJ and I watched a western movie and than headed to bed. Lori, of course, passed out much earlier than us :) So I went to Jaida's school in the morning not really knowing what I was gonna teach or how the kids were going to be... I was a little nervous, but I brought some flashcards and coloring papers from my school. I ended up teaching a group of about twelve 9-10 year old kids. I had a blast and I think they all really enjoyed my class too, which was super fun.

Oh just me and some of the kids from Jaida's school

Here's a funny story for ya... so it was pouring rain on Saturday and my umbrella was soakin wet, so I didn't want to take it inside... so I closed it up and tucked it back by some plants by the door. Well after my class, I went outside to wait for Jaida and my umbrella had been stolen. Now, I know.. kinda silly to leave an umbrella outside... BUT I figured that everyone who came to the school would already have an umbrella and woudln't be in need to steal one... I was wrong. So Jaida had a raincoat with a hood and a tiny princess umbrella. We shared it on the way home and I got soaked :) I have learned my lesson :)

Elizabeth, Amaya and I

Always in the kitchen :)
My delicious dessert

Saturday afternoon, Elizabeth came over and we both helped around the house. Lori was really sick throwing up and spent most of the afternoon sleeping and resting. I also made my mom's famous 'sex in a pan' dessert. I of course needed no help and didn't call my momma once with questions or measurement... :)... Ok maybe I called once, but just to make sure she had told me the right measurements :) On Saturday night, the was a lil YSA shindig over at Mitch's house. Elizabeth and I got there late because we stayed to help babysit till PJ got home from his meeting. We had fun over there. We just watched a movie and after most people left... Dai, Steve, Bob, Elizabeth, Mitch and I played some cards and then all went home... well I went back to the Rogers house.

Sunday morning I got to have a good chat with my fam and then my bestie, Kenzie!! It was really fun to have Kenz and my fam see and talk with the Rogers fam. I did the lil girls' hair again and headed to church. PJ spoke in the ward we went to on humility. He did an amazing job. Hopefully my talk next week on overcoming the Galiaths in our lives will be just as good... :) After church PJ dropped Elizabeth and I back at the apartment and we got cooking!! We had a lot of fun in the kitchen and although I was a little nervous about how it was all gonna turn out... it was a GREAT success!! PJ said "it exceeded my expectations" haha. We ended up having 14 people come over for dinner, which was initially supposed to be like 8, so that initially added to the stress, but once I let my natural chef skills take over, it was all good :) I think I will definately be cooking one of two more dinners while I'm here for the Rogers' house and whoever else they invite over for my masterous pieces of delicious food :)

Bob was excited about the food :)


Dai and Elizabeth loved dessert

Sidenote: We had a foreign teacher, Caitlin.. just take off back to the states without telling anyone this past weekend.. so the other teachers have had to pick up her classes. I think because I've kept my mouth shut and just sucked up and done the work, they didn't give me any extra classes, which is super nice... we'll see what happens in the future.. but the other foreign teachers are not very impressed right now :( Hopefully everything works out ok.

In the end, this weekend was a lot of fun. I'm really gonna miss the Rogers family, but I also know that time flies here and I'm sure they'll be back before I know it. I will definately be missing PJ's cooking though!! I guess I'll have to step up my chef game for the next few weeks :)

Shout Out to my Papa!!! Lots of LOVE!!

Oh this is just my studdly papa with my two pretty lady dogs (Belle and Nash)

I have the bestest daddy!!! We have had so many good times together!! Today was a great day.. I got to take some time to just reflect on my papa and how freakin awesome he is!! I love watching sports with my daddy.. I love going to hunt rabbits at 12:30 a.m. and shooting the crap out of the "Peter".. (he was an evil Peter rabbit), I love how my daddy and I can joke about just about anything. I have the smartest daddy too... he can tell you facts that sound like he made them up.. most of them being true... except for the story about him and Bruce.. oh wait I mean Byron... oh wait I mean Wally... oh who knows now... anyway the story of them fighting off the Indians on the way to Waterton!!!! tee hehe

Got some geese.. not sure who the sexy girl on the right is though but I love her hat.. hehe

I love how supportive and motivating my daddy was with sports growing up. Sometimes, I must admit, it made me angry but in the long run... I know that I became a better athlete because of the passion, stubborness, motivation (sometimes forced) and love that my daddy passed on to me. Yes dad.. my ultra stubborness comes from you!!

I think we will say... I blew this lil wabbit to smitherines!!! :)

Daddy..... I love you more than eleventy-four!! I wish I could be there with you today, but I know you'll feel special and loved having Kait, Lynz, Dust, Momma, and the cutest lil guy Beckam to keep you company and wish you a very happy Father's Day!! You are amazing daddy and I just love talking with you and spending time with you!!! I miss you like crazy over here and thought of you way too much today... I maybe shed a couple drops of tears for you... but only a drop or two!! Have an amazing day and smile 11 times for me ok ok!! Oh and my present for you is coming in the mail and may just be the best presents I've ever got you... YES BE EXCITED!!! :)

Daddy's hunting girl

LOVE YOU!!!!!

Mosan Farm

So on Tuesday we took the kids on a field trip to a cow farm. It was a lot of fun!! The kids were running around crazy. They got to feed the cows, millk a cow (interesting), make some chocolate ice cream and just be little kids. I was a lot more laid back this field trip and I let the kids just run around, which was a bit of a chance taker, but it turned out pretty good!! I lost a couple kids every now and then, but they were laughing and smiling the whole day. We took a ride on tractor that the kids really enjoyed too.

Danny and Annika eating some snacks!!

The kids feeding the cow

Annika fell asleep while holding my hand on the way back to school... precious

Dental Office Dinner and Babysitting

I had a really good weekend!! On Friday night Caitlin, Hayli and I watched a movie in Hayli's apartment on her computer!! We had some good laughs! It was nice to hang with the girls for a relaxing night. On Saturday the church put on a welfare meeting from 3-6. I debated going, but ended up meeting Gina and Brit to go. It was really good! We had some amazing speakers. After the meeting, I went with PJ and Lori back to their place to help make dinner for a dental office that they had invited over. The dentist was the only one that spoke English, but all the dental assistants were really nice.

We made some chili, creamy corn, buns, caesar salad, rice and punch. It was delicious!! The Koreans loved it and we had a lot of fun! We played 'murder' and spoons and were laughing and having a lot of fun!!





On Sunday I did the girls' hair and and headed to church!! Sunday was so great!! We had some very good speakers in sacrament!! One lady talked about holding on to extra baggage and how it weighs us down. She told a story of when she was young. Four of her friends and herself decided to take a trip to a beach. They all packed into the car and piled all their baggage in the trunk. When she started driving, it was very different to keep control of the steering. She later learned that because there was so much weight in the back of the car, the front wheels were slighted lifted off the road, which made it hard to keep control of steering. I thought it was very interesting story!! I also met a new friend. His name is Evan and he is here from BYU-Hawaii. He's doing a practicum here at a hotel. He served his mission here and it here till August and is super nice!

Lil Leah sleeping on me

Jaida's hair.... flipped through the pony and a fishtail... this was also at 8 p.m. so it is a lil messy now... :)

PJ and Lori had to speak at a fireside, so I stayed and babysat the girls. We played 'princess and pirates', 'Captain Jaida' and watched 'Mulan'... good times for sure! It was a great weekend! It is always nice to get away from Uijeongbu.

Miss Amaya and me watching Mulan!!

Weekend Fun

This is lil Allie (5 years old) and I at the birthday party a week and a half ago. She's so cute!!

This weekend was pretty relaxed. On Friday, I went out for dinner with Hayli and Elisa from work. We went to an Indian restaurant and it was delicious, spicy, but delicious. Then Elisa took us to a clothing store that her friend owned. We got some sweet deals! I got a really cute scarf that I'm sure you'll see in the future when it is cool enough to wear it :)

So I have finally taken some pics of the flowers that are all over the walls when you go on walks... these aren't even that good!! They arrange the flowers so well over here and it makes walks very peaceful and beautiful!


Dai and I were supposed to go hiking on Saturday, but because of miscommunication it didn't happen, so I just headed to the gym in the morning, talked to my stellar sister, Lynz, for like 2 hours which was soooo fun! We dont' have those long talks too often because she's busy with lil Beckam and the time difference doesn't help the situation. She taught me the Korean symbols again and I've been trying to pay more attention to the Korean symbols in the subway and walking around! Wish me luck!! haha It was great to see lil Beckam and his stellar parents and talk with them for while! Anyways, after chatting with Lynz, Dai called and she had planned to meet with Bob up at Camp Casey later on that night, so we ended up going together. We all went out for dinner on base at this scrumtious restaurant. I had a grilled chicken salad and it was mmm mmmm good!! We watched a baseball game and chatted for quite some time and then we played pool for a lil while. I learned that, well I'm not the best pool player, but I am professional at scratching the ball. I hit the white ball in the pockets at least 5 times in our 2 games! But no worries, I'll get practicing and kick both of their butts next time!! :)




Dai slept over Saturday night, which was interesting considering my bed is tiny. Luckily, Dai came up with a solution. We used my yoga mat and my blanket from my bed and she slept on that. I'm not too fond of sharing a single bed ya know. Not my cup of tea!



This is Krista from the subway. She liked to pet my blonde hair!! :)

Sunday morning came and I was quite tired. I got ready and headed to the subway. As I stepped on the train and looked for a seat, a lady and an older man all of a sudden got very excited and started smiling and waving to me. I took my earphones off to hear the woman say "hello hello hello hello". I could tell that she had a slight mental disability and I decided to sit by her and chat for a bit. She spoke very little English and the man with her, who turned out to be her father, spoke a little better, but not much. They asked as many questions as they could get out properly and I asnwered and explained as best I could. The woman kept calling me uh... yepida or something like that, which means beautiful. I just smiled and said kahm sahm mi duh (thank you). Well about 10 minuts in, she wrapped her arm around mine and was holding my hand. Now this was VERY uncomfortable for me, but I could tell by the smile on her face that it was making her day, so I toughed it out. Anyway, I decided to give her a picture of me with a note on the back. Luckily I had a picture of me in my scriptures, so I wrotes "To: Krista I love you! Smile always because you are beautiful! Love Kristen" and I gave it to her. She had tears in her eyes and started rummaging through her purse. Here in Korea, they believe that if you receive something from something, you must give a present back in response, which is ridiculous, but she had no pictures. She took out her make-up kit and handed me a lil mirror :) It was sooo cute. Her father showed a lot of gratitude for just those few minutes I had given to her and it just made me realize how much a hello or smile can do for a person. Anyway, I thought it was cute story :)

My new lil mirror from Krista!! :)

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!!