Happy Lunar New Year!!!

The Lunar New Year is a big deal here--the kids got 2 days off of school, and Tyler got 3, so we decided to head out and see some of the countryside. We drove 2 hours east to Chiaksan National Park and did some hiking. It was freezing but beautiful.

 This is about as good as our family pictures get these days. Someone is always moving or talking or looking the other way.

 Kalia was spoiled by her big brother and dad and got carried a good portion of the hike. 

There are buddhist temples along the hike, nestled in the mountains. 

 Shayla with the guardians at the base of the temple. (sorry about the sideways--I rotated before i uploaded, but somehow it didn't work).

 Me and Garrett

 The temples are so beautifully maintained

 Miya exploring the temples

 A giant bell outside the temple. Korean bells are famous for their sound, and are different in that they are struck from the outside of the bell (notice on the right the wooden beam that is swung to ring the bell)

 Shayla was our photographer on the hike so we got lots and lots of beautiful scenery shots.

 There were lots of rocks stacked on each other along the side of the trail.

 Shayla art

 The girls 

 The boys

 Since it was 16 degrees out the waterfall was frozen solid. The kids had fun sliding down it.

 Everything was going great until Kalia had an accident. That ended the hike and we booked it down the mountain to get her changed into dry clothes. Poor thing was shivering by the time we made it down.

This is beondegi. Beondegi are steamed or boiled silkworm pupae. I'm sure you will be shocked to know that Tyler and Garrett tried it. They were gagging for the next 15 minutes, and shoving Triscuits in their mouth to try and get rid of the taste.  

When you come to visit, we will let you all try it :)

 We had fun playing Spike Ball in our hotel room, while the little girls played "beauty parlor." No photos of that, but we did wander through a Hanji Museum the next day after church. Hanji is beautiful paper art made here in Korea.

 These dressed were made from paper.

 the boys were thrilled with the museum :)

 Miya and kalia found a Frozen hanji that they loved.

 Kalia loves to dance!

 Also made of paper (Hanji) 

 We got lucky having the superbowl coincide with the Lunar New Year. It was so fun having a SuperBowl party Monday morning! The game started at 8:30am here.

Spike Ball fun with Garrett, Shayla, Grant and Felicity

 After the Broncos won, the girls got dressed up in Hanbok and we went to a cultural celebration.

 Emi is so sweet and smiley!

 Good thing we made Kalia wear clothes under her hanbok :)

 Playing the Korean drums

 I think this was a Chinese dragon the kids got to dress up in and dance around.

 Garrett on a Korean swing

 G, S and F in front of an old-fashioned mill-stone

Miya and Eva made paper kites and then had fun flying them around the palace. 

Such a fun celebration! In Korea, you don't turn a year older on your birthday, you turn a year older on the Lunar New Year. You also have to eat a traditional soup in order to age. Koreans also count a baby as 1 year old as soon as they are born, so a lot of the Korean kids in Miya's class are 8 (in Korean years:)

Here's to a wonderful 2016 to everyone!

Happy Year of the Monkey to you all!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!                                                                December 2015

I am running late this year (big surprise), but wanted to take a minute and reach out to our family and friends.

This has been a big year for us. We moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in August of 2014, and planned to be there for 2 years, but ended up moving in August of 2015 to Seoul, South Korea! We are so grateful to be here, living just a mile from Kristina and Curt (my sister and brother-in-law). We count it a huge blessing that we get to live by family for 2 years and are enjoying fun cousin times.

Ty (14) is a Freshman, and navigating High School and early-morning seminary well. He has enjoyed running cross-country and had the opportunity to race in Guam in monsoon-conditions. Definitely a memorable experience. He is now playing basketball. He had a music composition class that he thought might do him in, but he survived it and now knows more music theory than I do. He has had a good attitude with all of our moving adventures for which Tyler and I are grateful.

Shayla (12) is in 7th grade, and loving middle school. She also ran cross-country and did great. She has been very diligent in keeping up her training, and is looking forward to running again next year. Shayla also enjoys playing the piano and is my one child who practices without being forced. I love hearing her play! She is missing gymnastics so has taken up cheer to keep up her tumbling skills. I’m supposed to find her a gym here in Seoul over the Christmas break.

Garrett (10) is in 5th grade and enjoying his last year of elementary school. He is doing great at school and especially enjoys playing football after school with some buddies. He played soccer in the fall and really enjoyed that too. We are also trying to start up with piano again after the big move, and he enjoys playing once he gets going.

Grant (8) had a big year with getting baptized out in Utah on his birthday. It was so fun to have family and friends there to share in the special day. He is enjoying scouting now, and played flag-football in the fall. He got to be the quarterback and really enjoyed that. He is in 3rd grade and loves reading Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and all things adventure. 

Miya (6) started kindergarten this fall and after adjusting to the long day has really enjoyed it. She loves to make us laugh and smile, and is great at cheering us all on. She really enjoyed taking a ballet/jazz dance class with her cousin Eva.

Kalia (3) is such sweet company during the day. She attends a Korean class with me twice a week and is very patient, even though she doesn’t like it. Her reward is her dance class which she takes with her cousin Kiku. She loves to dance her heart out, and we recently took her to do Korean Karaoke (Noraebang) and found out that she is a diva at heart. She danced and sang her heart out and can’t wait to go back for more.

Tyler is really enjoying his job as a Foreign Service Officer for the Dept. of Commerce. He works at the Embassy and gets to help U.S. businesses here in Korea. He really enjoys the people he works with and helping U.S. companies expand their business abroad.

I am enjoying working with the young women at church ( I get to work with Shayla’s age) and do my best to keep up with our busy family. We just rang in the new year by running a midnight 5K and I realized I’m getting older when my 8 year old left me in the dust. It was a great way to start the New Year, and I’m grateful for all of the new experiences we are having here in Korea. 

In addition to our new adventures here in Korea we enjoyed our time in Florida including camping in the Florida Keys, alligator adventures, exploring the Everglades, cruising the Caribbean, spending a week in the Dominican Republic, and lots of fun family and friend visits and reunions. We are especially grateful for our Savior and this wonderful time of year that turns our hearts to Him, and to the things that matter most. 

We love you and wish you all the best in 2016!

Love,

Tyler, Leilani, Ty, Shayla, Garrett, Grant, Miya and Kalia Hacking

Unit 9600 Box 106

DPO, AP 96209

Korean Week

The first week of November was Korean Week at Seoul Foreign School. That meant that Garrett, Grant and Miya got to learn all about the Korean culture by playing Korean games, dressing in traditional clothing (hanbok), and trying lots of delicious Korean food. They also had a talent show where they displayed talents. It was a really neat week--here are a few pics of the festivities.

Miya sang with her Kindergarten class at the talent show a song in Korean, called "I Am Blue"

There was a pretty hilarious microphone take-over as the kindergarteners started making funny noises into them. It was very entertaining, but the Korean teacher did NOT look pleased. One kid even got whisked off of the stage in the middle of the performance. I love this age!

Making a Korean top

 Miya in the traditional Hanbok. They took an all-school picture with all of the kids dressed up. 

 Grant looked great in his Hanbok!

 Grant running around the gym playing the fun Korean games.

 Miya just wanted to pound rice into rice flour. 

 Garrett had fun with the arrow throwing. And the Korean see-saw. It was just a board laid over a rolled up carpet in the middle, and the kids would each stand on one end of the board, and alternate jumping and try and fling the other one way up in the air. Lots of fun and no one broke a bone. Success!

 We attended the Kimchi festival a few weeks ago. It was rainy and cold, but lots of fun to learn about the process.

 They set up a mini village backdrop and showed how to make kimchi. I'm still trying to acquire a taste for it. I try it every time it is offered, but usually end up with tears in my eyes and a runny nose. Maybe in a year I will like it...

 Kalia was freezing, but a good sport. She was not about to try any of the kimchi though, because it's spicy.

 They used to make the kimchi and then put it in these giant kimchi pots, bury them in the ground and then let it sit for 1 to 3 years.  Now they have special fridges that they put the kimchi in to age. 

After trying all of the different kimchi, the kids needed some good comfort food so we ate at Burger King for lunch. Not my favorite, but they thought it tasted like heaven.

It doesn't matter how big they get, I never tire of watching my kids sleep. They are so peaceful. And quiet. I just love it.

Happy Thanksgiving, Mom's visit, and Baby time!

We have had a wonderful Thanksgiving season with so much for which to be thankful.

We started the day out with a trip to the emergency room after the turkey bowl. Tyler tore a calf muscle and was in a lot of pain. After some crutches and ibuprofen, he was ready to carve the turkey. 

I forgot to take a picture of the big feast, so it looks like we just had water. I promise, we had a feast with all of the trimmings. Kristina had been in labor all morning, but made it for the feast, but couldn't stay for pie. Curt and Kris left in a hurry when Kris's water broke. We were excitedly awaiting the call to know when she would be born!

All of the kids had fun feasting and playing.

This is Garrett with his baby :) I assigned all of the kids a dish to prepare and Garrett chose the oreo pie. It is becoming his specialty as he made it last year too.

About 9:30 we took the kids and Grandma back over to the Magleby's for bed, and when we pulled into the parking garage we got the news that Emi Joy had been born. It was such a sweet moment to be there so soon after her birth and get to meet her for the first time. Such a sweet Thanksgiving baby!

Mom took family photos for us. We got through this session without anyone throwing up, or any major tantrums. It was one of our better years. And although Shayla and Garrett thought this was a great pose, it got nixed from the Christmas card. 

 Grandma time! Kalia was done with photos by this point.

Miya's birthday was the Monday after Thanksgiving, so we celebrated all weekend. We weren't quite awake yet, but delivered crepes for her breakfast in bed.

 I can't believe she is 6 already!

We did birthday dinner and presents on Sunday.

 Happy Birthday, Miya!

 This was our group shot at the party since we didn't get a picture on Thanksgiving Day.

 Miya making a wish over her Mint Oreo Pie.

 Ty warming up for his basketball game. He is having a great season and I'm proud of him. He initially got cut from the team at the last round, and he was pretty bummed. So he contacted the coach and asked for any suggestions of good drills to do so he could practice and make the team next year. It turned out that someone dropped out of the team, so the coach added Ty. I have to admit that I was kind of okay with Ty not making the team, for selfish reasons of having more time at home as a family, etc. But seeing how happy he is and how much he has progressed has made it all worth it. He is doing a great job of balancing early-morning seminary with school and homework and basketball. And it was fun for him to have Grandma at one of his games!

 Birthday festivities! Miya and Eva got to paint a piece of pottery at the arts and crafts center. They are such great partners in crime. They love all things artsy!

 Holding Baby Emi for the first time. Living so close has it's definite perks. 

 Holding Emi, trying to take turns. No one really wants to share though.

 More Emi love.

 Noraebang or Korean karaoke is AMAZING! This luxury noraebang had all you can eat ice cream and soda, while we sang our hearts out in our own private room. The kids loved it. It really brought out the superstar in all of them. Especially Kalia--she was strutting her stuff on the dance floor and really "Letting It Go" on the singing (which the kids sang 3 times while we were there).

Matching kitty cars at Emart 

 Neither of the girls wanted to be the prince, so Grandma volunteered.

Our dramatic Kiku and Kalia dressed up as princesses at the museum, and then both died. It was a sad day.

 Mom and I got to attend the temple together on our snowstorm day. I think the sun was especially bright reflecting off of the snow, which is why we can't open our eyes.

 My wonderful Mom in front of the temple.

 Poor Miya got sick with a fever the day before her Christmas concert. In typical Miya fashion she was disappointed, but unphased. "At least I get to walk through all of the snow. I love the sound it makes when I step on it" as she made tracks all over the yard.

 Eating delicious Korean BBQ! A favorite treat.

 Emi is such a good baby--she just slept in her pack through the whole meal. 

We took mom out to a show her last night in Korea. It is a cooking show without much talking, just a lot of food-chopping, dancing, percussion-type entertainment, with lots of humor and audience participation to entertain. Tyler was selected to help out on stage, and got to taste the soup they made and dress in some traditional Korean clothes. Such a fun night! 

And Miya and Kalia and I met Tyler at the embassy for lunch. When Miya saw the podium she just had to give a speech. She climbed up to the podium and recited the 2nd Article of Faith for the entire lunchroom. It was pretty sweet :)