SNOWING!

This morning, I wrote about how the smell in the air reminded me of fall and how much I loved fall... guess what! It's SNOWING! Yeah, you read that correctly, snowing! It's not even Halloween yet!!  We just completely skipped my favorite season!  It's a wet yucky snow too!  I'm surprised it's sticking!! Now the question is... what's to come?!

Memories

Moving back up north has brought back a lot of memories.  This morning, waiting for the bus to come, made me think of when i was young and waiting for the bus.  There is a distinct smell in the air... oh how I love Fall!  It is my favorite season!!  The trees are beautiful and it's cooler outside which means HOODIE SEASON!!  I have actually given up hoodies for the most part.  I use to have one on at ALL times, even in Florida!  Now that it is the season, I get to wear them again!  

It's times like these that make me wish I lived closer to my family.  Everyone outside and playing in the yard.  A game of football would be fun!! ...Married with the little ones running around. Ok.. time to stop dreaming.  I was going to say, yeah right, imagine Kristin and Mikiel playing football... but you know what, I think they would!  I also think they would enjoy playing with my kids... one day, just as long as they left after an hour and didn't cry!  And no Mikiel, you can not toss little Joey like he's a football!  Haha Anyways!  Back to reality!  Right now, it's 35 degrees out and raining, not exactly the picture I was painting for you.  

Sock Hop

Positive, positive, positive... as Shawna told me, never write anything negative.  It's the good that you will remember.  Guess what, I'm not always the most positive person, but I will try.

First off, I would like to know where all of my outgoingness has gone.  In high school, I was much more outgoing and would say everything I felt or show my crazy side.  In college, some people saw that outgoing side of me but I became much more reserved.  Now, where has that fun side gone?  It never comes out anymore.   The goofy Alana, that will look like a fool because she's having fun, is gone.  Well, she's not gone, she just needs to come back to life.  Quick story... There was this kid in college who came around and I tried to hide from.  One night, he came over and decided to try to get me to show my fun side.  So, we went outside and he started screaming. He wanted me to not care about what was going on around me and just enjoy what I was doing.  I should've learned something from him.  Live in the moment.  Say what I feel and enjoy life.  Unfortunately, I didn't....

Overall, the dance last night was fun. Shawna and I listened to Greese on the way.  It got our 50s side ready to party. Shawna wore her Pink Ladies outfit and I was in my, Alana made,

poodle skirt. I must say, we both looked cute and fit our costumes!  The majority of people were dressed up and everyone looked great!  There was a cute little "Soda Shop" set up in the corner with cookies, hotdogs and ice cream.  Everyone was dancing and enjoying themselves. I need to not care and get on the floor and dance.  My grandmother always wanted me to take dance lessons, I should've done it!!  Shoulda, woulda, coulda.  Hey, it's never too late to learn right?!  I just need to do it and of course find the money for it.  I'm glad I got to dress up and meet new people!  That part is always fun!!

Enthusiasm

When I started this, I was way excited!  The excitement has dwindled.  I'll try to continue posting.  Let's see... I'm never going to live down setting the alarm on the cleaning lady.  Bill keeps joking with me about it.  When Gab, Ethan and I were leaving today, Gab asked if we were going to set the alarm... she was only kidding because the cleaning lady was upstairs.  Eh, it's funny.  If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? 

We went to a museum, Manmouth Museum, on Wednesday.  The parts for kids were cute, but it wasn't something that lasted long. They had a Space Adventure area.  There was also an Underwater Sea Adventure.  We left before the planetarium show because there was no way I could keep them entertained for an hour and a half until the show!!

  I took them to a new playground.  Josh LOVED it!  He kept screaming, this is the best play ground EVER!  Unfortunately, it was very cold outside and windy.  We only stayed a short while.  I'm really going to have to stop wearing flip flops and it's going to break my heart.  I think I'd rather keep my toes.  

I'm VERY excited about the next two weekends!  I really do enjoy Halloween!! My mom told me recently that I loved to dress up for Halloween as a child.  Then again, what kid doesn't?  

Side note real fast about what kid doesn't... I was making cupcakes, that look like pumpkins, for the kids.  I gave Ethan the spoon to lick the batter.  He took a lick or two and gave it back saying if he ate too much it would give him a stomach ache!  What four year old says that and who doesn't like cake batter?!?! Crazy kid! Also, I had to make the cake batter orange and the frosting because the store didn't have any!! What?!  New Jersey... I tell ya! 

Upcoming events... tomorrow night is the Sock Hop!! I get to wear the poodle skirt I made. I'm very sad that Shawna bought an outfit to wear and will not be sporting her poodle skirt.  I must say, the pink ladies outfit is definitely more her style. I'm a poodle skirt kind of girl and she's a pink lady kind of girl.  Look at me I'm Sandra Dee.... 

Another side note. In high school, I started bringing a purse to school.  A kid told me that I'm a Trapper Keeper kind of girl and not a purse kind of girl.  It has scarred me for life!!  

Back to upcoming events.   Next weekend, I'm even more excited about!! Wednesday night, Chad gave me a call and told me about a camp out in PA.  Ok, I don't remember all of the details, but I do know that Friday night is a Halloween dance with games and a HAUNTED HOUSE!!  Then, we get to sleep in cabins!!  The next day is more fun and games that lasts all night.  The best part of it all... it only costs $15!! Oh yeah, and I get to meet YSA!! Yeah!!! Now all I have to do is ask to get off at 5... I really wish Shawna would ask to get off early also!!  ;)

So, those are my plans... Next month is my trip to the Netherlands and in December I'm going to visit family in Ohio and PA!!  I'm just racking up my air miles!! Who am I going to visit in January?!?! 

Flu shots, Chuck E. Cheese and the Jitter Bug!

Today was a fun day!  I will say it now... I am a dork!  Anywho, the kids were off today and had to get flu shots.  I wasn't too sure how smooth that would go, so I just didn't inform them.  Gab knew because she read the calendar and asked about it.  Josh asked why they had to go to the doctor, I just said, "I don't know, a check up." We got to the doctor's at 9 and the receptionist asked, "Are you getting a flu shot or just the kids?" Josh turned to me and said, "You said we were just coming for a check up!"  They were going to find out sooner or later.  Gab was the brave one to go first.  She didn't wince or anything, then again I couldn't see her face.  The other two were not easy at all!! Josh refused to go.  Ethan sat on my lap and I bear hugged him and she stuck the needle in but he squirmed and it came out.  So, I also put my legs around him but he still knocked the needle out!  Joshua in the mean time ran out the door. The nurse got Ellen and the boys were still not having it.  Josh promised he would go if I got mine done, so I did.  He's not a good promiser!  Exactly how many people does it take to give a 6 year old a flu shot?  5!  Ellen went and got two helpers.  Ok, she said she was going to get a strong guy.  I did not expect a 6'7" man!! He was HUGE!  A lady came in also, she was probably 5'8".  I felt beyond short!  Ellen ended up holding Ethan and the third try worked.  Joshua, on the other hand, was behind the doctors office bed thing.  The man pulled the bed out, Ellen went on one side, I went on the other and we lifted him to the bed. She held part of him, I had his arm, one of the nurses had his legs and the tall man also had his legs. At least it only took one time for the nurse to give him the shot!  Of course, he was screaming and crying for a while afterwards.  We ended up walking around her office and then looking at pictures from a nurses trip to Africa.  They got lollipops in the van.  

At noon, we went to Chuck E. Cheese.  We ordered pizza and ate first.  Then, three hours of games!  Ethan's favorite thing there is the snow mobile.  Gab loves the skeet ball, because you get tickets.  She finishes her coins way before the boys do, I try to pace her.  Joshua just loves everything.  He bounces from one thing to the next.  They played tag in the tubes for a short time and tried to cheat by asking me where the other ones were.  Of course, I didn't tell them! All in all, it was a fun time.  

It was a little after 3 when we left and I didn't want to take them home yet.  Instead, we went to the playground.  That wasted a little bit of time.  Trying to do the monkey bars, balancing on the ropes, playing tag and swinging in the tire swing.  We decided to go home because they still had to have snack, shower and eat dinner before 6.  

On the ride home, I had the idea dance with them.  We watched, "Dancing with the Stars", in the morning and figured it would be fun to have our own competition.  Gab and Ethan went upstairs, so, Josh and I watched "Dancing with the Stars" to get some moves!  He was scared.  I just swung him around and flipped him for a little while.  Then, we called Ethan and Gab downstairs to watch our "routine".  Next, it was Gabs turn.  We actually came up with a routine and performed it for the boys.  Josh got a piece of paper and was our judge.  Let me tell you, he was tough on us!! Ethan gave us a 6 and Josh gave us a 5.  I guess we need some practice!  

I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow, Gab wants to go to Manmouth Museum.  We'll see what happens. Good night!

Embarrassing!

Just a quick note... 

On friday, I was beyond embarrassed!  Forgetting that the cleaning lady was upstairs, I turned on the alarm and left the house.  When Ethan and I were getting in the van, he asked what the sound was.  I just said it was a car alarm and hurried him into the van.  On the way to his school, Ellen texted me.  It said, "Alarm went off. Police were dispatched. Please go home after you drop off Ethan."  Of course, after I received the text, I was caught by a train and then a funeral procession. I dropped off Ethan and went back to the house.  The alarm was still going off.  I went in, turned it off and looked in the kitchen at two police officers.  Oh man.  They were both really nice about it.  One was really cute but probably in his 40s.  The other officer said, "The cleaning lady doesn't speak a lick of english.  I yelled at her, GET OUT, over and over again but she just kept cleaning!  I was going to have to arrest her to get her to leave! She was definitely a trooper and just kept cleaning."  Then he asked, "Did you just forget she was coming?"  I should've said "Yeah, that's it!"  Instead, I said, "I forgot she was upstairs."  I'm so glad that you get 6 free false alarms a year!  How many have they had in the 10 years they've lived here... you've guess it!  ONE!  All because of me.  So, I left right after the police left and there were 5 neighbors out front "walking their dogs".  The next door neighbor asked what happened....   Let's just hope this never happens again!

Haunted House/Stake Conference

What did I do this weekend?  Well, Friday night I must not have done anything because nothing is coming to mind....  I can't be losing my memory already!! I do however remember Saturday.  I had several plans, get my oil changed, clean, go to the gym and attend stake conference.  The only thing that I actually ended up doing, was going to stake conference.  Elder Porter was presiding and I enjoyed it. 

 After stake conference, 8 of the YSA went to a haunted firehouse.  It was, to my surprise, a lot of fun!! I LOVE this time of year.  The trees are changing colors, it's nice and cool outside, there are haunted houses AND you get to dress up for Halloween!  We went to West Windsor and waited for everyone to show up.  I was worried that it was going to be HORRIBLE because we were the ONLY ones there!  Yeah, have you ever gone to a haunted house and didn't have to wait in line? Me either! It was great!  After everyone showed up, we walked over to the guy with the knife in his head.  Since no one was there, the scary people were outside.  They went in to set up and we waited under a tent.  Haley was so scared, it was hilarious!  We had to split into smaller groups.  The first group was Jayme, Chad, Chad's friend and me.  I lead the way, until we got to bodies hanging from the ceiling and I knew the third body was going to fall.  It freaked me out a little.  So Jayme, assuming he would not fall for the first person went ahead of me.  Thanks Jayme!  Two more guys fell also fell from the ceiling.  At one section, there was a green light and smoke, you could not see below the beam of light.  A guy jumped out to scare us and then went invisible.  I did not want to step on him, so I informed him of that.  He then guided me in the right direction.  How nice the scary fella was.  The next thing that I remember was after the hanging bodies was a bridge.  I just assumed it was a normal bridge.  Of course not!  I screamed because it moved, and a guy apparently jumped out and scared Chad.  At the end, there were some "little people", aka kids, who were rather freaky.  The entire time we were laughing.  Jayme had a nervous laugh that went something like a hu hu hu huu in a high pitch.  When we were outside waiting for the next group, Haley, Lizzy, Matt and Cory, we discussed what scared us the most.  At the beginning, Jayme was staring at the wall and the exact spot she was looking a guy appeared and scared her.  She had no idea he was there!  Mine of course was the men hanging from the ceiling.  It didn't scare me, I just didn't like the idea of it.  Chad was scared by the bridge guy and the "VERY little people" at the end.  When the next group came out, we tried scaring them... didn't work.  We then decided to go eat at the Americana Diner.  I'm glad Thom, even though he didn't go, gave us the idea of the haunted fire station. 

The 39 Steps

Last weekend, I went to NYC with Shawna for her 21st birthday!! Oh the memories, or lack there of, of turning 21!  Just a little different than Shawna's 21st! ;)  Anywho, Shawna's nanny family's grandmother is a Broadway producer and gets Shawna tickets for free.  I just benefit from the whole deal... because Shawna loves me!  :)  Who else would she want to spend the day in NYC with? Now back to the city... we took the train to Penn Station and the subway to 42nd.  I got to see the NYC temple for the first time!! I was excited... if only I would've done baptisms.  I need to get on that... but that's a whole 'nother story.  We ate lunch, by the temple, at Josephina's. It was a cute restaurant.  If you know me, you would be VERY proud!  I ordered it just the way it was on the menu, tomatoes and all!  I'm pretty sure that's a first for me.  I wish I could say I left everything on....  

After lunch, it was time to go to Chinatown.  Say what you wish.  We walked to the subway, first making a few detours.

We took it all the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge.  We got out and started our search for someone to say "Gucci, Prada?".  After an hour or so of wondering aimlessly through Chinatown, I saw a lady with a black bag.  I said, "Where did you get that?". She looked worried for a second, so I added, "Is that a purse?  Where did you get it? We've been looking forever!".  She then informed us of Canal St. Where we should've taken the subway in the first place.  Her husband instructed us on how to get there and off we went.  This was our second time in Chinatown, but our first time there at night.  It is definitely a lot different than the day time.  As soon as we got to the area a lady came up to us and we followed her.  The first stop, a purse store.  We went in, there was a door in the back we went through and then another secret door to all of the "other" purses.  There wasn't anything we wanted so we decided to leave.  The lady's sister took us to our next destination.  It was a bamboo store we went into.  We went into the back room, 2' x 3', into the bathroom, 1.5' x 2.5', and into the purse room.  Again, there was nothing there we were thrilled about.  Back to the streets we went.  It wasn't long before a guy asked us the familiar phrase in Chinatown.  So, we followed him.  This time, it was in an apartment building on the third floor.  She found a Findi purse she liked, that I bought for her birthday and I bought my mother a Prada purse.  

Here our my thoughts and feelings on Chinatown.  The first time I went, I said I would NEVER buy one of "those" purses.  What did I do?  Bought one for my Mac Book.  I thought, that would be my only exception.  Well, my mother wanted one and Shawna LOVES purses so... I've bought two more.  Ok, I'm done now.  I do enjoy going to the locations.  I'm REALLY scared when I do.  Not about getting killed or raped... but about getting arrested!  I don't know how often that happens but with my luck it would happen to me.  So, now I'm done.  I would however, love to just pretend I wanted to buy a purse so I could see the different hiding spots these people create.  I'm very interested in that side of Chinatown.  I would also love to talk to some of the people and see how they got into it and why they do it.  Ok, that's the criminology side of me.  

Now, back to our trip.  We were really cutting time close!  We had less than an hour to get to the subway and find where the show was located.  When we got to the subway, Shawna's card didn't let her through the gate, so I swiped mine.  When I swiped it for myself, it said "denied, just swiped", or something like that.  So, the guy that was in front of Shawna handed me his card, but it said the same

thing.  See, there are nice people in NY!  So, I just went under the turntable thing.  Hey, Shawna swiped her card and I swiped mine.  It just didn't let both of us through!  I feel like I'm justifying too much in this entry! :)

Well, we made it to the right place and we just had to find which theater it was in.  We walked down Broadway, which is a site in itself, and asked at an information center.  It was just a little bit farther.  We got there with 10 minutes to spare!  Shawna got our tickets while I waited in line.  Of course, we had great seats!  The play was hilarious!  It's an Alfred Hitchcock spoof.  There were 4 people playing ALL of the characters!  They really did a great job.  

After the show, we walked back to the subway.  Ok, I was the one with the map.  We headed towards the direction I thought we should be going in.  After a few blocks, I said "Um, I think we're going the wrong way."  We turned around and headed back the other way.  We passed where we originally were and went a few more blocks.  Then, I said "Um, I've been leading us to Grand Central instead of Penn Station."  I, of course, was laughing.  I'm not sure how thrilled Shawna was about my direction skills.  We took a little break and ran into a store for a snack.  I bought Bran Pretzels.  They were rather good.  We then continued our journey to Penn Station.  We got there and only had to wait about 15 minutes for the train! We sat on a staircase until they showed us which terminal was to Princeton Junction.  It wasn't long until we sat down on the train,  where Shawna realized she left her new purse on the stairs!  So, we hurried off the train and back to the staircase, where a young male was sitting next to her bag.  I grabbed it and said "Thank you!" and hurried back onto the train.  She was lucky! 

We sat next to some interesting people.  The mother was funny... in a way, or maybe just to me.  They had gone to the Madonna concert.  The mother told her daughter I was from Kansas. Kansas?  What do people from Kansas look like? Shawna went to sleep and I talked on the phone.  We got back to Princeton Junction and drove home.  I always enjoy my trips to the city! They're quite exciting!  

Aquarium

On Wednesday, Ellen, the kids and I went to the Aquarium in Camden, NJ.  It's right on the river across from Philly.  I really enjoyed it!   Some of the animals that were there surprised me... like the hippos.  There are 4 different sections but first we went to the cafeteria to eat lunch.  Ellen ordered WAY too much... 80% of it wasn't consumed.  This is what she bought... two soft pretzels, two pieces of pizza and 2 french fries for the boys.  Gabrielle had mozzarella sticks and shared the fries.  Ellen had a fruit bowl and onion rings.  I had a fruit bowl.  Then, they got 3 slushies and a bottle of water.   

After we were finished, we went to section D.  The first thing you see are the hippos! There were two of them.  Then, you see different types of jelly fish, an octopus, and tons of fish.  At the end of this section was the shark tunnel!  This is probably my favorite part.  You walk through a glass tunnel and there are fish and 3 different types of sharks swimming all around you!  It was very awesome!  There were also scuba divers in the tank with them.  They clean the tank every day.  After the tunnel, there is a cage dive video experience. You go into a "cage" and on a screen it shows you 

underwater and sharks are swimming with you.  The floor would shake when a shark hit the screen.  It was neat for the kids.  

It was getting close to 1 o'clock, when the Spongebob 4D movie started, so we went to Section A which was closest to it.  At the end of that section we could pet sharks!! I lied earlier... the best part of the aquarium was being able to feel the different things in the exhibits.   The sharks were smooth if you ran your hand down their backs and rough if you ran it up. It was really interesting being able to actually touch the sharks.

We got out of section A just in time for the Spongebob 4D Movie.  I assumed it was going to be the length of an actual movie but then I asked how long it was and his response was 15 minutes!  So, we got our 3D glasses and found our seats.  Gabrielle sat on the end, then me, Joshua, Ethan and Ellen.  Joshua was scared.  The first 10 minutes of the show was something about sharks.  We had air blowing at our heads and would get squirted with water.  A string would run across our feet and between the seats.  Then, it was Spongebob for 5 minutes.  He was making a crabby patty and the pickle got away.  So, of course, he went after it and that was our underwater adventure. It was cute for the kids.

Next was my brother and sister's favorite thing, the penguins!  They were outside in section B.  I must say, they were cute!! There were also seals and sea lions.

The last section we went to you could touch more sea creatures.  There 

were 

manta-rays, jellyfish, starfish, and various other things.  I was really surprised that some of the star fish were hard as rocks.  The water they were in was FREEZING because these ones were from Alaska.  It was really excited to be able to touch everything and see all the neat underwater creatures.  It was definitely a great experience!

That's the end of this weeks adventures.  The kids are off 2 1/2 days again next week, so we'll see what things I end up doing! :)  

Peddler's Village/Giggleberry Fair

On Tuesday, the kids and I went to Peddler's Village in PA.  There is an indoor play place called Giggleberry Fair.  We ate lunch at Painted Pony, then played in Giggleberry Mountain.  It is the largest indoor obstacle course in the region.  It is three stories of tubes, nets and slides!  There is a tunnel slide that goes from the very top all the way down! In the center, there are thousands of foam balls and several different things you can do with them.  There are two vacuums that suck the balls in and fill bags.  You can use a pulley to send the bags up the the second floor where there are two sides with 4 guns on each side.  For two of the guns, you fill a barrel with balls and it shoots them automatically.  The other 6 you load one at a time.  Of course, I liked the automatic one!  In the very center, there is a blaster that you fill up and hit a button that blasts the balls into the air.  You can suck the balls up into a cage, every 15 minutes sirens go off and the balls poor down to the ground.  You can roll the balls down a ramp and try to make them into a tunnel.  Or, you can fill a cannon that will shoot the balls up to the second floor.  The best part about it... no one gets hurt! We spent the majority of our time filling the cage, shooting the guns and going down the tunnel slide!  I am definitely a big kid!

There was another area, Discovery Land, where you could use your imagination. There was a stage and different costumes to dress up in. Ethan was a member of a boy band and Joshua was an astronaut, a cowboy and a firefighter.  You could put on a puppet show, go fishing,

color, visit the farmers market or play a game.  There was also a "baby" area, which of course, 

we did not step foot in!  

Another thing that we did, a couple of times, was go on the carousel.  Ethan loves carousels!  It was a school day for public schools so there were very few people... which meant NO LINES!  We were even the only ones on it!  

After several hours at Giggleberry Fair, we walked around the town.  They had a scarecrow competition.  We followed the brick paths looking at dozens of incredible scarecrows.  Of course, they weren't your ordinary ones!  They had, Michael Phelps, Wall-e, Homer and Bart, Snoopy, Cousin It and so many more!  All in all, it was a great day!  I can't wait to go back and shop!

Terhune Orchard

What did I do at work today you ask? Well, the kids only had a half day of school because it's Sukkot.  (Sukkot is a Biblical pilgrimage festival and harvest festival. It lasts 7 days.)

So, I decided to take them to the orchard to pick some apples. When we got there, they were having a festival. There was a band playing and several different things for the kids to do.  They could go pumpkin picking but they went last weekend so we just pretended...

Then, we walked over to the corn maze. Hidden in the maze were 5 wooden apples which they found. We took pictures with all of the scarecrows that were also in the maze. On the other side of the farm, was a Johnny Appleseed adventure. It was super cute! 

We took pictures on an old wagon and tractors, fed the ram and pet the horse.  When we were leaving, I made them take pictures with some pumpkins.  I must say, even though we didn't get to pick apples, it was a good day!  

                                                   

Life is Good!

Well, I've decided to start a blog.  I'm really excited about it!  

So, what is happening in Alana's life?  I'm living in NJ as a nanny. Yes, you read that correctly, I'm living in NJ and I'm a nanny!! Never would I have ever guessed that this is where I would be in life.  I must say, I can NOT complain!  

I'm living in Hillsborough, NJ.  It's right outside of Princeton.  I must say, NJ isn't that bad. Would I spend the rest of my life here?  No, but it's not as bad as I imagined.  I live in the basement of my nanny family's house.  It's actually a nice setup.  I have my bedroom, a living room, a sitting room and a bathroom.  

There are three kids.  Gabrielle (9), Joshua (6) and Ethan (4).  

Gabrielle is very sweet. She is always reading something, from People magazine to one of the billions of books in her room.  She has her girly side but also loves to get dirty!  Joshua is also very sweet.  If you ever need help with something, he is the one to ask.  He loves to play sports and has a lot of energy.  Ethan is full of love.  He loves puppies and chocolate milk.  

I look at my life and am very thankful.  I may, at times, think that other people's lives seem so much better or want something that I don't have.  Really though, everyone has their own problems or wishes.  Yeah, they may have something that I would like but they also have problems and stresses that I would not like.  Right now, I have a GREAT job, my family is supportive and all in good health, I have friends who are awesome and there is nothing in my life that I really can complain about. 

Anyways, this blog is just for fun.  There will be serious post and then there will be my randomness.  Enjoy!