Fourth of July Recap--Phase 2

After we finished picking blueberries, we all headed back to pick up Mutti from the house, change clothes, and catch the Metro into Washington DC. While we were waiting for everyone to get ready, we snapped a few pictures in front of Jeff and Cecelia's house.

We decided to take the Metro into the city as opposed to taking our car (even though Patrick swore that since everyone else was taking the Metro that there WOULD be parking for the car). We also opted for the big stroller to carry our case and a half of bottled watter. Here we are riding into the city.

And here's my Dad not following the escalator's rules :)

When we arrived in Washington DC, we started down The Mall toward the Capitol. That evening a concert was being held before the fireworks on the west lawn of the Capitol, and we had decided that would be a fun event to keep us occupied before nightfall. As we walked, we saw lots of great DC sites. The museum entrances were all busy (well those that were open) and there were a TON of people. I was happy to see that 95% of the crowd was wearing red, white, and/or blue.

We left Dad at the Air and Space Museum to wait on some friends from Belgium. Mom and I went ahead to get in and stake our spot for the concert. Patrick, Jeff, Cecelia, and Morgan followed behind about 30 minutes or so.

After finding a GREAT spot close enough to the stage to see the faces of the performers, we dropped all of our bags, blankets, etc. and enjoyed the free water that was being provided. Pallets of water had been strategically placed around the Capitol grounds. I thought this was a very nice gesture. And we all laughed because we were all drinking the free water, leaving an entire case of water in the stroller. Thank goodness we had brought the big one!

Next up....a first time meeting, and waiting for the concert to begin.

A Public Service Announcement for Job Seekers

I am currently in the process of reviewing 32 applications for some positions that are going to be available where I work. Some of the requirements for this job include having a Masters degree and strong writing skills among others. After reading through one particularly horrible application, I want to post a public service announcement to anyone who is in the market for a job.

PSA #1--if the first job requirement list specific educational achievements (i.e. a Masters degree), DON'T apply if you do not have one! It only upsets the reviewers that have to wade through your cover letter and resume until they find out you don't have one.

PSA #2--in tandem with PSA #1, when submitting your application, be sure to submit all requested materials. Incomplete applications make work for secretaries who try to call and track you down to get the items you omitted. Incomplete applications will also not be reviewed. So even if you have tons of experience and the educational background for the job, we'll never know because we have lots of applications that ARE complete.

PSA #3--if the application asks for submission of writing samples, DO NOT submit a handwriting sample! (I was appalled to get an application from a woman with a Masters Degree in Counseling that included handwriting samples! And they weren't good!!! I certainly hope she is not counseling folks on job application procedures!) Applications that request writing samples generally are looking for your writing style and ability to create documents that are relevant, concise, and well written.

PSA #4--make sure that your resume/curriculum vitae does not have spelling/grammar mistakes. While this will not automatically disqualify you for consideration, it is a major annoyance and makes me as a reviewer question your writing abilities.

This has been your Public Service Announcement for the day. You may now resume your regularly scheduled life (and I will get back to my regularly scheduled posts on the Tenney fourth of July activities).

Fourth of July Recap--Phase 1

Our fourth of July weekend was packed full of exciting things we did! In order to keep everyone's eyes from getting tired, I am going to recap our weekend in phases, in the order we did them. So without further ado, here we go!

July 3rd we drove down to Germantown, MD to my brother and sister-in-law's house. There Morgan FINALLY got to play with the Play-doh spaghetti factory set she had received for her birthday. She loved it. I must say that all 6 adults had a good time with it too. It makes realistic looking spaghetti!

Morgan and Big DB had to compare chin scars as well.

July 4th started off early. Jeff, Cecelia, Patrick, Dad, Morgan and I headed to Butler's Orchard to pick blueberries. You may remember us picking strawberries at the same orchard in early June. This is such a wonderful place to go, and the price of blueberries was a little less than what we got a Sam's club, so that was nice too. If you live close or are ever down that way, I highly recommend the farmer's market there and of course the picking of your very own fruit!

Morgan did well not to eat the berries as we picked. There were a lot of people around, but there were plenty of big berries to pick. I did allow Morgan to eat about 5 as she went along. I figured that would make up for the price I was paying for my container :)

After picking we packed up and headed back to the house for lunch and to get ready to head into Washington DC.

Portraits of a Princess at 3 years old

If you want to see all of the pictures that were taken, go to Morgan's site.

Morgan turns three....and it's priceless

Morgan, how old are you???

Two tickets to a Pirates game........$50.00

Seeing the Pirates greats (including Bill Mazeroski and Manny Sanguien)............$0.00

6 Hamburgers

4 hot dogs

5 boxes of popcorn

6 ice cream sandwiches

2 regular sodas

9 diet sodas

9 bags of peanuts

and 3 nachos.................................$0.00

All you can eat seats,

Seeing your baby's face on the big screen on her third birthday,

And a Pirates win............................PRICELESS!!!

It was a great day.

A few things I learned and ANOTHER party

On Monday, June 29th I took the morning to take a brief breath before heading out to set up yet another party. Patrick's secretary, Lora, is expecting her firstborn son Gregory at the beginning of August. Because she works with two men, I sort of took over the reins of party planning since, well, since normally men don't throw baby showers! :) And I absolutely love doing anything baby related.

After a lunchtime celebration and a super cute cake, we headed back home where I learned a few new things.

#1) It doesn't matter how old you are, your mother can (and will) still tell you to clean your room! And it doesn't matter how old you are, you will find yourself whining "But MOOOMMMM, I don't WANT to clean my room." Yes, I did. I resorted to the toddler-like behavior that I can't stand from my three year old.

And I STILL had to clean my room! Thankfully, Mom helped :)

And it was while cleaning my room I learned #2--apparently Crayola at one time made a crayon color called Macaroni and Cheese. Here's photographic proof!


I also found a limited edition box of "Multi-cultural colors", presents I had bought for folks for Christmas 2007, three nursing bras, and an assortment of Welcome Baby cards. I am embarassed to say it took a LONG time to clean the room, and I had to promise my mom that I would never let it get that bad again. Horrible flashbacks from my teen years ensued.

While I was grumping around about having to clean my room, Morgan was doing this:

At least ONE of us was having fun!

Big Birthday Bash

Sunday, June 28th, started out EARLY for our family. By 7:30 Morgan was up and outside. Thankfully my mom was right behind her and was the first to hear Morgan's reaction to the swing set. It went a little something like this: (imagine complete and utter wonder in this voice) "Ooohhh, a TREEHOUSE!"








Well, her treehouse is really a swing set, but that's merely a technicality. Mom sent her back inside to get her Papa, and the swinging immediately commenced. While I ran around doing last minute party things, Morgan stayed outside getting acquainted with the swings.






The party started a little early, which was just fine with everyone. We managed to get through the afternoon with only one shower, lasting about 5 minutes or so. The day was overcast and rather gloomy, but we were partying hard and frankly I am glad it was overcast and breezy. Last year we all just about sweat to death!





Can you tell that Morgan likes, no LOVES, to swing?



Alison, Morgan, Lydia, James, Brady, Julia (absent from the picture are Gianna, Shay, Ethan, and Amy T.)

Morgan had 9 friends who came with parents in tow to celebrate her big day. Overall we had about 45 people. It was super fun, exhausting, and simply the best way to celebrate another big milestone.

I thought the folks at Sams Club did a superb job on her cake this year! We had lots of food, but I didn't have to cook a thing. Thanks to my Aunt Dawn, all of the food left over from Joe's graduation was sent south and we fed the army on the $1.25 I spent on potato chips, some dishes supplied by Aunt Linda and James' mom Lori, and the free food.

Morgan is so blessed to have so many people in her life that care so much for her. Everyone at the party has a special place in Morgan's life (and heart) and she still hasn't stopped talking about her party!