NYC - Nov 7 & 8

Mom, John and I went to NYC to see a free dress rehearsal of the Rockettes Christmas show. We used some of Kelly's Hilton points to stay for free at a Doubletree in Times Square- the location couldn't have been better! We did a tour of the city, went to Macy's, the M&M store & Century 21 to shop and had some great meals at Havana Central and the Pig 'n Whistle. Good times!

Top of the Empire State Building; Radio City show


Ode to Aunt Kelly Coleman


View of our hotel; view from our suite


We saw the NAKED COWBOY on the way to the train station!

Halloween

Kyra was a ballet dancer, and Nate was a golfer- toooo cute!!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO happy today!! Trader Joe's opened in Columbia today!!! I've been waiting SO long for this day.... every time I visited Dad, off we'd go to TJ's (much against his will most of the time).... but now I can go WHENEVER I WANT- how cool is that!!!!!!!!

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All we need now are the small shopping carts to make Kyra happy too!

FL work trip

I was in Jacksonville and Pensacola last week for work. On Tuesday, after my visit to the Naval Air Station, one of the other employees of the Arora Group, my new friend Beth, took me down to St. Augustine. It was so much fun- sunny day, great stores, great company. I found a martini place right next to a B&B, so that will be a weekend destination for Kelly and I in the near future!

On Wednesday, I had the 350+ drive on the I-10 from Jacksonville to Pensacola. It wasn't as bad as I thought- I found a Joann's and a scrapbook store in Tallahassee, so that made it more worth the trip.

The weather was fine until Thursday. I woke to horrible downpours- I thought I was going to get into an accident on the way to the Naval Hospital in Pensacola. The TV was on where I was, and they kept showing this twister that had hit- I didn't realize it hit so close to where I was!

Here are some pictures of the tornado damage I took on the way to lunch:


I was GLAD to get home Friday!!

Brownie Troop 159- USO Field Trip

Through the USO, Kyra's Brownie Troop had a field trip to BWI. The girls gave boxes of Girl Scout cookies to soldiers leaving the US. I wasn't able to make it, but Kelly took LOTS of pictures. I hope the girls got a sense of what these brave men and women do for us.

Kyra and Justine running to give out more cookies:


One soldier wanted a picture with all the of the girls:


My favorite picture of all:

Girls trip to ATLANTA!

Christine and I took off Friday night, met Maureen in baggage claim and hooked up with Angie. We hit the town, shopped, talked, and reunited. What we didn't do was sleep, but what the heck- we had fun!!

Getting ready to go out.....

At the Lotus Lounge....

Nothing like the Waffle House at 3 a.m.!

Soccer Assoc. of Columbia- Fall 2007

Here are some pics from Kyra's soccer game yesterday. She decided at the last minute she wanted to go to soccer and not dance. This is one Nutcracker rehearsal missed- there won't be any more missed rehearsals- the show is Dec 21 & 22 and they only practice on Saturdays for it. It's going to be such a great show!


A common sight- Kyra & Maddie hugging on the field!

Maryland Renaissance Festival 9/22/07

For the second year in a row, we went to the Renn Fest with Todd (sans the girlfriend this year though). This was a Saturday with no Nutcracker rehearsal and no soccer game, so we hit the Renn Fest! I didn't want to go on a Sunday (turned out to be a good idea), so this was the perfect day. We had a great time :)


Kyra's new 'do (she cut her hair at school after she was twirling it and it got knotted. Hopefully it will grow out soon)




Kyra made her way to the top of Jacob's Ladder, not once but twice!








She got a free token each time she made it to the top- one for a free game, another for a soda.



Kyra and Uncle Todd

Lots of "Firsts"

Kyra lost her 2 bottom teeth, 1 right after the other.


The 1st day of 1st grade!


She loves her new teacher, Ms. Suber, and that her friend Justine is in her class! She has Brownie meetings e/o Wednesday after school, soccer practice on Tuesday nights, dance on Wednesday nights, soccer games and Nutcracker rehearsal every Saturday. We are BUSY! The Nutcracker performance will be Dec. 21/22 here in Columbia. She has 3 parts- she is a Bon Bon Kiss, a Snowflake and Clara's young cousin.

Our beautiful girl

Here are a few pics from our Bethany Beach trip last week. Can you believe she's 6 and starting 1st grade already?? Her bottom tooth is VERY loose and is about to fall out. She's so grown up...... when did this happen?

My new job

I got a job!! I start working as a Program Administrator at the Arora Group on August 14th. The company is a government contractor that does staffing for military hospitals. I've always wanted to do staffing, so now is my chance to see if I really like it! The HR director found me on monster.com, which is the same way I found my job at NCQA, so it must be fate. It's a small company, and I think I'll really enjoy it. The office is in Gaithersburg, so it will be more of a commute than I wanted, but hopefully it won't be too bad. I'll listen to books on tape, arm myself with a navigation system and will be on my way! Thanks to everyone that has supported me in my search. I feel much better now that I have everything "set". Kyra is going to aftercare at her school, and that is a great deal- I stressed over her not getting in, but it worked out in the end.

Kegger's latest adventures!

Howard County Dog Park, Sunday July 15th


I made the trip to the Howard County office of licensing on Friday, and got Kegger licensed and bought the license for the dog park, off New Cut Rd. It was his first time there, and he stuck with Kelly and I most of the time. He plays with the other dogs at dog school, but he seemed to want to be with us. He did pee on my foot like he does at dog class though! I bet after we take him a few more times, he'll be more comfortable and play with the other dogs more.


Centennial Lake, Saturday July 14th





We bought a 26 ft retractable lead for Kegger (good up to 110 lbs, which we very well may need!) and took him to Centennial on Saturday. He had a great time, and LOVES to swim!! He doesn't make noise when he swims like Max did, but he does tend to get water in his ears almost every time he goes for the stick, and he's really cute trying to shake his head.

Father's Day

Kyra and I treated Kelly to breakfast in bed (coffee & cereal). This is the card that Kyra made for him. It's a picture of Kelly & Justin drinking Bud Light!

We went to Lorie's parents house to celebrate Father's Day with the family. The weather was perfect and we had a great time.

Kegger is getting to be such the Chessie! I love this picture!


Kyra resumed her talent of jumping off the diving board- still with no fear.


My nephew LOVES baked beans.... "Beans, beans, the magical fruit! The more you eat the more you toot!" Nathan is a true Brewer!

Kindergarten Graduation

Kyra graduated from kindergarten at Rockburn Elementary School today! She is now officially a first grader!

New 1st graders!


Grandma Brewer:


Grandpa & Grandmahoney


Kyra and Daddy


Now we have a summer full of camp, reading new books, going to the pool (at least until I get a job!) and playing with friends! I'm going to enjoy my last summer as a free mom!