Photos from 4th of July by Bill Millios

As promised, Bill's take on the Annapolis 4th of July festivities: Visit his page at: http://www.hopelandstudios.com/

Happy Birthday America!

To celebrate our nation's independence, Em and I were invited to be a part of the 4th of July parade in Annapolis. And we (and our feet!) couldn't have been more excited to ride in the back of a 1900 Oldsmobile with Ron and Katherine kindly escorting us through downtown and the waterfront! Blast! I forgot to bring candy and other give aways. Luckily the float behind us had plenty of Skittle packs to spare to keep our energy up for almost 2 hours and we were welcomed by a vibrant crowd the entire way.

And many thanks to our photog for the day, Bill Millios-- just wait for these fabulous photos!

National Memorial Day Parade

Growing up in Maryland, I can't believe I had never been to DC for Memorial Day. While I am certainly enjoying my day off from school, it has been a great opportunity to pay tribute and express my gratitude to all those who have served our country. It was a sincere privelege not only being at the event, but being escorted around the parade by a corps of Marines!

6 hours of meeting attendees and being in the Parade was pre-empted by a photo shoot (hello to our new photographer friend, Matt!) for Blumpari Handbags and a deliiiiicious thai lunch at Temple Lounge in Arlington. I can't wait to be back in the area to enjoy another meal! Thanks Joy Hodges Miss DC United States (class of 2009!) for everything. More snaps to our group of volunteers who continued to hand out fliers and flags to the masses.

Aaaand I had the pleasure of spending the day with Miss United States 2008, Brittany Williams. From free carousel rides on the mall to charlies angels posing in the Smithsonian garden and meeting Gary Senise (thanks for sneaking in that shot Michael haha)!!! I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

As for the rest of the evening, I'll be throwing my feet up on my ottoman and avoiding 4 inch heels til... my next appearance!

Check out a clip of me in the parade, fast forward to 7:29 -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-Yuj31tXAk

Photos below are of me, Matt, Em and Brittany taking a break from shooting, Sergeant, along the parade route (thanks Jeff), my favorite spectator English bulldog Gibbs, dance party in front of the monument (thanks again Jeff), and our volunteers at Temple.

Mrs. Maryland United States

Congratulations to the beautiful Mrs. Southern Maryland, Ginny Meerman! The trip to Harrisburg was well worth seeing the Maryland United States delegation complete this evening. Talk about rhinestone city...I think there were more reigning titleholders in attendance than audience members.

Hello's to the Galaxy contingency and my friend Evangelia Zervos, Miss Maryland Galaxy-- two years after we both competed in Maryland USA, we are now queens.

Photos below are of me and Radiah, Ginny's crowning moment, Lia, Mrs Pennsylvania US 2009 Kate Cohen, and my Maryland United States sisters

Miss Teen Maryland United States

Huge congratulations to Emily Pettine Miss Teen Maryland United States 2009!

Looking forward to sharing this year with you.