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!

Red Devil Walk 6/3/07

The walk on Sunday was great- Lisa Slater came, and she finished the whole walk! She was amazing- it's almost 3 miles, and she was such a trooper.

Lisa's son Rudy, our friend Kurt Dishong, Laura Resh & her Mom, Carol Swanson (another Magellan buddy), Kelly, Kyra, Aunt Mandy & Kegger were all there.

I signed up to be a volunteer next year, so I'll get info out earlier so more of you can join us!

Kegger's 1st public event; he was such a good dog!

Rudy, Lisa, Kurt, me, Mandy, Kelly; in front- Carol, Kegger & Kyra

It rained the whole time, but it was still really fun!

Finally finished!

Dance Recital- 5/26/07

Kyra's dance recital was over Memorial Day weekend. She had a great time w/all her friends. The first part was a ballet, and her class and the rest of the school sat on stage during the whole performance. After the intermission, it was jazz and tap. The girls did great with their routines- worth all the classes and rehearsals!

Kyra's best friends: Maddie Sommers and Kaitlyn Carino


Kyra, Maddie, Elizabth Akers & Kaithlyn


Kyra's fan club: Grandpa Mahoney, Uncle Gregg, Grandma Mahoney


The rest of the fan club: Grandma and Grandpa Brewer!

Red Devils

On Sunday, June 3rd, Kelly, Kyra, Kegger, Mandy & I, along with my friend Laura and her Mom, Lisa Fassett and Kurt will be walking with the Red Devils for the Annual Heart and Sole Stroll.

From the Red Devils website:
The Red Devils funds services to improve quality of life for breast cancer patients and their families. The emotional and physical impact of this disease may make some of the things we take for granted almost impossible:

• House cleaning
• Getting to doctor appointments
• Preparing family meals
• Fun

My frind Lisa Slater Williams is battling metastatic breast cancer and is getting treatment at the University of MD. I have inquired with the Red Devils about getting Lisa some help with house cleaning, and funds are low this quarter.

We are doing this walk to help support the Red Devils and what they do for breast cancer patients. If you'd like to donate, you can go to the Red Devils website or you can mail a check made out to the Red Devils to me (email me for our address).

If you'd like to walk with us, how much more fun would that be??? Go to the website and click on "Join an Existing Team"- our team name is "Lisa's Ladies & Gents". Hope to see you there!!

Here's a picture from the 2004 walk:

Wine in the Woods- 5/20/07

We attended Wine in the Woods- finally! I've been wanting to go since we met 10 years ago, but other plans or the weather have always prevented us from going. It was so much fun- the weather was great, the wine was flowing and the company was fantastic. What more could you ask for??

We went with one of my oldest friends Todd, his girlfriend Val, my friend Christine and her son Justin (Justin and Kyra went to the Young School together), and Todd's sister Kristy and his nephew Wyatt. The kids had a blast. Kyra and Justin played like they always have, and Wyatt fit in perfectly. They played in the roped off wooded area right behind us- we could see them the whole time but were off in their own little world. It was perfect.

The Regan Years (an 80's band) played in the latter part of the afternoon, and Christine and I took the kids down to dance- what fun!! They got wild and cut loose.

Can't wait to do it again next year :)

Bo Bice on Mother's Day

Kelly bought us tickets to see Bo Bice at Rams Head in Annpolis. We really liked Bo when he was on American Idol, so this was a great surprise for me!! He didn't realize the show was on Mother's Day, but it worked out great.

Kyra had a very busy weekend- a Fun Run at Rockburn Elementary, a Daisy event, soccer, dance rehearsal and sleepovers at G&G Brewer's and G&G Mahoneys!

The concert was great. We love that venue- we've only been there once, to see the Subdudes last year (going again next month!). These tickets on Sunday were awesome- I was 6 feet away from Bo! Gary Nichols opened for him, and we thought he was great. Kelly got to meet him as we were leaving the bar. We walked around Annapolis for awhile after the show. We bought a cute pirate kind of sign that says "Poop Deck"- appropriate for a small yard w/3 dogs! I also finally got the Crocs that I've been wanting. I love them! Kyra thought they were so beautiful (they're pink)- I thought that was funny.

It was a great Mother's day!

Bike riding

Kyra loves to ride her bike!! She goes up and down some pretty good hills in the neighborhood. She's working on getting the training wheels off- that will be Dad's job!

More cards.....

More cards I've made.... the top 2 were already in the plastic bag, and I was too lazy to take them out- made them for Mom to send out. These 2 styles of cards were a stretch for me- using paper flowers, ribbon AND my new embossing toy (the Cuttlebug). I LOVE tools, accessories, etc, but I don't use them nearly as often as I should. These were fun to make. Kelly got me a subscription to Paper Crafts magazine, and I love it. I get so much inspiration for layouts and designs of cards- that's what I usually have the hardest time with - I hav all this STUFF, what do I do with it???? I finally let go of the subscriptions to the parenting mags- too much baby stuff in there for me. I really love the scrapbooking and crafty mags, so that's what I'm keeping!

Back to the original theme of this post! The other 3 cards are more Bella stamps I got for Mothers Day (from Mom). I have another order from them ready to go- the lady at The Stamping Bella has created Fellas!! They are toooo cute- I have the Beerafella in my cart and will have him soon. I can't imagine a better stamp for me to have :)

We have a bet!

Kelly asked me tonight what would be good "punishment" if he doesn't lose 15 pounds in May. My answer? Post a pic of him on the blog on June 1- minus the shirt! So stay tuned for June 1.....

If you have any tips for him to lose those pounds, you can leave comments here and I'll show them to him :)

BTW- Kegger now weighs in at a whopping 37 pounds!!!

Vegas baby!

Kelly and I spent Easter weekend (for the 2nd year in a row) in Vegas. We had a blast- Kelly promised me that we'd do lots of stuff together, and he kept his promise.

Stuff we always do:

• Diego restaurant @ MGM Grand- awesome as always
• Nine Fine Irishmen @ NYNY- I just LOVE this place! We ventured to the upstairs bar this time, and it was a lot of fun. The guy that was downstairs singing wasn't as loud up there, but we could still hear "Margaritaville"! :)
• 
• Margaritaville @ the Flamingo- again, awesome. "Who's to blame margarita"- yummy! We ventured to the upstairs rooftop bar. Same great place, but different view! We loved it. Right on the Strip- we could see the fountains from the Bellagio above some buildings. It was HOT- I actually got some sunburn. But it was nice to sit in the heat while Kyra hunted for Easter eggs in Westminster in the snow.
• The pool at NYNY left much to be desired. With the buildings, the sun didn't hit the pool until 11:30- but you had to get there at 10 to get a chair. I love the pool at MGM, so we'll probably stay there on the next trip.
• The room itself at NYNY was awesome- we got a Spa Deluxe upgrade w/a whirlpool tub and a great view of the NYNY pool and the Bellagio fountains. There is a new condo type place going up between the Monte Carlo and Bellagio, and when that's there, the view from that room will be different, but it was cool to watch the fountains at night!
• 

New stuff:

• Pink Taco @ the Hard Rock Hotel- Well, we were pretty drunk by the time we go there, so the 2 for 1 margaritas pushed us right over the edge. Happy Hour there is great. The carne asada appetizers- 2 for 1- were amazing. We had 2 humungous (strong and very good) margs and 2 orders of steak for $21 WITH tip!
• 
• KA (Cirque du Soliel) @ MGM- great show- the moving stage was pretty cool.
• Gallaghers Restaurant @ NYNY- awesome meal- we've wanted to go there for awhile, and we weren't disappointed. I'm glad we made reservations!
• We checked out some of the casinos nearby that I've always wanted to just see the inside of. We visited Hooters, the Tropicana and inside the new Planet Hollywood. It's a mess outside, and said "Planet Ho" on the outside :) The inside is beautiful though- and Kelly liked the cocktail waitress outfits!
• The atrium at the Bellagio was decked out in Spring flowers- it was amazing. In September, there was a Fall/harvest theme. When our friends Jeff & Dianna went in January, it was Chinese New Year. I love how they change it- there was an adorable lady bug and snail- all made of flowers!
• 

This was one of the best trips we've had. When we went in September, I rarely saw him. Of course, the girls (Mo, Angie and Chrissy) were there, so I kept plenty busy. This trip, we hung out a lot and did stuff together that we don't usually do- like walk to different casinos etc. We'll definetly go back, but probably not until next year, possibly for Spring Break again. I think we'll try out some other places from now on. Vegas is awesome, but I'm dying to get to NYC, Williamburg, Philly- places we can take Kyra to that she'll get something out of.