CONGRATS #2

WELCOME TO THE WORLD BABY HANSON!!!!

6lbs 10oz and 19inches long.

Your mom and dad have been waiting a long time to meet you, and we are all excited that you have finally arrived!!

Congrats J and P!!

Is this thing on??

Once again I have neglected my blog duties, and have not posted for a week. BAD BADGE.......BAD!!

Lots going on this past week. Worked on Monday and Tuesday. After that I have been off from work and don't go back until this Wednesday.

One of my best friends from college got married on Saturday to the only girl I have even known him to date. Her name is Anna and she is GREAT!! They are the perfect match for each other. I know you are suppose to say that when someone gets married, but it really is the truth. If I could show you a video from my wedding, and you could see the way Mike and Anna danced and interacted during our wedding dance, you would know that they would get married some day. Well that day was this past weekend. I took well over 240 pictures between 2 days, but sadly some of the coolest ones ended up looking like crap-ola. Turns out it is hard to take decent looking pictures when you are mostly drunk.

Friday I went to St. Paul to pick up my tux and hang out with Mike for a while before the rehearsal. We went to his favorite bar, met up with some other groomsmen, and had a good ol time playing some pool and Golden Tee. I only got a couple of pics from the bar, but here they are.

The Bar......

The Beer!!

After we left Goby's, I didn't take another damn photo all night. I now realize it is hard to get the pictures you want to take when you are actually IN the wedding. The rest of the night was comprised of rehearsing, good food, and of course a few drinks at Buffalo Wild Wings.

The the big day came. Got up Saturday morning early, got ourselves ready, and were on our way to the cities again for pictures at the church at 11. About 10 miles from the church I get a call from Mike. The following conversation took place.....

Mike: Did you guys leave yet?

Me: UM......yeah, we do live a hour away and pictures start in like a half hour.

Mike: Huh.......well do you want to punch me now or later?

Me: Not sure, I guess it depends on what your going to tell me. You are still getting married today right?

Mike: Yeah, that is definitely still on.

Me: Well are you going to tell me whats going on?

Mike: We don't have pictures until 12:30. Anna told me wrong and it was the bridesmaids that had to be at the church at 11. Sorry man.

Me: Well I guess we will just go hang out at Caribou or something until we have to meet up.(in my head I am thinking SORRY MAN!!!!!! I AM A FUCKING HOUR FROM MY HOUSE, IN A TUX, with nowhere to spend the next 2 HOURS before pictures, and your SORRY!!!!!)

Mike: Sorry man, I am not on the ball.

Me: Thats ok. Oh, by the way, I will be punching you right in the crotch when I seen you.
Mike: I figured you would. See you at the church.

So from there, we really did sit at Caribou for 2 hours until we went to the church. They had a little play area for kids, and Ellie had a great time playing and coloring.

Then we arrived at the church and we were still the only ones there (besides the bride) that were from the wedding party. I was told that there were major problems with the hair lady and she had done a horrible job. Got a couple of pics from the church that also did not turn out, but here are the couple that did.






Those are the only ones I have from the church. Thats it.

The pictures went well, the ceremony was beautiful, and it was a good day at the church. What happens next you are asking? Well my friends, we hopped into a stretch SUV limo and head out for the drinking, er I mean reception. Many drinks were had in the limo, and it was a nice ride. We got to the reception and was time to party.

Here is some of what I saw at the reception. Once again, if you want good looking pictures from a wedding, DO NOT drink copious amounts of booze. Most of the really good photo (or what should have been) looked like junk when they got onto the computer. Oh well, here are the ones that were keepers.

Ellie did great the entire time, and was a hit both at the church and the reception. She was quiet and watched the ceremony, and danced her booty at the reception.

About 9, she hit the wall though. She was definitely tired and so we changed her into her pj's. I also changed out of my tux and into some shorts. We left the tux with Mike's parents, and headed out about 9:30. Pulled into the garage around 11pm and we all went right to bed.

It was a great couple of days, but it left us all exhausted.

CONGRATS to Mike and Anna!!! You guys are awesome, and it was an honor to be part of your wedding!!

Greg

Flower Beds........Finally Finished!

We have officially finished our front flower beds!! It has been 3 years of living at our house that they looked like this.......




......they have been weed filled mounds of dirt. Gross. So this summer we decided that we were going to get them looking good again. We started with cultivating the dirt and getting the weeds out. Here is the that part of the process.

And here is Daddy-O and I have a great time working the beds.


After a few days (well actually weeks) of hard work, TODAY the beds are finally done. We put in the edging today and filled the beds with mulch and so here is the final results.




And there you have it. Up next? The side flower beds and the rear planting area behind the garage. Then this winter I will start redoing some of the inside of the house.

Very tired, and now must go to relax.

I also updated my photo blog today with some of the things I have captured with the camera lately. Check it out if you are interested.

Happy Sunday!!

Greg

Your Kidding Right?

Was my daughter really up at 5:37 am this morning?

She is going to the doc today as we think she has allergies or something. She is up a lot at night coughing and always seems to be wheezy. Lets hope it is not asthma that she has. I have it, and it sucks.

Did I mention that I cannot remember when the last time was that Ellie slept past 6:30am.

Seriously little princess, I love you so much it is crazy, but do you think you could sleep till 7 or 8 or 9 or noon maybe??

In other news, I will actually be finishing the flower bed overhaul that we started a month ago. I went to Daddy-O and BOO BOO's house and got some rock and brought it out to our house. I am going to edge the beds with said rock and hopefully will have before and after pics to show you guys by Monday.

On a day I work, I would have been up for almost 2 hours by now. Why is it that I am so damn tired now on my day off when the child wakes up early?

Adios for now while Ellie and I get some breakfast. More later!

Greg

Photoblog redo

Ok, so I know I just posted the link to my wordpress blog site that I put my photoblog on to try. I hate it. It is tough to put photos on, hard to type and edit, and it is pissing my off. SO.....I have come back to blogger. Here is the new blogger powered site. badge photography. So click away at that link and check out some of the new photos I have added!!

New neighbors and club meetings

Yesterday we had new neighbor's move in accross the street!! It seems that they are about our age and have a little girl that looks to be a little younger than Ellie. Not by much, but younger.

They are still moving in and we figure we will not drop in on them for a couple days so that they can get moved in. How cool though!! a kid Ellie's age AND fun new people our own age........not 80 like most of the other people in town:)

Tonight is my photo club meeting. The club was invited by a local flower nursery for a private photo shoot in their private gardens after the business closed tonight!! It should be fun and we will get a chance to shoot some flowers, shrubs, and other plants close up. Also, I hear they have quiet a lot of birds that call the nursery home, so maybe we will get some good bird shots tonight as well!!

I see that Ellie is tired of playing with her play-doh, so I must go now and entertain her. Have a great day everyone!!

Greg

Another question for you.....

Ketchup on your hot dog??

Or no ketchup on your hot dog??

A Question

So I update my picture a day blog every day. I update this blog a couple 3 or 4 times a week. I do not maintain my photo blog very often. So here is my question. Since I put 95% of the photos I take on either this blog or the photo a day blog, should I do away with my photo blog? Like I said, I do not update it as often as I should and you will just be seeing the same photos as on my other 2 sites.

Any thoughts?

P.S.

By the way.......I have switched my photo blog to wordpress. I have heard decent things about it, so I thought I would give it a try. The new address is gprphotography.wordpress.com. Come on over and check it out!!

Zoo and MOA Fun!!

Saturday we went to the zoo with some friends, and I just want to say........IT WAS A BLAST!!!

We started out with some lunch in the shade by a neat little pond. We had great conversation and got to watch the kids get comfortable around each other. When we were finished we headed up the hill and off to the entrance of the zoo.

Once in the zoo we ran into some flamingos.





After the flamingos, we made our way around the zoo to see many other animals. Some of these included some sea lions..........






......a giraffe and a tiger........






.......and a cool little water wheel....





We also got some sweet shots of the kids!









And, of course, one of our family.





Then on Sunday we ventured out to the MOA (mall of america). We met my mom and aunt, had lunch, shopped a bit, and then walked around the amusement park a bit. Ellie is still to short to go on any rides, so we didn't get to do that. ~side note: can you believe that she can't even ride any with her parents??~ Anyways, here are some pics from today.









We have some more pics that have not been put on the computer which will be added soon.

That is about all for now. Hopefully everyone had a good weekend.

Greg

New car and Fiesta

Well at 3:30 today I packed Ellie up and we got into the van to head into town. We met up with Scott and Kris at the car dealership that Scott works at. Last week Kris and I were VERY close to buying a 2004 Buick Rendezvous. Then we talked to Scott. It was then we found out the very disturbing past of this car. It had been a rental out in New York and had a lot of problems. Thank goodness we found out about the car before we took the plunge. Did I mention that we were on our way down to sign the papers when we found out about the Buick?


Well long story short, we looked at a few different cars and have settled on a Chevy Malibu. We are running all the numbers and probably won't find out if it is ours until Monday. If we get it there will be a longer post with pictures then.


Then we went to our local mexican restaurant for some good food and good cheer. We met up with Daddy-O, BOO BOO, KT, Scott, Kath H, and our family from Ohio Jim and Yvonne. We had lots of food and drinks and laughs. It was a good time, and also it was nice to spent some time with the family.


Here are some photos of the night.

That is that. We are off to the zoo tomorrow to meet some friends and have some fun. Then Sunday we are meeting my mom and aunt at the Mall of America. Should be a fun filled weekend.

Greg

My Crazy 8's

I've been tagged by my blog friend from Scotland (how frickin cool is that!!) Amanda X over at Penny 'n' Pounds! It's a tricky one but I will try my best to come up with some new things:)

Eight things I have a passion for~

1. Dt. Pepsi. I love it and drink it every day. If I don't get one, I am grumpy.
2. I love gum. I chew it all day, everyday. It gets expensive, but I hate thinking I have bad breath.
3. Ellie. I have so much love for that little girl, it is crazy.
4. Bowling. Love it, just don't love the long season anymore. I also love to play softball, but have yet to find a team to play on here in MN.
5. Guns. Handguns specifically. I am not some nut jobs who needs to own 700 of them. But they are just so damn sexy. I want one really bad, and some day (soon I hope) I will be buying one. Do you think this has something to do with the profession I am in and want to move on to? OK, you may all think that I am crazy now:)
6. My Job. I have some really frustrating days at work, but overall I love the job I do. I try everyday to learn as much as I can, and do the best I can.
7. My family. They are the world to me, and I never want to disappoint them.
8. WWII. I love to read, watch, look at, and learn all I can about this war. I am not sure why, but I cannot get enough.

Eight things I would like to do before I die~

1. See Europe. Mainly the route from Normandy to Berlin and other places where the war took place.
2. Run a full marathon
3. Visit all the national parks in the US. Oh, and take pictures, of course:)
4. Own a pair of Jimmy Choos. Wait. That was Amanda's.
5. I want to take my daughter to Disney World while she is still a kid.
6. Get a job as a police officer.
7. Compete in a triathlon. Even if it is a mini one.
8. I also would like to grow really old together with my wife.

8 things I say a lot~

1. You got to be F**king me.
2. Allegedly
3. I love you (always to my daughter, and I should say it more to the wife)
4. REALLY?!?! (in a sarcastic tone)
5. Hands behind your back, palms facing out, thumbs up, and turn your head to the left.
6. ELLIE!!!!
7. Do we have enough money to get.....
8. I'm just sayin.....

8 books I have read recently~

1. Ricochet by Sandra Brown
2. Shoot him if he runs by Stuart Woods
3. Silent Prey by John Sanford
4. Copper River by William Kent Kruger
5. Phantom Prey by John Sanford
6. Broken Prey by John Sanford
7. Naked Prey by John Sanford
8. Short Straw by Stuart Woods

Eight Movies I have seen Eight Times ~

1. Band of Brothers
2. Tommy Boy
3. Dirty Dancing ( no I am not gay, my mom loved this movie and we watched it a lot when we were kids)
4. SuperTroopers
5. AnchorMan
6. Eddie Murphy: RAW
7. Ratatouille
8. Dora's summer adventures (remember I have a 2 year old!!)

8 people I invite to do this Meme ~

1. Captain
2. Rachel
3. Chas
4. Christy
5. Alfred's Mom
6. Teach (when she gets her new computer)
7. Nellie
8. And Miss again!!

It would be fun to see what you guys have for answers but don't feel like you don't have to!

Greg

I have been tagged by Rachel, and am finally getting to it!

Here are the rules…

1. List these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


My 7 facts are:

1. I am not 4 foot 11 and 3/4. I am 5'11" but always tell people I am 6' tall.

2. I LOVE Dt. Pepsi. I cannot remember a day when I have not had at least 1.......or 4:)

3. I swear to much. I think it happens because of where I work. I have always used swear words, but not near as much as I do now. Very hard to control with a 2 year old in the house.

4. I used to run. In fact (even though my pic does not look like it) I have run a half marathon. I would like to run another, in fact I it is one of my dreams to run a FULL marathon. I just can't seen to find the motivation, or the time for the training anymore :(

5. I love photography. I never in a million years thought I would be into this, but I am hooked. I can't wait until I can get my camera out and snap off some shots. Everywhere I go now, I look for photos to take.

6. My parents divorced when I was 10. My dad remarried soon after the divorce, and then promptly put his new family before his REAL kids. I am pretty sure my sis has never forgiven him, and she certainly has not forgotten. I occasionally speak with him over the phone, but have not seen him in well over 2 years. I thought that once his biological son had a child he would want to be more involved for his granddaughter's sake.

7. I also never in a million years thought I would have a blog. Never thought I would enjoy having a blog. And certainly never thought I would consistently take care of a blog. But again, I love it. I really love getting comments from all of you!! It is like a whole new world of friends from all over. Who would have thought a guy who grew up in the northwoods of Wisconsin would have "blog friends" or even know what a blog is!!!

Now I know all of you are so excited for a tag so here it goes:

1. Tanya
2. KT
3. Miss
4. Nellie
5. Sco-T
6. Fragments
7. Ka-T's Cup

And thats about it. I should post more tonight!!

Greg

Rainy and cold Tuesday

Today was seriously 55 degrees, cold, windy, and rainy today. Is it really June?

Oh Monday.....you make a good first day off.

It was a long weekend at the jail. Nothing really happened and it was quiet all weekend. On Saturday I got to work intake from noon to 6pm. It was pretty slow, and I booked 2 people. One of those 2 people stayed with us, while the other one got to go home.

The one that stayed was quite interesting. He was picked up for having a lot of meth on him and he had obviously been up for days on end. When he came up the elevator, I let the deputy who brought him in go and do his paperwork, which is what I normally do if the new arrest is not combative. Well all this was fine and dandy until I asked him to empty his pockets. This is where the whole thing started to get weird.

When he emptied his pockets he had the normal stuff like a wallet and some paper. But one thing went into the bucket that made me go "hmmm". He put a c**k ring in the bucket. Yes a c**k ring. Do I need to explain what one of those is? If so, email me and I can explain.......I think. Quick explanation is that a c**k ring is used for enhanced pleasure during whoopee.

Ok so this was weird enough, but it really did not phase me. What I found next is what made me really go "HMMMMM".

I started doing my pat search and I felt something in the back of his pants. I immediately told him not to move and put the handcuffs back on him because I was not sure if what I felt was a weapon or not. When the cuffs were on, I asked him if he had any weapons on him or more drugs that I should know about. He said no. I then asked him what was in his pants then. He told me he did not know what was back there. HUH? What? So I start to check and see what is in his pants. What did I find? What was it, you ask? It was a bright, metallic turquoise vibrator. Yes, this man had a vibrator wedged in between his butt cheeks.

I was stunned.

I quietly put the vibro friend in the bucket and finished my search with nothing else weird popping up.

Later on while I was booking this guy in, I looked at him in what must have been a puzzled look because he said "whats on your mind?"

I told him that I was not trying to be rude, but why on earth did he have a vibrator in between his butt cheeks. I had to try really hard to not laugh because this guy was very defeated and down in the dumps. He simply replied that he had no idea why the vibrator was in his pants. Confused, I asked "how can you not know you have a vibrator in your butt cheeks?"

Then he gave me the most honest answer I think I have ever heard in the jail. He told me he had bee up for almost 3 weeks straight smoking meth. At this moment is when the AH-HA light bulb went on in my head. It all made sense now. If I was up for 3 weeks straight smoking drugs, I suppose I would also have no clue why there was a vibrator stuck between my butt cheeks!!

Man I love my job sometimes. Not many people get this kind of entertainment at their jobs!!

Meth is the most evil drug I have ever come across. I cannot believe how bad it messes people up.

So after Saturday, I am grateful for a nice quiet Monday at home with Ellie. Speaking of which, we started her quiet time for her nap about 5 minutes ago and she is already out. Looks like I will go outside while she is sleeping and get a start on mowing the lawn.

Have a great day and don't misplace any vibrators!! :)

Greg