We ended the night by continuing to drink heavily downstairs in the bar. The reception ended at 8pm, and we stayed in the bar until 11:30. That's WAY past my bedtime! 

This girl's check bounced, so I'm posting this pic. I forget her name, but she was with one of the groomsmen... 

Owen and Lisa went back to the room because he was asleep on his feet. Pete stayed behind to ensure the beer supply didn't run out and to shake his booty on the dance floor. However, Shawn demonstrates perfect "White Man Running In Place" dance steps, while Shannon and the groom's dad look on in awe. There are several other pictures from the reception, but until the blackmail checks clear, they'll stay in the vault. 

However, before we can get there, Mary from Rochester has to get some Owen time. Mary used to work with me and Al at Linens N Things WAY back in a different lifetime. Fabulous lady and a total hoot to hang out with. 

After a quick change of outfit, Owen's ready to hit the dance floor... 

Al's Uncle Scott and I were the ushers - so we thought we'd ham it up as her bodyguards... 

Also present were Dan and Holly from Buffalo. Dan used to live in Denver and is the HUGEST (well, even though he's 5'6") Bills fan! He signed the guest book "#78 Bruce Smith, 1 Bills Drive"!  

We were lucky to be sat with Jim and Donna H - good friends of Al's from Maryland. Super cool people and a ton of fun to hang out with. Donna played "Open the box, close the box" with Owen for a LONG time! 

Had a lot of fun at the reception, including putting flowers on Owen's head... 

As she was walking down the aisle, she had to get one last wink in to me.... I was at the very back of the church (I was an usher.) 

Although she came out looking pretty good at the end! 

The next morning, we hung out with the girls getting their hair done. Here, Al is looking very Flock-of-Seagulls-ish... 

The rehearsal dinner was at a BBQ place - and everyone from out of town was invited! They had a cake that said "Welcome to Colorado" - with mountains made out of frosting. Tough to tell in this picture, but the frosting is a good half-inch high! 

At the rehearsal, we practiced our walking... 

As we drove to Colorado Springs, we passed the Smiling Moose deli. How cool is that? 

This weekend, we flew into Denver to go to my friend Al's wedding. First, we stopped off to have lunch with Lisa's friend Diane. Very cool little restaurant called Tables. This was at the end of lunch - you can tell Owen is ready to get going! 

He does a pretty good Dr Evil impression too... 

We went to breakfast today - he's offering Linda the waitress his spoon... 

I love this shot of his profile. The red line is from drooling milk down his cheek! 

Sometimes, all you want to do is lounge on Mom's lap and play with a bottle lid... 

Lisa and I attended the IBM SPIRIT fun day at the local Scandia fun center. Was quite good, and a relaxing way to start the weekend. We drove the race cars, played minigolf and I sucked at the batting cages... 

An odd and disturbing incident...

just happened. Warning - graphical and disturbing. Not like this blog at all. In fact, you probably want to skip this and come back another day when I've posted more Owen shots.



Lisa found an almost-dead squirrel in the backyard this morning. It's back was broken, the back legs covered in some fluid and not functioning, with lots of flies buzzing around. However, it was breathing, blinking, and when I approached it, it dragged itself off a few feet with it's front paws.

Of course, if some gigantic lunatic with gloves and a shovel approached me, I'd damn well scrabble out the way as well.

This squirrel was way beyond healing. If we'd done nothing, I doubt it would have survived the day. The neighbours cat was stalking around, and he'd probably have finished it off if I hadn't. I took careful aim with the edge of my shovel, and tried to make the end as short and painless as I could. Even so, a little squeak accompanied the little guy as I dispatched him.

I don't know why, but this was extraordinarily hard for me. It probably took me 3-4 minutes to actually work up the nerve to do it. I apologized to the squirrel over and over again - even after he was dead and I shoveled him gently into the garbage can.

I know I'm a big softie at heart. While I've got no issue killing spiders or other insects, this one bothered me. Maybe it was his black eyes looking up at me knowing what was coming. Maybe it was his breathing that was so rapid as he tried to crawl away, but then eased as he realized he couldn't. Whatever it was, it was damn hard to do, and it's bothered me.

I made Lisa go into the house before I did it. She was only too glad to go. I'm relieved that Owen was on a walk with his nanny and didn't know anything about it. In a way, I'm glad I did it - I do think I eased that guy's pain, even if I shortened his life by hours or days. My eyes have misted up a little bit just thinking about this. Is it because I'm a dad now - and that little squirrel was someone's baby once? Maybe. I think I need to go take my mind off of it.

Sometimes, you gotta do the difficult thing. Sucks, but it's true. I wonder if people who have to do this sort of thing for a living ever get used to it? Anyway, I'll post some happy shots of Owen to make up for this complete downer of a post.

We're off to have fun this weekend at Lisa's parent's block garage sale. As you can see, Owen is thrilled by the prospect... 

Ok, we're actually feeling pretty good. I'm still hacking up stuff, Lisa seems over the bulk of it, and the little guy is happy as a clam again! 

Well, maybe not that bad... 

Well, some of us are still a little poorly.... 

I'm feeling better, but..

when did James Earl Jones take up residence in my throat? I'm so freaking croaky right now. My voice has dropped about two octaves and is so gravelly I could start my own paving company. Looking forward to this long weekend to recover.

Have a happy Labor Day!