Fall.

Back in October I treated myself to a trip to Colorado. My trip just happened to be at the same time as the Great American Beer Festival. What a coincidence? ;-) There is no person I would have rather gone with than my buddy John.

We had quite a day.

In other news, Gizmo has developed a new habit. She now sits on the back of the couch. It essentially acts as her throne and she sits up there watching out the windows over her kingdom and making sure the apartment is in order. Regal, isn't she?

Megan and I decided to do our own Thanksgiving this year.

We cooked a Tofurkey (it's gross…never do it), Megan's Nana's cheesy potatoes, cranberry relish, and stuffing.

Also, I finally joined the 21st Century and got a smartphone (I don't understand this name for the device as it only ever makes me feel dumb). One cool feature of my smartphone is that it will take all of your videos and pictures from an event and make them into a short show for you. Below you can watch a short video of our Thanksgiving as created by my phone: 

The city was like a ghost town on Thanksgiving, so we were able to take Gizmo to a little patch of grass and play some frisbee. Her favorite thing!

I also went to a family Christmas party where my nephew showed up in the same outfit as me. I'm  glad he knows true style when he sees it.

Halloween

Like any self-respecting internet bloggers, we have a sick obsession with dressing our dog up in things that she hates. This year for Halloween we decided to coordinate our costumes. 

Gizmo was a hot dog.

Front.

Back.

Side.

So Megan was mustard

And I was also a hot dog.

The full concessions stand.

Megan's friend, Joey, borrowed one of our costumes. He made a great Geico Gecko.

NPR's Family Matters

On Tuesday we went to NPR's "Family Matters: Your Financial Lifetime." Here's a link to a news story about the panel.

The most important thing we learned is that the Social Security Administration no longer provides statements in the mail. To receive a statement you must register online. 

Grant's Farm

This week we went to Grant's Farm with Luke's sister A and her son, little A.

We all have birthdays in October.

Grant's Farm is a zoo/petting zoo/nature reserve/animal farm. The best animals were the guinea pigs, which I have never seen on display outside of a pet store or someone's home.

Second best were the bald eagles. 

Little A is learning how to grab things and then put them back. He borrowed Luke's hat for a little bit.

Flamingos!

At the park

Want to come and sit with me?

Benton Park Bobby and a Benefit

This past weekend we attended a benefit concert for Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis at Off Broadway. Luke's colleague Bobby played some excellent hand drums in the opening act.

Gizmo stayed at home on the couch.

We are still here

School has started for both Luke and I. As you can see Gizmo is still holding down the apartment while we are out.

A Dog-gone Awesome Summer!

The humans were not paying attention today so I saw this as my opportunity to update MY blog. My summer was absolutely wonderful! My neighbor puppy friend, Deja, moved away. We had a great last play date, though.

 A friend of my humans, Mike, paid us a visit this summer. He thought he was oh so funny putting his hat on my head. I was less than amused.

The bipeds finally got around to getting me groomed. I looked so smart in my handkerchief. ("Smart" is British slang for good looking. I feel as a dog of Welsh descent I am qualified to use such slang.)

 I found plenty of time to nap on the bipeds'  bed this summer.

I never used to be interested in what my humans were cooking when they were vegetarians. Then, the male started to come home with a food called "bacon." Now, I make guest appearances at every meal hoping they forget I'm not supposed to have people food.

Afternoon nap time is still my favorite part of the day. 

We went over to the man-human's sister's house. The yard is the perfect size for me to play frisbee. I wanted to play the WHOLE time we were over there. If my humans went inside I would throw the frisbee on the bottom step to wait for them to come back outside. I tried to look (and sound) as pathetic as possible to coax the humans into playing with me. In all, I probably played frisbee for over an hour. I would consider that a success.

After all that frisbee, boy was I tired. My humans have always told me I can grow up to be whatever I want, so I became an armrest. 

I hope everyone else had great summers, too! I am always happy to have visitors, so let my humans know if you ever want to come hang out with us in the great city of St. Louis. It's actually a pretty cool place.

- Gizmo

This blog was written on my iPooch 4.

John Mayer

This is a view of the stage from the lawn where we were sitting.

Another view, looking across the lawn into the sunset.

Phillip Phillips was the opening act. The women screaming for him sitting behind us told us he won some season of American Idol. We don't watch singing shows on principle so we cannot verify that information. If Phillip Phillips or his representatives are reading this, the aforementioned women also want to have his babies. 

John Mayer!

All of his backgrounds during the show were reminiscent of a desert in Arizona. They were all beautiful!

Naturalization Ceremony

 As mentioned previously on this blog I am interning at the U.S. Attorney's Office this summer. The U.S. Attorney's Office in St. Louis performs naturalization ceremonies about every month or so. During the summer the lawyer performing the ceremony with a judge can bring an intern along to read the names of people who will become U.S. Citizens. On July 3rd  I was lucky to be that intern. This ceremony was performed at the Old Historic Courthouse in downtown St. Louis.

 This picture is before the ceremony begins.

Me waiting for the ceremony to start.

51 people became U.S. Citizens.

 The courthouse singers.

Me at the podium, I read 25 of the names.

New U.S. citizens taking the Oath.

It is cool to be an American. Happy 3rd of July.