While Brent and Ryan paid attention to every painstaking detail of laying down plastic and painter’s tape to prep the nursery for painting, I was following Grandpa around the guest bedroom. She was sprawled all about the sun spilling out of the windows and just laid there all luxuriously in these square-shaped, sun-soaked parts of the carpet. She was too content with herself to notice me messing with my settings, getting all up in her space, trying to grab a shot of her gorgeous blue eyes. I managed to nab a moment of her in pure “top model” form – I see some smiling-with-your-eyes and slightly-ajar-mouth over there!

As a present to Katie (and I think as a part of his obligations to his sibling) Ryan went over to Katie and Brent’s place today to help Brent paint the baby’s nursery! I came as moral support, backseat wall painter and general stick-in-the-mud as my sleep-deprived self sat there and wrote essays all day. Regardless, it was nice to get out of the house and see a rather exciting part of their new lives begin to unfold! I love the color choice and considering what Katie has in store for her nursery plans, I can’t wait to see how everything turns out.

Tonight, Brad is having a “Back to School Party” to be silly and ironic because most of us don’t have school anymore. Well, the real irony in that is that I still have school and with these last two weeks upon us, it’s been kicking my ass more than usual and I can’t go to Brad’s because I have schoolwork to do. I brought my Manoogian uniform to wear, just in case I’d be able to go but I decided to make the executive and more adult decision and tend to my obligations instead. Ugh, it feels lame, so far, but at least I got to see Ryan dress up in his letterman jacket from back when he was captain of the track team at Valencia High School. He’s also got a recent and very short haircut so what he looked like going out the door looked a lot like pictures I’ve seen of him in high school. Aw, adorable.

August is a busy month for birthdays! Last weekend we celebrated Aunt Liz’s and Katie’s birthdays which are both today. This is a shot from last weekend with Grandma in the middle because well, if it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have such an awesome reason to celebrate during late-August! Happy birthday to two wonderful individuals with who I feel lucky to be able to share some awesome memories. Also, look at little hiding Baby Nash!

I am just reveling in how badly I want these next two weeks to be over. So much is going on with school and side jobs that I just can’t wrap my head around any substantial for too long of a time. This is a simple shot of some piece of Morgan’s backyard. I’ve been spending the last few hours wishing I was swaying lazily in that hammock, watching these yard decorations sway in the breeze.

Grad school has been a ridiculous journey, one that feels as though I’ve been trudging along for more than just the barely three months that have actually passed. I’ve spent all summer practically breathing through these books. Each one of these items (along with my laptop) have become staples to my backpack which, in itself, has become a staple to my person everywhere I go. I even brought them along as a carry-on to Chicago because I had assignments to finish. I’ve just come back from my Unit (read: Week) 9 Tuesday night set of classes and I can’t believe next week will already be our last week. Where has the time gone and yet, how is there still so much left ahead of me?

I ended up in the Hollywood area last Friday around 2:00pm and decided it would be worthless to go back home and wait for it to really be evening time. I usually go to Ryan’s place on the weekends and get there around 7:00pm or so. So I ended up just driving down Pico all the way to Santa Monica and waiting at Literati Cafe which, sadly enough, I have only recently discovered to be way more awesome than I expected. Ryan has lived at this spot for a little over a year and a half and I wished I had discovered it sooner. I just love the vibe, the food is good, the location within the city is excellent and I love the inside – way awesome. I was even more in love after I noticed this wonderful offering to all their patrons. It was just perfect.

Morgan had a BBQ at her house today to celebrate her birthday with some of her closest friends and family. It was a perfect mix of fun and relaxation with one of the coolest Valley backyards I have ever spent time in and some really great meats and greens off the grill. After a really adorable pool-group photo, this really happy moment took place. This is Cassie and Morgan being, well, just awesome, basically.

We spent the evening in Orange County today visiting with Ryan’s Aunt Liz and Uncle Steve and Grandma. It had been a long time since we had collected at the Kirkwood’s, we hadn’t visited with Grandma in a while and both Aunt Liz and Katie have the same August birthday. Excuses aside, it’s always such a fun time to visit even if for no reason other than to borrow a dress for the Renaissance Fair (which is what one visit consisted of). Katie’s little bundle is getting bigger and Uncle Steve had her try out some non-alcoholic “wine” which apparently tasted more like grape juice than anything else. I doubt this glass was used that night but it was definitely a glass I would bet would be at their house – celebrations and wine? Perfect

Taleen and I went to Melrose today to get our hairs re-did and to just walk the drag, a pastime from our young teenage years I guess we’ll never be able to let down. We were on our way back to the cars when we saw these two adorable puppies literally in the middle of the sidewalk. No leash, no nothing. They were just confused and scared, wobbling about on their newly realized legs. Basically, I was dying inside from how adorable they were. There was a car next to them with two guys and apparently, the puppies belonged to them. They were mutts, mixes from a chihuahua and something else (which honestly is very hard to believe) and they were for sale. Man, if I was living on my own and had a backyard or something, one of these would have been brought home in a second. Their names were Diggy and Marley. One of them was quite polite and posed for the picture while the other, if you can tell, was a bit squirmier than his brother.