Abi

I'm back in South Carolina after my whirlwind trip to Nova Scotia with a ton of pictures to share!

Up first are a few of the many photos I took of the adorable baby Abi. I'm blessed to have amazing friends and Abi's mom Andrea is one of the best. She knew my trip was going to be hectic and drove several hours so I could see her and meet Abi. I just wish we lived closer so I could see her more often.

Isn't she precious?

Homeward bound

This weeks theme is Autumn Day but I've only seen a few glimpses of fall here so far and it's been quite hectic the past little bit, so I haven't really had a chance to get out and take any photos. I was lucky enough to have some great fall photos from last fall, so that's what I'm sharing today. A warm, late fall morning in my parents backyard near the apple tree.

It's also fitting because this time next week, I'll be home enjoying a similiar view! We're leaving Saturday, and we're looking forward to Alex's parents arriving tomorrow for a visit for the rest of the week. If I don't make it back to blog in the next few days, I will hopefully have something to blog when I get to NS. There's a lot going on while I'm home, including a wedding, 2 adorable babies, a pregnancy, and a ton of great friends and family, so I promise lots of great shots in the coming weeks!

Sixteen Candles

+ 10. For some reason, turning 26 bothered me more than turning 25. I've now entered the "mature adult" half of the 20s. It's crazy, seeing as apparently 40 is the new 20 according to Rachael Ray and Oprah.

My birthday was great though! Alex learned how to make a cake and it turned out moist and delicious. He suprised me with the lens I've been drooling over for months (50 1.4) and we went to dinner at a great Italian place.

Here's the fabulous cake, taken with my new lens!

Fall into fall

I love fall!! The weather is gorgeous, the leaves are changing to vibrant hues (okay not so much down here....), there's usually a slight breeze, and of course Thanksgiving! Today was the perfect fall day. The weather was in the 70s, sunny with a light breeze and perfect for lunch downtown with Alex and then a walk in the park. We went to a new-to-me place called Saffron and ate outside under an umbrella. Our drinks were these great old fashioned sodas in glass bottles. I got out my camera to remember the name since we enjoyed them so much, and ended up with a pretty cool shot.

After lunch, I walked Alex back to work and headed to the park for a little relaxation and grabbed a few nature shots along the way.

A Sea of Orange (and Purple)

This was a weekend of firsts for me... my first tailgate, my first southern football game, and the first time I've EVER seen so much orange in my entire life! Friday night we got a call from one of Alex's coworkers that he had a few extra tickets if we were interested in heading to Clemson for the home opener so off we went to Mr. Knickerbocker's so I could get an orange shirt. Funny enough but there are no pictures of either of us from the game, so I'll have to work on that for next time. Saturday morning we got up and showered, ate breakfast and headed to Clemson for tailgating. I've learned that tailgating is pretty much a huge pre (and sometimes post) party celebration held in the parking lots all over campus. There's plenty of food, games, beer (and hard liquor) for the over 21 crowd, and even some satelite TV at some spots. We had a great time and I met some awesome people.

Then it was game time, so we headed to our entrance gate and made our way down to our AMAZING seats 5 rows from the field. We had a great view and it was PERFECT for pictures. The only possible downside was the heat. The high was in the mid-nineties and boy was it hot. The only saving grace were the water-misting fans on the concourse.

Here is the first round of pics, the rest will hopefully be up tomorrow when I'm done sorting through the 300+ pictures I took :).

As wide an angle as I could get to demonstrate the vastness of the stadium. It seats 80,000+ people! That's a lot of orange!

Alex tells me this is considered the most exciting 30 seconds of college football. The team gathers around Howard's Rock (a rock from Death Valley, California) before storming down the hill onto the field.

The players here are treated like celebrities.... look at all those cameras!

Storming the field/releasing the balloons

And they start off the game with a great return.

And the quarterback hands off the ball (I believe to Alex's favorite player... #1 Davis)

Yep, there he goes
Look at that great run...

Alex swears I focused way too much on shots of the tight pants

Death Valley - The Stadium's nickname
This might just be my contest picture - A few lone Citadel fans (blue) surrounded by a sea of orange...

Hey boys, lets get this party started!

Another possible contest entry - "Can I play too?"

Aaannd TOUCHDOWN!
It's good!