Aldridge Gardens II

The Aldridge Gardens is where the bulk of our pictures were taken.

Here is a pretty scenic look out from out little walking trail we were on.  

A pictures Josh took & that is pretty typical for us.  When we walk we hold hands when it is warm or when I am warm, but when I am cold I am usually clutching Josh's arm. 

On the trail we saw these massive leaves on the ground and I bent down & picked two up & thought of Adam & Eve and how two leaves would cover up everything essential.  

Josh checked if he would be good too.  

HYDRANGEA!  I love Hydrangea, these are the second flowers we saw and I was SO happy because they are one of my favorites after lilies & daises.  

I am not a very artistic person and I usually find statues to be kind of pointless but this was so cute with the Mama Duck leading her Ducklings down to the pond. . 

Another random photo but I like it.  I like to think I look that nice & innocent all the time. . . 

Okay I know I've said I love & LOVE and ton of pictures but these next two pictures have no words to describe how much I LOVE them.  I thought we got some good couple pictures in Utah at Lake Powell & Antelope Canyons, but these. . .  no comparison.  I don't know how Josh will top these.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them :)

Me at a another flowing little waterfall.  I opted to take my flip flops off for the picture. 

We played with the color options on my camera again and again this was Josh's favorite.  I like them too, it makes us look kind of timeless.  

I like this photo too, we are at the end of the trail and found exactly four flowers and so Josh was trying to buoy my spirits.  And I think he has caught on that I like having our pictures taken so he started taking random silly photos here.  This one turned out nice.  

Me at the end.  We finished the trail at the Aldridge Gardens.  What a beautiful garden.  

My trip was amazing.  My boyfriend was perfect if you couldn't tell.  I made LOTS of food for him, most notable was the Chicken Adobo, Jalepenos wrapped in Bacon filled with Cream Cheese and the Cheese Sauce Josh likes so much.  I tried my hand at Cinnamon Rolls, Bro. Seagle gave me his recipe and I burned a good bit of them but the one batch that turned out okay I asked Josh if he'd take them to work :)  

We went to Walmart almost everyday, for me sometimes more than that.  We went to the Library a few times to get Josh audio-books so he can listen to the Percy Jackson series I really enjoyed.  

Besides the trips we went on & when Josh wasn't in class or working we just chilled, cuddled while watching a movie or tv shows on hulu.  Josh bought the new Tinker Bell movie for me & was even willing to watch it with me.  I didn't actually have him do it  but it was sweet to know he would.  

I slept great this trip, the last two I really struggled but I did seriously great this time, don't know the change but I was happy to be so relaxed.  

I left Monday Evening Oct. 29th so we got almost nine full days together and I LOVED it, it was a great trip.  I cried the whole way to the airport, through baggage, and airport security and didn't really stop till I boarded my plane.  I miss my boyfriend, thank heavens for Skype :)

Aldridge Gardens

Josh and I at Aldridge Gardens.  It is super close to where Josh lives but Josh warned me that it wouldn't be as big as the Birmingham Botanical Gardens we've gone to before and LOVED.

It is really pretty but mostly it is trees, not very many flowers like the Botanical Gardens.  Still it is very pretty there and Josh was so sweet to try and be excited to be walking around looking for flowers for me.

The FIRST flower we found, and there were Bees!!  

I am sure I have mentioned that Josh likes to take random photos and sometimes they actually turn out cute.  I really like this one, I wish Josh's face was more visible so I could see his smile :)

There was little water falls like this all round, very nice and peaceful.  

We found this bench and just sat down and enjoyed the scenery.  Josh started just talking pictures and I think they turned out super sweet. 

Awww . . . 

These pictures are just fun, I really had a hard time picking my favorites but here is a handful of some pictures Josh took without us posing.  Just trying to be natural and I LOVE them. 

Seriously LOVE it :)

There are a few pictures like this, I was totally relaxed at this point & forgot Josh had the camera in his hand (which is something I try to always remember) but I think it looks sweet. 

Holding Hands, we had to take a few shots to get this because I didn't want my flip flops to ruin the ambiance. 

So I LOVE this picture too. Plus I have been working on growing my hair out & I think my hair looks nice & long her.  You know & my boyfriend is kissing me which I like too!

Me on a bridge.

Sunday Morning :)

Josh and I woke up to go to church Sunday Morning, I feel bad because I promised to make Josh Breakfast (Bacon, Eggs, etc. . . ) on Sunday but I slept in and we had to haul to make it to church.  

After we were headed to the Aldridge Gardens but I saw this little park along the way and asked Josh nicely to stop. 

This Red Dress Josh found for me almost a year ago, I asked him to find me a Red Dress & it is super pretty and so I got him a matching Red Tie.  We basically looked AMAZING!!!

Just so you know, Alabama even when people say it's "warm" outside, it is really cold.  I tried to find sunlight this whole morning, being by water and shady trees is very chilly!  Josh & I have a basic standard where if I am comfortable he is HOT & if he is comfortable I am FREEZING! 

This is the picture Josh really likes, with the water font behind us.  I think it looks super sweet too!

I yelled for Josh to come quick because I saw the ugliest ducks EVER!  He promptly took pictures for me, not sure if they really are ducks but wow. . .  

There were pretty geese out on the pond too, geese are pretty but mean.  

We left this pond to continue on to the Aldridge Gardens. . . 

Date Night

We got back to his apartment after rock climbing, showered and got ready for dinner.  Josh's idea of dressing up is a little different than mine so I had a nice casual look going, and Josh suddenly comes out in a nice collared white shirt with a normal blue sweater over it and this Pea Coat (which we both knew he only had on so he could give it to me when I was cold).  It was really sweet because he only put that much effort into his "outfit" because he knows things like that are important to me. 

We went to Chili's for dinner and drove to a really pretty scenic spot up in Birmingham. I am not sure where but it was really nice.  It was in the back of a church that had this kind of porch area with benches and it just looked out into the city.  It was high above the noise and we ate our dinner on a blanket and had a very sweet, dare I say a romantic picnic/dinner.  

I don't know why these pictures are blurry but I wanted to have something to remember my date night by.  Josh looks amazing, I wish I did my hair.  

We finished dinner, stayed to look at the lights but with the winds it was pretty cold so we packed up and just drove around for a bit.  

I think we came back to his apartment and just cuddled up and watched a movie.  Loved it :)

Rock Climbing

Josh & I have our one year anniversary coming up November 24th this year and since we won't be able to spend it together I asked Josh if could plan a special date night while I was there to celebrate it a month early.  He was not thrilled at this task, especially because I asked that it be romantic.

So today, Friday, Josh doesn't have work or class and he planned a whole day, he said he had a fair bit planned in case somethings didn't fall through.  We woke up and headed out to go rock climbing.  We both enjoy rock climbing so I was excited, and he said that at the park we were going to there was  Quilt Fair or Show going on and we could check that out too.  Very thoughtful because I really enjoy crafts.

This is the view over the cliff.  It was a really nice day.

I really like this picture, the gazebo gives a nice frame to the trees and sky.

I was playing around with my color filter on my camera and liked the blue hue but couldn't decide which I liked best so I kept both versions. 

Josh deleted this picture on his computer but I like it,  I don't get very many pictures of him so I try to take ones when I get a chance.  

I like this one, I think Josh looks nice and comfortable maybe just relaxed, but he is always like that.  So I don't know why this is different, but I guess I just remember sitting with him and it brings back nice memories.  

This one just makes me laugh, he tries so hard to take lots of pictures and I really appreciate it.  I like having memories.  

This is one route we climbed.  My shoes Josh got were just TOO tight, even for rock climbing shoes so I opted to go barefoot.  Josh said I did well, I don't know, I feel like I did really poorly.  It is a very different feel to not have the rubber on the shoes to help you grip with your toes into the rock surface.  But I got through two easy routes.  

Josh told me he picked these routes because he remembered this being written on the rock surface. It says, "Be my girlfriend."  Honestly that wasn't planned but I like to pretend it is.  Josh actually really didn't like that someone defaced the rock surface.  

Here is another route I did, after this one Josh asked if we were done so we could watch the sun set over the cliff but we drove all this way I felt we should do at least one more before we lost daylight.  I am not a strong climber even with proper gear so without my shoes I was slower and less confident so it took longer.  

On our last route we had to rappel down and Josh knows I really hate that so he tried his best to simulate just a normal belay down like when rock climbing but I don't know if it is psychological or what but I had a panic attack going down and came close to hyper-ventilating.   Josh tried so hard to be patient and calm me down and afterward I kept promising to him that I wasn't mad at him.  Honestly I think I get mad at myself for not being more capable and for getting scared and frustrated at my own weaknesses.  He never makes me feel anything less than strong and capable and never puts me down for not being a wilderness woman, I am just really hard on myself.  

So I cried the whole way down, and I don't know if I just reached an emotional max or what but I cried the whole way up too.  I GENUINELY enjoy rock climbing.  I have no idea why I kept crying I knew I was safe, Josh would NEVER put me in a dangerous situation.  I felt bad, he planned a really fun afternoon which I enjoyed, the area was beautiful, rock climbing is fun, and I had my boyfriend to cheer me on and tell me how great I was doing!

OHHH remember my beautiful pedicure with my Halloween design?!  Climbing barefoot, my nails chipped, I think I screamed or cried maybe in pain I don't know because Josh belaying was seriously concerned until he found out it was because I chipped my nail.  He was like, "Really Erin, really?"  Not my best moment.  

We kind of saw the sunset, it was pretty but getting chilly so we left to head back to Birmingham for the rest of our date :)

BTW I don't like Southern Accents, Josh said we could stay and look at the Quilt Show for as long as I wanted but hearing them talk kind of annoyed me and after all the crying I decided it was best to just go home, shower and pretend I did amazing.