The Good Ol' South.

Matt and I spent the end of May through the end of June in the city of Greenville, SC. While he spent long, hard days in the humidity knocking on doors, I spent a couple of weeks writing what seemed like an endless amount of Thank You cards. I finally finished the majority of those and was able to be a little more social and hang out with the other wives. Our days typically consisted of going out to the pool.


I spent the rest of my time in my TVless and sporadic-internet apartment. It's given me some time to work on my cooking abilities. Matt is always a trooper and eats my meals even when he doesn't particularly like them. I think I'm getting a little better.

Oh yeah, the wives and I did go and tour the BMW factory one day. The tour guide's auto/mechanic lingo went right over our heads, but it was still cool to see the Transformer-looking robots and flying sparks put the cars together.

This summer I've also gotten to read a couple of good books! The Book Thief was so good and a real tear-jerker. Matt couldn't believe how much I was sobbing as I finished the last few pages. I then read The Alchemist which was really different than what I usually read but so enjoyable. It was a pretty quick read, too. Then I read The Notebook. I have to say that I love the movie, but I was a little disappointed by the book. It's probably because I experienced them in the wrong order. The movie just seemed more riveting and dramatic than the book. It was still an entertaining read, though.




One cool thing Matt and I got to do together in Greenville was take a stroll around Falls Park, which is in the nice downtown area of the city. It was beautiful. While we were there we passed by some old guy who shouted, "Well you two look like a good Christian couple!" "Yep!" was our response, to which he replied, "Amen!" Good ol' Southerners.

On Matt's 23rd birthday, June 21st, we took a little trip to Atlanta, GA. He was dying to eat at Benihana's and the closest one around was in Atlanta. While there we went to the World of Coca-Cola, but I wouldn't put it as one of my favorite attractions. The most exciting part of the tour was probably when we got to try dozens of Coca-Cola products from around the world. I guess the glass bottling factory part was okay, too. After that we strolled through the Centennial Olympic Park, which was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics, on our way to dinner. I guess I'm glad we can say we've been to Atlanta, but I think it would've been cooler to visit somewhere like Savannah. We're hoping to make it to Charleston, SC one of these weekends before we leave.

Benihana's.


Great photo-op in the entryway at The World of Coca-Cola:
Giant Coca-Cola bottles...


Cool retro room with old school, nostalgic Coke stuff.


This kind of reminds me of It's a Wonderful Life.
"I wish I had a million dollars... Hot dog!"


The room with old Coke posters and advertisements.
Matt LOVES when I take lots of pictures.


Testing the flavors. Some were pretty good; others NOT so good.


We got to pick up a FREE Coke bottle on our way out for paying to see the place.


The next day we had some Papa John's pizza (our favorite) and Baskin Robbins mint chocolate chip ice cream cake (Matt's favorite; I prefer Cold Stone). Becca and Steve came over to enjoy the cake with us and celebrate Matt's special day. I got Matt two Brian Regan comedy DVDs as well as a bunch of his favorite movie candies. I think he enjoyed them. :)

On the 4th of July we packed up the car and took the freeway north and east from Greenville to Charlotte. We didn't get to sit and watch a fireworks show from beginning to end, but we caught probably a dozen parts of various firework shows throughout our drive. I really like our current apartment. It is actually an executive suite owned by Marriott in an apartment complex, so it almost feels like we're in a hotel! It is much more homey than our last apartment because there is artwork on the walls and nice, comfy furniture. Not to mention we now have two TVs and a microwave! Now if that's not a step up, I don't know what is.

Matt drinking his FREE Coca-Cola on our drive to Charlotte.
What a way to celebrate the 4th!


Here are some pictures from our very first apartment (Greenville).
I'll put up Charlotte ones later.

Matt, just hanging out in the living room.


View from the entryway; kitchen.


Hallway; bathroom.


Our bedroom; not much to look at... Can't wait to be able to decorate in Provo.


Charlotte Marriott ExecuStay welcomes us to our new apartment with a box of goodies!
Again, Matt LOVES when I say, "Wait right there; let me take a picture!"