So Long Sweet Summer

We stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays
So long sweet summer
We fell into you now you're gracefully falling away
hey thanks, thanks for that summer
it's cold where you're going
I hope that your hearts always warm

To honor summer and give it a proper send off...Amanda and I spent an evening in the park. Equipped with a blanket, a wonderful dinner, music and entertainment...we had all we needed for a great time.




The dinner of choice for any Sanchez!


Gotta love Sugar House Park! We like to call it "Sugar Pie"


Chess in the park...it comes highly recommended.


Manda beat me at chess! The game had been going on for about 5 minutes. Out of nowhere she puts me in check. The funny part is she didn't even realize it. :) As I glanced over the board and tried to get my king safe...I came to the realization that my reign was over and I had been beaten. Well done sweets. well done!



We gave our best Olympic poses...it was unanimous that Manda would have won the gold.


We closed the night off the correct way...with a toast from a Shivers Shake.

Here's to you Summer. Thanks for everything. Be Good. and we'll see you next year. Hello textbooks! :(

Do they take credit cards?

We made our way up to the Usana Amphitheatre last night for the Jack Johnson concert! First of all, whoever decided to put that place so far away...what's your problem? The worst part about it...the last 50 blocks is a one lane street through neighborhoods. Seriously!


We had to pass some time in the car with the bumper to bumperness we had encountered and played many games that may have included "would you rather?" Poor Manda bear wanted food so bad!

We finally made it up there and claimed our tickets. Next, we had the task of finding an empty spot on the grass. I had never been there and was surprised how big the place was and how many people there were. I posed the question to my lovely wife..."How many people do you think are here?" She responded with..."I don't know. 100,000 maybe." She was serious. At this point I helped her judge the size of a crowd by remembering that the Delta Center holds 19,911. We had a good laugh. :) If this priceless statement wasn't enough...the very next exchange of dialogue went like this..."I feel like we're at Woodstock." Manda- "What's Woodstock." I love her so much!! haha!


We nestled into a great spot near the middle of the crowd.

We left for the concert immediately after work and didn't have time to stop for food on the way. So, after we found our spot...Manda Bear stayed and got comfy while I made the trek around the venue in search of food. We weren't sure if any of the food vendors took credit cards, we assumed they would it is 2008 after all, and we only had $5 cash. It was hard to narrow it down to what food I should get for the hungry girl. There was Hamburgers, Hot dogs, fresh buttery popcorn, big pretzels, pizza, smoothies, and enchiladas. As you can see, I was in a pickle. I still didn't know if any of them took credit cards. I saw a sign on the pizza place that read.."cash only." I did not see a similar sign anywhere so I thought I was golden. I got in line and asked a nice gentleman..."Do they take credit cards?" He turned and gave me a look that can only be classified as cold and bitter. I got to the front of the line and was told cash only. I had a decision to make...pretzel or water. ?? I went with the pretzel and had exactly enough cash to get earplugs or aspirin.


After random opening acts and some very good people watching (people are funny, especially when they don't know they're being watched. I didn't mean for that to be creepy)...it was time for the show to begin!

Our good friend Jack spent the evening serenading us with some awesome music! He played some of my personal favs...Bubble Toes, Taylor, Sitting Waiting Wishing and many others. We left a little early to miss the traffic and due to small size of our previous meal had to get food..and fast! I think I heard the word "Wendy's" about 20 times in a 2 minute span. A 5 piece chicken nugget and a yumsy frosty turned my co-pilot into a very pleasant lady.



All in all, it was a great night and I was happy I got to spend time with my honey!

It's Raining in Baltimore

I love The Olympic games. Love.

The Olympics have it all. Athleticism. Drama. Skill. Suspense. Entertainment. Hope. Inspiration. Love. I can go on and on...

Ok, so not only have Amanda and I been glued to our TV every night this week but there have been tears shed. I love how pure The Olympics are and the athletes are competing for the love of the game. They have been training their entire lives for one chance at glory and it's so compelling to watch it every night. I'm not gonna lie...I've been choked up a few times. Seeing someone accomplish something that they have worked so hard for is a great thing.

Last night after the Americans went Gold/Silver in the women's (or little girls) all-around gymnastics final, Amanda looked over at me with a sad puppy dog face and uttered..."I want to be an Olympian..." It was the cutest thing I have ever seen in my whole life. I, of course, burst into laughter and gave her a hug. Speaking of Gymnastics...



Those girls are amazing! I think I'm strong and tough but I can't even do a simple hand stand. I do weigh 3 times as much as they do but still! My buddy Scott Allen actually claimed that he thinks could do a routine on the parallel bars. and he was serious. oh Scott. anyway...It's no secret that gymnasts are athletically special but it's great entertainment and I really am sad that this part of the Olympics is over. oh well...I'll always have the memories.

So, Michael Phelps. There's so much to say about this guy. He has captivated America and has us all scrambling to our TV every time he swims. As of right now at 3:51pm on Friday, August 15 he has 6 gold medals and he's going for his 7th tonight. What's amazing about him, not only is he winning every race but absolutely crushing his opponents. He has 6 golds and 6 world records to go with it. Incredible. But, all of his success has gotten many people discussing where he fits in among the world's greatest athletes. Now, I don't want to get off topic too much but debating how great athletes are is a very difficult task, and I happen to be great at it. If there was an Olympics for that...you know who would win gold! anyway...sorry about that. Michael Phelps now has the record for most gold medals ever by any Olympian. Did that sink in correctly?? Think about how many athletes and events and Olympics there have been and this guy is the greatest Olympian ever! wowzas! But...in my professional opinion his record is a little skewed. He competes in a sport that offers many opportunities to win gold. Most sports only offer 1 chance at gold. If basketball had 10 individual events than Michael Jordan would be considered the greatest Olympian of all time. You see what I'm tryin to say? All that being said...I love watching this guy and will be cheering for him to break every Olympic record! For more info on the greatest athlete of all time please see www.mattwithsports.blogspot.com



My favorite sport is basketball. Olympics or not. Basketball is the cat's pajamas! (My producer at KSL used to say that all the time and I've been waiting to use it!) International Basketball hasn't been too kind to the USA the past 8 years. In fact, they haven't won a significant tournament since the 2000 Sydney games. This year our team has been dubbed the "redeem team" and are trying to bring the gold back where it belongs. Spain and Argentina will be their biggest threat but I have no doubt that we will do it!



Of course there are many more events that are great to watch. Who doesn't love a good beach volleyball match? Seriously. I'm really excited for the next week of the competition. Look at all the amazing story lines thus far and Track & Field hasn't even started yet!

Go USA!