I can’t believe we officially have a teenager in the house! 13 years ago today, our lives changed for the better in so many ways, and it was all thanks to the arrival of Miss Ava Pellegrini. She is such a sweet kid with an outgoing personality, a huge heart, and a level of commitment that you don’t see in many people. While today is her actual birthday, we have been celebrating with her for the past few days. After all, you only become a teenager once.
We held Ava’s first surprise party on Friday night at a local roller skating rink. Several of her softball teammates and their families joined us and Ava had a blast. She had no idea it was coming and was so surprised when she walked in and saw everyone. The following day, one of her friends came over for a sleepover. Jessica dropped them off at the movie theater to see “Red One”, which was a big deal because she had never gone to a movie without an adult before. Yesterday was her softball team’s end-of-season party at a local bowling alley. We hung out with everyone for a couple of hours and had a nice time.
Last night we all watched Grandpa Rick and Debbie’s wedding ceremony on YouTube. We were sorry not to be able to attend it in person but were thankful to be able to watch it online. It looked like a nice event and we’re very happy for both of them.
Today started with Ava opening some presents before school. She wished she didn’t have to go to school on her birthday, but what she didn’t realize was that Jessica had been planning all along to take the day off and pull her out of school early for a special day. I thought about joining them but decided not to because I get a lot more one-on-one time with Ava than Jessica does, so I wanted them to have this memorable time together.
After pulling her out of school, they stopped home for a minute, and as luck would have it, the custom softball glove that we ordered for her a month ago arrived in the mail. The timing couldn’t have been better! She has always used my 40-year-old Little League glove for softball, which is very sweet, but it was time for her to get something bigger and better. The glove was initially designed by her when I showed her the website, but I think she forgot about it. It’s her color scheme with an Italian flag, and it even has her nickname “Lightweight” embroidered on it, which was given to her by her beloved hitting coach, Bill Madlock.
Tonight, we’re all going out with a family friend to see the new movie “Wicked”, then tomorrow Auntie Dana and Uncle Brad will be arriving from San Diego to spend Thanksgiving with us. I have a special meal planned for us on Wednesday night, then we’re all going to decorate the house and Christmas tree afterward. Thursday will be spent at Devin’s house, which is becoming a Thanksgiving tradition for us, and then on Monday, I’ll be starting my new job as a Senior Software Engineer with Old Republic Title! I’m so thankful to have the job search behind me and don’t have to wait until the new year to land something.
As is the case every year, we have so much to be thankful for. Everyone is happy, healthy, and living their best lives. My brief unemployment stint caused a little bump in the road, but we used that as a teachable moment for the kids. Overall, things couldn’t be better, and we’re all excited for the holiday season. Above all, I hope this was an excellent birthday for Ava and that she never forgets it. She brings more joy to everyone than she realizes and we’re so lucky to be able to call her our daughter.
Happy 13th birthday sweetheart. Here are some recent photos and videos celebrating Miss Ava.
Opening presents on the morning of her birthdayShe loves her new bag from Uncle Jim and Aunt BrendaShe loves all things “Demon Slayer”Ready for school
Here she is opening her new softball glove
Getting ready for her first softball game in the 14U age divisionAfter winning her first Defensive MVP awardAfter winning her first Offensive MVP awardShe won Offensive MVP for the championship games because she got on base during every at-bat
This was her first at-bat of the first championship game
Halloween is always a special day for our family. Not only is it my Mom’s birthday, but it’s all three of our kids’ favorite holiday. If it wasn’t their favorite holiday before moving to Henderson it certainly was after, as our neighborhood goes big on the decorations and trick-or-treating every year. This is an especially big birthday for my Mom, as she begins a new decade, and I can’t even begin to thank her enough for everything she does. Jessica, the kids, and I all feel very lucky to have her as a regular part of our lives and we wish her the happiest of birthdays!
While we won’t get a chance to see her today, we will get to spend the next few days with her at our house, which everyone is looking forward to. She will be coming over to our house tomorrow afternoon and staying until Sunday. I’ve got a nice birthday meal planned for Friday night, consisting of plant-based tenderloins and ribs from Juicy Marbles, baked potatoes, vegetables, and pumpkin pie (Mom’s favorite) for dessert. We don’t have specific plans during the day on Saturday but that evening Ava has another softball game and she is very excited that Nana will be there to watch her play. I know Mom always talks about what a difference it made in her life when we moved from Washington to Nevada, but it definitely goes both ways. Having her nearby has changed our lives for the better and I’m so thankful for all the memories the kids are making with her.
Tonight we’re looking forward to trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with friends. Tiko and Tina are bringing their girls over, and I’m sure we’ll gang up with a bunch of the neighbors. This is arguably the biggest night of the year for the kids and it’s always a blast watching them live their best lives as they run from door to door, then come home to sort through the night’s treasure. As far as costumes go, Elise was a cheetah today at school, but tonight she is dressing up as Gru from the Minions movies. Ava, who is a huge fan of the Japanese anime series Demon Slayer, dressed up as Mitsuri Kanroji, and Enzo has a hilarious blow up costume of a sumo wrestler. Jessica decided to honor her childhood by dressing up as one of her all-time favorite characters, Mary Poppins. I hate to be a stick in the mud, but I don’t have a costume this year. It’s just me and the cats at home all day so there wasn’t much of a reason for me to put together a costume. However, my Los Angeles Dodgers did win the World Series last night, so maybe I’ll replicate last year’s costume by wearing my Dodgers uniform.
Outside of the Halloween and birthday festivities, things are going well. Jessica is continuing to crush it in her masters program at UNLV. She is getting excellent scores on all of her tests, assignments, and group projects, so she’s feeling good about how the year is shaping up. The first quarter of school recently wrapped up for the kids and each one of them had all A’s and B’s, which we were very proud of. Enzo just finished his rock climbing class and is looking forward to signing up again as soon as possible. Elise continues to enjoy her Saturday morning boxing classes and Ava is doing better than ever in softball. She was asked to play third base in one of our recent games because our normal third baseman was going to be away, and ended up getting our team’s defensive player of the game award! I was so proud of her commitment and preparation for the opportunity. We were showing up early to practice and staying late after practice so we could drill grounders at third and the throw across the diamond to first base.
On my end of things, I’m still in the middle of a job search, as the opportunity I mentioned in last month’s post didn’t work out. That was a tough pill to swallow, mainly because I made it all the way to the final interview before they decided to go with someone else. I was feeling a bit down about it for a couple of days but eventually shook it off and started focusing on new opportunities. I was thinking about something we tell the girls all the time in softball, which is to focus on the two things that are in your control: attitude and effort.
On the attitude side, I had to remind myself that I have a skillset and resume that plenty of companies are looking for. It’s just difficult timing because we’re nearing the end of the year, and we’re in the late stages of a presidential election cycle, both of which have an effect on hiring and spending for many businesses. On the effort side, every day is a “work” day for me. I’m constantly applying for jobs, sending out my resume, talking with recruiters, and scheduling interviews. Based on all of this market research, I have a good idea of exactly what skills employers are looking for, so I purchased three different web development / computer science courses on Udemy and spend hours each day going through them.
In addition to all this job search stuff, I’m also staying busy by working on a freelance project, and doing daily work on the Cappers web application. October is a busy sports month because the NHL and NBA seasons get started, then you have college basketball starting in the first week of November. Devin is doing his best to find investors for Cappers, and if that comes through, it will be a dream come true, but in the meantime, I will continue with this headstrong job hunt approach. I’ve got plenty of irons in the fire at this point and I’m hopeful that it won’t be very long before something comes through. I had an interview yesterday and another one today, both of which went very well, so hopefully I’ll be invited for the next round of interviews in the next few days. I honestly feel like the busiest unemployed person in the world.
Earlier this month we were paid a visit by Grandma and Grandpa Martin, who spent a long weekend with us. They took the kids to a show on the strip, came to one of Ava’s softball games, and the 7 of us attended the NASCAR race that was in town that weekend. They also took us out to an outstanding sushi meal at one of our new favorite restaurants. It was a great visit and we hope to see them again soon.
November will be a big month for us, mostly because Ava will be turning 13 years old on the 25th. Jessica and I can’t believe we’re about to be parents of a teenager, but Ava is a great kid and tends to make things pretty easy on us. Additionally, Auntie Dana and Uncle Brad are coming to stay with us for Thanksgiving, so we’re looking forward to spending that long weekend with them. Another holiday season is upon us, which is crazy, but things are good and we all love this time of year.
That’s about it for now. Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday Nana!!!
I never begin a family blog post with an update about myself, but I just need to get my news out of the way this month. Three weeks ago I was laid off from my job in the sports betting industry. This came as a big surprise, especially considering there was no indication leading up to it that something like this might happen. I thought everything was going well, and as much as I would like to explain things in detail, part of my severance agreement was that I keep my mouth shut, so I intend to keep my word. All I can say is that I’m sorry things didn’t work out, I wish them the best, and I have plenty else to focus on.
The good news is that I have already passed two interviews for a role as a senior software engineer with a major company. The third and final interview is this Tuesday, so hopefully, it goes well and things get back to normal for me very soon. In the meantime, I have been working a lot on Cappers, and in all honesty, my daily routine hasn’t changed at all. I still get up at the same time and head downstairs to my office, but I’m getting to spend my days working on something I love. Our subscriber base has been growing consistently since football season began and we’re starting to look for opportunities to raise investments in the company. Devin and I are more bullish than ever about our business and I hope to have more positive news to share about Cappers in the coming months.
One positive life lesson I want to share about getting laid off is related to how I began my search for a new job. A few years ago when we were still living in the Seattle area, I used to receive constant messages from recruiters on LinkedIn about various job opportunities. Most software engineers don’t even bother to respond to these messages but I always made it a point to spend a few seconds sending a polite response. Many of these recruiters would reply back thanking me for at least acknowledging their message and telling me to reach out if I was ever looking for new opportunities. Well, that’s exactly what I did after getting laid off. I started messaging these recruiters letting them know that I was available, and within minutes I started receiving job descriptions. Perhaps they still would have responded to me even if I hadn’t replied to their original message, but the fact that I was polite to them when I didn’t need to be certainly didn’t hurt.
So, that’s all for now on that front. Hopefully, I will have some positive job-related news to share in next month’s post. In the meantime, I’m staying focused on job preparation and adding more features to the Cappers application.
In other family news, Jessica is crushing it at UNLV for her master’s program. She got an A in her first class and passed another exam with flying colors. Her dedication to the work is beyond impressive and it’s clearly leaving a positive impression on our kids. They’re seeing first-hand what hard work and dedication, in the context of school specifically, will result in. No one appreciates what she’s doing more than me, and considering my current situation, I’m doing my best to make it easier on her in any way I can.
School is also going well for each of the kids. Elise is thriving in her first year of middle school and her teachers all love her. She is playing the violin in the school’s orchestra and seems to mention new musical things she is learning each day. Ava’s grades have never been better and she continues to love playing the trumpet in the school’s band. Obviously, their engagement in music brings me a lot of joy and I hope they both stick with it long-term. Enzo has all A’s and B’s in his 4th grade class and recently received advanced level scores in a national math exam. Jessica and I are so proud of each of them in terms of their scholastic progress and extra-curricular involvement.
On the activities side of things, each of the kids has something to keep them busy. Elise is back in a boxing class, which she attends every Saturday morning. There’s no doubt that she is the strongest one of our children, and she always enjoys the classes, so this seems to be a good fit for her. So far, it’s all about physical conditioning and technique, meaning the kids aren’t actually punching each other. I can’t help but wonder if the love of boxing will live on once she starts sparring with other kids, but only time will tell. For now, I’m just glad she is enjoying herself while building strength and self-confidence.
Enzo recently got back into a rock climbing class, which he attends on Monday evenings at the local rec center. He did the same class last year and is loving it so far this year. I hope he sticks with it because it’s building not just strength but problem-solving skills as well. It was a bit more difficult to get him to commit to something because he’s not interested in team sports, but this seems to be a good fit.
Ava has been staying busy with softball, which means I too am busy with softball. She has practices two days per week, plus batting cage sessions on Sunday mornings. The weather is still surprisingly hot here so our Saturday afternoon practices have not been easy, but we’re making progress. Being out there in 105-degree heat while doing drills is not easy for anyone but I frequently tell the girls how proud I am of their dedication and resiliency. Our first game is next weekend and this is our first season in the 14U age division, so it will be a new challenge for us.
This weekend Grandpa Rick and his fiance Debbie are visiting us from Iowa. Rick has a work conference in Las Vegas this week so they came out a couple of days early to visit. Last night we all attended the Triple-A baseball championship at the Las Vegas ballpark. Later today they will be checking into their hotel on the strip but it was nice to get some time with them.
I think it’s fair to say we’re all looking forward to October for our own reasons. The kids love Halloween, especially in this neighborhood, and my Mom has a major birthday coming up that we’re excited to celebrate. We made it through the hottest Summer in Las Vegas history and are now ready for the lovely Fall weather. As a sports fan, this is my favorite time of year, and it’s also the beginning of my “cooking season.” That’s all for now; I’m looking forward to sharing some good news in the next post. Here are a few recent family photos.
Ava and Elise heading out for schoolJessica and Enzo on Sports Day at schoolElise decorating the house for HalloweenFamily movie night with takeout
August has been another great month for our family. Jessica and the kids got back to school a couple of weeks ago, meaning it’s just me and the cats at home on the weekdays. It didn’t take long before everyone was settled back into their schedules, and so far, they’re all doing great. Jessica is now officially a student at UNLV, meaning she works during the day, then comes home and focuses on her schoolwork. She’s very busy but has been taking everything on like a champ. It’s hard to believe that we’re less than a year away from her taking the lead role in the classroom.
Elise has probably had the biggest transition this month, as she is now a middle schooler, but so far it’s been a smooth one. She is making new friends, as expected, and is loving her classes. She joined the orchestra and is now learning to play violin, which makes me proud because we now have another stringed instrumentalist in the house!
Ava is off to a great start in 7th grade. The transition to middle school a year ago was hard for her but this year has been such a positive change. She is sticking with the trumpet in the school band and is excited for another softball season to get started in the coming weeks. Enzo is now our only child left in elementary school but he is enjoying 4th grade, mostly because he landed in a class with all of his best friends. It’s also nice that he gets to ride to and from school with Mom each day.
Work has been busier than ever for me lately, mostly because football season is just getting started. The two biggest sports betting markets in the United States are the NFL and college football, so I have been working for months to prepare Cappers for this season. We only supported NFL betting last year but this year we’re also supporting college football, so there was a lot of preparation required. Business has already started picking up and we’re about to raise our prices for the first time. We’re continuing to get more traffic with our daily videos across social networks, and yesterday was actually our best day ever. Devin and I are optimistic about the future of our company so it will be interesting to see how things go over the next few months.
A Long Weekend In San Diego
Although our Summer break was officially over, we still had one more trip to do before Labor Day, which was to pay Auntie Dana and Uncle Brad a visit in San Diego. It’s been nearly 2.5 years since we were down there, which is far too long, so we were all excited to see them and get some quality time at the beach. While San Diego is lovely all the time, this is the absolute best time of year to go there, especially if going to the beach is on your agenda.
We drove to Dana and Brad’s house on Thursday evening after I finished work. It’s only about 4.5 hours door-to-door, which is nothing for us, so it wasn’t even very late when we arrived. Friday was all about the beach, so after hanging out around their house that morning, we all hopped in the van and headed over to Carlsbad for a day of boogie boarding, body surfing, and walks on the beach. It wasn’t that crowded because of it being a weekday after school had resumed, so we spent the entire afternoon there.
It was the warmest water I’ve ever experienced in San Diego, but I guess that shouldn’t come as a big surprise considering it’s been the hottest Summer ever recorded. The waves were also much bigger than expected so it took a bit for the kids to feel comfortable. Everyone got thrashed a bit in the shore break, myself included, but by the end of the day, Ava was catching waves on the boogie board without assistance! Uncle Brad did a great job teaching each of the kids and a day later Elise and Enzo were also catching their own waves.
Each day was basically the same in the sense that we would have lunch somewhere in San Diego, hang out at the beach, hit the grocery store on the way home, and then relax at the house while I made dinner for everyone. Several epic games of Uno were also played. Jessica and I loved watching the kids in the water. Seeing them fly by on the boogie board with the biggest smile on their faces brought me so much joy, mostly because it reminded me a lot of my own childhood. I always loved playing in the waves on the coast of Washington, and there’s no doubt that this was the trip where our kids solidified their love for the ocean. It certainly wasn’t their first time playing in the ocean but I feel like this was the trip where they really ‘got’ the whole SoCal vibe.
We left San Diego on Sunday already talking about when to return. Our general plan is to try and make it to Colorado and Southern California at least once (but hopefully twice each) per year. I love the fact that we can make that happen without having to put everyone on an airplane. It was a quick trip but we’re so thankful to Dana and Brad for hosting us. I’m also excited that we made plans for them to come and stay with us this year for Thanksgiving!
We don’t have any other trips scheduled for this year, but in another few weeks, the weather will cool down enough that we’ll be in that sweet spot of perfect Las Vegas weather. Combine that with all the sports and new TV shows for the Fall and we’ll be living our best lives at home. We’re looking forward to a nice Labor Day weekend, and with all of our Summer trips behind us, we can now officially settle into our Fall schedules.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, and here are some recent family photos.
Elise on her first day of Middle SchoolAva on her first day of 7th gradeEnzo on his first day of 4th gradeJessica’s first day of the school yearThe girls before school one morningDana and Brad have lots of orange trees on their property and Enzo LOVES making fresh juice with themEnzo playing on the beach in Carlsbad. Notice Ava riding a wave in on the boogie board.Ava strikes a pose on the beachElise and Mom after a walk on the beachEnzo playing on the beach with Auntie Dana looking onAva rides a wave all the way to the shoreElise at the Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Garden – one of Auntie Dana’s favorite spotsAuntie Dana with the kids at the meditation gardenObligatory family photo
Celebrating Elise’s 11th birthday in Phoenix, Arizona! Food, Concerts, Swimming, and more…
Today our sweet Elise turns 11 years old! Although Summer break is winding down, we have been staying quite busy, and as of yesterday, another road trip is in the books. We spent the past few days in Phoenix, Arizona eating delicious foods, hanging out at the pool, and attending a show by one of our favorite bands, AJR! Before I get into the details of our weekend getaway I just want to say how proud Jessica and I are of Elise. She’s growing up fast and will enter middle school in a few short weeks.
Elise has grown up a lot over the past year; she has a great crew of close friends and always seems to be busy with one activity or another. She takes school seriously and enjoys various extracurricular activities like “Girls on the Run,” drama, fundraisers, and more. Like most kids her age, she is nervous about entering middle school, but I’m proud of the way Ava keeps building her up via pep talks. Elise is also our little beauty queen; she loves makeup, skincare, fashion, and painted nails. Although summer break isn’t over yet, she has very much enjoyed her time off this year and is already referring to her birthday weekend in Phoenix as the best present she has ever received. We all love her to the moon and couldn’t be more proud of the young lady she has become!
Phoenix 2024 Road Trip
Our weekend in Phoenix was outstanding and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more Arizona visits in our future. The trip came about because AJR, one of our favorite bands, was playing Friday night in Phoenix and we knew the kids would love to go. We saw AJR last year at SEMA Fest in Las Vegas and, as far as we were concerned, they stole the show. Once we saw they would be playing nearby on Elise’s birthday weekend we knew we had to make it happen. This meant that Elise would have to forego a traditional birthday party, but she was more than willing to make that consolation.
We drove down on Thursday morning, and now that we’re conditioned to doing 11-hour drives to Grandma’s house in Colorado, the 4.5-hour drive to Phoenix felt like a walk in the park. The kids had never been to Arizona before, other than the sliver of it that we pass through when heading to Colorado, so this was a fun new experience for us. Jessica had also never been to Phoenix, and my only experience there came via a work trip years ago when I was at Amazon, so this was my first time getting to actually enjoy it.
We knew upon arriving in Phoenix that our hotel wouldn’t be ready for check-in, so we drove straight to Pizzeria Bianco. Devin told me that he hadn’t been there, but it was once called the best pizza in the country, so we had to check it out. It’s a traditional Italian Neapolitan pizza, which is our favorite, and we all loved our meal. I won’t go so far as to say it’s the best pizza I’ve ever had, but it was delicious, plus the atmosphere was nice and it was the perfect way to start off our trip. Here we are at their next-door lounge having a drink while we waited for a table.
After lunch, we checked in at our hotel, the Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak, and spent the rest of the afternoon at their water park. It was so hot outside that their lazy river was warmer than bath water, but we still had a nice time. Later that evening we went back to downtown Phoenix and had a nice sushi dinner at Harumi Sushi and Sake.
We slept in so late on Friday morning that we missed breakfast, but it worked out for the best because our lunch at the Fry Bread House was the highlight meal of the trip. I came across this place while reading an article about the Phoenix dining scene. While I had never had fry bread before, or dined at a Native American restaurant, the reviews sounded amazing, and once I saw it was a James Beard award winner, I knew we had to go. While it wasn’t a fancy place at all, the way they built burritos out of fry bread, rather than a traditional tortilla, was incredible. We all agreed it was our favorite meal in a long time and will definitely be returning next time we make it to Phoenix. Friday afternoon was spent at our hotel’s water park, and then that evening we had a big pasta meal at Babbo’s Italian Eatery before heading to the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Suns, for the AJR concert. The concert itself was so much fun; the kids knew the words to every song and we were so impressed with the entire production. It was so much more than your traditional live show where the band simply comes out and plays their songs. You could tell a lot of time and effort went into creating this show and we loved every minute of it. Here’s the video I made of my favorite songs from that night, as well as a few photos from before the show.
Driving home on Saturday was smooth sailing the entire way. The desert in Arizona is much prettier than what we have in Nevada, mostly because they get much more rain than we do. We loved looking at all the cacti and various other forms of plant life. It was a quick trip but we all enjoyed Arizona and look forward to going back. While the climate isn’t any different from what we’re used to, it definitely has a different vibe to it. While Vegas is fast-paced and glitzy, Arizona is much more laid-back, and I love how they lean into their old Western heritage. Phoenix, in particular, had an excellent dining scene, and that’s always a draw for Jessica and me. We’re now thinking about visiting other Arizona hot spots like the Grand Canyon, Scottsdale, and Tucson.
With our big weekend behind us, the plan for today is to lay low at home. We might do a little swimming later, and Elise has requested homemade fish tacos for dinner, so I’m looking forward to making them for her. Oh, and one more thing, Ava and Elise are both past the 100 consecutive days mark of daily foreign language lessons on DuoLingo! I’m so proud of their dedication that I decided to get back into it and am now doing daily Spanish lessons. I figured nothing could be more useful around here than Spanish and it’s so similar to Italian that I find it rather easy. The three of us are now regularly encouraging Mom and Enzo to get on board so we can all have some type of foreign language influence in our lives.
That’s about it for now. We have friends coming to visit next weekend, then we will be visiting Auntie Dana and Uncle Brad for a long weekend in San Diego next month. Here are a couple more photos from our trip to Phoenix. Happy 11th birthday Elise, we love you to the moon!
All about our Colorado Summer 2024 trip, plus a few more fun things going on in our worlds.
At the beginning of this month, our family enjoyed an amazing trip to Colorado. We were gone for 10 days, which was the longest we had ever been away from home as a family. Before getting into the details of the trip I want to thank Grandma and Grandpa Martin for being such gracious hosts. They made sure we had all kinds of fun things to do at their house, and having their RV to camp in was very nice. They showed us places that the kids and I had never seen before, let the kids take four-wheelers and other vehicles out whenever they liked, and I even got to go out on a motorcycle ride with Tom one afternoon. It was our first time visiting Colorado outside of winter and turned into a trip that we will never forget!
The plan was to spend the weekend camping in Estes Park, which is just outside of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Each day we would go into the park for hiking and sightseeing, and then most evenings we would go into town to shop and eat. Estes Park is a charming little town that reminded me of my childhood summers at Lake Chelan. It’s probably most well known as the home of the Stanley Hotel, which was the birthplace of the Stanley Steemer and was featured prominently in the cult-classic movie, “The Shining”. Jessica spent a lot of time there as a kid and was so excited to show these places to us that she frequently got choked up. Her grandparents used to own multiple properties in Estes Park, so it was reminiscent and special for her to now be there as an adult with her own family.
We drove up to Colorado the previous weekend on a Sunday, then I worked from their house Monday through Wednesday before taking Thursday and Friday off for our camping excursion. Grandpa Tom had the four-wheelers, dune buggy, and mini bike all ready to roll as soon as we got there. By day two the kids needed no help in firing each one up and taking off around the property. It would always crack me up when I’d look outside and suddenly hear them roaring up towards the house, chasing each other on one motorized vehicle or another. They’d be screaming and laughing the whole time, living their best lives and making lasting childhood memories.
On Tuesday afternoon, Tom and I took their Harley’s out for a 60-mile ride through the canyons. There was a winding river next to us on one side and sheer vertical mountain walls on the other. It was also my first time riding a motorcycle in seven or eight years and was easily one of the most beautiful rides I have ever done. At one point a gorgeous red Ferrari passed us in the canyon going the other way. It certainly reinvigorated my love for motorcycles, so I made sure to tell them that if they ever decide to part ways with one of those Harley’s to please let me know.
On Wednesday afternoon everyone but me spent the day at Grand Lake. I had to work and wasn’t able to join them but they had a nice time at the lake, as well as exploring the town. The pictures were beautiful and they enjoyed some delicious pizza for lunch, so I hope to be able to check it out next time.
On Thursday morning we drove the RV and our van to Estes Park. The town is located just east of Rocky Mountain National Park, so getting there means we had to enter the park on the west side and go all the way up a mountain pass, then descend that mountain on the other side. At one point we were up at 13,000 feet elevation! Some of those windy and narrow mountain roads make me nervous because there’s a huge drop-off only a few feet away, but we took it slow and careful. The views up there were incredible, so we stopped a few times to take it all in. Here’s a photo from our first stop, near the top of the mountain.
Once we were settled in our campsite we decided to check out the town of Estes Park. We had a nice lunch, then split up for some shopping. I felt like this was a perfect time and place to get Enzo his first pocket knife, so that became our mission for the afternoon. We bounced around from shop to shop until we found the right one. I thought of it as a right of passage, and it reminded me of similar experiences with my own Dad. I still have the first pocket knife he got me from a small town on the coast of Washington, and I’m sure Enzo will always keep his as well.
He learned how to flick his knife to open the blade and spent much of the remainder of the trip showcasing his newfound skill. The knife has “Colorado” branded on it, and there’s a cutout of an elk with big horns in the blade. Here he is practicing with it on a hike.
The next couple of days were spent hiking and sightseeing in the park. There were so many wild animals to enjoy, including tons of elk, birds, chipmunks, deer, and even a moose or two! Our first day of hiking took place at Bear Lake, which is one of the most popular attractions in the park. It sits at a high elevation so you have to take a bus up there, then once you arrive there are various trails to explore. We first did a short hike around the lake, then took on the vertical portion and headed up the mountain. It wasn’t a particularly hard hike, especially for someone as experienced as Jessica, but the rise in elevation combined with that thin mountain air is enough to get a little burn going in your lungs.
It was immediately apparent to me why this is such a popular attraction. Whether you were near the lake or going up the mountain, the scenery was incredible. I had my camera out and tried to get as many good shots as possible. There was a surprising amount of snow still around, but it didn’t feel cold at all. We stopped several times to rest and view different rivers, waterfalls, and scenic outlooks. We had lunch at the top, took a few more photos, then made our way back down. It was easily the best day of hiking I have ever experienced and I’m glad I was able to document it with so many photos. Here are some of my favorites.
After leaving Bear Lake we visited a beautiful waterfall with the cleanest mountain water I have ever tasted. We had a bit of a scare when Ava started hiking up the mountain and disappeared for a while. Jessica and I had to go up there looking for her and eventually found her at the top of the waterfall. We were not pleased in the moment but it’s another one of those things that we won’t forget. Here are a few photos from that portion of our day.
We did another hike on Saturday morning at a much less populated trail. It wasn’t as scenic as Bear Lake but we did see some nice rivers and rushing rapids. Our timing was excellent because a big rain storm rolled in right as we were ready to head back to the campground. While there were intermittent rain showers throughout our trip, this one was by far the biggest. It really poured down on us, so we spent the afternoon napping and reading in the RV. That evening there was a little concert at our campground’s lodge so we all went to check it out. It was a trio of older musicians who sounded good and were clearly having a blast performing, so it was a nice way to spend our Saturday night.
On Sunday morning we rode the Mustang Mountain Coaster, which was a blast. It’s a new attraction that Jessica found online and we decided we had to check it out. Enzo was the only one who couldn’t ride alone, so he rode with me. As we were ascending the mountain our adrenaline started pumping and he asked me if he could swear. I would normally always say no but due to the circumstances I said yes. Little did I know he would be cursing like a sailor the whole way down the mountain. I didn’t even know he could speak that way and kept telling him to stop because I was filming the ride, but it added to the humor of the situation. It kinda sounds like I’m swearing as well but I wasn’t. That was just me screaming out in a combination of terror and joy. Here’s the video we made.
After the mountain coaster we drove around for a bit. Amy and Tom took us to an old country store who is famous for their cinnamon rolls. We then got to see the property that Jessica’s grandparents used to own in the 1990’s. It was a bit emotional for Jessica to be back there, but again, also quite special to be there with the kids. After that we had to split up because they had the campsite for one more day but I had to get back to the house so I could work on Monday.
Jessica and I drove the van down to Boulder and spent the afternoon shopping in the Pearl Street pedestrian mall. It was a perfect afternoon to walk around. We were stopped by a monk and chatted with him for a while, then purchased one of his books. There was also a Jewish food festival going on. I got a new hat and necklace while Jessica got a really nice hiking backpack. That evening we drove to Golden, home of the Coors brewing company, and had an excellent dinner at an Indian restaurant, then made our way back up to Amy and Tom’s house.
Monday was our final day before heading home on Tuesday, but we managed to do one more special thing before leaving. Tom let me take the Jeep out and teach Ava to drive! There’s plenty of open space out there, and the roads are private, so it was the perfect setting. I have fond memories of learning to drive with my Mom, Uncle Jim, and my sister Dana, so it was great to come full-circle and be the teacher. I stayed calm, and honestly, she did a great job. It was something that we’ll never forget and I’m glad to have it captured on video.
Overall, it was an epic trip that we will always remember fondly. I loved getting to experience Colorado outside of Winter and I feel like I finally got to see the true beauty of the place. Certainly Winter is beautiful as well but for me, this was really special. We’re already thinking about when our next visit will be, and again, a huge thanks to Amy and Tom for going out of their way to make this such a special experience for us! Here are some more pictures from our trip.
Jessica Prepares for Testing
Jessica has been working hard during Summer break to prepare for her entrance exams. Her masters program begins in September and she has three tests to take, so she sets aside daily study time and will soon be taking the math test. Reading and writing tests will soon follow, but the good news is that the tests don’t have to be completed before classes begin, and there’s no limit to how many times you take the test. It’s all about putting in the work and she has already proven that she is more than willing to do that.
Family Biking Adventures
Ever since Jessica got a new bike on Memorial Day we have been going on regular bike rides. There have been a handful of rides which have included at least one child, and one or two where all five of us went, but more recently it has become something that Jessica and I do together. We have done at least a 10 mile ride on each of the last 3 weekends, and yesterday’s 12.5 mile ride was our longest yet. Living in Henderson is great for bike rides because there are so many trails, paths, and bike lanes available; you just have to time it right with the weather because it has been extremely hot lately.
Michael’s New Job
I have been working at Unabated Sports for about a month and a half now and I’m loving it. After spending 12 or 13 years working in corporate America it’s so nice to work in an environment that is totally non-corporate. I love the team I’m working with and can say with confidence that I have never been a better software engineer than I am right now. Not only am I learning new things at work, but my workflow has been revolutionalized by the use of AI. It’s basically a requirement for us to use AI in our workflow and they provide us with a Claude.ai team membership. It’s similar to Chat GPT, but better in my opinion. Now, whenever I run into code that I don’t understand, or when I’m stuck on a coding problem, I just ask Claude about it. Also, when I’m working on any type of repetitive task I give the details to Claude and it finishes it for me. I even use it for stuff in my personal life. The AI revolution is in full effect, and if you figure out how to harness it, you’ll be amazed at the results and productivity gains.
Beyond all the workflow stuff, I’m just truly loving the work I do. Literally every day now has a component of sports and sports betting for me. I’ve never been more successful betting on sports, but more importantly, I’m one of the lucky ones who wakes up literally 7 days a week excited about the work I’ll be doing that day. On the weekdays it’s all about Unabated work, then on the weekends I focus on Cappers. I’m already taking so many learnings from Unabated and applying them to Cappers, so it’s a very exciting time for me.
Enzo and Michael’s Final Baseball Game of the Season
Part of the reason I waited until the last day of June to do this post was because today was our final baseball game of the season. There’s actually one more game on July 14th, but that’s Elise’s 11th birthday so I won’t be able to make that one. It’s been a blast out there playing for the past few months, especially since Enzo joins me for almost every game. He doesn’t have any other activities going on these days so I think he looks forward to the games just as much as I do. I know the guys love having him there to kid around with and he seems to eat it up.
Today was the first time Jessica, Ava, and Elise came to a game, so it was great having them there to cheer us on. I started the game at catcher, which was a first for me, and I played the first 3 innings there before they switched things up. No one plays a full game at any position these days due to the heat, but I did pretty decent behind the plate and it was a cool way to finish the season.
While I very much enjoyed myself this season, I’m not totally sure if I’ll be playing next season or not. On one hand, I have made friends on the team and love getting out there every weekend, especially since it’s a special thing that Enzo and I get to do together, but on the other hand, I’m about to turn 44 years old and playing baseball is hard on my body. Not surprisingly, I have a variety of little nagging injuries that I’m constantly dealing with, and I know from my experiences playing hockey years ago that something more serious could happen at any time. It’s also about a 4 hour time commitment when you factor in the time to get there, warm up, play the game, and come home. I know that if I decide to stop, that will be it for my baseball career, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I commit to playing again in the Fall, but I also have the option of playing on my friend’s slowpitch softball team, so I might consider that. Obviously it would be easier on my body, but again, if I quit playing hardball that’s going to be it, so I may tough it out for one more season. Only time will tell. Here’s a picture with me and the kids after today’s game.
Exciting Stuff Coming Soon
We like to stay busy during the Summer, so it seems like there is always something, or several things, to look forward to. First up, we have Grandpa Rick coming out to visit next week for the 4th of July. He will be in town for several days and we have some fun stuff planned during his stay. The following weekend we will be heading down to Phoenix for Elise’s birthday weekend. Our plan is to leave on the morning of Thursday, July 11th, then head home the evening of Saturday, the 13th. It’s only about a 4.5 hour drive so that’s nothing for us. The AJR concert will be in downtown Phoenix on Friday night, so we have Thursday and Saturday to do whatever we want.
Originally we were considering staying at a hotel in downtown Phoenix, but once we discovered the Hilton Phoenix Resort at The Peak, which is about 15 minutes north of downtown, we decided that would be a better fit. The resort features a water park, lazy river, mini golf, and more, so it gives us plenty of things to do if we wish. I’m sure we will spend at least one afternoon at the water park, but we don’t have any concrete plans other than attending the concert on Friday night.
The week after that our good friends the Palmers are coming down from Washington for their annual Summer visit, then a couple weeks later we will be heading to San Diego to visit Auntie Dana and Uncle Brad for some much needed SoCal beach time! We have lived in Henderson for 3 years now, yet this is our fourth Summer, and it’s definitely shaping up to be the best one yet. Not a day goes by that I don’t realize how fortunate we are to be able to live the lives we live. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next month.
Wrapping up the 23-24 school year, celebrating Mom, and preparing for another trip to Colorado.
May has been an exciting month for us on multiple levels. Earlier this month, Elise graduated from elementary school, and like her sister a year before, she had the pleasure of giving a speech during the ceremony about her 5th-grade teacher. She worked hard on this speech, and although she later said she was nervous while delivering it, you couldn’t tell while listening. Elise has been attending acting classes for the past few months and they seem to have paid off. We’re so proud of her, not only for having the courage to get up there and deliver this speech but also for all the work that went into it. She is now officially done with elementary school and will be joining Ava in middle school next year.
In addition to wrapping up her first year of middle school, this has been an exciting month for Ava due to the fact that her softball team, the Henderson Hawks, won their second consecutive championship in the 12U age group. After starting the season 1-1 during a double-header, they never lost another game all season long, including the playoffs. Ava’s improvement this season has been such a joy to witness and I felt lucky to be a part of the team as an assistant coach. We’re already looking forward to our next season in the Fall and Ava is determined to improve this offseason just like she did during the last one.
Another thing the girls have been working on that I’m very proud of is that they have both done more than 60 consecutive days of foreign language lessons on Duolingo! Ava is doing Japanese lessons while Elise is studying Italian, and they’re both obsessed with making sure they always do their daily lesson. I can relate, as it was only a few years ago that I finished all of the Italian lessons on Duolingo. I never missed a day in over 3 years, so it makes me proud to see them both doing the same thing on their own accord.
Enzo is now finished with 3rd grade and is excited to be on Summer break. It’s hard to believe that he is our only child who still attends elementary school. Although he hasn’t been as busy as his sisters with activities, he still loves to shoot hoops at home, go swimming, ride bikes, and play catch. He did very well in school this year and is excited for 4th grade, just not too soon.
Jessica recently made a big decision that we’re all very proud of. During the next school year, she will continue working as an assistant in her school’s special education classroom, but she will also be taking classes to get her teaching certificate. She plans on taking over a class of her own the following year! This transition has been on her mind for a while but she recently decided that the time is right. This summer she will be preparing for the entrance exam and looks forward to starting her classes in the fall.
Monday was also an exciting day for Jessica because we went out shopping together as a family and got her a nice new bicycle at REI. Ava has outgrown her old mountain bike and has recently started riding Jessica’s bike, then Enzo moved up from his old racing BMX bike to Ava’s old mountain bike. This left Jessica without a bike so we decided to check out REI’s Memorial Day sale. We ended up finding the perfect bike for her and are excited to do more family bike rides this summer.
Earlier this month we celebrated Mom by getting out for a Mother’s Day hike at Red Rocks. It was Jessica’s idea, which was a big deal for her because she hadn’t been hiking since her accident last fall. We started early to avoid the heat and enjoyed all the beautiful scenery. Elise and Enzo got to sit in a bright green Lamborghini at one of the rest stops, and we even got to see some ancient petroglyphs painted on one of the rock walls.
On my end of things, I’m now in my 3rd week working at Unabated Sports and I love it. I still can’t believe I’m working in the sports betting industry and I have to chuckle when I think about my Dad working as a bookie for my entire childhood. I like to joke that he was the original “work from home” and now here I am working from home in the same industry. At least I don’t have to worry about getting arrested though.
After one day of onboarding, they threw me into the deep end with a complicated task on my second day which took a couple weeks to complete. Our CEO later told me that it was the most complicated first task anyone had ever received at Unabated, which made me feel good because it wasn’t easy. More importantly, it’s an awesome company to work at and I’m excited to start work each day.
At my last job, I had a daily meeting at 7:00 am Pacific time, so I’d wake up by 6:40 and hop online just in time. Now, I wake up at 5:30 am to work out, do some Cappers work, clean up, and then still be online for my day job by 7:00. I love having those early mornings to myself and feel like I have already accomplished something before my actual workday even begins. I’m learning a lot about sports betting and also becoming a strong engineer from this role, so I have already started applying some of these new things to Cappers. It’s an exciting time for me.
This weekend we will be driving up to Colorado to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Martin. We were originally going to leave on Saturday but Ava’s softball team is holding their end-of-season party that day so we decided to push our travel plans out by one day. The weather should be pretty good so I’m looking forward to taking one of their Harley’s out for a spin. Camping in the Rocky Mountain National Forest should be a lot of fun, so I expect next month’s update to be a bit longer than this one.
We’ve got a lot of good stuff to look forward to this summer, and I’m so proud of Jessica for the commitment she has made. See you next month with an update about our latest trip to Colorado!
Jessica’s birthday weekend, family activities, and a new job for Dad.
Yesterday was Jessica’s birthday and we were able to make a fun weekend out of it. On Saturday morning she ran a 5k with Elise and Enzo as part of the school running club that Elise has been involved in this year. Unfortunately, Ava and I weren’t able to be there to cheer them on because her softball team had a double-header in Pahrump that morning, which is about an hour away, but they had a great time. Here’s a photo from their race.
On Saturday, Jessica wanted to check out a hibachi restaurant near our house. We thought it would be a fun experience and that the kids would enjoy the show. It turned out to be a great time and is something we plan on doing again soon. Elise had been to a hibachi restaurant one time with her friend’s family, but Ava and Enzo had never experienced anything like this before. There was a guy seated across from us who was very friendly and offered Enzo $5 if he could catch a shrimp from the chef in his mouth. He was given three tries and this is how it turned out.
Afterward, the chef gave everyone a chance to catch a piece of shrimp in their mouth. Jessica and I both caught ours on the first try but let’s just say that wasn’t the case for everyone else. Overall it was a fun and new experience with delicious food, and the whole table sang “Happy Birthday” to Jessica.
We slept in on Sunday morning, then later I got to work on a crab cake benedict for her birthday brunch. I had offered to skip my baseball game but she told me not to, so it was important to me that I make her a nice meal. The kids had never eaten eggs benedict before but they all liked it, especially the homemade hollandaise sauce.
After brunch we went to the park to play frisbee for a bit and enjoy the beautiful weather, then I had to get ready for my game. While I was away, Jessica and the kids went out for ice cream, and by the time I got home, everyone was relaxing for the evening. Another exciting thing to come out of Jessica’s birthday was that we finalized our dates for the Colorado trip in June. As it turns out, we’re going to be gone for 11 days, which is more than originally expected but it made the most sense based on everything we want to do with Grandma and Grandpa Martin. I’ll be working for several of those days, but will still be taking a few days off as well. The plan is to leave Nevada on Saturday, June 1st, and return on Tuesday, June 11th. I look forward to writing a big update about it in June!
I hope Jessica had a great birthday, and most importantly, how much we all love and appreciate her!
In addition to Jessica’s birthday, we also recently attended a school awards ceremony at the South Point Hotel and Casino. She was nominated for support staff of the year, and although she didn’t win, it was still a great honor and clear validation that she is doing the right thing. She received an engraved plaque and we enjoyed the ceremony with friends, so it was a fun and memorable night all around.
Softball and Baseball Update
While my baseball season is just getting going, Ava’s softball season is cruising right along toward the playoffs. Her team is 7-1 and we just beat the 1st-place team in both games of a double-header on Saturday. Her improvement this season has been so fun to watch and I’m proud of how committed she is. She never turns down an opportunity to practice and never misses a team event. Sometimes it gets tricky due to other family commitments, and we have had to ask other families for help getting her to or from practice more than once, but it always works out.
It’s been a pleasure for me to help the team this season as an assistant coach and I know Ava loves having me out there. We only have two more weeks until the playoffs begin, so her season will be over before we know it, but we’re doing our best to repeat as league champions, and no matter what, we will definitely be back for the next season this Fall.
On the baseball side, I’m having a blast getting out there with the guys every Sunday. I can handle all the bumps and bruises, as well as waking up sore on Monday mornings because I love the whole experience. I’m making friends, playing better than expected, and best of all, getting to share this experience with Enzo, who is our team’s batboy.
So far, our team has played 4 games and we have a record of 1-3, which isn’t great, but it’s a brand new team and we’re still finding our way. You never know who is going to make it each weekend due to other schedules and conflicts, but it’s always a good time. I currently have a batting average of .500, which is much better than I expected to start off at. I haven’t struck out more than once in a game and yesterday’s game was the first one where I didn’t strike out at all. I’ve had a few really nice hits, including a blast over the center fielder’s head in game 3 that resulted in a standup double. The best part was reaching second base and hearing Enzo yell “Father of the Year!!!”
I have already had a scary moment as well, which was in my first at-bat of the second game. The first pitch I saw was a fastball coming right at my head. I later learned that I should have ducked away but I have never practiced this type of situation before and the ball was coming in very fast, so my natural instinct was to pull back. The ball clipped my left wrist and then hit me right in the face! I could tell no serious damage was done but it was scary for everyone, not just me. I hated the fact that Enzo had to see this happen to me in my first at-bat since he had joined the team, but it was memorable.
As expected, the guys on the team love having Enzo around and it seems clear that Enzo loves it just as much, if not more. Our team’s manager insisted on paying for Enzo’s jersey due to all the help he provides, and as I told him recently, we’re creating memories for a lifetime. Even if he never plays ball himself, he will always remember being the batboy for his dad’s team. I would have loved to do this sort of thing with my own dad but I’m glad to be doing my part to make it happen now. I’m not getting any younger, and am already one of the oldest guys out there, but I love it and want to continue playing as long as possible.
My New Job in the Sports Betting Industry
To close things off, I’m excited to announce that I have accepted a new job as a Senior Software Engineer with Unabated Sports; an industry leader in sports betting analytics! I wasn’t even looking for a new job because my plan was to continue working at my current day job until my own company, Cappers.ai, was successful enough for me to work there full-time, but this opportunity with Unabated popped up and was too good for me not to pursue.
I stumbled upon Unabated on Twitter a few weeks ago and was immediately impressed with their business model. I even sent their link to my partner Devin saying that this is exactly how I would like to see our company evolve. Later on, I noticed on their Twitter feed that they were hiring software engineers and were looking for someone with experience in C# and relational databases. As it just so happens, this is exactly what I used to build the Cappers application, so I figured I had nothing to lose by applying.
I sent them an email with my resume and talked about my experience with Cappers, then about 90 minutes later I had an email from their CEO asking if we could chat. We had a few meetings over the next two weeks and ultimately they made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. I made sure to verify with them that Cappers wasn’t going to be a conflict of interest and they were fine with it.
I’m so excited to get started two weeks from today. I know I’m going to learn a ton and can’t wait to dive head-first into their platform. I’m particularly proud of this new role because it’s a product of the initiative and hard work that went into building the Cappers site. I built that thing from scratch, have learned a ton along the way, and continue to put countless hours into it. While I haven’t been unhappy working at my current day job, which is in the healthcare industry, having the opportunity to work in the world of sports betting, which is something that I love and am good at, is very exciting. I can’t help but think that my dad would be proud. He always told me when I was a kid not to follow in his footsteps, but to me this feels like the best of both worlds.
Regardless of how things turn out with Cappers, this is a great opportunity with Unabated. Several of their founders were founders of the Action Network, which is the biggest platform out there for sports bettors, and I’m getting in as one of the first 30 employees. They are consistently beating their revenue targets and growing fast. My family has been so supportive throughout this process and I know Jessica is very happy for me to be able to take this on. I look forward to providing more updates about it in the near future.
That’s about it for now. It’s crazy that the school year is about to come to an end, and we’re excited for Elise because she will be giving a speech at her elementary school graduation ceremony, just like Ava did a year ago. We don’t have a whole lot planned in May, but June should be a lot of fun due to our Colorado trip, then Grandpa Rudd will be visiting for the 4th of July. Shortly after that will be our weekend in Phoenix, and then as soon as we get back from that our good friends the Palmers will be coming down for their annual visit.
Here are a few more recent photos. See you next month!
Visiting with old friends from SeattleI got to speak to Elise’s 5th-grade class about being a software engineer for Career DayJessica’s birthday dinnerHeading to the park on Mom’s birthday
Overall, March has been a good month for us, but I’ll go ahead and get the bad news out of the way first. Jessica’s Grandma Sherry passed away at the beginning of the month, which is about 9 months after the passing of her husband Larry. The two of them were married for 67 years and the family always said once one of them goes, the other won’t be far behind. This turned out to be true.
Obviously, it was very sad news to receive, and the timing was especially difficult because Jessica had already made plans to visit her in Iowa. She knew the time was coming and wanted to get one more special visit in, but unfortunately, Sherry couldn’t hang on long enough. Jessica decided to keep her Iowa plans and will be flying there this Friday. She’s looking forward to spending time with her Dad, as well as driving over to Illinois to spend some time with her friend Laurel. From my perspective, I will always have fond memories of Larry and Sherry spending Christmas 2010 with us in San Diego. It was our first year of marriage, as well as our first Christmas in San Diego, and having them spend a week with us in our tiny beach shack was something I’ll never forget. My condolences go out to Amy and family; she was a great woman and always played a special role in Jessica’s life.
Now that the sad news is out of the way, we’ve got a lot of good things to get into. At the beginning of March, the kids and I attended the NASCAR race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. None of us had ever attended anything like this but we had a great time. I never used to be a big NASCAR fan but after seeing it in person I feel like I totally get it. It’s hard to describe the sensation of seeing those cars go thundering by at 160 mph! The sights and sounds are very exciting, and since then I have watched every race on TV. There’s another Las Vegas race in late October and we have already made plans to attend it with Grandma and Grandpa Martin, who will be driving down from Colorado at that time.
Our Colorado Roadtrip
Speaking of Colorado, we had an excellent Spring Break vacation there and are already planning another visit in June. We drove up on a Friday, and without meaning to, ended up stopping at all of the exact same places we stopped at during our first Colorado road trip for Christmas 2022. It was unbelievable and totally unplanned.
We stopped at the same little gas station in Joseph, Utah with the cleanest bathrooms and an excellent candy selection. Then we stopped at the same rest stop with a scenic view in Central Utah. We even had lunch at Starvin Arvins again, which is a little diner in Fruita, Colorado. The first two-thirds of the drive was perfect and gorgeous. It was a beautiful sunny day and I can never get over how beautiful the scenery in Utah is.
Shortly after lunch, as we were just beginning to ascend the Rocky Mountains from the west side, we started seeing signs saying I-70 was closed at Vail Pass. It sounded like there was a snowstorm up there but we later learned that a pair of semi trucks had jackknifed, causing a massive slowdown on the interstate. Jessica immediately started researching alternate routes and then got on the phone with Grandpa Tom to get his advice.
We ended up getting off I-70 and took a little two-lane highway for the remainder of the trip. Around 90 minutes before sunset we started noticing a lot of deer out and about. They were eating plants and we ended up seeing hundreds of them. It was an awesome sight to see, but my biggest concern was that one would come onto the highway. A while later we came around a bend and about 150 yards ahead I could see a deer on the highway. It wasn’t in my lane, but this was a two-lane road so I started slowing down.
Beyond the deer, I could see a blue Subaru sedan approaching and it seemed like it had plenty of time to slow down but it didn’t work out that way. They slammed on their brakes but it was too late. Right as we were approaching they hit the deer and all I can say is that it was an awful thing to see. I have never seen something like this before and also never witnessed so much carnage. It all happened so fast but I could see there were two adults in the car and that they were able to safely pull over on the side of the road.
For a second I thought maybe I should stop but there were multiple factors that caused me to keep going. First, I had no idea where we were so I didn’t think I could be of much help. I knew there were two adults in the car so it wasn’t like someone was dealing with this alone, and their car wasn’t totaled so they were in control after the collision. I also didn’t want to expose my children to that type of carnage, plus we had already been on the road for 11 hours at that point. We were getting tired and I felt like my number 1 priority was to get them safely to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I felt bad about not stopping but based on all those factors it seemed clear to me that I needed to stay the course. It was hard though, and I can still vividly remember exactly what that collision looked like.
We arrived safely at Amy and Tom’s house about an hour later but it was a little strange because they weren’t there. As soon as they knew Sherry was close to passing they had to get back to Iowa as quickly as possible. This was a Friday and Sherry’s service was scheduled for that Monday. Their plan was to fly home on Monday evening after the service, so we knew we would see them on the back half of our trip, but for this first night, it was just us in their beautiful mountain home.
On Saturday morning we let the kids play in the snow for a bit, then we made the drive down the mountain and into Denver. Although I have been to Colorado several times, those trips have always been up in the mountains, so my only Denver experience before this was related to the airport. We arrived in Denver before our hotel was ready for us to check in, so we ended up hanging out in this really cool little neighborhood on Tennyson St. Our lunch at Vital Root was excellent, and then we enjoyed walking around for a bit.
The hotel was nice because it was right in the heart of Denver and we had a corner suite on the 12th floor. There were two bedrooms so we gave the kids the room with all the windows. It was so cool seeing them lying in bed with an expansive view of Downtown Denver.
That night the five of us walked to the Summit Music Hall for the Moon Taxi concert. We arrived right when the doors opened, which was an hour before the opening band was scheduled to go on, and immediately made our way to the front of the stage. Enzo and Elise were right on the rail at the very front, while Ava, Jessica, and I were directly behind them. We held our ground and kept that spot for the entire show, even when it started getting crowded. Small venues like this are the absolute best way to see a concert and the kids had never experienced anything like it, so we had a lot of fun.
Moon Taxi played all of our favorite songs and also did some unexpected covers. At one point the drummer had to replace the head on his bass drum so the singer started playing “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes. Immediately the whole crowd joined in and we all sang together. It was such a fun show that we will never forget, but my favorite part was when the singer reached down to Enzo near the end of the show to give him his guitar pick and a fist bump. It was amazing. Enzo was afraid he would lose it so he gave it to me to hold onto. Every few hours for the next two days he would say “Dad, do you still have my guitar pick?”
The walk back to our hotel was a little chilly but we stopped at a pizza food truck for a few slices, and then made our way back to the room to talk about our favorite parts of the show.
On Sunday, we had a free day to explore Denver. We lucked out with beautiful sunny weather in the mid-60s and bounced around to a few places. We visited a little art walk, then took the kids to play at a park. You could tell the locals were loving the weather because everyone was out walking a dog in shorts and t-shirts.
Denver is a really cool city with an interesting mix of old west history and modern eclectics. They have a great food scene and it seems like everyone has a dog. For our Sunday afternoon, Elise and Jessica went to Meow Wolf while Ava, Enzo, and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather by playing 36 holes of mini golf at an outdoor course.
That evening we enjoyed some of the best pizza of our lives at Red Tops Rendezvous. It’s Detroit-style pizza and was easily the best deep-dish pizza we have ever had. We have already decided that any time we return to Denver we will have to eat there again.
On Monday morning we drove back up to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. The kids spent the day playing in the snow, and then later that night Amy and Tom arrived from Iowa. We then spent the entire day on Tuesday outside in the snow. The kids did a bunch of sledding and built two snowmen, plus we got to ride four-wheelers. It was a perfect way to end the trip and we’re looking forward to getting back up there in June.
We drove home on Wednesday and ran into every type of weather imaginable. A big storm was coming in and we’re lucky we left when we did because parts of Colorado got up to 3 feet of snow! It was their biggest storm in 3 years and we barely made it out in time. We made our way through the beginnings of the snowstorm as we were heading down the mountain on Wednesday morning, which then turned into a heavy rainstorm once we got to a lower elevation.
Shortly after making it into Utah, we found ourselves in a big hailstorm, then as the day progressed there were two strong windstorms. Despite all this crazy weather we still made it home in 10.5 hours, which was record time. We opted not to stop for lunch and just eat in the car, which saved time but still managed to once again stop in all of the exact same places for gas and bathrooms as we did on the previous trip. It was unbelievable.
Since getting home from Colorado things have been great. Ava is busy with softball and I’ve been an assistant on the team, while Elise has been doing choir, running club, and acting classes. She is also interested in playing softball and is currently planning on joining a team for the Fall season. I’m going to work with her between now and then to get as prepared as possible. We’re still looking for some new activities for Enzo to engage in so hopefully that happens sometime soon.
This week Jessica and I will celebrate our 14th anniversary, although we’re holding off on the actual celebration until she returns from Iowa. She leaves this Friday and comes back on Monday, so my Mom will be coming to the house to hang out with us for the weekend. Another exciting thing for Jessica is the fact that she was nominated for Support Professional of the Year for the Clark County School District! I’m so proud of her and it goes to show that she found the perfect thing after moving down here. We will be attending the awards ceremony in April, and regardless of how it turns out, she has a lot to be proud of.
Easter Morning
Today is Easter so we did our annual egg hunt. Normally we would do it in our backyard but it was rainy yesterday so we decided to do it indoors this year. Jessica did a little homage to her Grandma this year by including a scavenger hunt for the kids. Sherry used to do this for the grandkids back in the day and our kids loved it! The rest of our day will be pretty chill but Jessica and the kids had Friday off school, and they have tomorrow off as well, so it’s a nice 4 day weekend for them. Here are a few photos from this morning.
Upcoming Plans
As I have already mentioned, we will be going back up to Colorado to stay with Grandma and Grandpa in June. We’re still figuring out the dates but I’m excited because it’s a nice getaway for us and we can drive there in a day. All of my Colorado trips have been during the winter so I’m excited to see it during the nicer weather.
Our other big plan for this summer is that we will be spending a weekend in Phoenix for Elise’s birthday. Once again, we’re traveling to see one of our favorite bands perform. We love a band called AJR and had a great time seeing them in Vegas at SEMA Fest, which was a big part of Ava’s 12th birthday last November. We were looking at AJR’s tour schedule and saw they were playing a show in Phoenix two days before Elise’s birthday this July, so we decided to go. It’s only about 4.5 hours to drive down there and we’ve never spent time there, so it should be a lot of fun.
That’s about it for now. Here’s a little video collage I made from our Spring Break trip to Colorado.
2024 is about to get very busy for us! Here’s an update on school activities, sports, Superbowl events, and more.
Winter is wrapping up quickly here in the desert and we suddenly find ourselves as busy as ever with events and activities. It looks like Tuesday will be our busiest day for the next few months, especially for Elise who has choir before school, Girls On The Run immediately after school, and then acting class after that! I am an assistant coach on Ava’s softball team and we have practices on Tuesday night as well, so our whole family will be running around on those days. In addition to the Tuesday night practices, we have practice or games on Saturdays, batting cage sessions on Sunday mornings, and we will eventually be playing games on Thursday evenings as well. For myself, baseball season is just getting started and I will soon be playing games on Sundays, so it’s safe to say I’ll be spending a ton of time around a baseball field this Spring.
Regarding school activities, Elise and Enzo recently completed their annual APEX fun run. They had a blast doing it last year and were even more successful with their fundraising this year. Elise’s teacher set a very high goal for the classroom and said that there would be no more homework for the rest of the school year if they achieved this goal. Apparently, that was the right kind of motivation because they totally did achieve it! Enzo set a goal for himself on the day of the run to complete 100 obstacle courses and he ended up finishing just shy with 96. For comparison, the average number of completed courses for a kid was about 65.
With the girls being as busy as they are it means that Mr. Enzo will be running around a lot with Jessica and me from one activity to another. We’re trying to get him involved in something but haven’t had any luck so far. He loves playing football and basketball at school with his friends, plus we frequently shoot hoops at home in the backyard, but whenever we suggest getting onto a team he is totally against it. We’re not sure why he isn’t willing to put himself out there but it’s something we need to work on, otherwise he’s going to start missing out on too many things. He has already set a goal for himself to make it into the Middle School jazz band, which means he will follow Ava’s footsteps by joining the beginning band program during his first year, but that’s still a few years away so we need to focus on the nearer term for now.
Superbowl Activities
Since the Superbowl was in Las Vegas this month, we decided to take advantage as much as possible by attending some related activities. As mentioned in last month’s post, I wanted to keep up the tradition of taking Enzo to a sporting event for his birthday, so this year we attended the Superbowl’s Celebrity Flag Football game, which was held near our house at the Dollar Loan Center. Before the game, Enzo and I had dinner at Tacotarian, and he now insists that their plant-based fish tacos are one of his all-time favorite foods.
We arrived early and had fun checking out the items in the silent auction, then we ran into a couple of his buddies from school. We decided to get some candy at a concession stand and found ourselves standing next to Snooki from Jersey Shore, who was being followed by a camera crew. During the game, Enzo and his friends were standing along the railing next to the field. One of the referees kept coming over to talk to them and introduce them to various celebrities. One of the highlights of the night for Enzo was when he got to meet former NBA all-star Tracy McGrady, who was a captain of one of the teams playing that night. His other big moment that night came after the game when he got to take a picture with UFC star Justin Gaethje.
Enzo and Dad before the Celebrity Flag Football gameEnzo and Justin Gaethje
On the day before the Superbowl, I took the kids to the NFL Play Football event, which was being held at a local high school. Tickets were free if you knew how to get them, and luckily for us, Jessica was able to score four through the school district. It was a fun event filled with complimentary swag and food, plus we got to meet players, and cheerleaders from the Raiders, Chiefs, and 49ers. The cheerleaders performed and the kids got to run through some football obstacle courses. They enjoyed one of them so much that they each did it three or four times. We also got to try on some authentic NFL helmets! It was a really fun event that we were thankful to be able to attend.
The kids with a pair of Raiders cheerleadersElise and Ava with a pair of Chiefs cheerleadersElise with a pair of 49ers cheerleadersEnjoying our complimentary lunch at the NFL Play Football event
Spring Break is coming fast
In addition to all these activities, we’re also getting ready for our trip to Colorado, which is only a couple of weeks away. The plan is to head out early on the morning of Friday, March 8, and drive to Grandma and Grandpa’s house up in the mountains. We will stay the night with them, then drive down to Denver on Saturday morning. We have a hotel reserved in Downtown Denver, just a couple blocks from the concert venue. We will spend the weekend in Denver, then head back to Grandma and Grandpa’s house on Monday morning. The kids love playing in the snow at their house so our plan is to stay with them on Monday and Tuesday, then drive back to Henderson on Wednesday. We’re really excited to see Moon Taxi play live, especially in such a small venue, so I look forward to writing about it in next month’s post.
A few weeks after that, Jessica will be heading back to Iowa to spend some time with her Grandma. It’s been a few years since she has seen her and she doesn’t want to take anything for granted. The kids and I always miss her when she’s gone but it looks like my Mom will be coming over to stay with us for the weekend to help out. It will be the weekend of our 14th anniversary that she’s gone so we’ll have to find another time to celebrate. It’s all good though; I’m glad she is able to get back there and spend some quality time with Sherry.
Vegas Showbiz and Cappers Update
I forgot to mention this in last month’s post, but early in January Vegas Showbiz finally reached 1,000 subscribers on YouTube! This was a goal I had been chasing for nearly two years so it felt great to finally achieve it. This meant that the channel made it to the next tier of the YouTube Partner Program, allowing it to profit from advertisements that run before and during videos. The channel is still small, and based on our average number of daily views, it only makes about $2 per day, but it’s something and it can only go up from here.
There are other perks that come with the channel though, for instance, Jessica and I recently had the pleasure of attending the Grand Reopening of the Jersey Boys show at The Orleans. Jersey Boys used to play in Vegas between 2008 and 2016, and it was a very popular show during that time, but it’s been gone since then. The Orleans has never done a show this big before and we loved it. Before the show we got to attend a cocktail party, then we were seated in the front row for the show! We were cracking up because they were clearly giving us the VIP YouTuber treatment even though our channel isn’t big at all. These are exactly the kinds of things I was hoping would happen when creating the channel two years ago, so it felt great to be able to have them come true. We very much enjoyed the show and gave it a nice review a couple of days later.
Ready for Jersey Boys to begin!
Regarding Cappers, things have definitely picked up over the past two months. One major contributor to that has been the addition of our daily sports betting analysis video, which we post on YouTube Shorts and TikTok. It’s one minute or less and we simply highlight a play that looks attractive on the site. It’s normally a screen recording of the site with either Devin or myself talking about why we selected this particular play. We only get about 40 views per day on YouTube, but we average anywhere from 200 to 700 views per day on TikTok! This has been driving a lot more traffic to our site, resulting in more free trials and more paid subscriptions.
Recently we even got our first annual subscriber, which came from a guy in Ireland, of all places. It’s great to see that we are reaching an international audience, and it comes as no surprise that when we review our viewer analytics on TikTok, we can see that about 96% of our viewers are male, and the majority of them are between the ages of 18 and 25. Sports betting is extremely popular with young men these days, especially since new states are constantly legalizing it. While there are plenty of services out there for sports bettors, most of them are known as Touts, and they simply tell you who to bet on. These services are much more expensive than our site, so it makes sense that a younger generation of sports bettors is attracted to our platform, which focuses more on presenting relevant information for them to make their own decisions with. I am constantly working on adding new features to the site which add value for our users and I firmly believe that it’s only a matter of time before this thing really takes off.
One feature I’m really proud of is the Expected Value dashboard, which compares odds on every game from a lot of different sports books and identifies games where you can get good value by betting on a specific game at a specific sports book. One thing that makes the sports financial market much different from the stock market is the fact that the odds for games are often different from one book to another. The same kind of thing doesn’t exist in the stock market, meaning the price of a stock is the same regardless of which brokerage firm you use. When I find value in a game at a particular book, I run it through variants of the Kelly Criterion formula to determine the optimal bet size, as a percentage of your total bankroll. In many cases, no bet is recommended, but when enough value is there we display the optimal bet size and it’s doing very well. I’m always tracking the performance of our dashboards and systems, and I’m confident that our users are turning a profit if they follow along.
Another feature I recently built that I’m very proud of is related to NBA player prop bets. If you’re not familiar with prop bets, it’s like betting that a certain player will score more or less than a certain amount of points in a game. It goes well beyond points though. In the case of basketball, you can use Cappers to research how many rebounds, assists, and three-pointers they will have. Each day our site analyzes every prop bet available for every player, then examines their stats from every game of the season to determine how likely they are to go over or under the given line. We graph all of this out for the user, then compare their recent performance to how well the opposing team does at stopping players in these categories. For example, if a player has been rebounding well recently and they’re playing against a team that is at the bottom of the league in rebounding, we highlight that to the users.
We frequently recommend these types of plays in our daily videos and have been very successful in doing so. I find these types of plays much easier to beat consistently than betting on the outcome of an entire game. They’re known in the gambling world as “soft markets” while betting on games are considered “hard markets.” Not only do these types of plays appeal to sports bettors, but they also appeal to fantasy sports players, which opens up a much larger audience to us. I’m already working on adding the same type of feature for the upcoming baseball season, then will do the same thing for the next football season as well.
In order to continue building our knowledge, Devin and I are always reading books and watching videos about sports betting. Whenever we learn valuable new things, we work on adding them to Cappers. This was how Cappers originated, with me reading books about NBA betting and transferring those learnings into a website, so that trend continues to this day. Sorry for being so long-winded about Cappers but you can probably tell that it goes beyond work for me. It has become a passion that I have invested myself heavily into. I can’t wait for the day that this is my only job, but in the meantime, I’m willing to continue grinding along with two jobs as long as necessary. Again, it’s only a matter of time.
I guess that’s about it for now. It’s great to be busy again, and although it’s been a mild winter for us, it’s nice to have it already warming up. We’re going to be outside a lot this Spring, and I’m excited for everything the kids have going on. Elise and Ava have school performances coming up soon, I’m excited to be out at the baseball field regularly, and can’t wait to get to Colorado. Other than holidays, I haven’t had a day off since starting my new day job last April, so this getaway is going to be nice. Here are a few more recent family photos.
Elise looking adorable at schoolDinner at our new favorite Chinese restaurant, ShangHai Taste.Enzo and his buddies at the APEX Fun RunElise and Mom at the APEX Fun Run
