Category: Holidays

Spring Break in the Mountains

All about our 2024 Spring Break in Colorado!

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 first NASCAR race!
Dad and Elise at NASCAR
Dad and Enzo at NASCAR

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.

Merry Christmas, 2023

Our 2023 Christmas break was centered around home this year, with frequent dining out, family movie nights, batting cage visits and ice skating, ample video game sessions, and a delightful visit from Grandma and Grandpa Martin.

In contrast to last year’s trip to Colorado, our family opted for a low-key December at home this time. It’s been a lively and eventful month filled with shopping, dining out, video games, batting cage fun, ice skating, and cozy family movie nights. The kids eagerly anticipated their school holiday break and while they may not be fully prepared to go back next week, it’s clear that everyone has relished their time off.

After Ava’s softball season ended, we decided to start frequenting a local batting cage with her teammates during the off-season. We found it so enjoyable that I opted for a monthly membership, granting us unrestricted access to the facility. Our visits often include Ava’s teammates and their families, but we also go on our own at times. I’ve even introduced Jessica and other friends to the experience, and they all seem to love it as well. Even if you’re not into baseball or softball, using the batting cage is an excellent way to stay active and improve hand-eye coordination. Our goal is to keep going throughout the off-season so that both Ava and I are fully prepared for our upcoming seasons starting in March.

Ava’s Christmas this year had a strong softball theme, with her receiving a new gear bag and stylish batting gloves. She also got a variety of new clothes and an extensive book series from her favorite Anime, Demon Slayer. One of the most thrilling gifts was a trip to a tattoo shop to get her ears pierced a few days after Christmas. We made sure to go to a specialized shop instead of getting it done at the mall. Since then, she has been fixated on them, worrying that they might fall out, but she is delighted with how they look and happy to have them.

Elise’s Christmas revolved around fashion and skincare products. Lately, she has been very interested in taking care of her skin, regularly using various masks and creams. She has also started wearing a bit of makeup and is very passionate about keeping up with the latest fashion trends. It’s amusing to see that one of her beauty products is an anti-aging cream, even though she’s only 10! I don’t think she needs to be concerned about aging at this age. It’s been delightful to witness her growth into a remarkable young lady.

Enzo was thrilled with his Christmas gifts, especially the two new pairs of shoes. One of them stood out as the most vibrant and colorful tennis shoes I had ever seen! In addition to the footwear, he received a collection of clothes, a new football, wide receiver gloves, and an assortment of toys to keep him entertained. Jessica and I couldn’t help but laugh at his confident demeanor when he’s wearing something he loves.

Jessica and I are big fans of the TV show Survivor, and one thing that always stands out to us is the contestants’ signature accessory called a Buff, which is essentially a type of neck gaiter. When we threw Enzo’s Survivor-themed birthday party a couple of years ago, we gave everyone in our family custom-printed Buffs featuring designs from season 41 of the show. While I still regularly wear mine, Jessica doesn’t wear hers as much because she finds the print too bold. This Christmas, I decided to surprise her with a merino wool Buff in her favorite color, teal, so she could enjoy wearing it more often. Along with that, I also got her a sleek Yeti travel mug and a Henderson Hawks t-shirt for her to wear at Ava’s softball games. In return, Jessica gifted me a set of wooden chopsticks and something I’m really excited about: she signed me up for a beginner’s sushi-making class in January!

Even though we continue to consume plant-based foods regularly, sushi has significantly impacted our lives in recent months. Jessica and I found that it was the one thing we truly missed after eliminating meat and fish from our diets in 2020. Luckily, there is a fantastic sushi restaurant just down the street from our house that we all love to visit, and the kids also enjoy going to a few revolving sushi restaurants around town.

Last Saturday, we took my Mom out to watch the new Willy Wonka movie, which was fantastic. After the movie, we enjoyed an amazing sushi dinner at a relatively new restaurant called Taru. It was the best sushi meal we’ve had in a while and we can’t wait to go back. I’m really excited for the beginner’s sushi-making class in January, where I’ll learn to make sushi rice, California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and vegetable hand rolls. I’m already looking forward to taking the advanced class later on. I’m sure the kids will be delighted to have homemade sushi for dinner at home soon.

Apart from the various gifts we received for Christmas, I upheld our yearly custom of gifting electronics by buying a PlayStation 5 for the family. Both the kids and I had been eager to have one, and after being hard to come by at first, I managed to snag a great deal on Black Friday this year. Additionally, I bought five games and customized PS5 controllers for each of the kids.

This year, as Christmas Eve coincided with a Sunday, Jessica and I decided to let the kids unwrap all of their PS5-related presents early in the morning. We then dedicated the entire day to playing video games. Additionally, I surprised them with the new Super Mario Wonder game for the Nintendo Switch and set up an extra TV in the family room, making our gaming session even more exciting! Our gaming marathon extended into Christmas Day as well.

After Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa Martin made the trip from Colorado to visit us for a few days. It worked out perfectly because we visited them last Christmas, and this year they came to us. They took the kids shopping for Christmas gifts and even went to the Las Vegas strip one afternoon. Ava got some new shelves for her bedroom, which Grandpa Tom installed, making it look incredibly organized. Elise found more skincare products while shopping with Grandma, and Enzo got some new clothes, including a couple of Boston Celtics hats. One evening, we took them to dinner at our favorite local sushi restaurant. Unfortunately, today is their last full day with us before they drive back to Colorado tomorrow.

Jessica and I decided to give the kids a special gift that we’ve all been eagerly anticipating. After brainstorming ideas for Spring Break 2024, we realized that we all share a love for attending concerts. So, we made plans for a road trip to Denver to see one of our favorite bands, Moon Taxi, perform on the first Saturday of Spring Break. We quickly secured tickets and are excitedly looking forward to the drive in March. Their music is a staple in our car rides, and although it’s a long journey, we’ve made it before and are now planning other enjoyable activities in Denver during our stay. While we’re no strangers to Colorado, most of our time has been spent in the mountains, so spending a few days in Denver will be a refreshing change of scenery.

The Christmas break for this year is almost over. We’re excited to visit Devin’s house on New Year’s Eve, and shortly after that, Jessica and the kids will be back in school. I’ve been working throughout the break, but I enjoy having everyone at home with me all day. It’s been a wonderful break, but returning to our usual schedule is also beneficial. Below are some of our cherished family photos from this holiday season. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Elise decorating our Christmas tree
Ava decorating our Christmas tree
Jessica getting ornaments picked out for the tree
Peach and Spencer love laying under the tree
Our tree on Christmas Eve night
Sushi dinner with Nana
Sushi dinner with Nana
The kids on Christmas Eve morning
Enzo with his new Ramen shirt
Elise getting new press-on nails for Christmas
Mom and Elise with her new Stranger Things shirt
Enzo and Mom at a school holiday party
The kids on Christmas morning

Ready for Halloween 2023

Getting ready for Halloween and keeping busy with lots of activities!

Halloween is always a big deal for our family. Not only is it Nan’s birthday, but it’s easily one of our favorite holidays. Elise will tell you without hesitation that Halloween is her favorite holiday, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Ava and Enzo said the same thing. Jessica is really into it as well; she’s the reigning costume champion at the school she works at and is hoping to repeat this year. Last year she killed it with her pinata costume and this year she has put together an amazing outfit to dress up as Willy Wonka.

As far as the kids’ costumes go, Ava is dressing up as one of her favorite anime characters, Elise is a Pokemon character, and Enzo has a blowup chicken suit with bright rainbow colors. I’m taking the easy route and just dressing up as a baseball player, but in all honesty, Halloween isn’t as big of a thing for me simply because I work from home, so I don’t have anywhere to go in a costume besides trick or treating with the kids.

Speaking of trick or treating, I feel like Halloween has gotten even better for us since moving to Nevada because of the neighborhood we live in. I’ve never seen anything like it. It might even be fair to say that houses in our neighborhood are more decorated for Halloween than Christmas. There’s a house that builds a haunted house in their backyard each year, plus houses that give out full-sized candy bars. There’s even one house that has a cotton candy machine and spins it individually for each kid! It’s such a fun experience for everyone and we always look forward to it each year.

To make our evening even better, my Mom is coming over to have dinner and spend her birthday evening with us. She’ll also be working the front door to hand out candy while we’re out in the neighborhood. I’m looking forward to making a nice birthday dinner for her and getting some quality time. The kids haven’t been able to spend as much time with her recently due to activities and social events, so it will be great having her over.

A Big Night For Elise and Jessica

About six weeks ago Elise was supposed to go to the Ed Sheeran concert at Allegiant Stadium with one of her best friends. They got all the way to the stadium before finding out that the concert had to be postponed due to safety issues while setting things up. The concert was rescheduled for Saturday, October 28, which was last night. As it turned out, Elise’s friend’s Dad wasn’t able to make it, so they had an extra ticket and were kind enough to offer it to Jessica. She was thrilled to be able to go and of course, they had a great time. Jessica took a bunch of videos for me so I’ll be making a Vegas Showbiz video out of it very soon.

Since Elise and Jessica were having a special night, I wanted to do something fun with Ava and Enzo to keep them from getting jealous. We went to the mall and then decided to go to our favorite conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Enzo asked if we could take the long way so I decided to cruise all the way down the Las Vegas strip. I figured it would be fun because it was Saturday night, but it turned out much better than expected. First of all, the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix is only a couple of weeks away, and they’re going to be racing on the strip, so we got to see all the grandstands and other race infrastructure. I love Formula One racing and it was so cool to be driving down the same street that my favorite drivers will soon be racing on. I can’t believe they’re going to be driving 200 mph on that road and can’t wait to see it.

To make our drive even more fun and memorable, we were sitting at the front of an intersection near MGM Grand waiting for a green light, and suddenly about 15 motorcycles came up around us to get in front of me. They were ¾ size stunt bikes and the riders were doing all kinds of cool tricks while waiting for the light to change. We had no idea what was going on but they were waving to us and the kids loved it. They had their bikes up on the back wheel spinning around, then as soon as the light changed they were doing wheelies through the intersection, and some were riding while standing on their seat.

It was 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night, so it was prime time to be cruising the strip. I’m used to seeing classic cars cruising the strip on a Saturday night, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Ava was filming it the whole time on her phone and we were talking about it all night.

Activities Galore

As mentioned earlier, the kids have been staying busy with activities lately, so Jessica and I are constantly running them around. Elise and Enzo are back in their Saturday morning boxing class, and Ava has been loving her new softball team. We’ve been spending a lot of time in the fields and batting cages lately, which I love. Her team won their first nine games before losing one yesterday, so they’re off to an excellent start. The Fall season is shorter than Spring, so there are only a few games left, but I think it’s a guarantee that Ava will be playing again next Spring. She has made a ton of improvement over the past couple of months and we plan on working hard during the offseason.

I’ve enjoyed being back around baseball so much that I too am joining a team in January. I’ve been wanting to get back into some type of team sport or activity because I spend so much time at home working. While I do get plenty of exercise at home via the rowing machine and weights, it’s not the same as getting out there with people. 

I thought about joining a hockey team but here’s the problem; hockey is very popular here (like it is in Seattle) but there are only a handful of ice rinks to play at. Kids teams always get preferential ice time, so if you’re on an adult team it’s not uncommon for games to start at 11:00 p.m. or later. I simply can’t make that work with my schedule, but that same problem doesn’t exist for baseball. Not only are there fields everywhere, but the weather here is conducive to playing all year long. I always loved playing baseball as a kid and wish I wouldn’t have quit, so I’m excited to get back into it. I did some research and found the Nevada Adult Baseball Association (NABA), which is a hardball league that looks really fun. I went to one of their games last Sunday and felt like I could definitely keep up. I’m planning on playing catcher and have started training for the season. Luckily, I’ve become friends with a guy who used to be a catcher in the Phillies system, so he’s going to work with me. I’ve also been watching a ton of videos on YouTube and regularly get out to practice with the kids. It’s important for me to stay active and I can’t wait to get back into a team sports environment.

Vegas Showbiz and Cappers Update

Our subscribers for the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel are continuing to grow quickly and we’re now up over 850. Getting to 1,000 has been a goal for me since day one and I think we’ll be there in the next two or three months at most. On the Cappers side of things, I’ve been working on it for exactly a year, and we now finally have some paid subscribers! We’ve obviously still got a long way to go, but our growth is totally organic without any type of paid advertising, so it feels great to see it gaining momentum. 

It’s doing well from a performance perspective as well, especially with NHL recommendations. We’re only a few weeks into the new hockey season and if you were to bet one unit on every NHL betting system recommendation our site makes, you’d already be up over 50 units! 50x on your money is insane, and there are certainly no guarantees that it will stay that way for the entire season, but there is no question that we have tapped into some successful systems and methods. I wish we could get that type of performance with football betting, but there’s too much action and the lines are too sharp to make that kind of money. The real profit, when it comes to betting on the major U.S. sports, is with hockey and baseball.

Hopefully, we can continue spreading the word and growing the business. Devin and I are both extremely bullish on our business model and feel like it’s only a matter of time before it blows up. Just gotta keep grinding in the meantime.

That’s about it for now. We’re looking forward to a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Rudd in a couple of weeks. It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is already here. I don’t have too many recent photos to share, but here are a few. See you next month!

Pellegrini Kids Halloween 2023 costumes
2023 Las Vegas Pride Parade
At the 2023 Las Vegas Pride Parade
Ava and Elise at the Pride Parade
Enzo and his buddy
Enzo and one of his best friends
Heading to Ava's softball game
Off to another softball game!
At the Las Vegas Ed Sheeran concert
Elise and Jessica before the Ed Sheeran concert
Dinner at "Marriage Can Be Murder"
Having fun at the “Marriage Can Be Murder” dinner show
Outside Sapporo Revolving Sushi
Revolving Sushi with Ava and Enzo

Happy 10th Birthday, Elise!

All about Elise’s 10th birthday, plus updates on how our Summer break is wrapping up, Vegas Showbiz getting into the YouTube Partner Program, and Cappers going live!

Today our sweet Elise turned 10 years old! I still remember the morning she was born like it was yesterday. It was shortly after 6:00 am when Jessica delivered her in a small hot tub at a birth center in Bellevue, Washington. With the music of Elliott Smith playing in the background, Elise was brought into this world and I got to hold her for quite a while shortly after. Obviously, it was an experience that Jessica and I will never forget; it’s just hard to believe that 10 whole years have already gone by since then.

As is usually the case with our kids’ birthdays, we’re spreading the celebration out over several days. Since today is her actual birthday, she started off the morning with breakfast in bed, then came down later in the morning to open presents. We went to a play center in the afternoon to let the kids get some exercise, then we went out to dinner as a family. We let Elise choose the restaurant, and luckily for all of us, she chose Chef Kenny’s, which is an Asian vegan restaurant that we love.

After dinner, we came home and did some night swimming, then took a break to enjoy a cake that Elise and Mom baked last night. More swimming and hot tubbing ensued. All in all, it was a great day, but her birthday celebrations are far from over. Tomorrow, the kids will be going to my Mom’s house for a couple nights and I know she has a few things planned. Then next Thursday our good friends the Palmers are visiting us from Washington for a long weekend. 

Instead of having a traditional birthday party, Elise wanted to go see the new Barbie movie in theaters with her friends, but she wanted to wait until her buddy Miles was here for a visit. Jessica got tickets for a big group of Elise’s friends to go to the movie, but Enzo and I decided to pass. I’ll admit it does look funny but since my friend Leon will be here, I think he and I will take Enzo to do something that day while the girls are at the movie.

I know Elise still has all these fun things to come but I hope she enjoyed her day today. It was pretty much the perfect family day and I don’t think anyone will be forgetting it anytime soon. Happy 10th birthday Elise, we love you!!

The Last Few Weeks of Summer Break

Jessica and the kids have been enjoying their break this Summer, but it’s flying by and they will be heading back to school in about three weeks. We’re really excited for our friends to come down for a visit, but they all know that this will basically be the last hoorah. In addition to the movie, we’re all going to a water park one day while they’re here, so that should be a lot of fun.

We recently celebrated the 4th of July, which was also Peach and Spencer’s third birthday, by having my Mom plus our friends Tiko and Tina, plus their two girls, Helen and Beatrice, over for swimming, a BBQ, and fireworks at the park. We were spoiled by relatively cool temperatures during June but that all seems long gone. The forecasted high temperature for this Sunday is 117 degrees, which is extreme even for us. I remember it getting that hot one day during our first Summer here, but it never got that hot last Summer. When you live here you just learn how to live with the extreme heat during the Summer, but at least we always have a pool to go out and jump into.

An Update on Vegas Showbiz and Cappers

Shortly after my last family blog post, Vegas Showbiz was accepted into the YouTube partner program. They recently lowered their limits to get into the first level of the program and we qualified, so I applied and we were accepted almost immediately. Now that we’re in the partner program we’re technically able to start making money, although that hasn’t happened yet. We’re allowed to sell private memberships to our channel but I don’t think that makes sense for us at the moment. We’re also able to accept tips/donations via the Thanks button below our videos, and we’re able to sell Super Stickers, which are digital pieces of art related to our channel.

I don’t expect us to capitalize on any of these options, but I’ve definitely seen an uptick in our viewing numbers and subscribers since we got into the program. It makes sense that YouTube would start surfacing our videos more in searches now that we’re in the partner program, because the better our videos do, the better they do in terms of advertising revenue. Our big goal is still to get to 1,000 subscribers because at that point we will make it to the next level of the partner program, and at that point, you start getting paid a portion of the revenue generated from ads being viewed when people watch your videos.

It won’t be a huge amount of money, but we expect it to be enough to buy tickets to a show each month. Our plan is to reinvest the money into doing more fun things to make videos about and grow the channel that way. Although we had a lull between February and May where we were only producing two videos per month, getting into the partner program has definitely been reinvigorating. We’re not quite halfway through July and have already dropped five new videos for the month. Here’s our most recent one, which is a review Enzo and I made after visiting Fly Over Las Vegas on the Strip.

Regarding Cappers, last Friday Devin and I went live by releasing it to the world! Our main website is located at https://cappers.ai, so if you want to learn more about what we do, that’s the place to go. The web application that people pay for subscriptions to is located at https://app.cappers.ai. So far we don’t have any paying customers but I’ve made some nice progress this week. 

Yesterday I messaged about 10 professional sports handicappers on Twitter; I introduced myself and offered them a free Cappers subscription. I explained that I was trying to gather feedback from established handicappers so I can fine-tune the site and asked if they would be interested. I have already heard back from three of them who are interested and one, who has over 56,000 followers on Twitter, has already gotten set up with a free subscription. Another one has 35,000 subscribers, so if I can get these guys to tweet about it, give feedback, and perhaps give a testimonial on our site, we’ll be looking good.

Our main goal for these first couple of months is to get feedback so we’re ready for NFL season. Hopefully working with these established handicappers will help get us there. In addition to promoting the site via Twitter, I have also been making videos for the Cappers YouTube channel and writing blog posts for the Cappers blog. Most of the blog posts I have written are heavily focused on sports betting, but my first one was more like our origination story. I wrote about growing up in a house where my Dad ran an illegal sports gambling operation, and how he always told me to do something better with my life. I honestly feel like my tech experience combined with these experiences as a child makes me very qualified to be a founder of a company like this. If you’d like to check it out just go to: https://cappers.ai/blog/2023/07-july/01-commandments-of-sports-betting 

I’m already working every day to get us ready for NFL season and I expect to be hustling for months to help build up our subscriber base. Devin and I should be starting our Vegas sports podcast soon as well, so hopefully all these things will start coming together and the site will blow up. I’m not worried about it because I know how much hard work is being done; it’s just a matter of time.

More Homemade Music

I’ve been on a roll with content creation lately and music has been no exception. I recently tried something new by recording music specifically to be used for the background of a Vegas Showbiz video. Normally, when I record music I’m trying to come up with progressive, interesting ideas and play things that sound impressive. This time, it was a different approach because I wanted something simple with an uplifting feel to it.

I was particularly proud of this one, not because it was the best playing I’ve done, but because I recorded it in an old-school way using my actual amplifiers and microphones. Normally when I’m recording music at home, I plug my guitar into my computer and use software recreations of classic amplifiers. This approach has always worked well and sounded good, but it almost feels like you’re cheating. I’m able to pick from all these classic amps from the 50’s 60’s and 70’s, then mix and match them as I please.

This time, I set up a couple of amplifiers in my bedroom closet, which is the closest thing I have to a recording booth, then mic’d them up and cranked the volume. The music was intentionally simple but the guitar solo was done in a single take with zero practice or preparation. In a strange way I was more proud of this than most of my other stuff, mostly because I was using my own physical amps and pedals to get all the sounds.

I also promised my Uncle Bob that I would make a video with the guitar he gifted me before moving back to Washington, so here it is. Again, I used a microphone in front of an amp with lots of volume, which I think is good for the soul. Playing loud feels so good!

Obviously, it’s been a busy few weeks but I honestly believe that staying busy is the secret to happiness. I’m looking forward to making more music to use in our videos, excited for the future of Vegas Showbiz on YouTube, and extremely excited about everything going on with Cappers. It’s only a matter of time. For now, here are a few more recent photos from our Summer.

Elise having breakfast in bed on the morning of her 10th birthday
Elise having breakfast in bed on the morning of her 10th birthday
Elise opening presents for her 10th birthday
Elise opening her presents
Elise at her 10th birthday dinner at Chef Kenny's
Elise at Chef Kenny’s for her birthday dinner
Elise finally got to have a Grimace Shake at McDonalds
Elise finally got to have a Grimace Shake at McDonalds
Enzo Pellegrini, July 4 2023
Enzo with a sparkler sword on the 4th of July. Love those glasses!
Ava Pellegrini, July 4 2023
Ava and her sparkler sword on the 4th
Elise Pellegrini, July 4 2023
Elise and her sparkler sword
The Pellegrini family, July 4 2023
Family photos on the 4th of July are a tradition for us. Here are a few from this year.
The Pellegrini family, July 4 2023
The Pellegrini family, July 4 2023
Nana and Michael, July 4 2023
Mom and I on the 4th
Visiting the Vegas Strip with Avery
Our good friend and old neighbor Avery recently came down from Washington for a visit. It was a fun couple of days.
Fun times with our friend Avery

April For The Win!

April 2023 has been an amazing month, and we still have more good stuff coming up!

April 2023 has been a pretty amazing month for us, and we still have some good stuff to look forward to before moving into May. Most notably, Jessica’s birthday is coming up on Friday and she has a lot going on. We’re going to see Chelsea Handler’s comedy show that night at The Mirage, then early the next morning she is flying to Tucson, Arizona to spend the weekend with her girlfriends from Seattle. I mistakenly said she was going to Sedona in last month’s post, but it’s definitely Tucson. They’re going to do some hiking and some chilling, but she wants to get as much training in as possible because this is the same group she’s going with to hike Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, in October. I’ll have details on Jessica’s birthday and weekend getaway in next month’s post.

As for April, there’s been a ton of stuff going on, so let’s start at the beginning of the month. Monday, April 3rd was our 13th anniversary and we celebrated in a very memorable way. Our good friends and ex-neighbors, the Browns, were in Vegas for Spring Break, so they came over to our house for dinner that night. Ava and Elise still talk to Avery regularly online, and they’re always sending each other little gifts in the mail, so it was a pleasure to spend an evening hanging out with them. We actually had so much fun that we ended up meeting up with them again the following night at an arcade in Vegas. We love their family and had such a nice time catching up. Christy is from Vegas and her Mom still lives here, not too far from my Mom, so hopefully they will start making regular visits once again.

Dinner with our good friends, the Browns. We love this whole family.

Dinner with the Browns on our anniversary. We love them so much.

Ava, Avery, and Elise on a special Spring Break visit

Ava, Avery, and Elise. BFF’s forever.

Hanging out in Vegas with our friend Avery.

More fun with Avery

Road Trip with Nana

We spent the evening of Tuesday, April 4th at the arcade with the Browns, then I was up and out the door early the next morning, on April 5th, to pick up my Mom for a road trip to southern Arizona. As I mentioned in last month’s post, we recently made the decision to get a bearded dragon as a pet, and after doing my research online, I decided that I wanted to purchase one from the Atomic Lizard Ranch, located very near the Mexican border in Bisbee, Arizona. It’s about an eight-hour drive from my Mom’s house, and we had to meet them at 3:00 pm, so we were on the road by sunrise. 

We ended up driving all the way down the state of Arizona, from top to bottom. I’d never done a road trip in, or through, Arizona before, and here are my observations. The desert in northern Arizona is much greener than the Mojave desert stretching through California and Nevada. They get a lot more rain during their wet season than we do, and consequently, they have those picturesque cacti, like the ones you see in drawings and cartoons, growing wild everywhere. It’s not uncommon for them to be 20 feet tall, and some are even closer to 30! There are beautiful wildflowers growing near the side of the road, and the vastness of empty space is incredible. It never fails to amaze me when driving through states like Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, just how much wide open empty space there is. It definitely puts the size of our country into perspective.

My only complaint about driving through northern Arizona is the quality of their roads. I’ve never seen so many potholes in my life and I felt like I was dodging them for hours. I think we get a little spoiled from the high quality of our infrastructure in Nevada because of all the tourism revenue to pay for it, but once you cross over into this remote part of Arizona, there’s clearly very little revenue to help pay for road maintenance, and you’ve got to pay attention. Having been through it now, I’m glad Jessica is flying to Tucson, rather than driving through this area alone. A blown-out tire out in the middle of the desert with no town for 50 miles would be a really bad situation to deal with.

Eventually, the road quality improves, and by the time you’re getting close to Glendale and Phoenix, there are no issues. The cacti that I mentioned are native to northern Arizona specifically, so you’re only seeing them for a couple of hours, but they were definitely my favorite part of the scenery. There are also plenty of beautiful rock mountains and other natural rock formations, but those cacti are so unique looking that I’m really glad we got to see them in person. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

Cacti in northern Arizona

As we approached Phoenix from the Northwest, my Mom and I couldn’t believe how much it reminded us of South Seattle. The layout of the buildings and railroad tracks was eerily similar to the area she grew up in, and that trend continued as we passed through Phoenix. It felt like the desert version of Seattle. We didn’t get off the freeway, but from the look of the buildings, we both agreed that it had a strong resemblance to Seattle, without the water of course.

Once Phoenix is behind you, there isn’t much until reaching Tucson about 90 minutes later. It’s just wide open, except now, there are no more of those beautiful cacti growing in the wild. It’s just desert, although we did see the longest police funeral procession I’ve ever witnessed. It had to be two miles long. I’ve never seen so many police vehicles and motorcycles in my life. As we passed through Tucson, it felt very similar to the Spokane Valley in Eastern Washington. Had I not known where I was, based on the scenery alone, I would have sworn I was close to Spokane. We were getting hungry around this time, and I saw a sign on the southern edge of Tucson for Rita Road. It had food options and felt fitting that we would stop there, so we took a break there for a quick lunch at Subway. 

Bisbee is located another couple of hours south of Tucson, and to get there you have to pass through Tombstone, the classic old-west town. We ended up staying the night in Tombstone, but first, we had to get to Bisbee on time. There’s an enormous copper mine right off the freeway in Bisbee and we got a pretty good look at it from the freeway. The town now has a kitschy old hippy vibe to it, and it was actually pretty cool. Apparently, Johnny Depp owns a house there. 

We arrived literally at 3:00 on the dot and picked up our little guy. I had been struggling during the week before the trip with deciding what to name him. I had a few ideas, and the kids were throwing ideas at me non-stop, but nothing was sticking. Then one night while dreaming, I remembered a nickname my Dad used to call me as a little boy. He used to call me Shorty, but only for a few years because it soon became obvious that I was going to be much taller than him, so the nickname was relatively ‘short’ lived. 

It’s been at least 35 years since he, or anyone, called me Shorty, but it came back to me during this dream, and decided that had to be the name of our dragon. The inner workings of the human brain are fascinating. My Mom decided that his middle name should be Bisbee, after his birthplace, and I agreed. I frequently find myself calling him Shorty B. 

After picking Shorty up in Bisbee, we turned around and made our way back to Tombstone for the evening. We checked into our room at the Allen St. Inn and I decided to hold Shorty for the first time. It was probably too soon and he freaked out, jumping out of my hands and falling at least four feet to the floor. He was fine though and we haven’t had any more issues like that since. This is me holding him right after our first crazy encounter.

Dad holding Shorty for the first time, after his near-death fall.

Check out more photos of Shorty at the end of this post.

An Evening in Tombstone

When planning out this road trip, I was originally planning on going alone, but it was Jessica’s idea that I ask my Mom to join me. I’m so glad she thought of this because my Mom and I haven’t been on an overnight trip together since visiting Europe in the Summer of 2001! We’ve been on family trips together since then, but not just the two of us. I was originally thinking we would just get a hotel in Tucson, but once I realized Tucson was about 2 hours north of Bisbee, I decided to look for something closer. That’s how I stumbled on Tombstone. My Mom has been to all the major spots in Arizona but had never been to Tombstone. My only reference was the movie from the early 1990s with Kurt Russel and Val Kilmer. I have always loved that movie and watched it several times with my Dad before his passing in 1995. 
When I asked my Mom if she would be interested in staying the night there she thought it was a great idea. It’s a tiny town that still leans heavily into its wild west heritage. Shops close up early in Tombstone, so we didn’t have much time to explore after getting checked into our hotel, but we were still able to check most of it out. I bought souvenirs for the kids at the O.K. Corral and even ended up buying a beautiful pair of brown boots at a Western clothing store. I love wearing boots, mostly because I got into them when riding motorcycles regularly, and I’ve been wanting something a bit dressier for at least a year. I could never find the right ones because I didn’t want traditional cowboy boots and I didn’t want work boots, but while looking for a Western hat at one of the stores, I unexpectedly found the perfect pair of boots. I’ve been wearing them constantly ever since. I love the fact that I got them with my Mom on our road trip to Tombstone.

My new boots from Tombstone, Arizona.

After our shopping was complete, we had dinner at The Longhorn restaurant, which was decent, then grabbed an after-dinner drink at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon. Big Nose Kate was Doc Holiday’s girlfriend, and the saloon is epic. It’s everything I could have ever wanted in an old west saloon. It was a long day and we were exhausted, so we had one drink and decided to call it a night. The next morning we were up early and ready to get Shorty to his new home. I made a video for Vegas Showbiz about our experience in Tombstone, which you can check out below.

During our drive home the next day, my Mom held Shorty (in his Tupperware container) the entire way. She was reading all kinds of interesting facts on her phone about bearded dragons, and really fell in love with him. She would hold him up near the window so he could get natural light, which was exhausting for her arms, but we could tell he liked it. He’s so alert and present, which isn’t how most other types of lizards are. Every time a semi-truck was next to us he would perk way up to watch it go by. For some reason, he loved watching the trucks, and overall, did excellent on his first road trip.

I’m so thankful for this experience with my Mom. As previously mentioned, it’s been a very long time since the two of us had done anything even remotely similar to this. I love her so much and even though this was a quick trip, it was something neither of us will ever forget. Thank you, Mom.

Getting Shorty Home

I was very busy in the weeks leading up to this road trip with putting together a beautiful habitat for Shorty. I purchased a 120-gallon tank from Toad Ranch Cages, then outfitted it with a ceramic tile floor, a heat lamp, a UVB lamp, and one more light for brightness. I got a variety of rock and (fake) plant decorations, including a beautiful piece of African wood, for him to climb on. The plants have to be fake because he would try to eat real ones and that wouldn’t be good. 

Plenty of people at pet stores will tell you that a 40-gallon tank is big enough for a bearded dragon, but if you do your research, you’ll learn that if you want to do it the right way, you need a 120-gallon tank. In all honesty, it was pretty expensive getting everything set up, but I plan on keeping Shorty for many years, so giving him a proper home was important to me. He’s been living with us for about 2.5 weeks now and is doing great. I feed him live roaches for breakfast and dinner plus a salad for lunch. His diet will switch to predominantly salads once he reaches 18 months old, but for now, I have to be very comfortable with live roaches. I started ordering them online from DubiaRoaches.com because they’re so much cheaper compared to the local reptile store.

His tank is located in Enzo’s bedroom, which may sound strange, but Enzo’s room is huge and there was plenty of space in there. I didn’t like the idea of putting the tank in any of the rooms on our first floor, and Enzo loved the idea of having a dragon as a roommate. Part of the reason I selected Shorty, amongst all the other options from the Atomic Lizard Ranch, was that he was born on January 28th, which is also Enzo’s birthday. I like to joke that both of my sons were born on January 28th. There was a long stretch during the pandemic when Enzo didn’t like to sleep alone in his room. This went back to our days in Washington, but those days seem to be well behind us by now, and I told him that he never has to be scared again now that he has a dragon in his room to protect him. Here are some recent photos of Shorty.

Shorty getting acclimated to his new home.

Shorty soaking up the heat in his new home.

Shorty in his new home.

My Mom got some amazing photos of Shorty on her iPhone while staying with us this weekend. I think I’m going to switch back to an iPhone sometime in the next year or so.

Up close with Shorty, the Bearded Dragon

Up close with Shorty, the Bearded Dragon

You can see his neck beard well in this shot. That’s why they’re called Bearded Dragons.

Easter Weekend With Friends

Literally, the day after getting home with Shorty, Jessica’s good friend Jody, and her family, came to stay with us for Easter weekend. Jessica and Jody worked together at a restaurant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa over 20 years ago and have remained close friends ever since. I remember when we first started dating, Jessica traveled back to Iowa for Jody and Dave’s wedding. They also came to our wedding a few years later, but until recently, our families had never spent much time together.

Jody and Dave live in Minneapolis with their 12-year-old son Leo, and their 9-year-old daughter June. They flew to Vegas for vacation recently, rented a car, and spent several days in Utah hiking Bryce Canyon, then came back to Vegas to hang out with us for a few days before heading home. Apparently, they had a brutal winter in Minnesota this year, accumulating 84 inches of snow, so they were definitely ready for some warmth and sunshine.

As expected, our families hit it off instantly. Ava and Leo were inseparable, as were Elise and June, but what was probably the most funny was how close Dave and I became. The similarities between us were uncanny and it got to a point where our wives would just roll their eyes when another one was uncovered. We both work in tech, we both play guitar, we both drive a German sport wagon, we both have a tattoo of a lion on our right shoulder, we both carry a switchblade, we both love a fine whiskey, we have similar tastes in music, movies, and food. We have the same political ideals. It just kept going on and on. By the time they were leaving, I gave him a big hug and said “Sorry Dave, but you’re stuck with me.”

They were only with us for two nights, but it was a blast. We took them to two of our favorite restaurants, plus we all went to the Farrel Dillion Comedy Magic show on Saturday night. Jessica and I had already been to that show once before, and we loved it, so we thought it would be a great time for our families to go together. Like myself at the first show, Leo got pulled up on stage to participate. After the magic show, we took them to the Bellagio to see the Spring garden display and the fountain show.

On Easter morning the kids had fun doing an egg hunt both inside and outside the house, then I made a big brunch for everyone. Afterward, we had time for a nice little walk around the neighborhood before they had to get to the airport. In addition to hitting it off with Dave, I also really enjoyed hanging out with Leo. He’s super into music and playing guitar, so I let him play all of my guitars and amps. We even jammed together a few times and I taught him a few new tricks. I think he had a field day playing with all my stuff, but honestly, the pleasure was all mine. I really hope we get to spend more time with their family again soon. We were so simpatico it was crazy. Here are a few photos from their visit.

Easter morning with friends. Leo looks a bit tired.

The kids on Easter morning

Easter friends with our good friends, the Annis family. We had the most amazing weekend with them.

Easter morning brunch

Jessica and Jody, friends for life.

Jessica and Jody

Easter morning with the Annis family. We love them.

Everyone together before heading out

Activities Galore!

Now that the weather is perfect again, we’ve transitioned into a variety of activities, and everyone seems to be loving them. Jessica, Elise, and Enzo are taking a boxing class on Saturday mornings with an ex-professional boxer who now runs his own gym. He trains professional fighters but also trains anyone else looking to learn the sweet science, as well as get a great workout, improve coordination, and learn some quality self-defense. 

Jessica initially signed up just to keep Elise company, because it was Elise who most wanted to try it out. As it turned out, Jessica loved it and convinced Enzo to give it a shot. He now loves it as well, and the whole thing makes me so happy. 

Additionally, Ava and Elise have been participating in a rock climbing class at the local rec center and they are really enjoying it. We just signed them up for another session, and at that point, Enzo will be joining them. Enzo has also recently gotten back into swimming lessons, so he’s staying busy. Soon Ava and Elise will also be joining a dance class. It’s important to us that the kids stay busy with a variety of fun and healthy activities, and the enjoyment they’re having is quite obvious. They just seem happier when they have fun things like this to do, even though it can often be a struggle getting them out the door when all they want to do is chill with their iPad.

Elise with her new boxing gloves. She's doing great and we're so proud of her!

Elise is loving her new boxing class

Ava rock climbing at the rec center

Wrapping Up The School Year

Wrapping Up The School Year

We’re only a few weeks away from closing out another year at school. It’s hard to believe how quickly the years fly by, but there is no question that this has been Ava’s best year in elementary school. The timing is perfect too because this is her last year before heading off to middle school. The improvement she has shown in her test scores this year has been nothing short of amazing, and no one (besides Ava) deserves to take more pride in this than Jessica. After receiving the accommodations she needed in school, the results came quickly. She has teachers who believe in her and the numbers are there to back it up.

In all honesty, this year has been an academic struggle for Elise, but once again, Jessica went to bat for her in a big way, and we are now receiving special accommodations for her as well. We’ve had some heart-to-heart talks with Elise lately about school and we can already see the change in her motivation and work ethic. Her teachers are seeing it as well, so we’re hoping for a strong 5th grade for Elise, just like we saw for Ava.

Enzo has been thriving in second grade and his scores are there to prove it. He’s constantly bringing home tests with 100% scores, but more importantly, I love his work ethic. He’s just like me in the sense that he can’t chill until he gets all of his work completed. Every day after school he’s allowed to relax before doing homework, but he always opts to do his homework immediately. Once everything is complete (and perfect), he can sit down and relax.

This year has been a bit more of a challenge for Jessica, simply because she has to be a teacher, and also a Mom, in her classroom, but it’s going well. She absolutely loves her job and plans on staying put for a long time. It makes me so happy to see her doing something she loves, and it’s still crazy to me how our lives have turned out since moving to Henderson.

Changes At Work

Last month I wrote about how my good friend Devin and I recently decided to start a business. If you’re not already familiar with that, I encourage you to check out the post. Since then, we’ve made a lot of progress and are now close to completing our LLC filing. We decided on the name Cappers, which is short for handicappers and have registered the domain name cappers.ai. Considering the popularity of artificial intelligence, we have decided to brand our business as the AI sports handicapping site. I’ve been hard at work building out a huge database of sports stats for our AI models to consume. Devin has been doing a lot of market research and financial modeling. Everything continues to look good and we’re very bullish on our business model. It’s going to take time before we’re production-ready, but we’re definitely on track and I look forward to providing more updates on this in the near future.

In addition to all the Cappers work I’m doing, I also decided to make a change to my day job. Friday, March 31st was my last day at Microsoft! After eight years I decided it was time for a change, mainly because during my last two years in Teams I was moving further and further into data science, which is an area that I’m simply not passionate about. Due to the Microsoft hiring freeze, I wasn’t able to find a different internal role related to web development, which is my (work) passion, but I did find an excellent opportunity with a company called eviCore, which is a subsidiary of Cigna, in the healthcare industry.

As I’ve learned, the healthcare industry is pretty much recession-proof, which is nice considering how topsy-turvy big tech has been over the past year. There are so many layoffs going on, so when you combine that stress with the stress of not liking the work you’re doing, it gets really tough. I’ve never really prioritized my own mental health because I’ve always been focused on the well-being of my family, but it got to a point where it was destroying me, and those effects were clearly trickling down to my loved ones.

The main reason I started building the website that would become the basis for Cappers was that I missed web development and didn’t want to lose those skills. The main reason I took this new role at eviCore was that the C# and .NET web development work they were hiring me for were extremely similar to the work Devin and I are doing. I knew working with a new group of talented engineers in this space would make me stronger, and consequently, I’m already loving it. I’ve only been there a couple of weeks, but I was lucky enough to land on an awesome team and the company culture is amazing. It’s way less stressful than I’m used to, and we basically only work a 4.5-day workweek. We have something called “Flex Fridays” where, as long as you’re caught up with your work, you get to spend the second half of each Friday learning or working on anything you like.

As far as the work we do, it’s basically all based around providing portals for hospitals and doctor’s offices to use in making determinations on whether medical procedures should be approved or denied. We process millions of these requests from various medical providers each day, and working in the medical industry has already proven to be quite interesting to me. Again, it’s recession-proof, and not having the pressure of meeting Wall Street’s expectations each quarter, and not having to keep up with the pace of consumer innovation has been a huge relief.

The company is based in Nashville, meaning they are two hours ahead of me. My team has a daily meeting at 9:00 am central time, which is 7:00 am for me, but I love it because I work from home, so all I have to do is get on the computer each morning by 7:00, and I’m able to wrap up my work day between 3:30 and 4:00. Jessica and the kids get home from school each day around 3:30, so it’s perfect.

After spending over a decade working at two of the biggest companies in the world, I kinda felt like a free agent. I was ready for a change and going to a smaller company with less stress was extremely appealing. eviCore has over 2,500 employees, so it’s not like they’re a small company, but Microsoft has a quarter million employees, so this is literally 99% smaller. Anything would feel small after all these years at Microsoft and Amazon, and I feel like I’ve earned it. My stress is down and my quality of life is up, and again, this all trickles down to my family.

Summary

I know this was a very long post, so if you’ve made it this far, thank you for sticking with me. Again, we’ve got a lot more good stuff to look forward to, so I’m already looking forward to next month’s post. This Thursday night, the Vanderburg school choir, which Ava and Elise have been a part of this whole year, will be singing the National Anthem at the Las Vegas Aviators baseball game. Nana will be joining us for the game, then the next day is Jessica’s birthday. 

I’m so thankful for all the good stuff we’ve had going on lately, and equally as excited for what’s to come. Here are a few more recent photos from this awesome month. See you in May!

Ava in her new "Pan Hat"

Ava with her new “pan hat”

Career day at school. Elise was a Real Estate agent, Enzo was a basketball player, and Ava was a scientist.

The kids recently had a “Career Day” at school. Elise was a Real Estate agent, Enzo was a basketball player, and Ava was a scientist.

Having fun at the movie theater when seeing the new Super Mario Bros movie.

Last weekend we had a blast taking the kids to see the new Super Mario Bros movie in the theater.

Ava's 5th-Grade photo

Ava’s special 5th-grade photo. I can’t believe she’s about to move on to middle school.

A Busy February 2023

An update on a very busy February, 2023 for the Pellegrini family.

Between school, sports, and various family outings, February 2023 has been a busy month for our family. I’d say the activity keeping us the busiest this month has been preparing and raising funds for the “Apex Fun Run” at school. To everyone who helped them out with a donation, thank you so much for your support; they surpassed their goals and ended up raising a total of $600 for their school! Today the kids will be working on thank you notes and pictures, so you can expect to receive those sometime soon.

The final step in their fundraising efforts took place on President’s Day when we set up a family lemonade stand at the park across the street from our neighborhood. They had done the same thing last year for a school fundraiser and did quite well, so we decided to give it another shot. We were all off that day for the holiday, so I decided to help out. We offered cookies and glasses of lemonade for $1 each. 

The first hour was slow, but things picked up between noon and 1:00. Several neighbors stopped by, and we were even lucky enough to be paid a visit by 3 Henderson motorcycle police officers. I couldn’t believe the generosity of these officers; they each had a cookie and a glass of lemonade, but the first one gave us a $5 bill and said to keep the change, then the next one gave us a $10, and the final one gave us a $20! None of them would accept any change, and they were so friendly. We thanked them not only for their donations but for everything they do to keep us safe. In fact, I just saw this week that Henderson once again ranked as one of the top five safest cities in the United States. The only cities ranked ahead of us were Virginia Beach and Honolulu. I like to think of us as the safest non-beach city in the country 🙂

Again, thank you to everyone for your support. Whether you donated or not, the fact that you’re reading this indicates that you probably care about our family, and we thank you for that! Each of the kids ran around 30 laps, and even though the laps were about half the length of a standard lap on a track, they still got a lot of activity and exercise that day. They were all very proud of their fundraising achievements, and I have to admit it was a lot of fun helping out with the lemonade stand. We were all holding up signs and waving at cars. It felt good to help them out, and I was really impressed with how much they raised. I never came anywhere close to that for my own fundraisers as a kid. Here are a few photos from the whole experience.

The family lemonade stand!
Elise holding a sign for our lemonade stand fundraiser
Ava holding a sign for our lemonade stand fundraiser
Enzo working at our family lemonade stand
Enzo Pellegrini at the February 2023 Apex Fun Run
Ava Pellegrini at the February 2023 Apex Fun Run
Elise Pellegrini at the February 2023 Apex Fun Run

In addition to our lemonade stand, President’s Day weekend was really fun and busy for us. That Friday night, we took the kids to the theater to see the new Ant-Man movie, then on Saturday morning, Ava had her softball tryouts. She was nervous but did great, especially in her batting evaluation. You get five pitches, and she hit solid line drives on the first four. She missed the fifth one, but it was a terrible pitch. She also did really well when fielding grounders and left excited for the upcoming season.

After that, we all headed down to the Bellagio to check out this year’s Lunar New Year display. As usual, it was beautiful and so intricately laid out. I made a video of it for the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel, which you can see below.

After the Bellagio, we checked out a new vegan restaurant, then went on a little appliance shopping spree. Several of the appliances at our house are pretty old (perhaps even original), so we decided to upgrade our washing machine and dishwasher with brand-new, top-of-the-line G.E. appliances. Eventually, we would like to replace others as well, but these two were the most in need of a replacement for now. 

As a homeowner, there are always new projects in mind, but the biggest one I’m looking at next is a cool pool deck surface out back. Currently, it’s all concrete which is painted dark brown, and it gets insanely hot during the Summer. It’s way too hot to walk around without shoes or sandals. I’ve been to people’s houses who had an epoxy pool decking surface applied, and the difference is incredible. It reduces the temperature by about 35 degrees, making it no problem to walk around barefoot. As swimming season approaches, I’m hoping to have someone out for an estimate sometime soon.

For now, however, the water is still freezing, and it feels like swimming season is a ways off. February tends to be our coldest month of the year here in Southern Nevada, but I’ll refrain from complaining because I know almost everyone else has it way worse during the winter. Our house gets really cold during the daytime, but I don’t turn on the furnace until Jessica and the kids are about to get home from school. It doesn’t make sense for me to heat the whole house, or even the whole first floor, when I’m spending almost the entire day in the office. My Mom gave me a heat lamp a few months ago, so I just have that thing pointing at me all day. The cats have fallen in love with it, and it seems like one or both of them is always lying on my lap while I’m working.

Peach and Spencer on dad's lap while working
I can barely reach the keyboard with both cats in my lap!

The most extreme type of weather we get during the Winter and Spring is wind. Most people don’t realize how windy it gets here. Earlier this week, we were getting warnings on our phones about 70mph winds, and it was no joke. I thought our house was going to blow away! The next morning I came out to the backyard to assess the damage, and it looked like someone had taken a wheelbarrow full of dirt and leaves and dumped it all into our pool. As you can imagine, getting it cleaned up was not fun, but welcome to life as an outdoor pool owner.

Earlier this month, we had a fun little house guest for the weekend. Jessica’s classroom was due for a new class pet, so we went and picked up a cute fancy-tailed Gecko named Mochi. I have wanted a pet lizard since our first year of marriage, but it was always a hard no for Jessica. She’s not into reptiles and couldn’t stand the thought of feeding them live insects. I totally get it and haven’t pushed the issue, but to my surprise, she really gravitated toward Mochi. Spencer was somewhat interested, but it didn’t last long. Peach, on the other hand, was totally infatuated with Mochi and sat next to the tank staring at her for at least two hours. It sounds like Mochi will be coming back to stay with us during school breaks, and I have regained hope that maybe someday I’ll finally get my bearded dragon.

Mochi, the fancy-tailed gecko, and Spencer, the Siberian cat.
Spencer and Mochi getting acquainted.
Peach exploring the backyard
Peach enjoying some rare backyard time.

On the night before the Superbowl, Jessica and I met up with friends for dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant, then we all went to the Black Crowes concert at the Palms. I’ve been a fan of theirs for a long time but didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to see them live due to their breakup many years ago. Luckily, the Robinson brothers seem to have worked out their issues and started touring again last year. The show was outstanding, and the video I made for Vegas Showbiz was our quickest to reach 2,000 views.

Speaking of Vegas Showbiz, we are now just shy of 500 subscribers. The only remaining requirement for us to qualify for the YouTube partner program is to have 1,000 subscribers. I never thought it would be so difficult to get 1,000 subscribers, but the good news is that our videos are getting plenty of views and hours watched. The channel turned a year old earlier this month, and during that time, our videos have gotten over 5,600 hours of view time!

You only need 4,000 hours of view time during the previous 12 months to qualify for the partner program, so we’re looking good on that end. I’m hoping it won’t take another year to get to 1,000 subscribers, but even if it does, I’m fine with it because I know we will get there eventually, and there’s a market for the content we produce. Once we get into the partner program, we will finally be able to start profiting from our videos. At this point, I have a good idea of what’s going to get views and what won’t, so I look forward to using the money we make from the channel to go out and do more fun stuff to document.

Regarding school, the kids have all been staying busy. Ava and Elise have been especially busy, however; they’re still doing choir before school every Tuesday morning, and now they’re both involved in the sign language club. “Girls on the Run” is about to get started for the second time this school year, which they’re excited about, and Elise is enjoying being a part of the school drama club. I always loved doing school drama as a kid, so it makes me proud and excited to see her doing the same thing.

As I write this, it’s the final weekend of February, and it’s a relatively quiet one for us. The main highlight was yesterday when I took the kids to the women’s UNLV basketball game versus San Diego State. It’s funny because we used to live less than 10 minutes from the SDSU campus when Ava was a baby, and now we’re so close to UNLV. It was the first time Ava or Elise attended a basketball game, and we all had a nice time. Jessica was able to get four free tickets through the school district, and this was the final home game of the season. UNLV ended up winning by 6 points, and everyone left happy. I’m hoping to take the kids to see our WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces play this season, as well as check out the NBA Summer Hoops, which happens every Summer here in Vegas. We still love hockey, but watching and going to basketball games has been a nice addition for us this year. Here’s a photo of the kids at the game.

The Pellegrini kids at their first UNLV Lady Rebels basketball game, 2023-02-25
Go Lady Rebels!

I guess that’s about it for now. As you can tell, February has been a busy month for us. Combine that with the fact that everyone in our house except Enzo has had a cold this month. It seems like there’s always something going on or something to deal with. Spring Break is coming up next month, and we’ve talked about making a trip to the Grand Canyon, but so far, no planning has taken place, so I’m not sure how that’s going to turn out. I’m sure we’ll do something one way or the other.

As always, thanks for checking in on us! If anyone wants to make a visit this Spring or Summer and soak up some hot weather and sunshine, just let us know. I’ll have the pool ready for you 😉

Christmas in Colorado, 2022

All about our Christmas 2022 road trip to Colorado. We spent a week at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in the mountains, playing in the snow and enjoying the season.

Our family recently returned from a week at Grandma and Grandpa Martin’s home in the Colorado Rocky mountains! We hadn’t been to their place in a few years, and the kids were really hoping for a white Christmas this year, so we decided to make a road trip out of it. Most of our time up there was spent playing in the snow, sledding, ice skating, and lounging around the house. 

It’s a 725-mile drive between our homes, and I was able to do it in about 11 hours both times. We left our home in Henderson at 3:45 am on Tuesday, December 20, with the goal of arriving at Grandma and Grandpa’s house before dark. The drive was surprisingly easy until you start ascending the Rocky Mountains. You basically just take I-15 north out of Las Vegas, which then dips through the northwest corner of Arizona for about 20 minutes before taking you into Utah. Once you’re halfway up Utah, you get on I-70 East, which takes you all the way up into the Rockies.

We’ve never done this drive before because almost all of our road trips involve going to California, but I have to say, this was one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever experienced. Central Utah has the most incredible natural rock formations I’ve ever seen, and that was just what was visible from the freeway! I have to say; I really like Utah. Every time I’m there, it seems like they have the friendliest people and some of the cleanest public bathrooms, plus the roads are always empty, and gas is cheap. We couldn’t believe how little traffic there was in Utah on both ends of our trip. The same could not be said for Colorado or Nevada.

Once you get into Western Colorado, it’s still a couple hundred miles before you get into the Rocky Mountains. This was our first time ascending the Rockies from the west side because we normally always fly into Denver, then drive up into the mountains coming from the east. This was my first time seeing Vail, which looked beautiful. By the time you reach Grandma and Grandpa’s house, you have crossed four or five mountain passes, so you really need to be alert for the final stretch of that drive. They live 15 miles up a private mountain road, and that stretch of driving is by far the most intense part of the trip. That’s why I insisted on leaving so early and arriving before dark. It worked out perfectly, too; we arrived right at sunset, and just over 24 hours later, a major snowstorm rolled through.

The Pellegrini family at a beautiful rest stop in Utah.
Taking in the beautiful sights of Utah during a quick rest stop

Getting Settled at Grandma and Grandpa’s house

Our first full day in Colorado was spent at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Actually, every day except one was spent at their house because it’s a bit of a production going into town was this big of a group because you have to take two cars down (and back up) the mountain. On that first day, we mostly just went sledding and played in the snow. They have an epic snow hill on a private road adjacent to their property. Since it’s not a county road and no mail/delivery trucks will go down it during the snowy season, the neighbors all regularly groom it for sledding. 

From the sledder’s perspective, the best part about it is that you don’t have to walk back up the hill after each run. We bring four-wheelers over there and give everyone a ride back up the hill, which became my defacto job the whole time we were there. I enjoy riding the four-wheelers in the snow and spinning around, but I have to admit, there were times when it would lose traction and start to slide down the hill, causing me to slightly panic because it reminds me of the time I totaled my car in the snow. Everything was fine, though. We had a few sledding collisions at the bottom of the hill, but nothing serious.

Sledding and 4-wheeling at the Grandparents' house
Doing my four-wheeler duties during a sledding session.

Besides sledding, another activity we did several times throughout the week was taking a hay ride around the neighborhood behind Grandpa’s tractor. Tom is a very talented mechanic who loves to keep busy with various projects. He found this old tractor abandoned in the woods. It didn’t run and was in pretty sorry shape then, but he brought it home, fixed it all up, and painted it; now it runs like a champ and looks great! 

The whole area around their property is like a private winter wonderland. We really enjoyed riding around and getting a tour of the whole area. The key is to do it in the right weather. Obviously, it always appears cold out there due to all the snow, but the temperature swings that we experienced during our week there were extreme. After the big storm hit, we experienced night-time lows that were about five below zero. The day after the storm, it was in the single digits all day, and it was way too cold to do anything outside. Ava and I went sledding for a little bit, but within an hour, we had to come inside because of the extreme cold.

For comparison’s sake, we had other days during the trip that reached the mid-thirties. I realize that also sounds cold, but when you’re dressed for an outdoor winter outing, anything above thirty degrees feels pretty warm. Those were the days when we spent a lot more time outdoors.

Grandpa Tom's restored tractor
The view from a hayride on Grandpa’s tractor

Ice Skating at Keystone

Our one big outing of the trip came on Christmas Eve when we went to the Keystone ski resort for some outdoor ice skating. They have the country’s largest outdoor ice skating rink, and this was our second time going there. We went there during our last Colorado Christmas trip, and at that time, I was playing hockey regularly, so we skated a lot more, and I was able to get into a pickup hockey game.

This time we took it a lot slower because we were out of practice with skating. That said, I was impressed with Ava’s skating, considering she hadn’t been on the ice in about a year. All the years of hockey practice have done her well, and it was great seeing her out on the ice again. We’re still holding out hope that she decides to get back into hockey, but we wouldn’t force it on her. That last team was too intense, but maybe we can find a better option.

Elise and Enzo aren’t as comfortable on the ice as Ava, but they both did great out there. At first, Elise used bars to hold onto, but I couldn’t believe how fast she would get going with them. Eventually, she started skating without the bars and did very well. Enzo also had a lot of fun out there, but I think his favorite part was to get going fast, then drop and slide on the ice as far as possible.

Skating out there on a frozen lake is way different than skating in an indoor ice arena. First of all, lake ice is much harder than arena ice, and you can feel the difference in the blades of your skates. Next, and this is actually the bigger differentiator, is that the lake ice has big divots where chunks of ice are missing. I ended up falling once out there because the toe of my skate went into a divot. You really have to watch where you’re going, but the divots are easy to miss, and if you hit one the wrong way, you’re definitely going to fall. I was skating pretty carefully due to the fact that I was out of practice and not wearing any protective gear besides a helmet, so I felt lucky coming out of there with only one fall.

I’ll admit it can be a little scary because the lake ice has these huge cracks going all the way down. You can see that the ice is about three feet thick, and obviously, falling through would most likely be fatal, but they groom it with a full-sized Zamboni. Those things probably weigh more than a car, so if the ice can hold that thing, I don’t think there’s too much to worry about.

We should start going skating as a family more often. We were doing it regularly for a while back in Washington, and there are plenty of options now that we live in Nevada. It’s a fun, healthy activity for everyone, and it’s safe as long as you wear the appropriate gear.

The Pellegrini family ice skating at Keystone, Colorado
Ava and Mom ice skating at Keystone
Ava and Mom out on the ice

Christmas morning

We were up early, as expected, on Christmas morning. Grandma had picked out matching pajamas for everyone, we had a nice fire going, and the kids were super excited to open their presents. Everyone was very happy; the kids each received some new clothes, Pokemon trading cards, and a big Pokemon wallet to hold all their cards. Elise got a hoverboard, then Ava and Enzo got attachable seats for their hoverboards. There were several other things as well, but the biggest gift for each kid was a brand-new iPad. 

They had been using the kids’ Kindle Fire tablets for the past two years, and we felt like it was time for them to graduate onto a premium device. We got each iPad engraved with their name and an emoji that suits them. Ava’s has a heart, Elise’s has a unicorn, and Enzo’s has a thumbs up. They were thrilled with them and continue to thank us daily. These are by far the nicest devices they have ever used.

The rest of the day was spent hanging around the house, getting into our new stuff, playing games, and cooking. My Mom got me a really cool drone for my birthday this year, so I brought it along for the trip. On Christmas afternoon, I went out to fly it around their property and got some great footage of their property. Once again, Ava helped me by controlling the camera from my phone while I controlled the drone. The whole time we were there, I was working on a family Christmas video, which you can find below, and the aerial drone footage ended up being the end of my video.

The Pellegrini kids in front of Grandma's Christmas tree
The Pellegrini kids with Grandma and Grandpa Martin on Christmas
Matching pajamas!
The Pellegrini family on Christmas morning, 2022
I swear I didn’t Photoshop myself into this picture

Heading back to Nevada

The day after Christmas was our last full day in Colorado. It was also the warmest day of the trip, so we spent several hours outside sledding, riding snowmobiles, hiking, and taking tractor rides. It was a very fun and fitting way to end the visit. Then, like the week before it, Tuesday was our day of driving.

I honestly think I could have been a long-haul trucker because I love road trips. Just like on the way there, I had no problem driving us the whole way home in one day. I like being out there on the highway, taking in all the sights, and I like truck stops. You don’t realize how vast and empty much of our country is until you get out there and drive through it. 

Getting out of the Rocky mountains was the hardest part of the drive, only because you don’t want to wear out your brakes as you descend the mountain, so you have to be comfortable with downshifting and engine braking. Once again, we had the Utah highways mostly to ourselves. The roads and highways were much busier in Colorado and Nevada than those in Utah. 

We were home a bit after dark, and our cats were so happy to see us. We missed them a lot, but they were fine while we were gone. We had a neighbor come over a few times, and my Mom was nice enough to make the drive to check on them once. 

As always, you enjoy the trip, and then you’re happy to be home sleeping in your own bed. We all don’t go back to work/school until Tuesday, January 3rd, so it’s nice to have a few days at home to get stuff done before getting back into the routine. 

To all our family and friends, happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and happy new year! Here’s the video I mentioned about our trip, as well as some of my favorite photos from Christmas 2022. See you next year!

Elise Pellegrini decorating our Christmas tree
Ava Pellegrini decorating our Christmas tree
Enzo Pellegrini decorating our Christmas tree
Mom putting the star on the tree
Dad decorating the tree
Elise Pellegrini decorating the tree
The Pellegrini family tree
The Pellegrini family tree
The Pellegrini kids opening their stockings on Christmas Eve
Opening stockings on Christmas Eve
Going for a hayride on Grandpa's tractor
Ava and Enzo on a hayride with Grandpa
Christmas stockings
Stockings!
Elise Pellegrini opening her stocking
Enzo Pellegrini in Colorado
Grandma and Grandpa at their home in Colorado
Thank you for hosting us, Grandma and Grandpa.
Enzo Pellegrini opening his stocking
Ava Pellegrini opening her stocking
Ava on one of Grandpa's tractor rides
Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa

Happy 11th Birthday Ava!

An update on Ava’s 11th birthday, Thanksgiving, and our upcoming holiday plans.

Today the amazingly awesome Miss Ava turns 11 years old! It’s hard to believe we’ve been parents for 11 years, but watching Ava and her siblings grow up has already been an unbelievable ride. While today is Ava’s actual birthday, we decided to hold her birthday party last weekend because we figured everyone would be busy during Thanksgiving weekend.

The party was held at our home on Saturday afternoon. 17 of Ava’s friends, plus another eight adults, were all over for about three hours. Ava is a big fan of the Dog Man book series, so we used that as her party’s theme. The party included a Dog Man trivia game, a version of “Pin the tail on the donkey” called “Pin the badge on Dog Man,” sandwiches from Subway (Ava’s favorite), and a chocolate-caramel ice cream cake, per Ava’s request. She called it one of the best days of her life, which was great to hear, but no one deserves more credit for this than Jessica. The amount of work she puts into the kids’ birthday parties is always unbelievable, and this one was no exception.

Here’s the video I made from Ava’s birthday party
Ava playing Pin the badge on Dog Man
Ava taking her turn at Pin the badge on Dog Man
Ava Pellegrini at her 11th birthday party

Today Nana stopped by the house to wish Ava a happy birthday and visit a bit. Her birthday is exactly one month before Christmas, so it always signals the start of the holiday season. Speaking of holidays, yesterday was Thanksgiving, which we held for the second consecutive year in our new home. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make plans with family for Thanksgiving this year, mainly because Jessica and I have been so busy lately that we forgot to set everything up. Luckily, our friends Tiko, Tina and their daughters Helen and Bea were able to come over and spend the day with us.

I made roasted garlic mashed potatoes, sourdough stuffing, vegetable gravy, sauteed green beans, and a vegan turkey loaf filled with cranberry stuffing. My buddy Tiko really wanted to make mac ‘n cheese because he hasn’t had dairy in forever, along with a cherry pie. He made the most massive pot of mac ‘n cheese, along with the biggest cherry pie I’ve ever seen in my life. It was all pretty over the top but also hilarious and memorable.

Next up will be a visit from Amy, Tom, Joel, and Melanie for Amy’s birthday in early December. They’re all coming to Vegas for a little weekend getaway, and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone. The kids were pretty little the last time they saw Joel and Melanie, so they’re looking forward to meeting them again. We’re all going to The Neon Museum, which Jessica has been wanting to see for 15 years. I don’t know why we couldn’t make it happen before this, but we’re very much looking forward to it.

A couple of weeks after that, we will be driving up to Colorado for Christmas at Amy and Tom’s house. We’re looking forward to sledding, driving snowmobiles, ice skating, and building snowmen. It’s been a while since we’ve been in the snow, so that should be fun and memorable. That’s pretty much it for now; everyone is doing great, and time continues to fly, as usual. We wish all of our family and friends a happy holiday season and look forward to seeing some of you soon. 

For today, however, it’s still all about Ava. Thank you for being such a wonderful daughter and sister. You are more loved than you even know, and we’re all so proud of you! Happy 11th birthday, sweetheart.

Ava Pellegrini opening gifts for her 11th birthday
Opening gifts from her good friend Miles, who lives in Washington
Ava Pellegrini opening gifts for her 11th birthday
Ava Pellegrini showing her new bedspread from Nana
Ava loves her new bedspread from Nana
Ava Pellegrini on her 11th birthday

Ready For Halloween 2022!

Our Oct 2022 update, including school, Halloween, our cats, and some upcoming holiday plans.

It’s hard to believe October is already coming to a close. This month has flown by for us but in a good way. Starting with the kids and school, Enzo was selected as Student of the Month in his second-grade class. This is based on a combination of scholastics, leadership, and effort. Obviously, Jessica and I were very proud of him, but more importantly, he was so proud of himself, especially when his name got called out on the loudspeaker.

Things at school have also been going well for Elise and Ava. Both of them have joined the school choir and are loving it. They meet every Tuesday morning before school, and I can’t wait to see them perform. It’s only open to 4th and 5th graders, so Enzo has time to think about it. Elise has also been involved in an all-girls running club at school, which she is enjoying. Ava recently competed in the school’s annual Four Square tournament. It’s such a popular event that sometimes even adults register to play. She had a blast, as usual.

Here are their most recent school photos:

Preparing for Halloween

Halloween is now just a couple of days away. The kids have already attended several Halloween events over the past couple of weeks, each of which is an opportunity to get back into their costumes and collect candy. Enzo is wearing a scary-looking Morphsuit, Elise is dressing up as an angel, and Ava is literally wearing my Dad’s old dress blues from his time in the U.S. Navy!

I know my Dad was a little guy and all, but it blows me away that my ten-year-old daughter can fit into a uniform that he probably wore in his late teens or early twenties. That’s crazy.

This will be our second Halloween in our new neighborhood, and we’re looking forward to it. Last year was easily the best trick-or-treating I’ve ever experienced. I still can’t believe there was a house spinning fresh cotton candy for each kid. Plus, there was another house that built its own haunted house for people to walk through. The decorations throughout the neighborhood are over the top as well. Luckily, our good friends Tiko and Tina will be bringing their daughters over to walk the hood with us.

Here’s a sneak peek at the kids’ costumes this year.

Birthday Dinner with Nana

We can’t have Halloween without also celebrating my Mom’s birthday. This year we decided to do a family-style meal at Crossroads, our favorite vegan restaurant on the Las Vegas strip. We had previously made a video for the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel reviewing our first meal there, so we were excited to try it again.

As expected, the food was delicious. Their scallopine parmesan is incredible, as were the other pizza and pasta dishes. Our new favorite, however, was the calamari. It was better than plenty of real calamari dishes I’ve had in the past. My Mom never passes up on calamari at a restaurant and said she would be back just for that.

The kids really enjoyed going out to a fancy with their Nana, and this was long overdue. We were saying we hadn’t done a nice dinner like this with my Mom since my 30th birthday, so hopefully it won’t be nearly as long until the next one.

Surgery for Spencer Kitty

As the owner of long-haired cats, Jessica and I have gotten used to regularly brushing our cats and checking them for mats in their hair. Recently, while checking Spencer, I found what I thought was a hair mat but turned out to be a crusty scab. There was hair dried into it, and I knew it needed to be looked at by a veterinarian. Jessica got her into the vet the following morning, and they couldn’t clean the area up without surgery. 

She had a pretty big cut near the armpit of her front left leg, but we still don’t know what caused it. Spencer and Peach are indoor cats, so it’s not like she got into a fight outside. My best guess is that it happened when I saw her jump from the floor all the way to the top of the fridge. It was pretty incredible to witness, but she didn’t make it all the way and ended up having to drag her back legs up. I don’t know for sure if that was the cause, but more importantly, she is healing up nicely. She ended up getting five stitches, which will be coming out Monday morning, but what’s worse for Spencer is having to wear a cone around her neck. These cats don’t even wear collars because they hate them so much, but we had no choice this time.

Another Unexpected Issue with the Pool

I had a crazy close call with our pool equipment a few nights ago. I knew our filters were due for a cleaning, and I had done it a couple of times previously since purchasing the house, so I decided to get it done after work. Pool filter systems operate under heavy water pressure, and anytime you’re working with a pressurized system, there’s a possibility of danger. 

In this case, I had no problem letting all the pressure out before opening the big container and pulling out the dirty filters. After (poorly) cleaning the filters, I put them back in the container, put the lid back in place, and tightened the metal belt. Everything seemed to be correctly reassembled, so I turned the water pump back on and got close to the filters so I could watch the pressure gauge rise.

I was probably only two or three feet away, and right around the time when I was thinking the pressure should probably stop rising, the damn thing exploded right in front of me! It was loud, and the fiberglass top of the filtration unit shot straight up in the air like a rocket. There’s an overhand from our house directly over part of this unit, so how it missed the house is a mystery to me.

This piece that shot off was pretty large. It looks like the top half of a fiberglass egg but with a rounder top. It’s probably about three feet tall and is too large for me to wrap my arms around. 

When it blew, my immediate reaction was to drop into a turtle position with my arms covering my head. As soon as I hit the deck, I remember thinking I should look up to see if it was going to hit me. I didn’t end up doing it, though, because I didn’t know if something was going to be right there when looking up. It could have been coming down in multiple pieces, and I knew fiberglass was dangerous.

I just stayed there crouched in a ball next to the heater and little wall separating our pool equipment from the flowers, hoping nothing would come down on me. My guess is that from the initial boom until the piece came crashing back down to the ground was a full three seconds. I wish I had perimeter cameras on our property because I would love to see this in a replay. It felt like an eternity while I was crouched up, but eventually, the top landed about 10 feet away on the concrete. The pressure gauge on top of it shattered on impact.

I knew I was lucky not to be injured, but then I realized there was another immediate problem. The whole time I was crouched on the ground, I was getting soaked because the pool pump was still running. If left unattended, it would only be a matter of time before our pool was empty. I immediately ran over to turn off the pump, then just sort of stood there soaking wet, observing everything that just went down and looking around dumbfounded because I knew there were zero witnesses.

I went to my local pool store, which is run by this cool Italian family who is incredibly knowledgeable about swimming pools. I told them what had just happened, and they told me how lucky I was. There have been plenty of cases of injuries and, in some cases, even deaths from this type of accident. Their technician was able to come out to our house that same evening to take a look at everything. Since I was dealing with 22-year-old equipment, I opted to go for a whole new setup rather than trying to piece it back together. The nice thing about this approach is that it comes with a warranty. We knew when purchasing the house that the pool equipment was all original, but I think I’m going to hire a professional next time I need my filters cleaned. 

They were out today to install the new filtration system, and the pool is back in normal working order. These types of unexpected expenses are frustrating, although I’ve come to expect them since becoming a pool owner. In this case, however, I’m just feeling fortunate that no one (including myself) got hurt and no other damages were caused. It could have been so much worse. Man, I would love to see a replay though…

Looking forward

As always, we have some exciting things to look forward to. As already mentioned, trick-or-treating on Monday night should be a lot of fun. Once we get into November, it’s all about Thanksgiving and Ava’s birthday. Like the year she was born, Ava’s birthday this year also falls on Black Friday. We figured it would be better to do her party the weekend before Thanksgiving than two days after, so we will be hosting a party here at the house. Her whole class is invited, and we’re expecting quite a few to attend.

After that, Amy and Tom will be coming to Las Vegas in early December to celebrate her birthday. We’re excited that Uncle Joel and Aunt Melanie will also be coming along this year. It’s always fun having family come to visit us in Vegas, so we’re planning out some fun stuff to do. Then, just a couple weeks after that, we will be driving up to the Colorado Rockies to celebrate Christmas at Amy and Tom’s place. The kids were wishing for a white Christmas, and it worked out well for everyone, so we decided to make it happen. 

I guess that’s about it for now. Thanks for reading, and happy Halloween! Looking forward to doing the next post about Ava’s 11th birthday. Here are a couple more pics.

Elise and Princess Peach getting some quality time together
He’s such a cool little kid
Snacking and watching performers at the Italian festival

Ready for Halloween, 2021

Getting into the Fall spirit, making friends, meeting neighbors, and getting settled.

October has already been a great month for us, on multiple levels, and we haven’t even gotten to Halloween yet. Halloween is big for us this year; it’s my Mom’s birthday, and the first one since we moved here. Plus our neighborhood goes big for Halloween with tons of decorations. Apparently we can expect hundreds of kids roaming our streets, meaning we need to make sure someone is always at our door to hand out candy, even if the rest of us are out trick or treating. 

We’re turning this into a family event by having my Mom, Bob, Sandy and Terry out to the house to hang out that afternoon for dinner before we hit the streets. Then afterwards we can have birthday cake with Nana. Luckily all of our local friends are able to come over and join us for trick or treating as well. We’re going to have a big group and I’m expecting a fun night. My Mom will be staying a night with us for the first time as well, so we get to host her for her birthday. Looking forward to sharing more about it next month.

In the meantime the kids have been staying busy, mostly with Nana, doing all kinds of Halloween activities. There’s been a variety of Halloween-themed attractions they’ve been going to on the weekends. Last Sunday we picked them up early from Nana’s and met our friends at Gilcrease Orchard. We got a box of donuts, picked out our perfect pumpkins in the patch, made our way through a corn maze, and got to check out some live animals.

We’ve also got a couple neighborhood Halloween events coming up this week. There’s going to be an outdoor movie night with drinks and snacks, which is for the whole family. Then on Friday night Jessica and I were invited to the adults only neighborhood Halloween party. We thought that would be a fun way to get to know our neighbors a bit more so the kids will be with Nana that night.

Now that the weather has cooled down we’re seeing people out so much more in the neighborhood, and suddenly the kids find themselves with way more kids to play with than we ever had at our last house. There’s definitely no replacing our good friend Avery from Washington, but there’s about a dozen kids near us that are frequently outside now. I always expected it would be in Fall that we would start meeting a lot more neighbors because people aren’t out and about here in the Summer. Fall here is like Summer in Seattle – sunny everyday with temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s.

Once Halloween is behind us we’ve got a lot to look forward to in November. For the first time in her life, Ava’s birthday falls on Thanksgiving Day, and it just so happens to be her 10th birthday, so it’s a big one. Luckily we’ve got Kristy, Beto, and Madi coming out to spend the long holiday weekend with us! We’re really looking forward to having them out and still finalizing plans on how to coordinate birthday and holiday celebrations.

Speaking of family visitors, we just had our first visitors staying at our house. Dana and Brad did a road trip from their place in Fallbrook, CA to come and see us. It was only a 24 hour visit because they had plans for their anniversary, but we packed a lot in while they were here and it was a blast. It was so nice seeing them and we look forward to paying the visit back on the CA side via a road trip of our own sometime soon.

One thing that’s really cool about living in the Las Vegas / Henderson area is that you never know who it’s going to be, but there’s pretty much always someone in town. It was never like that in Seattle but Vegas is so much more of a travel destination. Last weekend, for example, we were out Friday night for dinner with my good friend Shawn, whom I became friends with 20 years ago when we were busboys at El Gaucho, and stayed close with ever since. He and his wife live in Nashville but came to Vegas for his birthday weekend. Then the very next night on Saturday we met up with Jessica’s good friend Summer, whom she met 20 years ago working in a restaurant in Cedar Rapids. She was in town with family celebrating a 21st birthday. Strange coincidence that they were both friends of ours made in restaurants 20 years ago, who both happened to be in Vegas for a birthday on the same weekend, but the point remains, someone is always in Vegas for the weekend. The best part to go along with that is suddenly now we have a full-time babysitter! It’s been really cool catching up with friends from all over the place, and you never know who’s going to be next.

Beyond all the Halloween stuff everything has been great. School is going well for the kids, and they recently started riding bikes to school. It’s not a daily thing, and Jessica or myself needs to be with them, but we’ve started doing that a bit and they love it. We’ve been doing regular family bike rides on various trails near the house, and getting out for some hiking in nearby desert mountains. These are the kinds of activities we were looking forward to doing once it cooled down.

Ava was able to join the 4th grade robotics club and has been attending those sessions before school on Tuesdays. She is also playing hockey twice a week after school, so she is definitely the most busy of the kids at the moment. She also lost a tooth this week, which hasn’t happened in a long time for her, so that was exciting. Elise and Enzo are both doing great. We’re working on getting activities sorted out for them, and not surprisingly, there are so many options here. I’ve been meaning to take Enzo to the BMX track here in Henderson but we haven’t made it happen quite yet. Elise has made a good friend in our new neighborhood so they have been spending a lot of time together.

Now that we’re totally settled into the new house Jessica is focusing on her next step. She’s considering a job but also considering starting her own business, so it will be fun to see how it turns out.

Railing update

I feel like until this project is 100% done I need to give updates on it. It’s been in progress since July, so I can barely imagine what life will be like once the railing project is no longer a part of it. Since my last post I finished installing all the iron bars below the railing, stained the rail, and finished it with a heavy gloss. We’re really happy with how it looks, and it means our project is down to the painting work that needs to be done on the exposed wood parts. Here’s a recent pic:

I was supposed to have a painter out this past week to estimate on it, but he no-showed twice, so it’s back to square one. We’ve thought about doing the painting but considering this is the main entry of our house, we want it to look as good as possible. I’m planning on doing another video tour of the house but I’m not doing it until this paint work is complete. Hopefully we can wrap it up soon.

That’s about it for now. We’ve got a lot of new photos to share. Happy Halloween!

The coolest thing about losing this tooth is the fact that she pulled it herself in the school bathroom!
Elise & Spencer getting some quality outdoor time
His teacher says he’ll do anything for a laugh