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Falling Into Autumn, 2023

An update on our family as we enter Fall 2023. We’re as busy as ever with school, activities, work, and more!

Fall is my favorite season, especially earlier on, and this year is no exception. Living here in Southern Nevada, the weather this time of year is absolutely perfect; it reminds me of Summers in Seattle. The brutal heat of the Summer is gone, and so are the monsoons of August. It’s sunny and about 90 degrees every day with no wind, so we’re outside enjoying the weather a lot more than we normally would be during the Summer, swimming excluded.

One way that we’ve been out enjoying the weather lately is by going to the softball field. Ava recently joined a new team through a private softball league and is playing in their Fall Ball season. She last played in the Spring of 2022 for a team through the city of Henderson, and we tried to do the same thing again this year, but there weren’t enough girls signed up so the season was canceled.

This new league she’s playing for is a lot more serious and the quality of play is much higher. She was a bit intimidated at first because most of these girls are more experienced than her and have been playing together for years, but she’s been getting so much better after the past few weeks. I’ve been practicing with her at home, plus she has never missed a team practice, and we meet with the team every Sunday morning at the batting cage.

In addition to getting better as a player, she’s also learning a lot about being a good teammate. At first, she would sit quietly on the bench but now she’s up there cheering for her teammates and participating in all their funny team chants. We’re really glad to see her involved in a team sport again and it’s fun going to the ballpark to watch her play.

Another cool thing that Ava has recently taken on is that she has become a member of her Middle School band. She is playing the cornet trumpet and is really enjoying it! It’s not uncommon for her to stay after school to get extra music practice in. Obviously, I’m thrilled to see any of the kids taking on an instrument and I can already see the joy it’s giving her. Just like softball, we’ve seen a noticeable improvement in just a few short weeks.

To cap it off, this week she brought home her first progress report and it was mostly all A’s and B’s. The transition from elementary school to middle school is tough for a lot of kids, so Jessica and I are very proud of how she’s been doing.

Elise Having A Great Final Year of Elementary School

Speaking of progress reports, Elise just brought hers home and it was all A’s with one B. Once again, Jessica and I were so proud. It hasn’t been the easiest start of the year for her but she’s been putting in the work and it shows. Regarding activities, we took a break from boxing for the Summer but Elise has been asking to get back into it, so this weekend will be her first class. We’re glad to see her doing something that she enjoys so much, and that gives her confidence. I’ll tell you what – Elise is not to be messed with. She’s fast, strong, and can throw a solid punch. I pity the fool that crosses her someday.

Elise has made some great friends at school over the past couple of years and now she frequently finds herself getting invited to do all kinds of cool things. A few weeks ago her friend invited her to come to the Ed Sheeran concert at Allegiant Stadium. They made it all the way to the front door before finding out that the show had to be postponed due to an accident while setting things up. They were bummed but took it well; the show will now take place on October 28th so they will be going then. She still got to go out to a nice dinner that night with her friend’s family.

Elise and her teacher at Pali — Elise with her 5th grade teacher at the Pali Institute

More recently, this past weekend Elise was invited by another friend to go to the iHeart Radio festival at Mandalay Bay. Her friend’s dad is a marketing executive for MGM so they brought a group of girls to the show. She got all kinds of cool swag, including an M&M bucket hat, and then saw artists like The Foo Fighters, Kelly Clarkson, Fall Out Boy, 30 Seconds to Mars, and others.

Jessica and I didn’t want Ava and Enzo to be jealous so we took them out for an epic night while Elise was away, which included an hour at an arcade, dinner at a conveyor sushi restaurant, and a viewing of Sphere Las Vegas the weekend before it’s grand opening with U2. It was an awesome night but Enzo was clearly partied out by the time we got home.

Enzo and Ava having conveyor sushi for the first time — Enzo and Ava experience conveyor sushi for the first time

Enzo partied out at the end of a long Saturday night out on the town. Those are my Gucci sunglasses that I bought for my 26th birthday in Vegas. Now Enzo rocks them regularly.

Another really fun thing Elise recently took part in was her school’s 5th-grade camping trip to the Pali Institute. Ava had a blast doing the same thing last year and this year was no exception for Elise. Going on a 5th-grade camping trip is like a right of passage and we were so happy to hear about the great time she had. She got to participate in all kinds of cool activities and spent lots of quality time with her friends.

Enzo Crushing 3rd Grade

Like his sisters, Enzo is off to a great year at school. I haven’t seen a progress report for him so far but he’s doing really well in every subject. He’s just like me in the sense that he comes home each day and does his homework immediately. He takes his work seriously and never misses a beat. He’s excited to be getting back into boxing this weekend with Elise, and like Elise, he has made some great friends at school.

Enzo has definitely found himself in the middle of a great group of friends and I think it’s fair to say he is one of the more popular kids in his grade. Jessica recently took him over to his buddy Charlie’s house for a play date, then came home and told me about how beautiful this kid’s neighborhood is. Apparently, he lives on a golf course and one of his newest neighbors is Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. I’ve been telling Jessica that our kids clearly have good taste when it comes to making friends and that it might not be long before we’re riding their coattails.

A Change of Plans for Jessica

Jessica spent the whole Summer training for her upcoming Mt Whitney hike but unfortunately, it’s not going to happen. A few weeks ago she went on a big hike with one of her friends as a training exercise but the weather and conditions turned out unexpectedly bad. Out of respect for her privacy, I don’t want to go into too much detail, but the short story is that she was injured during the hike and the injury is preventing her from going on the Mt Whitney trip.

I don’t want to alarm anyone because she’s going to be totally fine, but a hike like that is no joke and she simply won’t be able to do it at the scheduled time. It was really tough for her to accept and she was gutted by it, but there’s no question she made the right decision to cancel. Although we can’t replace that experience for her, we’re working on setting up some super cool things to do that weekend to help make up for it in some way.

Vegas Showbiz Update

I can’t believe how much Vegas Showbiz has started taking off over the past few weeks. It all started off with me reaching out to various performers to see if I could interview them for the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel. Through one of those requests I got hooked up with Authentic Public Relations and now all kinds of things are popping up. They were impressed by my interview with Adam London, one of their performers, and have since invited Jessica and me to see the show Marriage Can Be Murder and then interview their performers. They have also invited us to the grand opening of Tape Face’s new show at MGM Grand, which includes a meet and greet afterward.

Additionally, another public relations company called KorePR found me online and asked if I’d be interested in interviewing a comedian named Byron Kennedy regarding his upcoming headlining slot at the Laugh After Dark comedy festival and the debut of his first comedy special “NashVegas.” Obviously, I said yes and the whole thing went really well.

I’m having so much fun doing these interviews, mostly because I feel like I can talk to anyone about practically anything. I guess I’m just channeling my inner bartender from a previous life, and I feel confident that it’s going to continue growing from here.

Cappers Update

I feel like Cappers is right behind Vegas Showbiz in terms of starting to take off. One reason for this is that, as Devin and I put it, we’re finally fulfilling our AI promise. The URL for the Cappers website is https://cappers.ai, which implies that we are using artificial intelligence to handicap sporting events, but that wasn’t actually the case until about a week ago. Certainly, we have always been building databases of sports data and using that data in various sports betting formulas and systems to produce betting recommendations, but until now, there was no actual artificial intelligence going on behind the scenes.

That’s all in the past though, as we are now using ChatGPT, the most popular and widely used form of AI in the world, to evaluate games and make betting recommendations. We’re still calculating results from all the systems and providing all the data that we always have, but the ChatGPT results are a huge value add.

At a high level, here’s how it works. You can think of ChatGPT as an invisible robot that you can ask questions to. While you could simply ask the bot something like “Who’s going to win tonight’s game between the Lions and the Packers,” you probably wouldn’t get a very intelligent response because you’re not giving it information to use in its decision-making process. I’m sure it will get there someday, but for now, you have to construct a very detailed question, known as a prompt, in order to get an intelligent response.

A big part of the work I’ve been doing for the past year is writing little computer programs known as Azure Functions that run regularly on timers to get all the latest data from every sport we support and save that data into our database. Once you have all that data, you can use it any way you like. We use it in all those betting system formulas, and we use it to construct the ChatGPT prompts. The prompts we send to the GPT bot are long (about 300 words) and contain all kinds of important information about how each team is performing, point spreads, betting odds, injuries, weather conditions, etc. It takes a lot of code and logic to produce these prompts, but the result that you get back from the bot is really impressive.

I’m not going to lie and say that the recommendations from the bot are always 100% correct because clearly, nothing can ever predict the future with total accuracy, but the responses so far have been looking great. What you get is a response that is very well thought out, takes all the important factors into consideration, and makes an intelligent recommendation. Even if you decide not to make the bets recommended by the bot, it’s still really useful information that you should be aware of and take into account. Plus, more often than not, the bot gets it right. Here’s an example of it’s response about last Sunday’s Steelers vs Raiders game, which was totally accurate across the board.

If that’s too small to read in the image, here’s what it says:

Analysis

The Steelers and Raiders both have a 1-1 record this season, but the Steelers are coming off a win while the Raiders are coming off a loss. The Steelers have been scoring more points on average this season (16.5) compared to the Raiders (13.5). However, the Raiders had a higher average score last season (23.2) compared to the Steelers (18.1). Both teams are averaging 2 turnovers per game this season. The Steelers have 1 offensive injury and the Raiders have 2 defensive injuries, which could potentially impact the Raiders’ ability to stop the Steelers’ offense.

Point Spread Bet

Given the Steelers’ recent win and the Raiders’ defensive injuries, I would bet on the Steelers +2.5 points. This means that even if the Steelers lose by 2 points, the bet would still win.

Money Line Bet

I would be on the Steelers’ money line at +124. This means that for every $100 bet, the payout would be $124 if the Steelers win.

Over-Under Pick

The Over/Under is set at 43 points. Given the average points scored by both teams this season (16.5 for the Steelers and 13.5 for Raiders), I would pick the Under at -110 odds. This means that if the total combined score of both teams is less than 43, the bet would win.

Summary of Picks

Point Spread: Steelers +2.5 Money Line: Steelers +124 Over/Under: Under 43

Final Thoughts

While both teams have had a mixed start to the season, the Steelers seem to have the edge due to their recent win and the Raiders’ defensive injuries. However, as with any sports betting, there are no guarantees and outcomes can be unpredictable. It’s important to bet responsibly.

As you can see, this is an extremely well-thought-out response and had you wagered $100 on each of those three recommendations, you would have gotten your $300 back plus a profit of $282. Considering the fact that we’re offering a two-week free trial of the Cappers Application, then only charging $19 per month (for now), Devin and I feel that it’s an incredible value. People pay hundreds of dollars for tout services to tell them who to bet on. We’re not a tout service but instead believe in giving our customers intelligent recommendations and using them to make more informed betting decisions of their own.

If you’re reading this and know anyone who may be interested in a Cappers free trial, please reach out to me and I will give you a code to extend that free trial to one month. I firmly believe that it’s just a matter of getting the word out there and this thing is going to explode. We’ve put a TON of work into it and I’m so proud of what has been created. While we’re currently only offering AI betting recommendations for NFL games, I’m already working on it for the upcoming NHL season and will do the same thing for NBA games. It won’t be long before every game has an AI recommendation to go along with all the other system results.

That’s about it for now. As I say every month, we’re extremely busy, but busy is good and it beats the alternative. Jessica and I couldn’t be more proud of the kids and everything they have going on. If you’re thinking about making a trip to Vegas, please let us know.

Jessica and the kids at the Las Vegas Museum of Illusions — Having fun at the Las Vegas Museum of Illusions

The Pellegrini kids at The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas

The Pellegrini Kids at the Vegas Golden Knights 2023 Rookie Game vs the Anaheim Ducks — At the Vegas Golden Knights 2023 Rookie Game versus the Anaheim Ducks

The Pellegrini family at the Neon Trees concert in Las Vegas — At the Neon Trees show on Fremont St. This was our first entire family concert in Vegas.

Back to School, 2023 Style

An update on Jessica and the kids getting back to school for 2023 after a great Summer break.

Summer as a season may still have a few weeks to live but Jessica and the kids have already completed three full weeks back at school. It’s always a sharp contrast at our house when school gets back in session because during the Summer we’re usually all at home, then suddenly it’s back to being quiet again, with just myself and the cats being there all day. The biggest change with this new school year is that Ava is now in sixth grade, meaning she has moved on to middle school.

Her school is located one mile from our house, so she usually rides her bike there in the mornings. We recently purchased a pair of electric scooters, so sometimes she rides a scooter instead. I rode with her the morning of her first day but since then my new routine is to be there when school gets out so we can ride home together. My work day starts early because the company I work for is in Tennessee, so my mornings tend to be very busy, but the afternoons are the opposite because most of my coworkers are starting to wrap up their days by the time it reaches 2:00 p.m. for me.

I usually prefer to ride my bike because I like the exercise it provides, but sometimes the triple-digit heat is too much, so having the scooter is a nice option. They’re very quick and fun to ride. Either way, every time Ava comes out of school and sees me wait she comes running up to give me a big hug, then when we get home she always thanks me for riding home with her. Obviously, the pleasure is all mine and it feels great to be so appreciated by your child. I’d better get used to this new schedule too, because based on how our kids’ grades are spread apart, we will have a child in middle school for the next six years. Looks like I’ll be riding to that campus a lot, but that’s fine with me.

Jessica, Elise, and Enzo have had a great start to the new school year. Unlike last year, Jessica doesn’t have one of her own children in her class this year, but she’s so good at what she does and no one in that school (parents included) takes her for granted. They keep offering her a role as a full-blown teacher with a classroom of her own, but she’s quite happy doing what she’s doing and doesn’t want to rock the boat unnecessarily. She loves the woman she works with and feels great about the role she plays in making a difference in these kids’ lives. It’s not uncommon for Jessica to provide clothes to a child in need, and she’s always there with a big hug when they need it.

Jessica is also only a little more than a month away from her bike hikes of Half Dome and Mount Whitney. She’s been taking her training very seriously all Summer, but it’s difficult training for such a grueling hike during the Summer when you live in Southern Nevada. It’s simply too hot to do your training outside, especially considering that we just had the hottest July in Las Vegas history, but she still finds a way. It’s not uncommon for her to put on her pack and walk up and down our staircase for 90 minutes at a time. She has also been doing yoga and weight training. I don’t think she’s been in such good shape since we left Washington and I’m excited for her big adventure.

Elise is now a fifth grader, meaning she is in her last year of elementary school and will be joining Ava in middle school next year. The big right-of-passage for fifth graders at her school is a trip to Pali Institute, which is an outdoor education retreat in Southern California. Ava went last year and had an amazing time, now Elise’s time is quickly approaching. She’s very excited to go and we can’t wait to hear about her experience.

One of the benefits of having Jessica working at their school is that she is able to hand-select which classroom her kids will end up in. Consequently, Elise is already thriving this year and absolutely loves her new teacher. She has a small but great group of friends and is already displaying noticeable academic improvements. This is going to be a big year for her as she gets ready to transition to middle school and we’re so proud of how she has kicked things off.

Enzo is also off to a great start as a third grader. Like Elise, he has found a solid group of friends, and I’m not kidding when I say he is one of the most popular third graders in the school. He’s one of the cool kids that everyone gravitates to, which makes me happy, but none of it has gone to his head. He takes school and homework very seriously and his grades show it. Recently, one of his best friends came over after school, and the first thing they did was their homework from that day. Once their homework was completed they allowed themselves to play and have fun, but not until then. This certainly wasn’t a requirement from Jessica or myself, but that’s just the kind of kid he is.

There was a situation a couple of weeks ago where someone wrote “Enzo Pellegrini was here” on school property. We knew it wasn’t him because it wasn’t his writing, his name was misspelled, and he swore he didn’t do it. We attributed it as a consequence of being so well known and liked, but he still took it upon himself to clean it up because he didn’t want his name out there looking like graffiti.

Restarting Activities

We normally give the kids a break from activities during the Summer but we’re about to get back into everything very soon. Ava has softball tryouts next weekend and we plan on getting Elise and Enzo back into their boxing class very soon. It surprises me how much they like boxing but I love it. I’m expecting all three of them to be back in their rock climbing class at the community center very soon as well. This means that our evenings will be getting busier with practice schedules, but as I always say, busy is good!

Cappers + Vegas Showbiz Update

Speaking of busy, I’ve been keeping quite busy with both of my side hustles. On the Cappers side of things, Devin and I are ready for the NFL season to get started. It took a lot of work to build out all databases and betting systems, but at this point, we’re ready for the season to start. We recently designed cards to start handing out and are hoping that things will start to take off now that football season has arrived.

The Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel has been growing a lot lately, which has been invigorating for Jessica and me. Last Spring we had a bit of a lull and slowed down considerably on video production, but we have kicked things back up big time over the Summer. The channel now has over 700 subscribers and we’re counting down as we approach 1,000. We’re already a part of the YouTube partner program, but once we reach 1,000 subscribers we will reach the next level, and since all other requirements have already been met, at that point we will start getting a monthly paycheck from YouTube.

In addition to our normal content reviewing Las Vegas shows and restaurants, we also recently did our first Las Vegas performer interview. We met up with Farrell Dillon at Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club before one of his shows and chatted for about a half hour about his life and career as a magician. It went really well and I’m definitely looking to do more performer interviews soon. Here’s the interview with Farrell.

Today should be fun, as we’re having several friends over for a pool party. Chances are this will be our final pool party of the Summer, although I’m sure we’ll get a least a few more family swimming sessions in before calling it a season. It’s been a great Summer, but Fall is my favorite season of the year and I always love the transition between the two.

We’ll be staying home for Labor Day this year, although Ava has her softball tryouts that weekend. We don’t have any upcoming family plans at the moment, but that’s always likely to change. The kids have recently been spending every other weekend at Nana’s house and she always has fun things to do with them. We’re all getting excited about Jessica’s big hiking trip in October, and we’re starting to plan out this year’s Halloween costumes.

That’s about it for now. Wishing everyone a happy Labor Day weekend! Here are a few recent family photos from our Summer in Vegas!

Ava, Elise, and Jessica getting ready for the Barbie movie

Ava’s first day in middle school

Enzo and I at FlyOver Las Vegas. Check out our video review on YouTube.

Jessica on stage at Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club. She was the director for our Farrell Dillon interview.

I had an amazing birthday dinner this year at Lakeside, located on Wynn’s Lake of Dreams. Check out our review on YouTube.

School’s Out For Summer, 2023

May hasn’t been nearly as crazy of a month for us as April was, but we’ve still got a few cool things to share. Most notably, the school year recently came to an end and the kids are now on Summer break! Enzo had a great year in second grade and made lots of friends that he will continue with for the next three years. Elise, in all honesty, didn’t have her best year of school this year, but we had some heart-to-heart talks with her towards the end of the year and we definitely saw an improvement afterward.

Jessica did a lot of work to get her the help she needs and we feel great about the class she will be in next year, so we’re excited for her. In a way, we’re hoping she can follow in Ava’s footsteps in this regard because 5th grade was easily Ava’s best year of elementary school. She really came into herself this year and the progress, including test score improvements, has been nothing short of amazing. We have no doubt that Elise will be able to do the same thing next year.

The end of the school year was filled with activities that the kids loved. There were field days filled with games, and a school choir concert for families to attend, plus the 5th graders got to go on an all-day field trip that included swimming and a trip to the movie theater to see the new Super Mario Bros movie.

The crowning achievement at the end of the year was Ava’s speech during the school’s graduation ceremony. Jessica worked with her on it for weeks and she practiced regularly, but I never heard it until her delivery in front of at least 300 people. I know she was nervous but she did an excellent job. I gave her the same advice my cousin Ken told me to give to Elise when he found out she was doing drama club; plant your feet, lift your chin, and speak to the back of the room.

I realized within the first ten seconds that Ava’s speech had a very different tone to it than the rest of the kids’ speeches. While the other kids were giving speeches with a mostly comical tone, Ava’s speech dove directly into her learning differences due to her dyslexia and ADHD. The central theme was explaining why her teacher this year was the best one she had ever experienced in school. A teacher who understood her learning differences and leaned into them. A teacher who found the right books for her and helped her develop a love of reading. A teacher who taught her to believe in herself when others made her feel stupid, and who made her realize that she really can become a scientist when she grows up if she sets her mind to it.

I’m not talking about Jessica when I reference this teacher, even though the lengths Jessica has gone to in order to improve the kids’ education is nothing short of amazing. I’m talking about the teacher Jessica assists at the school, and she really is fantastic. Ava’s speech was so powerful that parents and teachers were crying while she delivered it. Very few of us would be able to open up like that in front of hundreds of strangers, yet nearly everyone identified with her. Afterward, Ava and Jessica were both approached by many students, teachers, and school administrators talking about how amazing the speech was. Several people said it was the best of the day and many more said they couldn’t help from crying while listening to her. As the one filming the speech, my eyes were filled with tears almost instantly, so my job turned into just trying to hold it together and keep the camera still. We posted the video of Ava’s speech to the Pellegrini Kids YouTube channel, which you can see below.

Ava and Mom at elementary school graduation

Ava and her teacher at 5th grade graduation

Ava and her 5th grade teacher

Jessica and Elise Pellegrini holding Elise's Excellence in Science award

Elise finished really strong in science this year!

Enzo Pellegrini on his first and last days of 2nd grade

Enzo at the beginning and end of 2nd grade

Ava Pellegrini at the end of her 2022-2023 school year

Mother’s Day 2023 – A.K.A. “MothersGate”

Before moving to Nevada in June 2021, Jessica had us scheduled for family photos. She wanted to get nice photos of us taken in the great Pacific Northwest before heading away, but it wasn’t meant to be because the day of the photos turned into a big rainstorm and there was no other day for us to do it before moving. We figured we would get photos done after moving but ended up getting so busy with everything that we lost track of it.

Recently Jessica and I started talking about doing family photos again, but this time I offered to do them myself since I have a decent camera and have learned a lot about photography in the past year. I decided that the best Mother’s Day gift I could give her would be to do photos of the kids on the morning of Mother’s Day, then take everyone, including my Mom, out to brunch.

We decided to do the photos in the Downtown Las Vegas Arts District because they have so many cool murals which could serve as backdrops. The kids stayed the night at my Mom’s house the night before, then we picked everyone up that morning and headed downtown. I had extra batteries for the camera, plus a tripod just in case. We scouted the area and picked out our favorite murals, then I proceeded to take a couple hundred photos.

I was wearing prescription sunglasses and didn’t notice until literally the last photo of the morning that the camera didn’t have a memory card installed. I instantly started to panic. As it turned out, Jessica had used the camera the day before for one of her YouTube videos and forgot to reinstall the memory card after downloading the video files to her laptop.

I was heartbroken and she was beside herself in anger. We had waited two years for these photos and I was so excited to give her this gift, but again, it wasn’t meant to be. After regaining our composure we went out to brunch at a restaurant downtown called Eat, which was excellent, then we went back to a few of the murals and used our cellphones to get some photos. It wasn’t what we had in mind but was going to have to do, for now. I still plan on taking the kids back to the Arts District for more “official” family photos, but here are a few of our favorites from that day. It was certainly one that we will never forget!

Enzo Pellegrini in the Las Vegas Arts District

Ava and Elise Pellegrini in the Las Vegas Arts District

The Pellegrini kids with their Nana in the Las Vegas Arts District

Elise Pellegrini in the Las Vegas Arts District

Ava Pellegrini in the Las Vegas Arts District

Jessica and Michael Pellegrini in the Las Vegas Arts District

The Pellegrini kids in the Las Vegas Arts District

Jessica Pellegrini with her kids on Mother's Day, 2023

Hiking at Valley of Fire State Park

One of our first big family activities of the Summer break was to go hiking at the Valley of Fire state park. Located about an hour from the strip, Valley of Fire was the first state park in Nevada. We’ve been meaning to go there since moving to Nevada nearly two years ago, but we finally made it on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. We arrived at 8:30 am and started exploring instantly. There are over 40,000 acres of trails, rock formations, petrified logs, petroglyphs, wildlife, camping, and more!

We did a few hikes with the kids and I took a ton of photos, but Jessica and I plan on returning this Fall to do more serious hiking without the kids. They have some advanced trails that we didn’t feel like taking the kids on, especially considering how hot and crowded it was getting as we approached noon.

There were various lizards out and about, plus we got lucky by seeing a pair of big horn sheep crossing the road. In addition to our hikes, we drove around the scenic loop and visited several iconic photo spots. Seeing the ancient petroglyph drawings was definitely a highlight, and the kids thought the petrified logs which had become stone were amazing. It’s a really beautiful place that I recommend anyone go to visit if you’re in the area. We saw people of all ages out there and look forward to returning.

Here’s the video I made, along with a few of my favorite photos.

The Pellegrini family at Valley of Fire State Park

Jessica and Enzo Pellegrini at Valley of Fire State Park

Jessica Pellegrini at Valley of Fire State Park

Elise Pellegrini at Valley of Fire State Park

Enzo Pellegrini at Valley of Fire State Park

Ava and Enzo Pellegrini at Valley of Fire State Park

Enzo and Michael Pellegrini at Valley of Fire State Park

The Chicks Concert with Jim and Cara

Our old next-door neighbors Jim and Cara were recently in town for the weekend, and when we found out they were going to The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks) concert, we decided to get tickets and meet up with them. The Chicks are one of Jessica’s favorite bands and we used to listen to one of their albums a lot back in the day. In fact, the CD we made for our wedding guests started with a song by them, yet we had never seen them in concert until now. We got general admission tickets and found a spot right at the front of the audience. I could literally reach out and touch the stage!

It was an excellent show that we will never forget, and it was really fun catching up with our friends. They ended up coming over to our house the next day for lunch, so it was fun showing them around our new place. Here’s the video I made of the concert.

New Pool Decking Coming Soon

When we bought our house in June 2021, the concrete area around the pool wasn’t looking so great. Part of our negotiations was that they would paint the area, which they did, but they used the same paint for the pool decking that they used for the entrance steps in front of our house. It’s dark brown paint that isn’t meant for pool decking, but we didn’t know the difference and thought it looked good, so we didn’t say anything.

What we later learned was that this concrete gets so hot during the Summertime that you can’t walk on it barefoot. It also gets slick when wet and just isn’t ideal as a surface around your swimming pool. We lived with it for two Summers but decided to have it replaced this year. On Thursday of this week, we have a concrete company coming out to grind it all down to a smooth surface, then they will coat it with a real pool decking which is cooler to the touch due to its sand color, and less slippery. We’re also going to have them fill in all the holes from the old fence they used to have here.

Not only will this new pool deck look much better, but everyone will be able to walk barefoot on it, which will be nice. Our backyard is such a focal point of our home and we have several guests coming to stay with us this Summer, so having this upgrade completed before anyone gets here is going to be awesome. I look forward to sharing photos of the finished project in next month’s post.

That’s about all for now. I wanted to keep this month’s post a little on the shorter side considering how long it was last month. We’re really looking forward to getting a visit from Kristy, Tito, and Madi in June, so I’ll write all about that afterward. I’m just glad the new pool deck will be completed before they arrive. Wishing everyone a happy Memorial Day and a nice start to their Summer!

Let The Seasons Begin!

An update on everything we have going on as Summer 2022 transitions into Autumn.

Happy Fall Equinox! The beginning of Fall is my favorite time of year, mainly because the weather in September is so nice, football season is back, baseball is getting interesting, and the basketball and hockey seasons are right around the corner. This is “cooking season” for me as well; I frequently begin my Sunday morning in the kitchen, working on something that will slow cook all day and make the house smell so good.

There’s a big rumor going around that the NBA will soon be announcing an expansion to the league by adding two teams, and the lucky cities are Seattle and Las Vegas! I’d love to see Seattle get the Sonics back, and having our own pro basketball team here in Vegas would be awesome. We’re already the fight capital of the world, we have pro football and hockey, and Formula One will start doing a Las Vegas street race, part of which is on the strip, in November 2023. Rumors about the Oakland A’s moving here have also been circulating for years, so I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

Family Update

Regarding our family, everyone is doing well, and as the name of this post implies, the lazy days of Summer are behind us, and we’re back to having full schedules. Ava has decided not to return to hockey, and we respected her decision. She is now part of a Volleyball class that meets every Tuesday evening and seems to be enjoying it. She’s tall for her age, so volleyball would be a great sport for her to stick with, but I expect her to join another softball team in the Spring as well.

School has also been going very well for Ava. She is now in Jessica’s class and is thriving for the first time in her academic career. Although she is brand new to the school, she became the most popular kid in her class on day 1. People are naturally attracted to Ava, and seeing her thrive at school is so nice. She just went on the 5th-grade camping trip to Pali Adventures in Southern California; it was a great time for her and a chance to meet more kids from the new school. Obviously, Ava deserves a ton of credit for her newfound success at school, but so does Jessica. She worked very hard to make this happen, and seeing it all start to pay off makes me happy.

Ava Pellegrini on her way to Pali Adventures in Southern California. — Ava on the bus for her school camping trip

Elise is also doing well at her new school. She makes friends so quickly and easily that it seems like every week, we’re taking her to another birthday party. One of the areas she has improved in the most is spelling. This was a subject that she struggled with in previous years, but now she is regularly getting A’s on her spelling tests and has set a goal of winning the class spelling bee.

As far as activities for Elise go, she is very excited to be joining an all-girls running club, which is put on by the school. There are several runners on Jessica’s Mom’s side of the family, so it appears Elise (and Enzo, I think) has gotten those genes. She is surprisingly fast and can run longer distances than any of her friends. I recently took her out to get a nice pair of running shoes, which is no easy task because Elise has wide feet and is very particular about how they fit. Luckily, she can wear a women’s size now, so I was able to find a pair of Asics that worked perfectly for her. I’m really excited for her to get started and can’t wait to come to watch her run!

Elise Pellegrini baking desert at home — Elise sharpening her baking skills at home

Elise Pellegrini climbing a rope ladder — And here’s Elise having fun at a jumping place

Enzo is also doing very well at his new school. He’s our little math wiz and regularly scores around the 90th percentile nationally for his age group in math. He takes after Grandpa Elmer and myself in that sense. He’s doing well in other subjects too, but it’s clear that math is his strongest subject, so we want to cultivate that as much as possible. He says he wants to be a software engineer when he grows up so he can “work a lot and make a lot of money.” I wonder where he gets that from…

A few weeks ago, Enzo joined a new swimming program through the city of Henderson. We were lucky enough to get a spot at the Green Valley community center, which is less than 10 minutes from our house. At this point, he has already surpassed me in formal swimming instruction. Although he has expressed an interest in running when he gets older, for now, it seems to be all about swimming. I always assumed it would be BMX racing for Enzo, but I love that he’s so into swimming.

Enzo Pellegrini at the Green Valley Ranch arcade. — Fun at the arcade with Enzo

Enzo Pellegrini chilling at home — Enzo chilling at home with his tablet

At this point, all three of the kids are strong swimmers. Between all the lessons they have taken, and all the time we spend swimming at home, I have little to worry about them in the water. We still take water safety very seriously, though; the kids know about my good friend Spencer who drowned in Lake Washington many years ago. Swimming was a life skill that Jessica and I insisted on, and I love the fact that it has become the activity that the kids and I do together the most.

Things have also been going well for Jessica. Summer flew by, but she loves her job, especially now that the kids are with her all day. Her dedication to her job has impressed me; it’s not uncommon for her to work on school-related things at home during her free time. The school is extremely lucky to have her in this position, and they know it too. They keep asking her if she wants to move up into another role, but at least for now, she is quite happy where she is.

Our days are extremely busy, but we have a nice routine going. Every morning I help prepare the kids for school, then I start my workday once they head out the door. I usually wrap up my workday an hour or two after they get home from school, then Jessica and I team up to help the kids with homework and make dinner. The school they went to last year assigned literally zero homework, but now at this new school, homework is a daily thing. It seems strange considering that both schools are part of the same district and teach the same grades, but it’s clear that the kids are doing better in school because of the homework.

By the time homework and dinner are finished, we’re all pretty spent. We tend to hang out and watch a little TV at night, then we’re off to bed early and ready to do it all over again the next day.

Vegas Showbiz Update

If you follow the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel, you may have noticed that our video production volume has recently slowed down. This is by design, but it’s only a temporary thing. Allow me to explain.

When I started Vegas Showbiz last October, my original plan was based on a website allowing you to search for Las Vegas events and shows. I worked extremely hard on it for three months and still consider it my crowning achievement as a software engineer, but the problem was that I quickly realized a couple of things:

Running a site like that is expensive due to all the background operations running to gather event data.
It was too much work for one person to handle as a side hustle, and I wasn’t in a position to hire employees.
It’s nearly impossible to compete with Google when it comes to any kind of web search business.

Based on this, I switched gears and started focusing on content production. I built a new website for VegasShow.biz that would be much more focused on blog articles and search engine optimization and created the YouTube channel.

At first, I was pulling double duty by writing blog articles and making videos, but it soon became too much work to keep up with, especially considering how busy I already am with work and family commitments. I was enjoying the process of making YouTube videos more than writing blog articles, so I made a conscious decision to take a break from the blog and focus entirely on YouTube videos.

About four months went by, and I was so focused on video production that I basically forgot all about the website. Then, one day in August, I randomly decided to log in to the back end of the website and was surprised to see that even though I had done zero work on the site for four months, the site had made a little money due to the Google advertisements that run all over it. It was less than $10, so we’re not talking about anything significant here, but it was enough for me to realize how profitable a blog can be.

The site was (and still is) getting very few hits, but this article I wrote about the Rio Hotel was getting most of the traffic. Soon enough, I realized that if you search for something similar to “is Rio Las Vegas closing,” my article is the number one search result on Google! This was exciting to see and somewhat reinvigorated me to start writing more Las Vegas blog posts. I have since written three new blog posts for VegasShow.biz and will soon be starting another one.

On the YouTube side of things, we have now produced 65 videos, 15 of which have over 1,000 views. Not bad for a channel that’s only six or seven months old. When you look at those 15 most-watched videos, it becomes clear that our most successful videos fall into one of the following categories:

Las Vegas Shows
Las Vegas Concerts
Las Vegas Hotels
Las Vegas Restaurants

Everything else we do seems to get minimal views, so it’s clear to me that I’m wasting my time producing a video unrelated to those four categories. There’s one small problem, though; to make a video about any of those things means you have to spend money to do the thing first. It was getting a little expensive going to all these shows, concerts, hotels, and restaurants. Luckily, however, I think I have found the perfect solution. Enter HouseSeats.com.

My Mom and friend Devin had both told me about HouseSeats a while ago, but I didn’t get serious about it until recently. The idea is that HouseSeats runs in a handful of cities throughout the country; you pay a relatively small fee to sign up for a membership, then you monitor their site to see what tickets are available. As Devin put it, the Vegas B-rate shows always offer free tickets on HouseSeats, and at least once a year, you will score free tickets to a show or concert that you would have gladly paid to see anyway.

It seems to me that Las Vegas would be the best city to have a HouseSeats membership in due to all the ticketed shows that are constantly happening. I really want to see those b-rate shows, too, because people search for things like that when planning their vacation. I haven’t yet signed up for a HouseSeats membership, only because it’s good for one year, and I already have things planned for Vegas Showbiz videos during the next two weekends. After that, however, I’m definitely going to sign up and can’t wait to start attending more shows!

I expect the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel to be back in high gear very soon. My goal is to qualify for the YouTube partner program by the middle of 2023. In the meantime, another goal of mine is to write a VegasShow.biz blog article for every successful video we have produced so far. It’s clear to me that I need more balance between Vegas Showbiz videos and blog articles going forward, so that’s how I plan to operate from now on.

Pellegrini Guitar

Since I thrive on being busy and love the content creation process, I recently decided to start another blog and YouTube channel. This time, it’s all dedicated to my love of the guitar. Since then, I have been writing blog articles on PellegriniGuitar.com and adding videos to the Pellegrini Guitar YouTube channel. If you could help me out by subscribing to the YouTube channel, I would greatly appreciate it!

My love of the guitar is much older than my love for content creation, and I still practice daily, but over the past few years, I have found myself trying to figure out what’s next for me musically. Playing in a band doesn’t suit my lifestyle these days, so I had mainly been focusing on recording my own songs and posting them to my SoundCloud account. The problem is that practically no one was hearing my songs, so I frequently questioned why I still practice every day. I’ve always loved playing, but that alone wasn’t enough.

I needed a new sense of musical purpose, which is exactly what this blog and channel provided. Now I know what I’m practicing for; the next video! Playing on camera can be a little bit nerve-wracking, and I still don’t think I’ve played my best on any of the videos, but I’m getting better. Most importantly, though, I’m enjoying it so much! I have a passion for the instrument, which I hope shines through in my videos and articles, even when my playing isn’t quite up to par.

Based on all the guitar gear I’ve been collecting over the years, my main video focus for Pellegrini Guitar so far has been doing demos of different guitars. Once those are out of the way, I will probably demo some of my amplifiers and effects pedals, but I also want to start creating my own guitar lesson series. I’m still working out the details, but I plan to provide free lessons on YouTube as my little way of giving back to the guitar community.

While there is certainly no shortage of free guitar lessons on YouTube, I still think I have something to offer. I’m trying to develop a unique approach to teaching the instrument to beginners and look forward to actually creating the lessons. For now, it’s all conceptual, but I’m getting more comfortable playing on video, plus learning how to create the best possible sound quality in my videos.

My new Gibson SG. This was my first guitar purchase since the Japan trip, which was almost exactly three years ago.

It’s become clear to me that content creation can be a very lucrative business model if you’re willing to put in the work. Assuming you’re not already famous or well-known for a particular thing, it’s going to take a lot of time to build up the kind of traffic you need to be profitable. It’s not the kind of thing I would recommend to someone trying to figure out how they’re going to pay the bills next month, but if you’re patient and you have a passion for the content you’re creating, success can happen.

I’m in it for the long haul and am not particularly worried about how much traffic I’m getting in this first year. My goal is to do another 10-15 years in the tech industry while building up Vegas Showbiz and Pellegrini Guitar. Hopefully, I can retire from tech in my early to mid-50s and then focus on my content platforms.

It’s possible that one platform will take off and require all of my attention, but we’ll see. I could see either (or both) of them doing really well; E-Learning is one of the hottest industries in the world now, raking in billions of dollars annually. Based on this, I could see Pellegrini Guitar taking off, but on the other hand, Las Vegas is quickly transforming into Hollywood 2.0. Tons of people from Hollywood are moving here regularly. Even A-List stars like Mark Whalberg are relocating here. As more and more people flock to Las Vegas and the entertainment scene here jumps up to the next level, it seems very possible that Vegas Showbiz could ride that wave to success.

I have no concerns at all because I know that as long as I keep putting in the work with these platforms and my day job, everything will be fine. Probably more than fine. I think there’s going to be even more exciting news coming up over the next few months, but we’ll have to wait and see how things play out. For now, we couldn’t be better. Everyone is thriving and happy, which is all I care about.

That’s about it for now. Thanks for sticking with me on this long post. Here are a few recent photos.

The Pellegrini family at a Las Vegas Aviators baseball game. — Family fun at the Las Vegas Aviators baseball game

Ava and Elise Pellegrini at a park in Henderson, Nevada — Ava and Elise playing at the park

Michael, Ava, and Jessica Pellegrini — Sending Ava off to camp at Pali

Elise and Enzo Pellegrini being silly in the car. — Elise and Enzo playing with Mom’s phone on the way to school

Our first school year in Nevada

A quick update on the kids finishing their school year, Summer plans, and a recent epic night in Las Vegas.

It’s hard to believe our first school year in Nevada has come and gone. It’s been a busy and exciting year for our kids, and we’re so proud of how well they have adjusted to their new lives in Henderson. Whether it be taking Ava to early morning archery, working with Elise on projects, or Enzo splitting his face open during recess, there has been no shortage of activity or excitement during our first whole school year here.

Since our last update, Ava has been particularly busy; she was part of the school’s archery club, which met twice a week before school began. None of us had ever been exposed to archery before, but when given the opportunity, she jumped at it. She said she enjoyed it but isn’t dying to continue with it long-term.

Ava also recently finished her first season of softball. She joined a team through the city of Henderson, and they ended up taking first place in their league. There were only three teams in her age group, but more importantly, she had fun, made new friends, and really started to enjoy the game. I felt bad about Ava’s experience on the hockey team last Fall, so it was great to see her out there having fun again. Softball this year was a much less serious type of environment, which is exactly what she needed right now.

Elise and Enzo stayed busy with swimming lessons earlier in the year but have been away from them for the past couple of months. So we’re looking into stepping it up by enrolling them in a private swimming school rather than going through the city. Enzo especially has expressed a desire to compete in swimming, so hopefully we can continue taking steps in that direction. Elise definitely enjoys swimming, but baking is still her favorite activity. This is something we all benefit from 😉

As usual, the kids have a fun Summer road trip coming up with Grandma and Grandpa Martin. They will be heading to Utah for a week of camping in mid-June, and since the kids won’t be home, Jessica and I have decided to visit family and friends in Seattle at the same time. It will be exactly a year since our move, and we’re excited to see everyone.

We recently had a nice Mother’s Day celebration with both of our Moms. Amy came to town to go with Jessica to the final night of Michael Buble’s Las Vegas residency at Resorts World. They had a great time at the show, then the following day, Amy, my Mom, and all of our family went out to brunch at a restaurant in Boulder City. There was a little street fair going on that day, which we browsed for a bit, but the wind was so extreme that we eventually decided to call it a day before one of us blew away for good.

The weather has been heating up here lately, and we’ve already had several days of triple-digit heat. So it’s great to be able to start enjoying the swimming pool again. I learned a lot about maintaining it over the past year, and now I’ve got it running quite smoothly. 2022 will be our first whole Summer with a pool, so I had to be ready. Last Summer was an introduction, but we only got half the season. Now it’s on for real!

Overall, things have been going great; we’re just keeping busy and documenting as much of it as possible. We’ve been having fun creating videos for the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel, and I have to give Jessica a lot of credit because she has taken on the role of creative director. Most of the videos we do these days are based on her ideas. It’s been fun collaborating on these projects together, and we love watching the channel continue to grow.

Jessica and Michael Pellegrini making videos for Vegas Showbiz — Having fun making Vegas Showbiz videos

Jessica and I recently got to hang out with friends from Seattle who were visiting Las Vegas for a few days. The husband in that group is a high roller at the casinos here, and we were fortunate enough to experience the VIP side of Vegas like never before. Luckily I had my camera with me and captured enough content to make 5 or 6 videos for Vegas Showbiz.

We visited comped VIP suites in Cosmopolitan (up on the 51st floor overlooking the Bellagio fountains), Wynn, and Palazzo. They even let Jessica and I have their suite on the top floor of the Mirage for a night! This was probably the nicest hotel room either of us had ever stayed in. The only one that would even compare would be our wedding night room at Hotel Andra in Seattle, but that was our wedding night, and this was a random Thursday in Vegas.

As I was driving everyone in Jessica’s van from Cosmopolitan to Mirage, our friends received an invitation to head over to Wayne Newton’s house for cocktails. I’m not kidding. This happened literally while they were in our car, so I’m like, “Do you need a ride?” Fortunately for us, they declined the invitation, and our epic night continued.

Everything that night was comped. There were multiple dinners, drinks, tickets to see The Beatles LOVE show, and rooms at four different hotels. I’ve never seen or experienced anything like it, but it shows how much each casino is willing to do when they want someone’s business. We’ve had plenty of experiences in Vegas over the years, but this type of VIP treatment was a first.

That’s it for now. Please keep an eye on the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel because we’ve got so many new videos to produce. We’ll be reviewing all the hotels, shows, and concerts as quickly as possible. Here are a few more recent pics. See you next month!

Ava Pellegrini with our cat Peach — Ava and Peach getting some quality time

Jessica and Michael Pellegrini out in Las Vegas — Out and about in Vegas

Pellegrini family swimming time — Swimming season has arrived!

A year in the making

A quick update on kids activities, Jessica’s job, and staying busy with Vegas Showbiz.

Hello and welcome to another monthly installment of PellegriniPage.com! It seems like all we do is create content these days, but more on that in a bit. What’s been on my mind the most lately is the fact that it has been exactly a year since my trip to visit my Mom in Las Vegas.

During that trip, I “realized” we should be living down here, then started working on how I was going to phrase that to my wife. I remember being nervous when bringing it up, mainly because we had talked about it years earlier, and she was against it. I don’t know what’s more surprising – her saying yes or how quickly we sold our house and moved. It may have been a year ago that this idea came to life, but we’ve already been in southern Nevada for nine months!

Time has flown by since finding our home in Henderson, but I can say with all honesty that we all love it here. The kids have made many friends, they love all the time they spend with Nana, and we’re constantly going out to do fun new things! Sometimes the heat can be a little extreme but having the option to go out back and jump in the pool is pretty nice. I’ve been cleaning and maintaining it all winter, so I’m looking forward to reopening it for the season in about a month.

Jessica’s new job

Jessica has been working at her new job for over a month and loves it. It was a little bit of an adjustment for everyone but nothing major. We have a nice weekday routine going where we’re all together for a bit in the morning, then Jessica heads to work 15 minutes before I walk the kids to school.

I leave the house at 3:00 pm to pick them up from school each day, and by the time we get home Jessica is already there. Time flies by each day, and before I know it, the house is full of commotion again. In between, it’s just the cats and me.

Most importantly, of course, Jessica is enjoying her new job. She cares deeply about these kids, and the role has given her a new sense of satisfaction.

Solar panels installed

It may have taken longer than we were led to believe, but our roof repairs are complete, our solar panels have been fully installed, and we are now producing our very own energy! It’s been a process, but I’m glad to have all the roof repairs taken care of because a complete roof inspection was not conducted when we purchased the house. As it turned out, it needed some love up there, so it was nice to get everything taken care of at once.

These days I enjoy geeking out on all of our solar energy stats. In the two weeks since it started running, we have saved over 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and reached an equivalent of 11.5 trees planted! In just two weeks!

I love seeing what positive changes/impacts we’re making, mainly because I think it’s common as an individual to doubt your ability to make a difference in a global problem. Our energy generation is only going up too. As I wrote this on March 21, this was our highest energy production date yet.

Softball and Swimming

The kids have been staying busy in their activities. At first, all three of them were doing swimming lessons on Saturday mornings; then Ava wrapped things up with swimming so she could join her first softball team. Elise and Enzo continue to take “stroke school” lessons, which I always enjoy watching, and Ava loves softball so far.

The weather has been getting nice here for the past month, and it’s just now getting to be perfect baseball weather. I’m looking forward to watching Ava’s games this season and hoping she enjoys herself. We landed on a tournament hockey team this year, and it was way too intense for her. So far, softball looks a lot more laid back but hopefully just as much fun as we’ve had in previous years of hockey. Once the next hockey season comes around, we can look at some house teams and see what she wants to do.

I’m hoping that Enzo and Elise will stick with swimming, at least for a little while. It’s excellent exercise and activity for them, plus it’s an important life skill. I could see them working as a lifeguard during their teenage years, but I don’t want to force it on them. I can tell they’re a little intimidated by some of the other kids at the pool, but I keep telling them to focus on enjoying themselves and doing their best for that day. They’re progressing nicely, so hopefully, we’ll just keep going.

Vegas Showbiz is keeping us busy!

It’s been fun and interesting seeing how this business concept has evolved over the past couple of months. The original concept was much more rooted in search and ticket sales, but I soon realized that I wouldn’t be able to scale the business to where it would need to be on my own.

One of my core tenets when deciding to start a “side hustle” was that it needed to be something I could run entirely independently. Certainly, I would accept help when it was available, but I was not interested in hiring employees, and it needed to be something that I could do entirely online.

After researching how I could get an online business like this going without selling any products or services, I landed on content creation. I soon realized that I’d been a content creator my whole life; I just never thought of it in the terms we do now.

For example, blogging on PellegriniPage.com for the past 11 years is content creation, and so is all the music recording I’ve been doing for half my life. Likewise, doing different forms of acting before that (stage, camera) was related to the content creation stuff I’m doing now. So I feel like it all ties together nicely, and consequently, we’re having a blast doing all these fun new things.

Sometimes it feels like work, but it’s enjoyable work, so it’s never that bad. I really enjoy making videos for the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel, mainly because it satisfies the same creative aspirations that I always used to tackle with music. It’s a chance to make something out of nothing and put your own creative stamp on it. Like anything else, the more you do it, the better you become.

The blogging aspect is a little less enjoyable, in all honesty, because blogging as a business isn’t as creative and freeing as blogging on a personal website like this. When you’re blogging as a business, you have to do a lot of keyword research and SEO (search engine optimization) analysis of your content. It’s not like PellegriniPage.com where I can write whatever comes to mind without preparation. This type of blogging requires more research, but I’ve found some AI tools like Grammarly and WordHero to help speed things up.

All that said, I still firmly believe that you won’t catch on as a content creator unless people become attracted, for lack of a better term, to you as a person. You can read AI-generated content all day, but you will care more if you like me or my style as a writer/YouTuber. So you’ve got to find a way to add your personality and style to your content. One recent article like this that comes to mind is about Enzo and I having a big night out on the Las Vegas strip.

The goal, for now, is to create as much content as possible over the next six months, then see where we are. I hope to have 35 YouTube videos and 100 blog articles by then, but we’ll see. The silver lining for all of this is that even if it never goes anywhere, we’re still having so much fun doing these new things. No one can take away the memories we’re making as a family, and having it all documented is great. You just have to be willing to put the work in, and at this point, it’s become such a lifestyle thing for us that I couldn’t see us stopping anytime soon.

Based on that, I will skip photos this month and instead direct you to some of our recent videos on the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel. So please subscribe to our channel and watch our content if you want to support us. The other big thing you can do to help us out is to read our blog articles on VegasShow.biz. Jessica and I regularly write articles about Las Vegas shows, hotels, concerts, and restaurants for the Vegas Showbiz blog. The more traffic we get on the site, the better we do.

One last thing before I sign off – although we’re going to be creating content on other platforms more than PellegriniPage, I’m still committed to writing a monthly update here. This website is an important part of our family history, and I’m not going to ignore it just because there are other articles to write for my business. This site will always be #1!

We hope you enjoy the videos. Feel free to leave comments too!

Family review of the Bellagio Spring 2022 display

Family review of the Bellagio Lunar New Year display

Our family tribute to the Mirage

Happy 2’s Day

In case you didn’t already know, today is 2’s day. It’s not just your regular Tuesday, but a special day most certainly being celebrated by numerologists the world over. It’s Tuesday, 02/22/2022. That’s a lot of 2’s, and therefore apparently worthy of a post in the ol’ family blog!

February has been, as usual for us, a busy month. It goes further this month for us though, primarily because last week Jessica started her new job at Vanderberg Elementary! We’re equally proud and excited for her, and the kids are adjusting nicely to her being gone more. They have definitely started realizing how much Mom normally does for them, but I’m proud of them regarding the adjustment. It’s different not having Jessica there when we walk to and from school, and I miss having her around the house during the weekdays, but so far so good.

Jessica is now in her second week on the job and is really loving it. I think she deserves a lot of credit too because she didn’t have to go out and do this. She could have stayed home to focus on other things, but she wanted to make a positive impact on these kids’ lives. Obviously, that’s going to be a two-way street, and it’s crazy how quickly it all came together, but she’s so happy and it’s been fun watching this all come together for her.

The kids are continuing to stay busy with school and activities. They’re now in a new level of swimming lessons called “Stroke School”. Here they focus on building solid fundamentals for each of the major swimming strokes. They’re each loving it but it looks like Ava will soon be pausing on the swimming lessons because she’s getting started on a softball team. She’s been into baseball lately and we’ve been going to fields to practice a bit. Last week she went to a tryout session and soon we will be finding out which team she’s on.

My world has been heavily consumed by Vegas Showbiz lately, but I love the work I’m doing so it often doesn’t feel like work. One of the big recent changes to the website is the addition of a blog, which is located at: https://vegasshow.biz/blog

We’re seeing right away that site traffic is increasing due to the addition of these articles, so you can expect to see a lot more coming soon. I’ve been learning a lot about blogging as a business lately, and am trying to incorporate those learnings on the Vegas Showbiz blog. It’s a lot different from the personal blogging I’ve been doing here on PellegriniPage for the past decade+, mostly because here I just have a conversation with myself and write whatever comes to mind. Blogging as a business involves a lot more research and scrutiny of the content.

The other area that has been taking off for Vegas Showbiz is the YouTube videos. We’ve been having fun making video reviews of different Las Vegas attractions, and so far the response has been positive. I really enjoy the whole process of making the videos, and recently started taking an online course on cinematography. The videos are time-consuming, but if the response to them continues to be good, and I get better with each video, then there’s a good chance of this continuing.

I think the reality for my business is that the entertainment search aspect, which was what got this whole thing going, probably isn’t going to be the most popular/consumed part of the site. I’m not getting rid of it, and am still quite proud of the work that went into setting it all up, but clearly, if I want to drive traffic to my site I’m going to need to add regular content, in the form of blog articles, about my niche. At this point, Vegas Showbiz is becoming more of a Las Vegas lifestyle brand, and I will soon be starting my “cold outreach program” regarding asking for comped tickets or rooms in exchange for us doing a written and video review.

The goal is to build a lot of traffic on the website (mainly via blog articles) and get a lot of traffic on YouTube. The more traffic you get, the more profitable your brand becomes. I’m currently expanding the affiliate relationships for Vegas Showbiz, so you’re going to start seeing more links and product promotions. I’ll just say right now that it’s perfectly fine if you’re a reader of this blog (or the Vegas Showbiz blog for that matter) and never click on a link. No problem whatsoever. If you do, however, see something you’re interested in purchasing, and you end up clicking our link to get there, we would appreciate it. There you go, that’s my entire pitch 🙂

I’m keeping it relatively short today, and instead of doing recent photos, I wanted to showcase the first two videos by Vegas Showbiz. Both of them feature our family, and honestly, the kids are the stars of the show. I won’t be able to include them in every video but plan to as much as possible. They love doing it and they bring a type of energy and exuberance that I could never come close to replicating. If you want to do us a solid, spread the word about our blog and YouTube channel. We’re hoping to start building momentum and get a following, but that all starts with your nucleus.

Christmas in the desert

Yesterday we celebrated our first Christmas in our new home, but this whole month has been full of holiday activities for our family. Although the weather here in Southern Nevada may not align with traditional views of the holiday season, there’s still a lot of activities to do and plenty of Christmas spirit all around. Most importantly, we’ve been lucky enough to spend time with several family members (some of whom don’t live here) this holiday season, so things don’t feel too different after all.

I know I talked about it in my last post, but having Kristy, Beto, and Madi here for Thanksgiving and Ava’s 10th birthday was a great way to kick off the holiday season. We did a lot of fun and memorable stuff that weekend, then a week or so later Grandma Amy and Grandpa Tom made a bit of a surprise visit. Tom surprised Amy for her birthday by taking her to a couple shows in Vegas, so we met up with them one night and had an excellent dinner at Border Grill in Mandalay Bay. Jessica and I were excited to eat there because we’re big Top Chef nerds and the two chefs who created that restaurant were on multiple seasons of Top Chef Masters. The food was excellent and luckily for Jessica and I they had a Vegan Relleno on the menu so we didn’t even have to cheat. Elise then knocked it out of the park by ordering dessert for the table to share.

Another fun activity for us this month was our visit to Enchant at Las Vegas Ballpark. We actually had the pleasure of visiting Enchant in Seattle a few years ago, so we knew what to expect, but it was still really fun. We brought my Mom along and enjoyed checking out all the lights, displays, and finding all of Santa’s reindeer. Oddly enough we ran into our neighbors there, and they’re one of the families we’ve become closest with since moving, so that was a nice unexpected surprise.

Speaking of neighbors, there have been a couple of neighborhood gatherings this month and we continue to feel so lucky to have landed in such an awesome neighborhood! There’s so many friendly people around, the kids have made friends, and overall the little community we landed in is great. You never know how that’s going to turn out as a home buyer, so it’s a bit of a gamble, but things have worked out better than we ever expected.

Devin has also hosted a couple get-togethers this month, and luckily his brother Brian, along with his new fiance Jane, were able to come out here from Europe for a visit. They’ve been living in Berlin for several years but are currently in the process of moving to England, so it’s been cool to catch up and hear about that whole process. We’re planning on hosting a dinner at our house before they take off in January.

Last weekend Jessica and Elise ran the Henderson Holiday 5k race. They had been training for it by running in the neighborhood, and the rest of us came to watch and cheer them on. It was really fun and Elise was so proud of herself; she carried her medal around the entire next week.

The kids had a holiday fundraiser event at their school this month, which they enjoyed very much. I wasn’t able to make it but Jessica took them and of course ran into so many other families from the neighborhood. Apparently Enzo didn’t stop dancing the whole time, and he’s got his little red leather jacket on so he looks like Michael Jackson. I wish I could have seen it but Jessica said it was amazing. We’re trying to get him to check out a dance class and he’s not sure but I think he’s willing to try at least once. Hopefully soon…

The kids have been enjoying their 17 day break from school via various activities. Yesterday for Christmas Ava received a softball glove, bat, and ball, so we went out to the park in the middle of the day as a family to play catch and practice hitting. Ava actually commented at one point, gesturing up towards the beautiful sunny blue sky, saying “can you believe this is Christmas Dad?” There was a foot of snow at our old house in Snohomish, so 60 degrees and sunny is a pretty big change for us.

Earlier this week we took the kids to see “Sing 2” in the theater, which was our first family trip to the movie theater in about 2 years. Then on Christmas Eve we went over to my Mom’s house for dinner, presents, and a movie. She surprised us by having Chef Kenny’s delivered for dinner, which was amazing, but there was so much food that I literally haven’t had a non Chef Kenny’s meal since then. It’s really nice to be able to regularly spend holidays with Nana again so hopefully Christmas Eve at her house can be a tradition.

Christmas morning started early for us – the kids rudely awakened us at 6:30am and the madness ensued moments later. As they get older it becomes more difficult to shop for them, but I think they were all happy with how Christmas turned out. Some of the bigger presents include:

A new mountain bike for Elise
A hoverboard for Enzo
A new bed for Ava – she will get to pick it out

Additionally, we finally got to break the news to the kids about some shows they will be going to in a couple weeks. Before even moving to Nevada, we found out about Katy Perry’s upcoming Las Vegas residency at Resorts World, and Jessica was able to get tickets. We’ve been holding onto them for 6 months now, but Saturday January 8 is the day. The theater at Resorts World just opened a month ago and it’s the biggest stage in Las Vegas. It’s supposed to be an amazing show and I’m so excited for Jessica to be able to take Ava and Elise to see it. Talk about a memorable first concert!

Since the girls already had plans for Saturday, January 8, I figured Enzo and I could go out and do something fun that same night. There’s obviously no shortage of options here, and he said he wanted to see a magic show, so I got tickets to David Copperfield. It’s the biggest magic show in Vegas, and I still have great memories of my Mom taking me to see Copperfield at the Paramount Theater in Seattle when I was a kid. I feel like it’s coming full circle now with me taking Enzo to see him.

We’re looking forward to the shows big time, but before that (actually in the next hour or so), our niece and nephew Anna and Kallan are coming for a short visit. They were in Southern California for Christmas visiting with Dana and Brad, but wanted to make the drive over to Vegas for a couple days. Anna turned 21 this month so it makes sense that they would want to come check things out. Kallan just made his first trip ever to Las Vegas about 4 months ago, so it’s nice to have him back so quickly.

I’m working on heating up the swimming pool so we can all do a little Christmas swim. I figure if I’m going to maintain the pool all year long, then I might as well heat it up a couple times in the off season. As long as you’re in the water you’re fine, it just takes forever to get it warm enough. It’s fairly chilly here right now, but when I look at weather around most of the rest of the country it puts things in perspective.

Although the kids are missing snow a bit, it’s still been a great holiday season, and the first of many in our new home. We’re really thankful for how things have turned out in our lives this year and looking forward to seeing what 2022 has in store. Wishing all of our friends and family a very happy holiday season and new year! Here’s some recent pics.

Visiting Santa at the school’s holiday event

Posing with our first ever fake Christmas tree! Get used to it…

The star wouldn’t actually stick on top of the tree, but Elise still insisted on posing for the photo.

Enzo’s face is healing nicely after his latest accident. His smile still kills me.

Happy 10th Birthday Ava!

Celebrating Ava’s 10th birthday, Thanksgiving, and a visit from family.

On Thursday the awesome Miss Ava turned 10 years old! This was the first time in her lifetime that her birthday fell on Thanksgiving day, and considering that it was also our first Thanksgiving in our new house, plus the fact that we had family visiting us, made everything really special and memorable. Normally I would write a birthday post about the kids on their actual birthday, but I elected to wait until the end of the weekend this year because Kristy, Tito, and Madi were out visiting us for the past several days and we’ve been keeping busy each day with fun activities. As I write this on Sunday afternoon we’re all basically crashed out after going pretty much non stop for the entire holiday weekend.

Before I get into the details on Ava’s birthday I’ll just mention that Halloween turned out awesome. We had my Mom, Terry, and Bob over to hang out during the day, then that evening the trick or treating in our neighborhood was amazing. I’ve never seen a neighborhood quite like it. Our friends Tiko, Tina, Helen, and Beatrice came over to join us as we bounced around from house to house.

There was one neighbor who built their own haunted house and allowed groups of 3 at a time to go through. Elise didn’t want to go so I took Ava and Enzo through it. They had never done anything like this before so they were pretty freaked out. Then there was another house who not only had a light show synchronized to music, but they were out there in their driveway making cotton candy to order for each kid that came up. It was unbelievable.

Earlier that week Jessica and I were able to hang out with our new neighbors quite a bit. It really was that week where everything changed for us in the neighborhood because before then we basically didn’t know anyone, and after that we started making a bunch of friends. Since then there’s been a couple families who we’ve become closer with, and the kids are making so many friends. We really got lucky with this neighborhood.

As far as this week goes, on Wednesday morning my Mom came to the house and we all went to the Henderson Parks and Rec center to participate in their Charlie Brown Escape Room. It was a racket ball court that they converted into an escape room; you have to use the clues they give you to solve problems until eventually you solve the whole thing. It was a good time for all and we’re already planning on returning for their Polar Express themed escape room in December.

Later that afternoon I headed to the airport to pick up Kristy, Tito and Madi. I knew Madi was excited to check out some vegan restaurants so after coming to the house to drop off bags and do a quick tour, we headed down to the Arts district in downtown Las Vegas and had dinner at Tacotarian, which is our favorite plant-based Mexican restaurant. This was the first time for all 3 of them eating at a Vegan restaurant so it was great to see them really enjoying everything.

Thursday was Ava’s birthday and we were all up early. She did presents that morning, talked to a few people on the phone, then we hung out and watched the Thanksgiving Day parade on TV while food was being prepared. I made guacamole, fruit salad, and vegan crab cakes to snack on throughout the day, plus we ended up getting a real turkey and a plant-based turkey in order to keep everyone happy. There were lots of other snacks available all day as well, plus my Mom made stuffing, Bob made creamed peas, and I made roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Dessert was a big hit as well because we got this huge cinnamon roll covered in icing and fresh fruit from a place called Cinnaholic. We’d had it once before and everyone loved it, plus it’s all vegan, so everyone was able to enjoy.

I kept waiting for some Thanksgiving catastrophe to take place, which is entirely based on the various issues we’ve had in years past, but it never ended up happening. Nothing was forgotten, no delivery was missed, and the turkey looked beautiful. I guess the joke was on me with that part because I was up early to make sure it was in the oven before 8:00am and it looked like the best turkey I’ve ever made, but I wouldn’t know because I didn’t eat any of it. Oh well, everyone else said it was good.

On Friday we pretended to be tourists and spent the day checking out various attractions on the strip. We started off at Bellagio, where we enjoyed seeing their new holiday decorations. They always do an amazing job decorating at Bellagio so we figured everyone would enjoy checking it out. Later after lunch we made our way down to M&M World where everyone had fun shopping. Enzo is so into rainbow tie dye these days that he ended up getting a hat and a backpack in those colors. Combine that with the tie dye pants and hoodie he was already wearing, and what you end up with is something resembling rainbow vomit.

Since Hershey’s Chocolate World was right across the street we decided to check that out as well. All I can say is I’ve never seen so much chocolate in one room in my life. They sell these 3 pound chocolate bars where you can customize the wrapper. They had the famous green tea Kit Kat bars (which I first saw a couple years ago in Japan), plus so many other treats. By the time we got home that day everyone was exhausted but Kristy and Tito had tickets to see O that evening at Bellagio, so after a short rest they were back out on the town. Meanwhile Jessica and I were happy to stay home with Madi and the kids for movies and snacks.

Saturday was probably my favorite day of their visit. We spent the day shopping at vintage clothing and antique stores in the Arts district downtown. I think everyone in our group got at least one thing while out shopping that day. We stumbled upon a nice pizzeria that offered vegan pizzas, then took everyone out for ice cream. On the way home we stopped by the Pinball Hall of Fame and played games for about an hour.

After going home to rest for a bit we headed back out and ended up having dinner at Chef Kenny’s Vegan Dim Sum, which is easily our favorite Asian restaurant in Las Vegas. This was actually the second consecutive Saturday that Enzo, Jessica, and I had dinner there, and it was the consensus best meal of the visit. We ordered more food than ever yet practically nothing went to waste. The various sushi rolls, rainbow shrimp, walnut shrimp, orange chicken, spicy crispy beef, pot stickers, pork buns, and more, were all a hit. No one can believe it’s all plant-based and I love seeing people’s reactions when trying this stuff for the first time.

Since it was Saturday night and it was their final night in town, we felt like we had to hit up the strip one more time. With the windows down and the moon roof open, we tested out the van’s sound system at levels previously thought unattainable. We were all dancing in our seats, singing along (or in some cases screaming) to the music – it was like our own little minivan party bus. Of all the new memories made during the week, this one will definitely stand out.

This morning we went back out to see the 7 Magic Mountains art installation one more time before it’s removed next month. After that we had one more vegan meal in store: sandwiches from No Butcher. We ended up going to a park and having a picnic lunch, then letting the kids play for a bit before heading to the airport. It feels a little weird being able to do that sort of thing at the end of November, but it’s sunny and 70 degrees, so why not?

Overall it was a great week, a great visit, and several great meals. We really appreciate Kristy, Tito, and Madi coming down here to spend time with us and look forward to doing it again. We’re also planning on heading up to Seattle for a visit this Summer so at the latest we will see them again then.

Before wrapping it up I just want to focus on Ava a bit. It’s hard to believe she’s 10 now, and I can’t believe how much she’s growing up. She’s so much more mature now, and I’ve been impressed with how busy she’s been keeping herself. It used to be just school and hockey, but now she’s involved in multiple school activities as well; she recently finished up robotics club, and she’s now doing Wednesday morning flag football before school.

One of Ava’s greatest qualities is how considerate she is of her siblings. Whenever she’s about to get something special her first thought is how she can share it with Elise and Enzo. They may fight about the silliest little things, but they’re always thinking about each other and as the oldest sibling, Ava is very protective of them.

I remember thinking to myself when Ava was born “I wonder what our lives will be like when she’s 10…”. I never could have predicted all the adventures that would ensue but it’s been quite a ride already and we couldn’t be more proud or in love with the young lady she’s become. Ava is a really unique kid, and I mean that as a compliment. She knows who she is and she loves her family deeply. She gave us the gift of becoming parents and I’ve always said the successes we’ve experienced over the past decade never would have happened if it weren’t for her and her siblings. There simply wouldn’t have been as much motivation if it weren’t for them.

I know we flipped their world upside down this year but I’m so impressed with how each of them has adapted. The new lives we’ve built for ourselves this year have been overwhelming at times, but I feel like Ava is growing and thriving more than ever. I hope it was a special birthday for her and that she always looks back fondly on turning 10.

Elise checking out the 7 Magic Mountains

Elise helped us solving clues in the Charlie Brown escape room

Enzo ran into a wall at school and got 3 stitches in his face. It’s healing well and he’s fine. He’s a tough little dude.

Enzo really loves Vegas. Here he is posing with Liberace’s Rolls Royce.

And finally here he is living his brightest / best life at M&M World

Our first visit to 7 Magic Mountains with Nana

Happy Birthday sweet Ava, we love you SO MUCH!

Best Summer Ever

Referring to any recent time period as the “best ever” feels a little weird, mostly because that pandemic thing is still, well, a thing. However, I think it’s warranted for me to call Summer 2021 as the best Summer of my life. Before this I definitely would have called Summer 2001 as the best ever because that’s when my Mom took me on a 3 week trip to Europe, which included a visit with our relatives in Italy, followed by a trip with her and Uncle Bob to Las Vegas for my 21st birthday. That will always be a really special memory for me, but everything that went down this Summer is much bigger than me and I still can’t believe how it has all worked out.

Obviously buying our new house was the biggest individual thing that happened this Summer, but some other things that really stand out to me include:

My Mom and the kids so much regular time together
Jessica and I having the most free time together since becoming parents
New school for the kids
More time hanging out with friends
Swimming, swimming, swimming!
Home improvement projects

It’s been such an incredible, life changing year, and it all came together so quickly. It was only 6 months ago that the idea of us moving to Nevada even became a thing, and as I write this, we’ve already been here for 3 months. It’s been a whirlwind but I’m proud of us for sticking with the plan and following through.

School update

As expected the kids are making friends at school, and some of them have turned out to be our neighbors, so we’re starting to meet more people. Now that the 100+ degree days are behind us, people are starting to get outside more and more. It’s weird to think of Summer as the season where you stay inside, but the rules are a bit skewed here in the desert.

Each of the kids really likes their teacher and classroom, but when I ask them about their day, they tend to respond about lunch, recess, and P.E. more than anything else. Regardless, we’ve been impressed with the school and it’s obvious that our kids are enjoying being around other kids again.

Visitors

One of the cool things about living in the Vegas area is that people are always coming here for quick vacations, so you never know who you’re going to get as a visitor. Just recently we’ve started getting visitors regularly; I had dinner last weekend with a friend from Microsoft and his wife, then Kallan made his first visit to Las Vegas with friends that weekend, so he came to the house on Monday and spent the day with us. This weekend Jessica has several friends in town for a birthday celebration, so she’s been out spending time with them, and we just found out we’re getting a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Martin next week. Hopefully we can get some more visits on the calendar soon.

Railing update

Now that our family room is complete, the railing project is the only one remaining. At this point the sanding is done (we finished that part a couple weeks ago), and we’re focused on installing all the metal bars. We started upstairs at the end next to our bedroom and worked down towards the entry of the house. There were 52 posts in the railing needing to be replaced, and as of today we are down to 13. The process became more complicated today though, because I’ve reached the section where the staircase begins to curve, and the downward angle of the railing becomes more severe.

The metal shoes that go at each end of the bar normally just need to be glued with epoxy, but now in addition to fabrication work on the bar to get it exactly the right length, I also have fabrication work needed on the top shoe. I’m basically boring the shoe out from the inside to give the bar some more room to maneuver. This makes it easier to align the shoe with the railing while still keeping the bar vertically straight.

Once these next 13 bars are done we can start focusing on what we’re going to do with staining and painting. Here’s a pic of how it was looking today.

MP Work Update

Back on August 30th I started working with my new team at Microsoft, which is the Teams Experimentation team. I’ve now survived three full weeks on the team and I’m really enjoying it. It’s also been challenging because it’s an area of software engineering that I’m not as familiar with. My background has always been based on web development, but the work I’m doing now is all about big data analysis, statistics, and machine learning.

There have been times where it’s felt overwhelming because there’s so much new stuff to learn, but I’m still glad I made the switch and feel like it’s definitely a better fit for me at this point in my career. This is a rapidly growing space in the tech industry so it’s a good area to build expertise, and I’m humbled to be a part of Teams development.

Coming soon

The kids are very excited to see Grandma and Grandpa next week, and overall we’re always happy to get visitors. We’ve got room so please, if you’re thinking about coming for a visit, do so. In the meantime, we’re very excited for Halloween, and already even have our costumes ready to go (thank you Nana). Ava’s 10th birthday is on Thanksgiving this year so it’s definitely a big one for our family. Hopefully I don’t screw anything up for Thanksgiving dinner…

Here’s a few recent pics.