Today, our awesome little dude Enzo turns 11 years old. A Wednesday during the school year may not be the ideal birthday for a kid, but at least he gets to spend it with friends, and I am sure they will find a way to celebrate him. Jessica’s classroom is right next door to his, so I would not be surprised if she has something special planned for him.
For our family celebration, we usually go out to dinner on Friday nights, but this week we decided to celebrate on his actual birthday and let him choose the restaurant. Since he loves Asian food, he picked a traditional Japanese ramen spot. The kids have not been to Shokku yet, but Jessica and I love it, and it is right in the heart of the Las Vegas International District, so that is where we will be going. If timing works out, we will hopefully make it home in time to watch the latest episode of our current favorite family show, Beast Games.
Another celebration is coming up this Saturday night. Normally, we would throw a birthday party for Enzo, but this year he chose something different. Instead of a party, all he wanted was to go to a Vegas Golden Knights game against the Seattle Kraken with his best friend Charlie and me. I love that idea, especially since we went to his first Golden Knights game last year for his 10th birthday, and the year before that, I took him to his first UNLV basketball game for his 9th.
Enzo knew there would not be many presents this year because he received a Mac Mini and a computer desk at Christmas, which doubled as a birthday gift. He was completely fine with that, but we still picked up a few small things, including a few books, a pair of shoes, and computer speakers. Over the last month, he has become quite the little computer user. He is taking online typing lessons, and I regularly sit with him to teach new skills and shortcuts. Once he feels more comfortable with the basics, we plan to move into more advanced projects, including coding.
Activity-wise, Enzo had a great time at the annual Track and Field camp in December, and we recently found out they are hosting another one this spring, so we will be signing him up again. He is also about to start playing on a flag football team. This is a big milestone for him since he has never participated in team sports before. Jessica and I have always encouraged him to give it a try, but we did not want to push him. I am excited to see him step into something new and get out on the field.
School continues to go very well for him. He still excels in math, and he earns strong grades across all subjects. He is enjoying his final year of elementary school, but he is understandably a little nervous about moving on to middle school. We keep reminding him that most of his peers feel the same way, and that the transition will get easier after the first day, but I completely understand his hesitation.
The rest of the family is doing well and staying busy. Jessica is entering the final quarter of her master’s program at UNLV and is looking forward to graduating. Ava will be heading to Disneyland next Friday to perform with her school band, and later in the year, Elise will be traveling with her orchestra to Knott’s Berry Farm. Softball season starts in February, so Ava and I have been practicing and getting ready. Elise has also started a new round of figure skating lessons, and I have enjoyed being there to watch a few of her classes.
For me, it has been nice to have a bit more free time now that Cappers has closed. I have been spending a lot of that time playing guitar and cooking with the wood-fired pizza oven I received for Christmas. While it is technically a pizza oven, it works for all kinds of cooking. Lately, I have been using it to roast tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and onions for homemade salsa, which has become one of my favorite things to make. I am also looking forward to the upcoming softball season and feeling optimistic about our chances to repeat as champions, especially with several of our strongest players returning.
We recently booked our flights to Seattle for Aunt Norma’s 100th birthday in June. My mom will be joining us, and everyone is looking forward to the trip. There are so many people we want to see, and the kids are especially determined to visit our old house, so it will be a busy week, but a meaningful one.
That is about all for now. I hope this is a special and memorable birthday for Enzo. I am incredibly proud of the young man he is becoming, and I am really looking forward to our big hockey night out this weekend. Happy 11th birthday, Enzo. We love you.
