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.
There’s so many exciting new things going on for our family that I almost don’t even know where to start. Well, that’s not entirely true, because obviously I’m going to start with Mr Enzo’s birthday! That said, we do have quite a few exciting things going on, so let’s get to it.
Today is Enzo’s birthday, but it’s a Friday and they had some fun activities planned for the 100th day of school, so Enzo and his sisters went to school just like any other day. Before that he was up early to open presents, but after that it’s been a pretty normal day. He’s really happy with all the various cars, magic sets, and toys he received, but there’s more to look forward to.
Tomorrow afternoon we will be holding Enzo’s birthday party at our house. Over the past couple months our family has gotten really into the TV show ‘Survivor’, so based on his request, that will be the theme for Enzo’s party. There’s going to be various challenges for the kids to take part in before getting into cake and treats. Jessica has been doing an awesome job preparing activities, decorations, and challenges for the party. I, on the other hand, am looking forward to doing lots of filming for the kids’ YouTube channel, and working on my best Jeff Probst impressions.
In addition to the party tomorrow, we’ve got one more related activity to look forward to. A week from tonight the 5 of us are going to see the Jabbawockeez show at MGM Grand. I’ve read it’s one of the most popular Vegas shows for families, plus I have some friends who went with their kids and said it was awesome. All of the kids are excited to go, but Jessica and I are as well, so it should be a fun night. If you’re not familiar with Jabbawockeez, they will be performing at halftime of the NFL Pro Bowl, which is happening here in Las Vegas just a couple days after we’ll be seeing them.
Speaking of Vegas shows, we all had an amazing time going to our first shows earlier this month. Jessica had the pleasure of taking Elise and Ava to see Katy Perry at the new Resorts World Theatre. As expected, the show was amazing and they had the best time ever. It’s the biggest stage in Las Vegas and the production was over the top. The girls were screaming, singing, and dancing the night away. They will always remember this as their first concert and I’m so glad it turned out the way it did.
Things didn’t quite go as planned for Enzo and I, but we still had a great night as well. The plan was for me to take him to see David Copperfield that same night that the girls were seeing Katy Perry, and I was really happy with the seats we got, but unfortunately the show was canceled at the last minute. I’m still not sure why it was canceled but these days you almost have to assume it’s Covid-related.
Enzo was really bummed but I promised him we would see David Copperfield another time. So, we ended up going to see The Mentalist instead, which is a mind reading show by Gerry McCambridge. It wasn’t a big production show like Copperfield but it was still very entertaining and exciting. We ended up making a full night of it by leaving the house early that day, walking around on the strip for a while, then having dinner at Nacho Daddy. After dinner we walked over to Bellagio to watch the fountain show, then we went inside and walked through their whole shopping and dining area. The show was across the street in the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood, so we walked all through there as well. We definitely got our steps in that night, and stopping for ice cream was a must. Leaving the house that day Enzo couldn’t help but express concern because he was sad about our show being canceled. However, by the time we were heading home he was calling it the best day of his life and couldn’t stop thanking me. If only he understood how happy it made me to see him living his best life.
Okay, more big news to share… Jessica just got a job working at a nearby school! She’s been wanting to find something since moving to Henderson, but it had to make sense and work with our family’s schedule. Also, for the first time since before Ava was born, Jessica and I will once again be working the same hours. Obviously this was never the case when she was working nights in a restaurant and I was working days at Microsoft / Amazon. I’ve definitely gotten used to being home with her everyday over the past couple years, so it’s going to be an adjustment for all of us having her gone more, but we’re really happy for her, and she’s so excited about the opportunity.
The way this all came together is really interesting; it basically traces back to Ava’s dyslexia diagnosis from a couple years ago. It was that diagnosis that set Jessica off onto a journey of learning and self exploration. If you ask her, she’ll tell you that she also has dyslexia, although she was never tested or officially diagnosed. It’s been this journey to learn more about Ava and how we can teach her that has led to so much self discovery for Jessica over the past couple years.
Getting involved with teaching the Barton program to our kids to help with reading was a major step in this direction. Then taking on the huge task of homeschooling our girls for the entire school year last year was also very much related. Jessica is a natural teacher and great with kids, especially the young ones. She’s going to be working as an assistant in a special education classroom at Vanderberg Elementary School, which is less than 10 minutes from our school. It’s such a perfect fit; they even teach the same Barton reading program that Jessica has been using with our kids for the past couple years.
The plan is for all 3 of our kids to switch schools in the Fall and go to Vanderberg for the remainder of their elementary school years. This isn’t the easiest decision to make, mostly because we feel a lot of guilt for them switching schools so many times over the past few years. Some of it was out of our control, like when we got re-zoned by the Everett school district, or that whole pandemic thing which caused everyone to stay home for a year, but regardless the reality is that Ava hasn’t had (and won’t have) two consecutive years at the same elementary school since Kindergarten and first grade.
This isn’t something that we take lightly, but as a parent you have to make decisions, and of course we’re going to do whatever we feel is best for our children. Initially we were really excited about them going to school at Glen Taylor Elementary, but unfortunately some things haven’t gone the way we hoped. I don’t want to get into all of the details on it, but again as parents we have to do our best to make the right decisions for our kids, and there’s no doubt in our mind that Vanderberg will be a better fit. We just feel bad about them having to leave their friends, but they all live nearby and most likely will be rejoining in middle school anyway.
For now the plan is for Jessica to start work in February, but the kids will be finishing the year at Glen Taylor, then transitioning to Vanderberg next school year. I’m sure we’ll have a lot more updates about this in the future, but for now we’re just really happy for Jessica. It’s been great watching this all unfold for her and she’s so excited for this new chapter in our lives. We keep joking about how much we always seem to have going on. It’s always something with us but we keep it interesting.
Another big thing for us this month was the installation of our solar energy system! There’s now over 40 solar panels on the roof of our house, and we’ve got the final inspection coming up next week. I had been thinking about going solar since buying the house, and after learning more about it, I felt like it was an easy decision. You can think of it like renting a house versus owning a house; when you get your electricity from the power company (like I have my entire life until now), you’re just renting energy from them, and you pay whatever they charge. On average the cost of electricity goes up 4% per year too.
On the other hand, by purchasing your own solar system you’re no longer renting your electricity. You’re the owner of a system that produces its own electricity, meaning you’re no longer subject to variable costs from month to month, and the overall annual cost increases. Based on the weather here, and the size of our house, the electric bill used to vary drastically, which was a little shocking in the Summer. Now, however, the only thing we pay to the power company is the $12.50 per month fee to connect to their grid. We bought a solar system big enough to produce 112% of the normal usage of this house, based on historical records. We went with a larger system so we have room to grow. Someday there will be an electric vehicle in the garage, and this larger system will be enough to charge that as well.
Based on the net metering laws in Nevada, we don’t need a big Tesla wall (or equivalent battery) on premises because NV Energy is required to store our unused energy for us. Basically for every kilowatt of unused energy we produce, we get 0.75 kilowatts in credit. 75% is the current rate based on the net metering laws in Nevada, and it’s going down over time. Had we bought this system a couple years ago, hypothetically speaking, we would have gotten somewhere in the 90% credit range. Whatever percent you get when you purchase the system is the amount that you’re grandfathered in at, so even though it’s going to continue dropping, our house will always get 75% credit.
Since we got the system installed in January, we have several months ahead of us where we can build up extra credits for unused energy. Once the Summer comes around and you’re consuming more energy than you’re producing, those extra credits will cover you and keep you from having a separate bill from NV Energy. From a cost perspective, if you’re staying put long-term it’s a no-brainer to go solar here. Although I don’t love taking on debt, the reality is that I’m going to be making a monthly payment either way, and at least now I know exactly how much it will be, plus the solar system is a huge investment in the house. Our neighborhood is 20 years old now and lots of people are making upgrades to their houses. Adding a nice solar system is the single biggest thing you can do in our area to modernize your house, and it’s one of the most impactful things you can do for the good of the planet, so we’re all for it!
In other family news, the kids have been taking swimming lessons through the city of Henderson and they’re loving it. Water safety is very important to our family for obvious reasons, but it looks like Elise and Enzo really want to stick with swimming and eventually get onto a swim team. They’re taking lessons on Saturday mornings and each month they move onto something new.
Unfortunately Ava has decided to take a break from hockey, but I really don’t blame her. I didn’t realize how early the season started here, so by the time I tried to register her the only option was to get on a tournament team. They combined the 10u’s and 12u’s for practice, and the coach was really intense. She played D1 hockey for the University of Minnesota, which is the hockey mecca of the United States, and it was all just too much for Ava. She simply doesn’t take it as seriously as some of the other kids do, and it got to a point where she was dreading it.
I definitely feel responsible for this, and I can’t help but wonder if she’d still be playing had we not left Washington. There’s no way of knowing for sure, and it’s quite possible that she will join a co-ed house team in the Fall, but we’ll have to wait and see. For now we’ve got her signed up to play Softball in the Spring and she’s really excited about that. Once hockey season comes back around we’ll have to make a decision, but we’ll support her regardless. Our only requirement is that each of the kids has some type of athletic activity to be involved in. We don’t care how good they are, or if they decide to try other things, they just have to do something.
Last but not least, I’ve been busier than ever lately because I decided to officially start my own business. I’m not quitting my job or anything like that, but I am working constantly between the two. The name of the business is Vegas Showbiz and earlier this month I filed Vegas Showbiz, LLC with the state of Nevada. The concept and strategy for the business has grown recently, and I’ll get to that shortly, but the original idea that sparked it came right after moving here.
After arriving in Las Vegas Jessica and I found ourselves in a position where we suddenly had so much help with the kids. My Mom wanted as much time with them as possible, and we were eager to explore Las Vegas together, so we started going out more. I’d be looking for things to do on my phone, but found it surprisingly difficult to get an accurate idea of what the options were. You could find various event calendars, but it required a lot of jumping around from site to site. Some of these sites are slow, or don’t work well on phones, and overall I found the experience to be surprisingly poor.
Since I tend to think in terms of websites and databases, the wheels started turning on how I could create my own site and database dedicated to the entire Las Vegas entertainment and nightlife scene. I had designs on becoming that 3rd party source of truth that seemed to be missing. I was aware of sites live vegas.com and visitlasvegas.com, but those felt so much broader to me. They’re trying to sell you on everything from renting a hotel to getting married, and everything in between. That’s all fine and good, but I’m not trying to be that. I want to make a site that a local would want to use. One that doesn’t feel so marketing-heavy; it just gets you the information you want without having to jump around. It’s fast, super clean looking, and works well on any device. That was my goal.
I started coding the week before Thanksgiving and I’ve probably only had 2 or 3 days since then where I wasn’t working on the computer, either for my day job or VegasShow.biz (usually both). It’s been fun, exciting, and fast-paced. What started back in November as just an idea is now live to the world, as of last weekend, at https://vegasshow.biz
The work is nowhere near done, I just felt like the site had reached a level where it made sense to expose it to the world. It’s barely getting any traffic at the moment, but it’s more than ready when the time comes. I’ve never built something so heavy duty for a personal project before, but the exercise of doing so entirely on my own has been an incredible learning opportunity.
Every day there’s something new and exciting going on. Earlier this week my company was accepted into the StubHub affiliate program. This allowed me to start posting links to buy tickets to different events on StubHub. If someone clicks through my link and makes a purchase, my company earns a commission. This is standard affiliate marketing practice and just one example of the things I’ll be doing on the site. The plan is to get hooked up with a couple more ticket companies and put links for all of them on my event pages. This would allow my users to price shop all from one location, and I get credit regardless of which one they choose.
I recently had a logo design competition going on via a website called DesignHill.com. Designers from around the world read my briefing and submitted logo design ideas for Vegas Showbiz. I chose my top 10, then conducted a poll on the site, asking friends and family to vote on their favorite designs. 30 people ended up voting, which I appreciate so much, and it was a very tight race between two logos. The one I ultimately chose was the winner of the poll, but it was in 2nd place all the way until the last vote of the poll, which pushed it into first. I didn’t select it because it won the poll, but it was funny the way that worked out in the end.
This week I made what appears to be an important connection earlier this week with a VIP host at the Hakkasan Group, which is the largest nightclub group in Las Vegas. They run all the big clubs like Zouk, Omnia, Hakkasan, and more. I found him on Twitter, introduced my company/website, and asked if I could help him promote his events on my site. A lot of conversation followed and by the time I went to bed that night I had added all of his events to the site and started featuring one of them on the home page. Now I’m taking it a step further by building a guest list form on the site. When someone comes to the event page for one of our events (of which there are many), they can fill out a form to get on the club’s guest list for that night. This means I’m going to start collecting a database of users, which will be valuable, and I can’t believe that in less than a week since going live, I’m already working with a group like this. It’s really exciting.
I’ve also been fortunate enough to start getting a lot of support from my sister Dana regarding company vision and strategy. As I said before, I tend to think a little more on the technical side of things, mainly because I’m 100% responsible for keeping the site running, so having Dana onboard has really helped me expand the vision for the human side of the business. Jessica and my Mom have also been very vocal in this area. I need more than just a Las Vegas search engine. That alone will certainly draw people to the site, but adding fresh relevant content via blog posts and videos is a great way to build up your search engine optimization and get people on your site. It also keeps people on the site for longer, which is an important metric. Since I’m already hooked up with various affiliate relationships, these blog posts and videos can become a great place to drop some ads. Don’t be surprised if you start seeing them here on PellegriniPage too. I’ve always been happy to pay the hosting costs to keep this site running, but if I could recoup those costs simply by adding a couple advertisements to the site, it almost seems silly not to. I’ve just never really been clued into that world because it wasn’t something we ever did at work.
I’m thinking the Jabbawockeez show next week will be the first thing I review for VegasShowbiz. I’m hoping to start doing them regularly so that will be the first one. It’s going to take a lot of marketing to get this business off the ground, and I have to be willing to put myself out there much more than ever before. Honestly that’s a little bit daunting, but I feel like I have a lot of inspiration, a vision of what it can be, and a unique combination of skills to be able to run it as a sole proprietor. If you haven’t yet checked it out, please have a look at https://vegasshow.biz and help me spread the word. It’s constantly growing and I look forward to adding the blog and vlog sections soon. As is, I’m hooked up with the Ticketmaster API and am pulling 95% of my event data from them. On any given day my custom Las Vegas events database contains over 10,000 records, yet you can search/filter them in milliseconds. There is not another site in this market that can truthfully say that. I’m extremely proud of what’s been done so far, and how quickly it’s gone from idea to reality, but the hard work has only just begun. I expect this to be a fun journey, but we’ll see how it turns out. I’m certainly not going to make any rash major changes in my life, but I’m putting everything I have into this. It’s already been a learning experience and it’s barely even begun.
That’s it for now. Once again, wishing my favorite little boy in the whole world a very happy 7th birthday! I love you beyond words and could not be more proud to be your Dad. Here’s some recent pics.
Enzo meeting The Mentalist, Gerry McCambridge, after the showElise or Hippo, who wore it best?Ava carries Peach while riding Enzo’s hoverboard near furniture. Don’t try this at home.Ready for a big night out with my little manThe girls had a fun night with Mom before the show, including dinner at one of our favorite Las Vegas hangouts, The PeppermillAva and Elise are ready to rock!Happy Birthday buddy
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 eventPosing 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.Staying warm with Nana at EnchantOur little holiday racers!Enzo’s face is healing nicely after his latest accident. His smile still kills me.From our visit to the Santa ExperienceMerry Christmas, 2021
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 MountainsElise helped us solving clues in the Charlie Brown escape roomEnzo 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 WorldOur first visit to 7 Magic Mountains with NanaHalloween 2021 was unforgettableHappy Birthday sweet Ava, we love you SO MUCH!
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…
Around noon on Friday, June 18, our little caravan rolled into Las Vegas after 3 days of driving. Our journey took us through Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and even part of Arizona before reaching our final destination. It was a slow journey, but we took our time and made the best of it. Ultimately we had very little trouble getting down here, but even as I write this more than a week later, it still doesn’t quite feel real. It’s as if we’re on an extended vacation and will need to go home soon, but as the kids keep saying, “we don’t have a home”. At least not at the moment.
Moving week began by picking up a 26 foot diesel truck at Penske in Everett on Monday, June 14. Jessica and I worked for nearly 8 hours that afternoon and evening to get it packed. It was hard work but we took our time and did our best to load it up the best we could. On Tuesday afternoon I drove the truck back up to the Penske office with my neighbor Erik following me in my car. When I arrived we got the car carrier attached to the truck and loaded my car onto it. At that point we were ready to go. Although our original plan was to use Pods as a moving service, it turned out to be far too expensive based on how much stuff we had, so driving a truck and towing my car, then having Jessica and the kids following me in the van made the most sense.
I was awake before 4:00am on Wednesday morning. I simply could not sleep knowing that this was finally the day where we would say goodbye to our house and hit the road. Jessica woke up shortly thereafter, we threw a few final things in the truck, got the kids up, said a family goodbye to the house, and by 5:30 we were pulling out of the neighborhood. I had been expecting to drive the truck alone, with just Peach and Spencer to keep me company, but after a little research I learned that it was legal to have a car seat in a single cab truck, as long as it was connected the right way. Consequently, I almost always had one of the kids riding with me in the moving truck, and it was awesome. Each of them later said that one of their favorite things about the road trip was riding with me in the truck.
I didn’t have too much trouble driving the truck, but it was really slow and bumpy. The steering was so loose that you’re constantly making adjustments to the wheel just to keep it going straight, and you’re bouncing around so much that my FitBit thought I was walking all day long. My step counts for those days were quite impressive!
On a level road with no incline going flat out in the truck, I could get up to 70mph, but it felt a lot faster than that because it’s like steering a locomotive down the road. It’s a big rig with a lot of momentum behind it. Each of the kids commented that it feels a lot faster in the truck than it does following behind the truck in Mom’s van. However, things would get pitifully slow as soon as the road started to incline. There were times going up mountains where I’d have it floored and we’d be going 28mph. There’s nothing you can do besides stay in the right lane with your hazard lights on, but it was tough for Jessica to stay behind me going so slowly.
We made it all the way to Boise on day one, which is supposed to be about 7.5 hours but it took us closer to 11. After getting checked into our hotel we went out for Mexican food, then back to the room so I could pass out. My neighbor told me I’d be sore from driving the truck and I kinda laughed it off. I figured there was no way that would be true based on all the Jiu-Jitsu I do, but he was right. I woke up Thursday morning in Boise feeling quite sore in my back and shoulders.
Thursday was supposed to be our easiest day of the trip, but it didn’t quite work out that way. The plan was to drive from Boise to Provo, Utah, which is a little college town 30 minutes south of Salt Lake City, most famously known as the home of BYU. Everything got off to a good start, but around midday on the freeway just outside of Tremonton (which is in northern Utah), I blew a tire on the car carrier.
I honestly didn’t even notice it happened, but Jessica started getting pieces of rubber in her windshield while following behind me. She pulled up beside the car carrier and could see one of the tires falling apart, then signaled to me to pull over. Now we find ourselves on the side of a freeway not knowing where we are or what to do. We had to act quickly because staying there wasn’t an option. We pulled up Google Maps on our phone and could see that the next exit was less than 2 miles up the road, so we started driving slowly on the freeway with our hazard lights on until we reached the exit.
Once we were out of harm’s way I pulled out the paperwork from Penske and called their roadside assistance line. I wasn’t worried about getting help, mostly because I had taken out extra insurance on the truck and car carrier, but according to their phone system it was going to be a 30 minute wait to speak to someone. It was in the mid 90’s that day, so waiting outside wasn’t really an option. I hopped into the van with Jessica and the kids and waited for someone to pick up the phone.
While we were sitting there, a couple who appeared to be about our parent’s age pulled over to check on us and see if we needed any help. At first we were saying it was fine and that we were just waiting for roadside assistance to answer our call, but it soon became obvious that they weren’t going to leave us there sitting alone. We could tell they were genuinely nice people, and eventually the wife invited Jessica and the kids to come into their house to relax in the air conditioning while the husband and I waited to get the truck repaired. I could tell from the look on Jessica’s face that she felt safe with them, so we took them up on their offer.
The husband, who turned out to be a retired police chief, stayed with me at the truck, but eventually I started following him slowly down into town because there was a tire repair shop that could take care of my problem. While heading down there, after 45 minutes on hold, I finally got someone from roadside assistance on the line and they confirmed that the shop we were heading to was an approved Penske vendor. Once I got there it literally only took 15 minutes to swap out the tire, and due to the extra insurance I’d taken on the truck, it ended up costing me nothing more than a couple hours of our time.
While this certainly wasn’t part of our plan, in a strange way it ended up becoming a highlight of the trip. It’s nice to know good people like this still exist in the world, and we will never forget their hospitality. Jessica even took a picture of their address so we could send them a thank you card. From now on whenever I think of Utah, it will be this experience and hospitality that first comes to mind. I may even become a Utah Jazz fan because of it…
We ended up arriving in Provo a couple hours later than expected, but still had time to go out to dinner and take the kids swimming at the hotel. We drove into the heart of town looking for a vegan restaurant we’d found online, but it turned out to be closed. Luckily we found Fat Daddy’s Pizza next door and just decided to do that. We were pleasantly surprised to see they had a vegan pizza menu, so it seemed like it was meant to be. The food was great and overall Provo turned out to be a really cool little college town. After taking the kids swimming later that evening everyone slept well.
Friday was by far the hardest day of the week, and once again it started very early. We were on the road at 6:00am because the truck was due back that evening by 6:00pm in North Las Vegas. Jessica followed me all the way to Vegas, and the scenery that day was incredible. Southern Utah and northeastern Arizona are so beautiful it’s hard to describe. The different colors of the rocks, and the canyons you wind through can’t really even be described, you just have to see them for yourself.
Once we got to Vegas, Jessica took the kids straight to Nana’s house while I first went to the Penske dealer to detach the car carrier from the truck and park my car in the parking lot. Once that was done, I headed to the storage facility near my Mom’s house where I would meet up with Jessica, Uncle Terry, and his friend Nick. It was literally the hottest day of the year, and unloading our entire truck into the storage unit was quite possibly the hardest physical labor I’ve ever experienced. Each of us felt like we might faint at various points throughout the day.
We ended up packing our 10’x20’ storage unit to the max, but still had stuff left in the truck, so we had no choice but to put the rest of our stuff in Mom’s garage. By the time we finished filling up her garage it was 116 degrees. Jessica looked like a ghost and my clothes were drenched in sweat. Ultimately I was able to get the truck returned on time, got in my car and closed the door, then let out a holler that would make the Dukes of Hazzard proud. We had done it! That evening I brought a few things over to Devin’s house to store, came back to Mom’s house to get cleaned up, then Jessica and I went out to celebrate.
Saturday morning we wasted no time in getting started with our house hunting process. We met up in Henderson with Rowena and Sassy, our realtors who our friend Linda had connected us with, and started viewing houses. We liked the first one and rated it 7/10, then went to see another one a block away that had just come back on the market. I had seen this one a couple months earlier on Zillow and really liked it, but it went into contract so I removed it from our list.
As it turned out, that sale had fallen through and the house had just become available the previous day. When we arrived the owner was there doing some work around the house, but invited us in for a tour. It was nowhere near show condition, but Jessica and I quickly saw past all that. It had everything we wanted, even though the pool and spa were still under construction. The appliances were all brand new, we loved the 4 car garage, as well as the layout and the schools. Considering how crazy the Las Vegas / Henderson real estate market is, and how reasonable the price was, we decided to place an offer that day. Ultimately it wasn’t meant to be though, and after feeling like we were getting the runaround for a week, the owners decided to pull the house off the market. I assume they’re going to finish all the construction, get it in show condition, and raise the price, but at this point we’ve moved on and don’t really care.
On Friday we went and saw another house in Henderson, and honestly we like this one even more. It’s 4,000 square feet with 6 bedrooms plus an office, 4 car garage, and a gorgeous backyard with a pool and spa. It’s in a gated community sitting in the middle of the best school district in the state of Nevada. The inside of the house is a bit dated, and there are things we would want to do before moving in, but the intangibles are all there. We wasted no time in putting in an offer and hope to get a response later today.
Other than house hunting we’ve just been focusing on getting settled and spending quality time with Nana. After a few days we were able to organize our stuff in the house and garage, and I have already joined a local Jiu-Jitsu school. We frequently go swimming at one of the pools in the neighborhood, although that has had its challenges as well.
On our first full day in town we took the kids swimming and Ava jumped feet first into the shallow end of the pool, slamming her heel into the bottom. It was really bothering her for a couple days, but then the very next day Jessica did a cannonball into the deeper end of the pool (which is still only 4.5 feet), and slammed her tailbone into the bottom. By Monday they were both very sore and I ended up taking Ava to Urgent Care for an x-ray.
Much to our surprise, the x-ray showed what they thought was a fractured heel, so Ava had to get a temporary cast and crutches. We made an appointment with a specialist later that week, so for the next few days she and Jessica were in bad shape. Luckily things turned around after seeing the specialist when he confirmed that there was no fracture in her heel and that she didn’t need to be in a cast. We were worried about her Summer being ruined but luckily that is no longer the case.
Working from my Mom’s house has been fine and I don’t foresee any issues there, so on this most recent Friday night Jessica and I decided to go out for a night on the town to celebrate our first full week in Las Vegas. A brand new casino on the strip called Resort World had just opened the previous day, so we decided to check it out. We walked in and there was this huge line of Rolls Royce’s all lined up inside the casino. I’d never seen anything like it! Then, while walking through the casino, we saw Michael Voltaggio, one of our favorite chefs from Top Chef, just hanging out at a blackjack table. We knew it was him because a couple other people had just recognized him as well and were asking for a photo. We didn’t say anything but it was awesome.
We walked all around that night, checking out Resort World, Fashion Show mall, and the shops at Wynn. We even went to a vegan ice cream parlor at Resort World. Later that evening we were on our way to a restaurant near home when we saw a sign saying “Chef Kenny’s Vegan Dim Sum – Grand Opening”. I called an audible and immediately pulled into their parking lot.
As it turns out, Chef Kenny has more than one vegan restaurant in town, but he was there that evening for the grand opening of his new location, and ended up chatting us up quite a bit. Everything on the menu is 100% vegan so you don’t have to worry about what you’re ordering, but you would never know it from eating the food. He recommended the steak roll, which is one of his signature dishes, and it was amazing. I swear you would never know this isn’t real meat. We also had a couple sushi rolls, and honestly it was one of the best rainbow rolls we’ve ever had, real fish or not. It’s just incredible how you can make plant-based food look and taste like real meat and seafood, or even raw seafood in this case. We also had sweet and sour shrimp that was absolutely amazing. This place, along with Violette’s Vegan (which we’ve already been to 3 times since moving here), have immediately become some of our favorite restaurants in Las Vegas.
Overall we’re very happy to have made the move, but leaving our family and friends behind was really difficult. There were a lot of emotional goodbye’s, but we really are committed to coming back to visit as a family every Summer. There are simply too many people we love in Washington not to do so. We figure if we can come up once a year, and we can convince people to come down for a visit once a year, we’re getting two really good, multi-day visits in. These will be very memorable visits too because we’ll make sure to do special things while in town.
We can tell the kids are enjoying themselves, even though things are so different. They love all the time they’re getting with Nana, and Enzo has already said (while chilling by the pool) “I hope we’re not moving again because I love it here. It’s so relaxing.” Elise has also said “Most people probably wouldn’t know it, but I never really liked the weather in Washington.”
Certainly there are times when the heat can be intense and start making everyone grumpy, but we have no doubts that we did the right thing for our family. I know we have a lot more excitement coming in the near future, hopefully in the form of a new house. We knew it was going to be easy as a seller and difficult as a buyer, but that’s fine. Hopefully this new house we’re bidding on will work out, but we know there are multiple offers already, so we’ll see. If this one doesn’t work out another one will.
For now I’m just thankful that we made it here safely, we’ve settled into Nana’s house nicely, and we’re wasting no time in looking for our home. I’m also relieved that none of our pool injuries are serious, and hopefully we’ve learned some lessons about jumping in. I also have a newfound love for Utah and look forward to taking a road trip back there, most likely sometime this fall. I’m looking forward to taking a four day weekend for the 4th of July and promise to update everyone as soon as one of our house offers gets accepted. Until then, here’s some recent pics!
Ava’s last day of 3rd gradeElise’s last day of 2nd gradeEnzo’s last day of KindergartenNo one was more excited about the end of the school year than teacher MomVisiting the beach in Shoreline one last time, for now.Paying our respects to Grandpa Elmer before the moveWe normally do this family photo in front of the house every year on the 4th of July. This year we did the final one a little early.Jessica got to do some serious hiking with friends before the moveAnd she rocked it loading and unloading the moving truckMy road trip chariotOur first park day in Las VegasLuckily Ava was only in a cast for 3 days
Chances are if you’re a regular reader of this blog, then the news I’m about to share is something you’re already aware of, but regardless Jessica and I are excited to publicly share with the world that we have recently finalized the decision to relocate our family to Las Vegas this Summer! In all honesty, this isn’t something that we’ve been considering for a long time, but after my recent trip down there to visit my Mom, I came home and asked Jessica if our lives have changed enough in the past year that a move like this would now make sense. After discussing it in detail, we both agreed that it did.
The reality is that, although we certainly have thrown around the idea of moving in the past, we really felt like it was no longer an option, and I distinctly remember Jessica and I talking a few years ago when she said “that ship has sailed”. We were happy with the decision to stay put in the Pacific Northwest and that was that, but then the pandemic hit and so many things in our lives began to change.
For starters, I’ve been working remotely for over a year now, and the tech industry (along with many others) has changed permanently. People that worked remote used to be the outliers and the exception to the rule, but that’s no longer the case. At this point many companies use remote work as a selling point when trying to recruit you, and I was relieved after talking with my new manager when he said he had no problem with me working remote indefinitely. It sounds like after our campus is back to being fully open I will be making regular trips every month or two up to Redmond so I can see everyone and get some face time, but that’s still a ways off.
The other big pandemic-related work change for us is the fact that Jessica is no longer working at El Gaucho. Technically she could go back now that they have reopened, but she has more than enough on her plate with homeschooling the kids, and frankly, we don’t feel like Seattle is safe enough for her to be going there alone at night time. The decline of Seattle since we moved back from San Diego in late 2012 has been drastic and disheartening. It’s gone from a city we loved and will always have nostalgic memories of, to a disgusting and unsafe dump that we want nothing to do with. I know that sounds harsh, and I don’t even feel good saying it, but it’s true. Anyone who hasn’t been to Seattle in a long time would be shocked at what has become of it.
One good thing about being on the outskirts of Seattle, however, is that our house has appreciated considerably since purchasing it in 2014. As I’ve always said, the only way to take advantage of that equity is to move far away though, because the next step up in houses here is ridiculously overpriced. That said, we can take that equity down to Las Vegas and get the type of home we never even dreamed of living in. The homes we’re looking at down there are big, beautiful, and for now we have our sights set on having our own swimming pool.
There’s a big family aspect to this move, most of which is good, but some is bittersweet. Obviously my Mom is over the moon about us moving close to her, and as her only child, it feels so good to be able to give this to her. I want to be there for her as she gets older, and I don’t think there’s anything in the world I could do to make her happier, but it goes further than that. Amy and Tom frequently like to drive their RV to us, and that drive just got cut in half based on this move. Additionally, Rick and Chris frequently fly out from Cedar Rapids, but when traveling to Seattle they have to take a connecting flight because there are no non-stop options. That all changes with us in Las Vegas. Not only is it easier for them to come to us, but it also becomes viable for us to put the kids on a non-stop flight to Cedar Rapids, with them waiting at the gate on the other side. The idea of our kids getting more time with their grandparents is really appealing to us because Jessica and I both grew up spending a lot of time at our grandparents houses, and we have always wanted that for our own children but so far it hasn’t been an option.
Another benefit for Jessica and I specifically is that we are going to start getting so much more time to ourselves. Since becoming parents, we’ve never had a grandparent nearby to drop off the kids with and go out to dinner, so we usually only do that kind of thing when one is in town. That’s all about to change, and obviously Las Vegas has so much to offer in terms of dining and entertainment.
Another thing we’re excited about is going on more road trips. Las Vegas is a central location with a lot of cool destinations within a few hours. You can be in Southern California in 5 or 6 hours, the Grand Canyon is only a few hours away, Utah has places like Zion and Moab, and New Mexico is a place we would love to check out. Jessica’s van is the perfect road trip vehicle, so we’re looking forward to taking more advantage of it.
Finally, not only do we get a lot closer to family from this move, but we have some amazing friends in Las Vegas who are really excited about this change. Devin, Tiko, and Tina are friends that we love and can’t wait to spend time regularly with. Tiko and Tina have two young daughters, so being able to get the kids together is going to be good for everyone.
As mentioned, it definitely is bittersweet though because we have family and friends in the Seattle area that we hate to leave. People like my nephew Kallan, Uncle Jim and Aunt Brenda, Kristy, Beto, and Madi are all going to be missed deeply, but we’ve tried to make it clear that we are buying a bigger home with a guest room, and they all always have a place to stay in Las Vegas whenever they want it.
Although it’s been difficult to share the news with plenty of people, so far everyone we’ve told has totally gotten it. We just want more for our family and based on the way things have changed in the past year, we have a lot more options now. It’s been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster so far, but overall the kids are really excited. We’ve promised Ava and Elise can have their own bedrooms, and Enzo was sold as soon as he found out they do BMX bike racing all year long in Vegas.
As far as the timeline goes, we met with our real estate agent on Friday and decided that it makes most sense to list and show the house while we’re on our Disney World trip in May. That way we will all be out of the house, including the cats, so the agent can stage the home and hold open houses, then when we return we can evaluate offers. Based on how hot the real estate market is here, we expect the house to sell quickly, and most likely for more than our asking price.
If all goes according to plan, we will be moving out sometime between June 15 and July 1. We’ll be using a moving POD to send most of our stuff down there, but we’re also going to rent a small Uhaul trailer to tow behind the van. One of us will drive the van with the kids, and the other will drive my car with the cats. Rather than get down there as quickly as possible, we’ve decided to break the trip up into 3 days. We’ll go to Boise, ID on day 1, which is about 8 hours, then from Boise to Salt Lake City on day two, which is about 5 hours. On day 3 we will then drive from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas, which is about 6 hours.
One of the things we’re going to try to figure out as soon as possible is whether we can do a “double move”, meaning we sell our house and purchase the new house before we get there, or if we need to stay somewhere when we get to Las Vegas while we house hunt. This part is yet to be determined but we’ll see how it goes. As it is, things have been moving very quickly since we finalized our decision, and I have no doubts that it will all come together nicely.
Certainly there will be many more updates on this in the coming months, but for now all I can say is that we’re so excited for this new chapter in our lives. This is a life changing event for everyone in our family, and we don’t take that lightly, but we’re trying to do what we think is best for our family given our current situation. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s certainly going to be memorable, and we’re happy to be able to share this experience with our friends and family.
Although all this moving stuff has been dominating our lives recently, we’ve still had some other fun and exciting stuff going on. Today is Easter Sunday, so we started off our day with a neighborhood egg hunt, then Kristy, Beto, and Madi came over to spend the day with us. Sharing the news about our move with them was tough but they totally understood, and it sounds like they’re looking forward to coming down for visits. We spent most of the day hanging out, playing games and cooking. I made a couple dishes from the vegan cookbook they got us for Christmas, then we put together candy chicken coops, which are basically the Easter version of Gingerbread Houses.
Yesterday was our 11th wedding anniversary, but we felt like we had too much going on in terms of packing and yard work to do any celebrating. We figure we’ll celebrate in Disney World, as well as once we get down to Vegas. That said, it was still fun to stop and reflect about all the adventures we’ve had in these first 11 years, and what is yet to come.
April Fool’s Day was probably more memorable this year than any year previously. Jessica and I taped plastic wrap in front of the kids’ bedroom doors, but Elise was the only one who fell for it and walked face first into it. Enzo saw it and ducked under, while Ava doesn’t remember seeing it yet somehow mysteriously got through it unscathed.
For breakfast that morning each kid was served a frozen bowl of cereal, and after lunch they were promised brownies, but what they really received were instances of the letter E cut out of brown construction paper and served on a plate. Later that afternoon they even got me by hiding all of our Jiu-Jitsu stuff. I was trying to get us ready for class and couldn’t find anything, so they all got a kick out of watching me freak out for a few minutes.
So, I guess that’s basically it for now. I know this was a long one, but it was important to me that I thoroughly explain our thoughts behind the decision to move. Not only for everyone who will be seeing this now, but for our kids, who will be reading this someday in the future. While they do understand it to a certain degree right now, I think this will shed more light on the situation when they’re older. I expect next month’s post to be a long one as well because we’ll have the whole Disney World trip to talk about, plus most likely our house will have sold!
Here’s a few recent photos from our world.
Our final neighborhood Easter Egg hunt. We’re going to miss Avery and Nathan so much.Making chicken coops with Kristy, Beto, and MadiAva was very proud of her creationAnd so was EliseEnzo seems to approve of our new cat carrierHappy Easter, 2021
A quick update about my new team at Microsoft, as well as my recent trip to Las Vegas.
After spending the past 6 years at Microsoft working on the azure.com website, today is my last day on the Acom team. I’m certainly not leaving Microsoft, but Monday I’ll be joining the Treasury Engineering team, working on systems related to employee payroll, business-to-business payments, and currency conversion. As the tech industry goes, 6 years is a pretty long time to be on the same team, so I’m excited to get a chance to switch things up by working on new projects with new people.
The funny thing about this new role is that I wasn’t even looking for it; it completely fell in my lap. The manager of the team is someone I collaborated with about 3 years ago when I was assigned to work on startups.microsoft.com, and we have remained friendly ever since. He wasn’t managing a team at that time, but somewhat recently he started managing the Treasury Engineering team and ended up reaching out to me about an opening on his team that he thought I would be a good fit for. Obviously I was flattered about the opportunity, and after hearing more about it I decided that there was a lot of potential for me in this new role. I interviewed a couple weeks later and ended up receiving the offer shortly thereafter.
Anytime you’re making a change like this it’s going to be bittersweet because you become close with the people you’re working with, and there’s a bit of a comfort zone there, but I have no doubts that this change will be good for me. I also think there’s a great life lesson here for my kids to learn from, which is that you should always treat everyone with respect because you never know when the good impression you made will come back around in the form of a new opportunity. I will certainly have more updates about the new role in the coming months once I’ve gotten ramped up, but for now I’m just feeling energized and excited to dig in!
The other exciting thing in my world is that I just got home Wednesday evening from spending 5 days at my Mom’s house in Las Vegas. I hadn’t gotten any one-on-one time with her in years and Jessica was very encouraging of me to get down there for a visit. As expected, it was a great time. We got a lot of quality time together, watched almost all of Schitt’s Creek Season 3, and had some delicious vegan meals. In addition to getting time with her, I got to see my Uncle Bob, plus my friends Devin, Tiko, and Tina. I also got to attend classes at Zenith Jiu-Jitsu, which is a famous school in Las Vegas owned by Robert Drysdale, who is a world champion. I ended up getting a day pass so I could attend a morning class and an evening class on Monday.
On Saturday night Devin had a few of us over to his house to watch UFC and have dinner, then on Tuesday morning he picked me up in his Tesla Model S and we took a drive out to Red Rocks Canyon. I got to drive his 550hp beast on the highway out there, which was obviously a blast. I also bought a beautiful Shoyoroll Jiu Jitsu gi from him that he bought last year and never wore. It’s a limited edition gi called the White Mamba, which was a tribute made in limited numbers after Kobe Bryant’s untimely death. It’s white with purple and gold patches, and just such high quality that I instantly fell in love with it. I wore to class last night and broke it in properly. I even got a blood stain on it, although I’m still not sure whose blood it was and have since washed it out.
While I was away Jessica went out of her way to do a lot of special stuff with the kids. They went roller skating, swimming, got takeout, and rented movies. Overall they had a blast and probably missed me less than I was missing them. Obviously we were all happy to be reunited on Wednesday, and went straight from the airport to Avocados, our new favorite Mexican restaurant, to enjoy a nice dinner together. In addition to making all the classic Mexican dishes we all know and love, they have a nice selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes, so it works well for our family.
Now that the Vegas trip is behind us, our focus moves onto Disney World, which is only 6 weeks away! At this point we’ve been planning the trip for 2 years so we’re super excited to go. The weather in Florida should be beautiful and everyone is ready for some sun and hot weather. Right before that, however, we’ve got Kristy, Beto, and Madi coming over to spend Easter Sunday with us. Madi’s 15th birthday is just around the corner, and based on her new love of cooking vegan food, Jessica and I got her a really nice little chef’s knife from Cutco. It’s a 7” Santoku with a red handle, and I actually have the exact same knife (except mine has a black handle) which Jessica got for me years ago. It’s an awesome little knife so hopefully she loves it.
That’s all for now. I’m intentionally keeping it short because I know we’ll have a lot to write about in the coming months. Here’s a few photos from my trip to Vegas.
Visiting with Uncle Bob and checking out his awesome Seahawks mobileTaking in the views with Devin in Red Rocks CanyonOut for a spin in Devin’s TeslaHad to get a pic with Marcelo Nunes after class at ZenithMy new Shoyoroll White Mamba Jiu-Jitsu giThe kids having fun roller skating with our neighbor AveryLove my mom so much! It was a great trip
