Spring sports, big trips, and Japan in 2027, our 2026 calendar is filling up fast and we’re loving every minute of it.
As the name of this post suggests, our family is back in full swing with activities in 2026. Elise recently completed another level of figure skating and is moving up. She’s also preparing for a school trip to Knott’s Berry Farm in April, where her orchestra group will be performing. Enzo is doing another session of Track & Field every Monday evening, and he recently joined his first flag football team, which plays games every weekend. He’s having a blast with both and is already looking forward to another football season immediately following this one. Ava recently visited Disneyland for the first time as part of a school band trip and had an amazing time. Our Spring softball season just got started, so she and I are back out on the field multiple times per week, plus going to the batting cage with the team on Sunday mornings and practicing hitting at home. When you factor in everything else Jessica and I have going on, it’s a lot to keep up with, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Someday these activities will be distant memories, so we’re trying to make the most of them while we can.
Our annual Spring Break trip to Colorado is only about three weeks away, so everyone is getting excited. A friend of mine at work lives in Denver, and we’re coordinating plans to get together sometime that week. There’s a possibility he’ll come up to do some snowmobiling with us, but that depends on the weather. They’ve had record-low snow in the Rockies this year, which is concerning given that several states, including ours, rely on the Colorado River for water. If he doesn’t make it up the mountain, Jess and I will drive down and spend a day in Denver, so it should be fun either way.
Two months after that, Jessica will be graduating from UNLV, which is obviously a big deal for our family. Her mom and Tom, as well as her dad and Debbie, will all be coming out to celebrate and see her walk. I’m glad we’ll be attending the ceremony because it will be great for the kids to experience it and have memories of their mom earning her Master’s degree. We’re in the middle of planning a dinner at a fancy restaurant on the Strip to celebrate. The softball season will still be going on as well, so the family will be able to attend one of our games.
Shortly after that, in June, we’ll be heading up to Washington for Aunt Norma’s 100th birthday. It’s going to be a very busy week, and we can’t wait to see everyone. We recently booked our accommodations. We’ll be staying the first two nights, June 11 and 12, at a house in Everett. Then we’re spending two nights at a hotel in the Bellingham area, followed by two nights at a house in Tacoma. It’s a lot of moving around, but it will allow us to do everything we want and visit with everyone during our time up there.
Up until a few days ago, we didn’t have any other plans scheduled for the summer, but that changed when we received an email from Tom inviting us to visit his family’s cabin in Canada. They’ve had it for years, but it needed work, so he and his siblings have been fixing it up and are excited to start having people visit. It’s located about three hours northwest of Toronto on Lake Huron. Our plan is to fly to Toronto in late July, right between Elise’s birthday and my own, rent a car, and spend a week fishing, speed boating, and exploring the beaches. I hear the water is as crystal clear as the Caribbean, and we think it will be a very memorable experience for our family. We plan to fly home from Toronto in the evening, so when we leave the cabin, we’ll do so early in the morning and have the entire day to explore Toronto together. I’ve been there once on a work trip and loved it, but this should be an even better experience.
The other major travel plan on our distant horizon came up recently while we were out to dinner. Elise asked where I think we should go on our next big international vacation. I had already been thinking about it, but hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, so we decided to talk it through as a family. The timeframe we’re looking at is late May or early June of 2027. The options I suggested were Italy, Japan, Australia, or Mexico. I’m still open to any of those destinations, as well as others, but as we went around the table and took a vote, everyone picked Japan. To be fair, Enzo voted first and initially chose Italy, but once he heard that Super Nintendo World is in Osaka, he quickly changed his mind. For Jess and the girls, Japan was their immediate answer, and just the thought of going there brought Ava to tears. She has been obsessed with the culture, especially anime, for years. I personally loved the idea because I’ve been there once, back in 2019 with friends, and I’ve always wanted to return with my family. It’s still over a year away, so we haven’t started planning the details, but that’s the decision we landed on, and it comes up often in conversation.
In the shorter term, it’s nice to be busy with so many fun activities. The weather is starting to turn; it will be 80 degrees later this week, so we’re getting plenty of fresh air and vitamin D. Every time I get back out to coach on the softball field, I’m reminded how much I love it. It looks like we’re going to have a good team again this season, so I’m hoping we can run it back for another championship. Either way, it’s a blast being out there. That’s about it for now. Looking forward to sharing pictures from our upcoming trip to Colorado.
The Hawks wrapped up the Fall 2025 season with a playoff run that felt impossible until the girls made it real.
Normally, in months when one of our kids has a birthday, I write my family blog post on that day. I will still do that for Ava’s fourteenth birthday later this month; however, our Fall 2025 14U softball season with the Hawks just came to an incredibly exciting end, and I felt the need to write a separate post about it. This was Ava’s favorite softball season, and I wanted to document our playoff run while the details are still fresh.
We entered the playoffs as the number two seed with a regular season record of 9–2–1. The playoffs use a double elimination format, which means every team can lose once and keep playing, although the second loss ends the season. Our first opponent was the Halos, the number three seed, on a Thursday night. They have one of the strongest pitchers in the league, and her dad is the most experienced coach around. It was their first season in 14U, although they had gone undefeated and won the championship in 12U the previous year. We beat them twice early in the season, then they beat us in our last regular-season matchup.
Their pitcher was locked in for this first playoff game, and they beat us 4–1. They played the Lady Outlaws, the number one seed, immediately after and won that game as well, which secured their place in the championship. Because they had not lost yet, they would get two chances to win the title.
Meanwhile, our team fell apart emotionally after our loss to the Halos. We always meet briefly after each game, but this one began with one player in tears and quickly turned into an argument among the girls about how one teammate had been treating others. I stayed quiet and let them work through it. When things finally settled, I reminded them of Ava’s first season in 12U. That team went undefeated during the regular season, then lost their first playoff game, and still won five straight to take the championship. I told them we had the talent to do the same if we could regroup and play together.
I was not sure what to expect the next evening. Would everyone show up? Would the argument linger? Fortunately, the girls seemed lighter and closer after letting everything out. We had no room for error, and our first opponent was the Thunder, the lowest ranked team in the league. We won 6–3, then played the Bomb Squad, the number four seed, right afterward. We had beaten them twice already, so I felt confident. Here is a short excerpt from the AI recap of that game:
“Hawks flipped the game on its head in the bottom of the first, scoring five runs on five hits to take the lead, 5-3. The biggest blow in the inning was a double by Ava Pellegrini that drove in two.”
It was another close game, but we won 10–7 and kept our season alive.
That game had two moments I will never forget. First, Lex, our starting pitcher and power hitter, hit a home run over the fence. Inside-the-park home runs happen now and then in our age group, but hitting one out is rare. She had been trying to do it for two seasons and had come close many times. When she connected on a high fastball late in the game, there was no question it was gone. Her brother recovered the ball, and she later asked me to sign it. It was the first over-the-fence home run in Hawks history at any level.
The second moment came in the final inning. Bomb Squad was down 10–7 and beginning to rally. With one out and runners on first and second, they hit a high fly ball to left field. Our left fielder that inning was a first-year player who had never played a season of softball before and had not caught an outfield fly all season. She tracked it perfectly and made the catch. The crowd erupted, especially her mom, who kept yelling, “Hell yeah”! I gave her and Lex co–player of the game awards.
Winning those two games sent us to Championship Saturday, although the road was still long. We first had to face the number one-seeded Lady Outlaws. They had beaten us every time since I became head coach. We tied them once this season, then lost the second matchup, and they beat us both times last year. I wanted that game badly. The winner of our matchup would move on to face the Halos, who would still need to be beaten twice.
Heavy rain postponed Saturday’s games to 10:30 Sunday morning. Ava and I arrived at the park at 9:15 for warmups. I always run drills with the players before each game, and I had a good feeling that morning. The girls looked sharp, and the energy was positive. I made sure to tell several of them, “Today is our day”.
We lost the coin flip again and batted first. I believe we are the best hitting team in the league, and we proved it by scoring the maximum five runs in the top of the first. The Lady Outlaws answered with four. After that, our pitcher settled in and never allowed another run. Meanwhile, our bats kept working. We won 12–4, our first ever win against them. Ava contributed an RBI double. I was thrilled with that win alone and would have considered the day a success even if we lost to the Halos afterward.
Here is the video of the game with the Lady Outlaws:
We lost the coin flip again for the first championship game and went down 7–0 by the end of the third inning. At that point I was hoping only that we would avoid a shutout. Fortunately, our bats came alive in the fourth and we scored the maximum five runs. The Halos scored two more in the bottom half, giving them a 9–5 lead. I told the girls they were still alive but needed at least four runs in the next inning to extend the season. They responded with another five-run inning, which gave us a 10–9 lead. We still needed three outs. The Halos loaded the bases with one out, and a base hit likely would have scored two. Their hitter ripped a line drive, but our shortstop snagged it, then our pitcher earned her biggest strikeout of the season to secure the win.
Here is the video of that game:
Once again, we lost the coin flip (what are the chances?), which made us the away team for the final game. I welcomed it because our pitcher had thrown two complete games already and needed as much rest as possible. The Halos’ pitcher clearly did not have her best stuff, and I told our team the momentum had shifted our way.
Ava came up in the top of the first with a runner on second and no outs. She singled and drove in a run, our only run of the inning. The Halos answered with five. More importantly, one of their hitters lined a ball straight at Ava at third base. She got both hands up, but the ball hit her bare hand rather than her glove. It was a frightening moment. She was crying and apologizing. Jessica helped assess her hand, and thankfully, she was not injured. She refused to leave the game. I kept her in the dugout for the second inning to calm down, which frustrated her, but I reminded her she had not missed a defensive inning all season. She was our only player with perfect attendance for the entire year, including practices, clinics, and games.
Neither team scored in the second inning, and our bats woke up in the third. Ava hit an RBI double, and we scored four to tie the game. We held the Halos scoreless, then headed into what would almost certainly be the last inning of the season. I gathered the team and told them that time was about to run out. I reminded them of what they were capable of and asked them to prove it one more time.
They did. Ava hit another RBI double, and the other Ava on our team hit an inside-the-park home run. We hit the maximum five runs and led 10–5. Lex fought through exhaustion and held them scoreless again. The five runs they scored in the bottom of the first ended up being the only runs they scored in the game. Here is part of the AI recap:
“Hawks collected 14 hits in the game. Ava Pellegrini led the Hawks with three runs batted in. The third baseman went 3-for-3 on the day.”
Here is the video of the final game:
Winning that game felt surreal. I walked out of the dugout with my hands in the air, and Ava ran straight across the field to hug me. She was crying and overwhelmed. The whole team was celebrating, except for Lex, who had nothing left in the tank. She had thrown 59 pitches on Thursday, 180 on Friday, and 228 on Sunday. That is 467 pitches in one weekend! Our backup pitcher never appeared for the playoffs, so Lex had no choice but to carry the load.
After the game, I invited the families to join us for our final talk. I praised the girls for their work and their ability to resolve Thursday’s issues and come back stronger. I told them to be proud of themselves because no one can give this to them; they have to earn it as a team. I talk to the team a lot about how there’s so much more to youth sports than wins and losses. Whether they realize it or not, they’re learning lessons that will serve them well later in life. Things like setting goals, hard work, how to be a good teammate, and working towards a common goal. I then gave out a few awards, and we took plenty of photos with the trophy.
I know several coaches with far more experience who have never won a championship, so doing this in my second season as head coach felt special. I became an assistant coach because Ava is my only child who plays team sports, and I wanted to be involved. I never expected to become the head coach, and even when I did, I had no idea what the role would demand. There is far more off-the-field work and conversation than I ever imagined, and not all of it is enjoyable, but when a parent pulls you aside and tells you about the positive impact you’ve had on their child’s life, that is a humbling and rewarding experience that can’t be replicated. I may have started coaching for my daughter and my love of the game, but it became something larger. It made me a motivator, a teacher, and a confidant, and it brought new friendships into my life.
I do not know what the Spring 2026 season will look like. Several of our top players are starting high school and will be trying out for their school teams. I hope they also return to our league, although there are no guarantees. I know I will be coaching in some capacity, but I do not know how many of the same players will be with me.
On Monday evening, Ava and I watched all three games on YouTube. After the excitement of Sunday, it felt strange to be still. We were not sad about the outcome; we were sad that the season was over. Only one team gets to end the season with a win, and we were fortunate to be that team, but the sudden quiet after so many games, practices, and shared weekends hits hard. You get used to the rhythm of it, to the families you see several times a week, and then everything stops. I explained to Ava that, by definition, all seasons must come to an end. There will be more to come, although none will ever replace this one.
This season was special for both of us, and we will not forget it. Even though we are sad it is over, we have already started working on her game for next season. Today, we started refining her batting stance and part of her swing mechanics. We are also excited to work on elevating her defensive play at third base. I think she is beginning to understand that while the wins are a lot of fun, the journey is the real reward.
Getting ready for the final gameH.G.S.A. Fall 2025 14U Champs!
Between work trips, family visits, and the kids’ activities, October has flown by. With Halloween around the corner and Thanksgiving plans underway, the season is just getting started.
Yesterday we had a nice visit with Uncle Butch and Aunt Carol, who were in Las Vegas for a few days. They were staying downtown, so we met them at their hotel and headed over to 7th and Carson, one of our favorite brunch spots. We hadn’t seen them since moving away from Washington almost four and a half years ago, so the visit felt long overdue. It was great catching up over a relaxed meal, then walking across the street to the Downtown Container Park to enjoy the weather, play cornhole, and watch a little football. They couldn’t believe how much the kids have grown, and it was nice hearing how much they’re enjoying retirement. We made plans to visit them in June when we head up to Washington for Aunt Norma’s 100th birthday. It was so good to see them again, and hopefully it won’t be this long before our next visit.
October has been a full month for all of us, and we still have Halloween to look forward to. It started off on an exciting note for me. On the morning of October 1st, I flew to Boston for a work trip. My company was hosting an “AI Bootcamp” for executives, designed to train them on AI concepts, then split them into teams to build an AI app in a single day and present it that evening. I was invited as one of the trainers and ended up serving as the main grader for the presentations.
It was my first time in Boston, and with only two nights in town, I wanted to make the most of every moment. Both nights, after the work events wrapped up, I went exploring on foot, calling Jessica and the kids so they could see what I was seeing. The first evening, I walked to Fenway Park. The Red Sox were playing the Yankees in New York that night, so the stadium was eerily quiet. I had the rare chance to walk around this historic landmark completely alone, which, for a lifelong baseball fan, was unforgettable.
The next night, I wandered north to Little Italy, taking photos along the way. I’ve never seen so many restaurants packed into one area, and every single one seemed busy. Even the closed ones had TVs on with the Red Sox game playing. I ended up at a great Italian restaurant, enjoying oysters and veal at the bar with a glass of wine while the game played overhead. After dinner, I stopped at Mike’s Pastry for one of their famous cannoli and kept walking through the neighborhood as I ate it. I followed the Freedom Trail back through the city, passing through the park and an old graveyard from the 1600s, where I called the kids again so they could share in the moment.
I was there for less than 48 hours, but Boston left a big impression on me. It’s now one of my favorite cities, and I can’t wait to go back with the family so they can experience it too.
It’s been a great month for the rest of the family, too. Jessica continues to shine at both school and work. Her first round of parent-teacher conferences went really well, and she earned outstanding feedback from her administrators during her first classroom evaluation. This is likely her toughest year yet, balancing teaching full-time while finishing her master’s program, but she’s on track to graduate in May. Once she’s through this stretch, the coming school years will probably feel easy by comparison. For now, she’s handling everything with grace and setting the standard for how to take on such a challenge.
Ava has been having a fantastic month, both at school and on the softball field. She recently earned a Student of the Month award, which made us so proud, and her hard work on the field has turned her into one of the team’s top players. Just a few nights ago, she crushed a line drive to the fence for a triple, and yesterday we spent some time at the batting cages. I must have fed her around fifty pitches from the machine, and she didn’t miss a single one—it was incredible. Elise is also doing great; she recently advanced to the next level in her figure skating class and is loving it. I was especially proud when she told me she’s now the first-chair violinist in her school’s intermediate orchestra. It’s cool having another string musician in the house. Enzo is looking forward to starting another short season of track and field in December. He had such a great time doing it last year, and we’re all excited to see him back out there.
Halloween is just around the corner, and the kids couldn’t be more excited. They love putting on costumes and collecting all the free candy they can. Our friends Jodi and Miles are coming down from Washington to spend the holiday with us, which will make it even more fun. The kids can’t wait to show Miles how great our neighborhood is for trick-or-treating. And since Halloween also happens to be Nana’s birthday, it’s always an extra special day for our family.
Looking ahead to Thanksgiving—my favorite holiday—it’s shaping up to be a full house. Amy and Tom are coming out from Colorado, and Kristy, Tito, and Madi are flying in from Washington to stay with us. With our family of five, that makes ten people under one roof for a few days. On top of that, we’ll have several friends joining us for Thanksgiving dinner. I’m sure it will get a little hectic at times, but it’s bound to be memorable. I’m hoping for a fun, slightly chaotic “Griswold” kind of Thanksgiving—maybe even another Thanksgiving-gate we’ll laugh about for years. Plus, we’ll be celebrating Ava’s 14th birthday that week. I look forward to writing all about it in next month’s post. Until then…
September was full of highlights, from a quick San Diego getaway to new projects at work and the start of softball season. The kids are thriving with school and activities, and we’re heading into October ready for more family fun.
We kicked off the month with a quick but memorable Labor Day weekend in San Diego, spending a couple of days with Auntie Dana and Uncle Brad. I would have loved for the trip to be longer, but I had some softball coaching commitments that kept us from extending our stay. Even so, we made the most of the time and took the kids to Moonlight Beach in Encinitas for a full day of boogie boarding. San Diego has always been one of my favorite places, so any visit feels special; even a short trip is worth it, especially when we get to enjoy it with Dana and Brad.
After that, it was back to business for everyone. Jessica has been juggling work and school as always, and I’ve been just as busy with my own commitments. Our fall softball season kicked off, which keeps me on the field, and work has been equally demanding. I’ve really grown to love my new role and have been taking on more responsibility; with one of our managers out on parental leave, I’ve been covering much of his workload. On top of that, I was invited to attend our AI Bootcamp in Boston next week, where I’ll be leading a 45-minute training session on using AI in web user experience. It will be my first time in Boston and a great opportunity to connect with company executives, so I’m really looking forward to it.
This time of year is always the busiest for my side hustle, Cappers.ai. Devin and I decided to push things a little further by advertising on VSiN, the Vegas Sports Insiders Network. We’ll be running one commercial each day throughout October. VSiN airs on more than 350 radio stations nationwide, and since their programming is dedicated to sports betting, their audience is exactly who we want to reach. With any luck, the campaign will bring in more subscribers; if it does, we’ll definitely look at continuing the ads beyond October.
The kids are thriving with school and activities, and with the cooler weather, they’ve been spending more time outside with friends in the neighborhood. Ava’s progress in softball has been incredible to watch; she’s now the starting third baseman on our team and is playing the position with confidence. Her hitting has also taken off, and since she’s put so much work into the sport, it’s been a real joy to share it with her. She even had the chance to go to the Benson Boone concert with friends at T-Mobile Arena last night, which was a big highlight. Elise is settling into seventh grade and loves playing violin in the school orchestra. She also continues to keep the busiest social calendar in the family; today alone, she has two birthday parties to attend. Enzo is making the most of his final year of elementary school. Right after our San Diego trip, he joined the fifth-grade class at the Pali Institute, a rite of passage for kids his age, and had an absolute blast doing science experiments, practicing archery, and exploring the outdoors.
Looking ahead to October, it’s shaping up to be a busy month for all of us. I’m looking forward to coaching plenty of softball games and enjoying the perfect fall weather here in Las Vegas. Halloween is always a highlight in our neighborhood, and this year we’re extra excited since our friends Jodi and Miles will be visiting from Washington. It also happens to be Nana’s birthday, which makes the holiday even more special. That’s all for now—below are a few photos from our beach day in California, along with the girls’ latest school pictures.
This month brought big changes—new jobs, the end of softball season, and a family trip to Mexico just around the corner. Lots to celebrate, with more to come next month.
My original plan for this month’s post was to share highlights from our upcoming family trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico—we’re heading out this Saturday, and I’ve been looking forward to documenting the experience. However, after reviewing the calendar more carefully, I realized we won’t be returning until late Friday, May 30. That would leave me with just one day to edit photos and write the post if I want to maintain my uninterrupted monthly blog streak, which stretches all the way back to July 2011. Given how exhausted we’ll likely be after traveling, I decided it would be more practical to postpone the trip recap until next month. Fortunately, I still have some meaningful updates to share now, so this month’s post won’t go to waste.
Let’s start with the big news: Friday, May 16 was a day Jessica and I will likely remember for a long time, as we both received official job offers on the same day. For Jessica, the offer was especially meaningful. It had been a long time coming, and at times the outcome was uncertain. There were a few setbacks along the way, but everything ultimately fell into place, and we were fortunate to be home together when the email arrived. The kids and I couldn’t be prouder of the work she’s put in to reach this milestone. She’s steadily pursuing her Master’s degree in Special Education at UNLV, with plans to finish in December; she’ll be stepping into her own classroom for the upcoming school year. Fittingly, her first day as a full-time teacher falls on my birthday, July 30.
Shortly before Jessica received her offer on Friday, I received one of my own: an offer to join HealthEdge as a Principal Engineer. My first manager at Amazon, many years ago, is now the CTO of HealthEdge, and one of my former teammates from that time is now a VP of Engineering there. I’ve kept in touch with both of them on LinkedIn, and about a month ago, I saw a post from my old manager mentioning they were hiring for several engineering roles.
Although I wasn’t particularly excited about going through another interview process, I decided to pursue the opportunity for a few reasons. I was working as a contractor at Microsoft, which meant limited job security and no paid time off. My contract was only guaranteed through June 30, the end of Microsoft’s fiscal year. While I was confident it would be renewed, and it ultimately was, I had no certainty at the time. When I returned to Microsoft as a contractor in February, my goal was to transition back into a full-time role. However, it quickly became clear that the chances of that happening were low. The influx of AI across the tech industry has significantly increased productivity expectations, but hiring has slowed. Since I’m too far along in my career to continue in short-term contract roles, this opportunity at HealthEdge made a lot of sense. When I found out I was being considered for a Principal-level role, I was genuinely excited, as I had not yet reached that level in my career.
The interview process at HealthEdge went exceptionally well. I had the opportunity to speak with several leaders across the organization, and each conversation reinforced my sense that this role would be a great fit for me at this stage of my career. The timing also feels significant, as HealthEdge was recently acquired by Bain Capital. This marks a major turning point for the company, with ambitious growth plans over the next five years. I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance to join at such a pivotal moment. To be honest, the past year has been the most challenging of my professional life. I faced two layoffs and took on various contract roles to stay afloat. It was a humbling experience, especially after spending more than a decade at some of the world’s largest companies, where I may have taken stability for granted. Making it through that period and securing a principal-level position at a multi-billion dollar company feels incredibly rewarding. I’m proud of this milestone and truly excited to begin in June.
Outside of all the exciting job news, the other big recent development is that our latest softball season has come to an end. This was my first season as head coach, and it was a great one. My only complaint is that it ended too soon. Even though I now have more free time, I would trade it in a heartbeat to be back on the field running practices, doing batting cage sessions, and managing games. A coaching friend told me before the season that I would get hooked and fall in love with it, and he was right.
Working with the girls was incredibly rewarding, and the progress we made with this rebuilt team was amazing to watch. Ava made some great new friends and said it was her favorite season yet. I’m already looking forward to coaching again in the fall and have been thinking about ways to stay connected with some of the players, maybe by meeting up for cage work and fielding drills. Baseball was my first sports love growing up, and Ava’s involvement in softball over the past couple of years has only deepened that connection. While my playing days are behind me, I get a tremendous amount of joy from working with the kids and sharing what I know about the game. I’m taking it one season at a time and don’t know what the long-term outlook is for coaching, but I love being out there and I’m glad I stepped into this role.
This is the final week of school for the kids, and then we’re off to Puerto Vallarta early Saturday morning. Up to this point, their only international travel has been road trips to Vancouver, so this will be a big step for them. Although the trip is meant to celebrate 15 years of marriage for Jessica and me, the idea of going without the kids never even crossed our minds. We feel like they’ve reached that perfect age where they can handle a bigger trip and will remember it for years to come. Because of that, I think this will be the first of several major family adventures in the years ahead—one at a time, of course. For now, we’re just excited to get to Mexico and enjoy the culture, beaches, and food. While I don’t have any photos to share in today’s post, I’ll be bringing my camera and plan to take plenty during the trip. Expect next month’s post to be a long one.
I can’t believe we officially have a teenager in the house! 13 years ago today, our lives changed for the better in so many ways, and it was all thanks to the arrival of Miss Ava Pellegrini. She is such a sweet kid with an outgoing personality, a huge heart, and a level of commitment that you don’t see in many people. While today is her actual birthday, we have been celebrating with her for the past few days. After all, you only become a teenager once.
We held Ava’s first surprise party on Friday night at a local roller skating rink. Several of her softball teammates and their families joined us and Ava had a blast. She had no idea it was coming and was so surprised when she walked in and saw everyone. The following day, one of her friends came over for a sleepover. Jessica dropped them off at the movie theater to see “Red One”, which was a big deal because she had never gone to a movie without an adult before. Yesterday was her softball team’s end-of-season party at a local bowling alley. We hung out with everyone for a couple of hours and had a nice time.
Last night we all watched Grandpa Rick and Debbie’s wedding ceremony on YouTube. We were sorry not to be able to attend it in person but were thankful to be able to watch it online. It looked like a nice event and we’re very happy for both of them.
Today started with Ava opening some presents before school. She wished she didn’t have to go to school on her birthday, but what she didn’t realize was that Jessica had been planning all along to take the day off and pull her out of school early for a special day. I thought about joining them but decided not to because I get a lot more one-on-one time with Ava than Jessica does, so I wanted them to have this memorable time together.
After pulling her out of school, they stopped home for a minute, and as luck would have it, the custom softball glove that we ordered for her a month ago arrived in the mail. The timing couldn’t have been better! She has always used my 40-year-old Little League glove for softball, which is very sweet, but it was time for her to get something bigger and better. The glove was initially designed by her when I showed her the website, but I think she forgot about it. It’s her color scheme with an Italian flag, and it even has her nickname “Lightweight” embroidered on it, which was given to her by her beloved hitting coach, Bill Madlock.
Tonight, we’re all going out with a family friend to see the new movie “Wicked”, then tomorrow Auntie Dana and Uncle Brad will be arriving from San Diego to spend Thanksgiving with us. I have a special meal planned for us on Wednesday night, then we’re all going to decorate the house and Christmas tree afterward. Thursday will be spent at Devin’s house, which is becoming a Thanksgiving tradition for us, and then on Monday, I’ll be starting my new job as a Senior Software Engineer with Old Republic Title! I’m so thankful to have the job search behind me and don’t have to wait until the new year to land something.
As is the case every year, we have so much to be thankful for. Everyone is happy, healthy, and living their best lives. My brief unemployment stint caused a little bump in the road, but we used that as a teachable moment for the kids. Overall, things couldn’t be better, and we’re all excited for the holiday season. Above all, I hope this was an excellent birthday for Ava and that she never forgets it. She brings more joy to everyone than she realizes and we’re so lucky to be able to call her our daughter.
Happy 13th birthday sweetheart. Here are some recent photos and videos celebrating Miss Ava.
Opening presents on the morning of her birthdayShe loves her new bag from Uncle Jim and Aunt BrendaShe loves all things “Demon Slayer”Ready for school
Here she is opening her new softball glove
Getting ready for her first softball game in the 14U age divisionAfter winning her first Defensive MVP awardAfter winning her first Offensive MVP awardShe won Offensive MVP for the championship games because she got on base during every at-bat
This was her first at-bat of the first championship game
Halloween is always a special day for our family. Not only is it my Mom’s birthday, but it’s all three of our kids’ favorite holiday. If it wasn’t their favorite holiday before moving to Henderson it certainly was after, as our neighborhood goes big on the decorations and trick-or-treating every year. This is an especially big birthday for my Mom, as she begins a new decade, and I can’t even begin to thank her enough for everything she does. Jessica, the kids, and I all feel very lucky to have her as a regular part of our lives and we wish her the happiest of birthdays!
While we won’t get a chance to see her today, we will get to spend the next few days with her at our house, which everyone is looking forward to. She will be coming over to our house tomorrow afternoon and staying until Sunday. I’ve got a nice birthday meal planned for Friday night, consisting of plant-based tenderloins and ribs from Juicy Marbles, baked potatoes, vegetables, and pumpkin pie (Mom’s favorite) for dessert. We don’t have specific plans during the day on Saturday but that evening Ava has another softball game and she is very excited that Nana will be there to watch her play. I know Mom always talks about what a difference it made in her life when we moved from Washington to Nevada, but it definitely goes both ways. Having her nearby has changed our lives for the better and I’m so thankful for all the memories the kids are making with her.
Tonight we’re looking forward to trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with friends. Tiko and Tina are bringing their girls over, and I’m sure we’ll gang up with a bunch of the neighbors. This is arguably the biggest night of the year for the kids and it’s always a blast watching them live their best lives as they run from door to door, then come home to sort through the night’s treasure. As far as costumes go, Elise was a cheetah today at school, but tonight she is dressing up as Gru from the Minions movies. Ava, who is a huge fan of the Japanese anime series Demon Slayer, dressed up as Mitsuri Kanroji, and Enzo has a hilarious blow up costume of a sumo wrestler. Jessica decided to honor her childhood by dressing up as one of her all-time favorite characters, Mary Poppins. I hate to be a stick in the mud, but I don’t have a costume this year. It’s just me and the cats at home all day so there wasn’t much of a reason for me to put together a costume. However, my Los Angeles Dodgers did win the World Series last night, so maybe I’ll replicate last year’s costume by wearing my Dodgers uniform.
Outside of the Halloween and birthday festivities, things are going well. Jessica is continuing to crush it in her masters program at UNLV. She is getting excellent scores on all of her tests, assignments, and group projects, so she’s feeling good about how the year is shaping up. The first quarter of school recently wrapped up for the kids and each one of them had all A’s and B’s, which we were very proud of. Enzo just finished his rock climbing class and is looking forward to signing up again as soon as possible. Elise continues to enjoy her Saturday morning boxing classes and Ava is doing better than ever in softball. She was asked to play third base in one of our recent games because our normal third baseman was going to be away, and ended up getting our team’s defensive player of the game award! I was so proud of her commitment and preparation for the opportunity. We were showing up early to practice and staying late after practice so we could drill grounders at third and the throw across the diamond to first base.
On my end of things, I’m still in the middle of a job search, as the opportunity I mentioned in last month’s post didn’t work out. That was a tough pill to swallow, mainly because I made it all the way to the final interview before they decided to go with someone else. I was feeling a bit down about it for a couple of days but eventually shook it off and started focusing on new opportunities. I was thinking about something we tell the girls all the time in softball, which is to focus on the two things that are in your control: attitude and effort.
On the attitude side, I had to remind myself that I have a skillset and resume that plenty of companies are looking for. It’s just difficult timing because we’re nearing the end of the year, and we’re in the late stages of a presidential election cycle, both of which have an effect on hiring and spending for many businesses. On the effort side, every day is a “work” day for me. I’m constantly applying for jobs, sending out my resume, talking with recruiters, and scheduling interviews. Based on all of this market research, I have a good idea of exactly what skills employers are looking for, so I purchased three different web development / computer science courses on Udemy and spend hours each day going through them.
In addition to all this job search stuff, I’m also staying busy by working on a freelance project, and doing daily work on the Cappers web application. October is a busy sports month because the NHL and NBA seasons get started, then you have college basketball starting in the first week of November. Devin is doing his best to find investors for Cappers, and if that comes through, it will be a dream come true, but in the meantime, I will continue with this headstrong job hunt approach. I’ve got plenty of irons in the fire at this point and I’m hopeful that it won’t be very long before something comes through. I had an interview yesterday and another one today, both of which went very well, so hopefully I’ll be invited for the next round of interviews in the next few days. I honestly feel like the busiest unemployed person in the world.
Earlier this month we were paid a visit by Grandma and Grandpa Martin, who spent a long weekend with us. They took the kids to a show on the strip, came to one of Ava’s softball games, and the 7 of us attended the NASCAR race that was in town that weekend. They also took us out to an outstanding sushi meal at one of our new favorite restaurants. It was a great visit and we hope to see them again soon.
November will be a big month for us, mostly because Ava will be turning 13 years old on the 25th. Jessica and I can’t believe we’re about to be parents of a teenager, but Ava is a great kid and tends to make things pretty easy on us. Additionally, Auntie Dana and Uncle Brad are coming to stay with us for Thanksgiving, so we’re looking forward to spending that long weekend with them. Another holiday season is upon us, which is crazy, but things are good and we all love this time of year.
That’s about it for now. Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday Nana!!!
I never begin a family blog post with an update about myself, but I just need to get my news out of the way this month. Three weeks ago I was laid off from my job in the sports betting industry. This came as a big surprise, especially considering there was no indication leading up to it that something like this might happen. I thought everything was going well, and as much as I would like to explain things in detail, part of my severance agreement was that I keep my mouth shut, so I intend to keep my word. All I can say is that I’m sorry things didn’t work out, I wish them the best, and I have plenty else to focus on.
The good news is that I have already passed two interviews for a role as a senior software engineer with a major company. The third and final interview is this Tuesday, so hopefully, it goes well and things get back to normal for me very soon. In the meantime, I have been working a lot on Cappers, and in all honesty, my daily routine hasn’t changed at all. I still get up at the same time and head downstairs to my office, but I’m getting to spend my days working on something I love. Our subscriber base has been growing consistently since football season began and we’re starting to look for opportunities to raise investments in the company. Devin and I are more bullish than ever about our business and I hope to have more positive news to share about Cappers in the coming months.
One positive life lesson I want to share about getting laid off is related to how I began my search for a new job. A few years ago when we were still living in the Seattle area, I used to receive constant messages from recruiters on LinkedIn about various job opportunities. Most software engineers don’t even bother to respond to these messages but I always made it a point to spend a few seconds sending a polite response. Many of these recruiters would reply back thanking me for at least acknowledging their message and telling me to reach out if I was ever looking for new opportunities. Well, that’s exactly what I did after getting laid off. I started messaging these recruiters letting them know that I was available, and within minutes I started receiving job descriptions. Perhaps they still would have responded to me even if I hadn’t replied to their original message, but the fact that I was polite to them when I didn’t need to be certainly didn’t hurt.
So, that’s all for now on that front. Hopefully, I will have some positive job-related news to share in next month’s post. In the meantime, I’m staying focused on job preparation and adding more features to the Cappers application.
In other family news, Jessica is crushing it at UNLV for her master’s program. She got an A in her first class and passed another exam with flying colors. Her dedication to the work is beyond impressive and it’s clearly leaving a positive impression on our kids. They’re seeing first-hand what hard work and dedication, in the context of school specifically, will result in. No one appreciates what she’s doing more than me, and considering my current situation, I’m doing my best to make it easier on her in any way I can.
School is also going well for each of the kids. Elise is thriving in her first year of middle school and her teachers all love her. She is playing the violin in the school’s orchestra and seems to mention new musical things she is learning each day. Ava’s grades have never been better and she continues to love playing the trumpet in the school’s band. Obviously, their engagement in music brings me a lot of joy and I hope they both stick with it long-term. Enzo has all A’s and B’s in his 4th grade class and recently received advanced level scores in a national math exam. Jessica and I are so proud of each of them in terms of their scholastic progress and extra-curricular involvement.
On the activities side of things, each of the kids has something to keep them busy. Elise is back in a boxing class, which she attends every Saturday morning. There’s no doubt that she is the strongest one of our children, and she always enjoys the classes, so this seems to be a good fit for her. So far, it’s all about physical conditioning and technique, meaning the kids aren’t actually punching each other. I can’t help but wonder if the love of boxing will live on once she starts sparring with other kids, but only time will tell. For now, I’m just glad she is enjoying herself while building strength and self-confidence.
Enzo recently got back into a rock climbing class, which he attends on Monday evenings at the local rec center. He did the same class last year and is loving it so far this year. I hope he sticks with it because it’s building not just strength but problem-solving skills as well. It was a bit more difficult to get him to commit to something because he’s not interested in team sports, but this seems to be a good fit.
Ava has been staying busy with softball, which means I too am busy with softball. She has practices two days per week, plus batting cage sessions on Sunday mornings. The weather is still surprisingly hot here so our Saturday afternoon practices have not been easy, but we’re making progress. Being out there in 105-degree heat while doing drills is not easy for anyone but I frequently tell the girls how proud I am of their dedication and resiliency. Our first game is next weekend and this is our first season in the 14U age division, so it will be a new challenge for us.
This weekend Grandpa Rick and his fiance Debbie are visiting us from Iowa. Rick has a work conference in Las Vegas this week so they came out a couple of days early to visit. Last night we all attended the Triple-A baseball championship at the Las Vegas ballpark. Later today they will be checking into their hotel on the strip but it was nice to get some time with them.
I think it’s fair to say we’re all looking forward to October for our own reasons. The kids love Halloween, especially in this neighborhood, and my Mom has a major birthday coming up that we’re excited to celebrate. We made it through the hottest Summer in Las Vegas history and are now ready for the lovely Fall weather. As a sports fan, this is my favorite time of year, and it’s also the beginning of my “cooking season.” That’s all for now; I’m looking forward to sharing some good news in the next post. Here are a few recent family photos.
Ava and Elise heading out for schoolJessica and Enzo on Sports Day at schoolElise decorating the house for HalloweenFamily movie night with takeout
Wrapping up the 23-24 school year, celebrating Mom, and preparing for another trip to Colorado.
May has been an exciting month for us on multiple levels. Earlier this month, Elise graduated from elementary school, and like her sister a year before, she had the pleasure of giving a speech during the ceremony about her 5th-grade teacher. She worked hard on this speech, and although she later said she was nervous while delivering it, you couldn’t tell while listening. Elise has been attending acting classes for the past few months and they seem to have paid off. We’re so proud of her, not only for having the courage to get up there and deliver this speech but also for all the work that went into it. She is now officially done with elementary school and will be joining Ava in middle school next year.
In addition to wrapping up her first year of middle school, this has been an exciting month for Ava due to the fact that her softball team, the Henderson Hawks, won their second consecutive championship in the 12U age group. After starting the season 1-1 during a double-header, they never lost another game all season long, including the playoffs. Ava’s improvement this season has been such a joy to witness and I felt lucky to be a part of the team as an assistant coach. We’re already looking forward to our next season in the Fall and Ava is determined to improve this offseason just like she did during the last one.
Another thing the girls have been working on that I’m very proud of is that they have both done more than 60 consecutive days of foreign language lessons on Duolingo! Ava is doing Japanese lessons while Elise is studying Italian, and they’re both obsessed with making sure they always do their daily lesson. I can relate, as it was only a few years ago that I finished all of the Italian lessons on Duolingo. I never missed a day in over 3 years, so it makes me proud to see them both doing the same thing on their own accord.
Enzo is now finished with 3rd grade and is excited to be on Summer break. It’s hard to believe that he is our only child who still attends elementary school. Although he hasn’t been as busy as his sisters with activities, he still loves to shoot hoops at home, go swimming, ride bikes, and play catch. He did very well in school this year and is excited for 4th grade, just not too soon.
Jessica recently made a big decision that we’re all very proud of. During the next school year, she will continue working as an assistant in her school’s special education classroom, but she will also be taking classes to get her teaching certificate. She plans on taking over a class of her own the following year! This transition has been on her mind for a while but she recently decided that the time is right. This summer she will be preparing for the entrance exam and looks forward to starting her classes in the fall.
Monday was also an exciting day for Jessica because we went out shopping together as a family and got her a nice new bicycle at REI. Ava has outgrown her old mountain bike and has recently started riding Jessica’s bike, then Enzo moved up from his old racing BMX bike to Ava’s old mountain bike. This left Jessica without a bike so we decided to check out REI’s Memorial Day sale. We ended up finding the perfect bike for her and are excited to do more family bike rides this summer.
Earlier this month we celebrated Mom by getting out for a Mother’s Day hike at Red Rocks. It was Jessica’s idea, which was a big deal for her because she hadn’t been hiking since her accident last fall. We started early to avoid the heat and enjoyed all the beautiful scenery. Elise and Enzo got to sit in a bright green Lamborghini at one of the rest stops, and we even got to see some ancient petroglyphs painted on one of the rock walls.
On my end of things, I’m now in my 3rd week working at Unabated Sports and I love it. I still can’t believe I’m working in the sports betting industry and I have to chuckle when I think about my Dad working as a bookie for my entire childhood. I like to joke that he was the original “work from home” and now here I am working from home in the same industry. At least I don’t have to worry about getting arrested though.
After one day of onboarding, they threw me into the deep end with a complicated task on my second day which took a couple weeks to complete. Our CEO later told me that it was the most complicated first task anyone had ever received at Unabated, which made me feel good because it wasn’t easy. More importantly, it’s an awesome company to work at and I’m excited to start work each day.
At my last job, I had a daily meeting at 7:00 am Pacific time, so I’d wake up by 6:40 and hop online just in time. Now, I wake up at 5:30 am to work out, do some Cappers work, clean up, and then still be online for my day job by 7:00. I love having those early mornings to myself and feel like I have already accomplished something before my actual workday even begins. I’m learning a lot about sports betting and also becoming a strong engineer from this role, so I have already started applying some of these new things to Cappers. It’s an exciting time for me.
This weekend we will be driving up to Colorado to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Martin. We were originally going to leave on Saturday but Ava’s softball team is holding their end-of-season party that day so we decided to push our travel plans out by one day. The weather should be pretty good so I’m looking forward to taking one of their Harley’s out for a spin. Camping in the Rocky Mountain National Forest should be a lot of fun, so I expect next month’s update to be a bit longer than this one.
We’ve got a lot of good stuff to look forward to this summer, and I’m so proud of Jessica for the commitment she has made. See you next month with an update about our latest trip to Colorado!
Jessica’s birthday weekend, family activities, and a new job for Dad.
Yesterday was Jessica’s birthday and we were able to make a fun weekend out of it. On Saturday morning she ran a 5k with Elise and Enzo as part of the school running club that Elise has been involved in this year. Unfortunately, Ava and I weren’t able to be there to cheer them on because her softball team had a double-header in Pahrump that morning, which is about an hour away, but they had a great time. Here’s a photo from their race.
On Saturday, Jessica wanted to check out a hibachi restaurant near our house. We thought it would be a fun experience and that the kids would enjoy the show. It turned out to be a great time and is something we plan on doing again soon. Elise had been to a hibachi restaurant one time with her friend’s family, but Ava and Enzo had never experienced anything like this before. There was a guy seated across from us who was very friendly and offered Enzo $5 if he could catch a shrimp from the chef in his mouth. He was given three tries and this is how it turned out.
Afterward, the chef gave everyone a chance to catch a piece of shrimp in their mouth. Jessica and I both caught ours on the first try but let’s just say that wasn’t the case for everyone else. Overall it was a fun and new experience with delicious food, and the whole table sang “Happy Birthday” to Jessica.
We slept in on Sunday morning, then later I got to work on a crab cake benedict for her birthday brunch. I had offered to skip my baseball game but she told me not to, so it was important to me that I make her a nice meal. The kids had never eaten eggs benedict before but they all liked it, especially the homemade hollandaise sauce.
After brunch we went to the park to play frisbee for a bit and enjoy the beautiful weather, then I had to get ready for my game. While I was away, Jessica and the kids went out for ice cream, and by the time I got home, everyone was relaxing for the evening. Another exciting thing to come out of Jessica’s birthday was that we finalized our dates for the Colorado trip in June. As it turns out, we’re going to be gone for 11 days, which is more than originally expected but it made the most sense based on everything we want to do with Grandma and Grandpa Martin. I’ll be working for several of those days, but will still be taking a few days off as well. The plan is to leave Nevada on Saturday, June 1st, and return on Tuesday, June 11th. I look forward to writing a big update about it in June!
I hope Jessica had a great birthday, and most importantly, how much we all love and appreciate her!
In addition to Jessica’s birthday, we also recently attended a school awards ceremony at the South Point Hotel and Casino. She was nominated for support staff of the year, and although she didn’t win, it was still a great honor and clear validation that she is doing the right thing. She received an engraved plaque and we enjoyed the ceremony with friends, so it was a fun and memorable night all around.
Softball and Baseball Update
While my baseball season is just getting going, Ava’s softball season is cruising right along toward the playoffs. Her team is 7-1 and we just beat the 1st-place team in both games of a double-header on Saturday. Her improvement this season has been so fun to watch and I’m proud of how committed she is. She never turns down an opportunity to practice and never misses a team event. Sometimes it gets tricky due to other family commitments, and we have had to ask other families for help getting her to or from practice more than once, but it always works out.
It’s been a pleasure for me to help the team this season as an assistant coach and I know Ava loves having me out there. We only have two more weeks until the playoffs begin, so her season will be over before we know it, but we’re doing our best to repeat as league champions, and no matter what, we will definitely be back for the next season this Fall.
On the baseball side, I’m having a blast getting out there with the guys every Sunday. I can handle all the bumps and bruises, as well as waking up sore on Monday mornings because I love the whole experience. I’m making friends, playing better than expected, and best of all, getting to share this experience with Enzo, who is our team’s batboy.
So far, our team has played 4 games and we have a record of 1-3, which isn’t great, but it’s a brand new team and we’re still finding our way. You never know who is going to make it each weekend due to other schedules and conflicts, but it’s always a good time. I currently have a batting average of .500, which is much better than I expected to start off at. I haven’t struck out more than once in a game and yesterday’s game was the first one where I didn’t strike out at all. I’ve had a few really nice hits, including a blast over the center fielder’s head in game 3 that resulted in a standup double. The best part was reaching second base and hearing Enzo yell “Father of the Year!!!”
I have already had a scary moment as well, which was in my first at-bat of the second game. The first pitch I saw was a fastball coming right at my head. I later learned that I should have ducked away but I have never practiced this type of situation before and the ball was coming in very fast, so my natural instinct was to pull back. The ball clipped my left wrist and then hit me right in the face! I could tell no serious damage was done but it was scary for everyone, not just me. I hated the fact that Enzo had to see this happen to me in my first at-bat since he had joined the team, but it was memorable.
As expected, the guys on the team love having Enzo around and it seems clear that Enzo loves it just as much, if not more. Our team’s manager insisted on paying for Enzo’s jersey due to all the help he provides, and as I told him recently, we’re creating memories for a lifetime. Even if he never plays ball himself, he will always remember being the batboy for his dad’s team. I would have loved to do this sort of thing with my own dad but I’m glad to be doing my part to make it happen now. I’m not getting any younger, and am already one of the oldest guys out there, but I love it and want to continue playing as long as possible.
My New Job in the Sports Betting Industry
To close things off, I’m excited to announce that I have accepted a new job as a Senior Software Engineer with Unabated Sports; an industry leader in sports betting analytics! I wasn’t even looking for a new job because my plan was to continue working at my current day job until my own company, Cappers.ai, was successful enough for me to work there full-time, but this opportunity with Unabated popped up and was too good for me not to pursue.
I stumbled upon Unabated on Twitter a few weeks ago and was immediately impressed with their business model. I even sent their link to my partner Devin saying that this is exactly how I would like to see our company evolve. Later on, I noticed on their Twitter feed that they were hiring software engineers and were looking for someone with experience in C# and relational databases. As it just so happens, this is exactly what I used to build the Cappers application, so I figured I had nothing to lose by applying.
I sent them an email with my resume and talked about my experience with Cappers, then about 90 minutes later I had an email from their CEO asking if we could chat. We had a few meetings over the next two weeks and ultimately they made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. I made sure to verify with them that Cappers wasn’t going to be a conflict of interest and they were fine with it.
I’m so excited to get started two weeks from today. I know I’m going to learn a ton and can’t wait to dive head-first into their platform. I’m particularly proud of this new role because it’s a product of the initiative and hard work that went into building the Cappers site. I built that thing from scratch, have learned a ton along the way, and continue to put countless hours into it. While I haven’t been unhappy working at my current day job, which is in the healthcare industry, having the opportunity to work in the world of sports betting, which is something that I love and am good at, is very exciting. I can’t help but think that my dad would be proud. He always told me when I was a kid not to follow in his footsteps, but to me this feels like the best of both worlds.
Regardless of how things turn out with Cappers, this is a great opportunity with Unabated. Several of their founders were founders of the Action Network, which is the biggest platform out there for sports bettors, and I’m getting in as one of the first 30 employees. They are consistently beating their revenue targets and growing fast. My family has been so supportive throughout this process and I know Jessica is very happy for me to be able to take this on. I look forward to providing more updates about it in the near future.
That’s about it for now. It’s crazy that the school year is about to come to an end, and we’re excited for Elise because she will be giving a speech at her elementary school graduation ceremony, just like Ava did a year ago. We don’t have a whole lot planned in May, but June should be a lot of fun due to our Colorado trip, then Grandpa Rudd will be visiting for the 4th of July. Shortly after that will be our weekend in Phoenix, and then as soon as we get back from that our good friends the Palmers will be coming down for their annual visit.
Here are a few more recent photos. See you next month!
Visiting with old friends from SeattleI got to speak to Elise’s 5th-grade class about being a software engineer for Career DayJessica’s birthday dinnerHeading to the park on Mom’s birthday
