Walking Home From School

The trip over the walkway is more fun with more people.

Having recently read "Quitter," a best-selling book with some nice career advice, I set out to make some lifestyle changes. One of them was to try to spend more time with the girls each day. And one of the easy ways to do it was to walk with the girls each afternoon – including the walk home from school with Veronica.

While Julia and Olivia have yet to join in on the afternoon walk up to pick up Veronica, Lauren joined in today. The result was a nice opportunity to catch up with her – and to capture one of her priceless expressions (seen at right).

The walk from my apartment to their house takes about 12-15 minutes and it is another 10 minutes or so to the school. The walk home is another 10 minutes, then another 10 from there. So it adds up to about 35 to 45 minutes of exercise and catch-up time with the girls.

Everybody Gets A Cap

Veronica walked home with a BMC Racing Team cap on the day she gave all of her classmates one.

Lunch With Veronica

I enjoyed lunch with Veronica and she got to hand out a few gifts to her classmates.

As Seen On SnapChat

Emily really rocked out on this drawing of the house.

On My Way Home

Goodbye, Richmond. It has been short and sweet – and successful.

World Champions – Again

Backstage before receiving their gold medals, I snapped this photo for Twitter.

A year ago, I was driving through Western Nebraska when the BMC Racing Team won the world team time trial championships in Ponferrada, Spain.

This year, I was actually on-site in Richmond, Virginia, to watch the "sweet repeat" (as I headlined it on Facebook). Yes, "They Did It! Again!" (as mentioned on Twitter) made for a nice trip.

There was all kinds of chaos in the celebration - and none of it was seen on TV.

Welcome To The Worlds: Richmond 2015

There was a decent crowd at the start of the women's team time trial.

I am back at the world road championships – for the first time since 1986, when Colorado Springs hosted the event. Back then, the track and the road championships were combined. There was no individual time trial (though there was a 100-kilometer team time trial, apparently) so I only attend the final day of racing at the U.S. Air Force Academy grounds.

Today, I was at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond for the start of the team time trial. When I arrived, the women were starting. The men's teams will be starting for about two hours, which means the wind could be a factor. There is already a nice crowd here. Contrast that with about an estimated 15,000 fans who watched the men's elite road race on Labor Day weekend 29 years ago.

And there they go!

Happy 10th Birthday, Veronica!

Veronica was very pleased with her Dairy Queen ice cream cake.

Is Veronica really 10 years old? That is really hard to believe. But we're not complaining. She's a real treat to have around and no matter what you call her – "Tiny," "Turd" "Turdium," "Bergonica," "Veron" or "Ron" – she'll respond to you with a smile.

Veronica requested a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. She even picked it out online. But what was written on it ... well, you will have to ask her. We are still trying to figure that one out.

By the way, Veronica is the only one of the girls whose "first day in the life of..." blog entry is still online. You can read all about her "coming out party" in this blog entry.

In The News: World Team Time Trial

Look closely and you might see someone you might recognize (besides Taylor Phinney).

As Seen On SnapChat

Another gem from Emily.

Bob Cullinan Visits Omaha

Bob Cullinan surprised Veronica with a pick-up from school today.

Sean's friend, Bob Cullinan, visited Omaha today and surprised Veronica by picking her up from school. There was also this:

100,000 Followers on Instagram

This was a nice milestone to reach.

Princess Pictures

Not the best quality (with an iPhone set on small resolution), but pretty princesses nonetheless.

And a nice one with the girl who has gone off to college.

Poor Olivia

Olivia (pictured with Bridget) spent a few hours in the emergency room tonight.

Olivia's hand was painfully swollen.

Poor Olivia.

She came up with a rash recently and it led to some pretty unpleasant and uncomfortable days. Tonight, with the pain and itching too much to bear, we headed over to Children's Hospital to get to the bottom of it.

Several hours later, we still are not sure what is causing the rash but at least Olivia is getting some (temporary) relief from it. The official diagnosis? Hives.

The bad news is, we were told it could be at least a week before it completely subsides.

No, not that Emily...

Back to the Future: In A Photo

How's this for a "Back to the Future" moment? In a photo!

We managed to re-create this photo tonight during the Jefferson School open house.

Jefferson Open House

Veronica shows off her locker.

The third of three straight nights of school open houses concluded at Veronica's school. Hers was a much more relaxed affair and highlighted by a scavenger hunt-type activity.

We made our way around the school, completing tasks at various places (the library, music room, etc.) and Veronica's music teacher was very proud to tell us she had Veronica as part of chorus this year. (She has stopped taking violin lessons for now.) We also got to see a nice art project she had on display outside her classroom (pictured at right).