Queen Bee 2026

Oct 10,

This morning Bella and I maintained the tradition for another year, running the Queen Bee 4 miler. The weather was great for running. Cool but not cold, and kind of cloudy. I just started running again about a month ago, to prepare for the race, and have only been running on the treadmill. So I thought I might only run 2 or 3 miles, and walk the rest. But in the end I did run the whole thing with only a couple of quick walking breaks. And managed to finish in under 11 minutes per mile, which for nowadays is a good time. Bella hasn’t been running as much either, but did have a good run.

Blink 2026

Oct 9,

My friend Mario and his wife Michelle, from Boston, were in town this weekend. So we went with them, and another coworker’s family, to Blink. It was downtown, and really spread out, so we walked a lot. I didn’t pay close attention but Lionel said we walked close to 3 hours. I believe that.

I am glad we went, to see it and to hang out, but I think it was not as good as the previous time we went. The projections on Music Hall were pretty cool though.

Queen Bee Expo 2026

Oct 9,

This afternoon Bella and I went to pick up our package for the Queen Bee 4 miler. We went kind of quickly, and she first tried to ditch, but I was glad we ended up going together.

School Visits

Oct 3,

This week we took Thursday and Friday off to do two school visits. On Wednesday evening we flew to Atlanta, we spent the night there, and on Thursday morning we drove to Clemson. The campus is nice, and the two girls who did the tour did a really good job, but it is definitely in the middle of nowhere and their downtown is tiny. 

Thursday night we stayed in Clemson and on Friday morning we drove to Columbia to visit the University of South Carolina. Sam, one of Sofia’s high school friends, goes there. So Sofia decided to come as well. We knew she was mostly coming to see her friend but we were excited to see her all the same. Bella liked the business school, but seemed less excited about the overall campus. I did think the school was nice.

On Friday night we went out for dinner with all the girls, and on Friday afternoon, after doing brunch at a very eclectic cafe, we flew back. I am glad that we got to see the schools, and it was a nice little break.

Homecoming 2026

Sep 26,

Tonight was the Walnut Hills Homecoming dance. This time around Bella went with a different group, Vs her core group of friends, because there was teen drama as they were planning for it. The group got too big, nobody seemed to agree on who was going with whom, where they were going for dinner, etc. So in the end Bella went with her friend Evan’s core group. She knows several of them really well, so luckily it is not like she was the odd one out. Evan is the only male friend who has managed to stick around over the years, and we like him, so we made sure to get a photo of the two of them.

One of the moms hosted the group for photos and dinner, and hosted the parents as well so we could be there for the photos before the dance. The dance was at the school cafeteria, but they were supposed to decorate it so it didn’t ook too much like the place where they eat every day.

This morning Bella said that she had fun, that the music was good, and that they definitely danced. Although of course she complained about some people who were messing up one of those group dances. I was glad that was the only thing she had to complain about.

September

Sep 26,

The month of Sep has been a blur as Sofia is away for college, and Bella is out and about and therefore we barely hang out with her, Kika is the only “child” around. So other than work, and the daily routine, we have been taking her on different walks. For some reason she has been refusing to walk around the house, so we are having to get creative and take her somewhere else when we have time.

August

Aug 31,

August was a great start of the school year for Bella, with seniors traditions, home games, and lots of social time.