Day 365/365

     For my last day of the challenge I got to hang out with some Saginaw elementary school students who are piloting an after-school fitness program called 'Kids Run the Nation.' I was having a pretty crappy day yesterday, so getting to hangout with them for a bit and seeing how much fun they were having did make me feel a bit better. It also finished this project off on a high note!

Day 361/365

     Friday/day 361 I covered a school assembly hosted for the Frankenmuth elementary, middle, and high schools. The assembly was held so that Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson could come and talk to the students about nutrition, and how important it is to make healthy choices, even when you're young. Hanson seemed like a pretty down-to-earth guy, making jokes about how he was sure he was boring everybody and making a point to get all of them involved.

Day 358/365

     

     Tuesday night/day 358 was full of some more postseason basketball; the girls state quarterfinals to be exact. It was full of some great playing, and lead to a Saginaw team winning. As an advantage to posting this late: the team, (Nouvel Catholic Central), won the state semifinals today, and will be playing for the state championships this weekend! Hopefully I'll be covering the game, so stay tuned. They're a fantastic team; a lot of fun to watch and even more so to shoot.

Day 353/365

     Sorry for the delay; I've been working so many night shifts and trying to catch up on sleep in between that I feel like I've been on the opposite schedule as everyone else. Anyways, last Thursday/day 353 I covered a local high school's hockey team making a run for the state playoffs. Unfortunately for them they lost, pretty badly, but their fans were some of the most supportive I've ever seen. They never stopped cheering for the guys, going so far as to camping out by their entrance to rally behind them before the start of the final period. It's amazing the kind of emotional reactions that sports can bring out in people.

Day 347/365

    Friday/day 347 was spent shooting a basketball tournament out in the middle of nowhere. Nevertheless, it was a great game, (perk of shooting postseason basketball - the game's keep getting better and better). I'm sure there will be even more these coming weeks. 

Day 328/365

     On Sunday/day 328 I ventured down to Flint with a friend from work who knew the area pretty well. I thought parts of Saginaw looked depressing; Flint was on a whole other level. We definitely found some places we wanted to check out but couldn't get into, so we'll have to make another trip down with better tools sometime. We did find a shut down elementary school that we were able to get into, and checked out part of an old dam as well. It's sad what neglect can do to a place.

Day 278/365

     Yesterday/day 278 was the O'Donnell family, (my mom's side of my family), Christmas party. With the exception of a few of a few cousins, almost all of us were able to make it this year. There's so many of us that all of us getting together at the same time and sam place doesn't happen all that often. 

     

     I had an idea to make them all Christmas ornaments this year, (my mom and her seven siblings), using a photo of all of them together on Christmas morning when they were children. I love this picture of all of them; I think it shows each of their personalities so well. And the ornaments seemed to be a hit!

Day 244/365

     Today I took Kip to a local park where he got to see the lake for the first time. He. Loved. It. Out of all the dogs my family's had, none of them have been water dogs. To say I was excited to see that Kip seems to love water is a major understatement. Next summer should be interesting. 

Day 42/365

     I couldn't resist doing another dandelion post. We just mowed the lawn a few days ago, and already the weeds are back in full force. So, today I give you the evolution of the dandelion! We have them in all stages all around our yard.

Day 14/365

     For entry fourteen I got my mom and brother involved, much to their dismay. I wanted to do a triptych of our portraits in order to see what similarities there were in our facial features. This idea first came to mind when I went into work with my mother this past week and a coworker commented on how much she thought I looked like my mom. My brother and I have always gotten varied opinions when it comes to which of our parents we look like more, if at all. Everything from looking just like our dad or just like our mom, to looking like a complete blend between the two, or not looking like either of them; my brother and I have heard it all. Personally, I tend to think Ryan looks more like our mom, (same eyes, same mouth), and I look more like our dad. I've always thought that looking and comparing people who are related to each other and seeing the traits they share to be interesting.