...Here we go loop-di-dye!!

There is a lot to talk about in this blog, seeing as I haven't blogged since...well, a while!

Where was I? Oh, right, last time I blogged was the start of the last week of classes. Classes ended well. It felt good to be done with all of the classes, but the finals were still ahead! To wrap up two of my classes, I had those big papers I talked about. Boy, am I glad to be done with both of them! One ended with seven pages and the other was eleven pages.

When I wasn't studying, which was almost never, I did a few things. Such things include a run to Wal-Mart, my regular meetings, and gearing up for next semester (books, pay tuition, etc.)

I also got a chance to go to the Humane Society, which is always fun. We walked the dogs and played with the cats. It was snowing pretty hard when we walked the dogs!

On a side note, if you remember that old guy professor I talked about earlier in my blogs (the one that wore the green pants), I am sad to announce that he is retiring and that my class was his last at Michigan Tech...pretty sad day on Friday :(

Last weekend was ALL about studying. Twenty-two silent hours were instituted to created a conducive studying environment. This past week was finals week (so no classes, just tests). I had four finals total; one on Tuesday Dec. 6th, and then this past week, one was on Wednesday and two were on Thursday morning. They all went well (I think!) and hopefully I'll receive A's across the board! :)

Last weekend also brought on the usuals along with all that studying - church, laundry, and sleep.

Also included in all the hubbub of these weeks was the celebration of Christmas and the holidays! My friends and I had our own little Christmas and we each gave each other a little something. I have some great friends! I also celebrated the holidays at a gathering called Cookies with the Dean. In my forestry building the Dean of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences hosted a cookie and craft building gathering and study break. I really enjoyed it!

I also attended another study break to take my mind off all the crazy studying. At that break they had a green screen where some friends and I took some fun pics!

When all was said and done, the week of the 4th was the last week of classes, last weekend was studying and more studying, and this past week was finals!

I had those two finals Thursday morning and then I was out of there by 1pm and on my way home!

It is so great to be home! My younger sisters were in A Very Hill-Murray Christmas, the Christmas show at my high school. I got a chance to see a few of the performances. They, along with everyone else, did a great job!

As it is the season of giving, I have been working on my Christmas presents! I am pretty excited to give my gifts this year!

Be sure to take a look at the photos soon! I will hopefully get some more up (P.S. - be sure to look back in the Nov. folder too!)

I wish you all a joyful, merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Here we go loop-di-do.....

We are in da full swing of things up here in da nort'. I have a paper due Thursday and another due Friday. I have a final as well as a quiz tomorrow..Yikes! Then I have three finals next week..oh boy!

Well, instead of talking about the future, let's talk about what I've been up to since being back. Just to pick out the highlights....

1. I received funding from WHSA to attend Leadershape, so that is good news :)

2. I hung Christmas lights in my room and have been listening to Christmas music! I'm definitely in the Christmas spirit!

3. I went to both of the hockey games versus MN-Duluth. UMD won both games 5-3. As I believe I have mentioned, there are two members on the Michigan Tech hockey team who went to Hill-Murray and played hockey (Dan Sova and Ryan Furne). When we played UMD, there were three former HM players on the ice, as Chris Casto plays for UMD. Funny how that happens!

4. SNOW!! We got more snow and it just keeps falling. It's lookin' like Christmas :)

5. Remember that test I took in a blizzard the Thursday before Thanksgiving break? Well, our teacher gave us the opportunity to retake the test, so I did and performed much better - I'm a lot happier with my score now. In other classroom news, in bowling I bowled a 193 last week...a 193!! I bowled a turkey (three stikes in a row). I was pretty happy! :)

6. I helped make some no-bake cookies the other day. That was interesting....they certainly tasted good!

Just in general I have been having a great time with friends in our attempts (both successfully and unsuccessfully!) to study! I will make it through these not-so-fun weeks!

Hope you all are staying warm and embracing winter!

School Sweet School...

I made it back to school safe and sound :) I'm back in Houghton for 3 weeks; here's what they look like....two weeks of class ending with two large papers due, then a third, stress-filled week with finals and exams...oh yipee! THEN, back home!!!

I had a great Thanksgiving break. Time with the family (we were all home :), seeing some friends, Christmas shopping, and of course Thanksgiving! Yum Yum!

The snow report: Quite a bit of what we had got before has melted. We still have 2-3".

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are doing well. Stay warm!

Home Sweet Home!

First and foremost......I'm home!!! I made it back safely!! I had a good trip back to Minnesota on Friday afternoon. Just a little snow falling as we came home. We have 6-8" of snow in the UP already, so I thought I would bring you all back some :) I hope you all like it!

It was a high energy week with Thanksgiving on everyone's minds. I had some big papers and tests to take, but all went fairly well.

On Tuesday I received my acceptance to LeaderShape! I will attend that the first week in January before the beginning of the second semester. More about that soon!

On Wednesday I had my USG meeting as usual. We had some great discussions! I truly do enjoy being a part of the student government and working for the betterment of the school - It's pretty cool!

On Thursday I had a big field test in Field Techniques. I had to take a sample plot of trees in the forest....and in a blizzard! Ok, ok, maybe not a blizzard, but certainly heavy snow! It was pretty difficult to complete the test when it’s snowing wet, sloppy snow! But, when all was said and done, it was certainly a memory that will not be soon forgotten!

Since I've been home I have been so excited to see you all! On Saturday I got my haircut, renewed my drivers' license, and went to the bank...you know...all those important to do's while you're home! That afternoon I went to the Hill-Murray football game. HM played in the MN state tournament. Unfortunately they lost a tough one, 37-35 the final score.

Earlier today was the fall Pancake Breakfast at St. Jude. I enjoyed seeing everyone at church and from scouts. Then this afternoon was my friends' Nic and Kevin's Eagle Court of Honor, celebrating their achievement of Eagle Scout Rank. Congrats to both! I am glad I was able to be home for the ceremony and to be a part of it.

Well, I am looking forward to this whole week off and for
Thanksgiving! Hope you all have a great (and hopefully short) week!

The seasons are upon us!

Less than a week folks! I will be home this Friday Nov. 18th!! Here's what has been going on in my world.

Bowling has been going well. I had a great day Monday, bowling a 151.

On Wednesday afternoon.....drum roll please....IT SNOWED!!! It snowed for the first time. It was really wet and heavy slush. It stuck too! There is still snow on the ground - looks like it's here to stay! I would say we got about 2 inches so far.

For my Undergraduate Research Assistant job (the one with the plants) I got to use the LMA machine this week! LMA stand for Leaf Mass/Area. the machine measure the surface area of the leaf. Last week (I forgot to mention this earlier) I got to work in the greenhouse and on the roof of the Dow Building. That was really cool! I helped take root density samples. Look for a picture of a bunch of blue tubs (FYI - they are full of soil and growing plants).

On Wednesday night I registered for my classes for the Spring semester. Here's what my class load looks like:

- Calculus for Life Sciences

- Chemistry

- Natural Resources Seminar

- Natural Resources Policy

- Spanish (Lev. 2-B)

On Thursday I had Field Techniques as usual, it is just getting more interesting now that there is snow on the ground :)

On Thursday night the meal in the dining hall was a Thanksgiving feast. The food was actually quite good! It was a nice taste of the holiday prior to coming home, but nothing compares to Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa's! :)

This weekend has been (and will continue to be) homework filled as I try to get somethings out of the way before Thanksgiving.

I had great conversations with many of you this week! I really enjoy hearing from you all! Hope to connect with you all soon!

Ho Hum Week...

Hello everyone -

It has been a ho hum week around here. Nothing too interesting or exciting...the most exciting thing has been thinking about Thanksgiving!

This week I had a Biology exam as well as a Cultural Anthropology exam. Both went fairly well.

On Wednesday I had my USG meeting, as usual, and was nominated and chosen to sit on the Ways and Means Committee. That was pretty cool!

As I said, it was a pretty quiet week, so the package from home and the mail from Grandma and Grandpa was nice :)

I applied for LeaderShape, as I talked about doing in my last blog. I should know before Thanksgiving if I was accepted or not.

On Friday I went to a tie dying event and learned about the Green Campus enterprise. That was an interesting event...something to look forward to in my later years.

I also attended the Students For Environmental Sustainability club meeting. That was interesting...they talk about lots of fun stuff :)

I went to the hockey games against Minnesota State University both on Friday and Saturday. Tech won on Friday and lost on Saturday.

I register for classes this Wednesday...I hope to get into all of the classes that I want/need to take!

On the subject of classes, I took the spanish placement exam to see which level to be placed in for spanish next semester and I tested into Level 2B! (FYI - That is pretty good!)

Only 12 more days or so 'til I come home!! I have confirmed my ride now....so MN here I come! Friday the 18th can't come soon enough!

I hope you all are well....I can't wait to see you!!!

Fun Fun Fun!

Hi Everyone! Busy, as usual, around here. Actually, this past week was fairly relaxing. I gave a presentation in a class on Monday. Tuesday I got my Vegetations Lecture midterm grade - I was happy with my score :) On Tuesday night there was a HUGE display of the northern nights, BUT...unfortunately I didn't get to really see them. 0 for 3 now in attempting to see them. I will see them up here at some point! On Wednesday I had my USG meeting, which is always interesting. I really enjoy it! The unfortunate part is that I missed seeing Garrison Keillor, who was on campus :(

Yesterday was a busy, but extremely fun, day. For most of the day I was at my USG (Undergraduate Student Government) retreat. It was held at the Mariner North in Copper Harbor. It was fun all around - the ride up and back, lunch, and just being with like-minded people. No big deal or anything, but any day you sit across the lunch table from the Vice President of your University is a good day. Then, a top of that, have a car ride (1.5 hours) with him. He is a real great guy. Look for pics!

After the retreat was Safehouse. Safehouse is when the residence halls decorate the hallways, either "fun" or "scary" and then the public can come through. If they go to the fun hallways they go "trick or treating." If they go to the "scary" hallways it is similar to a haunted house. I helped out with that by making sound effects for a scary hall. That was fun! Look for pics - warning, some are "scary"!

Then...yes, it was a full day...I went to the hockey game vs. Denver. On Friday we won 7-2! Last night we tied with them 2-2. Both games were good. Look for pics.

A few general things.....

- the weather has been quite nice, but somewhat all over the place, lately. Frost in the morning, scraping of vehicles, sunny clear days, and cool crisp fall evenings have all been in our recent past. Looking forward to some wacky weather! The only down turn of the weather changing is my nose bleeds :(

- I am planning to apply to LeaderShape. LeaderShape is a seminar for collegiate youth to go to in order to enhance their leadership abilities and help them see their strengths and weaknesses. Wish me luck! The application process for the seminar is pretty competitive (60 students total).

Wishing you all a happy Sunday!

Great Time in the Porkies!

Hello everyone! I had a GREAT time this weekend! On Friday a friend of mine and his family came up to visit Michigan Tech. They had a tour and then I gave them an unofficial tour. Then, on Saturday, I rode with them to the Porcupine Mountains (Porkies) and hiked in to meet up with more friends from home. I had a great time hiking and seeing faces from home :) Look for pics soon! Some of them tell a pretty unique story - like the bear claw marks on the back of the cabin (no, not from when we were there), or the pic of my neck (an ember from the fire popped, flew up, and burned my neck - ouch!).

I shouldn't neglect to mention that on Thursday night I saw the movie Green Fire, a movie about a man named Aldo Leopold, a leader in conservation. I really enjoyed his story and the movie...right up my alley if you couldn't tell :)

On Saturday I participated in Make-A-Difference Day. With a group of friends we went and washed windows for an elderly lady in town. It felt good to get out and do some service.

On Saturday, we drove to the Porkies, stopping a few times along the way to take in the scenery. We got to the park and hiked in, stayed over night, and hiked out Sunday morning. I got back to campus late evening, did some laundry, ate, and then went to evening church.

I am certainly having fun here, but can't wait to see you all back home! Only 24 more days 'til I'm on break!

Restructuring of Photos

Hello all! I have revised the organization of the Photos link. The link on the left now brings you to a website where you can click on the time frame (aka month) and then the album that you want. I hope this works well. Let me know if you have any problems. Enjoy the photos!

Weekend Fun - including cooking!

This weekend was full of exciting things. The UW-Madison Badgers were in town and played the Huskies in hockey. We won both games in OT.

On Saturday afternoon I went apple picking with some friends. We picked apples from trees up on the Tech trails. We brought back a LOT of apples! We cooked them up into two apple pies, an apple crisp, and a lot of applesauce which we made into apple butter on Tuesday evening. All of this cooking was quite a process, but a lot of fun! Look for pics!

Also this weekend I went to Walmart, which was my first trip there since I have been here. It felt good to return to "civilization" for a bit :)

On Tuesday I had my last midterm in Vegetations of NA Lecture. I think it went pretty well!

On Wednesday I had my USG meeting, which we hashed out some big issues regarding money to certain organizations. I am glad I decided to run - I really like the position!

On Thursday I had my Field Techniques class, during which it was extremely windy and cold. Long underwear, earmuffs, and hardhat were all necessary!

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day. The temperature is around 50 and sunny. I had a busy day with classes, meetings, and work. BUT....as always, it all pays off. This weekend I am going to the Porcupine Mountains to backpack and see some friends from home! I am really excited! The forecast calls for sunshine and friends! :)

Also, tomorrow morning, I plan to participate in Make a Difference Day. It is a day of service projects and the community comes together to accomplish them. That should feel good :)

I hope all is well back home and that the MN students (Rachel, Angela....friends...) are enjoying MEA! I wish I had that break!

Sidenote: The broomball rink are in the process of being constructed - exciting! Look for pics in the future of broomball.

Only 28 more days until Thanksgiving Break!!

Let the Snow Fly!

The rain is falling, the winds are whipping, the temperature is dropping...the snow can't be far behind!

The weather this week has been chilly with this weekend being extremely windy and rainy :(

Earlier this week I had my Vegetations midterm. I think that it went really well!

This week I also started a second job! Don't worry, it's only two hours a week. This job is sorting through plants/weeds that were collected and separating them out and then counting how many of each species is present. The data will be used in the research about herbicide use.

On Wednesday I had my USG meeting. It was a long meeting with lots of hot topics discussed. I enjoyed giving my input!

Yesterday (Friday) I went to the hockey game versus UW-Madison. We won in OT 2-1. It was a really good game! I am planning to go to the game tonight too!

Also last night, after the game, WHSA hosted a coffeehouse in the dining hall. It was really fun. Free food and an evening of music, poetry, etc.

I'm gearing up for another midterm this Tuesday. It should be an OK week though.

Counting down to Thanksgiving break! Only 34 days!!

Weekend fun!

Here's what I've been up to!

This weekend was the culmination of our homecoming week. On Friday we raced cardboard boats out on the waterway. That was certainly fun to watch! Look for pics!

Sidenote: Friday night to Saturday I got the most sleep in one night thus far. I was in bed by 10pm and didn't get up until 9am! It felt great!

On Saturday I went to the homecoming football game (vs. Saginaw Valley). We lost in OT :(

But, to redeem ourselves as a whole, our hockey beat American International in the hockey game I went to Saturday night. That was really fun! Look for pics from both events.

Overall I had a relaxing weekend. This was sort of a lull in the semester before things pick up again.

Hope you all are well. Happy autumn!

p.s. - Look at the pics to see the progression of fall colors!

Another Busy Week!

Well, this week almost beats out last week for 'busyness' or should I say business...hehe! Here's what I have been up to this past week.

Way back, last Friday, I had a full day between classes and work. I also attended some graduate seminars to learn about what the graduate students were researching, which was very interesting. THEN....the family and Mary came!!!!!

Mom, Dad, Angela, and Mary came to visit me at college! I had a great time with them over the weekend. We drove around and saw some fall colors, drove to Copper Harbor, and enjoyed our time together. Something really cool is that we went to some waterfalls that were flowing. Waterfalls + fall colors + family....can't get much better! Look for pics!

Also, it should be mentioned that I am thoroughly enjoying all of the goodies and supplies that they brought with them! :)

In other notes...

- I have had my first USG meeting since officially being on the council. I also held office hours this week! Pretty exciting!

- Homecoming for us is just around the corner! All this week there are different events and then the football game and such is this weekend.

- Even though I have been extremely busy writing papers, going to meetings, and doing homework, I love college! It has been really fun thus far. Even in these first six weeks or so I have learned so much and cannot wait to continue - Bring it on!

Earlier this week was pretty "usual" - work, classes, learn some trees, more classes, go to meetings, even more classes and schoolwork.

The weather has been great the past few days. Lots of sunshine and some good fall colors! Look at the pics!

Hope you are all well. Keep smiling - life is good!

Busy Week!

It has certainly been a busy week for me! Here are a few things that have been on my "radar screen."

• Exams! I had my first biology exam Wednesday and my first Cultural Anthropology exam on Thursday. Both went fairly well and I am anxious to see my scores.
• In addition to those exams I also had a quiz in Vegetations and a paper on philosophy for my communications course. But, all of this educational work is finally complete!
• I have done some nearby traveling lately. I went to Hancock Beach (10 min N.) on Tuesday for my Vegetations lab and I went to Alberta, MI (45 min S.) for my Field Techniques class. Sidenote: the fall semester of my junior year I will go to school at MTU's fall camp, located in Alberta. Today I got to see the facilities and the grounds :)
• On Wednesday, I was notified that I had been elected to USG (Undergraduate Student Government)! I was inducted Wednesday evening at the USG meeting. My name was also on the front page of the Michigan Tech Lode (our school newspaper)! I will put a picture of the paper up.
• Lastly, WEATHER! Two opposites....the rain has been just torrential lately. It has been extremely windy and wet. Yuck! But on the flip side, the fall colors are almost at peak! I have been taking lots of photos. Look for the pics soon!

Overall it has been a very busy week with school work. I am happy to say that today is Friday! I can't wait for a great weekend!

Fun Weekend!

Hello everyone! Here are the highlights of my weekend!

• To begin, I worked on Friday, entering more information about dead animals into a computer, or should I say recording autopsy records into a database for future use.
• Friday evening I went to the humane society to walk the dogs and play with the cats. Take a look at the pics!
• On Saturday I went and volunteered for the Great Northern Adventure Race (GNAR). GNAR is similar to a triathlon, where the participants have to mountain bike, run, and canoe. They have to do different challenges at each of the checkpoints as well. The race occurred throughout the city. I helped out by taking pictures and directing traffic (at one point the race crossed the road). It was really fun to be a part of! Lots of fun stories!
• Also on Saturday I went to a tie-dying social with my fellow WHSA members. Our WHSA shirts were white, so we decided to tie-dye them!
• On Sunday I did the usual things...church, laundry, and studying.
• This week is quite busy in the educational realm. I have a Biology exam, a Cultural Anthropology Exam, a Vegetation quiz, two lab reports due, and a paper on Aristotle's philosophy. Ugh!

But, when all is said and done, I get a fantastic present - the family is coming to visit! I can't wait to see them!

Wishing you a happy autumn from the north ~ Kyle

Pretty Relaxed at the Moment

Hello everyone! I am doing well and am pretty relaxed at the moment. Here are some things going on in my life.

• Well, first is the fire. There was an apparent fir in one of the stairwells of my residence hall the other night. The alarms sounded, the fire trucks and firemen came...it was pretty intense. No damage was done and no one really knows the cause (at least not at the moment). Look for pictures later.
• Monday was my first day of work. After a few more days at work I will be able to tell you all of the information we record about the moose in the order they are on the card by memory! It is the same process with each card, over and over, but its pretty interesting. To give you of an idea of the intensity and amount of info on a card, in the three hours I worked on Monday I completed 16 cards. They each take a while!
• As with every week I am learning more and more trees. I wouldn't call myself an expert yet, but I'm getting there!
• I received an email from St. Al's (the church) telling me when I am scheduled for ushering! Pretty excited to get involved!
• Today I got to go to the Otter River Cabin. The cabin is owned by Michigan Tech and is run by the School of Forestry. We went there as part of my Field Techniques class. We were running transects and then counting course woody debris (aka: all of the down wood on the forest floor, ex: sticks, stumps, down trees, etc). I also have some pictures (look later) from both the cabin as well as when I was off in the woods. The woods were extremely thick! It pretty adventurous!
• Tomorrow I work again and then I plan to go to the humane society with some friends! On Saturday I have volunteered to help out with the Great Northern Adventure Race, which is similar to a triathlon. I will be the camera man! A free shirt, free lunch, free dinner, and a day outside! Can't get much better than that!

That's what I've been up to! Hopefully I will talk to you all soon!

The past week

Hello everyone! It has been a busy few days, hence no posts since Wednesday. Here's what's been happening in my world!

FROST!!! This past week the temperatures have dipped below freezing and the highs have been about 50 degrees. That's a big change from the week prior when it was 80 degrees! As mentioned, the mornings now come with a layer of frost on everything.

I just thought that I would reassure you all that even with all of my happenings that I write about I am continuing to do well in classes. I have aced many of my quizzes and even got over 100% on one of them (didn't know they did that in college!).

As mentioned in the previous posts, I interviewed for a job working for a researcher in her lab and had an interview on Wednesday. I was hired (hooray!) and was trained in on Friday. I will start work on Monday if all goes well!

On Friday night I went with a friend to see a play. We saw The King and I. It was really well done. The theater was extremely ornate and the acting was great! I will post some pictures! The play was 2 hours and 45 minutes, and it took 20 minutes to get there and 20 minutes back, but it was all worth it!

On Saturday morning we made our own pancakes in the kitchenette, which were delicious! Then some friends and I went downtown to the Parade of Nations. There was a parade and then afterward there was a festival where each country had a booth and was making and selling native foods. For lunch I had Mexican fried rice and flan for dessert. It was really good! Look for pictures!

This morning I went to church and then I did laundry. The rest of the day has been homework. It has been a productive weekend though! Can't wait to talk to you all soon!

BIG NEWS!

Big news in Kyle's world today! Today I had an interview for a position working in a data entry lab for a researcher studying moose and wolves and their interactions on Isle Royale. Long story short, I was hired! This job will definitely help me get acquainted with the project this researcher is working on and could open many doors! Pretty exciting!!!

I will be sure to update you about what I will specifically be doing in later posts. Hope you all are doing well!

More Doings

Here are more things I have been up to!

1. I made a second attempt to see the Northern Lights Sunday night by going up to the football field to get away from all of the lights. Unfortunately I still did not see them :( I am most definitely looking forward to seeing them at some point!

2. So, in addition to being the Excello House President and seating on WHSA, I have nominated myself to serve as a 1st year class representative on the Undergraduate Student Government (USG). USG is comprised of 6 representatives from each class (1st years, 2nd years, etc.) as well as a few other members. To attain this position, an election will be held in the coming weeks. Hopefully I will be lucky enough to be voted by my classmates into this position!

3. If anybody was wondering, walking up and down, and around campus is quite the workout itself, but in addition to that, I went and worked out Monday for the first time here. I had a great workout and really enjoyed working those not-yet-existent muscles! :)

4. Another short tidbit is that here in the UP we can really smell the smoke from the wildfires burning in the Boundary Waters.

In other BIG news....today I have my first "job" interview! Through the Earn and Learn Scholarship (ask me if you want me to explain) I hope to work with a professor on whatever research project they are doing. I have been in contact with a lady doing research on the wolf/moose interactions on Isle Royale and hope to secure a job working for her. Wish me luck!

Alright, well I'm off to breakfast!

So Much to Say!

There is so much to share with you all, but I will try to keep it brief.

1. First is that I went to my first MTU football game and we won, over Lake Erie. Hooray!

2. This weekend has been largely spent playing frisbockey, a combination of playing frisbee and hockey. You play Ultimate frisbee and there are nets that you have to get the frisbee in to score. It is very fun and a good break from school work.

3. Just because I'm that type of person, I have to point out that yesterday was 9/10/11 :)

4. Last night some friends and I drove a little was to the north to see if we could see the aurora borealis (northern lights). Unfortunately we couldn't see them, but I had a great evening with friends!

5. This morning I went to a memorial service in honor of 9/11. The ceremony was at 8:46am, the time of the first plane crash. There are a few pictures in my "photos."

6. Today's Mass was outside on the church lawn. It was a very nice morning for Mass outside. Afterward, there was a picnic lunch (always have to take advantage of homemade food!)

7. Tomorrow I have my first WHSA meeting (Wadsworth Hall Student Association). This is the meeting between all of the house presidents.

Tidbits - The fans that are on top of the cafeteria blow a greasy, mostly disgusting, smell right into my fourth floor window...most of the day. Yuck! Also, for the record, I have been keeping up on my laundry...thought you would want to know, Mom!

That is all for the moment!

Recent Adventures

So I have been on a few adventures the past day or two that I would like to share with you all!

To begin, I wanted to mention an adventure I went on with some friends the first week I was here. We walked to the other side of town to a park called Chutes and Ladders. As the name implies, there are many slides and it is quite the jungle gym! See the "photos" for some cool pics!

Another adventure was in my Field Techniques class. We were using GPS's to locate certain points out in the woods and while on the search for our point, my team and I discovered some apple trees :) I have added a few pictures to my "photos" for you all to see! We also got a beautiful look over the valley from where we were.

Another trip was out to McLain State Park, where the K-Day, or Keweenaw Day, festivities were occurring. We stood in line for an hour and twenty minutes just to get on the bus to take us there! It was very warm today and quite unpleasant to stand around in :( While there, we walked around to all of the different tables representing the different student organizations you can join. I had a hamburger (which was pretty good!) and a cookie made with the peanut butter M&M's - it was delicious! We went to down by the water, played frisbee, and slacklined. FYI - Slack-lining is where you set up a tight rope between two trees and walk (or attempt to walk) across it. We then caught the bus back. Then I played the card game Euchre with some friends before my next adventure!

This evening a group of us went to the local animal shelter, Copper Country Humane Society, and walked the dogs and played with the cats. They were all pretty cute! (see the pics) We couldn't stay for more than an hour and half or so because some of us were getting pretty attached to the animals :)

Overall I have had a great start to my weekend! Tomorrow there is a football game and Sunday, on the anniversary of 9/11, I will be attending a ceremony put on by the ROTC.

Hope all is well with you all and I certainly enjoy sharing my happenings and look forward to talking to you soon about what you have been up to! ~ Kyle

College Life

Alrighty - So here are a few bits and pieces of my college experience thus far.

1. I made my first college bowl of easy mac yesterday. It wasn't half bad. It could have used a little bit more water, but other than that, it tasted pretty good :)

2. The COUCH!! I love having the couch to study and relax on...and so does everyone else! :)

3. At this point in time I have written my first paper, had my first quiz in each of my classes (except Field Tech., which is tomorrow) and have been keeping up on my homework!

4. A note on professors: When you have a professor that is almost 80 years old and wears bright green pants, you know it is going to be a great class! FYI - I am referring to my professor for my Communicating for Success class.

5. As with every Wednesday in Excello House, its Grilled Cheese Wednesday! Grilled Cheese down the hall in the kitchenette; 1 for 25 cents or unlimited for 75 cents!

That's what's happening in Kyle's college world!!

Spelling and grammar

I realized that my spelling and grammar or lacking on my posts :) I will be sure to be more careful in the future :)

Today...

- Today was a fairly exhausting *day.

- I *had Cultural Anthropology early *this* morning....

Welcome to da UP!

- Beautiful

Today...

Today was a fairly exhausting today. Tuesday is my longest day. I have Cultural Anthropology early morning (where I was assigned a paper due Thursday) then I went right off to Veg (vegatation of North America) Lecture. After that I had a quick break for lunch, then back up the hill to Veg lab. I had my first Veg quiz today. I believe I only got one wrong - so that's good! We learned 9 new trees to add to our repartuer. So now I know 16 trees (we learned 7 last week) out of the 135 or so that we will be learning. We also have an assignment for Veg were we have to press leaves and then label them and such so I am currently in the process of pressing leaves under my printer paper :) I then had dinner and am now off to a study session!

More things...

Alright. So I few things I forget to mention in my first blog.

1. As of yesterday I officially became the House president for Excello house. This means that I represent my hallway (also called a house), or about 40 guys, on the Hall Council.

2. I had my first nosebleed today :( I can definitely feel the seasons changing!

3. Today I discovered that I have 60 paces in a tally and ~13 paces in a chain. Interesting right? These are terms for my Field Techniques class where we are learning how to take land measurements.

4. Everyday my roommate and I have an inpirational quote out on our white board. I will be taking pictures of the quote on the board and posting them so take a look!

I think that's all for now!

Welcome to da UP!

Hello y'all!

This is my first post! I intend to keep you all up-to-date on life in the U.P. I hope you will enjoy my blog and get a glimpse of the beuatiful UP of Michigan.

On a different note, to bring you all up to speed - I have been in school now for a week and am enjoying it. I have lots of school work to do, but that doesn't come without some fun too! Last weekend I traveled to the Porcupine Mountains and went hiking and this past weekend I went camping at Agate Beach on Lake Superior!

This week is a three and half day week for me - Today is Labor Day and then on Friday classes let out at noon and we celebrate K-Day. K-Day stands for Keweenaw Day. It is a day where the locals, and of course the students, celebrate where we live (the Keweenaw Peninsula). There is a big celebration at a state park nearby. It should be fun!

Overall, life is good. Keep in touch and I will keep you posted!