Diane Blume watches her grandsons, Asher Stenftenagel, 1, center, and his brother Alec, 3, take a bath in her kitchen sink as their cousin, Benson Wahl, 2, all of Huntingburg, plays with a lid from a bottle of baby lotion at her home in Kyana on Friday. Asher is learning to eat with a spoon, so after breakfast he’s usually in need of a bath. Although unnecessary, Alec will often join his little brother for bath time because he doesn't want to feel excluded. "They just love playing in the water," Blume said.
Muskegon and Saginaw Swan Valley High School football players do sit-ups while linked together during their grueling Marine-style beach and water workout at Pere Marquette Beach in Muskegon on Friday, July 26, 2019.
Janet Wegner hugs her daughter Amanda Cihak after her double mastectomy surgery at the Mercy Health Hackley Campus in Muskegon, Michigan on Thursday, March 14, 2019. Wegner is a stage 3 breast cancer survivor; it pains her to see her daughter go through what she went through nearly a decade ago.
Ella Schue, 10, of Jasper, holds three of her kittens at her grandmother’s farm in Ferdinand on Wednesday, June 17, 2020. Ella has grown up surrounded by cats, dogs, chickens and cows and has been raising animals for 4-H for the past 5 years. It is her dream to one day inherit her grandmother’s property and take care of the land and animals with a family of her own.
Adriana Ochoa, 15, of Rawlings, and Aly Courtemanch, a Wyoming Game and Fish wildlife biologist, use a sled to haul the carcass of a bull elk that Adriana shot back to her father's truck during the final day of the youth elk hunt at the National Elk Refuge on Saturday.
The Ellis family of Holland, Rayland, 6, Torrin, 8, Reagan, 4, Joseph, Everlee, 1, Jennifer and Tinsley, 2, pose for a portrait over their fence on March, 26, 2020. Jennifer had the American flag mural painted for her husband, Joseph, during his 2012 tour in Afghanistan. During the stay-at-home order, in order to carry on with normal life as much as possible, the Ellis family spent a lot of time outside riding their bikes, going on walks, playing on their swing set and even having movie nights in their backyard. With five children, the biggest challenge for the Ellis family was when the kids were still in school and juggling how to get everything done and keep everyone entertained. “Throughout this, we’ve had to come up with some creative ways of keeping everyone engaged,” Joseph said. “It was a big sigh of relief when school ended and daycares opened back up.”
Two Muskegon High School students step out of their car to pose for photos during Friday's “show-off” at Nelson Elementary in Muskegon, Michigan on April 26, 2019. Hundreds of friends and family members gathered for this pre-prom tradition, where they cheer on the students as they show off their extravagant outfits and cars before heading to the dance.
Rowen Russell, 5, pretends to be a butterfly as he swings in a hammock at his home in Birdseye on Friday. Rowen loves exploring the outdoors. "Anything he can do outside, he's all about it," said Krysta Russell, Rowen's mom.
Darius Brightwell, left, and Petier Davis, founders of Save the Youth, stand on the old basketball court that was part of the former Nellie B Library on Thursday, June 10, 2021. The library, which served as a community center, closed several years ago, but Brightwell and Davis are advocating for it to be repaired and reopened.
Lashanda Callaway, left, her daughter Keaira “Keke” Rucker and grandsons, Mason Browner, 5, and Braxton Mitchell, 3, become emotional after being gifted a Thumpa Avenue sign of their own during a renaming ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021 at Clarke Garden Apartments in Athens. In July 2019, Thumpa was a victim of a shooting that broke out in her neighborhood Clarke Garden Apartments. Following her death, residents from her community came together and successfully petitioned to have the street sign renamed from Carriage Court to Thumpa Avenue. More than two dozen friends and family members gathered to celebrate Thumpa and her legacy.
Brandy Lawson dyes the hair of her daughter, Annalia Jo "JoJo," 7, pink inside their room at the Super 8 on March, 27, 2021 in Jackson, Wy. "It's one of the ways we keep on the bright side," Lawson said. "It's just fun to have a little color in your life." Like many people in Jackson, Lawson and her daughter are without permanent housing and have been living in a hotel room for the past three months. JoJo, who has stage 1 Fibromyxoid sarcoma, a soft-tissue cancer that is rarely found in children, has had to take extra precautions during the pandemic. Lawson and JoJo enjoy the quality time together that results by living in such a confined space, but Lawson strives to be able to provide her daughter with a room of her own where she can have privacy and nurture her curiosity and creativity.
Pine Ridge Elementary kindergartener Coltyn Schultz, center, leads his classmates in an exercise activity to get some energy out at the school on Wednesday, February 12, 2020.
China Daily, 28, holds her daughter Kenadee Daily, 6, on her back during Friday's game and fourth annual "Sailor Salute" at Sailor Stadium at Mona Shores High School in Muskegon on Sept. 13, 2019.