Road Trip!

Well, here I am in Nevis, MN at my aunt and uncle's house. We dropped Erik off this morning at his hockey/golf camp, so now it's just me, Will, and my parents for the next 5 days. The trip here has been pretty good so far. We were supposed to leave Friday morning, but Thursday night, we all decided it would be a good idea to leave that night. We did leave Thursday and I couldn't sleep. We just stopped at a rest stop and slpet in the car. I had no blanket and the windows were open, so I was cold and uncomfortable. I made it through, praise God! The next night we stayed at a campground in a state park outside of Glendive, at the end of the Bad Lands. It was beautiful! I've never camped in a place quite like that. What made it even better was that there was only one other family camping where we were, so it was really quiet. It was amazing looking at all the layers in the rock and I was amazed at how wonderful God is. He destroyed the earth because of sin with a flood, which left this beautiful part of the earth for us to enjoy. Last night, we stayed at my grandpa's house in North Dakota. He had one of his voice students who is 16 sing "Summertime" for my mom as a birthday present. He also cooked us mashed potatoes, meatloaf, and corn on the cob. Last night as we were all talking, my grandpa felt the need to tell me that I had gained some weight since the last time he saw me...I'm not letting it get to me, but I thought it was kinda funny because he just has no tact! And he wouldn't drop it until we pulled out of the driveway! Plus, he thinks Erik is way too skinny...ha! Tonight, we are staying at my aunt and uncle's house in Nevis, MN and will be heading to the campground tomorrow. It's been lots of driving, but I have already finished the book Three by Ted Dekker. It's a great book! I'm looking forward to some more family time and camping. I won't have a computer available, so the next post may not be for about a week. Until then...Tschuss!

HALF MARATHON!

Well, I finished the half marathon in 1:59:15, and my goal was to make it in under 2 hours! My foot has been hurting pretty bad since Sunday, so I hope that isn't a very big deal. It was a really fun race, though! I was suppose to run it with Cindi Parsons, my cross country coach, but right before the start, she had to go to the bathroom, and I lost her. I ended up running it with Lauren and Lauren Morey...surprise surprise! My amazing family got up early and watched us run. It was nice to have the encouragement along the way, so thanks to them! It was a great day!

A Tribute to Piccolo

Here is the first draft...

A Tribute to Piccolo
By Monica Hartzell

A small black Shih Tzu with a mighty strong voice
Sits staring aimlessly into the dark cool night.
His owners have left him on his own,
With not much, only one eye for sight.

Seemingly indestructible, this dog has been.
One lost eye, a rare blood disease, and a little overweight.
And this just in, a malignant tumor on one back leg
Has caused him much hate.

He once was a playful, friendly fellow,
Who danced for a treat and chased his tail.
With a family like his, his life was desirable,
Except that his blatter sent him out with a wail.

Although he lives in jealousy
Of his fellow Shih Tzu’s who, in China are royal,
He enjoys his home
And his family who is loyal.

But if only he were one of them
With so much power and so much attention,
His plan to take over the world,
Would put the humans into recession.

From the viewpoint of an owner
He is a dog to behold.
So faithful all these years,
Fighting to survive in hot and cold.

We give tribute to our lazy little dog
Who loves to bark and loves to get treats.
He has lived a life of honor and courage
And has persevered through all the heat.

Piccolo will be greatly honored,
By all who have met him,
For they know that besides him,
No other humor could produce such a grin.

Summer

Well, I finally got the graduation pics, but I still don't have ones with Hannah Kochel in them, but I put the ones I have up anyways. So far this summer has been wonderful! And since only like three people probably look at my blog, I haven't been doing so good blogging consistantly, especially since those three people are like the only people I ever hang out with! I went on an amazing road trip with Kylie, Jesse, Asher, and Cora Barnes...if you want to know more about that see Kylie's blog. I've been running a lot because I'm doing a half marathon in two Sundays! Last Sunday, Lauren and I ran 12 miles (but you would already know that if you looked at Lauren's blog:) My grandparents are in town, so we have had some fun time with them at their hotel's swimming pool. Yesterday, I spent a lot of the day with Kylie, Aher, and Cora. They came to the pool, then I went over to their house while the kids napped. It was wonderful!

Oh yeah...I must blog about Picollo, our dog. After camping a couple of weekends ago in Oregon, Picollo wasn't feeling so good, so my mom took him to the vet (Lauren's father:). We found out that he had a massive tumor on his back left leg! Yesterday, we took him in to have it removed, and it had spread up his leg, indicating that it was malignant (sp?). So Picollo had cancer, and it could come back any time. Now my family has to decide how to handle the situation. Do we get it tested to see how severe it is? If it's not too bad, we could just have his leg amputated, but it would still probably come back. So, my thinking is that Picollo's days are numbered. It's kinda weird and sad thinking about life without Picollo. He's part of our family...although it is kinda funny how indestructable he seems to be :)