Week Two

We're down another four pounds or so, but have lost faith in the scale that we have been using. It's a high-tech BMI scale, and I now fear that its extra bells and whistles may compromise its actual weight-measuring abilities. So, tomorrow it's down to Hemet we go for a newer, yet more simple scale.

My Whole Family Visited This Weekend,

and I only took two pictures. I'm a failure. Thanks for coming!

I often drain the grease from sizzling camp sausage into an emptied #10 can or cottage cheese container. This morning I chose the plastic maraschino cherry jar, only to find that it was easily crippled by heat.



On my next pass through the kitchen, I found that this artwork had been labelled for all to enjoy.

The Chunk Stops Here.

The Tate-types and I have talked for a while now about how we've become too chubalicious for our own good. Friday before last we finally made our concrete commitment, and the Maranatha Weight Loss Challenge was born. Weighing in at 591.7 pounds, our sunken-cheeked trio can now be found hanging around the salad bar until January or so, when we hit our goal of 465.0 pounds. We try to walk after dinner, taking turns with the strollers for some extra resistance. We've cut out the most deliciously fatty camp fare and are replacing it with lots, and lots, and lots of salad, cottage cheese, and Kashi Mighty Bites. I've been tempted to plan gross food for our campers to keep us on the dieting straight and narrow, but that would be so very wrong. We keep tons of fresh produce on hand though, so there are plenty of alternatives to biscuits and gravy and the dessert tray.









We weigh in every Friday night at 8:30; week one's efforts resulted in a 9.2 pound loss. Check in on us.

Here are the posed pulpit pictures from last Sunday with no attempt at witty commentary. Give me a break- I'm starving.

My Auntie Jan

Josh delivered a great sermon on Sunday at the La Verne church. After the service and pot luck, we took advantage of being off the hill by going to the Huntington Gardens.

I'm giving this the "cutest picture of Lucy ever" award.

Well, here are the last of my Tempe photos. Our hosts were as gracious as the temperature was high, and we had a wonderful time. Thanks so much Irvings!!!

???

You may remember similar rants, and I probably shouldn't post this at all, but I have again been shown that I leave absolutely no impression on the general public, or even on those whom I see very frequently at work.

Her: "And you are?"

Me (mildly astounded): "Lisa."

Her: "And should I know you from somewhere?"

Me (completely flabbergasted): "Uh...yeah. I'm the food service director at Camp."

This would make more sense to me if it happened less often, or if I were more common in stature or coloring. But I'm 5'10'' barefoot and have the blondest hair this side of the Hjorundfjord .

One of the newer Richard traditions is magnet-buying. The sibling taking the trip is not required to produce thoughtful, expensive or particularly exciting souveniers, but just watch out if you come home without magnets! I nearly forgot on this last trip, but Josh reminding me at the ol' Flying J produced a good haul.

The Trek's Beginning

We met in the Tates' driveway at 4:00a.m. I wanted to capture our mix of excitement and exhaustion. Now looking at these shots, I think Josh and Sarah are excitement, and Lucy and I are exhaustion.

Not long after crossing the border into Arizona, Josh and Sarah spotted a small fire on the side of the highway. We pulled over near Exit 112, then Josh grabbed some bottled water out of the cooler and ran back along the traffic's edge. Sarah freaked me out by hopping into the driver's seat and driving the distance that Josh had run in reverse while he doused the flames.





"Thanks for the water, Annie!"

We only got around to playing one game of Catan! while in Tempe. It was a very short game in which Sarah sneakily attained the largest army and the longest road in one turn and wiped us out. And in answer to your silent question: yes. These AZ posts will continue to slowly trickle out in the wrong order over the next few days. G'night.

Where can I get some good chicken and waffles??

Why, Lo-Lo's of course!

Tempe Tiempo

Looks like a cool, cool oasis right? Wrong!



Sarah and Bowden and I walked down to the park today. It was a very nice park, but so incredibly hot we thought that we'd surely perish. We were depending on the four year old who had been to this park before to get us to the playground, but he instead lead us all the way around the huge pond.

Sarah got these two funky Hassidic curls after we repeatedly doused ourselves down in the park's water fountains. It was knowing that our next stop was 7 eleven (on 7/11) for slurpees, and still thinking that we might just die in the heat that kept us moving.