vamping about camping and my highlights.

This past weekend we joined my mom's extended family for FAMILY CAMP 2012 our annual weekend of eating in nature and family time. We enjoyed the flavors of fresh pie, steak on the grill, pancakes, dutch oven cobbler, homemade ice cream, and applesauce... and we swam and played too! This year we brought a bevy of floatation devices and enjoyed lazily rolling through the current of the Russian River. We skipped rocks, laughed our way through the hayride, and enjoyed the ridiculously absurd things kids say between the ages of 5 and 10. Teddy was a very good camper too! I wish I had his disposition.

Family camp always marks for me the change between summer and fall. This week Phil went back to school for his last year of law school. (Every time I say "last year of law school" an actual choir of angels descends in sparkly glowing outfits with tambourines singing a gospel rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus.) This fall is going to be a fun filled, busy, exciting time for us.

Here are my 5 highlights as of late:

1. Phil has two teeny tiny semesters left before he is (as he says) a Doctor but not the kind that helps people. He has worked so very hard and the light is there at the end of the tunnel.

2. I will be joining the cast of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat performing this Oct/Nov. at the Lescher Center for the Arts! I will be singing, dancing, and carrying on as one of the wives of Joseph's brothers.

3. Phil has loved his summer experience working for a firm here in Walnut Creek. They are keeping him on two days a week this semester and that is the most fabulous news. We are grateful.

4. Theodore is turning 1 at the end of November! Where has the time gone?? Where?! We are in love with him. He crawls, pulls himself up, grows gigantic top teeth, sprouts blonde hair, says hi, waves, claps, and just recently developed a knack for screaming at the top of his lungs for fun.

5. This fall I have not one but two weddings special to my heart: in September my cousin Kristen and in October my SIL Camille! I love weddings and parties. Both weddings are sure to be events to remember and loads of fun!

and now without further ado... pictures from camp 2012!

 

our guest of honor stuck in a floaty. 

 Theodore trying to eat rocks. They look so much like grapes.

 lazy river with Auntie T and C.

candy and toppings for homemade ice cream by the river. 

 beach beauties.

 Bea's french braid.

 Lyla's cheeks.

 Teddy in big boy shoes.

 serious Theodore.

waiting in line for the hayride.

 sideways but necessary picture of bundled bea.

 Uncle Mark and Teddy.

 goat rock beach.

 our clan.

wherein the loser wins.

So... a few weeks ago we had our FINAL Biggest Loser Weigh in. 

Nervously I stepped onto the cold scale. The little computer inside began to calculate my girth and then quickly spit a number onto the screen. 

I screamed.

It was a scream of glee. 

For the first time ever since I found out mr. T was in my tummy I saw my numbers on that screen. And so I thought... maybe I have this in the bag....

And I was right.

Cha-ching! $$$$$$ (please read dollar signs while humming ABBA's "Money Money Money")

I won! I'm a loser! I lose!! hoorah!

So what did I learn and what worked for me?

1. Balance in all things. I was most successful when every once in a while I let myself have a treat or take a day off from exercise.

2. Fill your tummy with healthy things. There was a time when I NEVER would have been caught dead ordering a salad. I'm more of a meat and potatoes girl (read as burger and fries). I learned to eat filling healthy foods including healthy fats. Yogurt, granola, black beans, avocado, blackberries, quinoa, turkey, broccoli, leafy greens, and eggs, were some of my go to foods.

3. Run!!!! I was convinced I could only run one block before passing out. My whole life. CONVINCED. I started running with friends from church a few times a week, 45 min. per run.

4. Going to my happy place. Dance, Pilates, and Yoga are exercise that make me happy. I have fun and feel accomplished. I'm excited to participate. Physical activities you love are easier to incorporate into your daily life.

5. Cheap calorie burn. We live right by the ironhorse trail and I love to take walks with Phil and Theodore after he gets home from work. I also went to my local library and checked out some work out videos. I found cross training to be best. I also tried disco-dance-cardio and it was totally comical. Thanks government funded community resources. 

6. Apps. There are so many apps now to help you do anything your heart desires. I used "my fitness pal" to log my food and exercise. I told it my goals and it gave me a framework. 

Of course losing weight is a different game than maintaining weight. I've had a few more chocolate based nommies since the competition came to a close. With that in mind I hope some of my newly obtained habits will stay with me for the long haul.

Oh and what did I do with my prize money? GIRL..... I spent it on clothes of course.

So now for the fun part. Below are pictures of me in the Mecca that is COSTCO modeling with roughly 50 lbs. (my baby weight... or was it 60? I stopped checking...) 50 lbs of potatoes, 50 lbs of pork, 50 lbs of soy sauce. You get the idea.

 PORK by the POUND.

 Don't look to closely at the dark circles under my eyes. No makeup. 

It was a costco day not prom.

 spuds.

 roast sucklin potatoes. (Caption dedicated to Randi)

 Soy sauce, including the bucket under my bum.

 Kikoman model.

And most fittingly me and a bunch of actual fat.