Camping - 1/2 Savage Style

OK, another installment about a recent camping experience. This past weekend we went to a church ranch called Ensign Ranch and stayed in some "Family Cabins" that provided just enough civilization to take the edge off the roughing it concept.

The cabin had a fridge, lights and a few outlets that we used just for a griddle for breakfast. Other than that we had to build a fire to stay warm when it dipped into the low to mid-30's over night as well as for cooking marshmellows for s'mores outside the cabin in the chilly night and to cook dinners (foil dinners the first night and dutch oven style sweet-n-sour chicken).

I had a knife safety course for the kids and we carved Ivory soap during "training" and then everyone moved on to carving spears and knives...you gotta love kids and their jumps into more aggressive implements. :)

We also went a short hike (the older 3 decided to ford a stream and wondered why their feet were wet). We also took the kids horseback riding...though this was just a lead-ride (trail riding isn't available for another month or so...they need more snow to melt so as to avoid any accidents).

Here we are working on some s'mores...a camp classic and something we NEVER miss out on when camping.

Look at that Ivory soap disappear...they really enjoyed the knives. Seems there is a natural attraction to blades in the Maloy family. Note to self...retain a keen awareness of this going forward. I've thought about taking them shooting...perhaps I should rethink that one. :)

Here's Josh and dad with some 1:1 time. Josh spent very little time after this without an old red barely useful pocket knife. he was very cute and was very careful when he was carving. he was also the first one to drill me on how to carve a spear...should I be worried or thankful? Perhap this interest will play into a Discovery Channel series about survival in a few years...he does like watching Survivorman.

Here are Jessica and Sabrina...graduated from the novice Ivory soap carving class directly into the knife and spear carving class...and look at those smiles...should I be worried here as well?

I also had some fun. I neglected to buy an ax last time we all went camping so I tripped it out to Cle Elum to buy some more gear...yes, one more thing and I'm not even working with the scouts anymore. That chopped wood kept us all warm though so it was a good investment...anbd I had some 'fun" as well taking out my frustrations on that wood. Survivalman here I come! ;)

Here are some accomodation photos. Here are Alex and Josh in the bunkbeds. The top one didn't have a safety rail so we opted for them sleeping on the same, lower bunk.

Here are Jessica and Sabrina in the loft. With the raging fire in the stove it was quite hot in the loft at night...until the fire died out and then it was just the opposite...oh so chilly.

Here's Alex riding a horse along with Josh and mom below. Sabrina and Jessica also went...though Jessica's horse looks a tad small under her...what is that a shetland or something? :)

Here are Jessica, Sabrina and Alex enoying the snow...and Josh with his pocket knife (he's looking between the blades of the small scissors).

And to conclude we had a lot of fun. We enjoyed the outdoors, had just enough of civilization to take the edge off and had a great time together as a family. This is what life is all about...building and strengthening family relationships against the onslaught of modern life, which is bent on destroying families with vanity and empty promises of "things" that don't bring any true and lasting happiness. Families are where IT'S at!
Ya'll take care and come back now ya hear!

--The Washington Maloys

YMCA - What gives...where's ours?

Ok, so this past weekend we went to a Judo tournament at a YMCA on Mercer Island. It began to dawn on Shelly and I that it would be nice to have a YMCA closer by so our kids could use it. Our Judo dojo is terribly small for the number of kids who attend and a new facility is despirately needed. Funding of course, as is always the case, is a challenge. I think I'm going to do a little more research on this subject and see what our options are. Many dojos around here practice in YMCA buildings and along with various other facility options and programs, it would be a nice addition to our community...especially for the less priveldged who live here in our city already.

More to come on this subject I'm sure.

L8r,
--Phil

Judo Weekend - Oh Yeah!!!

Hey everyone,

I'm finally back and ready to blog. This past weekend Jessica and Sabrina had a Judo meet on Mercer Island. This was Sabrina's 7th or 8th meet and Jessica's first. Both did a great job...Sabrina took 1st yet again (shameless bragging) and Jessica pulled out a 2nd place medal.

First I'll begin with Sabrina. This young lady has a natural knack for Judo. She has an innate ability to read her opponent and respond instantly to their moves. In addition, she has a phenomenal natural balance and reflexes.

Sabrina's first match was with a young lady she has fought many times over the past year in many different competitions and has been able to best her. Interestingly enough her first opponent is two belt ranks above her...Sabrina is an orange belt while this young lady is a green belt. Additionally, this young lady has dramatically improved since Sabrina last fought her and is much more aggressive than ever before. Neverthless, Sabrina was able to beat her with a spectacular throw in overtime with a golden score (Judo's more civilized name for a "sudden death" point).

For everyone's viewing pleasure here is her 1st match on YouTube:

Sabrina's second match was with someone I don't recall her ever fighting. This young lady put up a good fight but she wasn't quite the competition as the first opponent. Sabrina was able to pull out a win with a pin and take home first place for her division.

For everyone's viewing pleasure here is her 2nd match on YouTube:

Here she is with her 1st place medal

Now on to Jessica. This was Jessica's first formal Judo competition. By formal I mean the dojo the kids attend does have intradojo competitions approximately every month or every other month where they learn the formal rules and so forth. However, this was her first real meet and she was a bit nervous, but did very well.

Jessica's first meet, ironically enough, was against a girl from our own dojo, which isn't all that unusual. However, this other girl has been involved with judo much longer than Jessica, though she is a bit smaller and lighter. Jessica is very strong so she is able to avoid getting pushed around. In this fight she is able to pull out a win, but misses holding on to her opponent's gi...which she should always hold on to...especially during a throw so as to control her opponent's fall and avoid injury.

For everyone's viewing pleasure here is her 2nd match on YouTube:

Jessica's second match was a bit more of a challenge. This young lady is several belts above Jessica and is very talented. The rumor of the day was that her opponent is heading to Junior Nationals in June and is quite talented. Nevertheless, Jessica put up a great fight and managed to hold her own. In fact, with a little more practice on some basics I think Jessica has a decent chance of beating this young lady next time around...she only lost because she reached a little too far with her leg for a throw and got thrown...beginner's mistake that I think she won't do again anytime soon.

For everyone's viewing pleasure here is her 2nd match on YouTube:

Here she is with her 2nd place medal

All in all we had a great Judo day...kind of long for the boys, but fun. This is a great sport and the kids are really having a good time. We're looking forward to catching some Judo at the Olympics this summer...should be a great time.

Take care and until next time...L8r!

--Phil

Sabrina's Orchestra Concert

OK, so I admit it...this blogging stuff is...well...addictive. Seems my own resistance was futile and no, I'm not a blog-borg now. Seems there are a few activities out there that we often resist, for instance some friends mentioned resistance to Guitar Hero, but they succumbed to that as well.

Without boring you to tears any longer with my trite diatribe, here's my blog for today. Last night our family went to watch my 10 year old daughter's orchestra concert. She did amazingly well and her group sounded great. They've made lots of improvement over the year and she really likes the violin.

Here's a shot from the nose-bleed seats. Not bad considering we're in a slightly dark auditorium and I'm a full fledged wanna-be-amateur.
We all enjoyed the concert except our 4 year who brought along a Transformer toy. He had some challenges and couldn't seem to get the toy to transform correctly...much to his chagrin...and everyone else's nearby as he proceeded to share his frustration with everyone sitting within 5-6 feet of us.

The highlight of the evening, besides Sabrina playing, was the high school group's delivery of the theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End. It was exceptional and the focus and concentration from the crowd was almost palpable.

Well, that's it for today. Catch you on the flip-side and be good to yourself and those around you!

--Phil

Pressured into it...fine...here's my first posting to this blog

OK I think I've gotten the message from a few blogger aficionados out there...why create a blog if you're not...well...going to blog? Duh, get something up there and stop procrastinating! Just get'er done as our friendly Cableguy would say.

Then here it is...the first in possibly a long series of Washington Maloy blogs...yeah right. We'll see.

At any rate, I thought I would share a few choice photos of the boys and their sister-makeup-artists.

Here's Josh...quite the colorful fellow huh? This paint job special only ended at this point because I told his sister that, "No, leave his shirt on...he doesn't need this on his neck and shoulders." both put quite a resistance. However, I always tell them that resistance is futile.

And here's one of Alex. His "artist" wasn't quite as ambitious but she did see fit to sign her work...right on his jaw. Nice touch I suppose.

Yes, this event provided lots of laughs and gigs while I was practically sanding off this shell called make-up. Now, what exactly is the word make-up supposed to imply...making up for how much of pain it is to take off? In this case I thought I would have to break out my power hand sander. What...did the "make-up" manufacturer conveniently forget to leave out the epoxy resin reinforced fiberglass base or something. WOW...why can't the caulking in my bathrooms and kitchen hold up like this make-up?

Note to make-up manufactures..."Please do not include Sharpie ink and/or epoxy-resin-based-fiberglass-threads in make-up recipe(s)! Thanks! Signed, Concerned Father"

Not sure what the deal was but here are my daughters' tools of the trade. They look innocent enough, but don't let them fool you...I consider this potentially dangerous paraphernalia.

OK, so now that I've posted my first comments to this blog I'm thinking I may have to keep up the effort. More to come as I begin to document my children's escapades. Of course there is never of shortage so why not share them with the world. Perhaps they will serve as passive therapy for other parents struggling to come to terms with these little people we call children who manage to make us all smile in the midst of chaos by exhibiting their beautiful innocence and wonderfully candid vision of how to not take life so seriously.

Hope you all have a great day and come back soon. As some food for thought...try live life to it's fullest and for crying out loud...don't be so serious!

--Phil