My Grandaughter Maya - December, 2005

This is my sweet grandaughter Maya shortly after I met her for the
first time in December, 2005. No, I didn't bore or nag her to sleep! She fell asleep while I was whispering and singing in her year.





Maya was very wary of the new Cabbage Patch baby that I gave her for Christmas. The doll has brown skin and dark eyes like Maya! Here her dad, Marc, is holding the doll and showing her that it's like a baby.




The beautiful weather at Christmas meant that we could go to the park. This is Maya with her mom, Oola, on her first slide.






Finally, the four generations together. Greatgrandmother (Isabelle), grandmother (Karen), father (Marc), and the star of the show, Maya.

Great Barrier Reef - 2005

Dwight and I made two trips to the Great Barrier Reef. This is us on the return trip from the Agincourt Reef (in the northern part of the Great Barrier) off of Port Douglas. It was a great day! Smooth waters and a smooth ride on the Silver Sonic - a very fast catamarran.




After snorkeling twice in the morning we decided to scuba dive in the afternoon. Even though it's been many years since we dove, it came back easily - just like riding a bike. (Hard to ride a bike under water...)





This gives a good idea how clear the water was that day! Our first trip to a more southerly part of the Reef off Cairns was not as rewarding - less clear water and reefs showing the signs of more visitor traffic. But Agincourt was all that we'd expected from photos. By the way, the crew member in this photo is our friend Ross. He happened to also be on our first trip with Silversonic. He was very friendly and loved to talk about boats with Dwight.

Our Australia Trip, Fall 2005

We arrived in Sydney October 22, 2005. Finally, after decades of planning on going to Australia to visit my cousin Marjorie and her family, I was finally there! In the first week, we hiked one of the many rugged trails along the beautiful Sydney Harbour.
This is my cousin Marjorie and her husband Ian. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good group photo them with sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren! Oh well, I'll have to go back.