Madeleine in B&W

I just thought I would post this picture because I think it makes her look gorgeous. It was taken out in the yard at the French school in spring 2005.

2005 Lobster Feast

Where it all began - 17 years ago - and look at her now!


This picture is very similar to one I love that was taken at the Lobster Feast in 1988. Hard to believe that St. Jamestown is still an important part of our lives and a place we will always have friends - even when we're thousands of miles away and can only get there for the Lobster Feast every couple of years.

Chatham and Bayfield 2005

We had a great trip to Chatham and Bayfield this summer. Jan and the kids spent two weeks while poor old Ron had to stay home alone for one week and then got to join the family for the second week. We had lots of company at the cottage and lots of fun. We also took advantage of Lynne and George's hospitality to beat the heat. Enjoy a couple of photo's of the kids - Ron is just a prop!

Madeleine balancing - what a set of legs! 

Sammy flying in Lynn and George's pool in Chatham. 

Sam and Claire at lunch.

Aren't they cute? Jan had to go to a birthday lunch today, so I got the privilege of having lunch with Sam and Claire, they are a lot of fun. They terrorized the other kids at the play structure in McDonald's.

Ron

The art of Madeleine 

Sam's Art

Sam's latest art Since Madeleine was taking Art we decided to let Sam give it a try. The first lesson, I (JG) stayed to watch and giggled through most of the lesson as I witnessed someone else handling Sam's persistence. He WANTED to MAKE a birthday cake for his dad and no amount of cajoling to make crabs or whatever with circles could convince him to follow the lesson plan. The teacher saw the error of her ways and changed plans. Sam made the birthday cake for his DAD! The rocket was following the plan of triangles, rectangles and circles. We'll wait a while before he takes any more art lessons!

Sam on Feb 27 hike 

Hiking in February - IN SEATTLE!!

Can you believe the photo's that go here. Sam, Madeleine and I (Ron) went hiking yesterday - it was over 60 degrees - 15 celsius for you Canucks!
When we started Madeleine was wearing her winter coat and by the time we finished, Sammy was barechested - what a guy!

Sammy - hiking in February! 

February 2005 Visitors

Sam, Madeleine, Honor & George
George and Honor came to stay with us. George's accordian was a great reason for them to visit from Saltspring. A new accordian was obtained and suitably tuned so that we could be satisfactorily seranaded. Sam was the most enamored. It was a nice visit, one we should do more often as we now live so close but the logistics of ferries make it a day's journey between our houses. We made the most of it with some great meals and discussions!

Bellevue Botanical Gardens Christmas Lights

Christmas Lights with Nana Not a great photo but it was a great time. Madeleine and Sam both have LadyBug hats on that Nana/Mum/Mil/Anne gave them. We had a great Christmas with lots of outings. We visited the gardens on Boxing Day and the crowds were much diminished.

Bayfield in October

The cottage In October the kids had a week off school so we went to Chatham and Bayfield, Ontario. The colours were beautiful. It was just before Halloween so Sam is wearing his Spiderman costume. Madeleine was Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty but she didn't need to wear her costume 24/7 like her brother!

Kayaking 2004

Kayaking Here's a sport we are going to do a lot. This is taken in Ganges Harbour. I had a single kayak. We love it. You are so close to the water and can observe things so closely. The kids are old enough to almost help and to stay still. We also rented a kayak in Seattle. It was a triple so we were all in one. We circumvented Lake Union and got swamped once. We stopped at Gas Works park and went along where lots of house boats are moored. Our final hour we kayaked under 520 and explored the lily pads near the Arboretum. The adventure was crossing the paths of the Sunday afternoon craft returning from the Sound to Lake Washington. We had to work like a team and really paddle to avoid becoming fish meat. Ron's knee held up well and Kayaking will be an activity we will do more often in the coming years.

Us

The Smith-Griffith's Here's the 4 of us. I was hoping for a great family photo that I could use for our Christmas card but it got rejected. Again, I will say it was such a hot day that it was tough getting cooperation for a formal photo. This garden is Lisa's farm which is full of gardens and these fantastic (newly built) walls which was the kid's playground. What a lovely place!

The 90th Birthday Party

The Griffith Clan We all gathered at Lisa's farm to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. Here are 14 of us. This is as close as we've ever gotten to a family reunion. It was a hot day so the photos were a tough sell on the kids. We had a delicious meal in the "barn" and dancing afterwards. Beaucoup de fun!

Saltspring Island August 2004

Canoeing on a lake on Saltspring Island We rented a cabin on a lake near Ganges on Saltspring Island. There was canoeing and swimming and open spaces to run yet trees to hide in. It was a very hot week so the water was a welcome respite.

The great outdoors

Camping on Whidbey Island We have lots of photos of the kids in the woods. We go hiking every weekend almost. We had just returned from seeing a very old cedar tree that had been saved from loggers by some activists. We call the kids "intrepid hikers". They have great stamina and it is such a joy to see them skipping along a trail and bending to look at a giant SLUG! On the days when we wondered if we'd made the right move, moving from TX where we had such good friends and a much less expensive standard of living, I just had to see the kids in the woods to know that YES... this life was ok!

Swimming

Apartment Life The pool was heated all year round. May have been too cold for me but for the kids it never was. Both kids can swim now so we don't have to always go in the water. Have to watch Sam pretty closely as he loves to just BE.. underwater & he can't always touch the bottom. Madeleine celebrated her 6th birthday on the 6th of May and she wanted 6 friends to go swimming with her! We managed 3 but later had a joint party with a friend at a park with all her classmates.

West Seattle - May 04 Living in the NW has given us so many opportunities. We had just finished cycling on a board walk in Alki Beach. Madeleine had done 5 miles! quite a feat on a child's bicycle that weighed more than either Ron or mine. Looking in the bay at jelly fish and the barnacles is really an educational experience. In Seattle every weekend we go on an outdoor adventure!

Friday Night Tradition

Pagliacci scooter Every Friday night we go to Pagliacci's in Bell Square for their great pizza. They know us... or I should write, they know SAM! He is famous there for getting the beat. They have background music, lots of 70s stuff and Sam finds the beat and dances. Lately he's been too embarrassed to dance but back when this photo was taken, he was so cute. We love this restaurant not only because the pizza is so good but it has given us a great sense of belonging. We are part of the town already!

April 2004

Easter week in Oregon with the Friends We rented a cottage right on the Pacific in Newport, OR. It was a blustery week but oh so fun. We had lots of board games and Yahtzee! Madeleine learned to add with dice. We ran everymorning on the beach against the wind. Trying to counter the great meals we cooked and the wine we drank.
Here the kids sit on a rock at the Aquarium which was made famous by the Free Willy movie. It is an awesome aquarium, very different from the Seattle one which we love. A great destination.

Sweater Show Off - April 2004

Showing off the dinosaur sweater that Nana made! Here on the stairs at the apartment. See the spikes along Sam's left arm. It is a cool sweater.

Happy 3rd Birthday Sam

Nemo rules Can you tell what movie Sam loves? Everything was Nemo and Bruce the Shark. The other constant was Sam's love of yellow! We had a small birthday party as we really didn't know anyone well enough to have a big party. Now, a year later, it's a different situation. Sam has lots of friends. His outgoing personality help that immensely. "I'm Sam. What your name?" is a typical line when we're at say.. the grocery store.

Fun in the Rain

The Seattle Center
we visited the Seattle Center a few times. Madeleine had her first roller coaster ride and Sam loved driving his own car. There is a huge fountain that even in winter plays music as the water dances. The warmer the weather the wetter the kids get. They try to dodge the water which is such fun. Especially when they think they've outsmarted the fountain and they haven't!
We joined the Children's Museum which isn't as good as lots places but ok for a rainy day. They do have a cool rock path that ends in a cave along the way it has rocks to turn over to see what lives under them. The IMAX, Science Center, Experience Music Project are all part of the Center. Madeleine and I saw Black Stallion at the IMAX. She is all about horses so was a memorable film.

The French School

100th day of Kindergarten Although for Madeleine it was probably about her 115th day. Given that she started in Mid-August in TX and went to the end of June, Madeleine had the longest year of school that she'll ever have. Not that she minded. She loved Kindergarten and this teacher Beth was her favourite. Beth teaches English. Madeleine also enjoyed Deborah her main Kindergarten teacher but being with her in a totally French environment just wasn't as comfortable. Madeleine learned to understand a lot of french but could only say one phrase: Je peux aller au toilette?