Back to school...

Well I've already attended my first class... the break that we had was a nice one and though I am tempted to say it wasn't long enough, I don't want to complain because it was MUCH better then just having a week off.
My trip to the Peg was as fun as visiting family can be... and though some may think it's not fun at all, it was :) It wasn't Maui... but it was still fun. One thing that I hadn't taken into account was that now the cousins aren't living with the aunts and uncles. Before it was easy, visit 8 aunts, uncles on Mum's side and visit 5 aunts and uncles on Dad's side and you've done the rounds because the cousins lived at home and that was that... but now, that's not the case, not only do you visit aunts and uncles, you also visit your cousins... and we're not talking families of 2 or 3, there are some families of 4 and 5! That makes ALOT of people to visit. Needless to say, most of my days were spent having breakfast with one family, lunch with an other, dinner with an other and a visit with someone else in the late evening.
I managed to spend quite a bit of time with my grand parents (both sides) which was nice because that was my main reason for going there. I realize that my grand parents aren't getting younger and... well I want to spend as much time with them as I can before they go.
It was fun hanging out with my cousins though because I hadn't seen some in a long time (like my cousin Karine or Danielle). Some I even got to know (my cousin Catherine) and I even discovered new cousins (Matthieu, my cousin Julie's little one and Mercedes, a far cousin of mine who happens to be sharing a house with my cousin Michelle). I've come to realized that I am pretty much related to everyone in St. Boniface (the french part of Winnipeg... yes Winnipeg has a french part, it's like a little town within the city). I've also found that Winnipeg is prettier and more interesting then I thought it was.
I was pretty upset when I saw that the old paints sign was painted over (this was a building on the corner of where my Fontaine grand parents used to live... it's how I knew that we were close after sometimes many hours of traveling because we often drove to the Peg)... it just goes to show that times change. I was happy to find out though that Pic a Pop still exists. It turns out that Sugar Mountain, a candy store, bought Pic a Pop and carries the stuff within their stores. Grand Maman and Grand Papa Fontaine used to have a fridge FULL of every colour/flavour of pic a pop that was made. And when we'd have family gatherings (or anytime really) you could go to the fridge and pic the flavour you'd like. So I bought a 6 pack (lime, grape and cola) to bring back to Vancouver. I shared a grape with my brother and Eric and it was just as I had remembered it. Coloured, artificially flavored water :) Yum! The memories!
I managed to make it up to Remi's cabin for an evening and that was good fun because there I was able to hang out with my cousin Remi and his girlfriend Suzie, Carmene and her boyfriend Mike was also there and my cousin Catherine as well. It's hard to keep track of cousins, never mind cousins boyfriend and girlfriends, but Suzie and Mike have been long term boyfriends and girlfriends so it's almost like they are part of the family (despite me meeting them for the first time).
I was also able to spend a good three days at the farm with Grand Maman. My cousin Joey was also there so I got to spend some time with him. The farm is such a fantastic place! I love it there so much! One of the days, I just played cards with Grand Maman, baked a fruit crumble with her, played more cards, lay in the shade of the apple tree and read Harry Potter (which I am not finished yet) and then in the evening, while Grand Maman and Uncle Ger went to a funeral, I got to help Joey on the farm (straightening piles of hay bales, sorting bolts while he worked on various farm equipment, piling wood that Joey would chop down, driving the tractor...). That day was the most perfect day. Joey and I even went and visited Grand Papa's grave... There I paid my respects but instead of approaching it with sad spirits, I went there with a feeling of respect and celebration.
My Grand Papa's death is something that I still haven't quite accepted and I find it really hard thinking about it. I've mentioned it a few times to Eric. He has a bit of s different view on death, so this time when I visited Grand Papa, I changed my perspective and my visit wasn't as sad as it usually was.
It was nice to get away from Vancouver and have a bit of a change of scenery. I'm also really glad I took this trip to visit family (though I think for my next break - or the one after, depending on if I can save up to get away in 4 months - I will be going somewhere tropical and warm where all I have to do is spend time with me and do what me wants.).