I've been busy... Where do I start? Well, for starters my Pop (My Dad's Dad) passed away on October 3rd. Toby and I were very close with him and when we were kids we'd spend just as much time at my Grandparent's house as we would our own house. Almost every evening at 8:00 I would go and have my evening snack with my Pop. I remember times where I'd be out with my friends and I'd drop what I was doing just to make sure I was there at 8:00. After our snack he would usually watch a Western on TV. He would sit in his chair and I would sit beside him on the floor by the heat register. It was like a ritual, we did it almost every night. He had a way with kids and made each of his grandchildren feel as though they were the only one. We all have special memories with him, and as such we were all devastated by his passing.

I'm very happy that I got to go to Newfoundland this summer so that he could meet Kayla and Elodie, and vice versa. Elodie was a little wary of everyone she met on our vacation, but she immediately took to my Pop. He was very gentle with her and let her take her time to get to know him. There were many times I would catch her glancing over at him smiling and there were even a few times where she would sneak up on him when he was napping. The only sad part was there was when she asked him to pick her up, but he couldn't because he wasn't strong enough.

My Pop's story was a long one, and I couldn't do it justice to tell it here. He was a fisherman, a logger, and a labourer. He had so many stories to tell, and he always told them with pride and humour. While I will miss all the things I used to do with him, it will be his stories I miss most.

Whether it was the closure, to be with my Dad and family, or just to be 'home' I had to go back to Newfoundland for the funeral. It happened very fast, but within two days I was in Twillingate and the day following that was the funeral. To be honest the funeral felt impersonal to me. There were lots of readings and hymns, but my Pop really wasn't religious. To be fair though he had only asked two things: to have a closed casket so that people wouldn't be "lookin' down at gawkin" at him and not to have people go on and on with speeches about him. I think he wanted to be remembered for what people already remembered, and that was it.

I'm very glad that I went back. Being around my family, although chaotic at times, was really great. I had a lot of time to myself and anyone who knows me knows I love that. I went for some great walks and really got to think and clear my head. I missed Kayla and Elodie a lot though, so for probably the first time ever I was excited to come home.

During all this, I was supposed to host an event that corresponded with the municipal election we were having. Thankfully I have some amazing co-workers that stepped in for me and ran a great event. I really wish I could have been there, but they ran it just as well (if not better) than I would have, so I couldn't ask for more.

When I got back Elodie hadn't changed a whole lot, but she made sure to let me know about all the new words she learned while I was away. Elodie talks a lot. Granted is often the same words or two word sentences over and over, but she pretty much never shuts up. Hmm, who does she take after?

She may only be 18 months old, but as far as I'm concerned she has hit the terrible twos. Kayla and I really have been pulling our hair out at some points lately. She's stubborn and independent so she pretty much flips out on you when you do anything against the way she wants them done. You know that scene in Family Guy where Stewie is saying "Ma, Ma, Ma, Ma, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mom, Mom, etc" Yeah, that happens to us pretty much daily. I can't complain though as it's exciting to see her grow up. I'm going to post some videos soon (they're uploading now) and you'll see how she tries to steal the camera away from me whenever I use it so that she can see the baby on the screen.

I'll try to blog more often since Elodie seems to change weekly and I really ought to keep track of it for those of you who don't get to see it.