After a very long and exhausting 4 years, I finally did it!  I graduated from University!  It was a wonderfully beautiful day and I was surrounded by my friends and family to celebrate.  What more could a girl ask for?  Convocation was held at the North Bay campus - which I had never been to before!  After the ceremony we went out to dinner at a lovely little Japanese restaurant in North Bay called The Kabuki House. I highly recommend it if you're in the area and want great sushi!   My wonderful family surprised me with a Pandora charm bracelet as a graduation gift! Now that I have finally earned my first degree I am not sure what the next step is but look forward to having a break from school and exploring my new options. 

I can't believe it has been over 4 months since my last post!  It honestly feels like it has been years since my last entry as our lives have ben caught up in so much turmoil these last few months.  So many changes have occurred in our lives - both good and bad and I will do my best to update everyone!

I guess I will start with the addition of Rosie to our herd.  We took Rosie in as a foster from the OSPCA and after a short time decided to add her permanently to our herd.  Rosie has a very ugly history which I will not share here but we are happy to report she is now very happy in her new home.  She is showing improvements every day and is finally able to be without her winter jacket full time now that the weather is warmer and her hair is growing back in.    Rosie loves food and treats and seems to be very fascinated with watching birds!  She loves all the new babies that keep arriving and is often playing with them!  We have grown to love Rosie in a very short time and are happy that she can live out her days with us here.

The worst part of the last few months has been dealing with the loss of a friend.  Lindsay was tragically taken from all of us on April 5, 2013.  She was the victim of a horrible and senseless murder at the hands of her ex boyfriend.  Lindsay and I were in the same degree program at Nipissing U and she was supposed to be graduating with our class this June.  She was a special woman who was always able to find the positive in every situation and took on life with such a zest that those who knew her couldn't help but be inspired by her!  She will be forever missed but never forgotten.  RIP sweet angel. ♥

Babies are arriving!  So far we have 8 babies born and all are healthy and vigorous!  CC blessed us with two beautiful boys - Apollo and Merak.  Bonnie also had two boys - Titan and Moon Pi.  Maisie gave birth to two beautiful babies - Asia and Hercules.  We are retaining both of them.  Lucy also blessed us with a girl and a boy - Aurora and Argus.  The next four girls to kid are Donna, Dixie, Carmela and Mimi.  They are due starting the 5th of May!

Any guesses on how many babies our Carmela is carrying?  She is seriously as big as a house!  She was big last year - but not this BIG!  Last year she had twin boys.

The weather so far this year has been very frustrating.  Extreme changes in temperature followed by snow, then rain, then more snow is making life very difficult.  The end of April saw us dealing with the worst flood we have ever faced here!  We had to evacuate the goats to different farms just to keep them all safe and dry.  It made life even more stressful as so many roads in the area were closed due to wash outs.  It was a challenge just to get to around everywhere.  We are happy to report though that we all made it through and our house was not damaged in the flood.  We were very fortunate considering how many others in the area lost everything.  Now that the water has gone back down we are dealing with repairs to our fences and the cleanup of everything that washed in our yard.  it could have been so much worse!

I guess the best news of all is that I have finally finished school!  Through everything that's gone on in the last month I am not exactly sure how I managed, but I did!  No more exams, papers or terrible reading assignments for this girl!  At least for awhile anyways!  I would still like to go on to grad school at some point but for the next year at least I will be taking the time to refocus and get centered again.  There is plenty of time to go back to school again later!  For now it is just so hard to believe that after 4 years I have finally earned my degree!  I definitely need to celebrate but will do so when things aren't so busy around here!

What a
beautiful day today! The sun is warm and inviting, the animals are quiet in the heat of the day and the bugs seem hardly noticeable. Hopefully the weekend has weather that is just as wonderful.
So graduation day was yesterday. Sadly for Daniel, he isn't quite done with high school yet. He was just shy of making it this time around but will be able to earn his last credit quickly and easily this summer. Alyssa received her diploma though and looked beautiful in her cap and gown, so full of smiles and joy. We are very proud of both of their accomplishments and know that no matter what they will both find their place in the world.

So it is official now, the kids are home for the summer! Daniel and Alyssa both wrote their final high school exams today and are as of now done high school forever! It is extra special today though, as today marks Alyssa's 18th birthday as well. We enjoyed some homemade chicken alfredo and cake to celebrate and now everyone is quietly doing their own thing. I know both Alyssa and Daniel are thinking about where they're both going to get jobs this summer. I hope they both find jobs they like anyways. For Daniel it is far more important to find a good job as he isn't going off to university in the fall and will need to be working full time from now on. Their graduation ceremony is on Thursday and I am anxiously awaiting the confirmation call that Daniel managed to pass all his courses. I will be a blubbering fool, crying and proud when I
finally get to see them both graduate!

Dixie is still healing from her dehorning. She is getting a little stir crazy being cooped up in the pen but I get her out for a few walks by herself during the day. Today the flies had both her and I running as they were determined to land on her head. I am far too paranoid about the possibility of maggots to allow for that to happen and I think she sensed trouble as well. It was funny that she and I seemed to have the same thoughts though and run for the pen at the same time. We keep a sprayer in there so it is blissfully fly free in her stall. She is getting spoiled by that
even though I know she wants to be out with her friends. Once the holes are scabbed over we will let her back with the others but I don't think that will be for a few days yet.

And still....no babies from Trixie...... :o(