Bay Beach and the Wildlife Sanctuary

Grandpa and Grandma were on vacation so they took us to Bay Beach and the Wildlife Sanctuary before Caleb started school and before they had to move Uncle Bob into college. It looked like it was going to rain for a while, but it stayed dry while we were there. We went on rides -- mommy even got to go on the big slide with Caleb. Maybe next year Sonya can go down it too! For lunch, we ate subs and grapes and then walked over to the Wildlife Sanctuary for a little bit. Sonya absolutely LOVED being so close to the ducks. Her favorite animal and word to say is "duck." We spent a little time in the Nature Center. They had live bees building a honey comb and a cave to explore in. The beaver slide was neat too (although really fast and dark in there!) 

Caleb and Grandpa on the carousel

Sonya riding her pony

Giddy up!

Two tickets, please!

Riding the train with Grandma

Grandpa and Caleb on the train

Steering the boat

At the playground

Eating lunch

(not the best picture -- but they were laughing so hard at each other)

Climbing in a tree trunk

Grandpa looks so tiny in there

Love

Trying to get a good photo

The kids weren't fully cooperating.. hehe

Grandma and Grandpa Pauly

Wildlife Sanctuary

Someone is carry Sonya again...

Looking at the marsh

Feeding ducks

A little girl shared her corn with Sonya so she could feed the ducks too!

Waterfalls

On the rocks

Uncle Bob

The river (and the ducks)

At the Nature Center -- Caleb is a baby bee

In a turtle shell

Grandpa is a turtle?

Caleb on the kid version of the "yo-yo" swings

Ding Ding goes the train

We finished the day with a few more rides and then stopped at Dairy Queen for ice cream on the way home.  Sonya and Caleb were both exhausted and zonked out on the ride back to Grandma and Grandpa's house though. Mommy was a little tired too. :-)

A day at the Milwaukee Zoo

Before I knew that Tim was going to be in CO, my friend, Debbie, had invited me and the kids to go to the zoo with her. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. We all needed a distraction from the fact that daddy was away. Plus, Sonya had never been to a zoo before! It had been over five years since I had last stepped in the Milwaukee zoo. Don't worry, we hadn't been depriving Caleb of the zoo experience for five years. We always go to the St. Louis Zoo when we're down in southern IL visiting Tim's family. :-)

All buckled up!

Watching the apes

Sharing the double stroller

SHARK!! The kids all liked the aquarium

Mr. Bear poking his head out of the water

Sonya and Jonathan watching the bear

Caleb posing for the camera

Moose! He decided to lay down right as I was taking this photo

Mr. Elephant

Taking a ride on the train!

Sonya didn't want to pose

Debbie with her kids

The tiger

Mountain goat

Monkey! -- wait, that's Caleb :-)

Obviously you know that this is a zebra, right?

We all brought bag lunches along and ate a picnic in the park. Sonya and Jonathan both wanted to run off, but we managed to get them to eat a little and not run too far away. It was just a fun morning and afternoon. The weather worked out just wonderful for us -- not too hot, but nice enough to walk around with shorts and T-shirts without being cold. Jonathan fell asleep in the stroller shortly after eating, but Sonya was too excited to sleep until the car ride home. It was a fun day! Thanks Debbie!

In loving memory of...

Charles P. Nikolai 

January 11, 1931 - August 20, 2011

Today, we celebrate the life of Tim's grandpa, Charles "Chuck" Peter Nikolai. The funeral service was today in Colorado. I wish I could've been there with Tim and the rest of his family. It was easier to just have him fly there while I stayed home with the kids. I miss Tim so much and I especially feel the pain that he and all the friends and family of Grandpa Nikolai's must be feeling.

At our wedding

Four generations of Nikolai's

Grandpa Nikolai with all of his kids (Eric, Greg, Paul, Sue, Julie, and Terri)

It seems like yesterday that we were saying prayers that Grandpa Nikolai's bladder removal surgery would go well. Well, I guess it was about a week ago. We were all so optimistic that this would put a stop to the bladder cancer since they had tried scraping the lining previously and that wasn't working. We were under the impression that the cancer was contained in the bladder and by removing it, he'd be able to get back to the active life he had been leading. He had fought two different types of cancer once before, he could do it again!
We got a call that night -- expecting to hear that the surgery was completed and that grandpa was in recovery. That wasn't exactly the news we got. After they opened him up, the surgeon saw that the cancer had spread to his other organs. There was no point in trying to remove his bladder and having him undergo more hours of surgery especially at his age. They said he had a few weeks to live, maybe six weeks at the most. The next day it changed to 3-6 months that he'd have left. That sounded too good to be true! There were plans made on which family members he'd stay with and there was a slight chance he'd be able to head back down to Yuma, AZ where he had been living and say one last goodbye to his friends there.
He never got the chance. Early Saturday morning, he went to be with the Lord. From what I've heard, it was from a heart attack. I'm just so glad he's not in pain anymore and that Tim was able to do that road trip from AZ to CO with him just one month ago. It really meant a lot to both of them.

One of the views in Colorado during their trip

Fueling up! - The last photo Tim took of his grandpa

I thought I'd share a few memories to lighten the mood a little bit:
1) Tim had always referred to his grandpa as Grandpa Nikolai. For some reason, I thought it'd be more fun to refer to him as Grandpa Chuck... just never in his presence. I found out later that some relatives called him "Chuck" but it still always made Tim and I smile whenever I said it. :-)
2) At our wedding, Grandpa Chuck presented me with a hollow chocolate apple that had a gummy worm in it. He recited a poem something about a moment on the lips and forever on your hips. Tim's mom was worried that I might be offended by the poem, but I thought it was kind of funny and very sweet.

3) During Tim's road trip, he learned that his grandpa sounded like Johnny Cash when he sang. Also, when they were in one of the hotels, Tim was flipping through channels and ended up finding "The Mummy." In Tim's opinion, it's an ok sort of movie, nothing too great, but not horrible enough to change the channel. Grandpa just sat and watched and didn't say much until the movie was over. I'm going to get this quote wrong, but he basically said that was one of the stupidest movies he had ever seen. haha!

4) At the end of the road trip, Tim and Grandpa Nikolai got pedicures from Tim's younger cousins. I'm hoping that Aunt Paula has photos of this because the image in my head doesn't do it justice.

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Well, tomorrow the family is all going up to Cripple Creek, CO where Tim's grandpa and grandma had lived for a good chunk of their marriage. They're going to spread his ashes up there in the mountains in the same place where they scattered Tim's grandma's about 10 or so years ago. Praying right now that God makes His presence known and comforts those that are grieving during this sad time. We love you Grandpa (Great-Grandpa for the kids) Nikolai and you will be greatly missed!!!

Mountains in Cripple Creek

Where the ashes were spread

Rest in Peace