Zoo, Caverns, & the Dells 2014

For Spring Break, we went down to St. Jacob/Troy, IL (a stone's throw from St. Louis, MO). Tim's parents live there so we figured it'd be nice to visit them. Plus, it didn't hurt that the weather would be significantly warmer there than in Wisconsin.

Day 1 -- Tim took a half day of work and we pulled Caleb out of school early. So we grabbed a quick lunch, finished loading up the car, and were off. We stopped just before Springfield to enjoy a picnic dinner at a rest stop. The grass was GREEN!  I was pretty amazed since we left Wisconsin in a state of mud brown. We arrived at our destination around 7pm. The kids were excited to see Grandma and Papa as well as their Aunt Kelly and the animals.

Day 2 -- We surprised my mother-in-law, Michelle, by having an early birthday celebration since all of Tim's siblings were able to be there that weekend. There was a "Happy Something Day" cake, plans to have our family photo done the next day, and a trip to the St. Louis Zoo.

Day 3 -- The weather was a little overcast, but that's supposed to be perfect weather for taking photos so we all drove over to the park to do those. There was lots of laughter and Tim's siblings were being quite silly -- acting like the big kids that they are. The kids got to feed the ducks and swans. (See Nikolai Family Photos 2014) In the afternoon, since it was a little rainy out, we all watched "Frozen."


Day 4 -- It was a nice lazy day to just relax and not do much. The kids colored some Easter eggs and played with their Aunt Kelly a lot.

Day 5 -- Tim, the kids, and I went on an adventure to tour the Meramec Caverns in Missouri and also went hiking at Meramec State Park. There were lots of cool caves to explore!

Day 6 -- We visited the Cahokia Indian Mounds museum and climbed the many steps leading up to the top of their tallest mound. It was pretty windy up at the top. Later that night, Caleb finally pulled out his loose tooth that had been wiggly and dangly for months!

Day 7 -- Grandma and Papa joined us on the trek back to Wisconsin. We stopped off at Starved Rock State Park to have lunch and then headed on towards Wisconsin Dells where we would spend a few days at Mt. Olympus.

Day 8 -- We spent the morning at the indoor water park (didn't take a single photo since it was so humid in there and I didn't want to wreck our cameras). The kids actually went down one water slide a piece which was huge compared to last time we were there. They were more content just hanging out in the big pool and running around on the pirate ship. For the afternoon, we ventured out to the outdoor theme park where the go karts were up and running. So much fun!!! We also, took a ride on one of the Dells Ducks.

Day 9 -- We rode a few more rides in the indoor and outdoor theme park. Caleb tried out a gravity drop ride and we hit up the go karts again. Then it was time to head home so we could sleep in our own beds for the night.

Nikolai Family photos 2014

Grandma and Papa Nikolai -- the two that started this all :-)

Sonya is FOUR!

My Sonya Rose turned four years old today, February 13th, 2013. She celebrated her special day at school along with having their classroom Valentine's Day party. I still can't believe she's old enough to write her own name and add numbers and so many other things. She's growing up way too fast, that's for sure.

1 week old

About 3 or so months old

Around six months old

Sonya at age ONE

Sonya at age TWO

TWO and a half

A few weeks shy of THREE!

THREE and a half

almost FOUR!

It's so fun to look back at all these photos and see how much Sonya has changed. She has more teeth and her hair has grown, but she still smiles with her eyes. She loves telling stories and playing kitchen. There's almost always a blanket lying on the floor with pretend food or a blanket fort somewhere in the house. So much creativity packed into this little girl. Sometimes we play school even though she goes to preschool two mornings a week. Sonya is just a little sponge and wants to learn everything. No matter how big she gets, I still love when she cuddles with me in the morning or at night, snuggles into my lap with a book and lets me read to her. LOVE you forever and for always to my squishy taco girl. :-)

A Celebration of Marriage!

While Tim was at the No Regrets Mens' Conference, the kids and I cooked up a special dinner to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. It made sense to do this a day early since it wouldn't have been much of a surprise to Tim otherwise. The kids were great in helping and they also kept Tim entertained in the basement so I could finish cooking without him knowing what I was doing.

Step 1: Set the table...

Step 2: Cook some delicious food ...

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

Apple Dumplings

Step 3: Almost ready for dinner....

Step 4: Fortune cookies! I made some cute little fortune cookies out of felt and let Caleb come up with something to put in each one.

Tim's says: "You will kiss your wife -->

on the lips."

Mine said: "You will snow blow the driveway every day."
I think Tim won this round. lol

Step 5: Enjoy a slice of dessert... YUM!

Step 6: Gotta take a photo of us....

I even dressed up a little for dinner :-)

Step 7: This isn't really a step... but Tim gave me this as one of my gifts. There's only one thing that can make this cheese better: BACON! haha

We also have a little trip planned without the kids in March so that's something we're looking forward to!! So blessed to have spent 6 years married to the man I love. Can't wait to see how the rest of the years will turn out!

After the Snow Falls (2013)

It was a chilly day just after we had about a foot of snow. So we trekked out to Riveredge Nature Center for an adventure.  

There was so much snow and Sonya was having a hard time walking through it. We attempted to use the sled and pull her, but there were tracks from cross-country skis and it was tough to keep her from tipping in the particular sled that we brought. Tim and I ended up taking turns carrying Sonya. She sure is getting almost too big to carry now though!!

Caleb enjoyed eating lots of snow -- even though we told him not to eat it. Lol. Silly kid.

By the time we got back to the car, we were all ready to get warm and thaw out. The snow was definitely beautiful though.