The Klopp Quads: Apostles and Life Lately

Two weekends ago we made the trek to Bayfield for an Apostle Island camping trip. This was the girls' first camping trip and I really didn't know how it was going to be. They did awesome! We all actually slept and everything! Our tent is perfect for our family- plenty of room, even Will's pack and play fit- and it is tall enough to stand up in. There is so much potential for camping on one of those islands if the weather is perfect. We were hit with some rain and cool weather. Guess what! We still had fun! Luckily, it only rained Friday (we arrived mid-late afternoon). Once dinner was over, we got everyone in their pjs and snuggled in for the night. Saturday, we fished and hung out. Sunday was our last day, but it was the best weather and some of us played at a fun beach while the others fished.

The kids would say the highlight of the trip was finding garter snakes.

Dane holding the snake

Love this picture of Will!

Peter and Dane- THIS is the weather we got in the Apostles- hats in July!?

Madeline and Josie so happy!

Will lounging in a mini camp chair

At our campsite

Will is excited to go fishing, can't you tell?

Madeline was the only girl who finished her marshmallow(s)!

Madeline and Josie at the beach (it was only in the 60's here but it felt warm after the cooler days)

Yay for beach time!

Last weekend we went to Dan's college roommate, Pete's wedding and it was so much fun to see some friends we don't get to see much. It was also our anniversary too- we have been married 6 years!!

All dressed up for Pete's wedding. When do we ever get to go for dinner and dancing!?

Will hit 7 months while we were away in the Apostles and he popped two lower teeth out! I am so happy that I didn't even know they were coming- that means he's a good teether! Will is just growing bigger and bigger... he's so interested in everything around him and grabs whatever is in reach. He's not yet crawling or getting to the sitting position on his own. He is still very content and cuddly. Will definitely is at 2 naps or less a day. Yesterday he only gave me ONE nap- but he was getting pretty grumpy at dinner time. Still, his grumpy is doable, especially since he is only one baby. He had been sleeping through the night, but he's been waking up lately. I'm not sure whether he is truly hungry, because he still gets close to 0 calories from solids.

Will's 7 Month Picture

"Eating" something orange. I'd be surprised if he got a teaspoon of the sweet potato in his mouth.

Will's version of "standing". He really loves this toy but can't quite pull himself up!

The girls are doing well. Their thought process is getting deeper and you can just watch the wheels in their heads turning. They are only a month away from starting preschool. I hope preschool will help them in the social skills department.
It's fun, because of all the girls, Sofia is the most interested in bugs/animals. When she gets a hold of a frog, cricket, or caterpillar, she will be completely focused on it and it's hard for her to let it go. Today, we found a big green caterpillar, so we made a house for it. Sofia doesn't want to be away from it! Cute...
   All three girls are starting to count out objects better. If I ask them to count something in a book up to 12 or less they can usually do it correctly. They can't identify numbers and they only know certain letters so far (besides memorizing the alphabet song). I have flashcards for the girls but I can only work with them individually otherwise they all start fighting or get hyper playing. The other day I had fun with Madeline and she was good at sorting according to colors and by shapes.
    Some funny quotes...
*After seeing a couple minutes of the Bachelorette, Madeline said "What is that sad girl doing?" and during the commercial break she said "Where did that sad girl go?"
*The girls play house/family a lot. The other day Josie was the baby and she told me that Sofia was her "little mom" (as opposed to me being the "big mom").
*Not really a quote, but I LOVE that they call "Jake and the Neverland Pirates", "Jake and the Little Pirates". That show inspires some great play time too. I see them looking for treasure outside a lot.
I need to start writing more down because I hear great quotes daily now.
*Today I was telling the girls they needed to get dressed for the day and Sofia told me her caterpillar needed to get dressed too. I was like "Whaaaat?" and she said "Just kidding!" That was the first time I have heard one of them say that!

The latest sister picture (Madeline, Josie and Sofia)

Uncle Andy and Aunt Aimee stopped by on their way to Duluth/Lake Ojibway

I took the girls to the Washington County fair. We had a great time!

In one of the animal barns

Here is Madeline's pet grasshopper

The other day I found a big green caterpillar on our walk/bike ride. Sofia adopted him and named him "Cotty". We made him a home in hopes of him being comfortable enough to make a cocoon and become a moth. Sofia doesn't leave him alone much so we'll see what happens.