Wrapping Up Summer
We wrapped up summertime with the State Fair, a concert, and special dates with each kiddo for back to school shopping, and a bike ride and picnic before the first day of school.
Back to school shopping and dates:
Colton: Bowling and thrifting
Larkyn pizza, movie, and shopping
Summer: lunch and shopping
Britt Nicole Concert:
Random end of summer stuff:
Colton started a Bible study with some friends going through the book No More Excuses.
Summer attended a Faith Club Leadership conference with a friend
Summer won our Night to Unite Block Party chalk art contest
annual block party for Night to Unite
At the State Fair this year, Colton got to meet Bongi Hlongwane, a current Loons player!
State Fair!
Biking with Grandma and Grandpa over Labor Day
Pickle Ball!
Last Day of Summer: Mom and Kids picnic date!
Starting School
Colton and Larkyn had their first day at UCA about a week before Summer had her first day at Apple Valley High School. Below are pictures from each of their open houses and first days.
School Stuff
Middle School Retreat
At UCA the middle school gets to go on a retreat for team building, hands on learning, and spiritual growth. Colton had a BLAST! Here are some pictures:
A few of his buddies before they left
exploring a bog
Homecoming
Summer went to Homecoming with several very sweet girls. They got all dressed up and went to one girls' house for dinner and pictures before heading to the dance.
Sports
All three kids are playing a fall sport on a new team this year. Summer is running cross-country for Apple Valley High School, Colton switched soccer clubs and is now playing for Lakeville Soccer Club, and Larkyn joined the gymnastics team at Elite Gymnastics. All three are loving their teams and their sports, and we love cheering them on in what they enjoy.Soccer
Colton is really loving his new soccer team and we are all having fun getting to know the amazing families on his team. What a fun group of kids! They won their tournament last weekend after fighting through a tie game, over time, and 8 rounds of shoot-outs. We were all on the edge of our seats and had a blast celebrating the victory.
Another game that was especially memorable this year was a game Colton got to play under the lights. Fireworks went off part way through the game and lasted a good 15 minutes. The boys played through the fireworks and fans enjoyed both the game and a show!
Colton is one of the captains on his team (arm band pictured above).
His age group moved to 11v11 this year and his new position is CDM (Center Defensive Mid). Paul is the assistant coach and it is so fun that he can be involved with the play on the other side of the field. On his last tournament, one of the moms was able to get all 6 of Colton's goals on video. I will include links to them below.
Gymnastics
In March, Larkyn joined the Silver team at EGA. Competition season started this month and it's been really fun to watch Larkyn do what she loves to do - perform and tumble! Her first meet (Judges Cup) was a learning experience, figuring out how everything went. In her second meet (Piper Preview) she was able to improve all four of her scores, including earning first medal (on bars).
Here are the videos from her first two meets:
Judges Cup (first meet)
Piper Preview (second meet)
Cross Country
Summer is running cross country with Apple Valley High School this year. Within her first few meets, she was asked to run Varsity, and has gotten many PR's already this season. The cross country team has provided a fabulous way to enter high school, as she got to know many people over summer running before the season even started. The team does spaghetti dinners at teammates' houses before every meet and has "secret sisters" and many other community building team events that has helped Summer develop friendships and be part of a team. Below are some pictures and videos:
Summer's current PR for 5K was set at her most recent meet a few days ago: 24:29.2, (beating her previous PR by 45 seconds).
Tiger
I couldn't possibly post about our fall without posting pictures of Tiger. He has become such an integral part of our family, going to cross country meets and soccer games and improving his friendship with Grandpa's dog Dotson and bringing cuddles and smiles all September long. He surprises us with his love of water, his desire to play fetch, and his dog-like mannerisms. He loves to be part of the action and constantly wants to be with us. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more pictures of Tiger on our devices than any other family member! I will wrap up this post with some fun pics of the youngest member of the Tommerdahl clan....
This picture was taken while Tiger was cheering on Summer at a rainy cross country meet
Tiger at Colton's soccer game
Tiger with friends at Colton's soccer game
Tiger at Summer's cross country meet
