The Commish

For those of you in our fantasy football league, you're getting your money's worth with the commissioner. Here he is hard at work...

No less than three laptops will do!

Notice the Wii pjs. After he's done making trades, he can be found playing Rock Band.

Mmm...Cookies!

The girls decided to bake chocolate chip cookies for Grandma Lund for her birthday, and to snack on during the Husky game. It was their first time baking cookies, and they had a great time! Grandma got them a new kitchen stool so they can stand up at the counter with everybody else. How neat!

Emma stirs in the chocolate chips.

The girls sample the batter...

Mia preferred to stick to the chocolate chips instead of the batter.

Emma liked the batter, chocolate...all of it!

Washing hands while the cookies bake.

Playing in the sink is fun!

Sharing the water faucet and "helping" to wash dishes.

Cookies are done! Time to taste test.

"Me want cookie!" Emma channels Cookie Monster.

Mia thinks they're finger-lickin' good. De-lish.

Hey - who said you could have any?! Now, will you get us some milk?

The Dawgs are Back!

Mama and her little Husky fans get ready for the game.

Emma plays hide and seek in the kitchen. She's too nervous to look at the score.

Mia cheers on the Huskies with Daddy. Go, Huskies, Go!

They did it!! The Huskies beat USC 16-13!! The Dawgs are back!! To think, we had tickets and didn't go. We're totally kicking ourselves.

The girls shout about the victory from the rooftop (okay, the porch).

Emma is all smiles!

Meet the Ostby Family

Back row: Jake, Pete, Dave, Debbie, Cathy, Uncle Rollie, Mia, Grandma, Janis, Alex; Front row: Matt, Emma, KK, Aunt Betty

Matt's parents hosted a lovely family reunion last weekend in Richland so we could introduce the girls (and me!) to some of Donna's extended family.

We were so happy to meet the girls' Great Great Aunt Betty and Great Great Uncle Rollie, and their daughter/son-in-law/son Cathy/Scott/Alexander. We were also happy to spend time with Nanny Janny (Great Aunt Janis), Great Aunt Carol Kay and her husband Bob, cousin Debbie and her boys Jacob and David. And of course Uncle Pete, Grandma and Grandpa.

Relaxing on the deck: Janis, Pete, Matt, Grandpa, Emma

And the other side: Bob, Mia, megan, Betty, Rollie

Grandpa's Girls

Grandma's Girls

Janis and Mia play "Row, row, row your boat"

Mia plays hide and seek on the deck

Emma loved running around the big yard.

Mia and Emma meet their Great Great Uncle Rollie, a WWII veteran and true cowboy.

Em & M cool off in their pool.

Late Summer Pics

Lunchtime! Emma and Mia dine at their table.

Book Club: The girls enjoy storytime together.

Mia makes her kissy face. She and Emma love giving kisses and hugs! And we love receiving them!

Books before bedtime.

Running the bases at the local softball field.

Taking five on the park bench.

Girls, where's your mouth?

A favorite hang out spot in their playroom. See photo above and below...

And a favorite game. In addition to mouth, they know eyes, nose, ears, hair, feet.

Emma starts her Starbucks habit.

The Unofficial End of Summer

While Labor Day may be the "unofficial" end to summer, it sure felt like the actual end too. Seattle was a cool, gray, brisk 60 degrees. But at least it was a long weekend so we could take care of a few things.

"Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time." We officially lived the "Old School" dream. And while we were out, we even decided to grab dinner at the oh so family friendly Red Robin. The girls loved the crayons (more to eat than to draw) and the balloons.

We also took advantage of the extra day to squeeze in a visit with our friends, the Hopps. We met for lunch at Hamburger Harry's in Ballard, and then made an impromptu trip to the Ballard Commons, which led to the following scene...

Ballard Commons was the place to be all summer because of the great fountains. Cole loves water, and despite the cool weather, he didn't waste anytime running into the water.

He tried to convince Emma to join him.

She was hesitant at first, but eventually decided it looked pretty fun.

The Dads are chaperoning the kids. But where is Mia...?

There she is! Mia was very hesitant - she's not a fan of water outside her bathtub - so she kept her distance for a while.

But eventually, peer pressure kicked in, and Mia was crawling in the fountain, splashing with Emma and Cole.

Cole splashed and splashed and splashed!

Emma wanted to be just like Cole.

It continues to be fascinating to watch the girls' personalities develop, and see how they interact with other kids. We've noticed that while Mia can be more dominant at home, and is more often the aggressor, in public, she tends to be more shy. Emma is very social and outgoing in groups of people, but she follows Mia's lead at home.

Playing in the water at all was a huge step for both of the girls. As you might recall from previous blog entries, neither of them have been too fond of anything other than the bathtub. Emma tolerated a couple trips to the pool, but didn't like it on some occasions. Mia has shown a deep fear for water, so it was great to see her being so brave in this situation.

It's just ironic that on a 107 degree day in Ballard, neither of them wanted to splash in the fountain, but on a cool, 60 degree day, they got soaking wet! Who knew per pressure could be a good thing?!

A New Era in Husky Football Begins

The Huskies opened their season against LSU at home last night. It was the first game with Sarkisian as head coach, and boy were we excited! The girls wore their Husky purple, and practiced the cheer Grandma taught them: "Go, Huskies, Go!"

Matt went to the game, and attended "The Big Dawg" tailgate party beforehand with alumni athletes. He said while watching the game, this weird feeling came over him. He realized it was... confidence. It's been a while (two years to be precise) since we've had that as Husky fans. Even though they didn't win the game, the future looks bright, and that's great for now.