We had the Primary program during Sacrament Meeting last Sunday and it was absolutely adorable!  I was seriously amazed at the talent and bravery of these little ones!  There were lots of little talents highlighted throughout the program.  We had two little boys sing a second part harmony, girls that signed a song, and one little girl that accompanied the primary signing “How Firm a Foundation.”  These kids has some serious nerves of steel!  Magei also got to do a solo on her violin.  She played “I Love to See the Temple” and she did such a wonderful job!  I was so nervous for her - mostly because I know how scared I get doing anything in front of anybody.  I was also glad she got to do it, because she had to miss her recital the week before because she was sick with the flu.  Nate and I were really proud of her and Sam cheered her name when she was done!

And I have to put this picture in because I just recently switched the kids’ clothes out to the winter ones.  I love winter church clothes, and I love it more when I can get my kids to match…which is not that often.

well, after tackling the thurmanator, I have been itching to move to the next place adam visited on man vs. food…the ohio deli to tackle the dagwood!!  a 2 1/2-pound cold-cut sandwich with fries.  I had my same support team that accompanied me to the thurman cafe.

don’t be fooled by photo-illusions, these things were massive.  my buddy’s supported me by ordering the same thing, but I think I was the only one stupid enough to attempt the feat.  Here’s me towards the beginning.

the sandwich started out very good!  there is a garlic spread, that was delicious on the roast beef and cheddar.  the sandwich turned out to be 6 small sandwiches, roast beef and cheddar, turkey, and ham and veggies.  the lone turkey left much to be desired for.  the ham was nothing special either, but had these very potent red onions that made it difficult to down.  Here’s the half-way mark.

at this point it all just tastes like cold, mushy, wet meat.  I think I even remember my fingers pruning.  So, I tackled the second half leaving the fries.  delicious, but at this point I was getting full!

so, I forgot to mention the rules of the dagwood challenge.  you need to eat everything on the plate…in 30 minutes!  starting off I thought 30 minutes is plenty of time…that was before I ate pounds of meat and was left with the top 4 inch thick piece of bread.  that bread almost did me in, until a voice in the back of my head…oh wait, I mean the 5 voices surrounding me, reminded me of the hot dog guy who dips his buns in water.  inspired by the hot dog guy, I began to sip water with each bite of bread and it worked.  the water dissolved the bread and allowed for a quick swallow.  I was back in the game.  I had lost a lot of time though on that bread (honestly, like 5-10 minutes on that last piece of bread), so I had to hussle.  with the time fast approaching, I began to stuff the fries in like a chipmunk.  this next picture shows me right as the 30 minute mark arrived.

so I then sat patiently chewing this mouthful of fries…

…till the last swallow and I was done!!!

I defeated the dagwood!  I have to thank my friends for their encouraging remarks and suggestions.

Our halloween celebrations lasted an entire week this year!  This is partly thanks to Columbus’ tradition of not trick or treating on halloween day.  This year also brought with it several costume changes.  Our festivities started last Saturday at our church chili cook-off/halloween party.  Magei and Sam were so excited to go as Maggie and the Ferocious Beast.  Magei’s costume was as simple as assembling a few things.  I brought out the super mom skills and sewed Sam’s beast costume.  On the down side, hardly anyone knew who they were.  Magei kept getting called Raggedy Ann, and Sam was either a clown or a dinosaur.  Oh well!

The kids won best “Maggie and the Ferocious Beast” costume at the party!

On Wednesday night, we went to Tuttle Mall and did some trick or treating.  This night, the kids insisted on going as Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  Magei already had her costume in her dress up box, and we were able to scrounge up enough stuff for Sam to make it work.

I had all but decided not to take the kids out trick or treating on Thursday night since Nate had to be gone, but at the last minute a friend convinced me to go.  It was a super nice night and the kids had a blast!  The best part was the guy cooking hot dogs for kids on the fire pit he had set up in his driveway.

Magei had her halloween party at school on Friday, and since her Maggie costume didn’t make much sence without Sam by her side as the Ferocious Beast, she decided she wanted to go as Ariel.  Not wanting to be left out, Sam dug through his toy box and came out with his cow ears and tail.

On Friday, we also hit Boo at the Zoo.  The weather was perfect!  Magei was tired of Ariel, so she decided she wanted to put her Alice in Wonderland costume on. (The picture below is their attempt to look scared.)

And last but not least, one more costume change.  Our friends had a halloween party at their house and this time the kids wanted to be super heros.  I had made them super hero capes for their dress up boxes a few months ago, and Sam already had a superman shirt, so all we had to do was make Magei’s shirt.  We had iron-on printer paper, so that was super easy.