The Dagwood Challenge

So, for anyone who watches a show on the Travel Channel this might be familiar. Man vs. Food is one of Ryan's shows he loves to watch when he has a minute. For those of you who aren't familiar it is a show where this guy travels the states visiting restaraunts that have either famous dishes or food challenges. Some of the challenges include crazy things like a 72 oz steak, or a hamburger the size of a pizza, etc. You get the point. Most of them are discusting, but for some reason it's entertaining to watch this guy (who is actually normal size, not a competitive eater) stuff this food down.
Well, one episode that caught our attention was one where he went to Columbus, Oh. Our old stomping grounds. Of course we had to watch. He visited The Ohio Deli where they have a sandwich called the Dagwood, named after Dagwood from the Blondie comic strip, who is always eating cold cut sandwiches. It is a deli sandwich with 21 oz. of cold cuts. Along with the sandwich is a pound of fries and a pickle. The challenge is to down this monster in 30 minutes and you receive a t-shirt that says, "I devoured the Dagwood," along with your picture on the wall. If you don't devour it, you have the option to buy a t-shirt that says, "The dagwood kicked my !**.
Ryan, of course, wanted to take the challenge and roped in some buddies from work to go down with him to try it. However, to his dismay, he got a little over 1/2 way done with is before he surrendered. Although his brothers may be dissapointed, I think it may be more attractive that he couldn't complete the challenge.
This is The Dagwood. French bread, cheese, garlic mayo, 7 oz. turkey, 7 oz. roast beef, and 7 oz. ham.
This is his before picture. He hadn't eaten all morning in preparation for the big event.
As Ryan was suffering, Owen was at our table adjacent shouting, "Go Dad, go Dad." Ryan later commented he felt both proud and ashamed. Ashamed that his 3 yr old son was cheering him on for a ridiculous food challenge. Not teaching the best eating habits, I guess.
This is the point he drew his white flag. We still love you babe!
Here's Ryan with his t-shirt. Props to one of his buddies, Brandon, who actually finished the Dagwood in 15 minutes.

Easter Weekend for the Wallis'

The adorable Easter outfits were sent to us by our wonderful Emee. Thank you Linda for making my babies look so cute. You're too good to us.
Our attempt to get some kind of family photo. Always a challenge to have everyone smile together.
So, for Ryan's birthday and Easter we spent the weekend in Cincinnati. One of the highlights of the weekend was when Ryan pulled out his old go-cart to give the kids a ride.
Owen was in absolute heaven. Pretty sure this will be an expected activity every time we go down to Cincinnati now.
Ryan said he's start up the old engine "for the kids," but I think we know the enjoyment was equally shared.
Ava absolutely LOVED the ride. She kept saying, "Faster, faster." Ryan says finally he has someone who will ride roller coasters with him.

Happy 30th Ryan

Happy Birthday Babe! We are very lucky to have you as our #1 man in our lives. You always have an upbeat, positive take on life which makes you so fun to be around. I appreciate the great dad you are and know the kids absolutely adore you. I still wonder sometimes what I did to deserve you but thank God often that I was in the right place at the right time that fortunate night at ward prayer when we met. Who could have dreamed what would come from that initial conversation. I love you!
Ryan's work was nice enough to have a little celebration for him with a cake and all. When the secretary asked him what color of flowers he wanted on his cake he told her she better not put any flowers on his cake unless they were being run over by a monster truck. She obviously took his wishes to heart.

Update

I know. I know. It has been way too long since I've added to our blog. I do have an excuse. We have an announcement. We're expecting. #3 is on the way!! Although we are very excited, I got caught in the 1st trimester blues. Since finding out we were expecting in January I haven't felt well and took all I had to just do the bare minimum to keep the family fed and clothed. Anything beyond the necessities (like blogging) was pushed aside. The good news is I'm 16 weeks now and haven't thrown up for a couple weeks now and have been staying up past 8:00. I'm feeling great and getting much more done. The due date? Sept. 17th. This makes our summer quite eventful with both a baby and a move (still don't know where), but we're ready for the change.

Here are a few things that I've been able to catch pictures of lately:

Owen's best friend still remains to be Puppy. I honestly feel like we own a real dog. He puts him to bed at night in a toy dog carrier. He takes him out the back door to go pee from time to time in the day. He feeds him. He colors pictures for him. He has full on conversations with him. The latest is when Ryan went to Atlanta for a dental convention and Owen put puppy in his suitcase because he thought puppy would like a vacation. So, he parted with him for 4 days. We asked multiple times if he was sure he wanted to send him. I'm still not sure if he was more excited for the return of puppy or Dad.
Ava loves sporting her new hat. She had a pony tail that day, so her hair is all tucked inside.
A group of friends got together for an Easter egg hunt. Owen was sooo excited. Ava wasn't sure what the point was, but liked carrying her basket around.
Owen is taking inventory of his eggs and all the candy inside.

Finally, an update

I know it's been forever since I've posted anything. Thanksgiving/Christmas is always a busy time of year. We had a great Thanksgiving in Raleigh, NC with Ryan's parents and will be going back there for Christmas as well. December has been a fun time with the house decorated, family home evenings about the Savior's birth, Christmas shopping, lots of baking, and more shopping. Ryan has just begun his 2 weeks off and we are all very exctied. Here are a couple things I was able to get pictures of the last while.Owen had a very cute christmas program at his preschool. Although he was constantly singing the songs at home for weeks, when it came time to perform he had his hands down his pants the first 3 minutes. Then, in his mouth the absolute rest of the time. Absolutely no singing from him. Not even a couple hand motions to the songs. Still so cute to see him up there with the other kids.
Ryan works 10 - 11 hour days and it's not uncommon for him to fall asleep on the couch, or floor for that matter. It doesn't even matter how much commotion is going on around him or if the kids are decorating his face with stickers. He's the most sound sleeper I know. We love you babe for all of your hard work!

Our Wallis weekend

So, with the usual dreary, overcast, rainy weekends that come more and more often this time of year it was a slow weekend. But, there were a few perks. We went to IKEA and made one of the best purchases ever! First of all, any trip to IKEA is a delight. Except there's never enough time to spend there. There are so many great organization ideas. I could go crazy if the budget allowed. Being good though and sticking to our budget we only purchased what we went there for - a little kids table. I've known forever that Owen would love to have one, but now Ava is at the climbing age and loves getting up in chairs, especially ones just her size. So, we did it! I'm so glad. The two of them are adorable sitting at their little table together, talking (as much as Ava can at least). This is going to be great! Why is anything we use as adults that is on a miniature scale just so darn cute!

Ryan was also under the weather, so even more reason to stay in. But, Owen and I did a little baking. We made chocolate chip cookies. I swear winter is so dangerous. When it's so cold and overcast I just want to be in and have this incredible urge to bake. Is is just me? Anyway, Owen loves measuring and dumping the ingredients. Of course Ava is right there at my feet wishing she could be up on the counter. Not to be trusted there though. Sorry Ava. She watched it all mix together and that made her happy.
Our new table.

Ava's getting a little better as using a spoon. Still some room for improvement. How cute is she though, covered in pudding?
Sweet chocolate chip baking! Only thing better is eating them.

Halloween Happenings

Halloween was a hit this year. Owen thought the actual day would never come. What torture it must be for a kid so young to see all the halloween goods in the stores for so long, the Halloween specials on tv all month. He's been bringing home Halloween crafts from preschool all month. Then, FINALLY the last day of the month, is the day to trick or treat and go get all that candy. However, with a dentist for a Dad he doesn't get to stash it away for his own keeping like I use to do. It's quite cute how this season just totally stresses Ryan out. So, he came to the conclusion that Owen could eat all he wanted that night. Then, he could have one piece a day after his naps. It's actually worked out well. After 24 hours Owen stopped begging for it and looks forward to his nap time. Here are our pictures from the big day!
Our little Bob the Builder and our bubble bee
Ryan was the designated parent to take them out trick or treating. I guess he was raised thinking that was the Dad's job. I was happy to stay behind to pass out treats and see all the other kids in their costumes. However, I did get to do one street with the kids at the end when we ran out of candy. Owen's pride and joy. This is the first pumpkin he's ever carved.