Just messing around.

Digital cameras are fantastic. Sometimes I find myself just clicking away for no good reason, Take shots of the baby, photograph stuff around the house in artisitc ways, e-mail the Doc with a shot of exactly what that spot under my arm looks like...just a lot of great fun. Anyway, Carrie tried to take a nap this afternoon and I came away with these gems. Cami gets more and more excited with less and less supervision.

Cami is just able to have a bite of her favortie meal...coat hanger.

Cami's First Parade

We spent Saturday at the Turkey Creek Festival in Merriam. This was Cami's first time out for a parade or festival and she had a great time. Here's a few pictures of the day. Dad and Cami having fun at the Parade.
Cami loves hanging out with Grandma in the shade.
Most of Cami's day was spend in the stroller...and seeing how far she could stick out her foot.

Tale of the Tape

I think it's time for one last American Idol post before the season comes to an end. The David vs. David matchup is just what we were hoping for and Tuesday should be a great show. I'd like to break it down sports style and give a couple "keys to the game" for both contestants, but before that I have a couple of comments.

1. Syesha... I just don't know what to say. I guess there is something to be said for being just good enough. I'm pretty sure she finished third as a result of a conspiracy on the part of the contestants. About week 6 or 7 I think the remaining finalists started to see that the Davids were going to the final and that it pretty much didn't matter what place you finished if you didn't make the final two. So one by one they each decide the throw the game, culminating in Castro not even pretending like he still wanted to be there when he went home a week ago. Everyone who leaves early gets a couple weeks at home to relax before coming back to do the final show then going on tour. What does Syesha get...nothing but the priveledge of being the last one off a sinking ship. I'm not sure if she's a winner or a loser in that deal but I do know I'm surprised she got as far as she did.

2. Fantasia - Not going to spend much time here since I already consider her the worst of the winners ( Taylor Hicks included) . But if you want my opinion on last Wednesday I would say she looked like a cross between a rooster and a sausage, only if the the rooster now crowed in a high pitched scream that petrifies animals.

Now the breakdown of the final. If Idol sticks true to format the show will have each of the Davids sing three songs, one from the season, one they pick themselves, and one truly aweful "American Idol Song" that they will be forced to record and have their name attached to for the rest of their lives. The format really works this year because to win one of the Davids will have to do something they never have done succcessfully this year...pick a song for themselves and have it actually sound really good.

Here's my logic. The American Idol song is going be a win for David Archuleta. I am 100% certain that this song will 1. be a ballad 2. feature at least 10 high singer notes or runs 3. have some sort of inspirational theme 4. be oozing with more horrible cheese than gas station nachos. This is young Davids wheelhouse and since David Cook will not be allowed to change the arrangement to suit him or sing it any other way then the way the writers intended he will lose by comparison and end up losing the round.

In contrast all David Cook has to do to win the "song from the season" round is break out the Mariah Carey "always be my baby" tune he worked up a couple for weeks ago and it will smoke anything Archuleta has done. Achie is almost a shoo in to sing Imagine, again, but it won't hold up against Cook's song which is already a real world hit and should be released shortly after the show is over. So that gives the round to Cook and ties the ballgame.

That means to gain an advantage they have to do it with the songs they pick themselves. Both completely suck at this so it's anyone's game. Another monkey wrench in the mix is the way song choice is staggered in the final. 1st round one contestant sings their song from the season while the other sings their new song. This is done so that each contestant can "win" a round and potentially make the American Idol song the deciding factor. This works against David Cook for obvious reasons.

Personally, I haven't made my mind up yet on how to vote. I'll wait until Tuesday, but here's two ways the show could go. the perfect scenario for each contestant.

David Archuletas perfect show:

He wins the coin toss and sings last.

Round 1: David Cook leads off the show with his new song. He picks something from a current rock band, maybe some Goo Goo Dolls or Matchbox 20. Does an okay impersonation with mixed revues. Archie then belts out Imagine, Randy tells him to go sing the phone book or something like that, lots of praise. He clearly wins round 1

Round 2: Cook sings "Always be my baby", in a perfect world he sings something else and screws his opportunity, but lets say he sings the money song and get praise. David then comes back with something fresh. I recommend "Say" by John Meyer, If he performs this with more focus on the words and less on his technical singing it could be a hit. He has already proven he can sing John Meyer fairly well and the song was originally recorded by a caucasian so that will help us avoid some of the akwardness we saw on this last show. Best case Scenario..round is split.

Round 3: Both of them just sing the song. All of America feels horrible about making David Cook have to record such a cheesey piece of trash. ( The same way we felt about Blake last year) Archie wins in a landslide and we have our first Mormon American idol.

David Cooks perfect show:

He wins the coin toss and sings last.

Round 1: Archuleta leads off the show singing an African spiritual hymn about a child that leads the world out of poverty and hunger. He confesses to Seacrest that he believes that child to be him. Cook sings, " Always be my baby" and blows away the choosen one to win the round.

Round 2: Archie belts out "Imagine" same as always and gets his props. Cook then suprises us by reworking a pop song from the 80's or 90's and once again it turns out great. I love David Cook's sound..but he's not a great imitator, he has his own vibe and he looks weak when he's trying to do someone else's stuff. If I were choosing David's song I would probably go with " We Belong" by Pat Benetar. Hear me out on this one, it's a song that can easily be sped up, has some decent lyrics, and he would give us the fresh take that we look to from him. A successfully reworked song would be a pleasant suprise for the audience and he could easily take the round given a new interpritation of a song sung well beats out just a plain song sung well.

Round 3: A miracle occurs and the Idol song doesn't completely suck. Achuleta sings it well, but Cook is allowed to do a rock version of the song and for some reason it fits a little better. Now that he has an acceptable single and has given us a great show, America votes Cook and he's the first rock singer to win the show.

In truth, neither of these probably happen. Both Davids are probably nervous as heck, both choose new songs that stink, and tie goes to Archuleta and the millions of teenage girl who love him. Not particularly exciting, but rarely does anything live up the hype. This probably is no exception, but I'll keep hoping for the best anyway.

Hair Flowers

So my sister Becky and I made these hair flower headbands for our babies, and I just had to post a cute little pic of Cami wearing one. They sell for $10 or so at baby boutiques, but only cost a dollar or two to make, so we were very proud of ourselves.

Five Months Old: Cami's New Tricks

In honor of Cami's five month birthday (no, we're not actually celebrating it, though that would be a good excuse to make a cake...), I thought I would post a little of what she's been up to these days. Cami is getting to the silly age, and it's fun to see her little personality comes out. She loves to squeal and sing, and particularly recently, stick her little tongue out. She will get very excited and spin around in her saucer, knocking off all the toys! She is very happy most of the time, but still has a pretty intense little personality, and knows how to get upset as well.

Cami loves to put things in her mouth and she loves her feet! As you see from the picture above, she has found the perfect combination!

"I can sit!" (Okay, so she didn't actually say that, but don't the picture's say it all?) She still has to totally support herself with her arms, and sometimes she topples over, but she's getting better at it every day.

Well, I have more to post but the little roo is awake (I hear squealing from upstairs), so we'll save them for another time. Happy 5 months Cami!

Cami in Action

Back by Popular Demand, Cami Pictures!!!!

Conference Weekend

You probably have all noticed by now that there is on the left hand side of this blog a small strip of ad space. It is a small, trivial piece of blog which stands as a testament to my own arrogance. I put it in there without asking Carrie, and knowing full well that nobody in there right mind is going to pay to advertise on the Diggins Family blog. Still, somewhere in the back of my own mind I must believe there is a possibility that someday a check for 57 cents in going to arrive on my doorstep just for updating our blog. When I first put it up it had a nice little sign about hurricane relief and I smiled at the .0000001% percent chance that our blog would someday produce residual income.

A funny thing has happened to my little piece of blog hope in the last few days. Instead of nice humanitarian messages Google is instead using the space to provide links to sites they think my readers would enjoy. Base on the content of the blog they decided every link should be to a American Idol superfan site or to celebrity gossip site. That's what I've become...according to Google I am now Chris Diggins - your source for the latest scoop on American Idol and updates on celebrity gossip.

Now I don't have to tell you about the horror and shame I felt once this fact finally settled in. So today I'm taking steps to change the little ad window and make it more representative of who I am and who we are as a family. So today I am appealing to the best parts of my nature and writing about General Conference

For our friends who are not LDS, General Conference is the twice a year meeting where the entire Mormon church gets together to hear messages from our leaders and enjoy watching church on TV, from home, and in our pajamas. Cami especially loves conference because she gets to keep her daily schedule and Mom and Dad are both home all day to play with her.

This Conference was a different experience without President Hinkley. Much has been said, and said much better, about what President Gordon B. Hinkley meant to the church and and the unique opportunity it is to see a new prophet and first presidency called. To me, President Hinkley was the only church president I have know. I joined the LDS church in 1998 when I was 17 years old in Pennsylvania. It will be 10 years this August and it's incredible the amount of life that you can pack in 10 years. Going from 17 to 27 is all about changing, growing, and having the experiences that eventually will define who you will become. All that time the church I had just joined was changing right along with me. New temples and programs, New conference locations and new ways to reach out across the world. I felt that while I was always striving to be better President Hinkley was doing the same with the church and making sure that the whole church was better and that we were trying to be better as individuals.

I missed President Hinkley more this conference weekend then I did at his funeral or at the time of his passing. However, I felt glad to sit and the beginning of a new era for the church and what would probably be a new era for my family. I know that God has called a new prophet in Thomas S. Monson and that he is the Lord's servant chosen to lead the church at this time. Listening to President Monson I became impressed once again with the emphasis he placed on people. His memory is a marvel. I feel very strongly that his example is one for the church to follow. President Hinkley gave us everything we need, Temples across the world, programs to lift and educate the poor and afflicted, Materials to educate ourselves on everything we would want to know about the church and share it with our friends. If we take what President Hinkley gave us and follow the example of President Monson by using it to care for others more than we care for ourselves then I know the Lord's work on the earth will continue to progress at an amazing rate.

Sadly I'm behind on this one. Too often I think of myself in terms on my job, my family, my comfort, or rest that I need. I feel the challenge to think of others like the Lord thinks of them. It's a difficult task, but it is one worth pursuing. I am grateful that the Lord gives us leaders and examples for our day, and that he continues to give us the messages we need through his servants on the earth, just as it's always been.

That's all for this week. I'll put some pictures up a little later. I'm more than a little excited to be here for Kansas vs. Memphis. Let's hope everything breaks right for the good guys. Until next time.