Toddlers and Tiaras

The other day I slept over with my friend Aly LaComb (Rachel and Tim's daughter) and she introduced me to this show - Toddlers and Tiara's...I must say I was SHOCKED! And not in a good way! Little helpless girls that are Emma's age get plucked away from a normal, at-home life and are turned into modeling divas. We watched a particular episode about some Texas competition. One mother was insane! Her daughter was Taralyn, she was an only child (hence, the glitz), and her mother prep'd her in so many absurd ways like:

-flippers for her teeth. they covered her tiny baby teeth and made them look pro.

-airbrush and tanning...and the lady at the office desk saw her walk in and looked at her like, you've got to be kidding me.

-makeup which was OVERLOADED. She looked completely fake and I was almost gagging.

But what shocked me even more was her mother. That lady was OBSESSED. The family was clearly rich - living in a huge, Barton-like monstrosity, with one child, paying extreme cash to get dresses, clothes, and makeup and tanning o.d.'s, and completely spoiling their little daughter. Unreal.

Again, that mother was crazy. Probably in her later 40s, and forcing her child around like a dog. The dance routine she had her learn could win her a spot on Dancing With the Stars..she was insane! Both Aly and I were shocked beyond words.

But another thing about this show was that I wasn't just completely against it..it was good. I mean, horrible what these ladies do to their children, but the show in general pleased me!

*****another thing: there was a mother on the show who put her two young boys in, because she wished they were girls. She described them as, "the girls she never had"...I cracked up at the thought that her "boys" will grow up a little on the gay side ;)

In general, it wasn't bad, just horrific looking at those little girls..

Two More Weeks!

My mom has two weeks of her pregnancy left! Time flies! But really.. can you believe that on May 13th (or possibly later or earlier) we will have a beautiful little girl? Name suggestions please! :) Thanks we're so excited.

New Phones!

I'm on hunt - a hunt to find my perfect dream phone. Don't get me wrong - the phone I own is in fabulous quality and is well worth my time (that one's for mom :)

But I'm stumped. If, by any luck, I'm given an oppurtunity to purchase a new cellular device, of the three Hot Shot Phones for Spring, which one is divine enough for me?? Really, take a good look...

A) uhh..I think this phone is pretty cool - I like the shape and effects and it has a great shine and slide to it. In a slick, black-and-silver combination, it's a highly intelligent "modern" phone and comes with offline GPS and side affects that are very thrilling. Plus one for that!! :D B) this neat, black-n-green quality side slide phone includes an exclusive ball system to control the movement of the cursor on the phone. The digital package includes a thrilling, high quality camera with GPS nav, and is AT&T's "second generation iPhone"...possesing many of the networks that the iPhone shares. The difference is that this phone is NOT touch screen.
C) This slick, slider phone with the stunning appearence of a BlackBerry and the slide of any regular slide phone formats a business-like classical movement - it is a very elegant device according to its looks and it heard to be its own second generation phone, a combination of BlackBerry and SlideTech phone. A perfect match.

Cast your votes!! Which phone should I own?? After you guys can hear me out, maybe I can talk my mom into this ;)

Thanks!!

Arizona!

It's official! Audrey and I are flying down to Arizona for our Spring Break to hang out with Grandma and the gang.. Both of us by ourselves on the plane going to Arizona, without the rambunctious screaming, we hope that this flight will be a good one!

Gadgets and Gizmos

My family agrees that electricity is very.. used in this family. I can't really justify it any way else to be honest. Well I disagreed. But you tell me.. is our family overpacking on the electronics?Above is Daddy's iPod. Throughout BlackBerry's he's recently owned, he doesn't bother to buy a newer iPod. Sticking with his faithful first-generation 50 GB orginial is a smart choice. Saves us money!
Here's my phone. Sleek, shiny, nice. Yes. Although I yearn for an iPhone or something fancier, I exceedingly agree that I am quite lucky. That's item #2 that has been so faithful to me. I love my phone :)

Here's Daddie's new BlackBerry. One of the many in his collection. His BlackBerry Bold. No, not the Storm (which, in my eyes, is the neatest BlackBerry yet). It's the second-nicest BB to the BBStorm. Good enough for me!

Here's my iPod. So far, this has been me and daddie's show. Just wait. I love the many features on this-- including the color change. In the sunlight, or gray outside light, it looks royal blue. In normal inside light, it's dark purple. Not only that, but when you shake it up and down, it shuffles the song. Suh-weet!

Here's mom's iPod Video. It's a nice music player/video watcher/tv... whatever suits you. Love it!

Last but not least, Tal and Ethan's (but mostly Tal's) iPod Shuffle. Cheap, quickbuy.. bingo.

Think we're too electronic? Please tell us if we are.. we must know!

Brian Regan

I must say, the night with Matt, Steff, Michael, and their friends at the Brian Regan concert was QUITE the show. The guy who started before him did a great job, too! It was seriously my laugh of the year. I was hysterical. Even when he's not trying, he's hysterical. We laughed so, so hard! It was probably the funniest day ever. He had somew great new jokes, some old ones, but even those were still funny. His political jokes, his "illegal" jokes, and his classics were the hoot of the show! Thanks for a great night, guys! Brian Regan is a next year must for sure!

Mom's faves...

Although rivals, they are lifesavers and know how to carry a bargain...think about it. Where would we be without 'em??????????? :)

Could possibly live off of these. . .

I am not kidding, they are just so delicious . . . any kind of nutty chocolate will suit me and my mom just fine! I am referably a chocoholic - call me crazy - but I cannot go a day without it. Hershey's, without you, I would indeed be different. That's a sure fact . . .

Yes, It's Snowing!

Since we returned from UT, we have been encountering the "most snow in seven years" where we are. Today, the fifth day this year it's been snowing...and hard. Only twice has the snow stuck, so today is just blizzardy. All of our sporting events were cancelled, we had one "uninteresting" house showing, and we've been home ever since. So, for now, LIFE IS GOOD...

Mission Call!

Grandma and Grandpa McGhie got their mission call on Wednesday. Despite the cameras cut-offs, it was really nice to see everyone - especially Grandma and Grandpa. They got called to the Nauvoo, Illinois mission to serve in the Visitors Center. They are supposed to leave on March 17th, 2008 - we are so proud of them! They'll be gone for 18 months, but that is much better than two whole years :)

We know they'll serve the Lord with dignity and pride and bring home the Gold.

We love you!

Utah!

Okay, lately I have been noticing that people are just writing down their everyday lives on their blogs. Here is ours. For most of you who do not know this, our family has been in Utah, taking a well-deserved vacation to surprise our grandparents (Marilyn and Jerry McGhie) in their little Alpine home before they leave on their mission to Nauvoo. We arrived on December 18, the same day school was released, and we are actually leaving tomorrow (Monday, January 7th) at FOUR IN THE MORNING to get on our seven o' clock morning flight. But we had the opportunities to see snow, family members, friends, and just people we clearly don't know. Here is our entire vacation head to toe:

1st - Surprise trip to Grandma's on December 18th.

2nd - Grandma's ever-so-wonderful cookie decorating party on 19th (one of best memories ever!) and went sledding with Suzanne and family on 22nd. Family Nativity Scene and party at hospitable Aunt Kristen's house.

3rd - Christmas Eve - went to Grandma's Ward Nativity party (the main reason some of us go is to get the bags they pass out with mini-chocolates, peanuts, and taffy.)

4th - Christmas Day - (pictures coming soon) with our family possession, the Wii. Dinner with the McGhie family which served sandwiches, chips, and sides. Perfectly sunny day, but not hot enough to melt out the snow!

5th - Sledding with Aunt Corie's family and the Roses at Soldier Hollow

6th - New Years Eve Parent Party - Mitch, Nicole, Scott, Suzanne, Lisa and Rob went out to dinner New Year's Eve. I baby-sat for Arden, Rachel, Cami, Emma, Ethan, Sam, Ethan, and Max while Tal was home sick for the holidays :(. But never fear! I had them all under control - they were very good! Afterwards, we went to Kristen and Robert's to celebrate the New Years (10:00 for kids, 12:00 for adults - I was considered an adult just like every year!) Funny thing was that we turned on the television just a little too late, right after the ball had dropped and they were interviewing Miley Cyrus. Confused, and angry, some of us were about to phone New York and make them re-drop the ball. Luckily, we caught up when they dropped the ball once more at Western time - which was midnight. I'm pretty sure I was the only not kissing anybody, but like I care! The funniest thing was the Wii Carnival Games - it was a family favorite, and we had to shake-shake-shake until the power reaches the top. Most everyone gave up - even the really talented, strong ones that know their stuff; especially the weaker ones. But we got everyone on film, and EVERYONE had a look of anger, frustration, determination and partial DEATH on their faces. Too funny!

7th - Snow, snow, snow! We had a great time in the snow - but my favorite part was today. A stray retriever from somewhere nearby came up to our house...BEST DOG EVER. We think it was the dog we met over the summer and officially named "Lucky" (in my point of view, that's not even a name!) and later discovered her real name was actually "Miley" (uh....) but she was a great puppy - perfect white coat, wonderful no-bark sense and very playful. It was pretty calm and didn't jump, bark, and led its own life. Anyway - backing into reality - we were trying o figure out what to use as a sled. We rummaged around the garage until we found the perfect big cardboard box - as big as a sled and as perfect as one can get! It was great...for a while. Soon after, my dad finished shoveling the driveway when we came back out, he presented us with the coolest kneeboard. AKA, SledWinner101. Talmage wasn't as cool with the sled as I was, and was too busy making his Civil War wannabe fort, while Ethan had run inside since the big "puppy" came out to play, and I was alone with the dog playing with the kneeboard/sled and in the snow. It eventually blizzared like CRAZY, but you will only see Georgia kids trying to sled in a blizzard. While we were out yelling and playing, all of the neighbors were staring out their windows thinking, "They must have problems!" But this'll be the only time you see us kids in the snow, so be ready!

Since we leave tomorrow, we will hopefully be back in the summer, and if not, we'll move this year for sure.

Love,

Me

Sunday picnic on front yard

Halloween

Talmage is a baseball player (again)

Cowgirl (by the way, this pose was forced by my mother, even though I made more than one suggestion for poses...)

Karate Kid (waxing off - I think)

It's all about the pink boots

Top scorer this season (18 total goals)

Birthday boy (6 years old)

Heading off to Baptist Pre-school

Field of dreams (front yard)

Middle School . . . getting older and closer to being a teenager

Ethan's twin (and admirer who lives down the street)

Off to school (first day of all day kindergarten) . . . mom is crying

Lady killer of the 4th grade

We Love This Girl...

And obviously this dog...

Emma Elizabeth Lamb

Here's our tragically beautiful drama queen on her Dora scooter. Isn't she so amazing? Sorry I couldn't flip the pic...my apologies!!!!!!!!!