Happy Easter!

Yesterday we decorated our Easter eggs. I bought a really lame decoration kit. But it was still fun.
Last night we went to the Easter pageant at the Mesa Arizona Temple. It was a wonderful program. The spirit was so strong. They had seats for 10,000 and there was lawn seating too. It was completely full! The pageant is about Jesus' life, ministry, death and resurrection. We had to get there early if we wanted a seat. We were there at 6pm and it started at 8pm. While we were waiting for the pageant to start they had MOTAB playing over the speakers and the cast was walking around in costume passing out programs. The missionaries were out in force too.


Jovin was really good during the program. It lasted a little longer than an hour. He liked the music and even though we were in the back you could still see the actors pretty well. It did get a little cool once the sun had set. (65 degrees) But it was perfect weather for the pageant.






This morning we woke up and did the Easter Bunny thing. Jovin picked up the eggs that he found and would just sit and shake them to hear the candy inside. He did like the two cars that was left for him in his Easter basket.

Well we hope you all have a wonderful Easter and to please remember Jesus this Easter and think about his life, teachings, and sacrifice. We know he lives!

Dinner Time

Well we've moved on to more "solid" solids for Jovin to eat. At first it was quite interesting to feed him. He would swallow the mushy food and store the chuncks of food (carrots, pasta, rice, ect.) in his cheek's then when you weren't expecting it he would spit them out at you. I don't know who taught him this. I would have taught him the art of wiping your mouth with a napkin and slipping it into the napkin. I think I should ask Cory about this.
Well after about a week Jovin has improved on eating solids. He is getting better at it daily. He also now picks up the cheerios and puts them in his mouth by himself. Oh, and he actually chews and swallows everything.




But, I will say this much, he might be eating it all now but he is getting messier!

Jovin's Many Talents

Well we have learned that Jovin has some new talents. We got new couches last week and I can't get Jovin off them. It is the micro fiber fabric and he will sit on the couch and rub his hands and feet on the couch repeatedly for hours on end. But, his first talent is a slouching couch potato. He's nailed that one really well. He's almost as good as Cory!

He also likes to talk on the phone a lot now too. (Well eat it too I guess.) If I'm on my cell or the home phone he will reach and grab for the phone. It's cute, but can get annoying sometimes. :^)

Oh, and sucking on his toes while sitting up. Now THAT takes talent! :^)

T-I-Double Guh-Er

Here's a little fun with a little friend of Jovins named TIGGER!! Watch out though, he might just get you too!

Down He Goes

Well we took a walk the other day and went to the playground that we have here at our apartments. We put Jovin on the slide and he wasn't too sure at first but once he went down it he didn't want to stop. Of course Cory and I were doing all the work of picking him up and helping him down the slide. I must say that is a great workout for your arms and back!

I LIke The Way You Move... More Than Words

Well I have been working on this little video of Jovin for a while now and I finally finished it. Jovin started this new thing where he will just sit and start to shake his head. So we got some of it on tape. The second clip is of Jovin talking. We aren't sure what he is trying to say, and we can't really tell by his facial expressions either... But it is VERY entertaining. So... Enjoy!

Snip, Snip, Cut, Cut

Well it was finally time to cut Jovin's hair. Don't worry Mom I didn't cut all the curls off. It was long enough now that we had to tuck the hair on the side of his head behind his ears. Also the mullet in the back was getting long. Plus it looked really funny with his little bald spot on the back of his head. I had Cory hold Jovin on his lap in the kitchen while he watched a Baby Einstein movie. It worked for a while. It was a lot harder to cut his hair than I thought.
So here is a before and after...




I know it looks like all I did was slick back the sides but I did really cut most of it off.











I also gave Cory a haircut too. So for the heck of it... Here is his before and after too.












As I look at the pictures they both look happier before I cut their hair... Maybe I should take some lessons in cutting hair.

Costs twice as much, but ten times the fun

Well we once again ventured out on Saturday. We decided to go to the Phoenix Zoo. We keep hearing that it is the 5th best in the United States. As we found out it will cost you and arm and a leg just to get in. (And we found out what they do with your arm and leg.. They feed it to the animals. j/k)



We probably spent about 3 to 4 hours there. It is a lot bigger than the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake. And there is A LOT more to do and see. We didn't do everything that they offer. We got too tired near the end.


Jovin really liked the ducks. (I know out of all the cool exotic animals that they have at the zoo and he gets excited about the ducks...) There is a big lake in the middle of the zoo that you can rent a boat and paddle around in it with the ducks and birds. Jovin did show some interest in the monkeys. They have an area where you can go down in and get up close and personal with the monkeys. We didn't go cause the line was long, so we'll have to try it next time. We highly recommend that anyone who comes down to Phoenix to go and see the zoo here. As I mentioned above... It does cost a bit, but it is totally worth it.

Pueblo Grande Museum

On Saturday we decided to venture out and see some of the sites that Phoenix has to offer. When our family helped us move down here we took time away from unpacking boxes and we asked a local working at a Fazzoli's what there was to do here in Phoenix. His reply was, "there isn't anything you can do here that you can't any other place." So, Cory and I have taken it upon our selves to prove this minimum wage teenager wrong...


So on Saturday we went to the Pueblo Grande Museum. It is a 1,500 year-old Hohokam ruin village. It is really neat to see it. It is located right in the middle of downtown Phoenix. There really isn't a lot to see. There are still walls standing and what they call a "ball court" and some mounds that they have kept preserved. They have made replicas of the homes that the Hohokam people lived in. This little museum has a lot of history of the first people in the Phoenix area and how they lived it is really remarkable.

So it was a fun adventure. Jovin didn't like all the sun that much but he did enjoy the museum stuff inside. We'll keep you updated on the FUN things we see and do here in Phoenix.

The Grouch!

Well for the past week Jovin has been really grouchy, and clings to me during most of the day. I thought it was because he has a new tooth coming in on top. As, I found out the other day I was right, but there are 3 more trying to push through his gums as well. I can now understand why he has been Mr. Grumpy Pants for the past week. I would be grouchy too if I had 4 teeth coming in at the same time. I'd put a picture up of his teeth, but every time I get a picture it is blurry or he is crying... So I won't.

Also, another milestone for Jovin... He now holds his bottle all by himself. He did it for the first time on Saturday with Cory. He seemed pretty proud of himself too. (as we were also...) So now he likes to lay on the couch or on the floor with a pillow and watch the Wiggles on Playhouse Disney and drink his milk or juice.



I've put another picture of Jovin when he wasn't being so grumpy. One of his toys turns from a mat to lie on to a tunnel to crawl though... Since he can't crawl yet and he hates to lie down now he is pretty content with sitting in the tunnel. He also likes to play "peek-a-boo" through the window in the tunnle.

What month is it again?

I used to think it was CRAZY to have stores selling swimming suits in the winter. But now living in Arizona for the past month, and with it in the 80's during the day I can now see how they can get away with selling swimming suits. (for those of you who are in 40 degrees and/or snow, all we have to say is... HA HA!) We decided that with a heated swimming pool in our apartment complex, and with the 80 degrees outside it was time to go swimming. (and yes, we did buy swimming suits yesterday!)


Jovin loved the pool. To him I think it was like a huge bath tub. He would slpash with his arms and get water everywhere. He loved it. He would get really excited when Cory or I would swim to the other end and then come for him quickly in the water.



It was really sunny so some of our pictures have glare from the sun on them. I really don't think we got any tans from out little hour adventure in the pool. We are still white as a ghosts. (as you can tell in the pictures)

A whole new way to explore the world...

Hey for anyone who has ever wanted to fly to Hong Kong, Frankfort, Sydney, or anywhere else in the world. Now you can from the comfort of the office chair that you are sitting in. And best of all, it's absolutely free (except for the cost of a computer and highspeed internet, which if you are reading this shouldn't be a problem)! Google has made a pretty cool thingy that kills mapquest and yahoo maps by introducing the 3rd dimension and realtime panning. It's pretty fun, and now they have it for Mac so it's really cool. To download, go to earth.google.com. Have fun!!

Walkthrough Video

Well everyone, it's finally finished. As of last Saturday we are officially unpacked (except for the misc stuff that we don't know what to do with yet). But there aren't any more boxes to step around or piles to step over, so we are excited! We can finally feel like we're home. And so, for all of you who did not get to see the apartment, we've made a small home-made video of our place (as suggested by Chad). It ended up being 6 mins long, and I had a heck of a time trying to compress it but keep it's quality decent. So in the end, I broke it in half. (1st half - 8.1mb, 2nd half - 6.4mb) They're not exactly small, so it may take a little time to download. But enjoy!!

This is the first half...

This is the second half...

The things a 7 month old can do...

Jovin is learning to count, work on his balancing skills, and watch Toy Story at the same time... boy, Killpack's can sure multi-task.

One... Piece of cake!

Two... Keep 'em comin'!

Three... Wait a minute now...

Four... Holy Crap!!! ( I did it! )

The Phoenix Suns (Dogs?)

Well, I was there when Mom saw the wondrous sight in the sky on the family's fabulous trip to Arizona. At the time, I was slightly preoccupied with returning the rental truck and making sure the guy didn't charge me for anything else (after the place in Sandy doubled the price for a last minute upgrade to a bigger truck which was caused by a junk panic), but I did capture a glimpse of the said Sun Dog. I was a little disappointed that I did not relax for another moment or two to enjoy the doggy-dog, because it was actually pretty cool.

But to my appeasement, within a week there was another one. And after talking to Mom, we concluded that they must occur often here in Phoenix (with no mountains to block them or something like that). Which reminds me, it's funny - the locals refer to Phoenix as "the valley". Just today, I was asked, "So you just moved to the valley, huh?" I about died of laughter as Phoenix is a flat as a true flat screen TV compared to Salt Lake! What valley?! I think that our days are actually about 10 minutes longer then back there in Salt Lake. You know, less time being blocked by the mountains and all...

So anyway, Jovin is sure growing up fast down here. We just got his elementary school class picture, his teacher sent him to the Principal's office for it.

Just kidding, she sent him straight home without storytime or graham crackers. He was pretty upset about that...

So anyway, thanks again for all of you who helped directly or indirectly in getting us down here. We are loving it. We are close to being totally unpacked (the progress slowed once I started work), but as per Chad's suggestion - we hope to record a walk-though once we are done. Then I will try and post it to the blog for everyone that didn't come with us.

So until then, I will be here playing on my computer... and you can go to this.

PS- A junk panic is a term used in the moving business for when a person has too much junk and begins to panic at the thought of having to move it all and worrying about how on earth they can get it all to fit.

We Made It!!!

Well we finally made it!! The trip went well to Phoenix. Cory and my Dad (Dirk) got up early last Friday and got all of our stuff and themselves here safely... (Dad almost got a speeding ticket!) Cory's Mom (Dianne) and Chad left about 2 hours after Cory and Dirk and they didn't catch up with them until they were about 2 hours outside of Phoenix. Jovin, I and Angie (Chad's wife) flew Friday afternoon and got to the apartment about an hour before everyone else. The apartmet is AWESOME!!! It is SO MUCH bigger than our little shoebox of a home we left behind in the student apartments at the university.

Mom, Chad and Angie left us Saturday night. Dad left Sunday afternoon. It was wonderful to have their help in getting us down here and all moved in. We have only been here a week and we are missing everyone... I think it is because we are now realizing that we can't just drive to Mom's for dinner or hang with friends on the weekend... We now have to fly.

We'll post pictures of the apartment once I have it all organized and stuff put where it belongs. The reason it took so long for us to post anything was because we FINALLY got our phone, cable, and internet hooked up about 30 minutes ago. I never realized how much I use the internet until I didn't have it for a week. "I Love Technology!"



Well 2 days ago Jovin turned 7 months old and I think he is looking more and more like Cory... What do you all think? He is sitting up A LOT better now and rolling all over... he some how did a 180 in his bed the other night... He also just learned to do raspberries... (which makes feeding time a lot more fun and entertaining for me!)

Anywho, more from us later! Miss you all!

Movin Time

I am pretty sure that we have mentioned it to everyone that reads our blog by now, but I thought that I would make it official and ask for assistance. Next Thursday we will be packing our truck and cleaning house. For those who can help and want to help we'd appreciate it. We plan to start around 10:00 or 10:30 am and will be going until the place is empty and spotless (with a break for food somewhere in there). Anyway, thanks!

Christmas Party Mainia...

Well last night we had a double header for family Christmas parties. First we were off to the Johnson family Christmas party. It was fun and Jovin had his first opportunity to sit on Santa's lap. He doesn't really look like he cares too much, but at least he didn't scream and cry at Santa. Oddly enough as I was standing outside with Grandpa Johnson (waiting for Santa to show up so I could sneak Jovin's present on top of everyone else's so we could leave early and get to the next Christmas party that was waiting) I found out from Grandpa we have had the same guy come and play Santa at the family Christmas parties for the last 10 years. Which means that Cory and I have sat on the same Santa's lap as Jovin... (if I could find the pictures and scan them in I would.)



After Jovin opened his present from Santa (and enjoyed the wrapping paper more than the present like every other 6 month old does) we were gone as quickly as we could and headed off to the Partridge family Christmas party. We got there just in time to sing "Joy To The World" with the Killpack family and then participate in the traditional "white elephant" game. Cory got a game called Guillotine. We've played it before on our trip to Oregon with Kip and Kris. And we seemed to be the only one's at the Christmas party last night that wanted the game. Everyone else that had played it hated it. So we are hoping that it is still a fun game and that it wasn't just fun to us cause we last played it with Kip and Kirs. I got a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper... YES! Although, my mother-in-law was eyeing it too but I retired it in the game before it was her turn and since I know that is a favorite drink of hers (as well as mine) I split it with her.
All in all... It was a wonderful evening to spend with two families and eat a lot of good food.

6 months, and loving it...

Well Jovin is 6 months old already! How time flies by. He had his 6 month check up today. 17lb 9oz, 27 inches long, which puts him in about the 70th percentile for his age. He sits up on his own okay, but if he gets excited he will kick his feet and fall backwards. He loves to talk now too. He's ba ba baaaing, da da daaaing, and well everything else in the middle, but no ma ma maaaing yet. He has also discovered that he can be really loud now too. If he really wants your attention he will scream "Da da da da" until you give him your full attention.
Still just the two teeth so he is drooling on everything and there is a constant river of drool from his mouth to whatever he is touching. We will be starting more solid foods now too. (pictures of that to come...)
Jovin is really grumpy today. He has a cold and on top of it he got 3 shots at the doctors. But here are some pictures of him that we took of him yesterday. He was sort of happy yesterday because all he had was just a cold. Unlike today with the cold and shots.

Christmas Lights

Friday night we went to Temple Square to go and see the lights. They were as always really beautiful.

It was really cold and Jovin wasn't too happy about being stuffed into his coat. But I think he liked the lights.

We wanted to go and enjoy the lights since this is our last Christmas here. (unless we come back to visit during the holidays.) I'm really going to miss this temple.

Who we look like....

Well we took the advice of Holly and went to
MyHeritage.com Face Recognition
to find out which celebrities we look like. What you do is upload a picture and it will find the faces in the picture and then match it to different celebrities. It's pretty fun to do. Try to use a picture where the face is straight on. It works better. Have fun!!



Cory's was pretty interesting...
Tim Robbins, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford, and my favorite David Beckam.




Ang's are as follows...
Meg Ryan, Avril Lavine, Julianne Moore, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, and Angelina Jolie.





Jovin pulled up...
Michael Phelps (US gold medalist winner), Pierce Brosnan, and Ewan McGregor.