Thats right folks.....

We are pregnant!!! Our due date is on our one year anniversary!!!

We are all very excited and hopeful at the end of it all a healthy baby will be born. Secretly however, both Jonathan and Elijiah are wishing for a girl. I on the other hand, dont really care. I always thought I would want a girl after placeing Noel up for adoption, but I so enjoy being a Mama to Elijiah that another boy would be great.

The downside to finding out so soon, is that it will be a long 40 weeks.....the upside? Being pregnant during the winter!

I am already feeling a mixed bag of emotions with being pregnant again. A little nervous, anxious, and concerned as I know what lies ahead, but also very excited that our family will have a new addition and Elijiah will have a sibling.

SO WRONG!!

You Belong in Amsterdam

A little old fashioned, a little modern - you're the best of both worlds. And so is Amsterdam.Whether you want to be a squatter graffiti artist or a great novelist, Amsterdam has all that you want in Europe (in one small city).

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whateuropeancitydoyoubelonginquiz/">What European City Do You Belong In?

I belong in Italy dang it!!! Tuscany??

Yes Jonathan's survey came back and said he would belong in Paris, France. I actually could see him there.....:)

Weekend Warriors

So last weekend was a busy one...first was my cousin Ashley's wedding...big backyard, perfect weather, great food and company - I would say it was a great success.

Then off to the drive in's after the reception...we decided to watch Transformers....WOW fantastic movie. Did we get to see the whole thing? Oh wait I forgot...the lamo in front of us moved several times blocking our view of the bottom third of the screen. Between that, and the big trucks driving around and generally annoying people all around us we had fun.( i think) The movie was awesome, we decided it was a movie worth seeing again in the theater tho! Advice for others... go early and not 2 minutes before the movie starts. Owell, still a summer must.

Look at our boy....so big and ready to rumble.

Getting Personal

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18616558/

Being a mother in these latter days is sure tough....

4 things... He said, she said

So there is an email going around...my friend just sent it to me....so ive decided to post my answers and have Jonathan participate as well.

Ambers 4 things:
Four places I have lived during my life:
1. Milan, Italy
2. Salt Lake City, UT
3. Shingle Springs, CA
4. Provo, UT ( GRRR)

Four Places I have worked during my life:
1. All American Gymnastics Academy
2. Discover Card
3. Intermountain Health Care
4. LDS Church

Four TV shows I like to watch:
1. So you think you can dance
2. Old reruns of Friends
3. Used to watch Alias
4. Sex and the City

Four Vacationed Places:
1. Mexico
2. Bermuda
3. Croatia
4. Paris, France

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Authentic Italian
2. Thai food
3. Ice Cream
4. cold cereal

Four Places I would rather be right now:
1. on a warm beach( hubby with me of corse)
2. laying on the couch with Jonathan watching a movie
3. Anywhere in Italy
4. Shopping for some clothes, believe me my casual wardrobe is very much lacking

Four things I would like to do:
1. Be a surgical nurse
2. Coach gymnastics again
3. Retire early – then dedicate my time and efforts to childrens causes
4. Go to Ireland

Four things I am proud of:
1. Getting my degree
2. My children
3. Taking risks, often unknown with the destination but willingness to follow my own instincts and heart- I usually come out on top
4. My ability to go out in public without a stitch of makeup on and not worry about what others think…:)haha

*******************************************
Jonathan's answers:

Four places I have lived during my life:
1. Modena, Italy
2. Cody, WY
3. Ketchikan Alaska
4. Salt Lake City, UT

Four Places I have worked during my life:
1.eBay
2. Fishing Boat
3. Godiva Chocolate
4. Port ‘O Call

Four TV shows I like to watch:
1.So You Think You Can Dance
2. Deadliest Catch
3. Little People
4. American Idol

Four Vacationed Places:
1.Tulum Mexico
2. California
3. Capitol Reef National Park
4. Edmonton Canada

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Pizza (any kind)
2. Amber’s Coconut Chicken
3. Authentic Italian
4. Hamburgers

Four Places I would rather be right now:
1. Home in bed
2. Kauai
3. Italy
4. Tub with Amber

Four things I would like to do:
1. Be a father
2. Finish Degree
3. Pick trumpet back up
4. Be sealed in temple

Four things I am proud of:
1. Husband & Father (step)
2. Back in school
3. Active and good standing in church
4. I’m proud of my wife’s incredible accomplishments

New addition to the Bechtold Clan

So what does a kitten from the Humane Society cost?
70$ adoption fee
30$ donation( have you seen the humane society animals? Poor things..)
Trip to Petsmart- food, collar, litter box, scratching post, bed, play things....
116.00$
Grand Total 216.00 for a Kitten!!
Well BOB is his name and he is an adorable cat. Elijiah and Jonathan are equally excited about the little one in the family- while I am slowly warming up to him. I just havent ever LOVED cats...they are more aloof and independent, and lets be honest they cant be running companions. However that being said, I think a cat is the best animal for us at this point, and he sure is darling!

Gallivanting

So the summer begins with the twilight concert series....I love downtown in the summer. Salt Lake does a great job to be honest. When I first moved to Salt Lake I was always complaining about the lack of things to do and how lame it was to live here. It seems over the last 10 years the city has done some cool things in bringing more great bands here, they built gateway, the Arts festival is a blast, and as always seeing anything for free is worth checking out. I talked Jonathan into coming with me as a night off without Elijiah should be used to our advantage. We got there early as I promised we wouldnt stay all night, Jonathan had homework, and we listened to the first band. The coolest picture here is the old guy...he was rockin OUT to the music and was quite fun to watch. With summer in full swing I always feel like we need to go out, afterall, winter is so long and now is the time to play.

4th of July

Well, I realized that the font on this dang thing is much larger than I would have wanted, and some reason I cant get it smaller, so I apologize. When I figure it out Ill change it. So the 4th. Lets start with the night before....so Khory called about 10pm saying he was taking Elijiah to the ER. I guess he was playing with a sparkler and some of it fell on his neck causing some burns. Khory thought they were bad enough to warrant a trip to the hospital so off we went to the ER. Needless to say that after we got there, Elijiah was calm, and happily moving around. As you can tell from the picture he isnt in TOO much pain.




After several hours of waiting to see a doctor we decided that Elijiah would live and we all left. We were a bit cranky at the time we had been waiting-- and several days later Elijiah is doing fine, so I think we made the right decision. We can at least go down as the parents who had good intentions right?

The 4th was actually less exciting as we hadnt had a lot of sleep the night before and Elijiah was pretty grumpy by the time we were to watch fireworks...so after about 10 minutes we packed up and went home. I was mildly annoyed to be honest( with Elijiah) as Jonathan knows fireworks are my fav he said we would see some on the 24th. I guess I can wait :)

Catch up

So as I was going through pictures I thought there were a couple worth posting...while some need explaining( like the mask - Jonathan is such a good sport), our first picture out at sushi, others are from our day at Lagoon. Enjoy the photo journal...:)

New Job

Avalanche Software
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Avalanche Software is a video game developer studio, founded in October 1995 by four lead programmers from Sculptured Software. The company has developed for every console platform since the Sega Genesis and SNES days and has grown to a staff of over 100 since its inception. The company is headed up by CEO John Blackburn.

In April 2005, Buena Vista Games, the video game publishing arm of The Walt Disney Company, acquired the Salt Lake City-based studio.


[edit] List of games (before BVG)
25 To Life
Disney's Chicken Little (published by Buena Vista Games)
Dragon Ball Z: Sagas
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
NHL Open Ice: 2 On 2 Challenge
Off Road Challenge
Open Ice
Rampage 2: Universal Tour
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights
Tak and the Power of Juju
Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams
Tak: The Great Juju Challenge

******
Im stoked! Should be fun- so goes the last few weeks of my employment at the LDS Church. I have to say its been a lot of fun...Ive got to meet some great poeple and work on some very cool projects. This was only a temporary gig until I found something else and thus, when Avalanche came calling I had to consider it. Jonathan has been great to deal with my employment over the last 6 months, but honey- I think this is it! I was looking for a company that I could be at for the long haul, and really call it home. I hate moving around but this company at least from the outside seems to offer all the things I am looking for. Great benefits, cool work environment, and decent salary. You would be amazed to realize how hard this is to find in one organization. So Im off for a new adventure, and im very excited!

Hiking with the boyz

Talent

My hubby is the best. Have I said that today? As usual we had a great weekend...but what set this weekend apart from the others is that Jonathan picked up the trumpet for the first time in years. I have wanted to hear him play after all this was his life for so long and one day he pawned his trumpet( wasnt the smartest move he admits) and hasnt played since. He was nervous - could he play again? Would it come back? We sat in the room with a half dozen different trumpets around us, and he kept looking at me, unsure what to do.
"Amber, Im nervous." I could see the turmoil he had going on inside, and while his fist attempt wasnt brilliant, the next go around I was so impressed. As he practiced scales, and tried trumpet after trumpet, remembering songs and explaining to me the differences he felt with each instrument and the unique sounds, I saw happiness. I have to say that seeing Jonathan pick up the trumpet, play for a while and see joy in his eyes, was a memory that I will never forget.
I love you Jonathan.