The Castle’s Top 10 in 2007

 The Castle’s Top 10 in 2007 

10 Ten hour road trip thru Yellowstone Park with my cousin’s from Spain- Now I REALLY want to move to Spain.

9 Nine boy scouts in Eric’s Troop- He really enjoys being the Scout Master.

8 Eight hens-a-laying! Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Anne Frank, Hilary and Oprah live in our back yard and lay wonderful fresh eggs for us daily -  I LOVE my pet chickens!

7 Seven warm days in the Dominican Republic with Eric’s Family- It was a great vacation and we got to see where Jake served his mission.

6 Six foster children lived in our home this year: Maria, Michael, Christina, Juan, Susanna and Shareena - We love getting to know these kids and their families.

5 Five hundred new tricks performed by Elias- We Love watching him grow and discover.  He is a biker and a reader- a total “I can do it myself man”.

4 Four years in Kansas!  A wonderful place to live.

3 Three ½ Marathons Plus one DAM Marathon (the Teton Dam Marathon that is) 26.2 miles Ran by Heidi.

2 Too Many Great Friends and Family members to count!  We are blessed with wonderful people in our lives! Like you!

And the #1 highlight!!

1 One Little boy adopted and sealed to his family forever – Elias Jay Lamb Castle 

Peace on Earth!

Ice Storm and Major Power Outage!

We have been with out lights and heat for 4 days! Yikes! The Midwest is colder than I thought!

We stayed at home built a hot fire in the fireplace and waited the storm out- We were so happy when we got power back last night we lit off fireworks!


Welcome Shareena!
Shareena moved in with us in late November- She is a sweet and VERY helpful girl! We love having her in our home.




It is a new look Eric is working on- he hasn't perfected it yet, he is thinking about calling it Blue Ice.




He is such a copy cat- it is unreal! He does everything he sees.

Elf Family!

Check out this Family of Elves! http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1128082078

Like Father Like Son-

This is Elias on his changing table getting a clean diaper. He likes to flag all of the books he owns. Eric takes a book into the bathroom to read every night. Gross I know. Thus the -Like Father like son.

Thankful For...

A heart full of gratitude is a happy heart. We like to count our blessings...especially at Thanksgiving.


Our home that shelters us and keeps us warm.




Eric's Fudgey Pecan Pie~ Delish!



A Daddy who likes to Cuddle with Grover



The funnest Nativity Ever! From Grandma Wendy : )


And most of all we are Thankful for Baby Jesus~ The reason for this Grand Season!

My Little Carhartt Man

Every time he goes outside the bike (like a magnet) pulls him in-




I was holding our cat Noah the other day and Elias wanted in on the action. He loves the cats so much.
When ever Eric and I hug he does the same thing- he wants to hug us. So now we do the Baby sandwich hug with Elias in the middle.

Quiero Cake!

Welcome to our Spanglish Family!
Elias is begging for a bite of Juan's Cake...look at his eyes totally focused on the cake.



Every bite Juan takes Elias thinks is coming to him.

But it just keeps passing him by...



Again...


And Again...




Thank goodness for Pa! (All mom does is stand around and take pictures).

Twin Ghosts

Boo #1 Boo #2
Matthew and Connor and their family came to our ward Halloween party. I love those little ghosts. It is so fun to see them.
It is also funny because Elias totally gets jealous. Apparently I make a big fuss over them. Elias will push them out of the way and hold me in his arms.

Meet Oprah

Meet our new Hen Oprah- Isn't she beautiful! Her feathers have a blue iridescent color but on her breast the feathers have orange undertones.



This is Rosa Parks- The dark red hen in front. We call her Rosie. She is the one who killed Ann Frank earlier this year.



Susan B. Anthony- Suzie is my favorite hen. She follows me around the yard when ever I let her out. She loves to be held. And she is a regular layer. : )


Amelia Earhart (below)was so appropriately named. She is a flyer and an explorer. We often find her in the neighbors yard. And once found her 2 blocks away scratching and pecking.

Hilary- (below) I love the splash of color she adds to the flock.


Sacajawea is molting right now- I will post pics of her and Elanor later.

Elias's First Bike

We found this little bike at a garage sale about a month ago- It is his favorite thing. It is hard to get him off of it.

Big Boy Brusher

I was so proud watching Elias brush his teeth all by himself today. I had a big proud mama smile- Then he walked over to my make-up drawer and spit in it : 0

Eric's Famous Vegetarian Chili

This is ERic's 3rd batch this Fall- I love it! It warms the belly on these cool Fall dayz. Delish!

Welcome Susana

Susana is from Guatemala. She moved in to our house yesterday. She is a sweet and quiet 15 year old. She has only been in the US since June- and just came into foster care yesterday. We are glad to have her in our home.

Pumpkin Carving

Eric's is the circle eyes and mouth.
Susana's is the Green pumpkin.
And Juan's is the one in front.

The Pumpkin Ranch

No School Friday! We played at the Farmers market, went on a hay ride, and picked pumpkins. : )
We got 2 new Chickens Too! I need help naming them. I will post pictures asap.

Bed Time Fun with Dad

I took the night off and Eric played with Elias, who has been extra cranky and tired lately while fighting a cold. Why is Dad so much more fun than Mom? Hmmm.

Elias's first trip to the Ocean

Juan Flying our Plane

San Francisco

We had some fun adventures in San Francisco. Juan is now fascinated with airplanes. Any paper scrap he can find is folded into a paper airplane.

Sunday Fun

Elias's favorite game is playing chase. His laugh is contagious.

Climber-

Elias's new favorite place in the house is standing on top of the dining room table. It is not the most sturdy table- it is a drop leaf- but is is so dang hard to keep my eyes on him 24/7.

Juan and Elias watching TV
They love each other so much.

Uncle Brandon's Hat.

Elias is helping me knit Uncle Brandon a hat.
He is proficient at pulling out my stitches.

Breakfast and a Movie

Wow-having them both strapped down is so nice.
So, has anyone watched the Baby Einstein special feature-"Message from Julie Clark"
Well- she gives guidelines for using the videos, and recommends sitting next to the TV and explaining each screen to the child.
Are you kidding me?
This is (nearly) the only time in the day to get stuff done.
So today they watched Spanish Stories- on repeat- 3 times.
And I got to clean the kitchen and blog.
: )

How many sticks can we fit?

The chickens entertained the mischief makers for hours, but, he Coop is now filled with small sticks.

We are going to be friends...

But first someone needs to learn to share.
I took Elias to a playgroup at the church on Tuesday morning. He had so much fun- and played so nicely. Prideful Mom came home thinking "My boy is so well behaved he really knows how to share."
Well, Wednesday morning Anastasia came to visit (5 days).
My sweet sharing boy is totally different on his own turf- and Wow, can he make noise when things don't go his way.
Anastasia is only 10 months older- but at least twice the size of Elias. You can see his reaction when she sat on his fire truck, if only you could hear it.

After a few territorial disputes things seemed to mellow and they had a great time chasing the chickens in the back yard.

Juan waits for the school bus on the front porch. Elias (still in his diaper ug- one of those mornings) cries if he doesn't get to go outside with Juan.

Home Sweet Home

Elias and I made it back to Kansas after a long day of travel yesterday. Traveling with a 17 month old is definitely an experience to be had.
Our flight was delayed in SLC so we had some extra time to play at the airport. I wanted Elias to get some running around time before he had to be contained on the flight. So, despite my sore (very sore) legs we played chase. He was making a straight B-line down the main hallway- bypassing all the stores and gates. So it caught me quite off guard when he darted into the Mens room. Oops. He was fully in the bathroom by the time I caught him. Its Labor Day weekend- the airport is packed and I am running around urinals trying to catch the pipsqueek.
He keeps life interesting.
We Idahoans (mainly me and Larry C.) pride ourselves in appropriate airport restroom behavior. I hope I don't get arrested.

Bath Time, after a long hard day of getting dirty!

I thought I got most of the sand off of him at the picnic- but the bottom of the tub was covered-

Labor Day 2007

Yes- this is Elias covering himself in sand, honestly, I was just glad he was staying in one place- I was so tired of chasing him.
We had a fun morning at Sunset Zoo and spent the afternoon at a ward picnic.

01 September 2007 ` Idaho State Fair

September 1st was one long day- beginning with the race and ending with an evening at the Idaho State Fair. Elias made such a fuss over the animals at the fair. He screamed and hollered with excitement telling everyone around how great the goats were.

The Finish Line with her Bro's

I ran the Pocatello 1/2 Marathon. It was so fun to run in my hometown with my fam there- King (the black lab in the photo) is the best running partner a girl could ask for (next to Katherine who doubles as my therapist). King lets me know when it is time to go in the morning by comming to my bedside and liking my feet...gross I know, but he gets me out the door in the am.

Clap for Mommy!

Race Prep

4 Wheelin' it with Grandpa