2007 in photos

Merry Christmas! We wish you God's peace and joy this season and throughout the year to come!
Here are some of the highlights of our year:

Thanks for watching! (We'd love it if you write us a comment! If you're not signed up, after you click on 'comments,' you can use the 'anonymous' button.)
Love, Craig, Laura, Karis, & Daniel

blessed by friendship

This time of year always makes me think of all the things that I'm thankful for. One of the biggest blessings in my life is the women who make me a better person through their friendship with me!
These are "Playgroup Mommies" (missing Melissa!). They continually encourage me to be a better mother, wife, friend, ... as well as bringing a lot of laughter into my life! And there are several other women God has blessed me with ... I hope you know who you are! Thank you all for your friendship and for making my life richer!

mommy humor

Okay, so this video made me smile. It's everything we (moms) say to our kids condensed into two minutes and set to the William Tell Overature. I actually had to watch it a few time to catch all the phrases. Each time I watched it, I think I laughed more than the time before.


Probably most funny to my mommy friends, but I'm sure everyone who's had a mom can appreciate it!
If you liked it you can check out another video of Anita Renfroe (just make sure to watch past the intro song).

By the way, I watched a movie last night that I loved: Pan's Labyrinth. Hard to watch (violent), but also magical, creative, capitivating, thought-provoking. Well worth it! Don't miss it. (It's in Spanish, subtitled in English, by the way) Anyone else love it? (It won a handful of Oscars ... so I know it's not new to some of you.)
Cath-it would be a great movie-club movie!

tuolumne fun!!!

Usually when we head to Tuolumne Meadows every summer (our annual destination), the water is so "ice water" cold that I can barely stick my toes in for more than a few seconds. (Craig and the kids swim every year, but I can't!) And many years the river is raging so much that it's dangerous to swim in all but a few places. This year was completely different! Due to low snowfall this year, the river was much lower, calmer, and warmer! Don't get me wrong ... it was still cold, just not unbearably, jump-in-for-2-seconds-and-jump-out cold. So, we took advantage of the rare opportunity to have fun ...



That was my family and our friends, the Eubanks and the Palladinos. Unfortunately, I didn't get footage of the Bowers or the McKees riding the slide.

our trip

We just got back from a trip to the Eastern Sierras (almost 3 weeks). We started out our trip with a night in Mammoth with good friends, the Gils. After that we stayed in June Lake for 5 nights in a friend's cabin ... so nice to have a bed and a shower! Then we camped at Tioga Lake for 2 nights and at Tuolumne Meadows for a week and a half. While we were in TM we were joined by the Eubanks, the Palladinos, the Bowers, the McKees, and my mom (each for a few nights). Trip highlights: Daniel ~ riding the waterslide in Tuolumne River; Karis ~ swimming in Tuolumne River; Craig ~ climbing Fairview Dome (rock climbing) with Jack and hiking to the top of Lembert Dome with Daniel; me ~ hard to say ... I love TM ... I'd say that the highlight for me was enjoying one of my favorite places in the world with good friends.
Karis and Daniel with Mireya and Isaiah
A family photo in Mammoth
The kids with Mount Dana in the background.
The kids with Kaylee and Trevor.

my free trip to the best of the adriatic

I know it's been a long time since I've blogged! All my friends and family who so faithfully read my blog have probably given up by now. But I'm going to give it a go again!
About a week ago my mom and I returned from a trip to Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina (all a part of former Yugoslavia). We wandered through some gorgeous places ... from majestic mountains to charming hill towns to the warm, crystal clear water of the Adriatic. The trip was fun and relaxing, but also sobering. I've never before been so close to war and the destruction it leaves behind. (The conflicts in these countries only ended about 10 years ago.)
Hopefully, I'll get around to creating a website for this trip, but for now here are a few photos to give you a taste of these beautiful countries.
Lake Bled, Slovenia: this magical place makes you feel as though you're living in a fairy tale. There's a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. On that lake is a small island with little church on it. Next to the lake there's a huge "rock" which has a castle on top. One of the highlights of the whole trip was walking around this lake and rowing a boat out to the island (me rowing one direction and my mom rowing the other!).
The Julian Alps (above & below), in Slovenia, were simply breathtaking. I think that I could have spent weeks there.

Motovun, Croatia: this part of Croatia (the Istrian Peninsula) felt much like Italy. We stayed for a few nights in this quiet hill town.
We went to two islands on the Dalmatia Coast, in Croatia. We only spent a few hours in Hvar (above) ... we enjoyed hiking to the hilltop fortress and getting lost in the maze of streets. We were in Korcula (below) for a few nights ... passed the day away floating in the warm Adriatic waters.

Me and my mom in Dubrovnik, Croatia. During the war, this city was bombed for 8 months. Among all the new terra cotta rooftops is a smattering of the old remaining rooftops.
Perast, Montenegro. This quiet little town on the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro was another highlight for me. (Yes, we visited another country after our tour was over.)
If I had to pick one highlight of the trip, I'd say it was traveling through Bosnia-Herzegovina. It seems an odd thing to say looking at the above photo, but I guess it was here that depth was added to this vacation. The people in this country were warm and friendly and speaking to a few people, you could tell that the pain from the war is still very raw and real. Walking around the the town of Mostar by myself, observing all the destroyed buildings, knowing that the numerous new buildings had recently looked just the same, ... I found tears streaming uncontrollably down my face. What horror war is ... and, oh, how blessed I am to be living my comfortable little life, never worrying about war striking so close to home. And how blessed I am to be able to travel and in a VERY second hand way, for a VERY brief moment be able to understand the weight of war in a way I never could by watching my television and reading the newspaper from that comfortable place. Hopefully, I can do as I read in Mostar (below).

The "Old Bridge" in Mostar was originally built in the 16th century. During the war it was bombed and destroyed in 1993. The bridge seen here was rebuilt in 2004 and is seen as a symbol of reconcilation. May these people continue to heal from the wounds left behind and may this reconciliation last for hundreds of generations.

I hope you've enjoyed this little taste of my trip.
And I must add what an incredible superstar of a husband I have!!!! And what an awesome dad he is!!!! He stayed home with our 4 and 5 year old, encouraging me to enjoy my travels (now for a second year in a row). Thank you, mi amor!!!

let's party!

We celebrated Daniel's birthday one last time with a party at My Gym. He loved it! I can't believe my baby is 4 years old!

happy birthday to me!

Monday was my birthday and it was a good one! On Saturday, Tammy and I went and got pedicures. On Sunday I went out to breakfast with a handful of my favorite women. Sunday evening Craig and I went out to dinner at Ca Dario ... talk about mouth watering food!!!! My kids spent the night with my mom on Sunday, so Monday morning I got to sleep in ... what a luxury! I had a very peaceful, relaxing morning and went on a 5 mile run. Then I had lunch with Anne and sweet Baby Hugs (Jackson). Monday evening I went out to dinner with my family and came home to eat mint chocolate cake. Mmmmmm!

A very nice birthday indeed!

vote chris mundell for vp of pizza

Hi ... well I think that anyone who's reading this has probably already received an email from me about this. (Or I knew you already knew about it!)
Anyway, if you haven't already voted for Chris Mundell for VP of Pizza, please do right now! He's only got a few more days to go! The contest ends on April 22. VOTE NOW on every computer you can find!
Vote for "Resume for VP of Pizza" at

www.pizzahut.com/vpofpizza/

Watch his video here:

my big win yesterday ... Easter ... d's birthday!!!!

Yes ... I miraculously made a free throw at Trader Joes yesterday and won a box of chocolates. (If you know my sports abilities, you know it was a big deal for me to make a free throw!)
After church on Easter Sunday, we had a nice lunch with the Bowers, the Johnsens and the McKees. The highlight for the kids was, of course, the Easter Egg hunt.
For Daniel, though, I think the highlight was that it was also his birthday. The little guy is 4 now! Wow!

backpacking with daddy

Last week while Craig was on his Spring Break, he and friend, Ruben, took the kiddos (well, not all 4 of Ruben's!) backpacking for one night in the local mountains. While I enjoyed some quiet at home, they enjoyed hiking, playing in the creek, and just plain ol' getting dirty!
The gang! Daniel, Isaiah, Karis, and Mireya
Craig and the kids at bedtime

a trip to san diego

We just got home from San Diego yesterday. We had a great time. All of Craig's family lives down there. The kids love it there ... cousins to play with constantly and juice & cookies at grandma's. What more could they want? While we were there we had a family celebration for Daniel's birthday (he'll be 4 on Easter Sunday). We also went to Sea World. We all especially loved the Shamu show! They are pretty incredible animals!
Yes there are more than 4 candles on that cake. We were also celebrating his cousin, Jack's birthday ... 16 + 4 = 20 candles!
Me and the kids before the Dolphin show.
If you look carefully, you can see the killer whales in the far background behind Karis.

a snow weekend ... in summerlike weather

Last weekend we went to Mammoth with Steve & Donna Jolley. We drove up there on Thursday, March 15 ... through 80 degree weather in Mojave. It's hard to believe that it's March! While we were in Mammoth, the temperature during the day probably reached into the 70s. I had no problem going for a run in shorts and a t-shirt. When we went sledding, we had to take breaks in the shade because it was too hot to stand in the sun.

Sledding was fun, but getting to the top of the hill was difficult for Craig and I. The snow got so soft that we would sink in up to our thighs. We finally resorted to crawling up the hill with the sled in order to spread out our body weight. (Oh, the things we do for our kids!) The kids had no problem hiking up the hill ... I guess 40 pounds wasn't enough to break through!
On Saturday, we took the Gondola up to the top of the mountain to join Steve, Donna, and Rockey (who were snowboarding) for lunch. The kids wanted to ride down the mountain with Rockey on his snowboard. I don't think Daniel was too disappointed because he kept saying that the Gondola ride was his favorite part of the weekend. Well, that and eating pancakes at the Stove on the morning we left.
The views from the top of the mountain were stunning.

my turkey website won!

Last Thursday I got the news that I won first prize - a trip to Europe - for my Turkey Website in the Rick Steves' online Scrapbook competition. I still have a hard time believing that they picked my website over all the others. This was the first time that I've made a website!
Check out the announcement on the Rick Steves' website:

http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours07/testimony.cfm

I'm hoping to get more consistent about blogging again!!!!

my turkey website

Well, I've kind of gotten out to the routine of blogging! This last month I spent a lot of time working on a website for my trip to Turkey this last summer. I've entered it in a contest that the tour company we used is having. I'll let you know if I win anything. Check it out and let me know what you think: www.laurasabraw.com

tooth fairy is comin' tonight!

Karis lost her first tooth this morning! She was so excited yesterday, showing everyone that her tooth was loose ... but she was scared that it was going to hurt when it came out. It turns out she woke up this morning and it was out. Luckily it was still in her mouth! Hmmmm, how much does the tooth fairy give these days?

mommies love bounce houses too!

Last night we went to Isaiah Gil's birthday party. The kids were in heaven. The Gil's had rented the ultimate bounce house. It filled their whole back yard ... larging jumping section plus a ladder that connected it to a huge slide. And yes, we mommies had some fun too! That's Melissa E., Holly E. and me.

I had fun riding down the slide with my kiddos.






I think Nathan was the first one to figure out that they could jump from the slide platform down 5 feet into the jumping section.






A super hero cake for the birthday boy!

new link - camels, pyramids, ...

Hey, I just added a link to the side bar of this blog. It's Marty Robertson's blog. Marty, Megan, and the kids are on a 6-month adventure ... Egypt, Greece, Italy, France, England. Right now they're in Egypt ... camels, pyramids, mosques, wild rides, ... Reading it I feel like I get to vicariously travel along with them. Check it out!

a big birthday!

Today is Craig's Birthday!
Happy Birthday mi amor!

(I wanted to scan one of his baby photos but my scanner is not working!)
----------------the birthday boy and his boy----------------

the year in photos

Here's a little snapshot of this past year.


(We'd love it if you'll take a moment to write a comment so we know you've watched our video. Thanks!)

future grammy winners

The children sang at church yesterday. Although they knew the songs, Karis and Daniel were a little awestruck by the size of the audience. If you watch the video though, you will see that they did sing a little. Daniel performed in the second service as well as the first ... however he was more interested in getting something out of his pocket than in singing. Check it out.

christmas festivities

Thursday was a big day for Christmas festivities. Daniel had a Christmas party at school. He made the cutest little marshmallow snowman (in our 75 degree weather). And to top it off, Santa came to his school at the end of the morning. At her school, Karis decorated a gingerbread house and then performed in her school's holiday concert. (The concert was outdoors. It was kind of funny seeing all the parents trying to find places to stand in the shade ... in December!)
Daniel didn't want to go up to Santa by himself.
Can you find Karis in the front row? (Ellie H. is in the front row too.)

Karis and Daniel couldn't wait to eat their gingerbread house and snowman after dinner!

welcome ashton james johnsen!

Ashton James was born to Tammy and Lloyd Johnsen and big brother Brodie on Tuesday, December 12 just before midnight.
Congratulations Tam and Lloyd! Way to go Tam ... you rock! We love you all!

a performance by our ballerina

Last weekend was a very busy weekend for me. I had the Christmas Parade, Sirica's baby shower, Holly E's birthday party, and Karis' ballet recital. Although it was a busy weekend, all the festivities were a fun way to start off the Christmas season. And Karis' recital was precious. Below you can watch her and all the other "candy canes" in action. (She curtsies to her buddy, Paige, at the beginning and stands next to her buddy, Ellie, for most of the dance.)


We figure with how much the seats at the show cost, we better be sharing the show with all our friends!

happy birthday holly!

Happy Birthday to Holly Eubank! (a couple days late!) On Saturday, Holly's parents treated her and a group of her friends to lunch out ... at a restaurant where Holly & her mom once sat at a table next to Oprah.

I should mention that Holly E. and Cathi Speake are two of my most frequent "commenters." (Cathi is standing next to me and Holly next to her.) Ladies, you rock! Thanks for all the encouragement that keeps me blogging. ...Now I know there are those of you out there who read my blog but never comment (this includes my mom's friends!) ... I know you're reading because you've told me so. I'd love to hear from you!

christmas parade!

I love our Christmas parade! It's definitely my favorite parade of the year. I think because it's at night and the Christmas lights are out ... it's kind of magical. And I love watching my kids watch the parade ... seeing how their faces light up at different participants. This year, Karis' favorite thing in the parade was all the dancing groups and Daniel's favorite was the motorcycle gang.

running = blogging

I realized yesterday that my lack of running may be contributing to my slow down in blogging. I actually went for my first run since the race (a short one) and remembered why I like to run so much. It's me time ... it's the one time I feel like I'm all by myself and can think! It occurred to me that while running I would often think about what to write about on my blog.

Here's a photo of the kids with their buddies, Brodie and Kinsey, from when we went camping in Tuolumne Meadows last summer. Every year we go up to the top of Pothole Dome (a granite hill) one evening while we're there. They've taken photos in front or on top of this boulder every year since Karis was a baby!

so much to be thankful for

I do have so much to be thankful for! When I start to feel bummed because I can't afford to buy something, I need to remember I am one of the wealthy of the world! We have 2 cars, we own property in this expensive city, we NEVER worry about whether we'll have food on the table and we have choices as to what we want to eat, we have more clothing than we need just so we can wear a different outfit every day. For much of the world, these things are far from reality. I am so thankful for how God has provided for us. Also, I am thankful for a healthy, wonderful family and such incredible friends in my life! (You guys are a blessing to me.)
Karis' Kindergarten class had a Thanksgiving feast this week. It was great to have so many of the parents together with the class. The food was yummy! I have to admit my favorite thing was the tamales one mom had brought! (not the Turkey and stuffing) Happy Thanksgiving!

a case of blogger's block and a bad knee

Yes, I'm still alive. I haven't posted in awhile ... I guess I've had a blogger's case of writer's block. I just haven't felt like there's been much to write about. (Not that there really ever has been! :) And I haven't been taking any photos to share.
My last 2 weeks have been spent nursing my poor leg. After the race 2 weeks ago, I didn't run until the next Saturday. But when I did, I had to stop running after a few blocks ... I think I reinjured my leg ... bummer! After the advice of friend, Alison M.(who is a PT), I haven't been trying to run or doing my cycling class ... and I've taken up swimming again. I like swimming, but it's boring compared to running and spinning. (I need some music!) I'm very anxious to get out on a run again! It's funny ... I was in the best running shape that I ever have been in ... but now I will have to build it all back up again once I can get out there!

I don't have any photos to share from the last two weeks, but here's a photo of my family, including my mom and my brother, Scott (taken at our family reunion this past summer).

i did it!

13.1 miles! woohoo!
and I did it a little faster than I had anticipated ... 2:03.
I almost died when my iPod froze at 2.5 miles! It took about a mile and several tries to reset it. For me, the music is very motivating. I think my time would have been much slower had I not got my iPod working.
From about mile 6 - 9 were the most mentally challenging ... it's a long, straight stretch along the beach. But the last 2 miles were the most physically challenging! Right when I crossed the 12-mile marker, I got a tight cramp in my calf. I was planning to try to kick it up a notch for the last mile, but ended up hobble/jogging my way in. (I almost had to walk it in, but chose to push through the pain ... not something I'm usually very good at doing!)
Thank you to the Huggins family, the Bower family, and Tammy Johnsen for coming to cheer me on at the end! And thank you to my family (Gammy included) for cheering me on in several places along the way.
Congratulations to Steve Greig, Scott Johnson, Cheryl Hess, Jana McKee, Ramon Gupta, and Tony Davis for running!
Thank you to both Megan Robertson and Cathi Speake for both watching Daniel in the last few weeks so I could get some midweek, non-treadmill runs in! Thank you to so many of you for your encouragement!

what are the producers of lost thinking?!

Okay how many of you fellow Lost fans noticed that on the previews for next week's show, they said that it would be the "Fall Season Finale" ... and noticed the advertisements for a new show starting in 2 weeks at 9:00 on Wednesdays? Now, is anyone else thinking, "Didn't they just start this season?!?!?!" Last night was only the 5th episode! I'm starting to think that I'd like to be an actor on Lost ... fame, a good paycheck, work in beautiful Hawaii ... and very little work to do because the season is soooooo short. I'm frustrated that they've opened up so many new questions and given so little in the way of answers ... And now how long do we have to wait? I wouldn't be surprised if the next new episode isn't till the middle of March! (And I don't think they can blame the break on someones maternity leave! I sure hope that when they do wrap everything up that they do a better job than they did with Alias!)

Spoiler - stop reading if you didn't watch last night.
On another note, I'm very sad to see one of my favorite characters go! I will miss Mr. Eko. Anyone else going to miss him?

my fairy princess & my little dragon

We had lots of Halloween fun! The kids of course were very excited to go Trick-or-Treating. A few days before Halloween we went to a Pumpkin Carving Party at Jim & Jennifer Mosley's house. Below is a photo of the kids prepping their pumpkin to be carved ... with Stacia Greig's help (I'm bummed that I didn't frame her head into the photo!).