The Fraser Family

This past weekend we took a Christmas photo - the Frasers, Laffittes & Friends. This is my new family!



Back row L to R: Al, Clermont, Joe, Jay, Spann
Front Row L to R: Alice, Lowndes (2 1/2), Elizabeth, Lucy (5 weeks), and Laura

My Dad the Pilot

My Dad got his Pilot's license a few weeks ago, officially making him a Pilot In Command (PIC). Last Friday morning Dad flew me to Gainesville, where I met up with Jay to head to South Carolina for the weekend. Dad flew Marcus back home to Fort Myers and I headed up for a wedding and early Christmas with Jay and his family, as well as a "Welcome to the family Laura and Lucy" party (engagement party for Jay and me, and a party honoring Lucille Morrison Laffitte, "Lucy", the newest Laffitte daughter)

The flight was truly amazing - I still can't believe that my Dad FLIES AIRPLANES! We flew in a Cessna 172 "SkyHawk" from the Charlotte County Airport, just south of the Peace River, up to Gainesville- at a 0 degree heading, directly north. We arrived in 1 hour and 19 minutes, flying at about 3500 feet. We flew right over arcadia, Bartow, Lakeland, Ocala and then Gainesville. The best part was looking over Payne's Prairie and seeing the O'Dome and the Swamp rising up as we approached. Below is the video I made for Dad for Christmas.

Sweden Throwback

A sad story: one week before returning to the United States after 6 unforgettable months in Sweden, my computer crashed and I lost all of my photos from my time abroad. It was a very sad day when I was told that my files were unrecoverable, and I have been slowly coming to terms with this. My photos were a part of me, and also the best way to share with others all of the amazing experiences I had during my time at Uppsala Universitet. I hope that some day somewhere, a computer nerd will be able to make my pictures magically disappear, so I continue to guard my old hard drive until that day comes. In the mean time...

Today I was cleaning out my "Sent" mailbox on my macmail and to my EXTREME surprise and delight I found a single lingering email with a few pictures that I sent to Jay's family and my family right after Jay and I returned from the North of Sweden and Norway when Jay was visiting in March. There are a few of Jay and I on the tundra (yes, like National Geographic... basically we are the coolest people you know), and also a picture I took during the ride back to Abisko, Sweden from Narwick, Norway. I made Jay pull over on the side of the road in the freezing weather (and wind) to take ONE more photo of the beautiful north sky and Norwegian mountains as the moon was rising. I just think it is a really cool picture that captures the landscape during our time in Lappland. I miss Sweden a lot and this was one of the pictures I most thought of when I was lamenting the great computer crash of 2008.


Trying (and failing) to take a picture in Kiruna of the snow around town with the camera timer


Jay getting our cross-country skiing equipment ready at our hostel in Abisko - best place in all of Lappland to stay. On our second day Jay and I went on a dog-sledging trip. It was just the guide, Jay and Me - and it was AWESOME. We got to harness the dogs ourselves (Siberian Huskies), and we each had 4 on our sledge. It was like riding through Narnia, only better.


Taking a break for a little picnic in the snow.


Successful camera timer picture - thank you gorilla pod! Jay and I cross-country skiing in Abisko. We didn't see another person the entire outing!


Norwegian Tundra...Right over the border in Norway - it was COLD! Notice the "summer home" in the background.

The border runs along the mountain chain, so you have to cross through the mountains to get to Narwick, which is a large port on an isthmus of the fjord.


This is Jay and Me on the ski slope overlooking Narvick - look, it's the Atlantic!


A sea-level view of the fjord


A Norwegian Troll gracing the side of the road on the way to Narvick

Going to the Chapel

This Thanksgiving Jay surprised me with Breakfast in Bed and asked me to marry him! I of course said yes. We were engaged on Thursday, November 27, 2008. Here is the story:

Jay drove home to Fort Myers late the night before after he got off of work in Gainesville. He woke up early on Thursday morning and came over from Grandmother and Granddaddy's house at about 7AM, greeting my dad on the front porch while taking Chip out. They came inside and had a man-to-man chat, Jay expressing his intentions, then as mom came in the kitchen (noticing how closely Jay and Dad were sitting), he took the ring out and said, "Mrs. Henderson, I have something I want to show you." Jay had decided he wanted to really surprise me, and the best way to do that would be to propose right after I woke up to leave no room for arousing my suspicions. So he and my parents prepared some breakfast, also preparing the camera and video camera, then Jay headed up to ask a very important question. He came in my room and opened the windows to let in light, then came to my bed and laid the breakfast down. I never for a second thought that there would be a ring on the plate next to the pancakes, after all I was planning on waking up and hitting the pavement with Thanksgiving day chores, so I actually felt a little guilty for sleeping in while Jay here had already showered, eaten and made me breakfast. But then as he set my breakfast down in my lap, he knelt down, took the ring off the plate following a tiny gasp and an oh-so-appropriate "are you kidding?" comment from me, placed the ring on my finger and said "Laura, will you marry me?" I teared up and nodded yes, then was overwhelmed with excitement and said "Yes, of course I'll marry you." Then I noticed mom and dad in the doorway with the cameras, some champagne and red roses that Jay also brought. We had a toast, a champagne breakfast (I was way too excited to eat the pancakes) and a really special moment together letting it all sink in.

After I woke Marcus up (Alex was out playing football with friends at the Alliance for the Arts), got dressed and finally ate some pancakes, we went next door to share the news with Grandmama and Granddaddy. They were so happy and Granddad told the story about how they were engaged, and how nervous he was to talk to Mr. Mathis, my great-granddaddy. He was an attorney in Panama City, so Granddaddy had to make an appointment to come see him at the office. So dressed in his Army-Air-Corps uniform he went and asked Granddaddy Mathis, who replied, "Well, you'll love her and take care of her so it's alright with me, but you'll have to go down now and talk to her mother." Sid and Annette Stubbs (my Grandmother's niece and her husband) were also there to share in the moment.

Once all the family arrived to our house, Jay and I made the announcement to everyone (Around noon). It was a really special day with all the family and I don't know if I still believe it happened! Jay really did surprise me and I couldn't imagine a more perfect way to get engaged - to spend it over a long holiday weekend with friends and family! I love him so much and cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him.



Right after we were engaged. Jay making pancakes for everyone!


Some of the family when we made the announcement. L to R: Grandddaddy, Mason with Emma, Shantelle, Marcus, Jillian (Alex's girlfriend) and Alex. Not pictured are: Grandmother, Nana, Granddaddy Henderson, Mom, Dad, Sid, Annette, and Uncle Tom.