Laurie Curran Hernandez

Our dear friend, Laurie, passed away last week. She was a close family friend for over 30 years. Her sons, Alex and Chris, grew up alongside the three Braunohler kids. She and her husband, Rob, were Lauren's godparents. They were part of our summer vacations and our weekend adventures. 

Laurie died peacefully with her family around her after a year-long battle with cancer. She was strikingly beautiful inside and out. 

Here she is with her own boys. She affectionately called them her "boysenberries," and referred to Lauren and me as her honorary daughters. 

We were lucky to spend time with her in Connecticut this January. Here she is meeting Sid for the first time.

Portland, Maine and home time

We have to have a few themeless posts because there are so many disparate but important photos from our winter on Nantucket. So first, those. And then our adventures in Maine!

Chris's birthday breakfast: waffles, birthday ring lighting, and gifts.

Avery sewed this quilt on the sewing machine independently!

To Maine! We decided to spend February break visiting a town we had heard much about from Alex Hernandez. He has been an important friend to our family since 1986. He showed us all around Portland.

We basically ate our way through Portland.

At The Holy Donut, whose clever motto is "If donuts are wrong, I don't want to be right."

Visiting Alex at Rising Tide Brewery, where he works. We got to wear goggles and see the brewery in action.

While traveling, Avery worked on books and pictures. 

The Children's Museum in Portland was a perfect spot for all 3 boys. Zeal's highlight was getting to milk a fake cow for over 30 minutes. When another child tried to help him, Zeal crossly said, "Farmers don't need help!" 

To Peak's Island, just a 15 minute ferry ride from Portland.

Here we are at the Holy Donut, not wanting to be right....again.

Then to Legoland, Boston, where we went on a ride with laser guns, an unfortunate first for us all. 

We will keep you guessing which parts we actually built....

Then to trampoline world while with our friends, the Shuler Kleins, from Boston.

A little Robert McCloskey exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

And we capped the trip off with another birthday celebration. Thank you, Rachel and Jeff, for the hazelnut torte and the kooky gifts.

If you feel tired after viewing this long trip, then you know how we felt.