Holden had his first sleepover this weekend! He is friends with two brothers that he used to go to daycare with and who we know from the gym: Dylan, who just turned seven, and Aaron, who is four. Holden has stayed the night at their house once but this is the first time he's had anyone here. They came over Sunday evening and stayed most of the day Monday until their mom got off from work (she doesn't get labor day off). They had lots of fun and overall it went well. On Sunday, Shawn grilled and while he cooked turkey cutlets and hotdogs, the boys played baseball. We came inside to eat dinner instead of eating at the picnic table because the bugs were already getting bad and the flies were trying to eat our food. Later that night, after getting their PJ's on, we went back outside and roasted marshmellows and made smores. That is the first time we have done it this year and they were so good and so messy. They finished cleaning up and then went out to the tent where Shawn told them a ghost story and they each took turns making up a story too. Afterwards, Shawn went up to the porch to play guitar and kept an eye on them for a while but I went inside because I wasn't feeling well. Holden and Aaron stayed up pretty late because, apparently, Aaron doesn't go to sleep well without the TV on (a good reason not to start that habit)! Holden was nice enough to wake everyone up at 6:30 this morning so the boys just got TONS of sleep. We walked/biked to Mark Twain grade school and played on the playground for a while and then we came home to find Shawn already making lunch. It's a good thing he had it started because they were all starting to fall apart. After lunch, we turned on a movie so they could "rest" and, thankfully, both Aaron and Dylan fell asleep. Holden is like me though and is usually not able to fall asleep during movies so he is just falling apart while I write this...guess who gets to go to bed early tonight!

I forgot to mention something that happened while the kids were playing outside in the backyard on Sunday. One of the first things the boys did was go open up the sandbox. Inside the sandbox, there was a blue bucket that had a large spider in it. Thankfully, the boys called Shawn over to check it out instead of messing with the spider themselves. Shawn went over, looked in, and discovered it was a black widow! I am totally not kidding either and it was a huge one. Shawn said it was, by far, the biggest black widow he has ever seen. I had only seen a dead one in a jar prior to this and the dead one was definitely way smaller than the one in our backyard. And, I only saw it after Shawn had hacked its legs off so I can't even imagine how big it looked with them still intact. You may ask, "why take the legs off?" well, Shawn wanted to get a good look at its back and make sure it was a black widow so he didn't want to just smash it to pieces immediately but, he didn't want it to get away either. I swear, Shawn is the most level headed, logical, rational person I know. Who thinks ahead like that and is careful when killing a poisonous spider just to make sure that it's really what he thinks it is. I, of course, am totally freaking out about this now and have pleaded with Shawn to get some kind of pesticide to put down along the wall of the back yard. He usually refuses to put chemicals down but I'm going to beg and plead and cry until he gives in this time. Anyway, there are some pictures from Holden's sleepover in the photo gallery.

Also, I put a little survey up to convince Shawn that we should use pesticides in the back yard. Please vote and let him know that chemicals are okay if it means that our son is less likely to get bitten by a poisonous spider.

This week Holden started started Holden venture into academia - Preschool! Holden is enrolled in St. Patrick's 4yr old all day preschool program. The Catholic church in town has its own school from pre-K(3) up through eighth grade. Prior to this fall Holden had just been in a regular daycare program because it was a rough adjustment for him when I started working. He is totally fine with me leaving him these days and was not at all apprehensive about starting someplace new. In fact, once he found out that they didn't provide meals and he had to bring his lunch everyday he was excited and told me "that's awesome!" I was much more anxious about the whole thing for some reason. When I dropped him off on the first day he told me not to forget to pick him up and he told me I should come back around 4 o'clock to get him; I thought that was pretty funny. I took a couple pictures of his first day that are already in the photo gallery. He looks really cute with his big backpack on (they required a full size pack)

The program there is really great; they have a computer "class" once a week and Spanish once a week too. Since there aren't as many kids in the afternoon, the kids get to take turns having one-on-one time with one of the teachers. They'll do an assessment of all the kids this month and afterwards will use this personal teacher time to work on areas that need improvement or get personal time to get even further ahead in areas they are already excel in. The best part about him going to St. Pat's (besides the Catholic education) is that it is right across the street from the library where I work. The only thing between us is the road his school is on and the parking lot where I park for work. I just park, walk him across the street to school, and cut back through the lot to get to the library. What could be better?!

Anyway, he had a great first week and seems to enjoy himself there. There is one thing about him going to school that I was not looking forward to - the dreaded fundraisers!!!! I mistakenly thought that these would not start until he actually entered Kindergarten (or later), but no, even the preschoolers get stuck doing it. So, if anyone wants to help Holden out and buy some overpriced wrapping paper and candy let me know and I'll be sure to hook you up with a link to their online order site (how nice of them to set that up).

Hey guys its Jess,umm the latest news on me is tht im now a level 7 gymnast which is extremely good. =) umm im a madison jr. high cheerleader on the 7th grade team and ill be thirteen in november. Yeahh. well i rlly miss my dad and all his army friends especsially spanelli and shawn. well i miss everybady tht i new and was one of my dads friends hope u guys are all doin good



Jessica Howard
Brian's Daughter

Last week Holden and I went on a week long adventure to Oregon to visit our friends Sue, Juerg, and Tim. We took an Amtrak train from St. Louis to Chicago and then all the way to Portland. We left on Sunday morning and got to Portland on Tuesday. We did not get a sleeper car for the trip because it jumps the price from $249 for the two of us to over $1000! Holden and I just slept in our seats and got changed in the bathrooms. We ate lunch in the dining car one time, just to have the experience, but otherwise we just had lots of snacks, cereal bars, and Holden also had individual size spaghettios and dumplings. There was also a snack car so I was able still able to get my coffee. Holden enjoyed looking out the windows for a little bit each day but would get tired of it after a bit. We took some pictures of the train ride and most of the scenic pictures were actually taken by Holden, so check them out. He was thrilled with being able to actually see snow from the train.

On Monday he got bored a bit because there were no kids his age on the train so I decided to pull out the trusty DVD player to pass a little time. He was excited about getting to see " The Incredibles" so we turned it on and...nothing! The thing broke right there on the train not more than 2 minutes after turning it on. At first, I just thought that the battery didn't actually charge when I did it before we left so I figured I would just find an outlet and charge it while he watched. Wouldn't you know that the only public access outlets were in the bathrooms!!! He looked so disappointed about potentially not seeing the movie I promised, so I decided we could just watch part of it in the bathroom and then just get out half way through and use the battery after it had charged (yes, I was really ready to do this). We plug it in and get comfy in the bathroom and turn it on and...nothing again. Now the thing wouldn't even spin! So, I explain to Holden that DVD player thing is broke for good so we climb out of the bathroom and head back to our seats. He looked so dejected and I felt so guilty. I know it sounds awful that I would depend on an electronic device to entertain my child but I really was worried that things were going to get worse because my emergency "pacifier" was broke. I shouldn't have worried; he forgot about it after a bit and was fine the rest of the trip. We were able to get off the train occasionally and at one station he went over and stared longingly at a candy machine and then the guy that refills them came over, opened it up, and told him to pick something. He lit up, but was hesitant because I don't think he believed the guy was serious. He got his mini kisses and was very nice about sharing with some other kids we saw in the station there. We arrived in Portland on Tuesday at 10am* and Juerg was waiting for us at the station to take us back to McMinnville where they live.

*I would like to note that everything I read about Amtrak said it was notorious for being late (even hours late) but we actually arrived in Portland 10 minutes before our scheduled arrival time - yeah Amtrak!

We had a fantastic time visiting and even though Holden and Tim were a bit shy around each other, at first, they soon started having fun together. Tim went to school in the mornings so Holden, Sue, an I just chilled at the house and I got to be lazy. On Wednesday we went to the library and checked out a bunch of books. They have a big library with a really nice children's department. Afterwards, we went to a pizza place that sells pizza by the slice. It was so nice to have pizza by the slice because no one here in Rolla does that.

Thursday the boys went to a pottery place and they got to pick out and paint their own pieces. Holden picked a shark and an octopus to paint. Unfortunately, they weren't fired in time for us to pick them up before we left so Sue is sending them to Holden when they are ready. Sue made an awesome Greek style pizza that night too with spinach and feta cheese.

Friday, Juerg to the day off work and we went to the Portland children's museum. We decided to go there on Friday because it looked like the worst day in terms of weather. There was a "dig pit" for the boys to play in and a water room and they were both lots of fun. There was a play grocery store where Holden filled a cart full of food and I spent a lot of time putting his and some other kids random carts of food back in the right places. There was a clay station where the boys got a make stuff with modeling clay and even got to bring it home with them; Holden made a rhinoceros. We had a nice picnic lunch outside too. We got to have fresh caught Halibut for dinner and Holden really liked it too.

Saturday it was supposed to be in the 60s so we went to the coast to see the beach. The weather forecast was WAY wrong for that day. It was probably the only really windy and rainy day of the trip. I was so cold and windy on the coast - I couldn't believe it. We had to wear extra layers and hats and raincoats just to try to stay warm. However, we were determined to be on the beach and Holden was able to find a couple shells before we decided we had had enough. We ate at a brewery and restaurant that was right on off the coast. Afterwards, we went outside again the wind had died down a little bit and the sun tried to come out so we hung out and played in the sand a bit. Holden loved seeing all the gulls that were out too.

On Sunday we went for a little walk/hike in a nice little park that you had to take a ferry to get to. Holden is really into birds and bugs again so he had a good time looking at everything around. We had another picnic lunch and then found an area with lots of small trees (hazelnut) that made great climbing trees for the boys. Holden loved being able to actually climb a tree by himself! It was a seemingly long walk back to the ferry because Holden is not used to walking for such long periods and he was very tired and begged to be carried (which I gave in to). Tim was as exhausted as Holden because he is used to taking long hikes with his parents. They usually go hiking somewhere every weekend. We're not talking easy stuff like we did on Sunday either. Holden fell asleep on the car ride back and I was able to carry him in so he could sleep a bit longer. He did not want to wake up later and actually started crying about wanting to be with his Daddy: it broke my heart seeing him so sad...

That night we had to pack everything up to be ready to leave for the airport at 4:30 on Monday morning. It was a breeze getting there and getting through security and everything went well on both flights. We only had a 1.5 hour layover in Minneapolis and that plane actually landed in Indy 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. Holden was so excited to see Shawn; he was definitely happy to be home again. I was relieved to finally get in the car because I felt I could finally relax knowing everything had gone well: from the train ride to getting off the plane in Indy. However, things decided to go wrong on the car ride home. Holden slept for a bit but when he woke up he said his tummy hurt and he started crying a bit. We were conveniently just pulling in to eat at a restaurant so I figured he'd be fine since we had stopped moving and he would be able to eat. No, no, no...he started feeling bad so Shawn took him back outside for some fresh air and he threw up before we even had a chance to order. He threw up in the bathroom while we waited for our food and Shawn took him outside to throw up again during the meal. Holden and Shawn stayed outside and I finished up eating real quick and then we just left. We figured he would have to be fine because he threw up everything he had had to eat that day including the one dumpling that we had convinced him to eat at the restaurant. He managed to throw up two more times that night though (one was just water and the Dramamine I attempted to give him). He managed to pass out again and stayed asleep until we hit Rolla so he didn't throw up again. Needless to say, we stayed home on Tuesday and he mostly just laid on the couch all day. He only ate a half of a corn muffin all day until dinner time and then was finally able to eat something.

Overall though, it was a great trip and we had a wonderful relaxing vacation. Oh yeah, Oregon is beautiful!

There are lots of pictures of our whole vacation in the photo album Trip to Oregon

Barb Howard wrote:

Hello,
Just to let you know a little about what is going on with Jessie . She is in the 6th grade at Madison South School and doing very well. She is also a cheerleader Jessie just made level 6 in Gymnastics she has a compitition in Sandusky on March 8th Her and Brians dream for her. She misses her dad and around the holidays even more.

Thank you all for keeping Brian in your hearts I cant begin to tell you how much that means to us.

Virgil I would show Jessie the neat thing you all did for him but I think you will understand why I cant I bet Brian is laughing his butt off

Take care all of you
Barbara Howard Brian's Mom