Natalie and Jared returned from their vacation this past week and my glorious week at home by myself ended. If anyone doesn't think being alone for a week is "glorious" you need to read Gifts from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg.
Besides, I was hardly alone and had plenty to keep my mind off empty beds and other little reminders of my sweet family. This is one of my favorite "I was here" marks I discovered. It's a drawer in our kitchen, the one Natalie plays in with all the cooking utencils.
Highlights from Jared and Nat's vacation:
*seeing family, family, and more family---so much family she barfed at the airport. Just kidding, she did barf after getting off the plane, but that was before they even got to Utah. Seriously, we'd almost convinced ourselves we were OK without loved ones nearby, but after being with so many all at once, homesickness is seeping in...
*playing with grandma's cat, who has since been the subject of my drawings
*camping in a tent for multiple days and taking a bath consisted of taking a dip in the lake (there were no showers)
*camping in a mountain desert---no humidity, HOORAY!
This is a photo of Natalie asleep in the tent sporting her "Howie Hat" original made by Jared's brother and his family. 
Wow! plane ride.
These are happy little mud medallion cookie things made by some of our cute nieces at the reunion. They made 50, one for each family member there.
Highlights from mine:
*Finally read/listened to The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm by Nancy Farmer. Here's what the cover looks like.
Loooved it! Full of everything weird a kid into sci-fi/fantasy would love.
*Scrubbed my house from top to bottom. Four+ magic erasers later it looks sparkling. Pulled out each closet in turn and ran a few trips to the "DI" with very little guilt from "someday we'll want this" syndrome.
*Got my first pedicure. I have nice pink toes for the delivery room. There is not a photo because my feet have swollen past recognition of feet except for the 10 pink toe nails.
*It was also my birthday and had a buncha friends over for Black Eye Susan cake.
Bad news this week. Tomato Horned Worms. I now am on a every other day THW hunt. They are the sickest things ever! THWs are the same color as tomato leaves and stems and are super tricky to see. Thank goodness for the extension service here in Ohio for helping me figure out what was eating my tomatoes. They look like horned caterpillars and can grow to be as big as your fingers and take such incredibly huge bites I serious thought there was a racoon feasting at night. If you don't want to glimpse the horror creature from the garden, don't look at the following photos. 
This is the first signs of something underway. 
Oh, the nightmares!
Can you spot the THW? Pretty ellusive, hun?
Well. That's all for this marathon Blog. No baby yet. Maybe the next blog will be all baby news!
Oh, and one more thing. There isn't a THW in the last picture. Just being funny. ha! :)
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