"If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers." - Edgar W. Howe

What do we do to fill those last days of freedom?

10. Yes! We can can!

We used a super secret formula on our tomatoes and guess what happened? Well, we have tomatoes coming out of our ears! We love it! This week we made 10 cans of salsa:

(Official Jalapeno chopper)

(adding cilantro)

And 10 cans of spaghetti:

And 7more cans of salsa:

If you ask me, they TOTALLY rock! I smell like tomatoes now. So, I was tempted to wear red today so I could smell AND look like a tomato. But, I refrained.

9. Alayna learned to dive in the deep end this week!

8. Book Marathon

I have finished 16 books for ITA. Working on the next 3. I have lots of great book recommendations if anyone wants any.

7. Modesty Project

Marisa and Kayla had friends over to help them with their massive modesty project for personal progress. They have been cutting out pictures in magazine to show how you can be modest despite what the current trends are. I think they are up to 12 posters. I will take a picture again when it’s all done.

6. Train for a 5K in the rain!

I swear that running in the rain is so amazing! Its refreshing and you don’t feel like you will pass out from sweating like a piggy. Marisa and Kayla went with me. We came home soaked, yet refreshed!

(Soaking wet from the rain)

5. Family night at the pool

One night we decided to go to the Noelridge pool to celebrate the end of summer (even though we don’t want to celebrate it, we want to PROLONG it!) Bob and the kids had fun going down the slides and off the diving board. I lounged on a chair, reading more of my books in perfect weather!

4. Mother/Daughter Personal Progress Night

We had a fun mother/daughter night! I even had 2 extra daughters that night! They went over the new program again and the girls shared some of their projects that they are working on. Did you know they are encouraging all moms (and even grandmas) to go through the program again? So, my girls are trying to get me to join them in their quest. We made these adorable certificates to go along with the new bookmarks they can earn.

3. A SUPER date night

Marisa and her friends, Meg and Alyssa, planned a fun group date for Saturday with Jordan, David, and Garrett. They rotated who their date was throughout the night which I thought was a cool idea. They started off here at our house making cookies. They were allowed one glance at the recipe and then they had to measure it and mix it with their hands. It was a competition in teams. Then they played Book of Mormon trivia down the stairs (moving 1 step as they answered correctly) to go watch Brian Regan . Then they went to Wal-Mart and did a food scavenger hunt. After that, they went to dinner at Wendy’s and then watched Monty Python at Alyssa’s house. I heard they all had a wonderful time! Maybe we adults should plan dates like this!

2. Summer is where the girls go barefoot and their hearts are just as free as their toes

The girls decided to hang out with friends on Monday (as if they haven’t been hanging out with each other all summer!) They went to the mall (and played UNO in the middle). They watched “Elf” and even had a sleepover at our house. This group is inseparable.

1. My last days of freedom

The kids helped me unpack most of my classroom this week. I was super organized so it was pretty easy. My first official day back is Thursday!

Girls left for teen week. I know I’m an overprotective mom, but I do worry about Marisa driving into another state for the 1^st time!

(Putting up the bathroom shelf)