Weekend Recap & Blogging With A Purpose

Before I get into my weekend, I would REALLY love to get a volunteer to guest post for me August 27th.  I am TRYING to get this series going called "Guest Post Tuesday".  So far this month, I have had one great lady share, someone coming by tomorrow and I have one more lined up for next week - however, the last week of August is still available.  If you are interested, please just email me a post to kaeley *dot* a *dot* mull AT gmail *dot* com {or click the email icon in the sidebar}  I will respond as soon as I get it and if I happen to receive more than one, I will also let you know what week your post will go live.

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This weekend was not what I was expecting, but it resulted in some good times anyways.  My plan was to head down to Seaside for the afternoon on Saturday, check out the volleyball tournament that was taking place all weekend, and hang out long enough to catch some photos of the sunset.  When I checked the weather, I was saddened to see that it was supposed to be cloudy...but was surprised to find the sunshine when we arrived in Seaside.

The Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament is the largest amateur volleyball tournament in the world.  I have lived only an hour away my entire life and yet have never been to it until now.  This year was the 32nd year of the tournament and I could not believe how many people it brought to the beach.

Including.....this lady.  She clearly had her fair share of "adult beverages" and thought that she should be dancing on a pole or something.  You are welcome for that image.

I'm not really sure why people feel the need to "accessorize" when all they have on is a bathing suit?!  Maybe I just don't get it...

It has been a long time since I have watched any kind of volleyball.  I played for 4 years during middle and high school and definitely miss it sometimes.  Getting to see a game or two was fun.

After catching some volleyball, Tristan and I walked around town.  I got some pictures for an upcoming guest post {watch for that!} and we got some yummy ice cream.  If you saw my post on Friday, please don't hold this against me.  Tristan started it and I just couldn't say no....I know, it was a bad move.  But so satisfying at the time!!

This is where reality diverted from the plan: it's Seaside, so of course the clouds decided to roll in about 6 o'clock.  The sun wouldn't set until 8:33 (yes, I looked it up to be exact) - so by 6:30 I could see that my plan to complete one of my 2013 Bucket List items was going to have to be postponed.  Of course, just my luck, by the time we were on our way home - the skies looked something like this:

Sadly, the bridge we were crossing had no shoulder so no chance of getting a good photo, so the phone pic will have to do.  Even if we had stayed at the coast, I doubt the sky would have been anything close to this.  Those coastal clouds are awfully stubborn...

We stopped by some friends' on the way home "just to say hi" and ended up being there until almost one o'clock in the morning...way past my bedtime! {Did anyone get to see the meteor shower this weekend, by the way? We were sitting outside hoping to get a glimpse but...those darn clouds!}  Today was going to be spent at home cleaning, but after sleeping in and having a yummy breakfast, my hubby convinced me to go into town with him and then go "crawling".  We found a beautiful park and I was excited to get some pictures.  Problem? I left the memory card, which I had taken out this morning to upload the beach photos, in my computer.  So these few phone photos are all you get of the pretty, lily-pad filled lake:

Again - sorry for the fuzzy cell phone photos.  They look great on my phone or if I upload them to Facebook....but they don't like to be enlarged on here...

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So, the next four weeks of Blogging With a Purpose are focused on Motherhood.  As you know, I do not have children.  I still want to participate, though, so I might have to tweak the topics just a bit.

My Goals for Motherhood:

When I do have children someday, I want to be the type of mother who makes every one of my children feel how special and loved they are, but who can also teach them needed lessons about life and discipline if necessary.

I want to be the type of mother who my children feel they can tell everything - that I won't be judging them.  I want them to know that I want to celebrate with them, comfort them, understand them.

I want to be the type of mother who goes to all the sports games and music recitals and school plays.  Whatever my children are passionate about, I want to be there to support them.

I want to be the type of mother who instills solid values in my children, values that challenge them to consider how their decisions are going to impact their lives and the people around them.  Values that remind them of where they come from and values that allow them to be themselves without worrying about the world will think of them.

I want to be the type of mother who spends time with each child one-on-one, taking time to do something that is important and unique to that child.

I want to be the type of mother who can work all day, yet leave work at the office and come home to enjoy my family.

There are so many other goals that I have as a future mother - but these are the few that come to mind right now...

....Here's to another Monday!!!