Fun Family Birthday Weekend

Every year when I ask Jeff what he wants for his birthday, his answer is always the same: family time! He is such a great Dad and just never gets enough time with his kiddos, especially now that Collin and Kevin live away at college. So for Jeff's birthday weekend, we asked the older boys to come spend the weekend with us and we planned a fun family weekend in honor of Dad.

First up, Kaitlynn's weekly soccer game. We all got up early to cheer on Little Sister in her pigtails and soccer cleats. She was so excited to show off her skills to her older brothers!

Collin's girlfriend Martha took this family shot of us before the soccer game. Love this!!

Kaitlynn's peeps on the soccer sideline.

Kaitlynn decided that the soccer field was the place to practice her ballet moves.

Coach Kyle gives Kaitlynn some pointers for throwing the ball to her teammates.

Kaitlynn proudly runs to the sideline for a hug from Martha. She loved having everyone there to watch her!

Uh-oh, Kaitlynn made a great "header" move with the ball. Not on purpose!

End of the game lineup, and Kaitlynn is still trying to get over her soccer injury. Love the dramatic gesture, ha!

She gets a hug from brother Kevie to comfort her.

After the soccer game, we all loaded back up and made the drive south to the Kemah Boardwalk. We've spent Jeff's birthday weekend here in years past with such great success, and this year was more of the same. I've decided that April birthdays are the way to go -- such great weather for outdoor fun! We had a wonderful lunch on the boardwalk, enjoyed lots of fun amusement park rides, and just had a great time together as a family to celebrate Jeff's birthday on a beautiful day outdoors.

Collin and Martha during lunch.

Smiles with the birthday boy at lunch on the Boardwalk.

All smiles before deciding which ride to go on first.

Connor and Kaitlynn pose in front of the carousel.

Connor and Kevin rode this spinning ride, which would later come back to haunt Connor. Ha!

Weeee, no hands!

Jeff and Connor in line for another ride.

Kaitlynn and Jeff on the infamous airplane ride. You know, the one where Jeff's airplane never quite makes it up as high as the other ones. ;-)

Martha and Collin rode this one where they were WAY up high swinging in circles. (No thank you!)

A family selfie on the Kemah train.

Another train pic with her Sweet Daddy.

Connor had to sit out with Mom to recover after feeling queasy from one of the spinning rides, ha!

The last Kemah stop was one final train ride, this time with the entire family. The train takes you around the entire Boardwalk, through tunnels and around all of the attractions. The conductor gave us a little Kemah and Galveston history along the way, to which Connor sarcastically responded under his breath, "I am NOT here to learn!" Ha!

Waiting in line for the train. Kaitlynn LOVES her big brothers.

One last train selfie, this time all 7 of us were in there!

We had such a wonderful day of family time in Kemah! What a fun semi-tradition that all of us enjoy in celebration of Jeff's special day. On the way home, I think 4 of the 5 kids passed out from exhaustion. Definitely a sign of a successful day!

Back home, it was time for birthday cake and presents. Jeff's favorite: cookies and cream ice cream cake! Yum!! And the cake had a very special message for Jeff this year:

Kaitlynn and the birthday boy, her Sweet Daddy.

Not sure Jeff will ever lose that nickname given by his beloved little girl. Probably just the way he wants it! Happy Birthday, Sweet Daddy!