Cooper's Date with Grandpa

I must begin by saying that my dad has always been great at dates, at least with his daughters. He's also been great at one-on-one time. We have a great time when we're all together, but it's nice that he has made the effort to be with each of us individually as well, makes us feel like we're kinda special!

My dad came down Monday evening and spent the night with us. Early Tuesday morning, he and Cooper caught a quick flight to San Diego. They enjoyed pancakes for breakfast when they arrived (Cooper's request) and then made their way to Sea World where they spent the day together.

Between FINALLY meeting Shamu (I've been hearing about it for months), the walrus and sea lion shows, the sharks and feeding and playing with the dolphins, I'd say they had a fabulous time. My dad had arranged an opportunity for Cooper to observe and assist with the training of the dolphins, he got to feed them, touch them and learned to give them hand signals.

Here's a close-up of that smile.



A few other highlights were Grandpa getting to help with bathroom duties, Grandpa learning that Cooper has a bit of a hard time with a quiet voice on the airplane, cooper also struggles a little with walking in a straight line when distractions are abundant... but I think they kept each other entertained. They both came home happy and exhausted that evening.

Dad spent one more night here and granted me a lunch and shopping date Wednesday before heading to the airport. Thanks Dad, for a fabulous field trip and a fun visit, oh and for an oversized stuffed dolphin that coop wants to sleep with every night ... we love you!!