coop's 8th "party"

cooper was hoping to have a soccer party for his 8th birthday but when the opportunity to forego a party & take a special daddy/son trip arouse he took it. todd had a work trip to utah & coop tagged along. according to him, it was the best trip ever (i'll try not to take that personally). they spent 10 days on the mainland between utah & san diego. my heart could barely take his absence.

they had a pretty memorable time. in utah they toured byu, went down on the field at the byu vs. boise game, hiked timp cave, enjoyed all our favorite byu eats (j dawgs, chipotle, beto's, chic-fil-et, etc.), & spent almost every minute with their dear cousins, kam & rylie. during the week todd had to attend some work meetings so he spent most his time in salt lake. coop was a total trouper, he hung with the becks the whole time without the slightest aching for home. it helps that his auntie lys is the absolute most caring, giving, thoughtful, attentive, loving aunt to ever spoil her nephew. she spent the entire week catering to cooper's ever want & need. she made sure he had all his favorite meals, even going out of her way to make him omelettes & cheesy eggs. she took him to all the best utah sites including the dinosaur museum, the museum of curiosity, the movies, boondocks, & his favorite place, the dollar store. in between all that she spoiled him with gifts & treats. plus, she let her kids stay home from school for some extra quality time with coop. he loved spending every moment with his cousins. he learned all about big kid games & loved it. they played lego wars, nerf wars equipped with fort building, stunt & trick shows, xbox, soccer, football, & auntie even let them watch movies until they fell asleep. he was in heaven. 

after all that they flew in to san diego for a couple days with his grandma cindy, nana, grandpa great, & auntie tiff. they grabbed fish tacos & went to mission beach for some roller coaster riding. seriously, can you imagine a better non-birthday-party?