Best. Father's Day. Surprise. EVER!

So....I have a lot to write about tonight, at the end of my most favorite Father's Day to-date! But first, before I begin, Happy Father's Day to all the hard-working dads out there!

You know who you are!

Personally, being a dad is the best thing that has ever happened to me. And because of my little girl and my big girl, I am the luckiest dad I know. I thank God every day for the privilege and the opportunity.

Now, to the surprise!

I was told this morning to be ready to leave the house by a certain time. I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing. Actually, I didn't even really know once we arrived at the final destination because S had played a stellar poker-face hand of "I am lost and don't know how to find where we are supposed to be and we are late and perhaps I should stop and ask for directions here at this Aviation Center..." (sigh) Yes, I am afraid I am that gullible...

And yes, we were going for an airplane ride!

For those that don't know, learning to fly has been on my un-posted and unofficial "bucket list" for a long, long time. I mean, it is still very unofficial, but the idea would be that ONE DAY, when all the pieces can come together, I will obtain my Pilot's License. I guess today was a good day to have a "trial". The idea was that we would all "give it a go" and see how we liked it. It makes sense because there's really no use in going through the training and flight time just to learn that someone in the family get's airsick or just plain doesn't like it.

But, seriously, who doesn't like flying!

Rocketship loved the plane right away and kept proclaiming "That's a BIG plane!"

Because we decided that we MAY begin to work on the lessons, it made sense to make this hangar visit count, so instead of just going up in the plane, the instructor, Mark, treated it like the first lesson. This meant I was included in the usual thorough pre-flight check of the aircraft (that's the instructor on the left. I assure you he really does have 2 legs!).

The girls waited so patiently while the plane was inspected. There was also some instrumentation introductions and basic flight methodology shared. It was sweet! I was digging every minute!

That's the pre-flight inspection list (more like a small book!) in my hands. No stone was left unturned!

Once we were finished, the plane was fueled and pulled outside into the sun. Rocketship's cowmooflage car seat was installed and she was buckled in! As you can see, she was - naturally - very interested in what was happening in the front seats!

She even got her own headset to wear, although she deemed it "too tight", just like she says for anything she doesn't really want to wear!

The best thing about going up in the air with an instructor is YOU REALLY GET TO FLY! That's right, I pretty much had the controls the entire time! He even let me "ride along" during the take-off and landing. It was quite an experience!

That's the airport runway, shortly after take-off.

E loved it! She really had a great time. She kept saying "Higher!" and "Faster!"

The Big House

There was a lot to look at outside the windows. It was a "great day for flying"...we'll, okay, that's what everyone kept saying! I could see why!

We flew over S's workplace. That's her building in the center of the picture.

I think E was getting a bit too comfortable, don't you?

We even flew over our house!

And - alas - we HAD to go back eventually, I guess. Hmph! Here is the runway as we were on the final approach.

Back at the Aviation Center, there was a female bird named Frannie. E loved her and even fed her a green peanut M&M, which was promptly and expertly cracked open (and peanut removed!)

All in all, a GREAT day! And an even better surprise! Thank you S-Bomb!

Best! Father's Day! EVER!