Encinitas.

Thursday morning Melinda and I rode the train from Anaheim to Encinitas and then spent the day being very lazy and seeing some of the sights in Encinitas with her family. The first (and most amazing) stop was at the flower market. I have never seen anything quite like the huge warehouse full of every flower you can imagine but I was in heaven...especially with the rows of Gerber daisies in every color. After the flower market we ran some errands, soaked up some sun by the side of the pool, made caramel brownies, and watched Pirates of the Caribbean after Melinda was horrified that I had never seen it before. Overall it was a lovely day spent with Melinda and her amazing family. Thank you Melinda for sharing your beautiful family with me and thanks to the Wilkins for the wonderful day!

Melinda and Della in the freezers at the flower market. Look at all those gerber daisies!

Disneyland.

Wednesday was spent at the Happiest Place On Earth where we did 35 attractions (rides, shows, etc) throughout the day. Once again the weather was beautiful and there were hardly any lines. When asked what his favorite rides were David answered "Big Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, and Space Mountain"...the three biggest roller coasters in the park. What a fearless kid! Due to Melinda's expert knowledge of all the "special" things there are to do at Disneyland if you are just willing to ask, Julia, Benjamin, and David got to be up in the ship cabin on the Mark Twain Riverboat. As we sailed around the island they got to pull the whistle, ring the bell, help the captain steer the riverboat, and were made honorary captains of the Mark Twain. Later in the day we also went to see the Jedi Training Academy and Julia, Benjamin, David, and about 20 other kids from the audience were chosen by the force to be trained as Jedi's. Upon the completion of their training, the stage rose up and the stormtroopers, Darth Vader, and Darth Maul appeared. Then after their unsuccessful attempts to convince the newly trained Jedi's to join the dark side, each Jedi fought Darth Vader with their light sabers. So fun to watch and to cheer on the Jedi's and a great way to end another day.

My beautiful family and Melinda walking down Main Street in Disneyland.

In front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. We got to walk through it which was a first because it had been closed for years. The coolest part was the picture of Sleeping Beauty's dress at the very end that changed color...blue! pink! blue!

Benjamin, Melinda, Julia, and David sailing the Mark Twain around the island.

I love this picture because it perfectly shows what my sister is like. Ready to face anything, stand up for what she believes, and never willing to back down even when her opponent is feet taller than her and a lot scarier.

Activate! Left shoulder, right shoulder, left leg, duck!, left leg, right leg, to the head, deactivate. See what an amazing Jedi I would have made! It's ok because Benjamin had the combination down and did it perfectly.

Darth Vader definitely didn't intimidate this Jedi. David fought amazing and even used his height to his advantage...he didn't have to duck. :)

The three Cottam Jedi's after receiving their diplomas as honorary graduates from the Jedi Training Academy.

Mum Laurel, Benjamin, David, Katherine, Melinda, Julia, Mom, and Dad riding on the trolley in Toon Town

California Adventure.

Tuesday morning we got up early, packed our lunch, and then spent the day in California Adventure. The weather was absolutely perfect, there were no lines, and our excellent tour guide Melinda knew the ins and outs of everywhere we went. The only bad thing about the entire day was I realized how old I must be getting because I actually felt sick after going on multiple "wild" rides in a row, something that doesn't happen very often. I experienced a mini mid-life crisis and was forced to go and ride the Bumper Cars and Caterpillar Train in "a bugs land" to assure myself that I am still a kid at heart. We also went to the sourdough and tortilla factories (yea free samples!) and rode Soarin' Over California and the new Toy Story ride five or six times each - definitely our favorite rides of the day.

Riding on the Caterpillar Train

Mum Laurel, Julia, and Dad on the Mickey Ferris Wheel overlooking Paradise Pier

I am not quite sure what happened here...I think David fell asleep at the wheel and hit a "Daddy long-legs" that was crossing the street. Julia was horrified, I am not sure why Benjamin was smirking, and the three lovely ladies in the back were all ready for the picture to be taken.

Meeting Goofy...lets just say that Dad was in awe, inspired, speechless, and felt like he had died and gone to heaven. Don't you just love that smile?

California.

This past week the Cottam clan (minus Becca and Daniel who both still had school) and Grandma Laurel took a trip to California. We left on Sunday afternoon and stayed overnight in Las Vegas where our three bedroom condo was upgraded to a Suite because the resort had overbooked the rooms we had reserved. Needless to say we were all a little excited because these country bumpkins have never stayed in a Suite. The next day we drove the rest of the way to California, stopping for lunch at In-N-Out Burger (a first!), explored Downtown Disney while Mom and Grandma did the grocery shopping for the week, and spent the afternoon at the beach with my roommate Melinda and her family. It was so much fun... especially roasting hot dogs and smores in the bonfire on the beach.

I just love this picture...four of the most important people in my life holding hands, walking down a beautiful lane of palm trees (I love how green everything is in California!), and looking like they are confident and ready to face whatever comes their way.

The Pirate we befriended in Downtown Disney

Upon our arrival at the beach David excitedly exclaimed "Dad look it's real sand!" For the next few hours he built sandcastle after sandcastle and then watched as the waves washed each of them away. He was so engrossed in his work that when I broke his concentration to take a picture he wasn't very happy...hence the annoyed look.
For the next few hours he built sandcastle after sandcastle and then watched as the waves washed each of them away. He was so engrossed in his work that when I broke his concentration to take a picture he wasn't very happy...hence the annoyed look. :)

Let the Races Begin!

Today was the Pinewood Derby for the cub scouts and Julia, Benjamin, David, and I (yes I am still a scout at heart) all raced our cars. We all did great with Julia winning 1st in the family catogory, Benjamin winning 1st in the bear den, and David and I cheering eachother's cars on as they raced down the track.

"The Viper"

My personal favorite..."The Y"

"The Speedster"

The Cottam racing team

A Week of Finals and Goodbyes.

Well this past week has been filled with with a lot of goodbyes and finals. Victor is now an official missionary and entered the MTC on April 15 (tax day!). Although it was a tough final goodbye I am so glad that he is serving a mission and can't wait until it is my turn. The rest of the week was spent studying like crazy and then standing in line for hours at the testing center to take my finals. After finishing my last final at 10:30 on Wednesday night my roommates and I made a run to Wendys and then pulled an all-nighter to finish cleaning our rooms and packing. At 4:30 am we bought breakfast (muffins and milk) out of the vending machines and made our final trek of the year up to the top of the Y to watch the sunrise.

Nathan, Melinda, Staci, and Ashlee on the Y

The final thing to do before I left was to say goodbye...but luckily they are just for the summer. Overall it was an amazing end to a fantastic freshman year.

Conference Weekend.

On Saturday Victor and I went to the morning session of General Conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake. It was such an uplifting experience and although we were up in the nosebleed section the spirit was so amazing. I loved when Elder Eyring spoke about how the disciple who accepts the oportunity to grow will be given the Lord's help to overcome the trial and how sometimes the hard things we are asked to do serves as the relief that others need. I am amazing every conference how certain talks seem like they were written to strengthen and direct me at that time in my life. I spent the rest of the weekend with my family at my Grandma Laurel's house where we were fed well and frequently. Mmmm. We also got to spend some time with Grandma Loni on Sunday afternoon and celebrate Easter a week early so that I could hunt for Easter eggs too. :)

Julia and David looking for Easter eggs. We forgot the easter baskets at home...but grocery sacks work just as well.

Daniel's excitement for egg hunting could not be contained and he was forced to break out into song part way through to express his excitement.