Land of the Free.

On Saturday morning, Mum Laurel and I loaded up our lawn chairs and snacks and headed over to Provo to watch the Fourth of July parade. I remember in years past getting up at 5 am with my family so that we could stake out a good spot along the parade route, but with only two of us this year we were able to get a perfect spot under the trees without having to wake up at the crack of dawn.

Waiting in the shade for the parade to start. Although I loved the BYU float and the MTC float with all the missionaries (especially the Sisters!), my favorite part of the parade was seeing all the veterans and standing with my hand over my heart as the flag went by. I am so grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and for those men and women who have fought and are continuing to fight to protect them. I love this country and feel so blessed to be an American.

After the parade we drove down to Wales for the Fourth festivities, which featured food, entertainment, and two very silly clowns. Brother Brower (left) in our ward is a long-time clown and asked Daniel (right) to help him. I was impressed what a good clown Daniel made...and how good of a shot he was with his flower squirt gun!

Besides squirting me with his flower while we were taking this picture, Daniel also became quite the balloon hat maker. I think the nose and white suspenders should become a permanent part of his wardrobe. :) The biggest disappointment of the day was that the fireworks were cancelled because of rain and lightning but other than that it was amazing!

Mormon Miracle Pageant cont.

As the Mormon Miracle Pageant comes to a close I feel a wave of mixed emotions: exhaustion from doing pageant six hours a night after commuting back and forth to Provo for summer term at BYU, sadness for another year of pageant being over, and spiritually filled from the missionary experiences and spirit that I felt throughout the pageant. Our family has loved having family and friends come and see the pageant and we are so grateful for your continued love and support.

The Larsen family from Boise came to watch their amazing actress daughters Laurel and Anna Sue be in the pageant.

Although I loved performing in the pageant each night, nothing can compete with being a cast missionary. Each night before the show began some of the cast members had the opportunity to welcome the crowd and ask for missionary referrals. I loved having the chance to be a missionary, even if it was only for a couple hours each night. Although it was a ton of work participating in the pageant, I wouldn't have traded the experiences I had and the spirit I felt the past four weeks for the world.

Mormon Miracle Pageant.

The month of June is here again which means Manti Pageant callbacks, rehearsals, costume fittings, and performances for hours every night for the next couple weeks. Our entire family (excluding Dad) and two of our Larsen cousins, Laurel and Anna Sue, from Boise ID have been working hard to learn their parts and are loving being part of the pageant. Here are a couple of pictures of us practicing on the temple hill...with more pictures coming soon of the aspiring Cottam actors and actresses decked out in stage makeup and costumes.

Daniel is part of the Joseph Smith vignettes and looks very happy to be holding a girl's hand.

Becca tried out and got the part of a wicked High Priestess.

Julia, mom, David, Laurel, Benjamin, Anna Sue, and Daniel all decked out in their Christ in America costumes. Don't they look amazing?!

Alisa and I were both cast as Mary Henshaw and I have loved getting to know her as we have practiced trudging across the plains, dying, and then coming back at the end for our Roberts.

David, Julia, me, and Jade waiting to rehearse our next scene. There were three Roberts and Marys cast for the pageant and Jade and I were paired together.

Although it has been tons of hard work and we are beginning to experience pageant fatigue, we wouldn't miss the opportunity to be in the pageant for anything. We hope you can all come and experience the Manti Pageant and feel the amazing spirit that is present.

Cottam Definition of Goober.

adj. a goofy, nonconforming individual that does funny things with the intent to make people laugh.

Daniel was walking around the house the other day with no shirt, no shoes, and no problems. Ignoring his older sister's plea to put a shirt on he decided to creatively make his wardrobe more modest.

Another goober moment in the Cottam family. Becca taught David to swing around his head and say "Hey There Little Pretty Lady" and he kinda went wild with it. It makes me laugh everytime I watch it so I hope it makes your day.

P.S. His bouncing eyebrows are the best part :)

Doctor DVD.

This morning I accidentally cut my finger on the apple slicer, and upon seeing the cut David quickly ran and got his first aid kit. He told me not to be scared and then explained how he would use each of the items in his homemade kit to doctor me up. The dialogue went something like this with David pulling each item out of his first aid kit...

"I will use the things you use to clean out the potatoes in your ears (Q-tips) for the blood and then use the thing you put on before the band-aid (anti-bacterial ointment). Then tie the band-aid on with string and paper clips. I have cough drops and a book too that will make you feel better."

After he had gone through the lengthy process of putting a band-aid on my finger and I had thanked him he said...

"You're welcome. You can just call me Doctor DVD!"

Graduation.

Today was Wasatch Academy's graduation and my amazing little sister graduated from High School and is now moving on to bigger and better things (aka BYU!!!). We had Baccalaureate in the morning, where they had an inspirational speaker and a number of the Seniors perform musical numbers. Following a delicious lunch we had graduation and Becca swept the board of most of the academic, athletic, and service awards that were given and gave a spectacular speech about her experiences at Wasatch Academy. It was so great to have Mum Laurel, Grandma Loni, and our cousin Lindsey there to help us celebrate Becca's accomplishments. Congrats Becca!

I was so busy taking a million pictures of graduation with Becca's camera that I kinda forgot until the end to take any with my camera so I had pretty slim pickings on the pictures for the post.

Beaches and Swings.

Friday morning we bid farewell to Anaheim and headed north to spend the day with Ghazi and Tante Esthere on the beach. It was wonderful to see them both again and while there we were royally spoiled with good food (including Ghazi's famous hummus), good company, and a great view of the beach. We couldn't get enough of the beach this trip and spent most of Friday afternoon and Saturday morning playing on the beach, catching crabs, and trying unsuccessfully to get tan before we left California. But the most amazing thing about the beach was the swing set we found. I absolutely love swings and to have a swing set on the beach where I could look out at the waves while I swung was heaven. After a delicious breakfast at IHOP we said goodbye to Ghazi, Tante Esthere, and California....and headed back home. Thank you Tante Esthere and Ghazi for your kindness and generosity. We loved spending time with you!

David did a pretty good job burying himself.

Dad enjoying the soft sand and warm sunshine



Brrrrr...




David digging for crabs.

Julia the seaweed queen. She spent hours rescuing the adrift seaweed from the waves.





Walking along the Beach - David. Benjamin. Julia. Dad

I don't know what it was about this trip but I loved taking pictures of my beautiful family (yes I am a little biased) holding hands and looking over their shoulders.

I love these last two pictures of Julia and me....