Our Saturday in Tremonton

Last weekend one of Troy's good friends got married. I won her in the merge. She is awesome & has turned into one of my favorite people. She was so beautiful and she looked so happy. We went to Tremonton for this, so ya, it was a big deal.

When I met K*** she was going through a divorce and was pretty unhappy with the way that things had turned out. To look at her last Saturday was to see a whole different girl. When she looked at her husband there was such a soft look of love.

It reminds me of when I married Troy. How much I love him and his tenderness towards me. I would do anything for him. I can't believe we have been married a whole year now. It went so fast. Every day I fall more in love with him. I am going to post his proposal on this blog and pictures of that day. Shortly. It is amazing to me that I have finally found true love after really being on this earth 40 years.

Camping

One of the constants at our reunion was the weather, the severe rainstorms and lightning and thunderstorms that lit up the area almost every afternoon. Troy was able to get awesome pictures of the clouds and us in our rain gear. It was very cold and even sparked a forest fire by Jenny Lake. We took a couple of shots of the fire when it first started. The mountains were so beautiful and the air was so clean. I was so amazed that the air was so clean and the water you could see through to the bottom.
We did not let the weather affect our activities. We seemed to wait 10-15 minutes for the weather to clear and we were back on the trail. The elevation was so high that it really was cold during the night and for sure during breakfast. But everyone had a smile on their face, (ISH). Everyone knows that I am NOT a morning person. Troy stayed away from me with the camera. Good for him, he made it through the family reunion alive.
I love this picture of Jenny. It is really about the solitude and the beauty of our world.

The Lake

One of the best things about being a kid is the complete lack of having to work for dinner. Let me explain. During our summer camping trip the grownups had to do the cooking while the little kids got to play by the lake. They got to skip rocks over the water and play in the dirt. And let me also say, that Grandpa was included with the kids. He didn’t have to cook either Troy was down there playing with the kids and was taking pictures while they skipped rocks into the lake. He was right at the water’s edge, backing up for a shot when he slipped on a rock and fell. He did sacrifice his body and saved the camera from going into the rock piles or the water. Our viewer got scratched but he was ok. He was very glad that he was able to take the pictures of the kids that he did. Sometimes the little kids picked up the biggest rocks to throw in. Even the littlest one of the bunch was super excited that he got to throw rocks. The lake was the best babysitter while the grownups HAD to cook. The little ones, and Grandpa, were entertained. Oh and so was Troy

Squirrel!

Recently the David Osmond Cook family reunion was held in Wyoming. We were on Jackson Lake, Coulter Bay, in the cabins on top of the hill. We were there from August 3rd -8th. This little blog is about our picture day of the reunion.
I have many cute little nieces and nephews. They are full of energy and a love of life. They are very close in age to each other, ranging from 2-6. While we were getting ready to get our pictures taken, I was reminded of the movie, “Up.” In the movie there were dogs that would be easily distracted by squirrels. The voice box on the dog actually said what the dog was thinking. The dog would be paying attention to the matters at hand and then all of a sudden yell, “SQUIRREL”. Troy and I have older kids, and we were very amused by the little cousins running around after squirrels. Our sister-in-law is the photographer trying to get the kids all placed and ready for the picture. Her kids were leading the pack for the majority of the time. The kids kept after the squirrels. Someone would yell SQUIRREL!” and it would be a mass congregation at the place where someone saw a little critter. It was very fun to watch, because it wasn’t our kids running around.
For the rest of the trip the kids were running around after squirrels. Here are a few pictures that we captured of the kids running around trying to find those furry little creatures. Notice the smallest of them all, a 2 year old, keeping up pretty darn well.

The BIG 6 0

The BIG 6 0. My dad reached this milestone recently. My father has always been the young guy, the skier, the active participant in life. He still is. “Age aint nothing but a number” is what really comes to my mind when I think of my dad. My parents have always been the youngest parents. My mom and dad were the parents that came outside while I was young and played games with the neighborhood children. My dad worked at a hardware store and he would bring home wood pallets and we would have BOMB fires in the backyard. Not bonfires but BOMB fires with gasoline and everything. We would play kickball in our backyard. I had a very charmed childhood being raised in the same hometown as my grandmother & my father. My dad used to let us skip school on Thursdays and go skiing with him. I have fond memories of a great day on the slopes and then we would stop on Provo Center Street and pick up postum and a bagel. (Postum is gross, but the bagels were great.)
60 doesn’t seem old. It just doesn’t.
My mom organized a surprise open house on Sunday July 25th, 2 days before my dad’s birthday. I don’t know how she did it. She can’t keep those kinds of secrets. We started the day with a family dinner and when we pulled up to the house Jenny & John were here from Texas were bringing rolls around from the backyard. It was the GREATEST surprise. It had been almost 2 years since I had seen them due to their overseas adventure in Australia. We had a very quick family dinner and then something was up. All of us kids jumped up to clean up so that we could get ready for the open house.
My very awesome in-laws showed up first and they came bearing a carrot cake. Carrot Cake happens to be my moms and my husband’s favorite dessert. We hurried and I am grateful for my mom Stark. She helped us all get ready for the open house. Many people came to wish my dad a happy birthday. People I haven’t seen in years. Remember I am from a small town and everyone knew me growing up including during my amazingly awkward stage. There was ice-cream from BYU and Utah State Creamery. There was a huge cake and a family staple the candy “bar”. The Cook’s always go big.
It was a wonderful day to mark a great milestone in Dad’s life. I am again reminded how blessed I am to have the family that I do on both sides.

Service Star

This week I won a very awesome award. My employer's Service Star Award. It recognizes individuals whose actions support the company's mission of providing user-friendly services and promote a work environment based on the Company's core values: Service, Respect, Integrity, Excellence, Communication & Profitability. I won for the Utah/Idaho/Montana market area for the month of June for service. I know I always tell people how awesome I am, but this was a very humbling award.
This is what was written about me,

"Tiffany has always been a great resource and help when it comes to just about any question I have. Specifically lately, it has been with understanding High Bandwidth. Mostly understanding what is put on the contract vs. what product do I really need to choose in ICC and why. It doesn't matter how many times I ask her the same question (I feel it’s always the same question) she is always very cheerful and patient with me - I only do about 2 or 3 high bandwidth products a month, but still, she is always explaining why this product instead of that one,' which I really appreciate. I always understand better if I am told 'why' rather than just do it this way'. Last week, when I had some questions in our training about High Bandwidth, I asked some questions that she wasn't quite sure about, so she had a list of things to find answers for me on. She will always say if she doesn't know and will go out of her way to find an answer rather than just giving me an answer to be done with me. I think she represents the company's core values in more than one area with her work ethic and how she treats coworkers as well as customers - Service, integrity, communication and respect. I think she should be recognized for always doing her best and being helpful and understanding as she helps other's understand what is going on. Thanks!"

Natasha & The Vacation

It was 107 degrees when we were eating. Natasha didn't want to eat and I am sure she will be thrilled that I posted this picture. We ate outside because all of the older people were inside where the A/C was running full blast.

Natasha shopping is like Tiffany shopping, we are in and then OUT. Neither one of us loves to shop. But we had a smoothie and a credit card, what could be better than that?

I had a great time hanging out with my daughter. She is fun! I am so glad that we got to spend time together.