Ashley Dianna Vermillion Hoggatt Phipps

BASICS
Birthplace: Eau Claire, WI
Heritage: mostly English, but my dad's side is a big mix of everything including Native American which I think is kinda cool.
Hometown: Altoona, WI
Relationship Status: Married
Siblings: Logan, Erika, and Cody. Plus Bryan's: Josh, Ashley, Tami, Wes, Jarom, and Megan.
Tattoos and Piercings: Just my ears.

FAVORITES
Song: "You and I"
Singer: Michael Buble, Keith Urban
TV Show: Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Office, 24--basically I watch way too much TV.
Color: light green and pink
Place: California/Florida: the ocean, Lake Tahoe, HOME.
Scent: Lacoste Cologne, fresh flowers, mountain air, newly dried laundry.
Shoes: Seychelles, Steve Maddens, flip flops, pumas...basically I just LOVE shoes.
Quote: "We find happiness in the midst of the trial of our faith. The Lord manifests Himself to us through His tender mercies, which we find along the road of happiness. We see with increased clarity His hand in our lives."
Book: TWILIGHT!! Pride and Prejudice
Movie: Notebook, Walk to Remember, Sweet Home Alabama, Ice Age, Behind Enemy Lines
Board Game: Ticket to Ride, Settlers
Make-up Item: Bare Minerals, Mascara for my blond lashes.

THIS OR THAT
Sun or Rain: sun!!!
Night or Day: night
Love or Money: love
Phone or In-Person: in-person
Hot or Cold: how about in between

MY...
Goal for this year: Read at least a book a week, increase my faith, and start taking classes again.
Most missed memory: I have been blessed with so many good memories I don't even know where to start...childhood: playing ghost in the grave yard with all the neighbor kids and having Kelly across the street, living with Kristen and Sarah in King Henry, Bryan and I's dating days, etc, etc, etc.
Worst Crime: Toliet papering
First Thought Waking Up: "Why doesn't he have to get up too?!?"
Best Physical Feature: smile
Greatest Ambition: being a mother and having a large family!!!
Fears: it's pathetic but--the dark and big dogs.
Worst Habit: OCD
Thing Most Excited About: In no particular order; vacations, moving into our new home, seeing our families, starting our family, and Bryan starting law school.

DO I...
Shower Daily: at least twice a day actually.
Play Instruments: I'm attempting to learn piano because I wish I could say I played.
Wish on Stars: absolutely
Believe in fate: I really do not know how to answer this. I believe that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us and that things happen for a reason, but I also believe that we have agency and the ability to chose a path.

CAN I...
Drive: Yes, but Bryan wont let me on long trips. He thinks I'll fall asleep.
Sew: buttons on :)
Cook: not my favorite thing in the world--but when I do it Bry says I am better than I give myself credit for.
Sing: Ha!
Dance: Did for about 16 years, but then I tried to do Dance Dance Revolution and disgraced myself.
Do A Cartwheel: Oh yes!

FIVE...
About my personality: outgoing, compassionate, complex, emotional, lively
About my life: blessed beyond imagination, steady, opportunity filled, educated, and full of people that are important to me.
Can't live without: my husband, faith, charity, the gospel, and family.
Jobs held: sales associate, dance teacher/parks and rec coordinator, nanny, TA, and medical receptionist.
Dreams: Having a big family, traveling, serving a mission, writing a book, and helping those in need.
Nicknames: Ash, Ashes, Kebbler, Hog-it-all, Mrs. P-hipps.
Hobbies: scrapbooking, reading, writing, decorating, blogging! :)
People I love: My Savior, Bryan, family, friends, and my co-workers.

My Beloved Little Sister is Graduating!

This came in an email from the "favorite child" today. (She likes to call herself that.) Erika is graduating from High School a week from today. Words cannot say how proud of her I am. She has been such a shinning example in the way she has lived her life for her friends and for her family. On top of that this little girl is graduating with a 3.98 and too many accomplishments under her belt to list. I'm so, so happy that she'll be her next year. I doubt that she'll ever let me dress her up again but I'm sure we have many other good times ahead of us! I love you E-baby, egyptian, Eureka, greasy monkey, etc, etc etc!

24

Last night wrapped up our 24 nights until next season. All 8 of us crammed on the couch and watched the two hour season finale. It was great, although I must say that Jack is getting pretty emotional. I don't know what to think about that. It was a rather dramatic ending. I thought for sure he was going to hurl himself over the cliff. And Chloe is prego?!? She better be on next season because she is by far my favorite awkward character. I love to laugh at her. Anyway, thanks to Josh and Steph for letting us spend every Monday night at your place!!!

Auntie Ashley and Uncle B

We went to the hospital again last night. I can't get enough of this little girl! She's just so cute! Kri is doing really well. I am still in shock at how fast this all happened. But very grateful for Kri that she had an easy delivery and is safe! I told Kri she's going to be ready to move to Boston because she'll be sick of seeing me. Kristen's mom, Jill, totally made my night by calling me Auntie Ashley. :) It was fun to catch up with her! Anyway, we had a great night sitting around holding little Sophie. Bryan was very content with a new born in his arms. I'm lucky to have such a great husband and such amazing friends! I'm so glad I got to be part of everything yesterday.


















On a funny note: I told Bry to pick up a mag for Kri. Being the good husband he is he did. I get in the car with him and look at the magazine he got. The cover had ways to lose weight. Nice one. Thankfully Kristen didn't gain any weight and knows how to laugh--and says "Are you trying to say something Bry"

SOPHIE GRACE TUTT IS HERE!

For all of you that know Kristen too...Kri had her little girl! And she sounds tired but great! Sophie weighs 7 pounds 7 oz and has lots of dark hair! I'm going to the hospital on my lunch break to see her! And then again tonight with Bry cause he's just as excited as I am! WHAT A CUTE FAMILY!!!!!!!

AAHHHH!

I just got a call from Landen saying that Kristen's water broke this morning around 1! I am freaking out with excitement! Words can't even say how happy I am for them! My best friend is having her baby girl today!!!!!!!!!

Good Bye Gilmore Girls

I having been watching Gilmore Girls religiously since it started 7 years ago. It was one of those shows that was part of my adolescent years--defining it. Anyway the series finale was last night. Sad day. I will miss how fast they talked, the witty comments, and the endless tangents. But overall it was a happy, fulfilling ending. :)

Work In Progress.

First I'd like to say before you go on and read my dear, dear husbands post that I AM NOT A HIKER. Everyone that has ever known me knows without question that I am a girly girl, not a rugged outdoors woman. And so the whole "Ashley's trial pick" is sooo not true. Shocking--Bryan exaggerates! Unfortunately everything else is 100% accurate. I am surprised I am still alive. I am also surprised that it was actually quiet fun. :)
Anyway this home decorating is more up my alley...and here is our continued progress.

We got our new couch, loveseat, chair and ottoman which was shipped from China--and still in the packaging. We also got our new armiore which I am madly in love with! :)

Hugs All Around!!

We also finally got our washer and dryer installed! It only took 2 1/2 hours! I did my first load of delicates--it works fabulously!
And below is a picture of our new dinning room table! I suppose you probably could have put that one together on your own.

Bryan has made great progress on the flooring! It's all done in the kitchen and dinning area. He just has a few boards left to lay in the living room! He's doing a beautiful job, but says it will be the last time. :)

More pictures of the flooring and colors and all that!

And this final picture is the new carpet!!! Can you tell the difference Jolene?!? :) Thanks for all your help with the colors! They are really turning out the way we hoped.

The Most Wonderfully Awesome Adventure Ever . . . In the Whole World!

Ashley "reminded" me this past week that our blog was titled The Phipps Family-- apparently that title implies a cooperative blogging effort on both our parts. Yada yada yada . . . I'm in charge of blogging our recent weekend adventure. With this being the case, many of you faithful blog followers will notice a slight increase in the subtle humor of the narrative (Ashley is probably saying, "Gag me!" right about now). All gagging aside, I hope you enjoy the next five minutes of your life.

So last weekend Ashley suggested that we go for a walk in the canyon. I suggested we go for a drive to Squaw Peak, but she wasn't too fond of that idea (you can't blame a guy for trying). I'm sure then that you can guess what we did this weekend: we went for a walk in the canyon. Actually, Ashley wanted to go for a "hike." She was implying that she wanted to go on a really long walk. I was as quick as ever to reminded her that a hike differed from a walk in intensity and not in length. But, wanting to fulfill her original desires on this, the most special of all weekends for women, I took her on the originally requested outing: a hike.

So we drove up to Bridal Veil falls and began our ascent. But, before any actual physical energy could be exerted, we had to load up on hiking fuel: Diet Pepsi. With our fuel cells replenished, it was time to attack this adventure head on, but not before I took a second to come up with a game plan as how to best scale the mountain.

Following the advice every LDS youth is given, now that we had a plan, we could accomplish our goal (Ashley is probably saying to herself, "My husband is so lame!"). And that is the same thing she was thinking when I told her my plan: go up the mountain, catch the trail, and follow the trail to the falls. Ashley rejected this suggestion though, for reasons unknown to me (you can choose from the several that I have come up with including but not limited to: because I suggested it, because it wasn't adventurous enough, because my way was not her way, or because she wasn't thinking straight due to the side-effects of all that Diet Pepsi). Being the loving and supportive wife I am (some self-mockery for all those who refer to me as Ashley's Betty), I went along with her desires. Oh, did I mention that her desires were to walk right up the falls! Yeah, the really steep part. It is a good thing that I am a rugged outdoor enthusiast, or we would never have made it up that hill. So we went up to the falls Ashley's way and eventually got there. Of course, once we reach the falls another couple was kind enough to point out that there was a path. Oh, why didn't I think of that? Wait for it: Oh yeah . . . I DID!


Our path of travel, however, did not deter from the beauty of our destination. Once at the top, the gentle mist swirling around and cooling us, we were still able to take in the splendid view. We sat at the top for awhile, just relaxing and taking some photos (It should be noted here that the genius who so thoughtfully reminded us of the path was incapable of taking a simple photo. Instead, he recorded a rather humorous clip of everything but us!)



























I left the planning for the trip back down the mountain to Ashley. With all the keen awareness and foresight only she possess, we took a rather convenient path. The trip down was met with complaints of wet pants, a direct result of the climb to the top. I wont mention who was complaining, but I will say that I was wearing shorts. Speaking of my shorts, the intervals between complaints of wet pants and shoes was filled with shrieks about falling to an early death. Such a fate was only avoided by Ashley grabbing onto my pants to prevent her fall.


Contrary to her projections, we safely made the trip back down the mountain. All-in-all it was a fun little "long walk."

Epologue:

On the way back to Orem, I convinced Ashley to head up to Squaw Peak with me. Actually, since I was driving I just sort of went there. It wasn't all I hoped it would be since the mood was sort of spoiled by a group of mexicans smoking and drinking. But, we hung out for a couple of minutes and took in the view.

Feeling a bit dejected, we returned to Orem with our memories, a sense of accomplishment, and some more Diet Pepsi!



This has been a Phipps Family Publication. As always, the Phipps would enjoy hearing from their readers. Feel free to leave a comment.

TWILIGHT

I have become mildly obsessed with reading. It helps make work pass quicker and these books the girls at work keep recommending are amazing. Basically why I'm blogging this is because it is by far one of the best books I've ever read. I read all 500 pages in 2 days because I couldn't put it down. Now I'm completely, one hundred percent, lost in the story. I love that feeling! Thank goodness there is a sequal. And like all the girls at work I'm utterly infatuated with Edward. :) Read it! Soon you'll understand exactly what I mean!

love walked In

I just finished reading this book and it was excellent. I loved the literary style the author uses--everything is so descriptive. Each thought is linked to another random thought. Some call that tangents, but I love it because its how I think. Beyond that it's a great love story with tons of unexpected twists and a good mix between heartache and joy! And importantly it has a happy ending. The only bad thing I could say is that it has a few words I could have lived without.

Weekend Warriors

Starting with a few words to the wise:
I wouldn't advise painting in the same room as your husband because he might accidentally wack you in the head with a full paint can and it hurts. After a long day of work never hand your husband a screw driver because he might drop it on your foot which also hurts. Buy back up rollers in case you have strong husband and he snaps one in half. Also never try and get a whole house painted in two days--it wont happen.

Bryan and I after a full day of painting :) I have a feeling my wonderful parent in laws are going to be worried. I promise it looks good! We've been working hard!

Day 9:

Flooring is coming along. Plus I am in love with with my new fridge! It's wonderful!!! And it has a water purifier which is incredible because now Bry wont cry about having to have bottled water. :)

Day 10:
We worked all day long painting, trying to get the house completely painted before the carpet got laid. I thought this was a long day. I painted everyone of the baseboards and chair rails and then started in on the bedrooms. By the end of the day I thought my hand was going to need CPR. And Bryan had painted ceilings all day so his neck felt fabulous.

Whining. I am ashamed to say it's something I am very good at. After painting for what felt like 40 hours we finished up and went to see Spiderman with Kristen and Landen. My best friend is having her baby in less than 10 days--let me just say I'm soooooooooooooooo excited! And you must see Spiderman, solely for the scene when he puts on the "vemon" suit, changes his hair, and dances--hilarious. Pretty sure that was my favorite part.

Day 11:

I go into one of the rooms and this is the message my cute husband left me. I thought day 10 was long--wow was I wrong. Day 11 blows day 10 out of the water. I really had to go home and heat pad my little hand all night. But we did get so much accomplished which feels great. It's starting to feel like a home! We got every room painted today. Most with two coats. I got all the trim work done in the two spare bedrooms and in the hall way. Bry helped with the bedrooms and also got our master bedroom and the study painted, along with the stair way.

And the Yellow Room. Love it!

We painted the study in a deep chocolate brown. We are getting white book shelves put around the window which should make the colors really pop. The actual paint is

cloak and dagger--which Bry thought was really cool.

The stair way is vaulted, so we have yet to figure out how we are going to trim the top of the wall with out an extention ladder. Hmmm.

The full view.

Sorry that the colors still aren't showing up very well. Bryan calls it the ice cream house, because the main floor is mostly chocolate and upstairs is vanilla cream.

And a abstract veiw of the trim--we were getting really tired! :)

We get our carpet installed today!!

More adventures to come....

Retraction.

Bryan is forcing me to write a retraction. He said that I obviously was asleep when he was talking to me since he didn't say a couple inches...I swear he did. Apparently he said maybe an inch and just that it was worse than last time. He said I was making him look incompetent. HAHA. Well that's what you get for waking someone up out of a deep sleep!

Flood Numero Dos

I have yet to see the damage but Bry got home around 1 am last night after laying the wood flooring and said that there was another "mishap" when he installed the new fridge. He then went on to say that this mishap was a lot larger than the last, covering the entire floor with a few inches of water. He had to watervac it up. I'm scared...

Slowly but surely

We have started work on our new townhouse! It is even more of a project than I had expected but everything is coming together really great. Slowly but great! Bryan and I are both working full time now so it's making a really long day coming home to more manual labor :) Plus the fact that we are both perfectionists is probably making it take even longer. With each day more gets done and I get even more excited that this will be our home for the next three years. Plus I'll always be sentimental about this home because we are putting it together ourselves.

Day 1:

Bryan tore out all the carpet, took down all the fixtures and blinds, and retexturized the walls. See that nasty carpet??? And the previous owners asked us why we wouldn't keep it. Huh--mystery there!










Day 2-3:

















Bryan had a little accident backing into a painted wall. We painted the baseboards and family/dinning room. It took forever because of all the edging we had to do.










Day 6:
The Day of the GREAT FLOOD OF 2007.
Yes, the hose to the refrigerator started leaking. Bryan tried to disconnect it from the water line (or something like that--like I know what I'm talking about) and the water started spraying everywhere. Once Bryan finally got the thing to stop our kitchen floor was covered in water and so were we. It was quiet funny.

Day 7:
Painting the kitchen red! The actual paint name is picnic table. :) We also painting the accent wall in the family room sea foam bluish. The picture doesn't show the color at all! I love it!! See our new townhouse only has a few canned lights--and we have yet to get lamps so when it gets dark--it's dark.

Day 8:
Touched up the paint and started laying the padding for the flooring. Which of course was a problem because I had just touched up the paint and the padding smeared it across the white trim. (I got in trouble for that one) Basically not much got accomplished--we ordered Pizza and watched Gilmore Girls. That episode left me in major suspense.
This morning our new washer, dryer, and fridge are supposed to be delivered. We will see if Bryan wakes up in time. I have my doubts.
This sums up our adventures but I'm sure there will be MANY more to share....