So I've been following Ashley's blog and Instagram stories for. a. minute.
(15 years and counting now).
Saturday, I had the privilege of meeting her in person for the first time! ❤
She had a book signing event at Book and Bloom in Broken Arrow... an adorable bookstore & flower shop that she said reminded her of You've Got Mail. For real, Main Street in Broken Arrow is the best, and they chose the perfect location for this event! Oooh, and I stopped by the Laurannae Bakery Ashley had recommended afterward and had the very best cupcake ever, but let's not get sidetracked. lol
The entire Campbell family was there... they're all kind and down-to-earth people who probably found the book-signing dynamic a bit awkward, but they're basically celebrities from my vantage point!!
Fun fact: My favorite photo wall at 522 was inspired by Ashley Ann!!
Campbell fam exactly ten years ago on Saturday. ❤
I felt very happy and proud for Ashley that there was a steady crowd of people from 10am to 1pm for this book launch event - amazing!!
Love the whole Campbell fam more than you might think possible - their childhood stories and photos, and the way Ashley celebrates what makes each of her kids unique - gracious, it's been subtle and gradual, but her writing style, eye for detail, love of adventure and color, exceptional photography skills (#snapshops2011), and her genuine love of humanity have shaped my life and taught me so much!! ❤
For a while, Chris and Ashley had three boys and one girl, and that dynamic reminded me of my preshface niece and nephews.
After a long road in the adoption process, in 2012, they traveled internationally to adopt Evann, who completes the awesome Campbell fam party of 7! ❤
In 2022, they took a highly-anticipated year-long trip around the world, visiting 20 different countries and learning from all the people and places along the way. Ashley wrote and published her first book detailing their memories and stories from that trip, and it is phenomenal! Genuinely. Highly recommend it!!
I loved seeing their whole family there in BA supporting her and signing books with her!! Blogging creates such a fascinating dynamic... I understand that I'm a kind and supportive stranger to them, but I feel like I've known them well for years, and I am so cheering for them right now!!
Each of her kids wrote a personal essay that is included in the book, so I marked their pages for them to sign! =)
Chris was greeting people in the line, so he was the first to sign my book... then I reached Corbett, Hudson, and Everett... the awesome men of the Campbell fam! I loved following their Instagram posts and stories during their world-traveling adventure, and it made me happy to see them in person!!
I was also really happy to see Breese... fun fact: she has loved baking since she was little (left pic)... she now has her own side business called Sunshine Baked Goods. And this summer, she baked and decorated the cake for her oldest brother, Corbett's wedding - so cool!
Finally, I was delighted to meet the youngest member of the Campbell fam... following Chris and Ashley's adoption journey was inspiring for me - I was among the hundreds who donated to the Incubator Project for the orphanage, and I cried when Ashley cried the day she met her daughter almost 13 years ago. I so LOVED reading Evann's essay about conquering her fears and food aversions and embracing new things throughout this trip!!
Ashley Ann was the last person I connected with at the signing table. The friendly woman next to me in line knew their family well and announced that I had traveled from OKC to be there. Ashley thanked me for that, and I told her I've followed the blog for years and congratulated her on this massive accomplishment!! We talked about the cute bookstore and the book launch team and got a photo together, then I stepped forward to keep the line moving. All in all, my time in the bookstore was relatively short, and there was no way to adequately convey my deeper thoughts or level of gratitude there... but it was a fun Saturday in the Tulsa area, and I'm really glad I came out to support them!
This ended up being more of a tribute to their family than an official book review... but the book is exceptional! How could it not be!? I'll write a shorter review for Amazon later this week. Ashley is a gifted writer and photographer, and her debut book is brimming over with high-quality photos from their trip - (mostly taken by her, but some courtesy of Corbett's impressive drone photography). Anyway, following their family's trip in real-time was great fun, and it's awesome and expansive to get the behind-the-scenes stories in the book, vicariously experiencing the new people, places, foods, and great memories they shared!
As a long-time blogger who aspires to be a book author someday, I can appreciate what opening this box meant to Ashley! Well-deserved joy!! I really love that Chris and each of the kids wrote their own essays that are included in it - what a gift and keepsake this book will be for their family, and what a gift for everyone who takes the time to read it! Even the way Ashley formatted the book has inspired me creatively - it's unique, and it's exactly what it should be. I am deeply thankful for Ashley's wisdom, warmth, and personal strength - over the past 15+ years, her subtle influence on my life has been positive and profound. The Campbell family is such a light in the world, and I'm happy this book will carry that light a little further!!
My oldest nephew, Triston Michael, joined me for a long weekend trip to New York City, my fifth trip and his first NYC experience!! #getexcited
Quick Note: We both had fun, although you can't tell by some of the pictures. I resorted to more selfies and solo pics than usual since T didn't quite appreciate my bright-and-fun, excitable tourist vibes and posing for several photos. lol But in spite of the lack of smiles, he says he had a great time and loved the city and could see himself living there eventually (I could see that for him too), so I'm glad for that!!
After much Cyber Monday searching, I booked our stay at the Tempo Hotel by Hilton in the heart of the Theater District - their staff was helpful, the lounge and breakfast area was fun, our 30th floor room was really nice, and we had a great view of Times Square - highly recommend! ❤
Pics with a story: (Left) - we flew American Airlines, and they gave us these Biscoff cookies... it immediately reminded me of having the same free snack during my first flight ever (via American Airlines) with Babah, who flew with me to Dallas and back all in one day just so I could get used to being on an airplane before our long Hawaii flight. I remember her telling me that she'd been on a lot of great trips, but one place she wished she'd gotten to see was New York City... so it made me think of her whilst enjoying the cookies and feel even more blessed and grateful that this was my fifth time visiting the city. ❤ (Right) - Mom was feeling very concerned about our safety and talking about the high crime rates and how we needed to avoid the subway at all costs and be extra cautious in NYC. I prayed over our trip and intentionally looked for good and kind people, and I found SO MANY OF THEM. Sincerely, this was the least aggressive NYC has ever felt to me, so my comfort level there has gone up a lot! I sent Mom this pic on our first night of this guy with a verse on his hoodie, just to jokingly reassure her that there are, in fact, good people around in NYC! She texted back "He's def a tourist." lol
We arrived around 11:30 on Friday and got to our hotel around 12:30. We walked a block over to Junior's for lunch then went to Central Park and walked all around there for a couple hours!! It has long been my favorite place in New York City, so spending some extra time there with no set schedule or agenda was really nice!! ❤
We saw Bow Bridge (above), the Cherry Hill Fountain (claimed to be the fountain from the Friends theme song), the "Arcade" with the cool ceiling where Talhia and Kevin got married, and the lovely Bethesda fountain pictured below, although I didn't have the nerve to step into it this time.
Without planning it, I'm wearing the exact same coat doing the same pose at the same fountain 15 years later! ...The pictured friendship has changed *just a bit* ...but it makes me happy knowing Chet Lee took the pic on the right.
We grabbed dinner at Chipotle (I know, lame and not unique to NYC, but we were hungry and cold and exhausted from lots of walking, and it was close and sounded good)... then took an Uber to Grand Central Station, which T-man was interested in seeing as the entire second floor is a huge Apple store and Genius Bar. It was fun being there again, and I quickly realized that the last time I was there was literally 20 years back when JMM and I visited Holly Dei and we took the train from Yale (in New Haven, CT) to NYC to watch Mamma Mia on Broadway!! NYC really holds a plethora of good and bad memories from very different seasons of my life... the summer 1998 family road trip, 2005 college weekend with Josh and Holly, 2010 Christmas trip with Chet and Malori, summer 2017 with Mom & Dad + Bill & Jill, and now this New Year trip with Triston).
We had an early morning flight and went to bed unusually early on Friday. We grabbed breakfast at our hotel lounge on Saturday then met our USA Guided Tour group at 9am in Times Square just a couple blocks down from our hotel! It was a 6-hour tour that hit several of the major NYC highlights. Our tour guide, Jimmy Hoffman, was entertaining and full of fun facts that brought life and meaning to the things we were driving by in NYC. "Fuhgeddaboutit!" We stopped for photos of the Empire State Building and the big tree at Rockefeller Center (so happy that was still up - they took it down yesterday)!!
"That's White Star Line property!!" ...As we drove by this seemingly random spot on the Hudson River line, Jimmy told us this is the where the Titanic would have docked and where they actually brought the survivors in April of 1912, and that you can see "White Star Line" faintly written on these beams. AMAZING - I was definitely more excited to hear that factoid than anyone else in our tour group! lol
The group stopped at the Liberty Market food hall where Triston and I split a delicious pizza for lunch, an NYC classic! We all stopped to see the South Tower Reflecting Pool ❤ then took the Staten Island Ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Our tour guide was great and led us to a secret spot at the back of the boat where it was less crowded and great for photos. It was super windy and below freezing outside (felt like 13 degrees), so we came back in after taking a few pictures!
After the tour, Triston went back to the hotel room to chill and relax for a bit (#letthem) whilst I talked to Mom and Rach about Kyndal's Redland Rendezvous v-ball tournament and FaceTimed Jaceman and galivanted around the nearby souvenir shops, M&M store, Hershey World, etc. (#letme). This = me keeping our cheesy M&M picture tradition going strong! lol
Jace Michael: "So did y'all get to see the Home Alone hotel!?"
Me: "Yeah, it's called The Plaza. We drove by it and saw it by Central Park, but it's only open to residents and they don't let you just come in to look around the lobby!"
Jace: "What!? Go back and tell them you're checking in for McCallister!!" LOL
We had dinner reservations at Serendipity 3 that night, which brought back vivid Vegas memories for me!! Great atmosphere and fantastic food! We both got the frozen hot chocolate (something they're known for)... and it was one of many times I wished we'd had a third person there who was willing to eat after people. T and I both avoid that, and we both had approximately a third or less of our $20 drinks.
I texted Chettles a pic when I saw the infamous Forbidden Broadway Sundae on their menu! He mentioned that it has doubled in price since 2010, which is ridiculous but not overly shocking! lol
After Junior's on Day 1, we walked to the Gershwin Theater box office and got what they claimed were the only 2 remaining tickets together for the Saturday night show of Wicked (4th row center). Crazy expensive, but the musical was great, and I had never seen it on Broadway before. Also, Mary Kate Morrisey (good friend of Annie F. Downs) played the lead role of Elphaba, so realizing that was fun for me!
Speaking of Junior's, we stopped at the Brooklyn location (equally close to our hotel) and grabbed some of New York's best cheesecake to bring back to our hotel room (#3023). T-man had literally never tried cheesecake before, so his expectations are now set too high for other restaurants. lol He got apple crumb and I got the pineapple, and it was delicious!
He was suddenly full of energy around 11pm and talked about staying out till 3am, but alas, NYC is not Vegas, and there's really nothing safe and appropriate that's open for us to do past midnight. We walked back into Times Square for their Midnight Moment - something he'd learned about on TikTok and I'm happy to know about now - what I'm deeming the NYC version of the midnight fountain show in Vegas. All the screens of Times Square become a unified digital art exhibition from 11:57 pm to midnight every night. (A fantastic idea that they could do so many cool things with, but what they actually did was fairly disappointing compared to what I'd expected - hopefully they'll continue to revamp and improve on it!!) I did love that there was still colorful confetti on the street from the massive New Year's Eve party four nights before!! ❤
The fun countdown video at the beginning of my slideshow below was from the Midnight Moment in Times Square, then it was 3 minutes of animated birds... lamesauce.
Sunday was our final day there. Again, we started with breakfast at the Highball Lounge in our hotel, then checked out and stored our luggage with them... then we Uber'd to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. During our tour on day 2, Jimmy pointed out this globe sculpture that was partially crushed and folded in on top, explaining that it survived in between the two towers on 9/11 - so amazing - I love stuff like that! #resilience And I was happy to see a photo of it pre-9/11 attack as we entered the museum!!
This whole experience was profound. I am so grateful we did the guided museum tour and that they were flexible on the schedule as we were later than expected - our tour guide was exceptional and put so much heart into it! This museum is underground between the foundation of both reflecting pools (wouldn't have known that on my own), so the wall pictured below stretches from one pool to the other, connecting the north and south towers with this display - there is a unique shade of blue on every single sheet of paper, one for each person killed in the 1993 and 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The letters in the quote you see are filled in with melted-down metal from the World Trade Center rubble. And behind this wall is The Repository, where the remains of unidentified victims (40% of all the 9/11 victims were unable to be positively identified) are preserved by the Chief Medical Examiner. It's a place where their families can come to mourn them, the closest thing many of them will ever have to a tomb... seriously, very sobering and well done. Probably my favorite thing we saw at the museum, but that is not a short list.
A 9/11 sculpture on the left, and right is "the last column" - still rooted to the original foundation and much bigger than they initially realized when they started trying to dig it out - they put an American flag on top and it was the final thing to be removed from Ground Zero... signed by many of the firemen, rescue workers, and cleanup crew!!! ❤
We watched a short film featuring President GW Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Rudy Giuliani, and more talking about their experience of 9/11. (Triston obviously didn't live through it as he was born in 2007, but he's watched several documentaries about 9/11 and also appreciated seeing the museum.)
From there, we took a short walk over to One World Trade Center, aka The Freedom Tower, and went to the observatory at the top... the very best views of NYC!! ❤
We took a short Uber ride to Trinity Church (pictured left)... at long last, it was open and I was able to see the inside and pretend I was in National Treasure!! lol I had T take a pic of me at the Wall Street and Broadway sign because it immediately brought my mind to that movie: "Heere at the Wall" ...I may watch that again this week - truly one of my favorites!!
The beautiful auditorium inside Trinity Church (several stories above the treasure). ;-)
T was excited about Wall Street, so we walked over to the New York Stock Exchange after visiting Alexander Hamilton's grave just outside Trinity Church - the entire epitaph is fantastic: "The Corporation of Trinity Church has erected this monument in testimony of their respect for the Patriot of incorruptible integrity, the Soldier of approved valour, the Statesman of consummate wisdom, whose talents will be admired in grateful posterity long after this marble shall have mouldered into dust. He died July 12th, 1804. Aged 47." ❤
On Saturday, Jimmy recommended Los Tacos Numero Uno, so we decided to try that for lunch since it was at Chelsea Market near the Starbucks Reserve T was hoping to visit! Really good food, and reeeeally friendly/aggressive pigeons! I snapped a pic for JEM and Chet, and I'm so glad it was a live photo. lol (Reminiscent of the extra-friendly little bird at the Bellagio Pool Cafe).
T looking 100% thrilled to join me for a brisk but lovely outdoor lunch at Chelsea Market and then coffee/hot chocolate across the street at Starbucks Reserve (another new thing I learned about from him, and it was very cool)!
Fun fact: There are several Starbucks Reserve coffee bars but only six Starbucks ReserveRoasteries in the world... located in Tokyo, Shanghai, Milan, Seattle, Chicago, and NYC! The atmosphere was fun and vibrant, and the huge building and roasting process was impressive to me - and I would imagine far more so to coffee lovers, for whom they offered samples of various unique blends!
GET IT! I was so freaking happy when we drove by Peloton Studios NY on our way to the Memorial, and yes, we had just enough time for one final stop there on our way back to the hotel! Tragically, the actual studio was closed, but the retail store was open, so I got myself a pink Peloton jacket from NYC -- love it!!
So Lord willing, NYC trip #6 will include taking a live Peloton class with one of my fav coaches and seeing Hamilton on Broadway - yes, please. Driving by the Richard Rodgers Theater on our way to the airport, everything in me wanted to be in there! lol "History is happening in Manhattan, and we just happen to be in the greatest city in the world - in the GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD!!" (*Not actually the very greatest in my book, but it's grown on me exponentially, right along with Disney World. lol And the atmosphere would have to be electric in this theater with the songs about NY - I just know it!)
We had a slightly turbulent but otherwise quiet and timely nonstop flight home, arriving at my house around 10:30. Triston said he enjoyed it and thanked me for taking him, and I'm grateful it all worked out so smoothly... I spent a stupid amount of money, but Mom and Dad's Christmas gift went a long way there, and I'm full of gratitude for getting to see Trinity Church; the big tree and glittering Christmas decor; the NYE confetti and the Times Square Midnight Moment; the incredible 9/11 Museum; the Freedom Tower view; Peloton Studios NY; 4th row seats to Wicked on Broadway; visiting Grand Central Station again; taking a nice long walk through the heart of Central Park; two fantastic guided tours; and awesomesauce food from Junior's, Starbucks Reserve Roastery, Buon Cibo Pizza, Los Tacos #1, and Serendipity!!
Without further ado, here's my delightful slideshow recap of our 2025 New Year trip to NYC!! We kept hearing this Alicia Keys song in the background as we walked the streets of NYC, and it made my cheesy-tourist self happy every time!!
That's all for today, friends and fam. Looking forward to catching up with the fam over pizza tonight! I love you and believe in you, and I hope you look for beauty and goodness in the world and find it, and that you embrace joy and do something that makes you feel more alive today!!
On our final day in Florida, Melissa brought me some leftover muffins from our Character Breakfast that I snacked on while packing up my things at our hotel. The Wilson fam came to pick us up around 9:30, and we all went to see the Cars section of our hotel, then went back to Donetta‘s to hang out as the Wilsons finished packing up. Side note, but I was very impressed with Karli's packing skills and how much they fit into a small space, including protein powder and creatine and their Disney store purchases, etc. Another side note, but I learned that Chet sends Donetta flowers every November to acknowledge the anniversary of her first date with Richard, as well as Richard’s death in 2020 - I love his thoughtfulness in things like that, going out of his way to help and care for the people he loves!
Okay, so from Donetta‘s house, we went to the Town Tavern restaurant in Celebration, Florida. Did I mention that Donetta lives in a town called Celebration on a street named Celebration Avenue? So fun! I would let go of the tree-themed street name dream to have an address that joyful. It's a very cute town, or "creepily perfect" as Chet phrased it. lol
Our lunch with Donetta, Debbie, Ava, Teresa, and our Disney crew was a lot of fun! Teresa and I split the sliders appetizer, and Chet and Karli were excited about the lobster chowder.
I insisted on getting a few photos of the Wilson fam with Donetta, so we walked across the street to get some pictures by Jeffrey Edward’s favorite lake in celebration! I’ve heard Chet talk about Donetta a lot as his favorite aunt, but haven’t seen many photos of them together, so I wanted to add a few on this trip. After lunch, I rode with Donetta and Teresa to the airport, and we picked up Erin, Ava's older sister, on our way. It was good to meet Erin and get to know Donetta more through the course of this trip!
Photo break... Cars pics of the kids with GiGi and Gramps!
Lunch pics at Town Tavern
And lake pics!
Teresa, Donetta, and Debbie (Chet's mom, aunt, and cousin)
Lake selfie
Airport pics...
The airport was a bit of a hot mess nightmare, reminiscent of round one. I told Chet perhaps this is why I tend to love airports and he doesn’t. I was quickly aware that my usual experience of people watching happy greetings (Love Actually style) while rolling a small suitcase and listening to my music or sitting down for a quick snack is a very different experience than the Wilsons working to get two large suitcases + folding up the double stroller and divvying up all the bags it was holding + a large car seat bag + Teresa's luggage and a wheelchair for her + helping two little kids navigate their way through security... it's a lot, and I applaud their patience!
I sat between Chet and Teresa on the flight home. Chet watched Pirates of the Caribbean and talked with us a bit while I edited/narrowed the final two days of my photos (yaaaay - that always takes forever, so having a 2.5 hour stretch to work on it was helpful) and Teresa worried about the grandkids and offered comforting snacks. lol
We had a smooth nonstop Allegiant flight home, and after a lengthy wait on our luggage at baggage claim, we went back to our cars where I was parked across from the Wilson van. I knew I would see all of them again on the very next day when I came back to Tulsa for Mrs. Doubtfire. What a gift their friendship is to me!! In the same way that the NYC tour with Tom Orzo forever changed my perspective on New York City, this trip gradually changed my view of Disney World, and I'm thankful for that! It's still a lot of work and way too much walking and hotter than it should be in November, and NYC still feels aggressive and semi-claustrophobic to me... but I'm able to appreciate more of the beauty and notice details I was missing before, and there's a lot to be said for that!
Karli and I both have childhood memories of family vacations featuring long drives to Disney with a combo TV/VCR plugged into the cigarette lighter. lol Chet Lee's first Disney trip was as a married adult with the Weatherford fam, and he's been a Disney fan ever since! He particularly appreciates the fireworks and the "song about dreams coming true," inspired by Walt Disney's pursuit of big dreams that brought people together! I am thankful to understand more of the heart behind his love of Disney and the desire to create great memories for his kids, and I'm thankful for the perspective shift on my end and that I didn't give away my Park-Hopper passes! lol
2017 pic at Chet's office with his famous Disney fireworks painting!
Okay, I'm legitimately tired, and I still have homework I must focus on later today, but I wanted to write these posts while this is all fresh on my heart...
Fair thee well, Disney World. ❤
Hope to see you again soon!
In closing, here's an 8-minute slideshow of our trip to an instrumental Disney medley! It's decidedly one of the cheesiest things I've ever made with the Disney gif at the beginning and them waving goodbye at the end, which means it's also one of my favorite things ever!! lol
