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Peek-a-Boo {Rett’s new favorite game}

February 15, 2009

I can’t believe he is going to be one in a month!

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Breaking in the garden...Campbell style

February 9, 2009

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My oldest two

February 25, 2009

About me

Alongside my husband and 5 kids, I'm a fan of hometown roots and passport stamps. Our days revolve around the idea that building tables is better than building fences, cookies should be shared, and adding more color is always good.

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underthesycamore

As she finished a few sets of hang cleans, an olde

As she finished a few sets of hang cleans, an older man beelined across the gym to give her a fist pump and tell her she was doing a great job. Last week, a woman stopped to tell her that her pull-ups were incredible.

She is by far the youngest and physically smallest at the gym (at least when we are there). A few months ago, I wondered how she’d be received as she took her place among the free weights, barbells, and pull-up rigs. It turns out she does get attention, and it always comes in the form of a smile and a word of encouragement.

People going out of their way to speak kindness and cheer on strangers at the gym…people can be so cool.

One of my favorite parts of motherhood is those mo

One of my favorite parts of motherhood is those moments when life seems to pause as I look over at one of my kids, and all I can think is, “I can’t believe I get to spend my life watching yours. I can’t believe I get a front-row seat to who you are.” It’s the best.

Over the last two years, my girls and I have becom

Over the last two years, my girls and I have become major K-drama fans. Most only last one season (16 episodes), and we started a tradition of watching the finales with a dish we learned about on the show. While in Vietnam, we celebrated the end of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” with gimbap - in a local restaurant where we had to write our order (struggle!). Yesterday, we marked the end of “Love Next Door” with tteokbokki. I couldn’t find any fresh at the last minute, so we opted for frozen from the Asian market.

Here are a few of our other favorite K-dramas:
Hometown Cha Cha Cha
Queen of Tears
Crash Landing Into You (slow start, hang with it)

Warning: you might learn new things and randomly start yelling “YA” once you get hooked.

Where are my k-drama fans? Which ones should we watch next?

I felt pretty good about how big my banana trees h

I felt pretty good about how big my banana trees had grown and that I might be harvesting fruit soon—and then I saw my dad’s.

It is very rare to see tall banana trees in Oklahoma (and by tall, I mean like mine, 8ft or so). Most people here cut the trees to the ground each winter, which keeps them shorter and prevents them from producing fruit. However, it helps them survive the drop in temperature without digging them up.

Then there is my dad. He grows trees two stories high and harvests bananas. Every winter, he digs them up and stores them in their sunroom. They are gigantic. As an expert at banana tree growing in Oklahoma, I doubt anyone is more qualified than my dad.

#oklahomagardening #oklahomagardening #tulsapeople

I’m sharing a little status update on where I am

2024. 2019. I think I’ll make this a 5 year tr

2024. 2019.

I think I’ll make this a 5 year tradition. Or each time we add a new family member. Maybe I will live to see the whole porch crowded. ♥️

Thank you @lilerose

Thoughts from last night’s walk. Twenty years a

The youngest (of 13) Campbell grandkid can mow the

The youngest (of 13) Campbell grandkid can mow the farm now - a family rite of passage over here. ♥️

Dad lore, according to Urban Dictionary, is the st

Dad lore, according to Urban Dictionary, is the stories your dad tells about life before he met your mom. Typically, the stories are from the teens or early 20s. Our family uses the term often, as in “add this to your dad lore.”

When I think about what I want my kids to leave my home with, dad lore is pretty high on the list. Stories of risk, adventure, mistakes, total randomness, and nearly unbelievable experiences—the kind of things that can only be written by actually getting out there and going for stuff because ‘why not?!’

“Yeah, kids, back in 2024, when those flumes opened, we built a raft out of barrels and PVC. Ours was the first homemade raft to go over. It fell apart halfway down, but we ended up on the front page of the news.”

Dad lore. I’ll keep encouraging it.

(I want the same for my daughters, but we won’t call it ‘mom lore’ because that term has a depressing meaning).

Tulsa’s Great Raft Race began in 1973. It ran un

Tulsa’s Great Raft Race began in 1973. It ran until 1991, then again 2015-2019. This year, the race launched back up with the addition of the newly constructed white water flumes. Handmade rafts that followed very specific building criteria could attempt the flumes.

Always up for adventure, Chris and our guys jumped on the chance. 100 rafts entered the main race. Only three (my guys included) signed up for the flumes. Their raft was not the quickest and they ended up being towed across the river to the flumes. Things held together after the first drop, but not so much after the second. I love that they went for this and can’t wait to watch them next year!

#tulsaraftrace Thank you @kayleenoland_ for the race videos!

On this day twenty-three years ago, we stood in a

On this day twenty-three years ago, we stood in a field under crepe paper flowers and on a platform my grandpa built. We served cake made by my grandma and ice cream from the creamery Chris worked at over the summer. Today, we celebrated with paletas after church (chili and mango for me - always).

After all these years, he is still my favorite, we still enjoy cold desserts together, and I’m still trying to get him to take at least one photo with his mouth closed 😉❤️

Chris and the guys are getting ready for the #tuls

Chris and the guys are getting ready for the #tulsaraftrace - my job was painting and making cowboy hats on the helmets. Pretty sure I nailed it and my guys will be thrilled to wear these. 🤣

A couple of weeks ago, Nancy Moore interviewed me

A couple of weeks ago, Nancy Moore interviewed me for the August issue of Tulsa Kids magazine and her podcast Sharing Passion & Purpose, which went live today. It’s my first time as a podcast guest. When I write, I tend to type all my thoughts out and then go back to edit them - getting rid of rambling, repetition, and stuff that doesn’t make sense. I can’t do that when the words are spoken! When I listen to my answers, I am quick to hear the words I’d change or say in a different way, but I also know I am always my harshest critic. Nancy was the most gracious host and instantly put me at ease in a new setting - I’m so grateful.

Click over to Nancy’s account @sharingpassionandpurpose for a link to the podcast. I’d love to hear what stands out to you, if there are things in the interview that you found helpful, or what you’d like to know more about.

The majority of the time, Breese and I wandered ar

The majority of the time, Breese and I wandered around NYC; she was leading the way. She picked the route and told me which metro line we needed to catch, where to get off, and what direction to head after we left the station. A couple of times, she saw a Whole Foods and asked, “Do you need to stop to use the bathroom?” 😂 I learned that by teaching my kids how to navigate new places, I’ve inadvertently created my own personal tour guides for my latter years. They’ll do all the figuring out of things while I get to enjoy adventuring in new places. And they’ll keep me fed and not asking for a bathroom break. The roles are changing.

Our local community college offers free tuition to

Our local community college offers free tuition to Dual Enrollment high school students. Towards the middle of his sophomore year, Everett began thinking through what he wanted his education to look like in the coming years. As a result, today he started his freshman year of college and his junior year of high school. He’ll tackle 15 credit hours this semester and if all goes according to plan, he will get his Associates degree and his high school diploma at the same time. It was one of our many unexpected pivots in the last year, but one that makes massive sense for him and our family. Always changing it up here 😂

When Evann noticed the wood shavings stuck to the

When Evann noticed the wood shavings stuck to the egg, she immediately added a smile. There are tons of things I hope my kids take from our home. Adding little details to life for the sole purpose of bringing joy is a big one. I call it ‘why not?’ art 😊

Over the years, I’ve watched others post about N

Over the years, I’ve watched others post about NYC, often tagging restaurants. I’d click on those tags and go to Google Maps to check out the menu. Most of the time, the trail led to menus with prices that made NYC seem nearly impossible to visit, nonetheless enjoy, without spending a week’s grocery bill on a couple of meals.

I could not have been more wrong.

Breese and I found countless out-of-this-world-good foods in bodegas, Chinatown, and outlying food trucks. Every portion was huge, which meant we usually split lunch and dinner. On average, we spent $25/day (total, not per person) for two meals and snacks as we tromped around the city. Anywhere in the world, getting off the beaten path and using Google Maps to see locations/reviews/costs are my go-to methods for finding excellent food at prices that reach a larger demographic.

* I picked up a keepsake in NYC from @jenwangstudios . Grocery stores are my favorite stops in a new place for all kinds of insights into a place.

“Whatever” 2024 & 2019. A friend passed down

“Whatever” 2024 & 2019.

A friend passed down her crimper and we put it to use. Everywhere we went Evann got compliments on her hair - 80s look good on her (and my niece).

4.5 days. 47.7 miles. 4 of the 5 boroughs. Our fee

4.5 days. 47.7 miles. 4 of the 5 boroughs. Our feet took us all of the city ♥️.

When Breese and I asked Chris the first song that comes to mind when we said “New York”, he immediately began singing Frank Sinatra’s. Breese and I went with Taylor’s.

A few of my favorites of Breese from around NYC…

A few of my favorites of Breese from around NYC…she is such a fun travel partner and delighted in every corner of the city. However, Queens for her was love at first step off the metro. ♥️

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