Aidan and Avery

Raunchy Ranch Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 20:53:00 +0000

Raunchy Ranch could not have been more fun! My buddies Tracey, Kimberly, Diana, Stephanie, Melody, Meagan, Sadey, and Leslie all made the drive to come hang out, eat, drink, and be silly. I made everyone a caboodle gift box, we all dressed up in our 90s attire, drank our 90s drinks (I made trashcan punch!), laughed at our 90s pictures, and played 90s Music Bingo! We also took the side-by-side around the land to look around, and laughed until our sides hurt. Can't wait for next year!

Raunchy Ranch Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 20:43:00 +0000

I hosted a bunch of my friends for our second annual "Raunchy Ranch" and went down with Daniel a couple days early to prepare. Jen couldn't come for the weekend, but she and Broxton drove up to hang out with us beforehand! We had a blast with them!

They all left on Friday, and I decorated the ranch for our 90s-themed weekend!

Palm Springs

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 20:39:00 +0000

Daniel and I went to Palm Springs, California for the PWC partner summit. I relaxed at the pool while he had meetings, then he and I took a pasta making class the next day which was a lot of fun. Then more rotting at the pool! We also took a bus to have dinner at the Coachella site. It was pretty, but very HOT!

While we were gone, Avery rode with Jacob and Rose to the ranch for a baby shower for Aunt Kathleen! This is the only picture I got, but everyone had a great time. We are so excited to get a new niece and cousin!

Happy Birthday and Trick or Treat

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 20:33:00 +0000

Avery turned 19 and had a very low-key birthday! We took her and Jack out for dinner at Oceannaire where Avery had baked Alaska for dessert. The next night we grabbed dinner with the Dixons and Halls and had cake at the house.

Avery went to Waco to spend Halloween with Aunt Jenna, so Daniel and I went to Wylie to hang out with our buddies! We passed out candy, ate, played games, and had a blast.

Razorback Fun

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 20:30:00 +0000

We went to visit Aidan in October and even brought Stella! She was very good in the VRBO alone while we went to the Arkansas home game against Tennessee. Arkansas isn't having a good season but they actually pulled ahead and made the game exciting for a little while before ultimately losing (we're used to our college teams doing that). But it was great to see Aidan!

He and Cade also drove to College Station to go to the Arkansas vs. Texas A&M game with Brady and Eli! They have made this game a tradition since their freshman year and always have fun!

Random September Fun

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 04:47:00 +0000

We didn't have a lot of time for "random" stuff in September since we had so many trips, but we still found some time to spend with friends and family! I only had 3 days between my two girls' weeends, so I decided to stay down south rather than coming home. After I left Fredricksburg I saw Jason, Kelly, and Hudson for lunch and swimming (since they live in Austin now!), had dinner with Jenna (who accidentally destroyed my car lol), and spent the night with my mom who was making a very creative German costume for a church party! Then Daniel and Stella came and met me for the ranch for two nights before I drove down to San Antonio to see Leslie and Jen!

We celebrated Lindsay's birthday at Frankie's (where else?):

I hung out with my Platinum girls!

Hollie and I saw The Sound of Music: The Musical.

While Daniel and I were in Canada, Avery and Stella held down the fort at home!

Daniel and I ended the month with a date night.

Banff Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 04:36:00 +0000

On our last full day in Banff, we took a bus tour to Lake Moraine and Lake Louise! Both were STUNNING and we couldn't believe how blue the water was. Daniel and I hiked up a very steep path to get a better look at Lake Louise. I didn't think I was going to make it (I like hiking but not steep inclines!) but the view was worth it! We watched the sun set behind the mountain which was really neat. On our last night we had a delicious dinner at a Canadian restaurant Daniel found. I tried to bring the weather home with us but failed!

Banff Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 04:28:00 +0000

The whole Steward family (minus our kids) had a great time in Banff, Canada! The rest of them were all staying a week, but Daniel and I came for a long weekend. We stayed at a great condo with them and the weather was absolutely perfect and a nice break from Texas heat. Everything was absolutely gorgeous! On our first full day we went to the famous Fairmont Hotel and found a great terrace for pictures. Then we hiked the falls at Banff National park and saw the cave (which was cool but the sulfur smell was awful!). I finished off the day with a delicious campfire bliss martini!

Girls Weekend Extravaganza!

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 04:15:00 +0000

I had a very full and fun September complete with two back-to-back girls' weekends! First I went to Fredricksburg with my longtime Moms Club friends to celebrate 50th birthdays for me, Tracey, and Kimberly (even though I'm a couple months away!). Susan, Jennifer, and Vanessa got us super cute t-shirts and gifts, and we stayed in a nice VRBO close to all the action. 3 wineries, 2 wine tastings, 1 wine stomp, and lots of eating and shopping on the strip, and tons of laughing and fun!

While the Fredricksburg trip had me getting my steps in, my weekend San Antonio with Leslie and Jen was MUCH more low-key as it usually is with these two! We hung out at the pool, ate, and chilled out in the room. That's about it, and it was great!

Remembering Julie

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 21:34:00 +0000

I got to go to the dedication of the new new science lab building at Wylie Prep. It was built to honor and remember our friend Julie Schupbach who passed away from cancer right after Aidan and her son Eli graduated. She taught both of my kids in science and Spanish and she is so missed! It was a special event and it was good to see my fellow Class of 2024 parents.

Back to School

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 21:15:00 +0000

Summer break came to an end and it was time for these kids to spread out across three states again!

Aidan moved into a temporary rental house with his roommates while they wait for renovations on their permanent house. His junior year started off great and he has a full load this semester since he is trying to graduate early next May!

Avery started class at Collin College and is juggling her class load with working full-time at the vet.

She also said good-bye to her buddy Tiffany, but not before they had some tortilla slapping fun!

Speaking of back to school, here's a cute picture of Hudson starting 4th grade! They just moved to Austin and we're so excited to have them closer!

August Shenanigans

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 20:28:00 +0000

August was kind of a slow month, but we welcomed it since the past few months have been insanely busy. The college move-in stars aligned for Jen and Leslie to both be in town at the same time (Jen moved Corinne back to OU and Leslie moved Jack to UTD to start grad school - close to us!). They got to meet Summer and we all had a blast! Jack and Aidan have met a few times over the years but still didn't remember each other. We made them pose for an awkward picture together anyway!

Hung out with my Wylie buddies some!

Some Stella pics of course! Sher has a new cousin...Jacob and Rose's dog Junie is super cute, and Stella has been having a blast running around with her!

July This and That

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 01:59:00 +0000

The World Cup was super exciting! It was neat to see people coming together to cheer on different teams. Although the USA lost pretty badly to Belgium, it was fun cheering them on with friends.

I went to help my mom after her hip replacement therapy for a couple of days while my dad was out of town. I relieved Aunt Jeri and Aunt Marsha who were helping her before I got there so it was fun to see them, and I also got to see Jason and Hudson on their way to store some stuff at Mom and Dad's since they just moved to Austin (yay!). Of course there was lots of delicious cooking, and I also spent a night at Jenna's to hang with her and watch a movie!

I got a job on the set of a short film that shot in DFW so I stayed very busy for 3 days!

Stella got to come to dinner at Lazy Dog with us, and also had to be sedated for her annual well-visit since she is so high maintenance at the vet!

Birthday Fun

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 01:55:00 +0000

Two of my friends had birthdays on July 9th and it was so fun to celebrate them! Both of them had swim parties that Daniel and I went to, and Tracey and I also kidnapped Kimberly and took her to a hotel for the night (she thought we were just going to dinner!). Happy birthday Stephanie and Kimberly!

I had Aidan pick me and Kimberly up from Tracey's after the hotel stay, and he got to see Kaelyn for the first time in a while!

Vegas Sibling Trip!

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 01:47:00 +0000

We went to Vegas with Amy, Cody, Lindsay, and Jason to goof off and have some grown-up time! We had a nice dinner at Capital Grille the first night and saw Kenny Chesney at the Sphere the second night which was an AMAZING experience!! We stayed at the Cosmopolitan which has great places to get a drink. We went to the secret "ski lodge" speakeasy after dinner the first night, and the Chandelier Bar after the concert! We also did all the Vegas things like walking through the Bellagio and doing some gambling!

Happy 250th, America!

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 01:27:00 +0000

Our 4th of July party was a little smaller than last year, but we still had tons of fun! It was great celebrating our country's "semiquincentennial" birthday together!

More June Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 06:21:00 +0000

Aidan has a summer internship with Alvarez and Marcel (where Uncle Cody works!) for his supply chain management major! He even went on a big boy trip to Chicago for orientation.

With her CVA certification, Avery was able to get a job at the vet clinic she'd been volunteering at through school! She took a break last week go to to her last ever youth camp!

We did a fun night of music bingo with our friends!

I had dinner with my big sis Leigh Ann. I hadn't seen her in years so it was really good to catch up!

Lunch with my cousin Meredith and baby Cora!!

Twinning with Hollie!

I Heart New York!

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

I was dying to see Maya Rudolph in the play Oh, Mary so I begged Daniel to plan a work trip to New York so I could tag along! Our seats were great, and the show was hilarious (especially Maya!). After the show we had drinks at the bar and cheered on the Knicks with the rest of the New York crowd as they won Game 3 of the Championship against the Spurs! I also went to the Broadway Museum while Daniel went to work the next morning and it was so much fun. Our return flight got delayed and diverted so we got home almost 24 hours after we originally planned, but I was just thankful that happened on the way home and not the way there!

Summer Said Yes!!

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 03:52:00 +0000

Just a few days after we got back from Europe, in beautiful Turner Falls, OK at a spot that is special to them both, Aidan asked his high school sweetheart Summer to marry him and she said YES!!

Aidan pulled off the perfect proposal by working with Summer’s family to get her there under a “let’s take family pictures” ruse. Daniel and Avery and I drove up to be part of the big moment, and I managed to get our very favorite photographer Carol to drive two hours to capture these stunning pictures that we will treasure forever!
We ADORE Summer and her wonderful family and couldn’t be more thrilled to gain such an amazing daughter/sister-in-law! Our house just lights up whenever she walks through the door, and more importantly Aidan lights up too! There’s nothing like seeing your child so happy, and watching God work in their relationship over the past few years has been such a joy as a parent. We are over the moon and SO thankful and excited! And to top it off, with what could only be a thumbs-up from God, Aidan proposed on what would have been Uncle Reggie’s 74th birthday.
It was the most special day and we are so excited for next year!
“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” -Mark 10:9 

Barcelona Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:47:00 +0000

The highlight of our trip was seeing the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona! It was Gaudi's masterpiece, and is the tallest church in the world. The detail on the outside was incredible, like a Bible story brought to life. The inside was absolutely breathtaking! We went in the afternoon when the light was coming through the windows and it was so beautiful. I had waited too long to get tickets and ended up paying a LOT, but it was so worth it!

On our last day, we relaxed and went to the beach! We had the best trip but were SO happy to get home!

Barcelona Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:42:00 +0000

We went to the Picasso Museum and the Banksy Museum while in Barcelona!

Food and Drinks!

Barcelona Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:31:00 +0000

We took a 7-hour train ride (which was actually a lot of fun!) to Barcelona and checked into our next VRBO which was thankfully air-conditioned unlike the one in Paris! I was excited to see all things Gaudi, so our first stop was Park Guell, followed by a tour of Casa Battlo. We saw two other houses from outside, Casa Vicens and La Pedrera - Casa Mila. The architecture was incredible! Other sights we saw were Ciutadella Park and the Catedral de Barcelona. Walking around the Gothic Quarter was also neat!

Paris Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:24:00 +0000

We packed a busy schedule into our last full day in Paris! First we went to the Louvre, then the Notre Dame, followed by a dinner cruise on the Seine (we barely missed it the night before so I was very lucky to get rescheduled tickets for our last night!) and then one last trip to the Eiffel to see the light show at night! We had the best time but it was HOT in Paris so we were ready to move on to our next stop!

Paris Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:20:00 +0000

We celebrated Avery's graduation by taking a family trip to Europe! First stop was Paris which was where Avery has wanted to so since she was little! We saw the Eiffel Tower (of course!), saw the Arc du Triomphe and Palace Luxembourg, got another view of the Eiffel from the rooftop of the Galeries Lafayette, and walked around the Montmarte neighborhood where we saw the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, Moulin Rouge, La Maison Rose, and the Wall of Love (which was under construction). Our VRBO was NOT air-conditioned (!) but it was in a cute trendy neighborhood with lots of little restaurants downstairs. We also got the famous hot chocolate from Carette!

Avery's Graduation!!

noreply@blogger.com (aidanavery) — Mon, 25 May 2026 05:59:00 +0000

She did it! Avery walked the stage and looked beautiful! Jack, Summer, Papi, Grammy, Grandpa, and Nanna joined us in our cheering section!