texas our texas!

July 20th my Paw Paw passed away in Texas. On the 21st, Clint, myself, Amber, Burke & little 6 week old Carson packed up a rental car & headed to Texas. We dropped off Tyler & Brooklyn at our cousin Tiffany's house before leaving town, knowing they wouldn't enjoy a 20+ hour car ride & a funeral. It was a L-O-N-G drive through Texas, but we had a few stops along the way to help! Poor Clint drove almost the whole way by himself! What a trooper! We even got to stop at an old favorite of mine & Amber's for lunch: Taco Cabana! Carson did wonderful I was so proud of that little dude! We made it to Silsbee, TX (a tiny town east of Houston close to the LA border) on Sunday in the early morning hours, just in time to get a few hours of sleep prior to leaving for the funeral. It was a very nice service, but I have to admit I wasn't as prepared as I needed to be. I am usually a very composed person & I took myself of guard when I saw him for the first time in 2 years in the casket after the service. I started bawling & I felt really dumb, because all the other family had already been at the viewing so they kinda got all their emotions out! On the way to the cemetery we had a police escort & they let us go through all the lights without stopping, but the coolest thing to me was at every intersection we came through the officer had their hand over their heart & almost every car on the road pulled off & did the same. It was such an amazing act of respect for someone they didn't even know, it was really awesome & I know I'll never forget those feelings.I have always loved & admired Paw Paw & I will miss him very much. We had a lovely time spending time with family we don't see to often & sharing special memories with my Nanny my Dad's Mom. We left Monday night & drove back into Houston to stay at a hotel to catch our early morning flight on Tuesday. On the way to the hotel we stopped & picked up another old favorite donuts,Shipley Donuts. If ever in Texas it's a must try! Even Clint & Burke agreed they were some of the best they have had! We made it back to Phoenix Tuesday morning & went right to sleep when we got home! We had maybe 10-15 hours of sleep in 5 days!

Here are pictures from the trip:

ALMOST half way there! Time for lunch!
Super Nacho Goodness!We've been up since 8am yesterday & it's really bright outside! Nanny (my Grandma) receiving the American Flag because Paw Paw was a veteran.Sharon Rigsby, Nanny & Glenda Mastin (my Dads's older sisters Mom) Nanny( Joyce F. Stutts) , Amber & Carson Jardine
Lisa, Allen Wayne (my Dad's baby brother), Nick, Emily, Trent Stutts & Emily's boyfriendDavid Stutts (my Dad's older brother) playing the guitar (he is amazing! He needs to make a CD or two!) & my little sister Megan.Chris, Elice (my oldest cousin on the Stutts side, Glenda's Daughter) and Noah Lehman John & Glenda Mastin (my Dad's oldest sister)The Twins! Chastity Overby & Charity Arwin (David's girls)The Rigsby's L-R: Scott, Sharon , Jack, Brad, Jake, Angela (Mitch's wife) & MitchThe Stutts L-R: Amber & Burke Jardine, Megan, Chelsea , Heather & Clint Miner, Lester & CindyDavid & Donna StuttsNanny & I