Happy Birthday, Rebecca Jo!

Rebecca Jo Vahalik Schwencke (far left)

Today is my grandmother's 85th birthday. She is my last living grandparent. It's hard typing that out... She lives in a nursing home here in town, suffering from extreme dementia. I haven't seen her in a long time and she only lives about 20-25 minutes from my house. I need to fix that. I keep saying I'll go visit her and I make an excuse every time. She doesn't know me anymore. She definitely doesn't know my daughter. But that shouldn't matter. I should be spending time with her as an homage to the incredible legacy she has made. Four children. Nine grandchildren. Five great-grandchildren. That's pretty damn impressive. The thought of having four children gives me the shivers.

I wish nursing homes were less depressing. I wish someone would pioneer better care facilities. I wish I had more patience with older people. Afterall, I hope to live to a ripe old age as well.

My mother is a saint for all that she has done for her parents.

I have grand memories of Grandma growing up. There house in Canyon Lake, countless sick days spent watching movies at her house, Easters, Christmases, Thanksgivings, poppy seed kolaches, pride in my Czech heritage, and their house on El Verde Rd.

Happy Birthday, Grandma. You have given me some of the best memories of my lifetime.

E-Rock - Rite of Passage

The Labor Day options were Sea World or chill. So naturally we didn't choose any of those. Duh.

Instead, we took KT to Enchanted Rock today for her first trip and her rite of passage as 50% Forsythe. Jeff and I had also not been in an embarrassingly long time, so it was a necessary remedy.

I have such fond memories of E-Rock from when I was a kid. We went there a LOT. We camped as a family, with the Boy Scouts, and several day trips in between. Such good memories are only natural to share with ones kiddos. The camping/hiking experience is something I definitely want to pass on.

Regardless of the fact that we live 2 miles from a State Park (shame on us), we haven't been hiking in awhile. Our last adventure was at Lost Maples when KT was only 10 months old. I should have known then that she was a natural - we had such an easy time of it!

Today was no different. I swear the girl climbed up more than 1/2 the face of that rock by herself - "I do it myself" she says. With about 15 stops to "wipe my boogies" (she has a cold, okay?). But man, she impressed us. Big time. I should get used to this fact, but I hardly ever do!

I took about 500 photos - naturally. If you follow me on flickr (KCKoenig) you can see the full set, but I wanted to share some of the awesomeness here!

Here's to many more state park visits, including overnight camping and hiking!

Obligatory photo with the entry sign

On the self-dubbed "noodle trail" - she called the railroad ties "noodles"

Landscape 

I think this one is called Turkey Peak - don't quote me

"I do it myself"

love this shot - she'll kill me later

Navigating the steep slopes. Don't worry. Jeff and I were very close just in case 

Forging ahead with Daddy

Enjoying the view from the top!

Going down, she had had enough. Piggy back rides!

Cuteness. Getting so good and smiling for the cam!

Dry wildflowers

Obligatory shot of the summit sign.