Can you say busy??

So, here we are in mid September.....where did the time go?? Lightening fast it seems to just disappear!  Yesterday, I thought to myself, "I will get to that tomorrow."  Did I mention that yesterday was August 22nd? As fast as it is going by, it is showing no signs of slowing down.  Get ready for a crazy ride! :)

School started on August 22nd, yesterday, and since then all of us have had several quizzes, tests, homework and tons of studying.  All of us have done pretty well....until Tuesday when Mommy ruined the A average of everyone in the house. Tough lesson to learn...Mommy can't do everything and must be more organized.  Any suggestions?? Funny, I know. Seriously though...between the kids school, sports and social calendars, my school, sports and social calendar, and Chris's work, sports and social calendar I am surprised we are all still standing! We should all be super fit and trim because of how active we are! ;) 

Baseball and soccer is in full swing....sort of. Soccer was supposed to start last weekend for William but due to miscommunication and schedule errors, our season starts this weekend instead.  So does Jonathan's.  Thank heavens the games are not on the same day!  Baseball started off last weekend with a bang....literally!  It was William's first kid pitch game. He went in and got himself pegged in the leg first and then for good measure he throw in a nice face plant with a baseball as well.  Fun times!  Don't worry, Mommy stayed calm...at least in front of the kid. ;)  He is super fine and we dodged a bullet...Oh, I crack myself up.  He did not suffer any lost or damaged teeth or a concussion, but instead a nice fat lip, a bruise in the shape of baseball stitches and a nice new gap between his teeth. A good story for all....now. A new batting guard and a baseball practice under his belt and he is raring to get back into the game. That's the spirit!Chris and I start our first indoor coed soccer league on Friday.  Wish us luck!  It will be fun, but I am afraid I will be the one they have to peel off of the floor after just five minutes in. Sure, I haven't played soccer in like 11 years, but I say Go Big or Go Home! It should be fun...I am excited...nervously. ;)

This weekend will start the beginning of uber-crazy...if I get a post in before Christmas, then I will feel like I am doing pretty good.  Until then, check out one of our future soccer star's we are creating here at the Rooke household....

Is it really 2011??

Okay....the keyboard is a bit dusty and the blog needs some serious TLC. I am still scratching my head at the amount of time that has passed since we last added anything to this blog. Over a year, really?? Well, yes. It has been.

So much has happened in the last year besides the rising number of my age. ;) I've been working hard at school trying to earn a coveted spot in the nursing program. Unfortunately, the prospects of a spot are very slim, but I gave it my best considering my station in life as super mom. I am very proud of my success, but it falls just short of the expectations at the local community college standards. This is mostly in part to a lot of people going back to school who already have degrees and are changing careers. Let this be a lesson to my kids....get that degree when you can, not so much later. Alas, if life did not lead me in the direction I have, then I would not have the blessings I do.

Both boys have been knee deep in soccer and baseball, as well as other fun after school activities. The soccer has killed me.....William was playing on 2 teams and Jonathan just the one. I wonder some times what on earth were we thinking???!!!! We didn't do well, but William kept up his end of the bargain and kept his grades up. For that matter, he did better. Amazing. We, on the other hand, were putting an amazing amount of mileage on my car and the words mom's taxi rang truer than I ever remember in my lifetime. I was dying from the miniscule amount of time that seemed to be leftover from all of the activities and studying I was putting in. The academy team he played on didn't work out, but it was a learning experience for us all. We have since switched club teams and William is proudly wearing his TFC shirt. TFC stands for Texas Football Club and his new coach is English. A win win for everyone! Sadly, due to Mommy's demands, the recreational team participation had to be ceased. We had a great ride with The Mustangs and are forever grateful for the experience and friendships we have made. William's love of soccer began with that team and now it is growing from there to the next level of competition. Who knows if soccer is the path for him....as he can't decide between that and baseball. We will see....we will see. Baseball....well, that's a whole other story. I'll save that for another time. ;) Jonathan has been playing soccer every season with a little break in between. We have seen a tremendous amount of growth from him that has surprised us all. He went from the indoor soccer pitch flower picker to the next Berbatov! He scored five goals in one game!!! He swears he learned all of soccer skills from FIFA 2o11 (a Wii game!). The next step for him is academy, but we will hold off on that until January.

I survived a 3rd grader and a 1st grader in that year. Now, I have upon me a 4th grader and a 2nd grader. Where does the time go?? Every new experience for William is a new one for me. It's been a strange, fun, scary and exciting ride with him. We are all learning as we go. He isn't aware of it, but he is helping us with Jonathan. :) I completed a Certified Nursing Assistant Program and will go out in the big world and get a job. I am certainly not giving up on my dream of becoming a nurse. There have been a gazillion challenges and obstacles along the way, but my determination is unwavering. I may not be 40 when I graduate, but I will graduate! :) School will start for all of us on August 22nd. We are all very excited at the possibilities. I especially am as I am taking Microbiology! Watch out germs, here I come! ;)

Summer is half over, but we still have a lot of fun to have. The kids were in a summer program for all of June and the first week of July. Now, we are all finished and have a list of to do's. The most exciting will be our trip to see our family in England. We leave in a couple of weeks and are anxiously counting down the days to seeing them and checking off a bunch of things on our summer to do list! Hopefully, I can revive our blog....I decided that being that busy is just not worth the stress. Live. Laugh. Love. Those words have never rang so true. I've learned a lot in a year!! Now, back to the simple joys.... :)

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Wife!

It's not been a very special birthday celebration this year. What with a mid-week birthday, packed weekend before and after, baseball games and practices and lots and lots of school work .... not even a birthday cake :-( and there wasn't even a Happy Birthday song until William was about to fall asleep and Caryn mentioned it.

But what a beautiful, wonderful wife and mother who we all love so very much and are so very proud of. I went straight from school to University and got my degree and had a great time doing so in my youth. I don't envy the pressure and demands of working on a degree while having a husband, kids and home that need tending to :p .. although being more mature may help a little :-)

Caryn, Happy Birthday. I love you!

Play Ball!

This weekend marked the start of Williams baseball season. He had a game on Saturday and Sunday, against the same team no-less.
Saturday he batted 3 times; got 1 run and 2 RBI's and he helped get two people out by throwing to first and throwing to home plate.
Sunday he batted well again. He's really coming on with his batting and I'll post a video soon. He doesn't play for two weeks; apparently Mother's day is so special no games are allowed :p
And yes, they won both games. Go Rivercats!

Jonathan's First Bicyle Ride without Training Wheels

May 1st 2010 we took the training wheels off and Jonathan took to it like a duck to water. Still needs to work on starting and stopped but he's got the crashing, riding in a straight line and round corners mastered!

Photos, photos and more photos

So, here it is, April 20, 2010 and I have totally and utterly dropped the ball on keeping up with this fabulous form of communication!!! I apologize to everyone, but in my defense....well, life has been extraordinarily busy. "I'll get to that" or "later" are common phrases that seem to have an open ended time frame that just doesn't suit me very well. :( Alas, I have a few photos to share for now and will post more "later". ;)

It's over a year old now ... but this is Chris' new car. Bought on Friday 13th March 2009.