2010....a year to remember!

2010 has been a very busy year for us in the Roberts house! If you are following us on Facebook you know that outside of work and school, we live for softball! This year was an exciting one for us in many ways. Kali played her first year of high school softball making the varsity team as a freshman and earning co-top GPA honors on her team. We continued to coach the 14U Thunder travel team and recruited a young team of 13 years olds to play through the spring until our core of high school players was ready for the summer tournament season. From March-May we were playing or watching softball games 4-5 days out of the week between the high school team and the Thunder team.

This was a particularly rewarding year with the Thunder, especially after the tough first season in 2009. Over the course of the year we competed in 18 tournaments, played 93 games and earned a record of 52-40-1. We played in 8 championship games and took top honors in 4 of those events. In two major events we also placed respectably (3rd in a State Championship tournament and 4th in the Regional ASA tournament). To bring this team so far in just our second season was quite a thrill! Looking back at the photos from these events is fun because you can see the sense of accomplishment on each and every girl's face.

A really memorable part of this year was taking the team to the NSA Western Nationals tournament which was hosted in Hillsborough, OR, just outside of Portland. It was a 12 hour road trip from Sacrament0 (we had to slow down for a couple of car sick kids) and 5 days of fun! Well, the losses weren't fun, but we won a couple of games and got to compete against teams from Washington and Oregon states. And the team got to really bond and have an experience they won't forget for a very long time! And the road trip was a bit of a dream come true for me - the open road, driving through parts of CA and OR that are so beautiful and lots of quality family time. If only we could have done it in an RV.....someday!

While Kali completed her first year of high school in 2010, Melia graduated 8th grade and started high school this fall. So now we are the parents of two busy high school kids! And Duane and I both celebrated milestone birthday's this year - 4-0! Keeping track of the girls activities on Facebook keeps us on our toes and so far entering a new age decade hasn't been a big deal. Celebrating this milestone for me was exciting as we rang it in with a few family and friends at a Giants game!

One of the things we miss since moving out of the Bay Area is easy access to the SF Giants! Now we really have to plan ahead to make a game. Duane and I did sneak away in March to Scottsdale to catch a Spring Training game and attend a wedding. And we get to join Duane's Mom's company event every summer and catch a game in August. But being a little further away from our favorite Giants did not diminish our excitement in cheering them on throughout the playoffs and in the World Series. What a year!

On the professional front things are going well for both of us. I am still with University of the Pacific by day, and authoring resumes by night. I was able to attend a conference in Boston this year and make some new professional connections. Volunteering on the conference planning committee for that event earned more volunteer work for 2011 as a c0-chair for next year's conference in Keystone, CO. Duane continues to recruit high tech professionals and executives and in September re-aligned his efforts with the founder of a recruiting firm we worked for 10+ years ago. He's enjoying this collaboration immensely and continues to enjoy working from home.

We're looking forward to a healthy and productive 2011. A few things we expect to do more of this coming year include seeing our family (no softbal on weekends until June!), going to a few more Giants games and being enthusiastic and supportive softball parents since we've "retired" from coaching! Don't worry - the girls have already landed on a new team and whenever we're playing on a softball field near you we'll send you details on the schedule!

Of course our story wouldn't be complete without an update on Uno, our wonder dog! He entertains us daily! He was invited by Camp BowWow to model for a professional photographer this year! But I prefer to keep him looking a little less furry!

We are thankful for all of the blessings we enjoy, especially the wonderful people in our lives - those who we see frequently and those who we keep up with mostly by way of Facebook and yearly holiday greetings! We wish you the very best this holiday season and a Happy 2011!

Love from Duane, Margaret, Kali & Melia