2011 Year in Review

The Roberts family wishes you a…

Most Improved Player 2011 COHS Varsity Softball (Kali)

Earned her California Driver’s License on first try! (Kali – Nov 11)

Rode the Giant Dipper rollercoaster for the first time in ~ 20 years! (Margaret)

Road trip to Las Vegas for softball tourney!

Yard sale! Netted the girls $85 each in spending money for the month.

Chattanooga, TN for ASA 16U Nationals (Aug 11)

Hit two homeruns over the fence this summer! First was a Grand Slam! (Melia)

Reno, NV for Rib Cookoff – yummy!

Investigated ancestry to find roots in Germany, England, Ireland, Spain, Mexico!

Scholar Athletes x2 (Kali & Melia – COHS Varsity Softball 2011)

Three different jobs this year! (Duane)

MLK, Jr. Memorial site in Atlanta, GA, CNN tour, Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles.

All-League First Team – Sierra Valley Conference (Melia – 2011)

Spring Training in Scottsdale, AZ with friends! Posed with Buster! Go Giants!!!

and..

Happy birthdays – 15 and 16 this year for Melia & Kali!

Another first place conference finish for COHS Wolfpack softball!

Played tourist at Pier 39 and the Wax Museum last summer.

Pup Uno spent his 'vacations' in Aromas with Grandma & Grandpa.

Y’all ever been to Cracker Barrel? It’s easier to find than Starbucks in TN!

Newly discovered uncle found through ancestry research on the Roberts side!

Easter Sunday spent at AT&T Park with 43K+ other crazy Giants fans!

Washington, DC for a 48 hour visit to attend a board meeting (Margaret)

Yawn – countless Netflix movies Margaret fell asleep in that Duane and the girls watched.

Earned academic honors as sophomore and junior (Kali).

Ate a Koolickle in Chattanooga, TN. (It’s a pickle soaked in koolaid.)

Rang in 2011 at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland!

2011 was another busy year for us! We hope you enjoyed this creative look back at the past year. Of course it was again mostly filled with softball. The #1 best thing for us this year was stepping back from coaching softball and simply enjoying the experience with our girls. Cheering them on with their high school team was exciting in the spring. Summer ball brought new adventures and new friends. Most notably was the trip to Tennessee to play in the 16U ASA National Tournament with 176 of the other best teams from around the nation.

Professional adventures took me to Keystone, Colorado and Washington, DC this year. I’m very lucky to have the opportunity to get involved with industry groups for the benefit of my job at University of the Pacific. The conferences I attend allow me to learn from my industry peers at the top business schools in the nation and internationally. I count my blessings every day that I get to work in higher education.

I have spent many hours this year researching family ancestry and in early November attended a day of workshops in San Francisco. It was fascinating! The average age of attendees must have be 60+. Perhaps I'll have finished my research by then and can spend my retired days visiting all the places my ancestors lived. The most gratifying find so far - my father-in-law's long lost Uncle Cary Woods. Ronnie hadn't spoke to him in over 40 years and we never even knew he existed. Found randomly through a Google search when trying to gather info on Duane's side. Through that discovery we got photos of Duane's great-grandmother who he also never met and heard some wonderful stories about Ronnie's childhood and summers spent with Ma Evie.

As the days and months march on we are beginning to realize just how soon some big life changes will be upon us. Next summer we look forward to visiting colleges with the girls as they begin to seriously narrow their school choices. College is just around the corner!

Here's to wishing 2012 will be the year that we get to go to MORE Giants games! And to spending more time enjoying life with family and friends!

Love from -

Duane, Margaret, Kali, Melia & Uno