2010: The year in review

As I sit here watching my baby girl who is only 3 days old sleep I realize it's time to do another "year in review" post. Wow. What a year it has been.

January started out with Lauren and I welcoming a new member of the family. Munch the cat was brought home from Rude Ranch Animal rescue. He has been a great addition to the family after losing Quincy last December. Several nights were spent at hockey games with friends. A snowstorm added a little chaos to the mix, but it also began what was my busiest travel year. I left home for Bahrain at the end of the month and spent 3 days there before going to Belgium for 3 days, both trips for work. I got to see a bunch of sights in Brussels and definitely enjoyed the waffles. :)

February was the month that mother nature decided she was mad at us. Two massive snowstorms dropped more than 3 feet of snow. In between snow storms I was able to sneak out of town and head south to the sunny but cold beaches of Daytona for speedweeks. It was a good time, even with the track issues. I returned home to shovel even more snow and wonder where that lovely thing called Global Warming was. Yes, I know it's possible to get more snow with global warming. However at the end of February brought the birth of my nephew who brought much joy to our family.

March helped us thaw out and saw the snow begin to melt. It also brought on the fact that I required surgery on my left ear. That was scheduled for mid-April. Towards the middle of the month an issue arose in Bahrain which required me to take a unexpected trip there. That trip began with an unexpected 24 hour layover in Atlanta due to a missed connection and going to work at 1 AM in Bahrain. Lauren surprised me with a surprise (which I had to spoil) 30th birthday party. Even though I was jet lagged and had way too much to drink (Thanks Diran) it was a great time with family and friends.

April was the month of the year. It started with a trip to Columbus to celebrate my 30th birthday with a Caps road trip with Lauren, Al, and Katie. We had a blast with our hockey friends seeing a city we had never seen before. My 30th birthday came upon us and I entered my 3rd decade in this world. A couple of weeks later I went under the knife to discover a mastoid called cholestatoma in my left ear canal had been causing all my problems. That was removed, but I was informed that my hearing would remain a problem for at least another year. Then came the Caps losing in the first round of the playoffs, which caused the month to be sour. The next day my life changed forever. I got a call from Lauren saying that she had taken 3 pregnancy tests and all of them had returned positive. Holy crap. I was going to be a dad. Time to panic!

May saw me return to Bahrain again for more work, followed by a weekend in Germany. I was able to sneak side trips to Amsterdam and Strasbourg, France during that trip. While in Bahrain it was confirmed that Lauren was pregnant and that she was due sometime in early January.

June was fairly slow. No trips, just work and enjoying warm weather.

July saw Lauren and me taking a week long trip to Greece. I had given her plane tickets and a hotel reservation for Christmas, so we were able to enjoy a week in Athens and some surrounding areas. Waking up every morning with a view of the Acropolis was worth it. Visiting the islands of Aegina, Poros, and Hydra was pretty awesome. I highly recommend visiting Greece. The food, the people, and the history are all worth the trip!

August brought us to New York to celebrate my parents' retirements, their 40th wedding anniversary, the opening of the cabin, and the birth of my nephew and future child. It was a great time. We also purchased a new car in August to prepare for the arrival of "Bean" as we had been calling the soon to be added child.

September saw the return of hockey, work for Lauren, and the beginning of nursery preparedness. We began the transition of our guest room into a nursery. Not an easy task. Towards the end of the month I was asked to take a two week trip to Italy for work. I spent 2 weeks in the town of Latina working, but made side trips to Rome to see the Colosseum, Vatican, and other touristy sites. We also spent a day in the city of Pompeii. The food in Italy was amazing. I talk about how I was doing great on my diet and exercise schedule until I got there. I think we had one average meal while in Italy. The rest of the time the food, wine, and grauppa were amazing.

October brought back hockey. We were glad to see our hockey family and tell some of them the news that they had not heard yet. It was pretty awesome. They were all excited for us. The rest of the month was fairly quiet except I did get to take my annual trip to Martinsville with a relative since Lauren did not want to make the trek this year. We had a great time.

November began a month of craziness. The Sunday before Thanksgiving Lauren's cousin had an unexpected loss when her son had a seizure and passed away. Thanksgiving day saw Lauren's grandmother end up in the hospital. A week later she passed away, leaving her family to cope with two losses in two weeks. It made for a rough holiday season.

December brought the biggest joy in my life. After 9 months of waiting and worrying, Emily Luan Roberts was born on December 28 at 4:55 AM. She has made my life complete. While she isn't old enough to understand everything that is going on yet, she has made me realize that there are greater things in life than work, hockey, NASCAR, etc.

The summary of the year: lots of travel, new additions, losses, but most of all: a great year. I look forward to 2011 to enjoy watching my daughter grow and enjoying life with her and Lauren.

Speaking of Emily, she's starting to get fussy. Time to go tend to her. Happy New Year everybody!