Portland

First off, a HUGE HUGE thank you to everyone who came out for little LC's tennis match against University of Portland this last weekend. It was amazing to have fans. I mean, it was super amazing to have fans cheering and yelling, but it was just plain amazing to have fans period. Portland was rainy, traffic was bad (thanks Obama), and the tennis center was approximately 37 degrees Fahrenheit. But still, droves of supporters showed up. On behalf of my entire team, thank you, we love you, and next time bring space heaters....!

But seriously, on a more personal note - staying in The Dalles for a couple days was, I'm not exaggerating, heaven. Nothing beats the feeling I get rounding that last corner past Celilo and seeing the lights from The Dalles. I thought I would get tired of it honestly, I mean who gets excited to come home when they still spend every summer there... oh wait.... me... I do. I'm kind of proud I was never one of those kids who HATED The Dalles with every single bone and couldn't wait to get out of there and move to Troutdale... which is so much better because it has outlet malls? Well, I was more the kind of kid who cried when she left for college... every year. Haha... I so wish I was joking. That ordeal became a running joke in the family, so I guess the tears weren't a total waste of energy. Back on track, I stayed with my grandparents this weekend, and I underestimated how enjoyable that would be. Grandpa told me all these cool old stories about where his family was from, and how we ended up out here in Oregon, and it was just cool. Ok, I'm a bit of a nerd, I realize, but come on people, my grandparents are getting older... and well, you know.

So we've got the point right? The Dalles is off the hook, if you'll allow some gangster-ese. The best part is still to come - Portland match begins, and my poor mom is sitting in the balcony all by her lonesome. And then Ciara's dad appears, followed by Sammie's (aka Spammy's) parents. And that was only the beginning! Soon there were more fans than players on the two teams combined. My little cousin Lily was there; consequently she was later voted cutest little kid ever by my entire team, and Alex drove down from Seattle to see me play! Too bad I lost, right? Almost pulled off the second set... I couldn't disappoint all the people who had probably lost half of their toes to frostbite at this point just to watch our team hit some tennis balls over the net. Follow up the tennis with some authentic African leg of lamb at Horn of Africa restaurant and we had ourselves a great great day.

We came back with some strength the next day against Whitman and won all 14 of our matches, just FYI. In case you were worried about our esteem as a team, we're doing fine. It's amazing how much a weekend like that helps bond a team together, and what a great city to do it in. We love Portland! Many thanks to all, thank you for being so kind, cheerful, loving and so dang Oregonian! Much love.