What a wonderful afternoon at the courts in Des Moines, where Julie and Pat defeated Anne and MaMa with scores of 7-11, 11-9, and 11-4! The girls hired a real professional coach to watch them play and give pointers, which reminds me I need to call about getting someone to look at my dishwasher.

Anne and MaMa started out beautifully in that first game, winning 11-7, and the coach kept saying things like "good rotation" which I think means they were spinning around nicely. Julie told me afterward, "We just needed to settle in and remember what we practiced," and isn't that just the sweetest attitude?

The second game got so close, back and forth like a seesaw, and Pat was doing such a good job with those serves. The coach was writing things down on a clipboard the whole time, very official looking. Anne fought so hard in that game, running all over the court in the most energetic way. It ended 11-9 for Julie and Pat, which meant they had to play a third game.

By the final game, Julie and Pat seemed to really figure things out. They won 11-4, and MaMa said something about her knee acting up but she was smiling the whole time so I know she had fun. The coach gave everyone tips about their "kitchen play" which confused me at first because there wasn't any food involved, but apparently that's what they call the area near the net.

"Best money we've spent on improving our game," Pat mentioned while packing up the paddles. The weather was perfect too, not too hot and just a light breeze. Anne's backhand looked so professional, even when the ball went into the fence. Everyone learned so much and that's what really matters!

I'm making my famous snickerdoodles tomorrow if anyone wants to stop by. So proud of all four of you for trying so hard!