It is hard to believe December has brought along 60 and 70 degree weather with it! It's not exactly the white Christmases that I and some of our other Northerners are accustomed to...but we're sure not complaining! After taking a couple days to get back in to the swing of things, we are plugging away again both in the gym and in our classes. We have finals beginning next week so we're all trying to get prepared for those and finish up projects for the semester.

This past week was an extremely productive one of practices and everyone took huge strides forward. Thanksgiving break allowed everyone the opportunity to rest and take care of some nagging pains here and there, so it was definitely very beneficial. Terin and Kaitlin's elbows also feel a great deal better and they were both able to make a lot of progress this week, earning their very deserved spots back in the bar intrasquads.

All week we had intrasquads, leading up to Monday where we had a judge in to offer her perspective on the composition and execution of routines. The lineups are getting more and more competitive as more of the team is able to add skills and get more consistent with their sets. This added competition has really caused the excitement level in the gym to escalate because everyone is pushing each other to be better. A simple step on a dismount that may have been acceptable a month ago will keep you out of the line up now! We all know the little quarter-tenths and half tenths can decide a competition, so handstands, small steps, and form have been the primary focus lately.

This past Friday was Alyssa's birthday so a bunch of us went out to dinner to celebrate. It was honestly one of the most fun times I've had just telling stories and reminiscing on our college years thus far. We were all cracking up at so many of the roommate stories and bike incidents that my class in particular had nearly every day. The funniest thing was when Alyssa decided she didn't have a good college story to tell and hoped she would soon. Well, about thirty minutes later when Ricki and I are leaving the restaurant, two crazies (or so we thought:) came running up to our car, banging on the windows, which of course completely terrified us. Well, it was actually Brittany and Alyssa desperately needing a ride because Alyssa's car had been towed! Well, she got her story! She ended up getting her car back and even received a birthday discount:) It was quite entertaining and we all got a good laugh out of it!

Another fun activity several of us got to participate in tonight was Christmas caroling. A bunch of us are really involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) program here at the University and we have weekly meetings every Monday night. This night about 40 student-athletes went caroling at an assisted living center and just had a blast. We all had such a great time just spreading some Christmas cheer and getting in the holiday spirit. Jac, Kassi, and I also came to the conclusion that American Idol is definitely not in our future:) Ha ha.

Well, that's it for our weekly report. I hope this Chalk Talk finds you and your family happy and healthy and enjoying the Holiday Season! See ya next week!