All Things Good and Exciting

Not much has been going on lately. Cheer season has ended (with a bang!) and the banquet was awesome. I was very impressed with the whole thing. Our old gym didn't do that. We got a preview of the new uniforms for next year, the kids were all recognized for another year of cheering with a "Veteran" t-shirt with their years of experience printed on the back. There were a few fun awards given, and I gave pause when they announced the "cry baby" award. I thought for sure it was going to Carissa. hahaha! So did she. However, it was given to a few of the coaches instead.

This weekend I am very much looking forward to going to see Wicked at the Bob Carr. I am going with my very dear friends Joan and NiCole and our daughters. We are having brunch first.

Tryouts for next season of cheer will be the first two weeks of May. I'll let you know what happens. In the meantime, know that I'm enjoying my few weeks of relaxation! =)

Happy Earth Day!

I hate to admit that I didn't do much that was "Earthy" today. I was informed this morning as I was getting ready that I wasn't even wearing anything "Earthy." I was wearing black and white. Those are colors that occur in nature, right? Oh, well. At work we were given a little flower to plant. It's cute, but it's probably a waste of money and also against the Earth Day philosophy as the little flower pot is made of plastic that isn't recyclable.

However, the highlight of my day was seeing the pictures Carissa took today and posted on her myspace. The reason? It was of her hugging a tree. Why, you are probably asking, is that the highlight? Because it made for the perfect opportunity for me to embarrass my child. Yes, that's right. It's not too often that I take the opportunity to do so. I remember when she was about 1 and 1/2 or 2 and we were at Anne Cobb's house in downtown Orlando. We told Carissa that trees were her friend. We laughed quite hard when we told her to hug and kiss the tree and she did. Thankfully, I had my camera! So now, so you can also be amused, are pictures of my kid in a then and now type of format. Click to make larger:

Then:



Now:

BANG! That was Carissa's cheer team ending the season!

Well, another year of cheer is over! Yay! The last competition was at Daytona Beach - outside. Let me remind you that I HATE the beach. The competition mat was at the bandshell. There were two sets of stands on either side which blocked the breeze. It was brutally hot! I thought I was going to melt! I slathered myself with sunscreen and just figured I'd be hot all day. I discovered upon looking for shade that the shopping/restaurant complex attached to the bandshell was quite breezy, cool, and shady on the 2nd and 3rd floors. So I parked myself there instead and was comfortable all day! It was awesome.

By the time Carissa's team came out at 2:30, the sun had baked the dark blue spring floor mats for around 6 hours. She said it was burning hot to the touch. They have to put their hands on it to tumble and they roll around on it during parts of the routine. It was also radiating heat. To make the whole thing even better, the sun was in the bases' eyes when they were looking up to hold up a flyer. They couldn't see anything! This had been going on all day and I suspected was the reason so many teams were dropping girls or the reason for flyers bobbling (shaking) in their stunts (also a deduction).

Well, Carissa's team nailed their routine. They had one person put hands down on tumbling, but that was it. There were 14 teams in their division. At awards, they had all 14 teams on the mat. As their name was called, they got their trophy and left the stage. So the number of teams on the mat dwindled as the awards ceremony went on. I knew they were in contention for at least top 5. So as it got to 6th I started to get nervous. Then they called 5th . . . then 4th . . . then 3rd . . . then I was REALLY nervous! They were one of two teams left on the mat. Second place went to some team we'd never heard of. So Carissa's team WON! Another national competition and a great way to end the season. First out of 14 is quite a feat! So her team ended the season with a bang. It was awesome and made the icky day at the beach a little less annoying. =)


So what now? Three weeks of tryout clinics where they work on specific skills. Carissa will be going for working her tumbling full and her standing tuck. Then there are two weeks of tryouts. Then . . . the new season starts! Yay! sigh.

Spring Break '08

Spring break this year has been exciting. We went to Myrtle Beach for the first part, and then Carissa went to New Smyrna Beach with Kelsey for the second part. We were in Myrtle Beach for a cheer competition where Carissa performed with two teams. She was filling in on a 2nd team for someone who couldn't go. That team took 4th out of 13, and Carissa's regular team took 2nd out of 11. It was quite exciting! They gym organized a huge stunt group picture on the beach. Carissa is in a light blue shirt near the middle. Here are some Myrtle Beach pics. Remember, you can click on them to make them bigger.






We got home from Myrtle Beach on Monday and then Carissa went to New Smyrna on Tuesday through Sat. She just got home today and she's really brown! Here are some New Smyrna pics. Click on them to make them bigger!


And just because even Carissa's vacations contain a little cheerleading, a heel stretch on the beach: