2012-09 Parents and Family weekend at Drake

 Ray, LeAnn, and Ray's mom, Karren went down to Drake University in Des Moines to visit Kara over the weekend.  It was Parents and Family weekend, and included many activities on campus to do with Kara.

We arrived at Drake on Friday evening and Kara and some of her friends had set up a dinner at the Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewery.  Approximately 30 students and associated family members attended the dinner to kick off the weekend.

Saturday morning, we got up and did a 2K fun walk around the campus and finishing on the Drake track (home of the famous Drake relays).  Many Olympic athletes have raced around this track as part of the Drake Relays.  We did not threaten any of their times as we strode around the track.

Prior to the Drake football game, we went to a tailgate party outside the stadium, and consumed typical tailgate fare of hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, potato salad, brownies and cookies.  We then went into the stadium to watch the Drake Bulldogs take on the Morehead St (Kentucky) Eagles.  Both teams run a no-huddle offense with a lot of passing.  The pace of the game was very fast as there was no TV coverage to dictate clock stoppages.  The game was tied at 7-7 at half time, and unfortunately we had to leave for another event.  The second half was a much more wide open affair, as the final score ended up 28-25 in favor of Drake.

We left the game to go to the Sweetheart Sing in which the various sororities and fraternities put together short skits and songs in a friendly competition.  The theme this year was 90's music, so the kids got to sing and dance to a lot of the boy bands they had listened to at a young age.  Kara's sorority did a Spice Girls medley.  A total of 12 Greek Chapters presented their song and dance  numbers.  A lot of talented people were on stage for each chapter.  Kara was part of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and made her college stage debut.  Although her sorority did not win, they had a great time and we enjoyed the show.

Saturday night was destined for some shopping and refilling the fridge and snack drawer, and few other necessities (at least as defined by Kara)

Sunday morning, we went over the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house for a brunch, tour and opportunity to meet some of the sister's and their families.  The house is over 100 years old and was first owned by a brewery magnate, who later had to sell it to his wife during prohibition.  The sorority bought it from her, so has been under female ownership since the 1920's.  Up to 46 girls can live at the house in various combination of 1, 2, 3 and 4 person rooms.  The old carriage entrance is now a sun room, and some of the original doors and windows are still in use.  Copies of the original house blue prints are framed and hanging in one of the sitting rooms.  Kara is very excited about her membership in Kappa Kappa Gamma.

After brunch on Sunday, we did a little more shopping, getting Kara some business attire as they are required to wear business attire for various classes and school functions, allowing them to get used to wearing such clothing before they are required to for interviews or an actual job.

Our last stop was at Jethro's BBQ, a very popular restaurant and bar just a block off of campus.  It has been highlighted on various food shows in its relatively short history.  The food was good, and we got to see the end of the Vikings upset of San Fransisco on TV.

We said goodbye to Kara and then headed back home after a fun, eventful and very enjoyable weekend at her new "home" for the next few years.