"I just want to wear athletic clothes and run around campus pretending to be a runner today."

Drake Relays is easily the biggest week at Drake all year.  Everything kicks off with street painting on Friday where organizations paint giant squares of sidewalk according to the theme, Memories in Motion.  Everyone who isn't painting a square just runs around and throws paint on other people.  It makes for an adventurous afternoon with pictures that are beyond words, as long as you don't mind subjecting your camera to paint, which I did not do.  This year, I helped paint our square, which was fun and so cool to say that I was a part of this beautiful finished product!

DG love.

The next event on the Relays schedule was the first annual GK 3k.  So many people showed up for the race even though the weather was kind of crummy.  

I loved running with so many of my DG sisters.  It just reminded me that I have sisters who I can go shopping, running, crafting, laughing, crying, dancing, and simply living with.  I love that I continue to learn how much I really love DG.  

I'm so thankful that I've had the opportunity to get to know Nate and Bennett this year, and especially this semester.  Hanging out with these guys is a great break and always much needed comedic relief for me and Vettie from our usual organic chemistry and medical microbiology lives.  It will be weird not living in GK next year, and our friendship will be more difficult, but I really hope that we can all still be friends, and that they'll continue to be characters in my story.  

Pole vaulting in the mall could easily be one of my favorite relays events.  It's actually exactly what it sounds like: pole vaulters pole vaulting in the middle of the mall.  Ann, Bennett, Vettie and I went to the mall to watch for a while, and I was instantly amazed.  The vaulters are so strong and they broke at least 2 records in the 45 minutes that we were there watching.  While we were there, we ran into Kaelin and her husband, Emily and Nikki, and saw tons of other Drake people.  Relays are so great and it makes me happy to see Drake students out watching all the races and actual relays events.  

The actual "Drake Relays" is a track and field meet held at Drake where high school, college, and professional runners compete.  I've always loved watching track and cross country, so Drake Relays is just love to me.  Vettie and I had a friend, Ryan, running the steeplechase in the relays, which is a HUGE deal and we were completely excited for him.  Out of our excitement, we decided to craft a bunch of shirts for his friends and family to wear to support him.  We used this fabulous picture from his qualifying race the weekend before, and then used a massive amount of puffy paint to create these masterpieces.  

We had so much fun making them and loved actually knowing someone racing.  Ryan did awesome, and if you have no idea what the steeplechase is, look it up.  It's intense.  After Ryan's race, Vettie and I went over to DG for our Relays Weekend Alumnae brunch.  Honestly, I was not really looking forward to this because I just wanted to stay at the relays and keep watching, but I was so glad we went.  So many of the seniors that graduated last year made it a priority to be back, and I could not have been happier to see them.  Walking down into the kitchen and seeing a table with Allie, Emily, Hillary, Lauren, Whitney, Norah, and so many more all laughing and eating together just as if they were still seniors.  It made me extremely happy to see how close they all still were and how natural their friendships still are, even after a year of living separate lives.  Oh, and I loved seeing and catching up with my beautiful GGbig, Allie.

Overall, Drake Relays was so much fun.  It was a much needed break right before the stress and cramming of finals and the end of the semester, and I was so glad to have been able to spend it with some of my best friends.  Drake pride.

Oh, and relays weekend was also prom and birthday weekend for my beautiful Michelle in Peoria.  She is gorgeous and rocked prom and her 17th birthday, even without her big sis there.  Love you bugaboo.