[DougHogg]

Here it is Monday night in LA, and I'm still reliving IRI. Mike Kirkland, our lead engineer, woke up in his hotel room Sunday morning at 4 AM Indiana time (2 am Los Angeles time) and couldn't get back to sleep. He was reliving the adventure--his first IRI.

To all the IRI organizers, volunteers, family members and team members, thank you for inviting us and for letting us join your robotics family for this amazing experience. It was like a huge 2 day party with real time action thrown in to the mix, great music, dancing, entertainment, contests, and a bunch of people who really like to help others to have fun and to grow as people.

As to the competition, wow! Where else can you compete with so many awesome teams, teams of legend. And yet those very teams welcomed us and invited us to join the excitment, laughter and friendship that is IRI.

It was...a truly exciting, joyful, friendly, wonderful, amazing, thrilling, at times nerve wracking, but extremely memorable, awesome experience. I had very little sleep, but so much fun, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. So thank you all for the time of our lives.