// Terrific start to the competition!!! I can't believe, well honestly I can, but I am just so please with how well we are doing! Our success isn’t solely in the competition aspect either; it is just how amazing our team is. We can really function in any setting! Whether is be at 4 in the morning packing up the house or in the hot sun just waiting for instructions, we shine. Today was a later start than we have been used to, except for Tim and Ross who had to start the contests at the crack of dawn. The rest of us headed over to the site between 9 and 11 in the morning. We had a decathlete picture (with our house in the background!) and then the opening ceremonies started! It was a fantastic motivation and congratulatory ceremony. Our very own Allison was chosen from the other decathletes to represent everyone with her speech! (Another congratulations for that wonderful talk).

Then the ribbon was cut to indicate the official beginning of the competition, during this time all the speakers chose, that is right CHOSE, to sit on our patio furniture while they waited. It was just a small gesture that was a HUGE honor. Then, Secretary Chu chose to have his 60 Minutes interview in our house! Out of the 20 beautiful houses on the mall, he chose ours!
Most people walking by our house express extreme satisfaction in our house (love is a common description). I find it amazing how much praise the house gets. It is so rewarding to know that after pouring our lives into this house, we get this much appreciation.
The rest of the day was VIP tours of the house. We realized that our original tour system wasn't the best method, especially because it is so easy to talk about our house for hours on end. So it was nice to have this day to figure out we were going too slowly before the huge crowds come around. SCU alums stopped by for a tour as well as the CCA Trustees. It is so nice to show our baby off. I can't wait for everyone else to see it during the public tours.

We are finally able to blog before midnight, so I am going to take advantage of the extra time and catch up on my homework... yes, we still have to do all our homework while we are in DC. Please keep your digits crossed for us! As of right now we are in 3rd place!!