Wally accepted a job with the Guam EPA to help cleanup and protect the island’s drinking water. Why Wally? He’s experienced in this type of work, cleaning up sites with heavy equipment, a little engineering, and fair amount of common sense. The job is for 2 years, starting in Sept. 2006, and he’ll be returning to the Federal EPA in Seattle.
Gwen and the kids are excited about living on a tropical island and traveling to other places in the region. Mostly, they had to stop Wally from talking about it so much and just relent to going. Alex is counting the minutes till he spots the famous brown tree snake. Davis is up for anything, and Elli is just fascinated by the whole darn thing!
Join in the fray and leave your comments.
Wally
The Guam Adventure 
I love it! So good to hear about you guys….miss you all here in rainy seattle, looks beautiful there.
It rains here, too. It just comes on fast, dumps quickly, then moves on. As Wally says, when you go out you have no idea if it might rain or not. Rain seems to be welcome because it cools things down a bit.
Thanks for the good feelings!
Geez, Wally…you could of told us that you were leaving for 2 years! I know that you’re up to the job and will do us all proud! Have fun and enjoy your time in paradise. You’ll snap back to reality quick enough.
We’re doing fine…still working and t rying to keep things afloat; not an easy thing these days with the fed budget and all. But you know that.
Congratulations on your new appointment! Are there any indigenous folks there that could be an RTOC? Just kidding!
Your Nez Perce Friend…
Gwen
Hey Moonies! I finally had a moment to take a breath at work and read through your entries. Sounds like things are shaping up nicely for you guys. What a great experience…..especially to do it as a family. The Schecter Clan is doing well. Jay started Kindergarten and Sam started pre-school and both are enjoying it. Hopefully they got Suzy’s smarts! On the work front, I remain very busy and am loving building my own group. We recently purchased the second largest glass recycling company in the US….so I am doing my share to help the environment and hopefully making some money along the way.
Keep the entries coming and especially the pictures. Two years will go by fast so enjoy and be healthy.
Adam
Hmmm… not sure if this is a way to email back my appreciation for your stories and photos, Wally & fam, so will give it a go. EPA is limping along without you, and many of us wish we were out to your aquatic southwestern location for… a period of time that probably varies with the weather. Glad that all is coming together. I personally vote for Bali, and would time Palau for the optimal sea conditions and weather. By all means, pace yourself on the blogging, you’ve got two years ahead, so once a week may even become too often. Still, like a diary, could be quite valuable years from now. Let me know if Guam is more gentle on home breakins and theft than Hawaii… my mom was robbed of all her jewelry twice in her Kailua home; it hurts to lose your heirlooms.
Sounds like everyone is setteling in nicely.
I Like the uniforms and hair cuts!
So have you learned to prepare any new guamese dishes?
Take care and have fun!!
Personally, I have been going to hawaii every year since my family bought a time share on maui. I love it. i dont understand how people cant just go once. Io fell in love with it!
Hi guys! We’ve been checking your blog every so often- kind of like spying! It’s fun to see your family out doing things together, the whale looked fascinating, we hope he survived. We are waiting for soccer games in the rain today, it’s not too cold yet, just drizzly, the transition to fall. Life at the coop is fun for Peter, he’s just joined the 3-5 side and LOVES it! They are studying global warming, reading the Princess Bride , studying myth and playing capture the flag of course! That’s it for now, let us know if you are still checking this email-
XOXO,
The Johnsons
🙂
Hi there. Encountered Peter Neves email with a link to your blog while scrolling through my archives. Wow, what a great way to memorialize your IPA w/the Guam EPA! You all look great and the experience (at least the highlights) appear unforgettably incredible.
Although the weather doesn’t feel like it, baseball season has returned for me and DC. Unlike last year (felt like I couldn’t do more than manage Jonathan’s 11U teams), I have decided that I CAN do it all:
— pitch for my 18+ baseball team (see http://www.eteamz.com/firsthorizonblues/ for updates as season progresses),
— manage both of Jonathan’s baseball teams (tournament and house league), and
— manage my EPA softball team — ORD’s “Buns ‘n’ Burners” (we won the last EPA Softball League Championship).
Now the only question . . . whether I’ll survive 😉
Drop a line if/when you return to the states, especially if you’ll be visiting VA. In the meantime, best wishes to all. ~~~ Jace
Hey Gwen and Wally,
I have occasionally checked out your site and always enjoyed reading about your adventures. You all have taken advantage of a unique opportunity and made the best of it with your family Good job!
All the Pankanins are doing well in beautiful Blahvue. Twins are 15, Kevin is 17 and Sean is a sophomore at UW. Send me a email when you get back to town. I’ll be happy to treat for a Korean dinner, or an American burger if you prefer.
Jim