Guisinger's Represent!

After a week of campaigning and handing out candy bars reminding students to "Vote YES for JESS," as well as cute fans to a few key people,  we found out last Friday that Jessica was elected as the Executive President for Guam High School for the upcoming school year!!!  Then, when Tanner came home from school that same day he casually mentioned that he'd find out Monday if he was elected National Jr. Honor Society President.  "What??!!"  I didn't even know he was running . . . surprise, surprise.  He said he decided to run at the last minute, gave a spur-of-the-moment speech, and began to wait for the results.  Well, he came home from school today and, as we were asking how his day had been, let us know that we were speaking to the new NJHS President!!!  So - two for two.  Both kids won and we are very pleased and excited for the opportunities and experiences which await them!

Tanner and the eCybermission National Competition

Tanner, along with the other three members of Team Proton, have been working on designing a small hydroelectric generator for a STEM competition for the past six months.  After winning the island and regional events his team was selected to represent the SE region (??? really??   Last time I checked Guam was WEST of the US) of the US in the National eCybermission competition which will be held June 17 - 21st.  There will be 16 teams total competing - four teams from each grade level, 6 through 9.

To see a news clip from one of the local TV stations click here:
7th graders solve community problem

To see the official news release click here:

And the official DODEA news release here:


Tanner is getting pretty excited to go!  We'll keep you posted on how they do in a few weeks.

Birthday in Guam

 May 24th - Jessicas 17th Birthday

The day began with two fun surprises: 
First - Shannon (one of Jess' good friends) started off the day just right! she set up her first period class with turtles all over!
Second - When Jess got home from school she had a special email from Reed waiting in her inbox.

I took Jess out of school early so that we would have a day to go "play". We didn't want to waste anytime so instead of going to a beach up north we hurried home to change and then went down south. We first went to a look out point in Umatac and took some pictures while waiting for Big John and his Caribao, Betsy, to show up.

Big John walks all around the southern part of the island giving rides to people. We came on a great day! The sun was out and Betsy was hot so Big John let Jess go into the water on Betsy. It was so cute, Betsy's legs couldn't touch the bottom so she just floated there with her little snout sticking out.   

 After the ride went went down the road to the Priest Pools. (Pools of water that ancient priests bathed in) We had seen pictures and it looked beautiful, however when we got there it dawned on us that it was the middle of dry season so all the water in the pools had dried up. We still had fun sticking our feet in the water.

We got done with the pools around 1:30 so we headed home to pick up Rachel and Tanner from school. We cleaned up and then headed to pick up Chad from the airport (he had been at the Far East soccer tournament). We had some time to kill so went to an awesome new ice cream shop down in Agat. He got in around 4:30 and then we just went down the hill into Tumon to have dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. (She is her fathers daughter)

 On our way home we saw a ton of smoke so we went fire chasing and found the fires in the back yard of one of our friends. So we stopped to make sure they were okay. Being the adventurous person she is Jess thought that was one of the best parts of her day. 

 We had a continuation of her birthday on Saturday so Chad could be with us. We went Zorbing and then to the Inarajan pools to have a picnic and go swimming.

 (Zorbing is When you get inside that big ball and then roll down the hill.)

(The girls had a contest trying to catch the fruit snacks in their mouth)

Since we first found out we were moving here Jess has been asking for a pet turtle. We went to Chamorro village on Wednesday and they were selling turtles for a reasonable price but because we're heading back to the states for the summer we had no one to take care of it.  I said we could get one when we got home so a stuffed one would have to do for now.

Jessica and "Zoom"

 We had a great weekend celebrating with Jess and it will for sure be remembered.

So Many Fun Things . . .

My "excuse" for not keeping up with the blog is the thought of having to download pictures to include (it literally takes hours for me to do one post - tech saavy person that I am NOT).  The obvious response would be, "don't include a picture."  However for me, that's the best part.  Pictures truly do contain hundreds of words, and, in my opinion are usually the best part of most blogs.  So, in an effort to get "caught up," (which I realistically realize will NEVER happen - here is a summary of our favorite events over the last few months:

Paddling

What an opportunity - to join a Paddling team in Guam!  Not many opportunities to do paddling on the mainland, and I'm so pleased that she took advantage of this great experience.  There's much more to paddling than just the racing.  It involves a lot of culture and tradition, including several spiritual aspects.  She learned a lot, gained a new skill, and got great exercise in the process.

Jess' boat coming in from their best race of the season - 2nd place in the semi final championship!
(She is in the 5th position)

This is a panorama of the beach on race day. Each school sets up multiple canopy tents to sit under when they
aren't on the boats. Lots of barbecues going and music playing.  Race days are always fun!

The six paddlers who go out pray as a group before each race for a safe return.  What a novel idea :o)  I love Guam!

Little Jess and Big Jess.
(Jessica and her twin sister, Caroline, are two of Rachel's best friends here)

Jess - right before getting in the boat for the semi final race.

Jess and her teammate, Taylor, excited after doing well in their race!

Mt. Lam Lam Ice Cream

Chad took the kids to, what we have been told is, the best ice cream and Shave Ice on island.  It is located in a small shop, tucked away in the shadow a large Catholic church, with very limited hours.  We actually spent about an hour, follow various sets of directions (even driving in circles at one point), only to pull up just before noon to find out that it wasn't open for another 20 minutes.  We were not about to give after all that, so we headed to the Payless grocery store across the street to pick up a few things.  Was it worth all the driving and the wait . . .

Savannah Smith (another great friend), Rachel and Tanner

YES!  Definitely a must-go while on Guam.  I have been assured that we will go again. 

An Abundance of Local Fruits - Ripe for Our Picking!

We went to visit some friends on another base the other day because they'd been telling us about all the fruit they'd been picking.  We walked with them to the rear of the property and found a mango tree, heavily laden with ripe mangoes, and about a dozen trees filled with "Guam Cherries" (otherwise known as Manzanita, or Panama Cherries).  Rachel and I picked a bagful of mangoes, and a bucket full of cherries.  It is finally mango season.  I have been waiting all year for this.  I am SO excited - mangoes, mangoes, everywhere.  In fact, there is even a Mango Festival this coming weekend in Agat!!  I've already dried several trays of mangoes, made several smoothies, put them in salad and eaten plenty - just plain! 

Soccer Trip to Japan

Chad coached the Boy's Soccer team this year for Guam High School.  Two weeks ago he was able to take the team to Kadena, Okinawa for the Far East competition.  They didn't do so well, but they sure had a lot of fun!  And, Chad was able to enjoy a return to Okinawa - American Village, Jusco, Coco's Curry, a favorite Okinomiyaki restaurant, Gate 2, etc.

Prom

Zack and all his lovely ladies!  Jessica went to Jr. Prom this year with several friends.  The group, from L to R (Lauren Reeder, Jess Plummer, Jess Guisinger, Zach Mckeller, Sabrina Sabel, Caroline Plummer, Hannah Heckman) Such a fun group of kids!!

Taking pictures became a little uncomfortable in the heat, long dress, high heels, and grass. . . .

. . . a beautiful view, and a beautiful young woman.  Ready to head off to Prom!

A Bike Ride

Rachel and Tanner were bored one Saturday so they called around, borrowed two bikes, and set out for an adventure.  They enjoyed an afternoon cruising around base, enjoying a cool treat at McDonald's, and then racing home.  I'm so glad they have so much fun together!!

Well folks, that is it for now.  A few more posts to do and then . . . I won't say I'll be caught up, but I will have captured several of the more noteworthy or fun moments in our family's life.